In 1931, a lonely Illinois widow and her three children vanished after she fell for a charming stranger's love letters—only for police to discover their bodies in the concrete dungeon he'd built behind his West Virginia home.

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IN THIS EPISODE: Scrying is the act of gazing into a reflective or translucent object to open your intuition. This supposedly allows the scryer to gain information they may not have access to normally inside their conscious mind. Often the object used for this is the often seen, but often misunderstood crystal ball. (Little Known Secrets Of The Crystal Ball) *** 
Five hundred years ago, Europe saw its first rhinoceros in more than a thousand years. Well, sort of. In reality, it was an accidental fake. (Dürer's Rhinoceros) *** A physics paper proposes neither you nor the world around you are real. If that’s true, then does that mean you’re not actually listening to this podcast? (What If I Only Think I’m Real?) *** When it comes to mythical monsters, the dragon seems to have never lost its celebrity. Dragons have always been popular – not just on multi-million-dollar cable channels and blockbuster movies, but in games, posters, artwork, and tales young and old, generation over generation, in just about every culture. (Dragons and Dragon Kings) *** An extra-marital affair in 1812 resulted in a pregnancy, and a murder. And evidence of the term “sins of the father” also comes into play. (A Most Horrible Murder in Hankelow) *** From "The Beast" to "The Red Ripper" to "The Candy Man," child murderers might be the most terrifying people to ever walk the Earth. We’ll look at a few serial killers who thought nothing of murdering the most innocent of humanity. (Killers of Children)
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.
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Killers of Children, Part 1
00:03:33.682 = Show Open
00:05:56.921 = Killers of Children, Part 2
00:13:09.188 = Durer’s Rhinoceros
00:18:47.405 = What If I Only Think I’m Real?
00:26:14.105 = Dragons and Dragon Kings
00:32:06.782 = A Most Horrible Murder in Hankelow
00:39:55.122 = Little Known Secrets of the Crystal Ball
00:51:01.715 = Show Close
SOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE…
ARTICLE: “Self-Simulation Hypothesis...” in the journal Entropy: https://tinyurl.com/ybhulhwx
“Killers of Children” by Gabe Poeletti for All That’s Interesting: https://tinyurl.com/yd4dqgdb
“Dürer's Rhinoceros” by Kaushik Patowary for Amusing Planet: https://tinyurl.com/y9lytn3a
“What If I Only Think I’m Real?” by Paul Ratner for Big Think: https://tinyurl.com/yab3hgx7
“Dragons and Dragon Kings” by A. Sutherland for Ancient Pages: https://tinyurl.com/y9mjx2tf
“A Most Horrible Murder in Hankelow” by Sarah Murden for Georgian Era: https://tinyurl.com/yahesdpl
“Little Known Secrets Of The Crystal Ball” by Brent Sprecher for Ranker: https://tinyurl.com/ybnrrd4n
=====(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: July 30, 2020
NOTE: Some of this content may have been created with assistance from AI tools, but it has been reviewed, edited, narrated, produced, and approved by Darren Marlar, creator and host of Weird Darkness — who, despite popular conspiracy theories, is NOT an AI voice.
EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/LonelyHeartsKiller
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