Pleasing Terrors

An unexpected return to a very creepy place to do a very foolish thing.

This episode features The Wizard of Oz, Greek mythology and a famous unsolved murder.

Episode 30: Resurrection delves into the history of Chicago's most famous ghost: Resurrection Mary!

I am with Alyson Horrocks of The Strange and Unusual Podcast. It’s the evening of August 20th, 2017. We are in Danvers, MA which was previously known as Salem Village. We are visiting the Samuel Parris archeological site. Surrounded by a rail fence there are two stone lined cellars marking the location of the house that once stood here. Next to this location is a grassy path that leads to the back of a house with a wolves head door knocker. A wolf can be a monster of many faces and a bad omen. This is one of the hidden places of American history. A place where the horrors of yesterday have cast a long shadow. The bright memory of a day spent walking the sunny streets of Salem have suddenly grown dim. Even though the sun has not yet set, we are surrounded by darkness. This is the birthplace of the evil that enveloped Salem in the year 1692 and claimed the lives of over 20 people. This place is of particular significance to Alyson, because one of the people killed was her direct ancestor Elizabeth Howe. This w

Alyson Horrocks from the Strange and Unusual Podcast took me on a tour of a historical site with a dark past. The site sits in a town called Danvers, but it was once Salem Village. This site was the culmination of a strange mix of religion, superstition, folklore, slavery, patriarchy, truth, and lies. A place where people’s imagination or secret motives ran wild and story or lie or desperate attempt at redemption led to the basis for one of the darkest times in colonial American History. What started as a search for freedom to pursue religion and all things good, and ended in a nondescript historical site and archaeological dig, has a sinister history with a story that is hard to tell and even harder to understand. Salem Village was settled in the late 1600s In 1970, Richard B. Trask started excavating the “Danvers Dig” 1688 Samuel Parris moved into the house that once stood at the dig. Parris brought an enslaved South American couple named John and Tituba. In 1692, the invisible world began to close around

The history of the Navajo goes back in time to the Four Corners region in Arizona. Where the spider grandmother spun a giant web and threw it into the night sky to create the stars. This area known as Canyon de Chelly is also known as the Canyon of the Dead after a misguided weaver’s warning resulted in a cruel cave massacre. Like the art and designs of the Navajo weaver’s blanket, the Navajo legends are intertwined with a ranch purchased by a Utah couple. The Sherman ranch seemed like an idyllic place to raise premium cattle, but strange things started happening almost immediately upon the family's arrival. This ranch is now known as the Skinwalker Ranch and the legends continue. Episode Highlights: Spider rock and the legend of the weaver and Navajo blankets. Terry and Gwen Sherman purchase a Utah ranch in 1994. The Sherman’s experienced strange phenomena and decided to sell. Robert T. Bigelow purchases the ranch and dispatches the National Institute for Discovery Science to investigate. A terrifying dark

On November 20th, 1850 night watchman George Pollard Jr. makes his nightly rounds on the foggy Island of Nantucket, MA. An island once inhabited by proud tribes of Native Americans before the addition of the colonists. An island that was the whaling capital of the world for over a century. The inhabitants and the whalers themselves were haunted with superstition and legends about the dark underworld of the sea and the evil that lied beneath the depths. The dangers were all too real, yet it wasn’t a sea monster or a devil ascended from Davy Jones’ Locker that posed the threat. It was an invisible threat that lurked in the hearts of men like the night watchman. George Pollard Jr. Nantucket Nightwatchman Davy Jones Locker and the dark underworld of the sea The story of Jonah and being cursed by god Pliny the Elder, sea monsters, the merman, and the Krakken Sightings of mermaids, sirens, and mermen WWI German U-boat surrenders to British patrol ship after sea monster attack The legend of the black demon of the s

Count Dracula’s story is one of many pieces; a story of a man and the secrets that are hidden inside his castle. Bram Stoker, the story’s author, is also a man of many secrets who constructed his own castle and built a fortress around his heart. The puzzle of Count Dracula is not complete until the intertwining pieces are put together. When put together what do the pieces reveal about the story and the man behind it? Episode Highlights: A young lawyer encounters strange experiences inside the Count’s castle The captain of a Russian ship that has run aground is found lashed to the ship’s wheel A beautiful lady who hunts children in the night The tragic death of a woman about to be married Dracula is forced to flee to his castle The search for the real Dracula The literary origin of Count Dracula Who is Bram Stoker and his ties to prominent men of the time The love that dare not speak its name Stoker’s own castle built to conceal his secrets What the secrets reveal Enjoyed this episode? Please support the sho

Chicago’s West 63rd Street Post Office was built in 1938 over the site of what its creator referred to as “The Castle”, and in 1902 an Ohio Daily News article called it Chicago’s Ghost Castle. Whatever you want to call it, this site was once or possibly still is the home to a notorious killer. A figure who built a home that included a 2nd floor full of secret passages, trap doors, and hidden staircases. The basement so notorious that a crowd would lay on the sidewalk and try to peer through the cracks as it was excavated. The creator of “The Castle” claimed to be under an evil influence. An influence that seemed to continue to claim victims after his death. An influence that is still felt today Moyamensing Prison was finished in 1835 Chicago Police Detective Frank Geyer interviews his nemesis in 1895 A crowd gathers for the excavation of “The Castle” basement excavation Another crowd gathers outside “The Castle” to see if the owner returns after his execution In 2012 a tunnel that leads to “The Castle” basem

