A haunted town or just a town with the biggest hoax of all time? The legend of The Mothman reached a craze in the small town of Point Pleasant in West Virginia in the 60s. It has everything from a classic Pulp Science fiction movie from that time, UFOs, monsters in the sky, an abandoned chemical plant from the war, and a black 57 Chevy. But what does that have to do with Christmas? On December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge collapsed. It connected Point Pleasant to Ohio. When it collapsed under the weight of rush-hour traffic, it resulted in the death of 46 people and wrapped packages dropping to the river. Sightings of the strange monster had been spotted by many in the time before the tragedy. Some saw The Mothman as a premonition of the oncoming disaster. Some saw it as the cause of it. In any case, this spurred the legend that The Mothman was an omen of doom. I'm Darren Marlar, and this is Weird Darkness. Welcome, weirdos. I'm Darren Marlar, and this is Weird Darkness. Here you'll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved, and unexplained. Coming up this hour, most all of us think of Christmas as a time of love, warmth, joy, and charity. But for some, Christmas isn't merry at all. It's murderous. We'll look at some horrific holiday murders and the killers behind them. But first, we visit Point Pleasant, West Virginia during the holidays of 1967. But we don't see a sleigh and reindeer in the sky. We see a nightmare. If you're new here, welcome to the show. And if you're already a member of this weirdo family, please take a moment and invite someone else to listen. Recommending Weird Darkness to others helps make it possible for me to keep doing the show. And while you're listening, be sure to follow Weird Darkness on Facebook and Twitter, and visit WeirdDarkness.com to find the daily Weird Darkness podcast, watch streaming B horror movies and horror hosts 24-7 for free. Listen to free audiobooks that I've narrated. Send me your own true story of something paranormal that's happened to you or someone you know and more. You can find all of that and more at WeirdDarkness.com.  It's not just ghosts that haunt the holidays. Sometimes we get a monster. The legend of the Mothman reached a craze in the small town of Point Pleasant in West Virginia during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays of the 1960s. It was November. Five grave diggers dug a grave in a cemetery in West Virginia. One of them was Kenneth Duncan, and he was digging the grave for his father-in-law. It was the 12th of November, 1966, and he was about to be the first official witness to the Mothman. Suddenly he saw something right above the trees. It was no bird. It looked more like a human being, but at the same time it wasn't. This creature had wings. It was gliding through the trees and was in sight for about a minute, Duncan said. The four other men together with Duncan did not see the creature before it flew away, and the men didn't talk about this strange encounter with others than their close friends. Perhaps it would be forgotten had other people not started reporting seeing the exact same thing. This November sighting was not to be the last. Perhaps the most reported about and famous sighting was the Scarberry and Millet sighting on November 15, 1966, in Point Pleasant West Virginia. This is the first sighting to be reported to the media and get any public attention. Two couples, Linda and Roger Scarberry and Stephen Mary Millet, were riding around north of the city. In a place used as a so-called Lovers Lane, joyriding around, they reached the abandoned North Power Plant. It's known as the TNT area or the TNT plant. There they saw the eyes of a creature, reflected from the headlights of their Black 57 Chevy. There was no glowing about it until the lights hit it, Linda said in her handwritten account of the incident. They were glowing red after this, belonging to a gray figure, six or seven feet, man-like with wings. They said the creature wobbled like it couldn't keep its balance.  As they went around a curve, they saw the creature on a hill by a large billboard. Spreading its wings, it started to fly, flying back and forth over the car. �We didn't know what it was. I don't think we've ever been so scared,� Linda said. Going a hundred miles an hour, they tried to speed away from the creature, but the moth man still managed to keep up. They couldn't get away, hearing the wings hitting the top of the car. They reported to have been scratch marks on the Chevy after the incident. �It squeaked like a big mouse,� Mary Millet said. It was first when they reached the outskirts of Point Pleasant, they managed to get away from the creature as it disappeared, veering off into a nearby field. They stopped at the local Dairyland and tried to figure out what to do about it all. Linda wanted to go to the police to report it, but both Roger and Steve didn't want to be laughed at. They wanted to go back to see if the thing was still there, but the group was too scared and turned back to Point Pleasant. When they did, they noticed a dead dog along the road where the creature jumped out going across the roof of the car before it disappeared in the field again. It was gone when they went back later. They drove back to town and stopped at Tiny's Diner. There, they contacted the police. �If I had seen it while by myself, I wouldn't have said anything, but there were four of us who saw it,� Roger later told the local papers. Deputy Millard Halstead was the one that met them.  Halstead didn't believe them at first. He knew they weren't troublemakers and saw that they were terrified, so he went to investigate. The couples went with the deputy to the area. Halstead heard strange static disturbances from the radio but found no trace of the creature. The couples sat in the car and said they saw shadows circling around nearby and dust kick up from the cold yard nearby. The millets were too scared to go home and they stayed awake all night in Scarbury's trailer. Lights on, terrified. The next day, the couples went back to the area in the daylight. They found tracks looking like two horseshoes put together. Steve reported seeing something fly up when a door kicked open. They left the place before they could see what it was. The same day, the sheriff, George Johnson, held a press conference. The local press attended and named the creature �Mothman.� Batman had just gotten a television series at that time, so they named him after one of the villains of the series. After this, more and more sightings were reported, including Duncan's at the cemetery. It sparked national, even international attention in the media. Steve said to the local paper, �We understand people are laughing at us, but we wouldn't make all of this up to make us look like fools.� After this particular sighting, several of the previous ones came forward and we'll hear about them when Weird Darkness returns. Welcome back to Weird Darkness. I'm Darren Marlar. We return now to the Mothman and how he terrorized the holidays in 1966 in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. And once the first report came out, others quickly flooded in. People flocked to the wildlife area where the incident took place and the Volunteer Fire Department had to direct traffic. Two of them also came forward with tales of seeing a large bird with red eyes according to the Gettysburg Times. One famous anecdote from this time must be Newell Partridge and his missing dog. He was a contractor living 100 miles north and claimed the Mothman had something to do with the disappearance of his German shepherd dog, Bandit. He sighted a �thing� in the meadow near his home only 90 minutes before the sighting of the couples in Point Pleasant. He took a flashlight and directed it towards the shadows. Glowing, red eyes looked back and Bandit started barking and ran after the creature. The dog never returned and the next morning there was no trace of it. At the time of the Mothman sightings, residents also reported chilling incidents of unexplained paranormal activity, vanishing pets. Remember that dog laying dead in the road? Also, there were reports of television interference. Rumors of men in black, UFOs, weird dreams and shadows in the corner of their eyes. That is just some of the reported responses around this time in Point Pleasant and the areas surrounding it. That is just some of the reported responses around this time in Point Pleasant and the areas surrounding it according to newspaper clippings around the time. And the legend, Spun, grew and at last culminated in a fatal tragedy of the people in Point Pleasant. On December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge collapsed. It connected Point Pleasant to Ohio and was an Ibar Chain suspension bridge built in 1928. When it collapsed under the weight of rush hour traffic, it resulted in the deaths of 46 people. Two of the victims were never found. Analysis showed the bridge carried more weight than it had been designed for and had been poorly maintained. The collapse of the bridge made it so several other old bridges were maintained and inspected. Historian Henry Petroski called it a cautionary tale for engineers of every kind. Several reports including John Keele in his book The Mothman Prophecies linked the Mothman to the horrible disaster as it was at the height of the Mothman sightings. The bridge was full of cars coming back from work or from Christmas shopping and they suddenly felt the bridge shake. Then came a moaning of metal before the screeching of the collapse. Then the bridge went down into the water. Many citizens spooked by the torrent of eerie occurrences blamed the Mothman for this unexpected disaster. It was only 13 months since the first Mothman sighting by Duncan. The strange thing about the connection is that several reports claimed they had strange dreams and nightmares about drowning and an oncoming disaster. This was also reported by Mary Hire. She was a reporter and wrote the column Where Are The Water Mingles in the Athens Messenger. She often reported on the weird occurrences in Point Pleasant and often about the Mothman. She became therefore a good friend of John Keele. There were also tales about men in black coming down to her office to try and shut her down.  