The Devil Within

SINS OF THE EARTH Part Three: Beneath the Mountains The Devil Within — Hosted by Branden Morgan There is a particular kind of arrogance required to look upon a mountain and conclude that its greatest contribution to civilization would be to disappear. In the early nineteenth century, the mountains of northern New Jersey were becoming the foundation of an industrial empire. Beneath their forests lay enormous deposits of iron ore, and the men determined to extract that wealth were transforming the landscape one mine, one furnace, and one felled tree at a time. And in 1804, a new name appeared on the map. Jefferson Township. In the third installment of Sins of the Earth, we explore the birth of Jefferson Township and the extraordinary industrial transformation unfolding across the New Jersey Highlands. Named for President Thomas Jefferson, the newly established township occupied a rugged landscape of mountains, forests, lakes, and scattered settlements. But beneath its seemingly untouched wilderness, an increasingly sophisticated network of mines, furnaces, charcoal hearths, and transportation routes was taking shape. From Milton and Oak Ridge to Lake Hopatcong and the neighboring ironworks of West Milford and Rockaway, the region was becoming an essential part of America's expanding industrial economy. Iron was extracted from ancient bedrock. Forests were harvested to fuel furnaces. Waterways were altered, roads carved through mountains, and entire communities built around an industry that would eventually disappear. But disappearing industries have a peculiar habit of leaving things behind. Today, the forests have reclaimed much of that industrial landscape. Abandoned mine shafts, forgotten charcoal hearths, crumbling foundations, and old transportation routes lie concealed beneath generations of vegetation. And that raises an unsettling question: What else might have been left behind? As our investigation moves closer to the events of January 1988 and the murders that first brought The Devil Within to Jefferson Township, we begin examining whether the region's industrial history could have produced environmental consequences that persisted into the modern era. There is no established connection between that history and the Sullivan murders. But understanding what happened to the land is the first step toward determining whether such a connection is even plausible. Because every place has a past. And sometimes the most important parts of that past are the ones we can no longer see. IN THIS EPISODE • The founding of Jefferson Township on February 11, 1804, and its connection to President Thomas Jefferson. • The expanding iron mines and industrial economy of the New Jersey Highlands. • The development of Milton, Oak Ridge, and the communities surrounding Lake Hopatcong. • The role of the Morris Canal in transforming regional transportation and commerce. • The forgotten charcoal hearths, abandoned mines, and industrial remnants concealed within the forests. • The critical distinction between evidence of historical industrial activity and proof of environmental contamination. NEXT EPISODE — BLOOD & IRON In Act II of Sins of the Earth, we return to the industrial ambitions of Peter Hasenclever, Long Pond Ironworks, and the expanding network of mines and furnaces that transformed the Highlands. This time, we'll begin examining the industrial operations themselves: what they produced, what they discarded, and whether their environmental legacy may have extended far beyond the generations responsible for creating it. LISTEN. FOLLOW. JOIN THE INVESTIGATION. Listen & Follow: Subscribe to The Devil Within on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Follow the show so you don't miss a single chapter of Sins of the Earth. Rate & Review: Enjoying the investigation? Leave us a five-star rating and a written review. Your support helps introduce The Devil Within to new listeners and keeps independent storytelling alive. Watch & Subscribe: Experience The Devil Within on the Evio Creative YouTube channel. Subscribe and turn on notifications for new episodes, historical imagery, and exclusive video content. Join the Conversation: Follow @thedevilwithinpod on Instagram for episode updates, archival imagery, and behind-the-scenes material from the investigation. Have a Story or a Tip? Do you have historical photographs, family stories, documents, or firsthand knowledge of Jefferson Township, the New Jersey Highlands, or the region's abandoned iron mines? We want to hear from you. Email: mailto:[email protected] The Devil Within is an Evio Creative production. Every place has a past. And sometimes the most important parts of that past are the ones we can no longer see. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SINS OF THE EARTH Part Two: The Ironmasters The Devil Within — Hosted by Branden Morgan Before northern New Jersey became a landscape of suburban neighborhoods, lakeside communities, and winding mountain roads, it was the birthplace of an industrial empire. And the men who built it were willing to sacrifice an extraordinary amount to extract the wealth buried beneath their feet. In the second installment of Sins of the Earth, we return to the eighteenth-century New Jersey Highlands, where vast deposits of iron ore attracted a new breed of entrepreneur: the ironmasters. Among them was Peter Hasenclever, a German-born industrialist whose extraordinary ambitions helped transform the forests and mountains of northern New Jersey into a sprawling network of mines, furnaces, forges, and industrial settlements. Backed by the American Iron Company, Hasenclever envisioned an enterprise capable of supplying