MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

Today’s podcast will feature 3 chilling horror stories that serve as a stark reminder – we’re not always at the top of the food chain. The audio from all three stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel and has been remastered for today's episode.Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos:#3 -- "The Hand That Feeds" -- A man has a deadly secret in his apartment (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_jD-95RhWo)#2 -- "Modern Day Dinosaurs" -- Man sneaks into a predator’s territory (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8swB7qMU7gk)#1 -- "Cat and Mouse" -- A hunter encounters something terrifying in the Russian wilderness (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZA7BqNO-YU)For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This story is a fan favorite from MrBallen's Medical Mysteries.During the COVID pandemic, a boy starts experiencing sudden, inexplicable bursts of pain. At first, his symptoms seem psychological – but then doctors say he may need brain surgery to fix the problem. That’s when the boy’s mother turns to a cutting edge technology to help her figure out what’s wrong with her son.Listen Now: Wondery.fm/MBMMFor 100s more stories like this one, check out my YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @MrBallenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. And today’s podcast features 3 stories that demonstrate that. The audio from all three stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos:#3 -- "Family Dinner" -- In 2013, a man was preparing dinner for his family, when he realized he was missing a key ingredient for the meal (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUoex49Yzng)#2 -- "Table for Two" -- A woman spots something very odd about her neighbor’s dinner party (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWOMY0JQdFs)#1 -- "Lucky Day" -- A man stumbles into two highly unlikely scenarios when he goes surfing in Africa, and it may sound made up, but it's not (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLT32AR5c68)For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

One day in mid-December 2003, Detective Mark Kelly walked into a small kitchen at a home in Fort Worth, Texas. The house belonged to a potential suspect in a homicide case, and while his partner was interviewing that suspect in the other room, Kelly was poking around. He wanted to hurry, because the kitchen he was in was disgusting. There was a layer of dirt on the floor, the dishwasher was open, with dirty plates and silverware still inside, dishes were stacked up in the sink, and used pots and rotting food covered the counters. Kelly could hear his partner talking in the other room as he grabbed the nearest drawer and pulled. Instantly, he regretted it. Because when he opened that drawer, about a dozen cockroaches crawled out of it. Kelly gasped and took an instinctive step back, watching the bugs skitter away. He was searching for a weapon, and it wasn’t here. But something about the filth felt like a clue. Kelly just didn’t know what it meant yet. For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today’s podcast will feature two medical mysteries that sound like they are straight out of a horror movie. The audio from both of these stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos:#2 -- "Gasp" --  A very scary thunderstorm foreshadows a mysterious, unexplained disaster with horrific consequences (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09A7pjC3zhY)#1 -- "All in Their Heads" -- A mysterious disease almost wipes out an entire tribe, but where this disease comes from will make you squirm (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk_JTdngG9k)For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Just after 7 p.m. on June 16th, 2010, an employee at the Palmdale, California Sheriff’s Department tapped his fingers on his desk and sighed. The department was usually pretty busy, but it had been slow that night, so the shift was dragging. As the employee aimlessly moved around some paperwork, he heard something that made him look up at the front doors of the department. The sound came from outside, and it was muffled, but it sounded like someone yelling. Seconds later, a young woman charged through the front doors. She was frantically screaming for help… and she was covered in blood. For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today’s podcast will feature two claustrophobia inducing stories about cave explorers. The audio from both of these stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos:#2 -- "Into the Dark" --  A man faces a nightmare in a bat cave (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-OLxaEnFJc)#1 -- "Last Wish" -- An explorer tries to find a new undiscovered chamber in a cave (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjyZeVb8ct4)For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On a crisp fall morning in 2007, a small airplane took flight over the forested town of Graham, Washington. The pilot was a detective with the Pierce county sheriff’s department, and he was flying a somewhat unusual mission. He wasn’t looking for a lost person, or chasing a fleeing suspect. Instead, he was circling the sky above the scene of a double-murder case that had him – and his whole department – stumped. The detective had run out of ideas on the ground. So he’d decided to take flight. He always thought better in the air – and he figured he would literally get a new perspective on his evidence this way. He circled over the house where the homicides took place. And that’s when he noticed something – from the sky, it became obvious in a way that he never considered from the ground. With a rush of adrenaline, he turned his plane back toward the airfield. He had a hunch – and if he was right, he’d just cracked the case. For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today’s podcast will feature 3 stories of journeys that promised adventure, but led somewhere far more sinister. The audio from all three stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos:#3 -- "Headlights" -- Father & son get lost in the woods during a hunting trip (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZCCCxnSMxs)#2 -- "Into Infinity" -- Mountaineering student in Alaska walks where he shouldn't (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32Nwh9sq7DI)#1 -- "The Signal" -- A man's trip into the arctic wilderness takes a turn for the worse (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQJUDgQtRNI)For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today's episode is something completely new! But don't worry, it's in addition to the regular episodes!For the first time ever, I am interviewing a guest. Joining me is superstar comedian, Tom Segura. Tom and I discuss storytelling, share some stories, and I tell Tom a brand new strange, dark & mysterious story I've never told before. It's one that defies logic and belief. You won't want to miss this story, or this discussion!WATCH the full video here: https://youtu.be/8SEDCUaL0hYSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In September of 2021, a young woman named Anna Moriah Willson – who everybody just called “Mo” – stood in front of a cheering crowd at the end of a long outdoor bike path in Idaho. Mo had just finished a grueling gravel race, which is a cycling race on difficult terrain. And it was clear to everyone in the crowd who was cheering that not only was Mo one of the best women cyclists in the country – she was quickly becoming the face of the sport. Like all the competitors, Mo was a highly-trained athlete and in peak physical condition. But that brute athleticism was offset by a bright smile, her long auburn hair, and a true love for talking to anybody and everybody. It was this combination of her athletic skill, outgoing personality, and her natural comfort in front of cameras and on social media that made her the perfect ambassador for the growing sport of gravel racing. And there was one particular person at the race in Idaho who just couldn’t take his eyes off her. He was already one of the most famous male gravel racers in the world, and as he made his way through the crowd to meet her, Mo’s face lit up, and she could feel her heart racing a little. Before long, the two top riders were introducing themselves to each other and having some nice small talk… not realizing the horrible chain of events this encounter would spark.For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Some people will lie, cheat, and steal to get ahead, but today’s podcast features two wild stories where those so-called “master plans” fall apart in the most unexpected ways. The audio from both of these stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos:#2 -- "Sign Here" --  A routine trip to the bank has a sinister backstory (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNbRksDBLHw)#1 -- "A Carefully Laid Plan" -- An undercover cop witnesses something in a fast food restaurant that cracks his case wide open (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbGz9Ayf9Hs)For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On the afternoon of March 24, 2006, an employee at a moving truck rental company in Ohio opened his desk drawer and grabbed a wad of cash. It had been a slow day, so the employee was using his downtime to organize a few recent payments. The money he’d just grabbed was from an all-cash deal that had happened a few days ago. At the time, the employee had been super busy, so he’d just taken the cash from the customer, flipped through it quickly to make sure the amount seemed right, then shoved the money in the drawer to deal with later. Now, he was actually counting it properly – and he really hoped the customer hadn’t shorted him, or he’d have to track them down to collect. But as the employee counted the bills, he paused. Not because the amount wasn’t right – but because there was something on the money that caught his attention. For a second, he wasn’t sure what it was. So, he looked closer. And then, all at once, he understood what he was seeing. He stopped counting the money and started flipping through it as quickly as he could – and he kept seeing the same thing on almost all the bills. With his heart racing, the employee dropped the money, grabbed the phone, and called the police.For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today’s story is one I told several years back on YouTube, but in 2024 during my live tour, I brought this one back out and gave it a complete overhaul and ended up telling it live, and the audience absolutely loved it.Story name, preview & link to the original YouTube video:#1 -- "What's in the Basement?" -- A family starts hearing tapping in their walls, but their horrifying story only begins there (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=shared&v=dR3ThBE7Cj4)For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In June of 1980, a car jolted to a stop in a parking lot on the outskirts of a small Utah suburb. The car door opened, a man stepped out into the darkness, and he stumbled across the parking lot towards the large building where he worked. He’d been drinking, and he was feeling it. So he stood outside of the building for a minute, and tried to collect himself. He knew this might be the last moment of peace he – or anyone in his community – would have in a long time. Because he knew something that nobody else inside that building would even imagine. He knew that someone had just committed the first murder ever recorded in this safe, quiet Utah town.For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This story is a fan favorite from MrBallen's Medical Mysteries.No Reservations:A Spanish marathon runner develops a mysterious obsession with gourmet food. But what seems like an innocent new passion may be more dangerous than he thinks.The Game:After going through her normal morning routine, an otherwise healthy woman finds herself at death’s door. In a mad rush to save the woman’s life, her doctors try to understand why her body is suddenly shutting down with no explanation.Listen Now: Wondery.fm/MBMMFor 100s more stories like this one, check out my YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @MrBallenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On a morning in early-1986 in Arizona, someone sat hunched over a desk, furiously writing a letter. And almost every line of this letter included a direct threat of violence this person was going to inflict on the recipient. They kept writing, embellishing every horrible thing that they wanted to do. Finally, they finished writing and read over the letter—it was explicit and terrifying, just as they’d hoped. They put the letter down, glanced at a cardboard box sitting on the floor, and smiled. Nobody would ever suspect that the contents of that plain box would soon help them carry out the bizarre murder plot they’d had running through their head for months.For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today’s podcast will feature 3 hiking horror stories that are still shrouded in mystery. The audio from all three stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel and has been remastered for today's episode.Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos:#3 -- "The Overlook" -- He turned around and couldn't believe what he saw... (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhOpd5lJU4Y)#2 -- "One Sock" -- A Boy Scout walks down a populated trail, but doesn't come out the other side (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR5ZTc9ZwxU)#1 -- "I’m Looking For You" -- Authorities are faced with a bizarre mystery on a mountain in China (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EI_rbrVhAG0)For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

One September afternoon in 2003, a woman in Tucson, Arizona, heard a knock on her front door and answered it. She was surprised to see a Tucson police detective standing on her front steps, and even more surprised when the detective started asking a bunch of questions about her next door neighbor. The woman was a law-abiding citizen, and she didn’t know anything. The detective gave her his business card and asked her to call him if that changed, but as she closed the door, she was pretty sure she would never have any reason to talk to him again. That was until a few days later, when she looked out her front window and saw two sweaty men jump out of a van and walk up the steps into her neighbor’s house. She watched for a few minutes, with her heart racing, realizing that what she was watching might very well be the coverup of a murder. She let the curtain fall and ran to her purse, to dig out the detective’s business card. For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today’s podcast features 3 stories that involve people who were trapped – with “no way out.” The audio from all three stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos:#3 -- "The 15th Floor" -- Something truly disturbing is found in an apartment in China (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xaLEHXC6Is)#2 -- "Rabbit Hole" -- A hunter sees something on the ground and goes in for a closer look (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bvMIHUVkVE)#1 -- "My Brother’s Keeper" -- A very famous street has a very dark history (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFd0mDwKc_I)For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.