The Devil Within

The Eyes of Fear The New Monsters – Story Five, Episode Three Why do monsters survive in an age of science? Why do ancient fears continue to evolve in a world filled with smartphones, surveillance cameras, artificial intelligence, and instant access to information? And why, after nearly thirty years, do people still report encounters with the Black-Eyed Children? In the concluding chapter of this three-part investigation, The Devil Within moves beyond eyewitness accounts and paranormal speculation to explore a more fascinating question: why do stories like this refuse to die? This week, Branden Morgan examines the remarkable science behind memory, intuition, and eyewitness testimony, revealing why the human brain is far more sophisticated—and far less reliable—than most of us realize. Are the Black-Eyed Children evidence of something supernatural? Could they be the product of suggestion, folklore, and the extraordinary way our minds reconstruct emotionally charged experiences? Or does the truth lie somewhere between those two possibilities? As the investigation unfolds, we discover that the legend's greatest strength may have nothing to do with black eyes at all. Instead, it lies in a deeply familiar human experience: the unsettling feeling that something is wrong long before we can explain why. It is a sensation nearly everyone has experienced at some point in life—a warning whispered by instinct before conscious thought has assembled the evidence. The episode then widens its lens to examine the evolution of modern mythology itself. From the changelings of Celtic folklore to vampires, fairies, ghost children, and finally the Black-Eyed Children, every civilization has created stories about strangers who appear almost human while violating some deeply rooted expectation of what it means to be safe. These legends are less about proving the supernatural than preserving emotional truths that transcend generations. As The Black-Eyed Children comes to its haunting conclusion, the series also completes the first chapter of The New Monsters. Together, these stories have explored the fears that define our age. The Frogman reflected our growing anxiety over environmental collapse. The Montauk Monster embodied our suspicion of powerful institutions. Slender Man demonstrated that mythology can now be created collaboratively by millions of strangers. The Backrooms transformed the architecture of modern life into the haunted houses of the twenty-first century. And now, The Black-Eyed Children ask perhaps the oldest question of all: Can we still trust what appears familiar? Because every generation creates its own monsters. But the greatest monsters have never been the creatures lurking in the darkness. They've always been the ones standing in the light. Next time on The New Monsters, we investigate one of the strangest pieces of modern cryptid folklore ever captured on camera. A grainy security video from Fresno, California appears to show an impossible figure walking calmly across a suburban lawn. No arms. No visible torso. Just two impossibly long white legs gliding effortlessly through the darkness. Could it be a camera hoax? An elaborate costume? Or the birth of another modern monster? Join us as we investigate The Fresno Nightcrawler.

The New Monsters: The Black-Eyed Children - Part Two The Children at the Door They never break in. They never force the door. They simply ask. In the second chapter of The Black-Eyed Children, Branden Morgan investigates one of the most unsettling patterns in modern paranormal folklore. Following journalist Brian Bethel's now- famous encounter in Texas, reports of eerily similar experiences began surfacing across NorthAmerica. Different witnesses. Different cities. Different decades. Yet the stories shared an astonishing number of details. Two children. Late at night. Perfectly polite. An overwhelming sense that something is terribly wrong. And one simple request. "May we come inside?" This week, we examine the remarkable explosion of Black-Eyed Children sightings and the striking consistency that connects hundreds of eyewitness accounts. Why do these mysterious children almost always appear after dark? Why are they so courteous? Why do so many witnesses describe an instinctive feeling of dread before noticing anything physically unusual? And why do the encounters almost always end at a doorway, a car window, or some other symbolic threshold between safety and the unknown? As the investigation unfolds, we discover that this detail may be the key to understanding the entire legend. From ancient Roman beliefs surrounding doorways to Celtic fairy lore, vampire traditions, and centuries of folklore about supernatural beings requiring permission to enter a home, cultures around the world have long treated thresholds as more than simple entrances. They represent theboundary between order and chaos, the familiar and the unknown, hospitality and danger. Could the Black-Eyed Children simply be the latest chapter in one of humanity's oldest stories? Or have they become something entirely new?�Along the way, we explore the fascinating psychology behind intuition, examining why so many witnesses insist they felt overwhelming fear before they ever noticed the children's black, featureless eyes. Is that feeling evidence of something paranormal... or an extraordinary example of the human brain recognizing subtle danger before conscious thought catches up? Whether you believe the encounters are genuine, psychological, or simply modern folklore, one thing becomes impossible to ignore. The legend isn't really about black eyes. It's about the terrifying moment when kindness and self-preservation collide. Next week, The Black-Eyed Children reaches its conclusion as we explore eyewitness testimony, memory, mass suggestion, and the surprising ways modern mythology continues to evolve in an age of smartphones, artificial intelligence, and constant surveillance. We'll ask the question that has lingered beneath every episode of this series: What if the truth behind the legend matters less than the reason we've never stopped telling it?

The New Monsters: The Black-Eyed Children - Part One May We Come Inside? The New Monsters – Story Five, Episode One There are monsters that chase us through dark forests. There are monsters that wait beneath our beds. And then there are monsters that simply knock on the front door.�This week on The Devil Within, Branden Morgan begins a chilling new three-part investigation into one of the most enduring and unsettling legends of the internet age: The Black-Eyed Children. For nearly thirty years, ordinary people have reported eerily similar encounters with polite, soft-spoken children who appear unexpectedly at front doors, gas stations, parking lots, and lonely roadsides. They never force their way inside. They never make threats. They simply ask for help. A ride home. The use of a telephone. Permission to come inside. Then you notice their eyes. Completely black. No iris. No pupil. No white. In the first chapter of this new series, we travel back to Abilene, Texas, in 1996, where journalist Brian Bethel experienced what is widely considered the first modern encounter with the Black-Eyed Children. His extraordinary account would spread across the early internet, inspiring hundreds of similar reports and transforming a single frightening evening into one of the defining pieces of twenty-first-century folklore. But the story doesn't begin in Texas. As we explore the remarkable history behind the legend, we discover that humanity has been telling stories about children who aren't quite human for thousands of years. From the changelings of Celtic folklore to supernatural children appearing throughout European, Asian, and Indigenous traditions, every civilization seems to have inherited the same unsettling warning: sometimes evil doesn't arrive looking like a monster. Sometimes it arrives looking like innocence. Why do these stories appear across cultures separated by oceans and centuries? Why are human beings so deeply unsettled when children behave in ways that violate our expectations? And why does Brian Bethel's account continue to resonate with millions of people nearly three decades later? This isn't simply an investigation into a paranormal legend. It's an exploration of one of humanity's oldest fears—and the remarkable way ancient folklore continues to reinvent itself in the modern world. Next week, the legend explodes beyond a single eyewitness account. We'll examine the hundreds of reported encounters that followed, uncover the remarkable similarities connecting them, and�investigate why these mysterious children almost always ask the same question before anything else. "May we come inside?"

THE DEVIL'S LEDGER Week of August 24, 2026 It is still freakin' August. This week on The Devil's Ledger, we surrender to the heat and turn our attention toward masked lunatics, black-eyed children, Victorian blackmail, spectacular fraud, and another trip into a supernatural dimension that desperately needs better lighting. We begin with The Creepiest Thing I Heard This Week: The Chucky Mask Spree. Philadelphia police say a masked man targeted at least half a dozen people during a bizarre early-morning spree, including a 40-year-old jogger whom he allegedly chased after asking whether she was ready to die. Surveillance cameras captured the suspect wearing a Chucky-style doll mask—and investigators noticed that beneath it he appeared to be wearing another black face covering. Fictional monsters are considerably less entertaining when someone decides to wear their face in the real world.

The Haunted Houses We Built The New Monsters – Story Four, Episode Three Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Things That Wait Between the Walls The New Monsters – Backrooms, Part Two Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You Have Been Here Before The New Monsters – Story Four, Episode One What if the most terrifying place you've ever imagined isn't a haunted mansion, an abandoned asylum, or a forgotten cemetery? What if it's an office building? This week on The Devil Within, Branden Morgan begins a new three-part investigation into one of the internet's most extraordinary pieces of modern folklore: The Backrooms. What started as a single anonymous photograph posted online in 2019 quickly became a global phenomenon, inspiring millions of people to ask an unsettling question: "Why does this place feel so familiar?" Unlike the monsters we've explored throughout The New Monsters, the Backrooms have no ancient legend, no centuries of oral tradition, and no historical eyewitness accounts stretching back through time. Instead, they represent something entirely new—a mythology born from architecture itself. In this first chapter, we trace the mysterious origins of the now-famous photograph and examine the surprising psychology behind liminal spaces. Why do empty airports after midnight, deserted shopping malls, abandoned school hallways, and silent office buildings evoke such powerful feelings of unease? Why do so many people insist they've experienced the Backrooms long before they ever heard the name? Along the way, we explore the concept of "no-clipping," the language of modern video games that gave birth to one of the internet's most enduring horror concepts, and discover why the Backrooms resonate so deeply with a generation raised in a world of fluorescent lights, endless hallways, and anonymous commercial spaces. This isn't merely the story of an internet meme. It's the story of how an ordinary photograph revealed something extraordinary about the human mind—and how the buildings we constructed for efficiency may have accidentally become the haunted houses of the twenty-first century. Next week, the empty hallways won't remain empty for long. Thousands of strangers begin expanding the mythology, creating new levels, impossible creatures, explorer journals, survival guides, and one of the richest collaborative horror universes ever assembled online. We'll explore how the internet transformed a single unsettling image into an entire ecosystem of modern folklore, and why every civilization eventually feels compelled to populate its nightmares.

The Devil's Ledger — Week of August 17, 2026 The universe put on one hell of a show this week. We begin with Spain's spectacular August 12 solar eclipse and humanity's long, occasionally unhinged relationship with watching the sun disappear. For The Creepiest Thing I Heard This Week, we travel from ancient Greece—where an eclipse could signal that the gods had essentially abandoned humanity—to Choctaw stories of a giant black squirrel attempting to devour the sun and Vietnamese legends of a celestial frog swallowing it whole. And apparently scientific literacy hasn't completely saved us. Modern eclipse superstitions warn of poisoned food, birthday curses and even the possibility that washing your hair during an eclipse could somehow affect your sanity. Three thousand years ago we feared an angry god had extinguished the sun. Today we're worried about the potato salad. Progress remains uneven. Then, across the Evio Universe this week: On The Devil Within, The New Monsters continues with The Backrooms, the internet-born nightmare built around the idea that reality itself has seams. Slip through the wrong one and you could find yourself trapped inside an apparently endless maze of yellow wallpaper, stained carpeting, fluorescent lights and empty rooms. What began as an unsettling image evolved into an enormous collaborative mythology of levels, entities, rules and stories—and ultimately escaped the internet into games, movies and mainstream popular culture. On Criminal Mischief, Carolyn Ossorio breaks down the extraordinary new developments surrounding Luigi Mangione. Following his federal guilty plea in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, attention now turns toward New York's pending murder case and an increasingly important question: double jeopardy. Federal and state governments are generally treated as separate sovereigns under federal constitutional law, while New York provides additional statutory protections against successive prosecutions. Carolyn examines what Mangione's plea means, what it doesn't mean, and why the next major battle may happen before another jury ever hears the case. On The Slippery, we meet Olga Rutterschmidt and Helen Golay, the elderly Los Angeles women whose apparent efforts to help unhoused men concealed an astonishing insurance scheme. Prosecutors established that the pair befriended vulnerable men, obtained numerous life-insurance policies on them and eventually murdered Paul Vados and Kenneth McDavid in staged hit-and-run incidents before collecting millions in insurance proceeds. The scheme began unraveling when one detective overheard another discussing a suspicious death and remembered an eerily similar case. The same two women appeared in both files. From there came insurance investigators, undercover operations and the slow dismantling of an extraordinary criminal enterprise. And This Week in Horror, we're talking Ice Cream Man, Eli Roth's gleefully deranged throwback to the excesses of 1980s horror: an idyllic summer town, a mysterious ice cream man and frozen treats capable of turning children into homicidal killers. It's bloody, ridiculous and precisely the sort of movie that understands sometimes the best horror premise begins by taking something completely innocent and ruining it forever. So keep looking toward the stars, enjoy these final weeks of summer, and we'll see you somewhere this week across the Evio Universe.

When the Story Drew Blood The New Monsters : Slender Man - Part Three Some stories entertain us. Others change us. This week's episode of The Devil Within explores the moment when one of the internet's most famous legends collided with the real world, forever changing how we think about digital folklore, childhood, and the stories we tell ourselves. In May of 2014, two twelve-year-old girls led their best friend into the woods outside Waukesha, Wisconsin, believing they were acting on behalf of Slender Man. The shocking attack dominated headlines around the world and immediately sparked fears that an internet horror story had somehow escaped the screen. But as investigators, psychologists, and psychiatrists began examining the case, a far more complicated picture emerged. This episode follows that investigation—not to sensationalize a tragedy, but to understand it. We separate documented psychiatric evidence from public speculation, exploring how mythology, mental illness, childhood development, and the digital world intersected in ways that defied the simple explanations so many desperately wanted. From courtroom testimony and psychological evaluations to the broader cultural aftermath, we examine why Slender Man became much more than an internet character. He became a case study in how modern folklore spreads, how vulnerable minds can incorporate cultural symbols into delusional beliefs, and why stories have always reflected the fears of the societies that create them. The journey doesn't end in Waukesha. We follow Slender Man's transformation from internet horror icon into a subject of academic research, documentaries, and popular culture, asking what historians may one day conclude about the first monster humanity watched being born in real time. Ultimately, this isn't a story about whether Slender Man was real. It's about the very real power of stories, the responsibility we carry as storytellers, and the timeless human instinct to search for meaning in places where certainty is impossible. Next week, The New Monsters turns away from creatures entirely and steps into a place that has never existed—and yet somehow feels hauntingly familiar. It begins with a single photograph of an empty office hallway. No blood. No ghost. No monster. Just fluorescent lights, stained carpeting, and the unsettling feeling that you've been there before. Welcome to The Backrooms, where the internet didn't create a monster... It created a memory.

When Fiction Escaped the Screen The New Monsters – Story Three, Episode Two Every legend eventually reaches a moment when it no longer belongs to the person who created it. King Arthur escaped the poets who first imagined Camelot. Dracula grew far beyond Bram Stoker's novel. Frankenstein's creature became more famous than Victor Frankenstein himself. Stories survive because generations of strangers decide they're worth retelling. In this week's episode of The Devil Within, Branden Morgan explores the extraordinary moment when that same process unfolded before our eyes. Just days after Eric Knudsen introduced Slender Man to the internet, thousands of artists, writers, filmmakers, gamers, and ordinary people began adding pieces to the mythology. No studio coordinated the effort. No publisher managed the continuity. Instead, millions of strangers unknowingly collaborated on what became history's first truly open-source monster. The journey takes us from the Something Awful forums to Marble Hornets, the groundbreaking YouTube series that transformed viewers into investigators and proved that horror could thrive not through expensive special effects, but through participation. Along the way, we examine why the internet accelerated folklore in ways no civilization had ever experienced before, compressing a process that once required centuries into only a few months. But beneath the story of Slender Man lies a much larger question. What happens when technology allows millions of people to create the same myth together? Perhaps the internet didn't change human nature at all. Perhaps it simply became the newest campfire around which we gather to tell stories. Next week, the series reaches its devastating conclusion as fiction collides with reality in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Two twelve-year-old girls commit one of the most shocking crimes of the digital age after convincing themselves they must prove their loyalty to Slender Man. The case horrified the world and forced psychologists, investigators, journalists, and parents to confront a question that remains deeply unsettling: Can a fictional monster bear responsibility for real-world violence, or does the answer reveal something far more disturbing about ourselves? The Devil Within is written and hosted by Branden Morgan and produced by Evio Creative.

The Day We Invented a MonsterThe New Monsters – Episode One For thousands of years, humanity has created monsters. But we rarely know who created them. Vampires emerged from centuries of whispered folklore. Werewolves wandered through medieval Europe long before anyone thought to record the first storyteller's name. Ghosts belonged to abandoned houses, forgotten battlefields, and generations of frightened imaginations. Then, in June of 2009, something unprecedented happened. An ordinary graphic designer entered an online Photoshop contest and unknowingly created the first monster whose birth was documented almost frame by frame. His name was Eric Knudsen. The creature he imagined became known as Slender Man. This week on The Devil Within, Branden Morgan begins a three-part investigation into the first great myth of the internet age, exploring how a pair of manipulated photographs evolved into one of the most influential pieces of modern folklore ever created. More importantly... Why were millions of people so eager to believe? This isn't simply the story of Slender Man. It's the story of how the internet became humanity's newest campfire—and how mythology no longer requires centuries to evolve. In This Episode The horrifying 2014 Waukesha stabbing that introduced Slender Man to the world Why every civilization creates monsters The technological and cultural conditions that made Slender Man inevitable The rise of social media, YouTube, Reddit, and collaborative storytelling The Something Awful Photoshop Contest of June 2009 Eric Knudsen (Victor Surge) and the creation of Slender Man Why the monster's faceless design unsettles the human brain The psychology of the "uncanny" How thousands of strangers transformed one image into modern folklore Themes Explored Digital folklore Internet mythology Collective storytelling The psychology of fear Urban legends Horror history Media culture The evolution of folklore Modern monsters Slender Man Creepypasta Featured Topics The 2014 Waukesha case (introductory context) Eric Knudsen (Victor Surge) Something Awful Forums Photoshop Contest (June 8, 2009) The Uncanny Valley Collaborative internet culture Early social media The birth of Creepypasta Digital mythology The story doesn't end with two manipulated photographs. It begins there. Coming Next Week In Episode Two, When Fiction Escaped the Screen, Slender Man no longer belongs to his creator. YouTube filmmakers, artists, gamers, writers, and millions of strangers begin adding new chapters until something extraordinary happens. For the first time in history... we watch folklore evolve in real time. The Devil Within is written and hosted by Branden Morgan. Produced by Evio Creative. Watch full episodes and exclusive content on the Evio Creative YouTube Channel. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the show, leave a rating and review, and share it with someone who loves history, folklore, and the darker corners of human imagination. Your support helps us continue exploring the stories that reveal not only the monsters we create—but why we create them.

THE DEVIL'S LEDGERWeek of August 10, 2026 Apparently, I've spent the last few weeks lying to myself about fall being “just around the corner.” Then the calendar rudely reminds me that it's early August, the sidewalks are hot enough to cook breakfast, and summer is still very much... summering. Hang in there, people. We'll get there eventually. This week on The Devil's Ledger, we begin with The Creepiest Thing I Heard This Week and travel to the wetlands of Southern Maryland, where Kings Landing Park has attracted renewed paranormal attention surrounding a mysterious figure known as Mary. Visitors, staff, and investigators have reported unexplained cries, footsteps without an obvious source, and sightings of a sorrowful young woman dressed in white wandering near the marsh before disappearing among the trees. Then, on The Devil Within, The New Monsters continues with Slender Man, perhaps the perfect case study in how modern folklore can be created before our eyes. We trace the legend from an online Photoshop contest through its explosive growth across the internet and into the horrifying real-world Wisconsin stabbing, asking what happens when millions of people are suddenly able to participate in building a mythology together. Criminal Mischief is taking the week off while Carolyn prepares for another ambitious deep-dive limited series planned for early next year. There's much more coming on that front, so stay tuned. Over on The Slippery, we pull back the mask on one of the strangest double lives in modern true crime: ChiefsAholic. Xaviar Babudar became a familiar sight at Kansas City Chiefs games in his towering gray wolf costume, while authorities say the high-stakes gambler was simultaneously responsible for a string of violent bank robberies across the Midwest. This week, The Slippery follows the police reports and financial trail behind the superfan whose obsession with football, gambling, and an increasingly chaotic lifestyle eventually made him a fugitive. And This Week in Horror, we head to the Italian countryside for Immaculate, starring Sydney Sweeney. Cecilia arrives at an isolated convent expecting a life devoted to faith, only to discover increasingly disturbing miracles, sinister rituals, and secrets buried within the institution around her. Atmospheric, beautifully shot, and steeped in religious horror, this one is definitely worth checking out. Stay cool. Stay hydrated. For God's sake, wear sunscreen. Before long we'll all be complaining that it gets dark at 5:30 and arguing about Halloween candy. Until then, we'll see you somewhere across the Evio Universe.

The New Monsters: Montauk - Part Three The Monster We Needed The Montauk Monster was never just about a strange carcass lying on a Long Island beach. It was about trust. Why did millions of otherwise rational people immediately believe that a decomposing animal might be the product of secret government experiments? Why did Camp Hero, Plum Island, and decades of Cold War secrecy become inseparable from a single photograph? In the conclusion to our three-part Montauk investigation, Branden Morgan explores the uncomfortable answer: perhaps the creature itself never mattered. What mattered was the world that created it. From MKUltra and government secrecy to the internet's ability to accelerate folklore at unprecedented speed, this episode examines how modern myths emerge—not because people abandon reason, but because uncertainty demands a story. The Montauk Monster wasn't simply another cryptid. It may have been one of the first monsters truly born in the digital age. In This Episode: Why conspiracy theories flourish when public trust erodes The documented legacy of MKUltra and why it changed public perception How real government secrecy gave rise to modern folklore Why Camp Hero and Plum Island became fertile ground for speculation The psychology behind modern conspiracy thinking Why myths evolve faster than facts in the internet era The Montauk Monster as one of the first internet-born cryptids What the legend ultimately reveals about modern America—not biology The Devil Within Theme The greatest monsters are rarely the ones hiding in the shadows. They're the stories we create when certainty disappears. Featured This Week When people stop trusting the institutions that once explained the world, they don't stop believing altogether. They simply begin searching for new explanations. Sometimes those explanations become science. Sometimes history. And sometimes... they become monsters. Camp Hero and its Cold War history Plum Island and the facts behind decades of speculation MKUltra and the unintended birth of modern conspiracy culture How folklore migrated from campfires to message boards Why the internet has become humanity's newest myth-making machine Next Time on The New Monsters The investigation moves from abandoned military installations into an entirely different wilderness: The internet. In 2009, a simple Photoshop contest gave birth to a faceless figure known as Slender Man. He wasn't discovered in ancient folklore or whispered about for generations. He was deliberately created online. Then something extraordinary happened. People began claiming they had seen him. The story spread across forums, videos, games, and social media before culminating in one of the most disturbing crimes of the digital age. We'll examine how fiction escaped the screen, why the human mind embraced the impossible, and whether the internet has become the birthplace of an entirely new kind of mythology. If you're enjoying The New Monsters, please follow The Devil Within wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the video editions and exclusive companion content on the Evio Creative YouTube Channel. Follow @thedevilwithinpod on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube for behind-the-scenes content, historical photographs, and updates on future investigations. Written & Hosted by: Branden Morgan A production of Evio Creative.

The New Monsters: Montauk — Episode Two Long before the Montauk Monster washed ashore, there was another mystery already waiting at the eastern edge of Long Island. Its name was Camp Hero. Towering radar antennas once scanned the Atlantic from windswept bluffs overlooking the ocean, searching for Soviet bombers during the darkest years of the Cold War. Nearby, the federal laboratories of Plum Island quietly conducted research behind locked gates, fueling decades of speculation about what might be happening just beyond public view. History tells one story. Folklore tells another. In Episode Two of The New Monsters, Branden Morgan separates documented history from enduring myth, exploring how an abandoned military installation became one of America's greatest conspiracy legends—and why secrecy itself may be the most powerful monster of all. From Cold War air-defense systems and classified government programs to the infamous Montauk Project and the surprising origins of Stranger Things, this episode reveals how history, psychology, and imagination combined to create one of the most influential modern myths in America. Because before anyone believed in the Montauk Monster... they first had to believe in Montauk. The documented history of Camp Hero America's Cold War radar defense network Why abandoned military installations inspire folklore The real history of Plum Island and its animal disease laboratory The origins of the Montauk Project conspiracy How government secrecy fuels modern mythology Why Stranger Things was originally conceived as Montauk The psychology of conspiracy theories and belief How fiction and reality continue feeding one another Every generation creates the monsters it deserves. Ancient civilizations imagined dragons beyond the edge of the map. Medieval Europe feared witches. Modern America fears secret laboratories, classified research, and technologies hidden behind locked gates. The monsters evolve—but the fears beneath them remain remarkably familiar. If you're enjoying The New Monsters, please follow The Devil Within wherever you listen to podcasts. Watch every episode in video on the Evio Creative YouTube Channel, where you'll find archival photographs, historical documents, maps, and visual companions that bring these investigations to life. Follow @thedevilwithinpod on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube for exclusive clips, behind-the-scenes content, and updates on future investigations. Written & Hosted by: Branden Morgan A production of Evio Creative. In This EpisodeThe Devil Within Theme

The Devil's LedgerWeek of August 3, 2026 Summer has a way of making the world feel a little smaller. The days are long, the evenings are warm, vacations are winding down, and before we know it backpacks will replace beach towels and football will once again dominate our weekends. But this summer has also reminded us how fragile that world can be. This week, The Devil's Ledger opens with a heartfelt reflection on the devastating wildfires sweeping across Europe and the Pacific Northwest, exploring what these increasingly destructive fire seasons mean for future generations—and why protecting the environment may be one of the greatest gifts we can leave those who come after us. We begin, as always, with The Creepiest Thing I Heard This Week, examining a remarkable Bigfoot encounter in Connecticut that received one of the highest credibility ratings issued by the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization. Is it evidence of Sasquatch, or simply another chapter in America's longest-running monster story? More importantly, what does the public's reaction tell us about how modern folklore continues to evolve? On The Devil Within, Branden Morgan continues The New Monsters with the astonishing story of The Montauk Monster. What began as a mysterious carcass washing ashore on a Long Island beach quickly exploded into one of the internet's defining conspiracy theories, inspiring speculation about secret government experiments, Plum Island, and eventually influencing one of the biggest television phenomena of the century: Stranger Things. It's less a story about a dead creature than about how distrust gives birth to mythology. Over on Criminal Mischief, Carolyn Ossorio breaks down the latest developments in the Bryan Kohberger case following his attempt to withdraw his guilty plea. Why make such a dramatic legal move now? What does it mean for prosecutors, the victims' families, and the future of the case? Carolyn separates legal reality from media speculation in one of the year's most closely watched criminal proceedings. Meanwhile, The Slippery investigates the astonishing rise and spectacular downfall of Bikram Choudhury, the self-proclaimed yoga guru who built a worldwide empire on charisma, deception, and control before allegations of fraud, abuse, and sexual assault sent him fleeing the United States. It's the story of narcissism, manipulation, and the people courageous enough to expose one of wellness culture's biggest frauds. Finally, in This Week in Horror, we recommend Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. At first glance it may seem an unlikely horror recommendation, but its unforgettable visit to Circe's island—and its parade of monsters, gods, curses, and impossible journeys—proves that some of the greatest horror stories ever told were written thousands of years ago. Thank you for spending another week with us across the Evio Universe. Stay safe, enjoy these last precious weeks of summer, and we'll see you again next week with more stories that explore history, mystery, crime, horror, and the strange corners of the world we all share.