the growing British colonies with one of civilization's most indispensable materials. But turning stone into iron required considerably more than ambition. Entire forests were harvested to produce charcoal. Rivers were dammed to power enormous bellows. Roads were carved through mountains, and generations of workers endured brutal conditions to keep the furnaces burning. At places like Long Pond, the landscape itself became part of an enormous industrial machine. And with every ton of iron produced came something else: smoke, ash, slag, and the physical consequences of an industry that would eventually disappear, leaving its remnants scattered throughout the Highlands. What happens when the industry dies, but its legacy remains buried in the land? As our investigation continues, we examine the extraordinary achievements of colonial ironmaking alongside the environmental questions that would become central to Sins of the Earth. Could the consequences of industrial activity have persisted long after the furnaces went cold? And is there any credible evidence connecting that legacy to the darker chapters of Jefferson Township's modern history? The answers are far from certain. But the questions are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Because the ironmasters came to the Highlands looking for fortunes. What they left behind may prove considerably more interesting. IN THIS EPISODE • The rise of iron production in colonial America and Britain's Iron Act of 1750. • Peter Hasenclever, the American Iron Company, and the industrial development of Long Pond. • The enormous demand for timber, charcoal, waterpower, and human labor. • Life inside the furnaces, mines, and ironworking communities of the eighteenth-century Highlands. • The environmental legacy of colonial ironmaking and the unanswered questions surrounding its long-term consequences. NEXT EPISODE: BENEATH THE MOUNTAINS We explore the expanding iron industry of northern New Jersey, the establishment of Jefferson Township, and the forgotten mines and industrial ruins still concealed within the forests of Jefferson, Milton, Oak Ridge, and West Milford. LISTEN. FOLLOW. JOIN THE INVESTIGATION. Listen & Follow: Subscribe to The Devil Within on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Follow the show so you don't miss a single chapter of Sins of the Earth. Rate & Review: If you're enjoying the series, leave us a five-star rating and a written review. It's one of the most effective ways to help new listeners discover the show. Watch & Subscribe: Watch The Devil Within on the Evio Creative YouTube channel. Subscribe and turn on notifications for new episodes, historical imagery, and exclusive video content. Join the Conversation: Follow @thedevilwithinpod on Instagram for episode updates, behind-the-scenes material, and more from the investigation. Have a Story or a Tip? Do you have family connections to the iron industry of northern New Jersey, historical documents, photographs, or firsthand knowledge of the region's abandoned mines and furnaces? We'd love to hear from you. Email: mailto:[email protected] The Devil Within is an Evio Creative production. The most enduring things we leave behind are not always the things we intended to build. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SINS OF THE EARTH Act I: The Land | Episode One: Before There Was Jefferson The Devil Within — Hosted by Branden Morgan What if the darkest chapter in a town's history began centuries before the crime that made it infamous? In January 1988, fourteen-year-old Tommy Sullivan murdered his mother, Betty, before taking his own life in Jefferson Township, New Jersey. The tragedy became the foundation of The Devil Within, a story surrounded by allegations of Satanism, demonic influence, and questions that remain deeply unsettling nearly four decades later. Now, we're returning to where it all began. But this time, we're digging much deeper. In the premiere of Sins of the Earth, we travel back more than a billion years to explore the geological origins of the New Jersey Highlands, the ancient mountains rich with iron ore, and the rivers and forests that sustained generations of Lenape communities long before European settlement. As Dutch, English, and German settlers pushed into the region, the landscape began to change. Forests became fuel. Rivers became sources of power. Mountains became repositories of mineral wealth. And an emerging iron industry began transforming the land in ways that would outlast the people who built it. Inspired in part by Caroline Fraser's Murderland, this ambitious new investigation asks a provocative question: Could the environmental consequences of America's industrial past have influenced generations that followed? The connection remains unproven. But the history is real, and the questions deserve answers. Before there was Jefferson Township, before the Sullivan murders, before anyone imagined the darkness that would eventually descend upon this small New Jersey community, there was the land. And beneath it, there was iron. NEXT EPISODE: THE IRON BENEATH We follow the ironmasters, entrepreneurs, and laborers who transformed the Highlands into an emerging industrial powerhouse, building furnaces, forges, and entire communities around the wealth buried beneath the mountains. LISTEN. FOLLOW. JOIN THE INVESTIGATION. Listen & Follow: Subscribe to The Devil Within on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Don't miss a single chapter of Sins of the Earth. Rate & Review: Enjoying the show? Leave us a five-star rating and a written review. Your support helps introduce The Devil Within to new listeners. Watch & Subscribe: Experience The Devil Within on the Evio Creative YouTube channel. Subscribe and turn on notifications for new episodes and exclusive video content. Join the Conversation: Follow us on Instagram @thedevilwithinpod for episode updates, historical imagery, and behind-the-scenes material. Have a Story or a Tip? We're always interested in hearing from listeners, particularly those with firsthand knowledge of Jefferson Township and the history of the New Jersey Highlands. Contact us at mailto:[email protected]. The Devil Within is an Evio Creative production. The past is never quite as distant as we'd like to believe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

