#52: "Could Be Him, Could Be Anybody" — The Wrongful Trial of Brenton Butler, and the story behind "Murder on a Sunday Morning"

Cryptid Crawl #24: Mississippi! Hexes, Howls, and Highway Horrors

This week we’re heading deep into the Magnolia State, where swampy backroads and haunted waterways hide unsettling legends. First, we visit the grave of the infamous Witch of Yazoo, whose dying curse promised the town would burn in 20 years… and it did. Then we travel down Nash Road to encounter the terrifying tale of the Three-Legged Woman—a bizarre roadside legend that has haunted locals for generations. Finally, we dive into one of Mississippi’s strangest modern monsters: the Ear Eater of Jasper County, a creature tied to chilling attacks and unsettling rumors. Curses, cryptids, and creepy folklore—Mississippi brought the weird, and we’re here for it. Join The Spooky Darlings as we unpack these eerie Southern legends! Sources:  https://hangar1publishing.com/blogs/cryptids/mississippi-cryptids?srsltid=AfmBOor6IfU2OCOCUAniO-tTV4duRBcTrQDibe3JbbObsiNd-pTo0gMc [https://hangar1publishing.com/blogs/cryptids/mississippi-cryptids?srsltid=AfmBOor6IfU2OCOCUAniO-tTV4duRBcTrQDibe3JbbObsiNd-pTo0gMc] https://countryroadsmagazine.com/api/amp/art-and-culture/people-places/the-witch-of-yazoo/ [https://countryroadsmagazine.com/api/amp/art-and-culture/people-places/the-witch-of-yazoo/] https://visityazoo.org/witch-of-yazoo/ [https://visityazoo.org/witch-of-yazoo/] 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/]

#53 - Missing From Paradise: The Mystery of Charlotte Moriarty and Baby Marx Barnes

In 1977, Charlotte Moriarty vanished from the shores of Hawaii, leaving behind questions that decades couldn't answer. A psychic claimed she was murdered and that her young son Marx  had met the same fate. She was half right. Charlotte was never found. But Marx? Marx was very much alive, just living under a different name, in a different family, with no idea who he really was. This week Emily dives into one of Hawaii's most haunting cold cases: a mother who disappeared, a son who was hidden in plain sight, and a psychic who got just enough right to give this case the attention it deserved. Sources: Gone - Ep 3 Paradise Lost (Investigation Discovery) What it was like -YouTube “I was missing for 33 years” Podcast: Reality Life with Kate Casey Ер. - 1295 - SATURDAY SERIES: STEVE CARTER https://www.aetv.com/articles/steve-carter-found-himself-on-missing-persons-site [https://www.aetv.com/articles/steve-carter-found-himself-on-missing-persons-site] https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/8knxa9/what_happened_to_charlotte_moriarty/ [https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/8knxa9/what_happened_to_charlotte_moriarty/] http://www.metnews.com/articles/brad031103.htm [http://www.metnews.com/articles/brad031103.htm] https://websleuths.com/threads/hi-charlotte-moriarty-31-haaula-21-june-1977.43333/ [https://websleuths.com/threads/hi-charlotte-moriarty-31-haaula-21-june-1977.43333/] https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/17621594/man-with-hawaii-ties-solves-missing-child-case-his-own/?outputType=amp [https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/17621594/man-with-hawaii-ties-solves-missing-child-case-his-own/?outputType=amp] https://archives.starbulletin.com/2001/06/23/news/story2.html [https://archives.starbulletin.com/2001/06/23/news/story2.html] 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 #22 — Girls Just Wanna Recap! (And Other Stories)

We cover a lot of ground today! We’re diving into the latest Taylor Frankie Paul update—and it looks like the bachelors from her season are all gathering in LA. We also discuss the case of Aaron Spencer, a father arrested for murder after protecting his daughter, the recent death of Buffy the Vampire Slayer actor Anthony Stewart Head, Eli McCann’s new book, and the Proctor text messages in the Karen Read case. Plus, we chat about recent Bigfoot sightings, a new podcast the sisters are loving, and the latest scary movie we’ve watched. And to top it all off, we share a personal story from a local connected to the Candy Cane Park murder. Brandi recap! Smiles, laughter, tears, and new friendships—plus a special guest appearance from a beloved fan! sources:  tiktok @stephwiththedeets 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/]

#52: "Could Be Him, Could Be Anybody" — The Wrongful Trial of Brenton Butler, and the story behind "Murder on a Sunday Morning"

This week the Spooky Darlings cover a case of lazy, racist, and downright crooked police work. A woman is murdered at a Jacksonville hotel on a Sunday morning. Ninety minutes later, police have their suspect, a fifteen-year-old boy on his way to get a job application. His name is Brenton Butler, and his story, documented in the Oscar-winning film Murder on a Sunday Morning, is one of the most infuriating wrongful arrest cases in American history. Racial profiling, a coerced confession, zero physical evidence, and two public defenders who simply refused to let the system win. This week on the Spooky Darlings, we're telling it in full. Sources: PRIMARY SOURCES: De Lestrade, Jean-Xavier, director. Murder on a Sunday Morning. HBO America Undercover, 2001. Murder on a Sunday Morning." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_on_a_Sunday_Morning [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_on_a_Sunday_Morning]. Accessed 6 June 2026. "Brenton Butler Case." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenton_Butler_case [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenton_Butler_case]. Accessed 6 June 2026. CLOSE CAPTIONING FOR DRAMATIC READING IN EPISODE: https://subsaga.com/bbc/documentaries/factual/storyville/2011-2012/5-murder-on-a-sunday-morning.html [https://subsaga.com/bbc/documentaries/factual/storyville/2011-2012/5-murder-on-a-sunday-morning.html] CROSS-RACE EFFECT SOURCES: Horry, Ruth, et al. "The Cross-Race Effect in Eyewitness Identification." Visual Cognition, vol. 31, no. 1, 2023, pp. 1–18. Taylor & Francis Online, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13506285.2023.2288358 [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13506285.2023.2288358]. Available, John, et al. "Cross-Race Effect in Face Recognition." PubMed Central, National Institutes of Health, 2020, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7067904/ [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7067904/]. "Cross-Race Effect." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-race_effect [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-race_effect]. Accessed 6 June 2026. 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 #23- Minnesota! Cryptids from the Land of 10,000 Lakes

Our 23rd stop on the Cryptid Crawl is The North Star State, Minnesota! This beautiful but cold land has a reputation for being nice. The lakes? Hmmm... Maybe not all of them. Join us as we head north to dig into the cryptic legends of the Land of 10,000 lakes, and just as many mysteries.  We explore a mystery that blurs the line between hoax and horror with the Minnesota Ice Man, then lean Into a creepy haunted lake with a story that will make you never want to swim again, and end with a river/lake monster with a history that goes waaaaayyyy back- not to mention a $50,000 dollar reward that nobody has claimed yet! Maybe it will be The Spooky Darlings that finally get the prize? Sources: https://scienceignored.fandom.com/wiki/Minnesota_Iceman?utm_source=chatgpt.com [https://scienceignored.fandom.com/wiki/Minnesota_Iceman?utm_source=chatgpt.com] https://www.discoveryuk.com/mysteries/unveiling-the-mystery-of-the-minnesota-iceman/?utm_source=chatgpt.com [https://www.discoveryuk.com/mysteries/unveiling-the-mystery-of-the-minnesota-iceman/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/tetrapod-zoology/a-review-of-neanderthal-the-strange-saga-of-the-minnesota-iceman-part-1/ [https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/tetrapod-zoology/a-review-of-neanderthal-the-strange-saga-of-the-minnesota-iceman-part-1/] https://tetzoo.com/blog/2023/9/4/review-of-neanderthal-heuvelmans-2016 [https://tetzoo.com/blog/2023/9/4/review-of-neanderthal-heuvelmans-2016] Minnesota Historical Society Book of Days Almanac Visit Lake City MN — https://www.visitlakecity.org/pepie-the-lake-pepin-monster/ Star Tribune — https://www.startribune.com/lake-pepin-s-rumored-creature-may-be-folklore-come-to-date/267579381 Daily Yonder — https://dailyyonder.com/lake-pepin-monster-fires-up-peoples-imaginations-and-local-economy/2021/05/07/ Folk Bestiary — https://folkbestiary.com/minnesota/ Thieves River — https://thievesriver.com/blogs/articles/minnesota-cryptids-other-legendary-creatures Hangar 1 Publishing — https://hangar1publishing.com/blogs/cryptids/minnesota-cryptids 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/]