The Spooky Darlings

Cryptid Crawl #22- Michigan Monsters and Misfits

From red-skinned harbingers of doom to howling forest beasts, we’re diving into some of Michigan’s strangest legends. This week, The Spooky Darlings explore the  Nain Rouge of Detroit, the terrifying Michigan Dogman, the eerie tale of the Ada Witch, and the very real lumberjack P.K. Small whose bizarre appearance and behavior earned him the nickname “Slackjaw,” or “the Ogre of Seney”. Cryptids, curses, and backwoods chaos await.  Sources: https://visitdetroit.com/inside-the-d/the-legend-of-the-nain-rouge-in-detroit/ [https://visitdetroit.com/inside-the-d/the-legend-of-the-nain-rouge-in-detroit/] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nain_Rouge [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nain_Rouge] Podcast Theories of the Third Kind,  Episode 297 - Nain Rouge. Michigan Dogman: * Luther cabin attack details: Cadillac News, "Was the Dogman responsible?" [https://www.cadillacnews.com/news/local/was-the-dogman-responsible/article_b6fdbc0d-5fae-5213-a6e9-08f32dd88e15.html] * Cook's own account: Cadillac News 30th anniversary [https://www.cadillacnews.com/news/local/how-the-dogman-legend-was-born/article_7c49b428-2955-5d39-95e1-1d1be6291721.html] + WCMU [https://www.wcmu.org/local-regional-news/2023-10-31/dog-man-story-starts-as-song-continues-as-legend] + Michigan Enjoyer [https://enjoyer.com/is-the-michigan-dogman-just-an-april-fools-prank-gone-wild/] * Beast of Bray Road: Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_Bray_Road] * Modern sightings color: Connect Paranormal [https://connectparanormal.net/2025/01/21/werewolf-and-dogman-sightings-in-michigan/] (paranormal blog tier) * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvlQp5f7ZwU [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvlQp5f7ZwU] Message us! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2515661/fan_mail/new] Thanks for listening to The Spooky Darlings! If you have a creepy, strange, or cool story you would like to share email us at thespookydarlings@gmail.com. Follow us on instagram and TikTok @thespookydarlingspodcast for more! Peruse our merch store at https://thespookydarlings.printful.me/ [https://thespookydarlings.printful.me/]

#49- Con Man, Escape Artist, and Sucker for Love: The Extraordinary Life And Crimes of Steven Jay Russell

Steven Jay Russell wasn’t just a con man — he was an escape artist, master manipulator, and one of the most unbelievable criminals Texas ever tried to contain. Join The Spooky Darlings as they unravel the bizarre true story of Steven Jay Russell: from insurance fraud and impersonation schemes to his jaw-dropping prison escapes that embarrassed law enforcement again and again. His final capture led to years spent in brutal solitary confinement, a cruel punishment for a non-violent offender.  Steven Jay Russell was a charming genius, convincing liar, and a man the system tried to break completely. Join us as we share the incredible story of one of Texas’s most persistent absconders. Sources:  I Love You Phillip Morris,  by Steve McVicker https://solitarywatch.org/2014/12/08/voices-from-solitary-the-life-of-an-escape-artist/ [https://solitarywatch.org/2014/12/08/voices-from-solitary-the-life-of-an-escape-artist/] https://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2020/06/king-con-the-conman-who-simply-walked-out-of-prison-four-times/ [https://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2020/06/king-con-the-conman-who-simply-walked-out-of-prison-four-times/] Karl Smallwood: King Con: The Con Man Who Simply Walked Out of Prison Four Times The Great Escapee, article in Esquire Magazine, by Alex Hannford Message us! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2515661/fan_mail/new] Thanks for listening to The Spooky Darlings! If you have a creepy, strange, or cool story you would like to share email us at thespookydarlings@gmail.com. Follow us on instagram and TikTok @thespookydarlingspodcast for more! Peruse our merch store at https://thespookydarlings.printful.me/ [https://thespookydarlings.printful.me/]

FUF #20: Hantavirus, Hawaii, and Horrible doppelgängers!

Join the sisters as they catch up, and then discuss current events, and current drama!  Starting with what we're reading and watching, to what we are paying attention to in the media. Taylor Frankie Paul to the beloved Lani monk seal in Hawaii. We might even get a deplorable doppelgänger out of this!  Sources:  New Girl inspiration TikTok: @viperpilotkarathrace Message us! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2515661/fan_mail/new] Thanks for listening to The Spooky Darlings! If you have a creepy, strange, or cool story you would like to share email us at thespookydarlings@gmail.com. Follow us on instagram and TikTok @thespookydarlingspodcast for more! Peruse our merch store at https://thespookydarlings.printful.me/ [https://thespookydarlings.printful.me/]

#48- We Haunt Who We Want: The Uncanny Story of Elsa Barker and Judge David P. Hatch

This week the Spooky Darlings are meeting you on the Astral Plane!  In 1887, a California judge built a Victorian mansion on a hilltop in Los Angeles — a house that would later appear in Spider Baby, Silent Scream, and Insidious: Chapter 2. Some houses just have a type. But the real story isn't the house. It's 1912. A poet named Elsa Barker is alone in her Paris apartment when she feels a sudden, overwhelming compulsion to pick up a pencil. Her hand moves as if seized from the outside. Words come. And at the end of the message — a single signature. X. She has no idea what it means. This week: a dead judge, a living poet, and letters written from the other side.  Sources: * Smith Estate (Los Angeles) — Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_Estate_(Los_Angeles)] * The Smith Estate from Insidious: Chapter 2 [https://www.iamnotastalker.com/2017/10/18/the-smith-estate-from-insidious-chapter-2/] * The Man Called X Was Judge David P. Hatch [http://www.metnews.com/articles/2009/reminiscing110509.htm] Message us! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2515661/fan_mail/new] Thanks for listening to The Spooky Darlings! If you have a creepy, strange, or cool story you would like to share email us at thespookydarlings@gmail.com. Follow us on instagram and TikTok @thespookydarlingspodcast for more! Peruse our merch store at https://thespookydarlings.printful.me/ [https://thespookydarlings.printful.me/]

Cryptid Crawl #21: Massachusetts Mayhem! The Dover Demon, the Bridgewater Triangle, and the Black Flash of Provincetown

This week, The Spooky Darlings head to the Bay State for a Cryptid Crawl filled with tiny demons, cursed swamps, and a shadowy blue-glowing-eyed creature with superhuman strength leaping through the fog. First, we dive into the eyewitness accounts of the Dover Demon — the bizarre, big-eyed creature spotted crawling along stone walls by terrified teens in 1977. Then we venture into the infamous Bridgewater Triangle, a region packed with UFO sightings, phantom animals, poltergeist activity, and generations of eerie encounters. Finally, we head to the coast to uncover the mystery of Provincetown’s Black Flash: a dark, lightning-fast figure said to sprint through the town, strike fiercely when provoked, and disappear into the night. Are these creatures misunderstood cryptids, local folklore gone wild, or something even stranger lurking in Massachusetts after dark? Light your candles and settle in for the spooky tales, darlings. Sources:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dover_Demon [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dover_Demon] http://www.strange-new-england.com/2015/10/21/dover-demon/ [http://www.strange-new-england.com/2015/10/21/dover-demon/] https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Dover_Demon [https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Dover_Demon] https://garyreddin.substack.com/p/the-dover-demon?r=2xommj&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true [https://garyreddin.substack.com/p/the-dover-demon?r=2xommj&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true] “Decades later, the Dover Demon still haunts” By Mark Sullivan, Boston Globe Correspondent  |  October 29, 2006  “Monsters of Massachussetts”, by Loren Coleman www.gothichorrorstories.com/gothic-travel/by-location/new-england/cape-cod/the-black-flash-of-provincetown-ma-folk-horror-and-hysteria-from-new-england-echoes-in-the-midwestern-countryside/&ved=2ahUKEwjNq-X0iKmUAxVTHjQIHZ1lFk0QFnoECBwQAQ&usg=AOvVaw03_5yfXzrwy_EQzmeuh4vJ [https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.gothichorrorstories.com/gothic-travel/by-location/new-england/cape-cod/the-black-flash-of-provincetown-ma-folk-horror-and-hysteria-from-new-england-echoes-in-the-midwestern-countryside/&ved=2ahUKEwjNq-X0iKmUAxVTHjQIHZ1lFk0QFnoECBwQAQ&usg=AOvVaw03_5yfXzrwy_EQzmeuh4vJ] https://newenglandfolklore.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-black-flash-of-provincetown-hoax-or.html [https://newenglandfolklore.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-black-flash-of-provincetown-hoax-or.html] https://www.preston-posits.com/blog/cryptids-of-north-america-pt-5-massachusetts [https://www.preston-posits.com/blog/cryptids-of-north-america-pt-5-massachusetts] Message us! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2515661/fan_mail/new] Thanks for listening to The Spooky Darlings! If you have a creepy, strange, or cool story you would like to share email us at thespookydarlings@gmail.com. Follow us on instagram and TikTok @thespookydarlingspodcast for more! Peruse our merch store at https://thespookydarlings.printful.me/ [https://thespookydarlings.printful.me/]