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Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories

“THE SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION OF MARY HARDY REESER” and More Horrifying True Stories! #WeirdDarkness

Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories

Darren Marlar

History, True Crime, Society & Culture, Documentary

4.64.1K Ratings

🗓️ 8 April 2023

⏱️ 75 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Help spread the darkness! VOTE FOR THIS EPISODE at https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/mvjsnkbz – you can vote up to 3X per day! Find Weird Darkness in your favorite podcast app at https://weirddarkness.com/listen. PLEASE SHARE WEIRD DARKNESS® in your social media and with others who loves paranormal stories, true crime, monsters, or unsolved mysteries like you do!
IN THIS EPISODE: Most crimes are pretty ordinary – assault, robbery, the occasional murder, but once in a while a crime is committed in a strange, shocking way – to the point it’s almost hard to believe what you are hearing is a true story. I’ll share a few of those strange crimes. (Creepy Crimes and Crazy Criminals) *** One of the reasons we find chimpanzees so interesting is because they are so much like humans – in body shape, the way they express themselves, it’s eerie sometimes. But still, we know they are just apes. Then there is the strange case of Oliver – a chimpanzee that also appeared to be human. Or was he a human that appeared to be a chimpanzee? Or, is it possible, that Oliver was a genuine genetic hybrid of the two? We’ll look at his incredibly strange story. (Oliver, The Humanzee) *** Some hauntings are more terrifying than others – and some are stranger than others. What happened to the Palzon family in Zaragoza, Spain possibly qualifies for both. They didn’t have a typical haunting – this was no poltergeist or spirit of a recently passed person… they were terrorized by a horrifying goblin. (The Zaragoza Goblin) *** Most haunted paintings are hundreds of years old – but one in particular was painted in the late 20th Century, and to many, it is the most disturbing painting they’ve ever laid eyes on. (The Hands Resist Him) *** When police found her in 1951, she was almost entirely ash. But mysteriously, the rest of her apartment remained almost perfectly intact. We’ll look at the death of Mary Reeser – which became known as “The Cinder Woman Case”. (Did Mary Hardy Reeser Spontaneously Combust?)
SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LINKS…
“The Hands Resist Him” by Jenne Gentry for ListVerse: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/mtmj2ysr
“Oliver, The Humanzee” by Bipin Dimri for Historic Mysteries: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2ttc3p8s
“The Zaragoza Goblin” by Brent Swancer for Mysterious Universe: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2jxxdd6b
“Did Mary Hardy Reeser Spontaneously Combust?” by Tommy Thompson for Talk Murder: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p937wec
“Creepy Crimes and Crazy Criminals” by C.J. Phillips for ListVerse: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8b3dyw
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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 12:46WeirdDarkness™ - is a production and trademark of Marlar House Productions. © 2023, Weird Darkness.
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TRANSCRIPT: https://weirddarkness.com/archives/14974

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Book your ticket to happiness with Sun Express Airlines. Stories and content in weird darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and is intended for mature audiences only.

0:43.8

Parental discretion is strongly advised.

0:49.5

On the morning of July 2nd, 1951, a St. Petersburg resident named Pansy Carpenter went to deliver a

0:56.4

telegram to a resident, 67 year old Mary Harder Reiser. She found the

1:01.6

door knob to the apartment at 1200 Cherry Street hot to the touch and called the police.

1:07.0

The horror they found inside that apartment touched off an investigation that would be debated for decades.

1:15.2

What's known is that Mary Harder Reiser was nearly completely cremated.

1:20.1

Reportedly only her skull, a portion of her spine, and her left foot had not been reduced to ashes.

1:26.8

The foot was found still in a slipper.

1:30.3

The chair in which she had been seated showed signs of fire damage, as did a few nearby items,

1:36.0

but overall the apartment showed few signs of fire.

1:40.1

The St. Petersburg chief of police at the time was disturbed enough by the unlikely scene of

1:44.8

Rieser's demise to send evidence to the FBI.

1:48.5

It was one of the first cases of potential spontaneous human combustion to be investigated by national law enforcement.

1:57.0

I'm Darren Marler and this is Weird Darkness. darkness.

2:03.0

Welcome, weirdos, I'm Darren Marler, and this is Weirdos.

2:09.0

I'm Darren Marler, and this is Weird Darkness. Here you'll find stories of the

2:15.2

paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, crime, conspiracy, mysterious and this episode. Most crimes are pretty ordinary.

2:33.9

Assault, robbery, the occasional murder, but once in a while a crime is committed in a

2:39.0

strange, shocking way.

2:41.2

To the point, it's almost hard to believe what you're hearing is a true story.

2:45.0

I'll share a few of those strange crimes.

...

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