Portland 1973, A Mother's Final Christmas: The Neighbor Who Gave Five Orphans a Christmas
Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories
Darren Marlar
4.6 • 4.1K Ratings
🗓️ 24 December 2025
⏱️ 37 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Episode 11 of 12 in the #12NightmaresOfXmas series!
In this episode: “The Eternal Beatle”, “Home For The Holidays”, “The Kennedy Road Phantom”, “Santa Stuffs The Stockings”, “Santa And The Elf”, “The Ghost In The Living Room”, “That’s Not Santa!”, “Poe Finds His Inspiration”
SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LINKS…
All stories in this episode are from the book, “The Spirits of Christmas: The Dark Side of the Holidays” by Sylvia Shults: https://amzn.to/3uT2vMA
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library. Background music provided by Alibi Music Library, EpidemicSound and/or StoryBlocks with paid license. Music from Shadows Symphony (https://tinyurl.com/yyrv987t), Midnight Syndicate (http://amzn.to/2BYCoXZ) Kevin MacLeod (https://tinyurl.com/y2v7fgbu), Tony Longworth (https://tinyurl.com/y2nhnbt7), and Nicolas Gasparini (https://tinyurl.com/lnqpfs8) is used with permission of the artists.= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2023, Weird Darkness.
https://weirddarkness.com/MothersFinalChristmas
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Murder slash suicide, orphans, five children, by Bruce Troctenburg, Oregonian staff writer. |
| 0:09.3 | A Portland mother of five died of gunshot wounds early Sunday in an apparent murder suicide in a North Portland home where she had sought refuge. |
| 0:18.4 | Her former husband turned the gun on himself after first shooting her, |
| 0:21.8 | according to the Multnomah County Medical Examiner's Office. Dead are Marles H. 36 and Billy H. 42. |
| 0:30.6 | Mrs. H. and the children had been living at the home of Mary E. Bellinger, where the shooting occurred. |
| 0:36.1 | She came here in the hopes of finding some protection, |
| 0:38.6 | Mrs. Bellinger said. We had known each other for about four and a half years. We used to live |
| 0:43.6 | next door to each other. The medical examiner's office said Mrs. H. was beaten and killed |
| 0:48.5 | about 250 a.m. Sunday after she left her former husband in the house. Billy H. also died of a gunshot |
| 0:55.1 | wound. Mrs. Bellinger said she hopes the children can spend Christmas with her family. |
| 1:00.8 | I hope the court is good enough to let the kids stay here for Christmas. We want to try to make |
| 1:05.2 | this the best Christmas that we can for them. We don't want to upset them any more than possible. |
| 1:10.6 | The Police Youth Division |
| 1:11.6 | said later Sunday the children would be allowed to spend Christmas at the Bellinger's home. |
| 1:16.7 | An article from the Portland Oregonian, December 24, 1973. |
| 1:26.6 | Merry Christmas and welcome, weirdos. |
| 1:29.4 | I'm Darren Marler, and this is Weird Darkness. |
| 1:32.8 | Here you'll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, mysterious, macabre, unsolved, and unexplained. |
| 1:41.1 | If you are new here, be sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple or Android so you |
| 1:46.6 | don't miss future episodes. |
| 1:48.6 | This is a special 12 Nightmares of Christmas episode. |
| 1:52.7 | Each day from December 13th through December 24th, I'm posting a new episode of Weird |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Darren Marlar, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Darren Marlar and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.