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Weird Darkness: Stories of the Paranormal, True Crime, Legends, Lore, Mysterious, Macabre, Unsolved

THE SNALLYGASTER: Maryland’s Blood-Sucking Sky Monster (Heptagrams, Tentacles, and Terror!)

Weird Darkness: Stories of the Paranormal, True Crime, Legends, Lore, Mysterious, Macabre, Unsolved

Darren Marlar

True Crime, History, Society & Culture, Documentary, Science, Religion & Spirituality

4.64K Ratings

🗓️ 18 May 2025

⏱️ 69 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What began as eerie tales of a bloodthirsty winged beast terrorizing Maryland would soon unravel into one of the most bizarre and brilliant hoaxes in American cryptid history.

Download the FREE WORD SEARCH and CROSSWORD For This Episode: https://weirddarkness.com/snallygaster

Join the DARKNESS SYNDICATE: https://weirddarkness.com/syndicate
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.
IN THIS EPISODE: Can you perform an exorcism using your smartphone? The Catholic church now says you can! (Exorcism of Demons by Phone) *** Does the ghost of a murdered child haunt East Lake Park in Birmingham, Alabama? (Child of the Lake) *** A young female college student vanished into nowhere in December of 1946 and became a mystery that would haunt the sleepy town forever. (The Disappearance of Paula Jean Weldon) *** An elderly woman requests to be buried upon her death, but the family cremates her instead. And that is when the vampire arrived. (The Wallasey Vampire) *** Orbs, late-night taps on the window, shadow figures, and more haunt a new home. (Creepy Happenings In The Middle of the Night) *** John Kraft noticed the neighbors, the Jacob Wolf family, had left their laundry on the clothesline overnight and their horses untended. He went to investigate and stumbled into what might be the most horrific crime scene in North Dakota history. (The Wolf Family Murders) *** Was the creature real? Where was it hiding? Why had only some people seen it? The Snallygaster terrorized Maryland and Washington in the 1730s – and we begin there, first! (Surprising End To Legend Of The Snallygaster) *** Mainstream journalists, the Travel Channel, the History Channel and the Discovery Channel have all investigated a certain home in Atchison, Kansas due its paranormal activities. What secrets lie within the Sallie House? (Secrets of the Sallie House) *** How can thousands of people instantly vanish without a trace? (3,000 Soldiers Vanish Into Thin Air) *** A child’s mother slowly dies of lung cancer at home – then continues to live there after her passing. (Sounds In The Night) *** Was the death of Meriwether Lewis a murder or a suicide? This early 1800s mystery continues to baffle historians and detectives alike. (The Death of Meriwether Lewis) *** No one knows the motive of a mysterious murder that took place in 1866 New York. In fact, they still have no suspects. (A Mysterious Murder) *** The gift of a cross to protect a couple from a poltergeist, ends up creating more unusual events. (Poltergeist – The Disappearing Cross)

CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Lead-In
00:00:39.563 = Show Open
00:03:46.803 = Surprising End to the Legendary Snallygaster
00:08:04.778 = Exorcising Demons By Smartphone
00:10:27.513 = Child of the Lake
00:14:57.373 = The Disappearance of Paula Jean Weldon
00:19:14.865 = The Wallasey Vampire
00::25:43.494 = Creepy Happenings in the Middle of the Night
00:27:13.845 = The Wolf Family Murders
00:32:41.683 = Sinister Secrets of the Sallie House
00:40:09.381 = 3,000 Soldiers Vanish Into Thin Air
00:44:02.899 = Sounds In The Night
00:50:28.278 = The Death of Meriwether Lewis
00:56:11.536 = A Mysterious Murder”
00:58:23.319 = Poltergeist – The Disappearing Cross
01:04:39.888 = Show Close

SOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE…
“Surprising End to the Legend of the Snallygaster” by Ellen Lloyd for Ancient Pages:https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/4mfk3kdw
“Exorcism of Demons by Phone” from Earth Chronicles of Life: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/4y9x7v4w
“Child of the Lake” from GhostsNGhouls.com (link no longer available)
“The Disappearance of Paula Jean Weldon” by Doug MacGowan for Historic Mysteries:https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2b8ujh84
“The Wallasey Vampire” by Tom Slemen for Wirral Globe: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/c9p28b2u
“Creepy Happenings in the Middle of the Night” by Malcolm Deanings for MyHauntedLifeToo.com:https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/jzbystwy
“The Wolf Family Murders” by Troy Larson for Ghosts of North Dakota: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/5xh9swyk
“Sounds In The Night”: (written by an unknown author - link no longer available)
“The Death of Meriwether Lewis” by Doug MacGowan for HistoricMysteries.com: http://bit.ly/30vvYZp
“3,000 Soldiers Vanish Into Thin Air” by Ellen Lloyd for MessageToEagle.com: http://bit.ly/2YBUWEM
“Sinister Secrets of the Sallie House”: (written by an unknown author - link no longer available)
“A Mysterious Murder” by Robert Wilhelm for MurderByGaslight.com: http://bit.ly/2LXIfm8
“Poltergeist – The Disappearing Cross” by Keith Linder for MyHauntedLifeToo.com: http://bit.ly/2Jt2ZQI
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(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
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WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.
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Originally aired: September, 2018
EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/snallygaster

Snallygaster, Cryptid legend, Maryland folklore, American cryptids, Paranormal stories, Mythical creatures, Giant bird sightings, Dragon-like monster, Urban legend, Folklore hoax, Creepy American legends, Unsolved mysteries, Weird history, Cryptid hoaxes, Haunted Maryland, Paranormal creature, Snallygaster explained, Strange creature sightings, Theodore Roosevelt cryptid, Dwayyo vs Snallygaster

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Wake up! The Jones is a redo in their garden! Love that porcelain paven and all that fencing.

0:05.4

I knew it. They've been with their landscaper to Jusen.

0:07.9

A mini-digger! No wonder she was so smug at Zumba! Right, I want a sunken seating area. She won't have that.

0:14.2

For materials, tool hire, timber and paving. Don't waste time. Duason's got the lot.

0:19.0

Like Teralis, porcelain p pay in from only 22 pounds per square metre.

0:22.4

Love it.

0:23.1

All trade prices exclude VAT at 20%.

0:25.9

So now you can keep up with the Joneses.

0:28.0

And the Evanses.

0:29.2

And the Bertels.

0:31.3

Do you like my hororable humor episodes called Mind of Marler?

0:36.0

If so, and you'd like more, it now has its very own podcast.

0:40.0

Comedic creeps, sarcastic scares, frivolous freights, macabre madness.

0:45.2

Every week I dive into strange history, twisted true crime, and paranormal weirdness.

0:50.0

All the stuff he'd expect from me on weird darkness, but delivered with dark comedy,

0:54.9

satire,

0:57.1

and just the right amount of absurdity.

1:02.0

Monsters, myths, mysteries, mirth, and more every Monday with Mind of Marler.

1:03.8

I like alliteration, can you tell?

1:08.6

You can find a list of where you can subscribe to the podcast at Weird Darkness.com under the menu tab for podcasts.

1:12.6

The Snelligaster legend is very old and long-lived.

1:18.3

The first sightings of this giant, fearsome bird took place in the 1730s.

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