THE DEVIL'S LEDGER Week of November 9, 2026 America Has Spoken. The Ghosts Are Still Talking. And the Horror Never Stops. America has voted, the political landscape is shifting, and a new chapter in American history is beginning. But whether the newly elected can deliver on the promises that brought them to power remains to be seen. This week on The Devil's Ledger, Branden Morgan reflects on the election, the importance of empowering women, and the extraordinary responsibility that comes with public office. Then we turn our attention to the darker corners of the Evio Creative Universe, where abandoned amusement parks, industrial mysteries, murderous mothers, and homicidal governesses await. THE CREEPIEST THING I HEARD THIS WEEK Lake Shawnee Amusement Park: Where the Fun Never Dies Deep in the mountains of West Virginia sits an abandoned amusement park with a history considerably more disturbing than its rusting rides might suggest. Built on land associated with a bloody eighteenth-century frontier conflict and the deaths of several children, Lake Shawnee Amusement Park became the setting for additional tragedies during its years of operation. Today, visitors report ghostly children, unexplained laughter, and amusement park rides that seem to move on their own. Is something supernatural lingering among the abandoned attractions, or has a genuinely tragic history simply given rise to an exceptionally effective ghost story? Either way, this is one amusement park where you might want to skip the last ride. THE DEVIL WITHIN — SINS OF THE EARTH A New Investigation Begins Could the toxic legacy of America's iron and steel industries have contributed to the Golden Age of Serial Killers? Inspired by Caroline Fraser's Murderland, The Devil Within launches an ambitious new investigation into industrial contamination, environmental history, and the possible relationship between toxic exposure and violent behavior. Our journey begins in Jefferson Township, New Jersey, the community at the center of the original Devil Within investigation, where fourteen-year-old Tommy Sullivan committed an unimaginable act of violence in January 1988. What could the region's centuries-old industrial history tell us about the environment inherited by later generations? And could it help us understand a community associated with three murderers? The connections remain unproven, but the questions are worth investigating. Sins of the Earth begins this week on The Devil Within. CRIMINAL MISCHIEF — THE MOST HATED WOMAN IN AMERICA The Crimes of Lori Vallow-Daybell Carolyn Ossorio returns to the Criminal Mischief archives to revisit one of the most disturbing murder investigations in recent American history. Lori Vallow-Daybell's apocalyptic religious beliefs, increasingly bizarre behavior, and involvement in a series of horrific crimes culminated in the murders of her children, Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow. What followed was a shocking investigation involving religious extremism, manipulation, betrayal, and a mother whose actions horrified the nation. Revisit the investigation, the convictions, and the disturbing psychology behind the woman dubbed The Most Hated Woman in America. ON THE SLIPPERY — THE LEXICON The Hit Limited Series Continues Scot and Nancy continue their latest limited series, The LexiCON, exclusively on the Evio Creative Network. Haven't started listening yet? The first half of the season is already available to binge, making this the perfect opportunity to catch up before the next installment. THIS WEEK IN HORROR — VICTORIAN PSYCHO Good Manners. Bad Intentions. Very Sharp Objects. It's 1858, and a mysterious young governess named Winifred Notty has arrived at a remote gothic manor on the Yorkshire Moors. Her assignment? Educate the children of the wealthy Pounds family. Her problem? She's a psychopath. Starring Maika Monroe, Jason Isaacs, and Ruth Wilson, Victorian Psycho combines Victorian etiquette, gothic atmosphere, and murderous impulses into a deliciously twisted horror story. Because maintaining appearances is terribly important. Even when the bodies start disappearing. LISTEN. FOLLOW. JOIN THE EVIO UNIVERSE. Listen & Follow: Find The Devil's Ledger, The Devil Within, Criminal Mischief, and The Slippery on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Follow your favorites so you never miss an episode. Rate & Review: Enjoying our shows? Leave a five-star rating and a written review. It's one of the best ways to help independent podcasts reach new listeners. Watch & Subscribe: Visit the Evio Creative YouTube channel for video episodes, exclusive content, and more from across the network. Subscribe and turn on notifications. Join the Conversation: Follow @thedevilwithinpod on Instagram for updates, behind-the-scenes material, and stories from the darker corners of history. Have a Story or a Tip? Send your paranormal experiences, true crime tips, or story suggestions to mailto:[email protected]. The Devil's Ledger is an Evio Creative production, hosted by Branden Morgan. Stay safe, stay dry, and start preparing for Thanksgiving. Ready or not, it's right around the damn corner. We'll catch up with you somewhere across the Evio Universe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