The Heriot House in Georgetown, South Carolina was built in 1765. It is now the Harbor House Inn and there are many stories by visitors and Georgetown residents alike of seeing an image of a woman that looks like she doesn’t belong there. Is this woman the ghost of a forlorn lover or does she represent something more sinister?  Something that ties in with the four circles of Dante’s Inferno and stretches all the way from the old Heriot House to a Greenwich Village neighborhood located on Jane Street. A story that crosses the founding of America and the early days of New York, featuring such notable founders as Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and even George Washington. Episode Highlights: Dante Alighieri’s Inferno The Divine Comedy Are ghosts fragments of energy left behind A lantern in the window of The Heriot House Jane Street hauntings and ghost sightings The ghost of Alexander Hamilton The home of Eliza Jumel The story of Gulielma Sands and the Well of Malebolgia The Ambition of Aaron B

In Austin, Texas in 1884 a female servant was killed in a gruesome ax murder. Feeble attempts were made to find the murderer, but to no avail. Soon a series of gruesome ax murders and attacks followed. Each one more horrific than the other, and the murders spread beyond the black servant population to the white community. What originally was considered a black problem in the South twenty years after the Civil War became society's problem. This was a birth. The birth of legions of Demons cast out by Jesus. The birth referred to in the occult addicted mind of William Butler Yeats in his poem The Second Coming. The birth of something much more sinister. Episode Highlights: The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats Yeats obsession with the occult and marriage to medium Georgie Hyde-Lees The murder of Molly Smith Many believed a demon had come to Austin The Gospel of Mark and Jesus casting out demons in the Gerasenes The legend of the boogeyman can be found in all cultures The attack of Susan Hancock and murder o

In Native American folklore, there was a dark creature that possessed the mind and body of men, instilling within them a great hunger for human flesh. The Wendigo was feared by tribes throughout what is now North America and Canada as stories of bloodshed and terror spread across the continent. Picture it: Your best friend, your husband, your sister -- crouched down and feasting upon the flesh of someone you love. It’s been many, many years since a Wendigo was rumoured to be wreaking havoc, but are they truly gone for good?  Episode Highlights: Origins of the Wendigo Fear and blood at the Hungry Hall outpost Tales from Native American folklore Swift Runner: A man possessed What lurks beneath the surface of the lake Hunting a monster Psychosis or a wendigo?  Resources:  Dangerous Spirits: The Wendigo in Myth and History by Shawn Smallman   Enjoyed this episode? Please support the show by rating, reviewing, and subscribing on iTunes. Please visit Pleasing Terrors, the podcast behind Old Charleston’s best gh

The Salisbury Plain is the name for the 300 miles of grasslands located in Wiltshire, England. Home to Stonehenge, a rich history, and a wide variety of plants and animals, the Salisbury Plain is one of the most famous locations in England. For the residents of Wiltshire, however, the area is notorious for more than its archaeological features and mystical energy. The great grassy plains of Salisbury border the mansions of Wiltshire, whose walls are painted in blood and sorrow.  In these great houses, the dead refuse to rest. Episode Highlights: The Monuments of Wiltshire County The beautiful maiden in Avebury Manor and the Grey Lady: Ghosts searching for lost loves Midwife of death Spiders, cats, and the Spanish Lady Goody Orchard’s curse The legend of the Salisbury hare Murder in the Road Hill House Resources: Haunted Wiltshire by Sonia Smith   @2PodsADay    If you are looking for podcasts that are similar to Pleasing Terrors, check out: The Strange and Unusual Podcast The Not Alone Podcast Quid Pro Quo

The White House: In all it’s glory, from the immaculately-kept gardens to the walls hung with priceless art, is an icon of American history and power. Home to every President since 1800, the White House is seen as a safe haven for the President and their family. Not even the heavy iron fence that borders the grounds of the White House can keep dark magic from harming its inhabitants. A curse muttered on a bloodied battlefield in 1812 has left over a hundred years of President’s scared for their lives, but has the debt finally been paid? Episode Highlights: Strange sights in the Lincoln Bedroom The tall tales and magical powers of Tenskwatawa A dark prophecy Lincoln’s bloody presidency Tainted water in the President’s glass Mediums and séances in the White House Dreams of an ominous voyage A row of white headstones in the Presidential cemetery A debt is paid Resources: The History Goes Bump Podcast, Episode 162: The White House   Enjoyed this episode? Please support the show by rating, reviewing, and subsc

Deep within the heart of New Jersey lies an untamed swath of trees and brush, long believed to be the home of the Jersey Devil itself. A horrifying creature with the head of a goat and the wings of a bat, the legend of the Jersey Devil has haunted the Pine Barrens for generations. Yet the Jersey Devil might not be the only degenerate creature lurking within the shadows of the Pines. What dark secrets does the Devil guard? Episode Highlights: The many forms of dragons What secrets does the dragon’s lair hold? The dwellers amongst the Pines Ghostly apparitions in the trees The many faces of the Jersey Devil Hoofprints in the snow: A sinister creature stalks through the night The 13th child of Deborah Leeds Demonic symbols hidden in the Leeds Almanac Dismembered bodies within the trees: Satanic murder in the Pines Resources: Dogma and Ritual of High Magic by Eliphas Levi Enjoyed this episode? Please support the show by rating, reviewing, and subscribing on iTunes. Please visit Pleasing Terrors, the podcast b

Who can forget the classic tale of the mad scientist who creates a gorgeously gruesome Creature, only to become frightened and disgusted by his own creation? Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein is one of the most widely taught examples of Gothic literature, yet most readers don’t know the true story behind Shelley’s most famous work. Was Frankenstein really the product of a writing competition between friends while on summer vacation, as most people believe it to be, or was the story of the scientist and his Monster born out of a much darker mindset? Episode Highlights: June 1816: The year without a summer The feminists daughter The twisted love life of Percy Shelley An empty crib in the nursery Vacations in the villa with Lord Byron A ghostly competition between friends Reviving the dead with electricity The waking dream of Mary Shelley Giving birth to Frankenstein's monster Who was the mad scientist? Who was the Monster? Enjoyed this episode? Please support the show by rating, reviewing, and subscribing on

Fairy tales often teach an important moral lesson, hidden within the entertaining twists and turns of the story. The tale of Bluebeard, the rich man who keeps the bodies of his murdered wives locked behind the forbidden doors of the dungeon in his castle, doomed to have his wrongdoing exposed by his newest wife, serves as a reminder to young women that curiosity can sometimes be your downfall -- or your savior. In real life there are rarely happy endings to tragedies and moral lessons must be learned the hard way. For Zona Shue, choked to death in her own home, life was certainly no fairytale. Yet the strange events that led to a murder conviction were as fantastical as any tale written up in a storybook. The moral lesson in her twisted fairy tale? Mothers are always right. Episode Highlights: The horrifying fairy tale of Bluebeard and his wives The trial of the Greenbrier Ghost Zona and Trout: A love story gone sour A grisly discovery Witnesses on the stand Mary Jane Hester’s otherworldly visitor Confessio

The time between three and four in the morning is said to be the hour when evil is at the height of it’s power -- the time when the Devil ascends from Hell and ghosts haunt the land of the living. In part two of my experience of the Devil’s hour inside Charleston’s Old City Jail, I receive a message from Hell itself, and discover the truth about one of the jail’s most famous prisoners -- Lavinia Fisher herself. Episode Highlights: 3 AM inside the Old City Jail Torture chambers, the crane of pain, and the hangman’s lair Lorraine Warren visits the Old City Jail Footsteps in an empty corridor A child behind bars Lavinia Fisher and Daniel Duncan: Old City Jail’s famous residents An exploration to the third floor My conversation with Bruce Orr: The truth about Lavinia Fisher Resources: Abode of Misery by David C. Scott, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2010 Six Miles to Charleston by Bruce Orr. The History Press, 2010 Enjoyed this episode? Please support the show by rating, reviewing, and subscri

Nestled inside Charleston, South Carolina lives a menacing stone monstrosity, often called the most haunted building in America -- The Old City Jail. The square upon which the Jail sits has been home to untold amounts of suffering and torture, making it the perfect breeding ground for the supernatural to take hold. As part of my training and experience as a storyteller and tour guide, I have been visiting haunted locations for the past 19 years. There have been many times that I’ve been in the presence of people having a paranormal encounter, but I had never felt anything myself until the night I decided to enter the Old City Jail. This is part one of my experience, the story of a night that shook me to my very core. Episode Highlights: My journey into Charleston’s Old City Jail, the most haunted building in America A blood-soaked address Walking through Hell in the Old City Jail -- three terrifying tour experiences The woman in the white dress Horror in the Six Mile Wayfarer House Paranormal investigations

The railroad tracks over the Tsavo river are flanked on either side with lush grasses. A picturesque river runs below, providing a calming base for the trains that rush from Uganda to Kenya and back again. During it’s construction, men from all over India and far parts of Africa gathered at the Tsavo river, working for months on end. At first, the men were oblivious to the twin pairs of golden eyes stalking them from the grasses… until half-devoured bodies and screams in the night became commonplace. From a distance, from a viewpoint high above the clouds, the Kenya-Uganda Railway snakes its way across deserts and through forests of thorns, trailing bloodshed and pain in its wake. Episode Highlights: Demons in the Forest of Thorns Lieutenant-Colonel John Henry Patterson and the Tsavo River Devoured men and lion prints: A campsite surrounded Patterson’s hunt for a pride of unordinary lions The figure on the platform Blood on the desert sand The price of the railroad Enjoyed this episode? Please support the s