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On March 19, 1919, the entire city of New Orleans threw a massive jazz party to appease a serial killer who promised to spare anyone playing jazz music in their homes that night – or face the blade of his axe.

IN THIS EPISODE: The axe murders of New Orleans took place over a hundred years ago, but “The Jazzman Story” remains one of the greatest mysteries and unsolved murder cases within the annals of American crime. (The Axeman’s Jazz) *** The investigation of an apparent suicide in 1953 led to an unbelievable theory… not only had the victim used LSD years earlier, but it was quite possible it was forced upon him by the Central Intelligence Agency. (The CIA and LSD) *** You don’t often hear of people being struck and killed by lightning – at least not nowadays. But pick up a paper from the early 1900s and you’d think people were doing it as a hobby. (Death By Electrical Storm) *** January 30th, 1835 was the date of the first attempt at assassinating a sitting U.S. President – Andrew Jackson. That fact itself doesn’t warrant placement in Weird Darkness, seeing as the attempt failed – but the story leading up to the attempt, and the attempt itself, certainly earn their place in this episode. (The President and the Madman) *** I’ll end the episode in the Chamber of Comments, but before that, my last story will the most disturbing one of the episode. Most ghosts are seemingly passive or even benevolent, appearing to scare people only by accident, never by intent. But then there are the stories of violent and angry ghosts – spirits that not only bring terror, but also bloodshed and even death by their own ghostly hands. We’ll look at some famous cases of violent hauntings throughout history.
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Show Open
00:02:39.659 = The Axeman’s Jazz
00:22:15.246 = ***CIA and LSD
00:29:01.021 = Death By Electrical Storm
00:34:15.324 = The President And The Madman
00:41:20.641 = ***Vicious And Violent Hauntings
01:02:01.000 = Show Close
*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad break
SOURCES and RESOURCES:
BOOK: “A Terrible Mistake: The Murder of Frank Olson and the CIA’s Secret Cold War Experiments” by H.P. Albarelli, Jr.: https://amzn.to/35gj9Xa
VIDEO: Coventry Poltergeist opens door and moves chair: https://youtu.be/SF_Rf-Jttk4
“The Axeman’s Jazz” by Kieran W. for Mystery Confidential: https://tinyurl.com/yxqsylvd
“The CIA and LSD” by Phillip Messing for the New York Post: https://tinyurl.com/ycywx8bn
“Death By Electrical Storm” from Pennsylvania Oddities: https://tinyurl.com/y3ngsdbq
“The President And The Madman” by Dr. Romeo Vitelli for Providentia: https://tinyurl.com/yyuvu36j
“Vicious and Violent Hauntings” by Robert F. Mason for Ranker: https://tinyurl.com/y5t9srwm=====(Over time links 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 ©2025, Weird Darkness.=====Originally aired: November 09, 2020
EPISODE PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/axemansjazz
ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all thing strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold case murders, conspiracy theories, and more. On Thursdays, this scary stories podcast features horror fiction along with the occasional creepypasta. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “Best 20 Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a cross between “Coast to Coast” with Art Bell, “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling, “Unsolved Mysteries” with Robert Stack, and “In Search Of” with Leonard Nimoy.DISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.
#WeirdDarkness #TrueCrime #AxemanOfNewOrleans #UnsolvedMysteries #SerialKiller #NewOrleansHistory #JazzAgeMurders #HistoricalTrueCrime #UnsolvedMurders #CreepyHistory