Podcasts about Devil Within

THE DEVIL'S LEDGER Week of August 30, 2026 Mother Nature reminds us who's in charge, a Colombian “sorcerer” faces the horrifying consequences of a healing ritual, The Fresno Nightcrawler walks into The New Monsters, Carolyn Ossorio investigates the murder of Dee Warner, and The Slippery opens the mailbag and reveals what they're working on next. Then, in This Week in Horror, we enter the deeply deranged children's television nightmare of Buddy. THE CREEPIEST THING I HEARD THIS WEEK: THE SORCERER OF LIBORINA This week's story takes us back to 2021 and rural Antioquia, Colombia, where a 31-year-old mother of four sought spiritual healing from a man known as the Sorcerer of Liborina. According to prosecutors, Martín Rangel Londoño Jaramillo covered the woman with a homemade mixture containing alcohol, sulfur and camphor before setting fire to the substance as part of the ritual. The woman suffered burns across approximately 70 percent of her body. Investigators allege that instead of immediately seeking emergency treatment, the Sorcerer sent her home with an herbal remedy. She eventually reached a hospital in Medellín but died about a week later. Authorities subsequently arrested Londoño Jaramillo on a murder charge; he denied the accusations. It's a disturbing reminder of an ancient human vulnerability: when we're suffering, we'll sometimes place extraordinary trust in anyone who promises they can make the suffering stop. THIS WEEK ON THE DEVIL WITHIN Our journey through The New Monsters continues with one of the internet age's strangest cryptids: The Fresno Nightcrawler. It begins with grainy security footage from Fresno, California, showing a pale, impossibly thin figure seemingly composed almost entirely of legs walking across a lawn in the middle of the night. The footage raised far more questions than it answered—and then the Nightcrawler received the one thing every aspiring cryptid needs if it hopes to become genuine folklore: A second sighting. Hear the incredible story of the Fresno Nightcrawler this week on The Devil Within. CRIMINAL MISCHIEF Carolyn Ossorio investigates the disappearance and murder of Dee Warner, a Michigan mother of five who vanished from her property in 2021 following an argument with her husband, Dale. Years of searching ultimately led investigators back to the property, where Dee's remains were discovered concealed inside a fertilizer tank. Dale Warner was subsequently convicted of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence. Carolyn takes us through the disappearance, the investigation and the breakthrough that finally revealed what happened to Dee. THE SLIPPERY Scott and Nancy revisit several stories they've covered so far, bringing us new developments, unanswered questions and cases that weren't nearly as finished as they appeared. They'll also take us behind the scenes to reveal what's currently being investigated—including a new cancer scammer series coming this fall—before opening the mailbag to respond to your comments, questions and observations about the show. THIS WEEK IN HORROR: BUDDY Director Casper Kelly, the wonderfully warped mind behind Too Many Cooks, brings us Buddy, a supernatural black comedy starring Cristin Milioti, Delaney Quinn, Topher Grace and Michael Shannon, with Patton Oswalt and Keegan-Michael Key joining the madness. The premise? A group of children become trapped inside an aggressively cheerful 1990s-style television show hosted by a giant bright-orange unicorn named Buddy. The songs are catchy, the colors are bright, the life lessons are plentiful—and then Buddy decides his young friends aren't leaving. It's childhood nostalgia fed through a wood chipper, and frankly, we're in. Listen & Follow: Follow all of the shows in the Evio Creative universe wherever you get your podcasts. Rate & Review: If you love what you're hearing, leave a five-star rating and review. It makes a real difference in helping new listeners discover the shows. Watch & Subscribe: Watch episodes and clips on the Evio Creative YouTube channel, subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss what's coming next. Goodbye, August. September, please behave yourself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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?"

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.

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.

Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with Story Prompt Friday and your host, Diane Wyzga. What Women Still Fight For. We women have to fight for so much: being seen, heard, understood, listened to, recognized, and acknowledged. Despite progress, we are still taking a stand to transform women's rights, to overcome barriers to the freedom of voice, opinions, and expression. Little Human to Big Human. Maybe like me you wonder if there was a thru-line of advocacy between who you were as a Little Human Girl and who you are today as a Big Human Woman. What if the courage to speak up, to speak out, to say what you mean and mean what you say was always there? What It Takes. Maybe it's a matter of time, confronting your story, upending your upbringing, and challenging yourself to be a testament to truth. Or a situation that demands a response. Women whose pioneering work laid a foundation for future feminist thought, greater autonomy and independence shared a commitment: I may be one among many but I can draw many to me like fillings to a magnet and together we will do the work that's calling to be done. Click HERE for 36 examples of women who took a stand  Devil Within. I was a strong-willed handful as a child.  Today we might say I was spirited; but back then I was told “A dimple in the chin means a devil within.” I still have a dimple in my chin. That never left me. What I had to unlearn was a voice that society, religion, patriarchy, and education quieted down. Who am I? The courage to be one's self begins with digging down into the soil of that self. Who am I? What treasure trove of skills, experiences, wisdom, and more can I uncover? And when I uncover the story of myself how do I bestow permission on me to be that self? For a long overdue lesson in courage I turned to Virginia Woolf who knows well the “supreme difficulty of being oneself.”   "Let us simmer over our incalculable cauldron, our enthralling confusion, our hotch-potch of impulses, our perpetual miracle — for the soul throws up wonders every second. Movement and change are the essence of our being; rigidity is death; conformity is death: let us say what comes into our heads, repeat ourselves, contradict ourselves, fling out the wildest nonsense, and follow the most fantastic fancies without caring what the world does or thinks or says. For nothing matters except life.” ~ Virginia Woolf  Story Prompt: Turn back the pages of time, find that chapter when you were bright and shining, alive and curious, energetic, perceptive, or outspoken. Who is the Little Human Girl that used to be you? Where is she now? Write that story and share it out loud! Thank you for listening. I'm glad to have you here.   You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, Subscribe & Spread this episode with a generous 5-star review & comment—it helps us all—& join us next time! AND!  Stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website during reconstruction, email me [info@quartermoonstoryarts.net] to arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as Quarter Moon Story Arts on Substack while I renovate that site, too. Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts Music: Entering Erdenheim by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. Enjoy my work? Share & attribute it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source. 

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 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 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'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 •

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 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 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.

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.

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 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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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.
Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss what's coming next. Join the Conversation Have thoughts on this episode? Stories you want us to cover? Reach out: info@eviocreative.com You can also find us on Instagram: @thedevilwithinpod
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 May 25th, 2026 This Memorial Day, we take a moment to honor the true meaning behind the holiday—remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. Then, in The Creepiest Thing I Heard This Week, we head to Los Angeles and explore the infamous Rosenheim Mansion—better known as the “Murder House” from American Horror Story. A historic home turned horror icon, its legacy blurs the line between fiction and reality, leaving one unsettling question: does a place become haunted… simply because we believe it is? Over on The Devil Within, Season Five (What We Built… And What We Buried) continues with Episode 7—a deep dive into the legendary “car that ran on water.” Was it a revolutionary breakthrough, an elaborate hoax, or something quietly buried by industries that couldn't afford to let it succeed? Criminal Mischief is off this week, but Carolyn returns next episode. In the meantime, don't miss Evio Creative's newest hit, The Culture of Criminal Cool, following the rise and fall of drug kingpin Adam Diaz. This week features Episode 4 plus a bonus episode—a candid retraction and mea culpa as the team sets the record straight. Finding Me with Josh Wolf is on a brief hiatus as a major announcement looms—stay tuned. And on The Slippery, Scott and Nancy continue exposing some of the most fascinating cons in history. This Week in Horror: The biggest Memorial Day weekend opening for a horror film belongs to A Quiet Place Part II (2021), which earned $57 million. Directed by John Krasinski, the film—and its 2018 predecessor—help redefine modern horror through silence, tension, and atmosphere. Listen & Follow Follow The Devil Within and the entire Evio Creative network wherever you get your podcasts. Watch & Subscribe Full episodes and exclusive content available on YouTube: Evio Creative Follow Us Instagram / TikTok / Facebook: @thedevilwithinpod Contactinfo@eviocreative.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we revisit episode one of The Shadow Girls, the groundbreaking series from Carolyn Ossorio that chronicles the Green River Killer. We have a major announcement related to the series that will be covered in our BONUS EPISODE... so stay tuned.

Today we revisit episode one of The Shadow Girls, the groundbreaking series from Carolyn Ossorio that chronicles the Green River Killer. We have a major announcement related to the series that will be covered in our BONUS EPISODE... so stay tuned.

The Devil Within Prayers for the Damned — Episode Two: The Exorcism That Broke the Church's Silence In August 1928, Father Theophilus Riesinger arrived at a secluded convent in Earling, Iowa. He believed he was performing an exorcism. Instead, he walked into a spiritual war that had been building for 105 years. Episode Two documents the most detailed and widely reported exorcism in American history — a twenty-three-day ordeal that tested the limits of ritual, endurance, and belief. This episode explores: Anna Ecklund's condition upon arrival at the convent Reports of multiple entities speaking through her voice Supernatural strength, levitation, and unknown languages Psychological warfare against priests and nuns The emotional and physical toll on everyone involved A radical shift in strategy: instead of fighting the demons… allowing them to reveal themselves As the entities expose their methods and motives, a disturbing possibility emerges: Anna isn't just possessed. She's a spiritual anchor — the center of a network of damage spread over decades. The Turning Point Father Riesinger abandons traditional exorcism. Instead of resistance, he allows full manifestation — a dangerous gamble that ultimately reveals the limits of the forces inside her. On December 23, 1928, at 3:17 PM, Anna speaks in her own voice for the first time in more than a century. The voices are gone. But the victory comes at a cost. Themes in This Episode The psychological toll of prolonged spiritual conflict Institutional faith pushed to its breaking point The idea that some possessions are transformations, not conditions A haunting question: If suffering defines a person, what remains when it's removed? Anna lived twelve more years after the exorcism — quiet, withdrawn, and described by witnesses as spiritually “translucent.” Saved. But never the same. Call to Action If this story challenged your understanding of faith, evil, and the human mind: Because sometimes the real horror isn't possession… It's the price of being set free.

The Devil Within Prayers for the Damned — Episode One: The Girl Who Wouldn't Stay Saved At 3:17 AM, the screaming stopped. For twenty-three days, a convent in Earling, Iowa endured sounds that tested the limits of faith — inhuman voices, violent manifestations, and a woman whose suffering stretched back more than a century. But the story of Anna Ecklund didn't begin in America. It began in a remote Austrian village… with a father's betrayal. Episode Overview In Episode One, we follow the origins of what would become America's most documented case of demonic possession. This episode explores: Emma Schmidt's childhood in 19th-century Austria The abuse and trauma that preceded her first possession in 1823 Early exorcism attempts by local priests Strange phenomena: foreign languages, supernatural knowledge, violent reactions to sacred objects The role of occult practices allegedly performed by her father and a local witch The growing isolation of a family marked by fear, shame, and suspicion The Church's early failures — and the long shadow those failures would cast As Emma becomes Anna Ecklund and emigrates to America, her symptoms disappear for years… until the darkness returns — stronger, more organized, and waiting. Themes in This Episode The intersection of trauma, faith, and possession Generational sin and spiritual consequence When religious intervention fails — and what that does to belief How a single case can ripple through communities, clergy, and institutions What Comes Next By 1928, Anna is sixty-nine years old. The Church prepares for one final attempt. It will take twenty-three days. And it will change how the Catholic Church understands possession forever.

The Devil Within Frozen Evidence: The Duncan MacPherson Case In August of 1989, Duncan MacPherson — a former first-round NHL draft pick from Canada — stepped onto the Stubai Glacier in the Austrian Alps. He rented a snowboard. He rode the lifts. And then he vanished. His car remained in the resort parking lot. His belongings were untouched. Search teams scoured the glacier and surrounding terrain, assuming the kind of tragedy the mountains know too well — a fall, a crevasse, an accident swallowed by ice. Nothing was found. For fourteen years, the glacier kept its silence. Then, in the summer of 2003, melting ice revealed human remains. The mountain had given Duncan back. But what emerged raised more questions than answers.  This episode of The Devil Within explores the unsettling details surrounding Duncan MacPherson's disappearance and recovery, including:     •    His final known movements at a managed glacier resort — not remote wilderness     •    The condition of his recovered snowboard, which showed crushing damage that some analysts believe could be consistent with heavy machinery     •    Injuries that did not clearly align with a simple fall     •    Questions about nighttime snowcat operations on the glacier     •    And the most troubling possibility: that elements of his rental equipment may have been returned through resort systems long before his body emerged No definitive conclusion has ever been reached. But the case raises a disturbing question: What if Duncan's tragedy began as an accident… and was complicated by human systems that chose silence over scrutiny? Glaciers preserve what they take. But time can erode records, memories, and accountability. Fourteen years later, the ice returned a body. The truth may still be buried.

The Devil in the Painting In the Alps, faith and fear have always lived close together. In this episode of The Devil Within, we travel to a quiet sanctuary in northern Italy — a place where generations have climbed in search of healing, protection, and answers when suffering felt too heavy to carry alone. In 1731, a woman from the surrounding region was brought to the hilltop church at Madonna di Pinè after her behavior began to change in ways her family could not understand. Sudden outbursts. Withdrawal. A voice that no longer sounded like her own. In a world without modern psychological language, her condition was understood the only way people knew how: Something had taken hold of her. What followed was a solemn ritual of exorcism — not spectacle, but prayer, command, and communal fear. Witnesses later described a moment during the rite when something dark and serpentine seemed to leave her body. Whether miracle, misinterpretation, or a psychological turning point shaped by belief, the event left a permanent mark. A small ex-voto painting inside the sanctuary still depicts the moment: a priest at prayer, a woman in distress, and a shadowed form emerging as if suffering itself had been given a shape. But this episode goes beyond the question of what happened. Because possession stories, across cultures and centuries, often reveal something deeper — a human need to separate pain from identity. To believe that darkness is something on us, not something we are. To see suffering as something that can be confronted… and expelled. In the harsh Alpine world — where avalanches, illness, and long winters reminded communities how little they controlled — that kind of narrative wasn't superstition. It was survival. As the Winter Olympics conclude and the crowds leave the mountains behind, this episode explores the older stories that still live there — stories of fear, faith, and the enduring hope that even the most invisible suffering can loosen its grip. Because sometimes the most powerful miracle isn't the disappearance of the unknown. It's the belief that healing is possible.

⛪ The Devil Within — Episode 3: The Battle No One Sees The Winter Olympics celebrate control — bodies trained to precision, minds sharpened to the edge of physics, every movement calculated against gravity and risk. But in the shadow of those same Alpine peaks, another kind of battle has been unfolding for centuries. One without medals. Without spectators. Without a finish line. This week, The Devil Within turns inward. We travel to northern Italy, near the slopes and valleys that have long shaped both faith and folklore, to the Sanctuary of Monte Berico overlooking Vicenza. A place of prayer for generations — and, in recent years, the setting of a reported exorcism that left witnesses shaken and clergy emotionally drained. This episode explores a case that moved quietly through layers of scrutiny before a formal rite was performed. Those close to the woman at the center of the story described personality changes, emotional volatility, and distress that resisted conventional treatment. What followed inside the stone walls of the sanctuary was not spectacle, but hours of prayer, repetition, exhaustion, and uncertainty. We examine:     •    How the modern Catholic Church approaches exorcism with caution and psychological screening     •    Why Alpine communities often interpret suffering through both spiritual and folkloric lenses     •    The emotional strain on those present during prolonged religious rites     •    The thin, uneasy line between spiritual belief and mental health realities     •    What possession stories may reveal about the fragility of identity and the human need for meaning in moments of internal chaos Rather than focusing on dramatic portrayals, this episode sits with the quieter, more unsettling questions. What does it feel like when a person no longer feels at home in their own mind? Why do cultures across time describe that experience as something foreign taking hold? And how do faith, ritual, and psychology all attempt — in their own ways — to bring someone back to themselves? In a region where the mountains constantly remind people that control is never absolute, it may not be surprising that some believe struggle can come from within just as easily as from storm or avalanche. The Alps remain vast. The sanctuary remains still. And somewhere between belief and biology lies a story that resists easy answers.