The Montauk Monster: The Beast on the Beach The New Monsters — Episode One In July 2008, a grotesque carcass washed ashore on a beach in Montauk, New York. Within hours, photographs of the strange creature had spread across the internet, igniting one of the first truly viral cryptid mysteries of the digital age. Was it a mutated experiment from nearby Plum Island? An escaped government bioweapon? Or simply a decomposing raccoon whose appearance had been distorted by nature and decomposition? In this premiere episode of The New Monsters, Branden Morgan explores far more than the identity of one dead animal. He investigates the birthplace of modern mythology itself—and asks why, in an era of smartphones and instant information, we continue creating monsters faster than ever before. From the abandoned radar towers of Camp Hero to decades of Cold War secrecy, from the government's heavily restricted Plum Island research facility to the cultural legacy that inspired Stranger Things, this episode examines how secrecy, abandoned places, and public distrust combine to create legends that feel almost impossible to resist. Because sometimes the monster isn't what washed ashore. Sometimes it's the story we needed to tell. In This EpisodeThe Devil Within Why the eastern tip of Long Island has attracted conspiracy theories for decades The forgotten military history of Camp Hero Plum Island and the research that fueled decades of speculation Why abandoned government facilities become breeding grounds for folklore How Stranger Things originally began as Montauk The psychology behind conspiracy theories The viral photograph that created one of America's newest monsters Why uncertainty is often more powerful than evidence Theme Distrust creates monsters. When institutions become secretive, information becomes scarce, and facts become difficult to verify, stories rush in to fill the void. The Montauk Monster isn't simply about a mysterious carcass—it represents the moment modern folklore went viral. If you're enjoying The New Monsters, please follow The Devil Within wherever you listen to podcasts. Watch every episode in video on the Evio Creative YouTube Channel, and join the conversation on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube @thedevilwithinpod. Written & Hosted by: Branden Morgan A production of Evio Creative.

The Devil Within The Monsters We Still Create Episode Three: The Things That Really Live Beneath the Water The Frogman of High Falls has led us on an unexpected journey. We began with a modern cryptid hiding in the mist beneath Rochester's famous waterfall. We explored the city's remarkable rise as an industrial powerhouse, examined how abandoned places inspire folklore, and discovered how the human mind—and now the internet—can transform uncertainty into legend. Now we arrive at the conclusion. In the final chapter of The Monsters We Still Create, Branden Morgan leaves mythology behind and follows the evidence back to the Genesee River itself. From the environmental awakening that reshaped America after rivers like the Cuyahoga caught fire, to the remarkable recovery of western New York's waterways, we explore the quiet reality that ecosystems remember everything we do to them. The true story isn't one of radioactive monsters or government experiments. It's the far more profound story of how nature absorbs our choices, adapts to them, and, when given the chance, begins to heal. But perhaps the Frogman was never really about amphibians at all. Perhaps he exists because every civilization creates monsters that reflect its deepest fears. Medieval Europe imagined demons lurking beyond the village. Frontier America feared endless�wilderness. Industrial America, having transformed rivers, forests, and landscapes beyond recognition, began imagining something waiting beneath the water—a creature born not from ancient curses, but from the uneasy relationship between progress and consequence. The Frogman may never have walked the banks of the Genesee River. But the questions he asks us are very real. Join us as we conclude this three-part series and discover why the greatest monsters have never been the ones hiding in the darkness—they're the ones that inspire us to finally look beneath the surface.

The Devil Within The Monsters We Still Create Episode Two: Watching a Legend Being Born In Episode Two of The Monsters We Still Create, we leave the history books behind and venture into something even more mysterious—the human mind. Why do intelligent, honest people become convinced they've witnessed something extraordinary? Why do some places seem to invite legends while others never do? This week, we explore the fascinating psychology behind eyewitness accounts, revealing how memory, expectation, and the unique atmosphere surrounding Rochester's High Falls can transform an ordinary moment into an unforgettable encounter. Standing beside the mist-filled Genesee River, where abandoned mills and restored factories share the same landscape, we discover why modern industrial ruins have become the perfect birthplace for twenty-first century monsters. Then we examine what may be the greatest storytelling invention in human history: the internet. Around ancient campfires, legends took generations to evolve. Today, a blurry photograph, a strange sound, or a single social media post can reach millions of people in a matter of hours. Is the Frogman of High Falls simply another cryptid—or are we witnessing the birth of folklore in real time? Sometimes monsters aren't discovered. Sometimes they're created. And sometimes, the most fascinating mystery isn't whether a creature exists, but why so many people want it to. Join us as we continue our search for The Frogman of High Falls—and discover why every generation creates the monsters it needs.

The Devil Within The Monsters We Still Create Episode One: A Monster for the Machine Age Every monster has an origin story. Some are born in the ancient forests of Europe. Others emerge from forgotten mountain ranges or disappear into the depths of dark lakes. But the Frogman of High Falls is different. He doesn't seem to come from medieval folklore or Indigenous legend. He appears suddenly, in the shadow of abandoned factories, crumbling mills, and one of America's great industrial rivers. In the first chapter of The Monsters We Still Create, Branden Morgan travels to Rochester, New York, where the Genesee River has carved its way through limestone for thousands of years. Long before Kodak, Xerox, and the Flour City transformed the landscape, High Falls stood as one of nature's enduring monuments. But as industry flourished, the river became both the engine of prosperity and the silent witness to everything civilization left behind. How does a city built on innovation become the birthplace of a brand-new monster? This episode explores the remarkable history of Rochester, the rise of American industry, the environmental scars left behind, and the fascinating realization that the Frogman of High Falls has almost no historical footprint before the modern era. Perhaps that's because this isn't an ancient legend at all. Perhaps it's a monster that could only have been born in the twentieth century. Join us as we begin a three-part exploration into one of America's newest cryptids—and ask whether monsters are discovered... or created.

The Devil's Ledger Week of July 27, 2026 The dog days of summer are here, but across the Evio Creative universe things are only getting stranger. This week, we explore one of the most unsettling developments in modern technology: an advanced AI agent that escaped its testing environment during a cybersecurity evaluation and successfully hacked another company's systems. It wasn't science fiction—but it may become something even more powerful: the first great campfire story of the AI age. As we launch The New Monsters, we examine how today's anxieties become tomorrow's folklore, and why every generation creates the monsters it needs. This Week on The Devil Within We begin an all-new documentary series: The New Monsters Our first stop is The Frogman of High Falls, New York—a cryptid unlike the legends of old. Born not from ancient superstition, but from polluted rivers, abandoned factories, environmental collapse, and our growing distrust of progress itself, the Frogman asks a haunting question: Do monsters emerge from nature... or from what we've done to it? This isn't just a story about a creature in the water. It's about how modern myths are born—and what they reveal about us. This Week on Criminal Mischief Carolyn Ossorio concludes her extraordinary investigation into the 2016 Pike County (Piketon) Murders. After weeks of reporting, exclusive interviews, and meticulous research, the series reaches its stunning conclusion as the suspects are revealed, the investigation unfolds from suspicion to arrest, and one of America's most shocking family homicide conspiracies finally goes to trial. If you've followed this investigation from the beginning, this is the episode you've been waiting for. This Week on The Slippery Debrief Scott and Nancy sit down with LeAnn Worrell, sister of Doris Worrell, for an intimate conversation about love, loss, betrayal, and a family's decades-long search for justice. It's a deeply personal interview that goes far beyond the headlines and offers a powerful reminder that every true crime story leaves real people behind. This Week in Horror Our recommendation this week is The Devil's Mouth, an upcoming survival thriller on Prime Video. A group of friends exploring an underwater cave system soon discovers they are trapped with a massive bull shark. Featuring Kathryn Newton, Lana Condor, Gavin Casalegno, and Nico Hiraga, it looks like the perfect summer survival thriller for horror fans. Follow the Evio Creative Network

The Devil Within Campfire Files: The House That Hadn't Been Emptied (Episode Three — The Last Night) Every vacation ends. Most end with photographs, souvenirs, and promises to return. This one ended before sunrise. In the breathtaking conclusion to Campfire Files, Nina and Paul spend one final night inside Birch House as a dense Atlantic fog and coastal storm isolate the cottage from the rest of the world. Outside, Penobscot Bay disappears beneath wind and rain. Inside, the house quietly resumes the routine it has practiced for generations. The locked room opens once more. The missing suitcase returns. And this time... it isn't empty. Inside are the belongings Nina and Paul intended to pack the following morning—carefully folded, organized, and waiting exactly as though someone, or something, had anticipated their departure before they had. As dawn approaches, they flee Birch House, abandoning part of their vacation and leaving behind questions that no caretaker, homeowner, or investigator can answer. Months later, after returning to Arizona, they discover that perhaps they never left the Bennett Place behind at all. The House That Hadn't Been Emptied concludes with a quiet realization that lingers long after the final page: perhaps old houses don't haunt people... Perhaps they simply refuse to forget them. In This Episode • A coastal storm traps Nina and Paul at Birch House. • The mysterious return of the missing suitcase. • A suitcase packed with their own belongings before they packed them. • The hurried escape from the Bennett Place before dawn. • The owner's unsettling final phone call. • A discovery months later that suggests some departures are never truly complete. • The conclusion of this summer's Campfire Files.

The Devil Within Campfire Files: The House That Hadn't Been Emptied (Episode Two — What the House Kept) Some mysteries begin with a strange noise. Others begin with a single name. This week, Campfire Files returns to the rocky coast of Maine as Nina and Paul attempt to convince themselves that the footsteps they heard the night before were nothing more than an old house settling into the cool Atlantic air. Morning, however, has other plans. The locked room at the end of the hallway is standing open. Inside, they discover what appears to be an ordinary family storage room filled with decades of forgotten memories. But hidden among the coats and keepsakes is an old leather suitcase bearing a luggage tag that should not exist. It has Nina's full legal name. Her middle name. Her home address in Phoenix. And no one should know any of it. When the owner sends the property's longtime caretaker to Birch House, the mystery only deepens. Walter Pike has spent his entire life watching over the Bennett Place, and he speaks about the house less like a building and more like an elderly relative. Then he shares a story passed down from his father about the last woman who lived there—a widow who kept suitcases packed for people who never came home. Her explanation has haunted the town ever since. "Departures are easier when the house knows who's leaving." As Walter searches the storage room, the suitcase disappears before their eyes, leaving behind a question no one—not even the caretaker—can answer. What, exactly, has Birch House been waiting for?�In This Episode • The mysterious opening of the locked storage room. • A suitcase bearing Nina's full name and home address. • The arrival of caretaker Walter Pike. • The history of the Bennett family and Margaret Bennett's strange ritual. • The unexplained disappearance of the suitcase. • The chilling realization that Birch House may not simply remember its visitors... • It may be preparing for them.

The Devil Within Campfire Files: The House That Hadn't Been Emptied (Episode One) There are vacation homes... And then there are homes that never stopped being lived in. This week, The Devil Within begins a brand-new Campfire Files novella with one of the most unsettling stories we've ever told. When Nina and Paul Alvarez leave the Arizona desert for a quiet week along the rocky coast of Maine, they're looking for exactly what every vacation promises: peace, fresh air, and a temporary escape from ordinary life. Instead, they discover Birch House—a charming nineteenth-century cottage whose history may be far more present than anyone realizes. As they settle into the rhythms of coastal Maine, something about the house feels... familiar. A locked room at the end of the upstairs hallway. Floorboards polished by generations of footsteps. A home that seems strangely reluctant to become just another vacation rental. Then, late on their first night... Someone walks across the second floor. The problem is... No one is there. In this opening chapter of The House That Hadn't Been Emptied, Branden Morgan explores why old houses seem to preserve more than photographs and furniture—and whether some homes ever truly stop belonging to the families who built them. Because sometimes... the hardest thing a house ever learns... is how to say goodbye. In This Episode • Why old homes feel fundamentally different from hotels.�• The history and quiet beauty of coastal Maine. • Birch House and the unspoken intimacy of vacation rentals. • Nina and Paul's arrival in Camden. • The mysterious locked room at the end of the upstairs hallway. • The first unexplained footsteps.

The Devil's Ledger | Week of July 20, 2026 This week on The Devil's Ledger, we celebrate an unforgettable month of football, explore one of the eeriest true crime deceptions of the digital age, conclude a haunting summer novella, and revisit two of the most compelling criminal investigations we've covered this year. We begin by congratulating Spain on capturing its second FIFA World Cup title after a thrilling championship match, while tipping our hats to North America for hosting one of the greatest sporting events the world has ever seen. Then, in The Creepiest Thing I Heard This Week, Branden examines the chilling murder of Gretchen Anthony and one of the most disturbing realities of the digital age: how a killer continued communicating with friends and family using the victim's own phone after her death. In a world where our phones have become extensions of ourselves, what happens when someone else begins speaking in your voice? On The Devil Within, Campfire Files comes to its unforgettable conclusion with The House That Hadn't Been Emptied. An Arizona couple's peaceful vacation along the rocky coast of Maine ends with a locked room, a mysterious caretaker, and a suitcase that somehow knows exactly who it's waiting for. It's a quiet, literary ghost story about memory, history, and the unsettling possibility that some houses never truly let their guests leave. Over on Criminal Mischief, Carolyn Ossorio concludes her investigation into the Pike County Massacre, following investigators as they unravel one of the most shocking murder conspiracies in modern American history after nearly an entire family was executed in a single night. On The Slippery, Scott and Nancy revisit a case they've pursued for nearly a decade: the 2006 murder of Doris Worrell. Following a dramatic arrest in 2025, they examine new evidence surrounding an alleged murder-for-hire plot that may finally bring long-awaited answers. Finally, in This Week in Horror, we recommend The Bay, a tense open-water survival thriller that proves the ocean can still be one of the scariest places on Earth. Stay cool, stay hydrated, and stay alert. You never know what's waiting around the next corner... or beneath the surface. We'll see you this week across the Evio Creative Universe. In This Episode • ⚽ Congratulations to Spain on winning the 2026 FIFA World Cup. •

The Devil Within Presents: The Campfire Files The City Beneath the City — Episode Three Every mystery reaches a point where two paths emerge. One leads back to reason. The other disappears into the impossible. In the epic conclusion to The City Beneath the City, Matt and Claire escape the Paris Catacombs convinced they can explain everything they experienced beneath the streets of France. The strange voices. The forgotten gallery. The impossible red scarf. Surely exhaustion, jet lag, and the disorienting atmosphere of the Catacombs are enough to account for it all. Until they return home. While organizing the photographs from their vacation, they discover images neither of them remembers taking. Images that place them inside a tunnel that, according to retired quarry engineers and historical records, has been sealed for more than fifty years. Then comes the final revelation. An inscription that shouldn't exist. A photograph with no timestamp. And a message that suggests the Catacombs were never trying to trap them... Only to remember them. Part travel memoir, part historical mystery, and part supernatural horror, The City Beneath the City concludes with one haunting question: What if the places we visit never truly let us leave? Join Branden Morgan for the unforgettable conclusion to this inaugural installment of The Campfire Files. �If you've enjoyed this series, please follow The Devil Within, leave a rating and review, and share it with someone who loves immersive horror, historical mysteries, and stories that blur the line between fact and folklore. Sometimes we think we're exploring old places. Sometimes... they're exploring us.

The Devil Within Presents: The Campfire Files The City Beneath the City — Part Two: Beneath Paris The descent begins. In Part Two of The City Beneath the City, Matt and Claire leave the bright boulevards of Paris behind and step into one of the world's most extraordinary—and unsettling—places: the Paris Catacombs. As the daylight disappears and six million dead surround them, something unexpected happens. Conversations fade to whispers. Time begins to feel strangely elastic. Even the simple act of walking becomes different beneath the city. What starts as a tour of one of history's greatest engineering achievements slowly transforms into something else entirely. Because somewhere in the darkness... someone knows Matt's name. Join Branden Morgan for the next chapter of The Campfire Files, where history, folklore, and the unexplained converge beneath one of the most beautiful cities on Earth. If you're enjoying The City Beneath the City, please follow The Devil Within, leave a rating and review, and share the series with someone who loves supernatural mysteries and immersive storytelling. Watch exclusive videos and original programming on the Evio Creative YouTube Channel.

The Devil Within Presents: The Campfire Files The City Beneath the City — Part One What if the most famous city in the world was hiding its greatest secret... directly beneath your feet? In this episode of our summer series, The Campfire Files, Branden Morgan takes you back to Paris—a city celebrated for romance, art, and beauty. But beneath its cafés, cathedrals, and the Eiffel Tower lies another Paris: a vast underground labyrinth carved over two thousand years and filled with the remains of more than six million people. When American travelers Matt and Claire Warren finally take the vacation they've dreamed about for years, they believe they're exploring one of history's greatest engineering marvels. Instead, they begin walking toward something that may already know they're coming. Part history, part travelogue, and part supernatural mystery, The City Beneath the City begins a three-part descent into one of the world's most fascinating—and unsettling—places. Because sometimes the oldest cities don't forget the people who visit them. In this episode: • The forgotten history beneath Paris • How the Catacombs came to hold six million dead • The hidden engineering that keeps Paris from collapsing • Matt and Claire's long-awaited journey to France • The first hints that their vacation may become something far more terrifying If you enjoy The Devil Within, please follow the show, leave a rating and review, and share this episode with someone who loves history, mysteries, and supernatural storytelling. Watch exclusive videos and bonus content on the Evio Creative YouTube Channel. The fire has only just been lit.

The Devil's Ledger Week of July 13, 2026 Summer may be in full swing, but the strange stories never take a vacation. This week on The Devil's Ledger, Branden Morgan takes you from one of America's most haunted Civil War landmarks to the shadowy tunnels beneath Paris, where history—and perhaps something else—still lingers beneath the streets. In The Creepiest Thing I Heard This Week, we visit Pennsylvania's legendary Sachs Covered Bridge, a Civil War crossing steeped in stories of ghostly soldiers, phantom gunpowder, unexplained cold spots, and shadowy figures said to patrol the bridge more than 160 years after the Battle of Gettysburg. Then we head underground on The Devil Within, as Campfire Files continues with The City Beneath the City. What begins as an ordinary vacation to Paris becomes something far more unsettling when an American couple ventures into the infamous Catacombs beneath the French capital. Surrounded by the remains of more than six million Parisians, they discover that history may not be the only thing preserved beneath the City of Light. Over on Criminal Mischief, Carolyn returns with another investigation into the darker side of human nature. She still won't tell Branden what she's working on, so listeners will discover the mystery together when the new episode drops this Tuesday. On The Slippery, Nancy examines the heartbreaking wrongful-conviction case of Marilyn Mulero, whose coerced confession sent her to death row for a crime she didn't commit. It's a remarkable examination of Detective Reynaldo Guevara, false confessions, and the long road toward justice. Finally, in This Week in Horror, we spotlight Evil Dead Burn, the newest chapter in Sam Raimi's legendary horror franchise. A secluded family gathering becomes an unforgettable nightmare as an ancient evil transforms a reunion into absolute chaos. Stay cool, stay safe, and thanks for spending part of your week with us. We'll see you across the Evio Creative Universe. In This Episode •

Episode 3: Five Business Days The countdown is over. The car knows exactly where it's going. And this time... It isn't asking permission. In the conclusion of Ghost Profile, Cole and Maren discover the destination the mysterious navigation system has been trying to reach since the day they picked up the vehicle. What waits at the end of that lonely Texas road forces them to confront a terrifying realization: perhaps the car was never trying to trap them. Perhaps it was trying to deliver something. Or someone. Blending documented concerns about connected-car privacy with a chilling supernatural mystery, Five Business Days asks one final question: What happens when technology remembers something it was never supposed to forget? Some journeys don't end when you reach your destination. Some only begin there. Case file closed. Or perhaps... Transferred to the next driver.

Episode 2: What the Car Remembers They tried to return the car. The rental company wouldn't take it. Five business days. That's how long it would take to process a complaint before the vehicle could even be considered for removal from the fleet. Unfortunately... They only had three. As Cole and Maren dig deeper into the SUV's history, they uncover a disturbing pattern of complaints spanning months, all involving the very same vehicle. Strange GPS routes. Electronics behaving on their own. Devices reconnecting after being deleted. Then another name appears on the dashboard. Not Roy. Someone else. Someone who also disappeared. In Part Two of Ghost Profile, Carolyn explores the frightening intersection of modern technology, corporate oversight, and the possibility that some systems remember far more than they should. Because sometimes the scariest thing isn't the ghost. It's realizing you're not the first person it's been waiting for.

Episode 1: The Last Renter A summer getaway begins with an ordinary rental car. Within minutes of leaving the airport, an unfamiliar Bluetooth device appears on the dashboard. ROY'S iPHONE. The problem? No one in the car is named Roy. What begins as an annoying technology glitch soon evolves into something far more unsettling. The mysterious phone refuses to disconnect, the vehicle begins changing its own navigation, and an innocent road trip toward East Texas slowly transforms into a terrifying mystery connected to a man who vanished without a trace. This week on The Devil Within, our Campfire Files series continues with Ghost Profile, a story inspired by real concerns surrounding connected vehicles, digital privacy, and the unsettling question of what technology might remember long after we're gone. Sometimes ghosts don't haunt houses. Sometimes they hitch a ride.

The Devil's Ledger — Week of July 6, 2026 Happy Fourth of July—and welcome back to The Devil's Ledger, your weekly guide to everything happening across the Evio Creative universe. This week we celebrate America's 250th birthday, uncover one of history's strangest Independence Day coincidences, preview another terrifying installment of The Campfire Files on The Devil Within, travel back to a haunting tale from 1902 on Criminal Mischief, examine Sherri Papini's latest attempt to rewrite history on The Slippery, and take a look at this week's supernatural thriller, JACKED, starring Carla Gugino. This Week's Lineup

Episode 3: What Stayed The hardest part wasn't getting out of the cabin. It was discovering that leaving didn't necessarily mean the story was over. In the conclusion of this three-part Campfire Files series, Carolyn follows the lingering aftermath of one terrifying weekend. The board is gone. The cabin is quiet once again. But months later, unanswered questions—and unexplained events—continue to haunt those who were there. Who—or what—was "Lia"? Why did the board single out one member of the group? And what do you do when the only evidence left behind is a name, a memory, and the unmistakable feeling that something still remembers you? What Stayed explores the unsettling possibility that not every haunting is violent. Some simply refuse to let go. Case file closed. Or perhaps... Left open.

Episode 2: What It Asked For They put the board away. Closed the lid. Shut the drawer. And told themselves the weekend could finally return to normal. It didn't. In Part Two of The Devil Within's Campfire Files, strange occurrences begin spreading beyond the board itself. A drawer opens on its own. One friend begins speaking in ways she cannot later remember. And the group slowly realizes whatever answered them no longer seems confined to a wooden game board. It wants something. It wants them to stay. As Carolyn traces the psychological tension, folklore, and eyewitness accounts surrounding one unforgettable weekend in the Blue Ridge Mountains, one question becomes impossible to ignore: What happens when curiosity becomes an invitation? Because sometimes the scariest words aren't shouted. Sometimes they're whispered. And sometimes they simply ask you not to leave.

Episode 1: The Board Four college friends rent a cabin outside Boone, North Carolina, for what should have been an ordinary autumn weekend in the mountains. Instead, they discover something none of them expected: an old Ouija board left behind by a previous guest. No one brought it. No one believes in it. So they decide to ask it a question. The answer comes almost immediately. What begins as harmless curiosity quickly becomes something none of them can explain. A name appears across the board. A voice in the room begins to change. And one simple response—YES—sets in motion a weekend none of them would ever forget. In Part One of this three-part Campfire Files case, The Devil Within explores a story rooted in real places, documented history, and the unsettling possibility that some doors, once opened, don't easily close. Sometimes the most dangerous decision isn't summoning something. It's believing nothing will answer.

The Devil's Ledger — Week of June 30, 2026 This week on The Devil's Ledger, we celebrate the spirit of the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the United States, Canada, and Mexico continue welcoming the world with open arms. Amid months of political division, it's been refreshing to see communities across North America reminding us why sports have a unique way of bringing people together. From packed stadiums to neighborhood watch parties, hospitality has taken center stage—and yes, maybe ranch dressing deserves a little credit too. We begin, as always, with The Creepiest Thing I Heard This Week. This week we travel to Montreal's historic Griffintown, where ghost hunters, historians, and curious locals gathered on June 27 to await the legendary return of Headless Mary Gallagher. Murdered and decapitated in 1879, local folklore claims Mary's spirit returns every seven years on the anniversary of her death, wandering the streets in search of the head she lost nearly 150 years ago. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, it's a haunting reminder that some stories refuse to die. On The Devil Within, our Campfire Files series continues with one of our most believable paranormal stories yet. Four college friends rent an Airbnb cabin for a relaxing weekend in the mountains and discover what appears to be an ordinary board game left behind by a previous guest. The only problem? It's a Ouija Board. What begins as harmless curiosity slowly transforms into something unsettling, proving that sometimes the scariest stories aren't the loudest—they're the ones that feel like they could happen to anyone. On Criminal Mischief, Carolyn Ossorio is keeping this week's case a complete secret. Is she racing to meet another impossible deadline? Or has she uncovered a story so disturbing she wants listeners to experience it with fresh ears? We honestly don't know—but knowing Carolyn, it could very well be both. Tune in and find out. On The Slippery, Scott Eldridge and Nancy Moscatiello unravel the extraordinary story of Gaurav Srivastava, a man who convinced world leaders, celebrities, and business executives that he had been recruited by the CIA as a teenager. His elaborate intelligence persona opened doors across the global oil industry—until investigators began asking difficult questions. It's a remarkable story of deception, influence, and one of the most audacious confidence schemes in recent memory. On Forever Young, Dr. John Layke and Dr. Payman Danielpour explore the rapidly evolving world of regenerative medicine, separating science from hype as they discuss how stem cell therapies may reshape healthcare in the years ahead. If you're interested in living healthier and longer, this is an episode you won't want to miss. Finally, in This Week in Horror, we revisit the return of Scary Movie. More than twenty years after the original became a comedy phenomenon, the franchise is back with another round of outrageous horror parody, proving that even today's most terrifying films aren't safe from a good laugh.