THE DEVIL WITHIN HAUNTED HALLOWEEN Episode Six: The Queen of the Dead Marie Laveau, the Cities of the Dead, and the Supernatural Secrets of New Orleans In New Orleans, the dead have never been particularly interested in disappearing. Beneath the city's ancient oak trees and behind its wrought-iron cemetery gates, elaborate stone and marble tombs rise above the earth, forming miniature neighborhoods where generations of families share their final resting places. These extraordinary burial grounds, known as the Cities of the Dead, have become synonymous with one of America's most mysterious and spiritually fascinating cities. And among the thousands buried within them, one woman has inspired more superstition, fascination, and supernatural speculation than almost anyone else in Louisiana history. Her name was Marie Laveau. Known as the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, Laveau was a free woman of color who acquired extraordinary influence in nineteenth-century Louisiana, a society defined by slavery, racial inequality, and deeply entrenched religious divisions. Revered as a healer and spiritual adviser, feared by those who misunderstood her practices, and rumored to possess powers beyond ordinary human understanding, Laveau became one of the most remarkable figures in American folklore. But her legend only grew after her death in 1881. In the final installment of Haunted Halloween, The Devil Within travels to New Orleans to investigate the woman behind the mythology, the spiritual traditions that shaped her reputation, and the extraordinary cemeteries where the living continue seeking assistance from the dead. We'll explore the origins of Louisiana Voodoo, the religious gatherings associated with Laveau near Bayou St. John, and the mysterious stories that followed her through the streets of nineteenth-century New Orleans. We'll also venture into St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, where a weathered family tomb traditionally associated with Marie Laveau has attracted generations of visitors carrying flowers, coins, and handwritten petitions. Some believed that marking three X's upon the tomb and making a wish could summon the Voodoo Queen's assistance from beyond the grave. And then there's the most extraordinary claim of all. What if Marie Laveau never really died? For decades after her death, stories circulated of a mysterious woman who looked remarkably like the Voodoo Queen, wandering the streets of New Orleans apparently untouched by time. Was she a supernatural apparition, or had confusion surrounding Laveau's daughter, who shared her name, created the illusion of immortality? From the devastating yellow fever epidemics that filled New Orleans' cemeteries to the spiritual traditions that transformed death into an enduring part of the city's cultural identity, we separate documented history from supernatural legend to uncover the remarkable story of a woman whose influence survived long after her world disappeared. Was Marie Laveau truly capable of communicating with the dead, or was her greatest power the extraordinary influence she achieved among the living? More than 140 years after her death, the Voodoo Queen's legend remains very much alive. LISTEN, WATCH & JOIN THE CONVERSATION LISTEN & FOLLOW: Subscribe to The Devil Within on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Follow the show so you never miss another investigation into history's darker corners. RATE & REVIEW: Enjoying Haunted Halloween? Leave us a five-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Your support helps new listeners discover the show and allows us to continue bringing these extraordinary stories to life. WATCH & SUBSCRIBE: Experience The Devil Within through cinematic imagery, historical photographs, and original visual storytelling on the Evio Creative YouTube channel. Subscribe and turn on notifications for new episodes, exclusive content, and more from the Evio Creative network. JOIN THE CONVERSATION: Follow @thedevilwithinpod on Instagram for haunting historical imagery, behind-the-scenes content, and more stories from the darker side of American history. HAVE A STORY TO SHARE? Have you experienced something unexplained, visited a haunted location, or uncovered a mystery you think deserves investigating? Send your stories, experiences, and tips to mailto:[email protected]. COMING NEXT: THE DEVIL RETURNS HOME With Haunted Halloween behind us, The Devil Within returns to the investigation that started it all. Jefferson Township, New Jersey. More than three decades ago, the murders of Tommy Sullivan and his mother, Betty, became the foundation of the very first season of The Devil Within, a case involving unimaginable violence, religious obsession, and questions that have haunted investigators and listeners ever since. Now, as another anniversary of the murders approaches, we're returning to New Jersey to reexamine the evidence and explore a possible new explanation for what happened inside the Sullivan home. An explanation that, if supported by the evidence, might extend far beyond one family. What if the same disturbing patterns could help explain dozens of other cases involving seemingly inexplicable acts of violence? And what if the answer we've been searching for has been hiding in plain sight all along? The Devil Within is written and hosted by Branden Morgan. An Evio Creative production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices