Pleasing Terrors

This is the first in a three part series about one of Charleston, South Carolina's lost stories. It combines history, ghosts, true crime,  amd fairytales.

This episode features the untold story of the origin of King Kong.

This episode tells a story about pirates and a haunted dungeon.

This episode tells the story of the Charleston mermaid.

This is a story about a German fairytale and a brutal murder in northwestern Georgia.    Suggested reading: The Corpsewood Manor Murders In North Georgia by Amy Petulla

This a story about the Titanic, Victorian sex trafficking and a mummy's curse.        

Haunted houses, midnight witchcraft and famous murder in historic Savannah, Georgia.

In this episode I visit some of Savanah's most haunted locations.    Suggested Reading: Haunted Savanah: America's Most Spectral City by James Caskey Haunted Savannah by Georgia R. Byrd

Harry Houdini and the Halloween Séance. 

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 was the home of Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village in 1692. In 1692, it was believed that the devil took possession of many of the people in Salem Village. Cotton Mather believed that there was a war going on with spirits trying to steal souls and witches roaming free and trying to set up Satan's kingdom. The story of Martha Goodwin and Cotton Mather's observation. Witchcraft and Ann Glover sentenced to death and hanged on Boston Common in 1688. Her children were in the front row. The Goodwin children suffered seizures which were likely caused by witchcraft. The curse followed the Parris house from Boston, and the Parris children began to have the seizures. Evil hands and supernatural afflictions. A visit by Sarah Good and her daughter. The Parris children accused their servant Tituba, Sarah Osborne, and Sarah Good of being witches. The shattered mind of an imprisoned four-year old and Mercy. Elizabeth Howe the wife of James Howe and mother of six children. In 1682, Elizabeth was accused of being a witch by feuding neighbors. As accusations spread, she realized the last 10 years had only been a reprieve. She was arrested and her trial began in 1692. She was found guilty and sentenced to death. The testimony of Ann Putnam and the trial of George Burroughs. There were really no witches in Salem, but there was a conspiracy that was Satanic in nature. Resources: Point Mystic The Strange and Unusual Podcast A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials Cotton Mather Horror Never Sleeps 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 ghost tour, on Facebook and Twitter!

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 Parris family. Using Venus Glass and taking a peek into the invisible world. How it's human nature to be drawn to what is forbidden In January of 1693, Betty Parris daughter of Samuel, and cousin Abigail were stricken with mysterious illnesses. Sarah Good and her daughter visit the Parris home. Dr. Griggs determines the affliction of Betty and Abigail is supernatural in nature. Thomas Putnam goes to the Salem Town magistrates to file claims of witchcraft. A woman's final plea for freedom opens the floodgates of imagination and evil to begin a dark era of lies and persecution. Resources: The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege The Strange and Unusual Podcast 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 ghost tour, on Facebook and Twitter!

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 force grabs one of the observers before fading away. Night vision goggles expose a tunnel through the light used by the black creature. The Ute Tribe and the legend of the Navajo Tribe in New Mexico. New Mexico, 1863 Kit Carson and his troops round up the Navajo for transport. Canyon de Chelly and "The Long Walk" of the Navajo. The legend of the skinwalker. Resources: Battle of Canyon de Chelly Kit Carson's Campaign Against the Indians Skinwalker Ranch 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 ghost tour, on Facebook and Twitter!