Episode 3: What It Left Behind Leaving a place doesn't always mean leaving it behind. Three days after returning home to Kansas City, Sara begins having dreams about Table Rock Lake. In them, she drifts above the flooded valley, suspended in dark water while something ancient moves below. The lake is hundreds of miles away. Yet every night she wakes with the same feeling: Cold. Not the room. Her. In the final chapter of Something in the Water, Carolyn explores what happened after the trip ended—and whether some encounters leave behind more than memories. Local divers speak quietly about cold spots that shouldn't exist. About moments of disorientation in familiar waters. About the persistent sensation that something beneath the lake is watching from below. No disappearances. No documented tragedies. Just stories. And the feeling. Across Indigenous traditions, the Underwater Panther was never simply a monster. It was a force—a boundary between worlds. Those touched by it were sometimes believed to carry a lingering awareness of what lies beneath the surface. Sara was eventually asked whether she believed something followed her home. Her answer was simple: "I think I got noticed by something very old that doesn't notice people very often. And now I know it's there. And it knows I know." Table Rock Lake remains as beautiful as ever: blue water, green hills, children leaping from docks on summer afternoons. But beneath the surface lie flooded towns, forgotten roads, and older stories that may never have truly disappeared. Case file closed. Or perhaps merely submerged. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 2: The Pool Water has a way of finding its path. Through stone. Through memory. Through places we believe are sealed shut. In Part Two of Something in the Water, the events at Table Rock Lake take an even stranger turn. After days of unsettling encounters on the water, Sara wakes in the middle of the night to find something impossible: a pool of cold water in the center of her bedroom floor. No leaking pipes. No open windows. No explanation. As fear spreads through the cabin, four members of the group decide it's time to leave. But Sara—the very person who experienced the first encounter in the lake—chooses to stay. Why? Because what she experienced didn't feel like a threat. It felt like attention. As Sarah examines centuries-old traditions surrounding the Underwater Panther, a disturbing pattern emerges. Across cultures and generations, stories of the entity share one detail above all others: it chooses. And once it notices you, leaving the water may not be enough. By morning, the mysterious pool has vanished. But the towels used to clean it up have been moved. Folded neatly at the foot of Sara's bed. Sometimes the most terrifying thing isn't what we see. It's the feeling that something has seen us.

Something in the Water - Part One Six friends arrive at Table Rock Lake in the summer of 2010 expecting a quiet week in the Ozarks—swimming, boating, and long evenings beneath the Missouri stars. What they find instead is a place with a history far older than the dam that created it. This week on The Devil Within, we begin a three-part campfire case rooted in documented history, Indigenous tradition, and the uneasy possibility that some places remember what was buried beneath them. When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed Table Rock Dam in 1958, they flooded an entire valley, submerging roads, foundations, churches, and whole communities beneath more than 43,000 acres of water. But the flooded towns were not the first things to disappear from this landscape. Long before the lake existed, the Osage people lived along the White River and carried stories of powerful beings dwelling beneath the water. Among them was a mysterious figure known across the Mississippi watershed as the Underwater Panther—a guardian of thresholds, deep places, and the dangerous boundary between worlds. Then one swimmer feels an impossible cold in the middle of an August afternoon. Something brushes against her ankle. The next day, someone else is pulled beneath the surface. And before the week is over, the group begins to wonder whether the lake is merely covering something—or keeping it. Because some waters are deeper than they appear. And some things beneath them are still waiting.

The Devil's Ledger — June 22, 2026 This week on The Devil's Ledger, we celebrate the United States Men's National Team advancing out of the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and recognize the incredible efforts of host cities across the United States, Canada, and Mexico for welcoming fans from around the world. Then we dive into another week of strange stories, unsettling mysteries, and sinister tales from across the Evio Creative universe. We begin, as always, with The Creepiest Thing I Heard This Week—the disturbing true story of a family who purchased a foreclosed home in Connecticut only to discover three sets of human remains inside. What should have been the start of a new chapter quickly became the center of a mystery years in the making. On The Devil Within, we gather around the campfire for Something in the Water. What begins as a relaxing getaway at Table Rock Lake becomes a terrifying encounter with something lurking beneath the surface. Strange events, unexplained encounters, and a growing realization that whatever is in the lake wants to be seen force a group of friends to confront a chilling question: what happens when something ancient decides it wants your attention? On Criminal Mischief, Carolyn Ossorio delivers another unforgettable story. This isn't a notorious serial killer or a decades-old wrongful conviction. It's something far more relatable—and perhaps more frightening because of it. A case that reminds us how quickly an ordinary day can become a nightmare and how vulnerable we all are to dangers hiding in plain sight. On The Slippery, the bizarre saga of Jose Lantigua continues. A successful businessman claims to be suffering from a rare and terminal illness allegedly connected to his past as a CIA operative. After traveling to Venezuela for a secret experimental procedure, he disappears—leaving behind unanswered questions, a multimillion-dollar insurance policy, and investigators who suspect nothing is as it seems. And in This Week in Horror, we take a look at Corporate Retreat, a new horror film in which a company leadership retreat descends into chaos, violence, and death. As alliances crumble and secrets emerge, the greatest threat may not be lurking in the wilderness—it may be sitting in the next boardroom chair.

The Campsite That Wasn't Empty — Part Two Campfire Files: True Stories That Followed Them Home If Part One was about recognition— Part Two is about consequence. Because the most dangerous assumption people make about places like this is simple: That whatever happens there… stays there. It doesn't. In Part Two, the Carter family wakes to a campsite that looks exactly as they left it—but feels entirely different. The daylight doesn't bring clarity. It brings questions. Subtle disturbances in the ground. Movement that leaves no clear trace. A growing sense that what they experienced wasn't singular. It wasn't alone. And then they leave. They pack up. They drive home. They return to something structured, familiar, safe. Or at least— they think they do. Because back in Tennessee, something begins again. Faint at first. Incomplete. A voice forming in the dark—not quite right, not fully there, but trying. Learning. Reaching for something familiar. The woods didn't contain it. Distance didn't stop it. And whatever it is… It's still figuring them out. What You'll Hear in Part Two • Physical evidence that defies simple explanation • The shift from location-based fear to personal threat • The unsettling idea that mimicry can evolve • What happens when something doesn't need proximity to continue Listen & Follow Follow The Devil Within wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode. If you're enjoying the show, take a moment to rate and review—it helps more people find the stories. Watch & Subscribe Full episodes and video content are available on the Evio Creative YouTube channel.
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The Campsite That Wasn't Empty — Part One Campfire Files: True Stories That Followed Them Home On this episode of The Devil Within, we begin our summer series with a story that feels familiar enough to lower your guard. A late-summer camping trip in the Smoky Mountains.
A family of four.
A quiet campsite just far enough off the main trail to feel private—but not isolated. The kind of trip thousands of families take every year. Until something shifts. At first, it's subtle. Easy to dismiss. A sound in the woods. Movement that could belong to anything—wind, animals, the natural rhythm of a forest at night. But then the patterns begin to break. The sounds don't move the way they should. The silence arrives at the wrong moments. And then— A voice. Calling from just beyond the firelight. Using a name it shouldn't know.
Sounding exactly like someone already inside the tent. Not similar. Not close. Exact. As the Carter family settles into their tent for the night, what waits outside doesn't rush. It doesn't reveal itself. It listens. It studies. It repeats. And slowly, the realization sets in: This isn't something passing through. This is something paying attention. Part One builds toward a moment that changes everything—the understanding that whatever is outside the tent isn't just making noise… It's communicating. And it knows exactly who it's talking to. What You'll Hear in Part One • A real-world report of voice mimicry in a wilderness setting • How environmental “patterns” help identify when something is wrong • The psychological shift from dismissal to awareness • The moment a familiar voice becomes something else entirely Listen & Follow Follow The Devil Within wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode. If you're enjoying the show, take a moment to rate and review—it helps more people find the stories. Watch & Subscribe Full episodes and video content are available on the Evio Creative YouTube channel.
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The Devil's Ledger | Week of June 15th, 2026 This week on The Devil's Ledger, we begin with something that feels almost surreal—the New York Knicks are World Champions. A long-awaited moment for a franchise and a fanbase that has carried decades of hope, frustration, and belief. From the Canyon of Heroes to living rooms across the country, this is more than a title—it's a moment etched into the mythology of New York sports. The Creepiest Thing I Heard This Week A moment in time that may not have moved the way it should have. We revisit Game 3 of the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals, when Larry Johnson stepped to the line for one of the most iconic plays in Knicks history. But for those who were there, the memory isn't just the shot—it's what happened right before it. A strange thinning of sound. A collective pause. A sense that something had aligned just long enough for the outcome to land exactly where it was supposed to. Was it pressure? Adrenaline? Or something harder to explain? On The Devil Within We launch a brand-new summer series: Campfire Files: Stories That Follow Us Home These aren't distant legends or secondhand stories. These are grounded, firsthand accounts that begin in the places we trust the most—campgrounds, lakes, beaches, and vacation homes. We start in the Great Smoky Mountains, where a family trip turns into something far more unsettling. What begins as a quiet weekend in the woods slowly reveals something that doesn't behave the way it should—and doesn't stay where it started. We'll be here all summer, exploring encounters that begin in familiar places and follow people long after they leave. On Criminal Mischief Carolyn Ossorio returns with another sharp, unsettling look at the human condition—where ambition, envy, and pressure collide in ways that feel all too recognizable. These are the kinds of stories that happen more often than we'd like to admit—and still manage to surprise us every time. On The Culture of Criminal Cool Season One has wrapped, but the story may not be over. There are whispers of additional material, extended interviews, and possibly even new conversations with Adam Diaz. Nothing confirmed yet—but enough to keep your attention. On The Slippery This week's episode dives into the disturbing case of Dr. Thomas Weiner, once one of the most respected oncologists in Helena, Montana. What begins as the story of a trusted medical figure quickly unravels into something far darker, centered around a patient treated for over a decade for a disease they never had. As the investigation deepens, the image of a respected doctor begins to fracture—revealing patterns that raise troubling questions about trust, oversight, and how something like this could go on for so long. This Week in Horror A new film out of Norway taps into one of the oldest and most enduring myths: Kraken Strange behavior in marine life. Unexplained deaths in deep water. And the suggestion that something ancient has resurfaced. It's a return to elemental horror—vast, unknowable, and just beneath the surface. Listen & Follow Follow The Devil Within and The Devil's Ledger wherever you get your podcasts.
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What We Built... And What We Buried | The Study That Never Ended On this episode of The Devil Within, we close out Season Five—What We Built… And What We Buried—with one of the most disturbing and consequential chapters in American medical history: the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. What began in 1932 as a government-backed effort to study the progression of untreated syphilis was, at least on the surface, framed as something useful—even beneficial. Hundreds of poor Black men in rural Alabama were offered free medical care for what they were told was “bad blood.” But they were never told the truth. As the study continued, the men—many of them sharecroppers with limited access to education, healthcare, or economic mobility—were observed, tested, and subjected to painful procedures under the belief they were being treated. They weren't. Then came the turning point. By the 1940s, penicillin had become a proven cure for syphilis. It should have ended the study. It should have saved lives. It didn't. Instead, treatment was deliberately withheld—for decades. More than 400 men were left to suffer the full progression of the disease, not because doctors didn't know better, but because they chose not to intervene. The study continued until 1972, when it was finally exposed by whistleblower Peter Buxtun and brought to national attention. The fallout was immediate—and lasting. Trust in medicine, particularly within Black communities, was deeply fractured. The doctor-patient relationship—built on transparency and informed consent—was forced into a reckoning that still shapes healthcare today. This isn't just history. It's a warning. What You'll Hear in This Episode • How the Tuskegee Study began—and why it was initially justified • Who was targeted, and why sharecroppers were especially vulnerable • How misinformation (“bad blood”) was used to gain trust • The discovery of penicillin—and the decision to withhold it • The whistleblower who exposed the truth • How Tuskegee reshaped modern medical ethics and patient rights Listen & Follow If you're listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, make sure you're following The Devil Within so you never miss an episode. If you've been enjoying the show, take a moment to rate and review—it helps more people find the stories. Watch & Subscribe Full episodes and video content are available on the Evio Creative YouTube channel.
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We read everything. Series Wrap-Up This episode marks the end of Season Five: What We Built… And What We Buried—a series about human systems, and the quiet moments where something meant to help becomes something else entirely. Coming Next As summer begins… If you're planning a trip, heading out on the road, or stepping into somewhere unfamiliar— just remember: There may be more to fear than sunburn or tourist traps.

The Devil's Ledger | Week of June 8th, 2026 On this week's episode of The Devil's Ledger, we kick things off with an honest—and slightly humbling—moment: a long-overdue shoutout to the New York Knicks. Not quite back on the bandwagon… but definitely watching with a mix of excitement and regret. Then we dive into The Creepiest Thing I Heard This Week—a trip to Pine Bush, New York, home of the annual UFO Fair. What feels like a quirky small-town festival quickly reveals something deeper: decades of reported sightings, unexplained aerial phenomena, and a community that didn't deny the stories… it embraced them. On The Devil Within Season Five—What We Built… And What We Buried—comes to a powerful close with two of the most disturbing government programs ever uncovered: • MK-Ultra • The Tuskegee Syphilis Study Two vastly different operations. One unsettling truth: what happens when institutions designed to protect people begin to use them instead? On Criminal Mischief After last week's shocking case, Carolyn returns with something a little less graphic—but no less terrifying. Less gore.
More intrigue.
Same relentless tension. On The Culture of Criminal Cool Season One wraps this week—and it hits harder than expected. The story of Adam Diaz has never been just about crime. It's about identity, power, and the cost of becoming the persona you create. And if you're worried about what fills that slot next week… don't be. On The Slippery Fresh off CrimeCon Las Vegas, Scott and Nancy are back with another deep dive into deception. New con.
New victim.
And another unraveling that proves—eventually—the truth always catches up.

The Devil's Ledger — Week of June 1st, 2026 Happy Blue Moon. As a rare second full moon lights up the skies over Los Angeles, we take a moment to reflect—on endings, beginnings, and the strange things that seem to surface when the night feels just a little too still. And to all the graduates out there—congratulations. Wherever you're headed next, may you do wonderful things… big and small. The Creepiest Thing I Heard This Week This week, we explore the unsettling legend of Grace—a Victorian-era doll that has gone from antique curiosity to one of the UK's most talked-about haunted artifacts. Once an ordinary toy, Grace's reputation began in 2018 during a paranormal investigation where guests reported physical symptoms, unexplained movement, and chilling electronic voice phenomena. Since then, the doll has followed investigators from location to location, leaving behind a trail of reported disturbances, recorded voices, and growing fascination. Now, in the latest development, investigators claim to have captured a single, chilling word coming from the doll: “Burn.” Is it evidence of something attached to the artifact… or simply the power of suggestion taking hold? Either way, Grace has become something more than a relic of the past—she's a modern legend. The Devil Within Season Five (What We Built… And What We Buried) continues with “The Man Who Fixed Everything.” This episode examines the chemist who introduced chlorofluorocarbons—CFCs—as a safer alternative to toxic refrigeration gases. At the time, it was a breakthrough. Cleaner. Safer. Stable. A solution. But what followed was something far larger—and far more damaging—than anyone anticipated. A global consequence that reshaped how we understand unintended impact, and the cost of innovation without foresight. Criminal Mischief Carolyn is back after a brief hiatus with another meticulously researched deep dive into the darker corners of human behavior. As always, this isn't just storytelling—it's reconstruction. The Culture of Criminal Cool We're now up to Episode 5, and the response has been incredible. Thank you to everyone who's been listening, commenting, and sharing. Adam Diaz is proving to be exactly what we thought—a story worth telling. The Slippery Nancy and Scott return with another hard-to-believe story of deception, betrayal, and outright grift. The kind of story that makes you stop mid-episode and ask— How did this actually happen? This show is quickly becoming a must-listen. This Week in Horror Something is shifting. Two films—Obsession and Backrooms—have taken over the box office. Both from creators who came out of YouTube. Not the traditional system. Not the usual pipeline. New voices. New instincts. And audiences are showing up in a big way. Is this a moment… or the beginning of something bigger? Watch them. Then let me know what you think. Listen & Follow Follow The Devil Within and the entire Evio Creative network wherever you get your podcasts. Watch & Subscribe Full episodes on YouTube: Evio Creative Follow Us Instagram / TikTok / Facebook: @thedevilwithinpod Contact info@eviocreative.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices