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Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories

“TOWN OF THE LIVING DEAD: The Hawks Nest Tunnel Tragedy” and More True Terrors! #WeirdDarkness

Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories

Darren Marlar

History, True Crime, Society & Culture, Documentary

4.64.1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2025

⏱️ 49 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

During the Great Depression, a deadly tunnel project turned a small Appalachian town into the 'Town of the Living Dead' – a true crime story of greed, neglect, and dozens of lost graves.

Darkness Syndicate members get the ad-free version. https://weirddarkness.com/syndicate
Info on the next LIVE SCREAM event. https://weirddarkness.com/LiveScream
Info on the next WEIRDO WATCH PARTY event. https://weirddarkness.com/TV

IN THIS EPISODE: It was a tale that most considered simply gossip, or the town’s urban legend. The rich and powerful made sure it stayed a secret; but all secrets eventually come to light – especially those covered in racism, tragedy, and hundreds of deaths. It’s the truth behind the Hawk’s Nest Tunnel tragedy. (Town Of The Living Dead) *** A teenager shares his story of being abducted by aliens. You may dismiss it as a nightmare or sleep paralysis, but then how do you explain the injection marks on his body? (Tall Black Shiny Aliens) *** A Weirdo family member tells us why we should be cautious when we hear dogs howling. (When The Dogs Howl) *** Most stories about the men in black are of an aggressive nature, with victims being questioned by them, even threatened into remaining silent. But one man had a strange encounter where the MIB saved his life. (Helped By Four Men In Black) *** It’s always a bit scary sleeping in a new house that very first night. But sometimes, as one Weird Darkness fan discovered, there is reason to be frightened. (Whispers In The Night) *** They found the first body stuffed inside the church library's closet. Then a second body turned up. I’ll share the creepy case of Theo Durrant – San Francisco’s “Jack the Ripper”. (Demon of the Belfry) *** Outside of Washington, D.C. lies an abandoned institution with a thoroughly disturbing past. (The Madness of Forest Haven Asylum)

CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Disclaimer and Cold Open
00:01:51.271 = Show Intro
00:04:50.026 = Town of the Living Dead
00:19:52.650 = Helped By Four Men In Black
00:21:52.716 = When The Dogs Howl (from a Weird Darkness listener)
00:24:00.748 = Demon of the Belfry
00:29:25.371 = Tall, Black Shiny Aliens
00:31:36.527 = Whispers In The Night
00:35:11.692 = Forest Haven Asylum
00:43:17.439 = Show Close

SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE…
“Town of the Living Dead” by Troy Taylor: http://bit.ly/2W12NvE
“Demon of the Belfry” by Orrin Grey: http://bit.ly/2JJbsiO
“Tall, Black, Shiny Aliens” by RR: http://bit.ly/2VURTHJ
“The Madness of Forest Haven Asylum” by Gary Sweeney: http://bit.ly/32xCSOm
“When The Dogs Howl” by KJ – submitted directly to http://www.WeirdDarkness.com
“Whispers In The Night” by Zenovia Caldwell: http://bit.ly/2VUUQrN
“Helped By Four Men In Black”: http://bit.ly/2VURTHJ
Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library.
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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.)
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"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: July 18, 2018
SOURCES PAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/hawksnest
TRANSCRIPT: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/23esjm6d

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Throughout history, humanity has been captivated by the supernatural, from ghost stories

0:05.7

and eerie events to communication with the other side. Our next Weird Darkness Live

0:10.2

Scream is Saturday night January 25th, and I'll be sharing stories from Troy Taylor's book,

0:15.9

Cabinet of Curiositys, where he gives us the backstories of several objects that have touched

0:20.7

the supernatural or paranormal.

0:22.7

This isn't just about haunted items. There are also historic artifacts like a trumpet,

0:27.7

a set of shackles and chains, a box of letters, an ordinary camera, and more. I'll get through

0:32.9

as many of them as I can during the live screen. If you love ghosts, you'll definitely want to join us,

0:38.5

and invite others to listen in as well. Our next live scream is Saturday night, January 25th, at 5 p.m.

0:44.2

Pacific, 6 p.m. Mountain, 7 p.m. Central, 8 p.m. Eastern. It takes place live on camera on the

0:50.2

Weird Darkness YouTube channel and on the live screen page at WeirdDarkness.com.

0:54.9

That's Weirddarkness.com slash live scream.

0:57.7

Hope to see you Saturday, January 25th.

1:00.5

Hey, Weirdos.

1:01.4

Our next Weirdo Watch Party is Saturday, January 18th.

1:04.7

And sci-fi film host and all-around nice guy, Juk Sua, is back with another terrible B-movie.

1:11.5

This one from the infamously inept Roger Corman.

1:14.9

From 1958, it's War of the Satellites.

1:18.0

And yet you propose to follow this tenth failure with another attempt, using more of your

1:22.4

volunteers?

1:23.4

An unknown force declares war against planet Earth when the United Nations disobeys

1:28.7

warnings to cease and desist in its attempts at assembling the first satellite in the atmosphere.

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