There were a lot of people drowning in the river and Christmas packages were floating everywhere in the water. It's like something awful is going to happen. Some saw the Mothman as a premonition of the upcoming disaster. Some saw it as the cause of the disaster. In any case, this spurred the legend that the Mothman was an omen of doom. This has not been the last time horrible disasters have been connected to sighting some strange creatures. Both before 9-11 and before the Russian apartment bombings, several claimed to have seen huge, bird-like creatures with legs near the surrounding area of where the tragedies took place. So what was it all? Was it just a hoax? Was it an actual thing? Something in between? Cryptozoologist Mark A. Hall said it could be an undiscovered species of giant owl, dubbing it Big Hoot as evidence of reports of it have existed in the Point Pleasant area long before and after the legend of Mothman was born. So is that it? Was it an enormous owl or other bird that terrified the inhabitants? There have also been theories about it being a big crane, as the description could be fitted to the big sandhill crane as it does have a wingspan of about 7 feet and can stand as tall as a man. That was what Dr. Robert L. Smith, professor in wildlife biology at WVU, said at the time. Another theory is around the abandoned TNT area, the local leftover bunkers that were used for storing toxic chemicals during the Great War. It was used as an ammunition manufacturing facility that employed a few thousand people at its peak. What really happened in there? What exactly was stored in there? Could it be that it interfered with the neighboring Wildlife Reserve, creating something new? In May of 2010, one of the igloos at TNT containing 20,000 pounds of unstable materials suddenly exploded. Fortunately, no one was injured, but the place had to be shut down and cleaned out before opening again. Was that enough? Is the danger gone now? Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, this is not the only occurrences of Mothman. For the particularly interested, the Mothman fandom Wiki has made a super-interesting timeline of supposed Mothman sightings, both before the 60s and after. Today, the Mothman is something of a legend, still living in Point Pleasant as a memory the people keep alive. It has its own museum dedicated to it with a 24-hour webcam around the area. A diner called the Mothman Diner has been run for almost 50 years now. It has its own statue in the town, even its own festival every September dedicated to the one and only. The legend has spun several books, movies, art, toys, and the occasional reported sighting. The last big sighting on camera was in 2016. The man was driving down the road and suddenly saw something jumping from the nearby trees. The man had just moved to Point Pleasant and claimed he didn't know anything about the legend and that he did not edit the photos that he took of the thing in the sky. Let's hope that the Mothman, in fact, is not an omen of doom then and that if it is, the sightings will stop entirely for the sake of the people of Point Pleasant. Christmas 1929 Charles Lawson murdered his wife and six of his seven children. Charles Davis Lawson married Fanny Manring in 1911. The couple proceeded to have eight children. Their third child, William, was born in 1914 but tragically died in 1920. Charles moved his family to Germantown, North Carolina in 1918 with his younger two brothers moved there. They worked as tenant tobacco farmers and saved their money to purchase their own farm in 1927.  Family and friends believed his mental state had been altered but were never truly concerned. Fast forward to a week or so before Christmas. Charles, now 43, took his wife, Fanny, 37, and their seven children, Marie, 17, Arthur, 16, Carrie, 12, Maybell, 7, James, 4, Raymond, H2, and Mary Lou, four months old into town to buy new clothes and have a family portrait taken. This was a rather unusual occurrence for a working-class rural family in that era. Stella Lawson, a relative of the family, overheard her mother and aunts discussing a secret Fanny Lawson had confided in them. She was concerned about an incestuous relationship between Charles and their oldest daughter Marie. Ella May, a close friend of Marie Lawson, had also been confided in. A few weeks before Christmas, Marie told her she was pregnant with her father's baby and that both her parents knew about this. On the afternoon of December 25, 1929, Charles sent his son Arthur into town on an errand. Once Arthur was gone, Charles took his 12-gauge shotgun and waited by the tobacco barn. His daughters, Carrie and Maybell, were leaving to go to their uncle and aunts' house. When they were in range, Charles shot them, then bludgeoned them, placing their bodies in the tobacco barn. He returned to the house and shot his wife, Fanny, who was on the porch. Hearing the gunshot, his daughter Marie, who was inside the house, screamed. The two youngest boys, James and Raymond, ran and hid. Charles went inside. Shot Marie, then found the two boys and shot them as well. He then took the baby and bludgeoned her to death. He took the bodies of his family and carefully set them out. He rested their heads on rocks and folded their arms across their bodies. Charles left the house and went off into the woods on his own. Several hours later, he shot himself, the gunshot heard by the numerous people who had gathered at his home, learning of the massacre from Arthur and the police. On Christmas Eve 2002, in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Scott Hulaver, 28, drove his brother, Ernest Hulaver Jr., 42, to the home of his estranged wife and two children. Ernest broke into the home and crept into the bedroom of Gene Hulaver, 43, and pulled out his .22 caliber pistol. He shot her in the head. He left her room and crept into the bedroom of each of his daughters, Elizabeth, 15, and Victoria, 20. He then shot each girl in the head, leaving only Victoria's infant daughter, nine-month-old Madison, alive. Their bodies were not discovered until Christmas morning. Madison found unharmed near her mother's body. Ernest was the only suspect as he was about to be tried on rape charges. Police alleged that he had been molesting both his daughters for years. Ernest was acquitted of the rape charges during the course of his murder trial as all three of his witnesses were now dead. In 2004, he was found guilty of all three murders and given three consecutive death sentences. As of now, he remains on death row. Scott Hulaver was sentenced to a 12.5-25-year term in prison on three counts of third-degree murder. His most recent appeal was dismissed on January 11, 2018, and he remains in prison to this day. Up next, it's Jeffrey Pardo, the killer Santa on Weird Darkness. Welcome back to Weird Darkness. I'm Darren Marlar. Christmas parties are a time for joy, laughs, and family, a time to be shared with the ones you love. But sometimes, the ones who love us have a different plan. That was the case of Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, the killer Santa. Bruce Jeffrey Pardo grew up in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, California. He graduated from John H. Polytechnic High School and went on to study computer science at California State Northridge. A bright man, he graduated and secured himself a job as a software engineer for Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Bruce was not the model employee, spending time hacking the company system to access private personal information, including but not limited to compensation, tax information, etc. He also had very poor attendance. Despite all of this, by 1988, at the age of 24, he found himself engaged to Delaya, a fellow employee. Bruce still lived with his mother and he was not in the best financial shape, so Delaya agreed to pay for a wedding reception at the country club, as well as a honeymoon in Tahiti. Everything was set up and both Delaya and Bruce's mother were excited. The big day arrived on June 17, 1989. Delaya waited at the church in nervous anticipation, but Bruce never showed up. She later discovered that he had withdrawn $3,000 from their joint bank account and took a trip of his own to Palm Spring, Florida. Delaya, of course, called off their engagement and things went back to how they used to be. It wasn't until 2001 that Bruce found himself in another difficult situation. He was living with his girlfriend, Eleanor and their 13-month-old son, Matthew, in Woodland Hills, California. It was the most stable relationship Bruce had ever had and things were going really well. That is, until the day Eleanor went out, leaving Bruce home alone with the baby. Bruce turned on the television and got sucked in. He wasn't paying careful attention to Matthew and the boy fell into the backyard pool. When Eleanor returned home, she found Bruce holding their son nearly hysterical. Matthew was rushed to the hospital and after just a week of intense medical attention, the doctors informed them that their son would never fully recover. In fact, Matthew had sustained brain damage and was now a paraplegic. As Bruce did when things got hard, he left never to see his son again, despite his mother's continued interest and support to the child. In 2004, a co-worker of Bruce's introduced him to his sister-in-law, Sylvia. Sylvia was a 40-year-old mother of three and they hit it off right from the start. January 29, 2006, the couple was married. Bruce purchased a three-bedroom, $452,000 home in Montrose. The happy family attended church together regularly. Bruce even volunteered as a nusher. But things are not always as they seem, as we already know with Bruce. The relationship was suffering under financial stress and then, Bruce's mother Nancy decided she had to say something. She was quite fond of Sylvia and knew her son had his troubles. She told her about her son's past relationships, including that with Eleanor and their son Matthew. Sylvia was shocked by this revelation, having not known anything about Matthew and further angered by Bruce's dishonesty and his lack of responsibility. Then it was discovered that although Bruce had not seen his son since that day in the hospital, he was still continuing to claim him on his taxes as a dependent. Sylvia filed for divorce in April 2008 and Bruce spiraled into depression. In June, he purchased his first gun, a 9mm handgun. On June 18, in divorce court, he was ordered to pay $1,785 per month in spousal support. He wrote his first check, which bounced, and then he stopped payment on the second, making no further attempts to pay. On July 31, he was fired from his job for billing fraudulent hours. He applied for unemployment but was denied, as workers who are fired are deemed ineligible. On August 8, Bruce purchased another 9mm handgun, followed by another purchase on September 8. He then contacted one of his neighbors, Jerry, who happened to be a proprietor of Jerry's costumes. He requested a custom-sized Santa suit with a little extra room for comfort, as he was 6'4 and 270 pounds, making a standard suit too small. He told her that it was for a children's party and paid a $200 deposit, with a promise to pick up and pay the rest in November. Then, on October 11, he purchased his fourth handgun. He received a call from an old high school friend, Steve Irwin, who asked him over to his home in Iowa to celebrate his 45th birthday. Bruce accepted, and while he was there, confided in Steve. He was embarrassed that his personal life was open and on display in court where everyone could see his finances and now knew of his firing. Even more so, he was upset that he and his mother hardly spoke, and during the divorce proceedings, she chose to sit with Sylvia's family, not providing support to her own son. November came, and Bruce returned to Jerry's costumes and paid the outstanding fee for his costume and even left a $20 tip. On the 13th, he purchased yet another handgun, now totaling five. He had also acquired a DeWalt compressor, a 50-foot hose, and a tank of high octane fuel. Just one week before Christmas, on December 18, 2008, Bruce's divorce from Sylvia was final. He agreed to let her keep her diamond engagement ring and agreed to pay her $10,000. The next day, he went to a Montrose travel agency where he booked a ticket to Iowa where he would visit his friend Steve. He paid $650 for a round-trip flight that would depart at 12.20 a.m. on Christmas Day and return two weeks later. He rented a Dodge caliber from Budget, then rented a Silver RAV4 from a rent-a-rec. He loaded up the RAV4 with maps of the Southwestern United States as well as water, food, clothing, a tank of gas, a laptop, and a desktop computer. Early evening, on Christmas Eve, he stopped to chat with a neighbor, saying he was heading out to a Christmas party. He'd been signed up to serve as an usher for a midnight mass at the church he attended, but didn't show up. Instead, at approximately 11.30 p.m., dressed in his Santa suit, Bruce knocked on the door of his former in-laws' house where he knew his ex-wife would be. The door was answered by eight-year-old Letitia Yuzuf Polsky, Sylvia's niece. Excited to see Santa Claus, she rushed toward him. Bruce didn't hesitate. He fired, hitting her in the face. He went on to shoot indiscriminately at the frightened party guests. When he felt he was done shooting, he unwrapped the gift he had brought with him. He was a homemade flame thrower. He began to spray racing fuel around the home, intent on lighting it with a flare. Unfortunately for Bruce, the flames from two separate fireplaces triggered an explosion. Bruce fled the house, dropping a pair of fake glasses and his Santa hat in the yard. He jumped into the Dodge Calabarenal car and drove 30 miles to Silmar, parking about a block away from his brother's home. He carefully peeled his shredded Santa suit off his body as it had melted into his skin from the explosion, causing third-degree burns. He used his suit to set up a booby trap. If the suit was moved, a tripwire would ignite a flash fire exploding 200 rounds of ammunition. Bruce's brother returned home around 3.10 in the morning and found him sprawled on the living room couch with two handguns by his side. He was dead, having shot himself. Back at the house, the fire soared 40 to 50 feet and took 80 firefighters an hour and a half to extinguish. Nine people were dead and three others wounded. Due to the intensity of the fire, victims could only be identified with dental and medical records. Silvia Ortega Pardo, Bruce's ex-wife, died from a gunshot. Alicia Sotomayor Ortega, Silvia's mother, died from a gunshot. Joseph S. Ortega, Silvia's father, died from multiple gunshots. Charles Ortega, Silvia's brother, died from a combination of smoke inhalation and gunshots. Sherri Lynn Ortega, Charles' wife, died from a combination of smoke inhalation and gunshot wounds. James Ortega, Silvia's brother, died from a combination of smoke inhalation and gunshot wounds. Teresa Ortega, James' wife, died from a combination of smoke inhalation and gunshot wounds. Alicia Ortega Ortiz, Sylvia's sister, died from a combination of smoke inhalation and gunshot wounds. And Michael Andre Ortiz, Alicia's son, died in the fire. Sylvia's eight-year-old niece, who had been shot in the face at the very beginning of the incident, actually survived, but she suffered severe non-life-threatening injuries. A 16-year-old girl was shot and wounded in the back, and a 20-year-old woman suffered a broken ankle, jumping from a second floor window. Up next on Weird Darkness, it's a Christmas horror, starring a boy named Christie, his sister, who did nothing but encourage his torture, accusations of witchcraft, and death, Christie Bamu's cruel Christmas, when Weird Darkness returns. I'm Darren Marlar, welcome back to Weird Darkness. Christmas, or the holidays in general, are a time for friends and family. Sometimes being together is wonderful, and sometimes it's misery. When Christie Bamu traveled from East London to visit his older sister, Magali, he found nothing but misery. On December 20, 2010, 15-year-old Christie Bamu and four of his siblings visited their older sister, Magali Bamu, and her boyfriend, Eric Bakubi, who were both 28 at the time. Everything was fine, until Christie had to use the restroom and found that he couldn't get in. He was such a dire emergency, he wet himself, and then, out of embarrassment, tried to hide the evidence by hiding his pants in the kitchen. Bakubi, who had suffered brain damage, took this as a sign that Christie had brought kendokey, or witchcraft, into his home. He had no choice but to exercise the boy, but it didn't stop with Christie, Bakubi went after the other four as well. To say it started with simple beatings is to make it sound like beatings are acceptable, but compared with what Christie would eventually suffer, the beatings would have been preferable. Over the next four days, all five, three boys and two girls were asked to prove that they were witches. Kelly, the older sister, said, they started talking about kendokey, witchcraft, and this and that. It was as if they were obsessed by witchcraft, and then it became absolutely unbearable.  It started with prayer and fasting, and when that wasn't enough, the beatings began. He began to hit Christie while my sister was watching and didn't do anything, Kelly said. I begged him, we didn't do anything, we are innocent. She didn't argue at all. It was as if it was completely normal. She was just sitting there as a spectator. They were beaten, attacked with a knife, and one of the girls was even forced to eat a light bulb. Bakubi told them to jump out of a window so he could watch them fly. They looked to Magali, their older sister, for help, but all she did was encourage her boyfriend. He hit and hit, Christie, Kelly said. He was not feeling well. He was having trouble breathing, and he fell over. As far as Eric and Magali were concerned, that was the kendokey coming out of him. The sisters, ages 11 and 20, were accused of sorcery, black magic, as well as witchcraft. They chose to make false confessions. According to Kelly, Magalene and Bakubi asked if we were witches. I repeated again and again that we were not witches. I did not know what was going on in their minds.  Eventually, they all admitted to being witches to end the attacks. While that worked for four of them, Christie was not so lucky. Bakubi ordered them to attack their brother. For Christie, the beatings turned to torture. Christie asked for forgiveness. He asked again and again. Magali did absolutely nothing. She didn't lift a finger and said that she was convinced that we did bad things, as Kelly said. Christie was attacked, suffering more than 200 blows. His teeth were broken with a hammer. He was hit with metal poles. Bakubi used a pair of pliers to rip his ear, and heavy ceramic tiles were dropped on his head. As one would expect, Christie begged for death. He got his wish on Christmas morning. Magali and Bakubi called their father Pierre Bamu.    If you don't, I'm going to kill him. According to Pierre, when he said that, I wanted to say something to him. Then straight after that, I heard Christie's voice. Christie was talking in a calm voice. He wasn't crying. He just spoke to me in a voice like we're using now. Dad, come and get me.  Then he was cut off. When Eric said that, knowing Eric as I do, I said it's not going to come to that because he's a nice person, a really nice person. Magali and Bakubi put all the siblings into the bathtub. Bakubi proceeded to hose them off with cold water. When he saw that Christie was no longer moving, he stopped and pulled him from the tub, only to discover he had died. When the paramedics arrived, they tried to save Christie but were unsuccessful. He was gone. All were standing in the living room hysterical, terrified and soaking wet. In a staggering act of depravity and cruelty, they both forced the other to take part in the assaults upon Christie. The children had no option other than to do as they were told or risk the same violence to themselves. As Christie's injuries became even more severe, he even pleaded to be allowed to die. Eventually Bakubi took him into the bathroom, put him in the bath and started to run the water. Christie was just too badly injured and exhausted to resist or to keep his head above the water. Christie had been the victim of a prolonged attack of unspeakable savagery and brutality. Christie was killed in the name of witchcraft. It's hard to believe in this day and age anyone could believe someone was practicing witchcraft, said Brian Altman. Police discovered blood all over the home, on the ceiling, walls, as well as on all the tools they had used in their attacks. Eric Bakubi and Magali Bamu were arrested for their crimes. Bakubi claimed self-defense, saying he was defending himself because Christie was a witch. Magali claimed Bakubi forced her to join in on the attack. Bakubi would only admit to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility from his reported brain damage. Magali denied her involvement. It's an unprecedented scenario where siblings are murdering another sibling. The family have been very positive they've pulled together remarkably well. They were more than willing to give evidence and make sure the perpetrators were dealt with appropriately, said Detective Inspector Paul Matic. It was prolonged torture involving mental and physical suffering being inflicted before death, said Judge David Page. While he accepted Bakubi's claim that brain damage might have made him more inclined to believe Christie was a witch, he also added the belief in witchcraft, however genuine, cannot excuse an assault to another person, let alone the killing of another human being. During the course of the trial, Judge David Page pointed out that at no point did Magali show any remorse for her actions. Bakubi was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison. Magali was sentenced to a minimum of 25. 26-year-old Zazelle Preston of Anaheim, California was taking classes at Cyprus College in hopes of becoming a domestic violence counselor. Unfortunately, Preston's kind, forgiving and compassionate demeanor caused her to become trapped in a marriage where she herself suffered years of violence at the hands of her husband William Wallace. In 2008, Wallace pleaded guilty to beating Preston and threatening to kill her and served 18 days in jail. Wallace was later placed under a restraining order, but eventually persuaded Preston to get back together with him. Wallace continued with his threats to kill Preston for the next three years and sadly, during Christmas of 2011, he followed through with that promise. Wallace and Preston lived in an apartment with their seven-week-old son and Preston's three and eight-year-old daughters from a previous relationship. On December 24, 2011, the couple went to a neighbor's Christmas Eve party, but when they returned home, an argument ensued and the confrontation quickly turned violent. Preston's eldest daughter later testified that Wallace pushed her mother into a glass table. Then Wallace asked her to help pull the pieces of glass from her mother's body.  Wallace then took Preston into a bedroom but never called for help. Around 1 a.m. Preston died as a result of her injuries. However, on Christmas Day, Wallace placed Preston on the couch with sunglasses on and videotaped the children opening Christmas presents in front of her body. He then told the children, Mommy ruined Christmas, she got drunk and ruined Christmas. It wasn't until approximately 9.30 a.m. Christmas Day that Wallace called 911, reporting that his wife was in need of medical attention. When paramedics arrived, Preston was found unresponsive, but given that there was no blood or evidence of her beating, they attempted to perform CPR. Preston was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Wallace was arrested the same day but claimed that Preston bit and hit him and that while he was defending himself, she fell onto the table. His attorney also later argued that Preston's death was a result of her drunkenly tripping and falling down more than once. It wasn't until April 7, 2021 that Wallace, now 39 years old, was convicted of second-degree murder. On June 4, 2021, he was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, but was given credit for the nine years he had already spent behind bars. Towards the end of each year, as fireplaces are lit and hot cocoa is made, Americans have made it a tradition to revisit their favorite classic holiday books, movies and songs. And though ghost stories may seem out of place in present-day American holiday celebrations, they were once a Christmas staple, reaching their peak of popularity in Victorian England. Like most long-standing cultural customs, the precise origin of telling ghost stories at the end of the year is unknown, largely because it began as an oral tradition without written records. The season around winter solstice has been one of transition and change. For a very, very, very long time, the season has provoked oral stories about spooky things in many different countries and cultures all over the world. Spooky storytelling gave people something to do during the long, dark evenings before electricity. Those long, mid-winter nights meant folks had to stop working early and they spent their leisure hours huddled close to the fire. So, that's what we'll do for this Christmas edition of Weird Darkness. I'll share the history of telling ghost stories during the season, and then I'll share a few true ghostly tales that take place during the holidays. I'm Darren Marlar, and this is Weird Darkness. Welcome, Weirdos. I'm Darren Marlar, and this is Weird Darkness. Here you'll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved, and unexplained. Coming up this hour, Christmas is supposed to be the merry season with joy and light in the darkness, but many places are haunted by ghosts and paranormal activity during this time. In fact, many of the ghost stories I'll share tonight are haunted especially around Christmas. If you're new here, welcome to the show, and if you're already a member of this Weirdo family, please take a moment and invite someone else to listen. Recommending Weird Darkness to others helps make it possible for me to keep doing the show, and while you're listening, be sure to follow Weird Darkness on Facebook and Twitter, and visit WeirdDarkness.com to find the daily Weird Darkness podcast. Watch streaming B horror movies and horror hosts 24-7 for free. Listen to free audiobooks that I've narrated. Send me your own true story of something paranormal that's happened to you or someone you know and more. You can find it all at WeirdDarkness.com.  It was in Victorian England that telling supernatural tales at the end of the year, specifically during the Christmas season, went from an oral tradition to a timely trend. This was in part due to the development of the steam-powered printing press during the Industrial Revolution that made the written word more widely available. This gave Victorians the opportunity to commercialize and commodify existing oral ghost stories, turning them into a version they could sell. Higher literary rates, cheaper printing costs, and more periodicals meant that editors needed to fill pages. Around Christmas time, they figured they could convert the old storytelling tradition to a printed version. People who moved out of their towns and villages and into larger cities still wanted access to the supernatural sagas they heard around the fireplace growing up. Fortunately, Victorian authors like Elizabeth Gaskell, Margaret Holophont, and Arthur Conan Doyle worked through the fall to cook up these stories and have them ready to print in time for Christmas. Industrialization not only provided tools to distribute spooky stories, uncertainty during the era also fueled interest in the genre, according to Brittany Warman, a folklorist specializing in Gothic literature and the co-founder of the Carton Hall School of Folklore and the Fantastic. Interest was driven, she says, by the rise of industrialization, the rise of science, and the looming fall of Victorian Britain as a superpower. All of these things were in people's minds and made the world seem a little darker and a little bit scarier. Telling horror-filled holiday tales continued to be a family affair in England, even when they were read rather than recited. We know from illustrations and diaries that whole families read these periodicals together. The popularity of Victorian Christmas ghost stories also transcended socioeconomic status. They were available to read everywhere from cheap publications to expensive Christmas annuals that middle-class ladies would show off on their coffee tables. Their broad audience was reflected in the stories themselves, which sometimes centered around working-class characters and other times took place in haunted manor houses. These upper-class settings were intended to invite readers from all classes into an idealized upper-crust Christmas. The type today's fans of Downton Abbey still enjoy his entertainment. Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol has forever linked the British author with the holiday season, but his contributions to Christmas in Victorian England, including the tradition of telling and reading ghost stories, extend far beyond Jacob Marley's visit to Scrooge. In fact, Dickens played a huge part in popularizing the genre in England. He wrote a bunch of different Christmas novellas, several of which involved ghosts specifically, and then he started editing more and more Christmas ghost stories from other people and working those into the magazines he was already editing, and that just caught like wildfire. Dickens also helped shape Christmas literature in general by formalizing expectations about themes like forgiveness and reunion during the holiday season. I've actually narrated the entire novel, A Christmas Carol, which is free to listen to on the audiobooks page at WeirdDarkness.com if you're interested in hearing it. Although countless trends made their way from England to America during the Victorian era, the telling of ghost stories during the Christmas season was not one that really caught on. A Christmas Carol was an immediate bestseller in the United States, but at the time of its publication, Dickens was arguably the most famous writer in the world and already wildly popular. The novella's success in the U.S. likely had more to do with Dickens' existing massive fanbase than it did Americans' interest in incorporating the supernatural into Christmas. American Christmas scenes and stories tended to be syrupy sweet. There were a few American writers of the period trying to put Victorian-style Christmas ghost stories into American culture, including Ethangel Hawthorne and Henry James. Washington Irving made a similar and earlier attempt, slipping the supernatural into Christmas-themed short stories published in 1819 and 1820. Warman theorizes that Americans' reluctance to embrace the Christmas story tradition had to do at least in part with the country's attitudes towards things like magic and superstitions. In America, we generally had a bit of resistance to the supernatural in a way that European countries didn't. When you came to America, you came with a fresh start, you came with a secular mindset and the idea that you were leaving the past behind, and some of these spooky superstitions were thought of as being part of the past. Another reason telling spooky stories never took off as a Christmas tradition in the United States was because it became more firmly established as a Halloween tradition thanks to Irish and Scottish immigrants. That really impacted culture here because they brought with them a concept similar to Halloween, and that became, for America, the time period for ghosts. Other than a Christmas carol, there is another piece of pop culture that reflects the Victorian Christmas-time tradition, a single line from a song written and released in 1963 by American musicians. First recorded by Andy Williams, the song It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year lists scary ghost stories as one of the highlights of the holiday season. Although it's unclear why the writers of the song, Edward Pola and George Weill included this tradition, Plato says that it's possible the lyric is a reference to Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It's only the one text, but it's such a big deal here in the U.S. and in the U.K. It's pretty much all that Americans know about Christmas ghost stories in isolation. But we're about to change that as we continue this Christmas episode of Weird Darkness. Welcome back to Weird Darkness. I'm Darren Marlar. The legend of the mistletoe bride is a ghost tale that many big houses claim is their own. Bramsill House is one of them, and the story of the dead bride trapped in the chest haunts the already haunted place. A girl will always remember her wedding day, and making sure the wedding day will be held on Christmas Day will surely make it easy to remember the wedding anniversary. But more people will remember it if the bride turns into a ghost. This is the case of the bride of Bramsill House in Hampshire, one of Britain's most crowded paranormal places. And although many big houses try to claim the ghost of the bride in the oak chest as their own, Bramsill could be one of the choices with no less than 14 ghosts they claim wander there. In the early 17th century, a girl named Anne Cope was to be married in this house. Anne is the name in some accounts of the story, Genevieve Orsini and others. English in some accounts while she was believed to be Italian in other accounts. What remains though is the same. It was Christmas Day, and everyone was in a festive mood. She and her husband Sir Hugh Bethel celebrated after having taken their vows, and as the old custom went, she was to be escorted to the marital bed. But before the party was over, the bride wanted to play around a hide-and-seek, where the target to be found was her. And after a five-minute start, the search began, but to no avail. Searching the whole house, the guests came back empty with no sign of the bride. Perhaps it was a trick from the bride. Could she just be exceptionally good at this game? But as time went on, the innocent prank she could have played on the guests turned into a dangerous one. Many believed the bride had fled from her marriage. Her husband, Hugh, on the other hand, spent decades searching for his bride that was lost. It was only after 50 years the mystery surrounding her disappearance came into light, but by then her haunting had already begun. Hugh, now an old man, was in the attic, still searching. Having been through the mansion so many times, one should have thought that there could be no more things to be found. But then, when knocking on some oak paneling, a secret door he didn't know about suddenly opened. Inside the door was a room with a wooden chest. It was locked.  In the lid of the chest, the bride had been trapped in there were signs of nails scraping in her dying efforts to escape to get out, but she never would. So many accounts of the white lady have been reported at Bramsill House. Even Michael I of Romania asked to move rooms after the white lady kept passing his room during his stay there, and you can sense her arrival by scent, Lillia the Valley, which was Anne's favorite. Not so many remember her wedding and her death on one. She is remembered as such, although her real name is disputable. The name mistletoe bride, however, remains. Poems, movies, books, and folklore retell about the young bride in the oak chest. The same story was retold by Susan E. Wallace in 1887 as the old oak chest, and by Henry James as the romance of certain old clothes in 1868. The old tale was also made into a silver screen edition in 1904 when Percy Stowe made the short film, The Mistletoe Bow. But the mistletoe bride is not the only ghost from England that starts at a wedding during Christmas time. A great hall during Christmas time with good food, merry guests, and an unmistakable sound of a harp playing a love song. Scared yet? No? Sounds like the right vibe for a cozy Christmas time, doesn't it? But if the harp playing comes from nowhere and no one is playing? Scared now? This is what festive guests might hear echoing through the halls every Christmas Eve at Stubbly Hall, reminiscing about the tragedy of war and love. Not far from Rosedale, Manchester in England sits the Stubbly Hall. Already in the 1600s, the hall was known for being an ancient mansion with stables, barns, dovecoats, and water mill. So you know it's old, even by British standards. And such an old place carries many tales within the stone walls and stories about the paranormal and sightings of ghosts have been plentiful. And one of them is the story about Fatima. The night Ralph de Stubbly lived here once upon a time, a night who served Richard the Lionheart during the Crusades in Jerusalem. At the beginning of the Crusades, Ralph joined in on the journey. They saw it as a successful mission as they were able to capture Saladin, the first Sultan of Egypt in Syria, but they never quite managed to seize Jerusalem, which they saw as a spiritual symbol and as the Holy City. One of the more romantic yet tragic tales from the Crusade wars was about one of Saladin's daughters. Her name was Fatima and she fell in love with Ralph during the raging battle of the Holy City. However, in 1192, the British Crusaders had to pull out after the Battle of Jaffa and Ralph was forced to leave Fatima behind, but before leaving he swore his undying love for her, promising her he would return. As a token, he gave her a diamond-studded cross to keep as a reminder of him. Three years went by and Fatima heard nothing of the night who promised to come back for her. Growing tired of just waiting, she disguised herself as a troubadour and sailed across the ocean in search of him, just bringing her harp. She played so well, but hadn't been able to play in her sorrow, but she would never reach the shores of England to return to her beloved Ralph. On the eve of Christmas, she died. The plague had traveled with them on the ship and she and the rest of the passengers and crew perished. The same night, there was a wedding at Stubbley Hall, Ralph's wedding. He was to marry a wealthy Baron's daughter. Maybe it was only to save the family who were in need of money. Maybe he fell in love with another one. Either way, the song of his past lover came to the hall. During the celebrations, he was standing by the window, not enjoying the festivities. He was maybe thinking of Fatima, the woman he truly wanted to marry, and it was then that he heard the harp. The familiar but now so nostalgic sound of Fatima playing the harp, playing none other than the love song she had played for him, a traditional seresine love song. He rushed into the grounds thinking he would see her among the trees. The guests noticed his disappearance and went after him and found him under an oak tree dead, clutching a diamond studded cross. 46-year-old Della Callagher fell ill on the evening of December 25, 2012, after eating a four-course turkey meal during a Christmas Day pub lunch at the Railway Hotel in Horn Church, East London. Callagher was one of seven people within their party of 16 who became sick after eating the turkey. But while the others were covered, Callagher's condition continued to deteriorate. On December 26, 2012, Boxing Day, Callagher's husband, 51-year-old John Callagher, took her to Queens Hospital in Romford, where she was examined in an ambulance. John stated that Callagher was given an injection but that no blood test was done and she was instructed to go home and lie down. Unfortunately, Callagher suffered cardiac arrest at home later that day, so John called an ambulance but stated by that time Callagher barely had a pulse. Sadly, she died at the hospital on December 27, 2012, leaving behind her husband and a 14-year-old daughter. Callagher's family went on to file civil claims for negligence against Mitchell's and Butler's, the chain which owns the Railway Hotel. However, as a total of 33 people fell ill, a major investigation was also launched into the matter by police and health safety authorities. During the investigation, it was discovered that Callagher's death was a result of Clostridium perfringens bacteria, a common cause of food poisonings. The turkeys were prepared on Christmas Eve but were not cooled properly after cooking and were not adequately reheated before being served to guests. It was also later discovered that the pub's chef, 37-year-old Mehmet Kaya and the pub manager, 40-year-old Ann Marie McSweeney, falsified records in an attempt to cover up the fact that the turkey meat had been fatally undercooked. Both Kaya and McSweeney were found guilty of perverting the course of justice. On January 23, 2015, Kaya was sentenced to a year in prison and McSweeney was sentenced to 18 months. The pub chain Mitchell's and Butler's was also fined $1.9 million after being found guilty of selling unsafe food. When Weird Darkness returns, Ann Boleyn is a ghost that's spotted across England. But during Christmas times, it's reported she is haunting her childhood home at Hever Castle, the Christmas ghost of Ann Boleyn, up next on Weird Darkness. I'm Darren Marlar, welcome back to Weird Darkness. One of the more famous Christmas hauntings that know how to travel is the ghost of the infamous Ann Boleyn. Most known for the wedge between the state of England and the Catholic Church in the time of the two doors. The people's perception of her at the time was awful and it would be understandable if she felt some sort of resentment or sorrow for how her life ended, even in the afterlife. As ghost sightings go, perhaps the Tower of London is a more well-known place for ghost sightings of her, as this was the place she was held imprisoned and executed. But it is far from the only place paranormal sightings of the former Queen have been spotted in the UK. She's also been spotted in Windsor Castle, Hampton Court, and Roford Hall, just to name a few. But in the spirit of Christmas, we're going to have a look at where the royal ghost spends her Christmases in the afterlife. Every Christmas, she is said to make an appearance at Hever Castle, at least it is now expected. Christmas was supposedly her favorite time and Hever Castle was her childhood home with good memories. And contrary to how her ghost is seen at other locations, headless and darkly dressed for instance, it is said she is seen as more happy and content when spotted here. The castle was built in 1270 in the rural part of Kent, and although relatively small compared to many other castles we see in England, it came to play a big part in England's history, as it was the seat of the Bolin family. This is also the place where Anne and Henry first met when he was still married to Queen Catherine of Aragon and had an affair with her younger sister Mary. She is often reported to be seen under a big oak tree that stands on the castle grounds. This is the place Anne and Henry spent a lot of time courting. Although the ending for the couple was one of the most dramatic breakups in British history, the courting seems to have been genuine.   In order to divorce the Queen, he had to part with the Catholic Church and Anne was in the public eye, a witch, a heretic, and a seducer that was a danger to the empire and people law. They never had a son, but their child Elizabeth the First turned out to be one of England's longest reigning queens. But after several miscarriages, never ending gossiping and pressure from all sides, their love turned sour, and in the end Henry found another one and decided to get rid of Anne in a most dramatic way. On the charges of treason and adultery and incest with her brother, she was sent to the Tower of London and sentenced to death. On May 19th, in 1536, she was executed by beheading at the Tower. With such an accessible place with such a famous ghost, the reports about sightings has been plentiful. Like in 2015, when a tourist at the castle captured something on camera, he was certain had to be the former queen by the fireplace. I believe there is something important historically inside the fireplace she wants me to recover, Mr. Archer that took the picture told the papers at the time. Who is to say for what reason Anne has to haunt her childhood home, let alone England as a whole? In any case, her imprints on the course of the history, religion and the royal line were irrevocably shaken by her life and work. It has also been said that she has been seen walking across the beautiful bridge on the premises that crosses River Eden, perhaps on her way to the place of her happy and innocent childhood. On a chilly Christmas Eve, a woman and her father were riding in their carriage down the road to Hawkerst Kent. In the 18th century, highwaymen were notorious and feared in the English countryside. They robbed whoever came their way and sometimes the robbery went more violently than necessary. And Hawkerst housed some of the most notorious gangs and smugglers at the time, making the place feared along the English coast. This had been the case of the young woman's brother who had been killed on maybe even the same road, but there was one road to take to get anywhere and the same family was again meeting an unfortunate end. The carriage was stopped by the highwayman Gilbert when they were around the village of Martin and Kent. He ordered the father and daughter out of the carriage to strip them of their possessions and valuables, but as soon as the daughter stepped on the ground, the horse bolted, carrying her father away, leaving her all alone with the robber at the side of the road, seemingly helpless. But the story comes with a twist seldom seen in other horror stories like these. The horror, not only by being robbed, dawned on her as she laid eyes on the face of the man. She recognized him, Gilbert as the one who had murdered her brother, and she refused to see such a fate befall herself. Enraged and afraid, she drew a knife and stabbed the man before he could take more from her by reaching for a hidden knife in her bag and planting it in Gilbert's side and fled into the bushes. When the father and the driver managed to calm the horses, they returned to the site of where they had left her alone. There, all they could find was Gilbert's dead body that they buried on the side of the road. It wasn't until the next day the woman was found by the villagers of Martin, wandering around after having stabbed a man to death. All alone, this cold Christmas Eve, she had been fleeing from the danger from the last night. But although she escaped alive, her body unharmed, it's told that during the night she had gone completely mad. And every Christmas ever since, the same scene, the robbery, the murder is repeated by their ghosts, first by Gilbert himself, then later perhaps joined by the woman. When Weird Darkness returns, the brown lady of Rainham Hall is probably one of the most iconic ghost pictures out there. But is it real? Was it just a double exposure? The picture of the brown lady of Rainham Hall has been viral since 1936. A photographer that year took the infamous picture, forever putting it in the mystery box for people to wonder about ever since. But what is the story behind it, and who is that ghostly figure? According to legend, the brown lady of Rainham Hall is the lost ghost of Dorothy Walpole, and she lived a very unhappy life with her violent and bad tempered husband. And very often, especially during Christmas time, the ghost of the brown lady is reported to have been spotted. That story is up next on Weird Darkness. Welcome back to Weird Darkness, I'm Darren Marlar. It was just another day in the upper class England with their old and haunted mansions and stories. Up in Norfolk lays the old Rainham Hall that was about to become one of the most haunted places in Great Britain. Captain Hubert C. Provant was working in London as a photographer for the Country Life magazine. On September 19, 1936, he and his assistant, Indra Shira, were taking photos of the Rainham Hall for an article. Inside the 300-year-old mansion, they were setting up the camera to take another of the old Hall's main staircase. Suddenly, Shira saw a vapor-y form gradually assuming the appearance of a woman. The figure was moving down the stairs towards them. Shira directed Provant to take the cap off the lens while Shira pressed the trigger to take the picture. After the negative was developed for the article, they saw more clear what they had gotten on camera that day, and the famous legendary photo of the brown lady of Rainham Hall was born. And after the photo, so was the legend. So who was this lady, or should we rather say, is this lady? According to legend, the brown lady of Rainham Hall is the lost ghost of Dorothy Walpole. She was born in 1686 and, according to gossip, the prettiest sister of Robert Walpole, seen as the first Prime Minister of Great Britain. Walpole was neighbors with Charles Townsend, Second Viscount Townsend in Norfolk, and it just so happened that his sister Dorothy married Townsend in 1713. Although they were good neighbors, and even brother-in-laws, there was bad blood between the men, especially in politics, and when Walpole built his own mansion, Houghton Hall, did this effect poor Dorothy at all? What he knows is that it wasn't a particularly happy marriage. Dorothy was Charles' second wife. He looked upon the hall as his pride. As Lord Hurley said, Lord Townsend looked upon his own seat at Rainham as the metropolis of Norfolk, and considered every stone that augmented the splendor of Houghton as a diminution of the gradual of Rainham. Charles was also well-known for his violent temper. Dorothy was rumored to have been a mistress of a Lord Wharton, a well-known womanizer, and that no woman could be 24 hours under his roof and walk out with her reputation intact. When Charles discovered his wife and her affair with Lord Wharton, the story says he punished her by locking her in her rooms in the family Rainham Hall. To make matters worse, there are still rumors that she was in fact entrapped by the Countess of Wharton, inviting Dorothy to stay a few days, knowing full well her husband wouldn't let her walk out with a reputation intact. After this, she remained at Rainham Hall until her death in 1726, dying of smallpox. But did she really leave the halls? Is she still roaming the place, still locked up, still trying to get out? Whatever the truth is, the legend was there to stay, and the first recorded sighting in the ghost was in 1835. One Christmas, the new Lord Charles Townsend invited some guests to the hall for celebrations. Among the guests were Colonel Loftus and another guest named Hawkins. One night, as they approached their bedrooms, they saw the brown lady noticing the dated and brown dress she wore. The following night, Loftus claimed he saw it again. He said that he was drawn to the specter's empty eye sockets, dark in the glowing face, the ones so pretty Dorothy. After Loftus reported what he saw, it ended with some of the staff permanently leaving Rainham Hall. It was all recorded by another guest, Lucia C. Stone. Just a year after the brown lady was seen again, this time it was Captain Frederick Marriott, a friend of Charles Dickens. He originally wanted to prove the theory of his that the hauntings were caused by local smugglers. According to him, the smugglers spread the story to keep people away from the area. That night, he requested he spend the night in the haunted room at Rainham Hall. Marriott's daughter, Florence, wrote about her father's experience in 1891, saying, he took possession of the room in which the portrait of the apparition hung, and in which she had been often seen, and slept each night with a loaded revolver under his pillow. For two days, nephews of the Baronet knocked at his door as he was undressing to go to bed and asked him to step over to their room, which was at the other end of the corridor, and give them his opinion on a new gun just arrived from London. My father was in his shirt and trousers, but as the hour was late, and everybody had retired to rest except themselves, he prepared to accompany them as he was. As they were leaving the room, he caught up his revolver, in case you meet the brown lady, he said, laughing. When the inspection of the gun was over, the young man in the same spirit declared they would accompany my father back again. In case you meet the brown lady, they repeated, laughing also. The three gentlemen therefore returned in company. The corridor was long and dark, for the lights had been extinguished, but as they reached the middle of it, they saw the glimmer of a lamp coming towards them from the other end. One of the ladies going to visit the nurseries, whispered the young townsant to my father. Now the bedroom doors and that corridor faced each other, and each room had a double door with a space between, as is the case in many old fashion houses. My father, as I have said, was in shirt and trousers only, and his native modesty made him feel uncomfortable, so he slipped within one of the outer doors, his friends following his example, in order to conceal himself until the lady should have passed by. I've heard him describe how he watched her approaching nearer and nearer through the chink of the door, until, as she was close enough for him to distinguish the colors and style of her costume, he recognized the figure as the facsimile of the portrait of the brown lady. He had his finger on the trigger of his revolver and was about to demand it to stop and give the reason for its presence there, when the figure halted of its own accord before the door behind which he stood, and, holding the lighted lamp she carried to her features, grinned in a malicious and diabolical manner at him. This act so infuriated my father, he was anything but lamb-like in disposition that he sprang into the corridor with a bound and discharged the revolver right in her face. The figure instantly disappeared, the figure at which, for several minutes, three men had been looking together, and the bullet passed through the outer door of the room on the opposite side of the corridor and lodged in the panel of the inner one. My father never attempted again to interfere with the brown lady of Rainham. When the son of Lady Townsend and his friend saw her next, they knew who she was. They saw her on the staircase and identified the ghost with the portrait hanging on the wall in the haunted room. Of course, the portrait was of Lady Dorothy Walpole. After Proven and Sheara took the picture in Rainham Hall, they published their experience in Country Life Magazine, December 26, 1936. They were published again in Life Magazine on January 4, 1937. So all in all, they did profit on this. But could it be that they just took a picture? After the picture was taken, a paranormal investigator, Harry Price, interviewed both Proven and Sheara. He said, I will say it once, I was impressed. I was told a perfectly simple story. Mr. Andrew Sheara saw the apparition descending the stairs at the precise moment when Captain Proven's head was under the black cloth. A shout and the cap was off and the flashball fired with the results which we now see. I could not shake their story and I had no right to disbelieve them. Only collusion between the two would account for the ghost if it is a fake. The negative is entirely innocent of any faking. But there have been numerous attempts at debunking the picture and its status as proof. Some claim Sheara faked the image by putting grease or something in the lens in the shape of a lady, maybe moved down the stairs himself during an exposure, or maybe it is simply an accidental double exposure or light somehow getting into the camera. Some even claim that the figure looks eerily like the Virgin Mary statue and that the image is of her in the staircase, the statue that is not the Virgin Mary. Among those examining trying to debunk the validity of the picture is Joe Nichols' detailed writings that the photograph is nothing more than double exposure and the magician John Booth wrote that the photograph could be easily made. Booth had the magician Ron Wilson cover himself in a bedsheet and walk down the staircase of the Magic Castle in Hollywood. It apparently turned out very similar to the photograph. So what is that? Debunked or Proof? Christmas, 1929. Charles Lawson murdered his wife and six of his seven children. Charles Davis Lawson married Fanny Manring in 1911. The couple proceeded to have eight children. Their third child, William, was born in 1914 but tragically died in 1920. Charles moved his family to Germantown, North Carolina in 1918 with his younger two brothers moved there. They worked as tenant tobacco farmers and saved their money to purchase their own farm in 1927.  Family and friends believed his mental state had been altered but were never truly concerned. Fast forward to a week or so before Christmas. Charles, now 43, took his wife, Fanny, 37, and their seven children, Marie, 17, Arthur, 16, Kerry, 12, Maybell, 7, James, 4, Raymond, H2 and Mary Lou, four months old into town to buy new clothes and have a family portrait taken. This was a rather unusual occurrence for a working-class rural family in that era. Stella Lawson, a relative of the family, overheard her mother and aunts discussing a secret Fanny Lawson had confided in them. She was concerned about an incestuous relationship between Charles and their oldest daughter, Marie. Ella May, a close friend of Marie Lawson, had also been confided in. A few weeks before Christmas, Marie told her she was pregnant with her father's baby and that both her parents knew about this. On the afternoon of December 25, 1929, Charles sent his son Arthur into town on an errand. Once Arthur was gone, Charles took his 12-gauge shotgun and waited by the tobacco barn. His daughters, Kerry and Maybell, were leaving to go to their uncle and aunts' house. When they were in range, Charles shot them and bludgeoned them, placing their bodies in the tobacco barn. He returned to the house and shot his wife, Fanny, who was on the porch. Hearing the gunshot, his daughter, Marie, who was inside the house, screamed. The two youngest boys, James and Raymond, ran and hid. Charles went inside, shot Marie, then found the two boys and shot them as well. He then took the baby and bludgeoned her to death. He took the bodies of his family and carefully set them out. He rested their heads on rocks and folded their arms across their bodies. Charles left the house and went off into the woods on his own. Several hours later, he shot himself. The gunshot, heard by the numerous people who had gathered at his home, learning of the massacre from Arthur and the police. Ah Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year when friends and family get together, share meals, memories and gifts. Generally speaking, people are gracious when they receive a gift, but there is always that outlier who is less than pleased. As the gift giver, what do you do when that person doesn't like your gift? Well, in the case of Melissa Young, you kill them. It was Christmas Day 2013 when Allen Williamson visited his neighbor, Melissa Young. When she gave him his gift, a pair of unisex trainers and a copy of the Sun Newspapers 2014 calendar, he was not pleased. Young proceeded to block him in her home against his will. He managed to call 999, the equivalent of 911 in the United States. Police could hear Allen shouting, let me out, but were unable to speak to him directly. Before police arrived on the scene, Young made her own call. She informed the police that she had stabbed someone about seven times. I'm psychiatric. Can you take me to Royal Edinburgh Hospital, please? she asked. When they arrived, police found Young covered in blood. The power it gave me was amazing, she told them. What really happened behind closed doors, we may never know. What we do know is that Allen was stabbed 29 times, 12 on the left side of his chest, 12 on the left upper limb, and 5 on his lower left side. Several of the stab wounds went so deep into his chest they pierced both his heart and his lungs. The lower stab wounds caused injury to his pancreas, stomach, and spleen. One of the stab wounds transected the left femoral vein. The deepest wound was 8.5 cm or 3.35 inches deep. As for Melissa Young, she was immediately remanded to Cortenvale, a women's prison in Sterling, Scotland. Toxicology reports indicated that blood taken after her arrest showed trace amounts of four different drugs and she had also exceeded the legal alcohol-drink-drive limit. However, in court, the judge concluded that given Young had a history of both drug and alcohol abuse, it seems unlikely that either drink or drugs played a big part in what happened. Six consultant psychiatrists agreed that Young suffered from a severe personality disorder. Dr. Lenahan described the disorder as a mixed personality disorder with emotionally unstable, borderline, narcissistic, histrionic, and antisocial traits. Another psychiatrist, Dr. Kahn, diagnosed Young with schizophrenia. Another doctor testified that Young was prone to violent and dangerous outbursts, was on 14 different prescription drugs, inhaled solvents daily, and was a known alcoholic. Making matters worse, she had smoked heroin that very morning. Regarding Young having diminished responsibility for her actions, the judge surmised the general impression that one was left with from all the psychiatrists. Dr. Kahn accepted was of someone who was manipulative and prone to using psychiatric symptoms as a means to obtain an end. When questioned, Melissa Young refused to accept that she had stabbed Allen more than seven times and claimed that either he or the police inflicted the remaining stab wounds as a personal vendetta against her. Worse, she stated that she was indifferent to the fact that she had taken his life. Specifically, she didn't like him. Young also claimed that the Archangel St. Michael had taken over her body as an instrument of God to punish the unclean demon. Further evidence of her dislike of Allian Williamson is the fact that earlier that same year she abducted and assaulted him, accusing him of stealing her house keys. She held him against his will, waving a knife menacingly. Allen was in such fear for his own safety, he chose to jump from the first floor balcony down to the garden below just to escape. She told the court that if he had only accepted her gifts, she would not have stabbed him. After only five days, Melissa Young was given a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 20 years. But her troubles didn't stop there. While incarcerated, she attacked and bit a female prison guard in 2014. She lunged at the guard, grabbing her and pulling her to the ground by her hair. She climbed on top of her and bit her in the stomach, drawing blood. Her defense claimed there is a substantial medical health background as she is transgender. Despite this, she was given an additional six months to her sentence. Melissa Young stood at six feet three inches and had been born Richard McCabe. She transitioned in 2002. About a year after her transition, Young took on a job at a sauna. Her employer, a gay man going by the name of Cher, recalled a time when she had told him about her teen years, when she was bullied for cross dressing. She showed me nude pictures of herself as Richard and he was beautiful. She addresses a woman at the age of 14 or 15. Gangs of kids used to beat her up in the street. He added, she didn't have much of a life after her transition. She suffered from paranoia and thought everyone was always talking about her. Her smoking cannabis on a daily basis didn't help that. Melissa never had any relationships with men. It was all one night stands, of which there were many. She was too unbalanced to get close to. Cher eventually parted ways with Young after he discovered that she began prostituting from her home. Then I found out she had started turning tricks at her flat. I was angry because she was trying to steal our customers. After everything that had happened, I sacked her. She had been bragging about taking groups of drunken men, sometimes as many as 13 at a time, to the back of the nightclub for relations. Though she has filed appeals, they have all been denied. And Melissa Young remains in custody. Christmas is typically known as the most wonderful time of the year and for good reason. This holiday season allows us to not only spend time with family, friends and those dearest to us, but it also provides an opportunity to spread love and kindness as we celebrate our religious beliefs, participate in cultural traditions and reflect on what is truly important in life. Christmas is also known as a season of giving, whether that be giving gifts to your children, spouse or family, or instead giving financially to charities and organizations that help those less fortunate. However, in some stories, what should have been a celebratory season quickly turned into a season of unexpected mourning and tragedy, ultimately leaving families torn apart, grief-stricken and unable to look at the Christmas holiday the same way ever again. 46-year-old Della Callagher fell ill on the evening of December 25, 2012, after eating a four-course turkey meal during a Christmas Day pub lunch at the Railway Hotel in Horn Church, East London. Callagher was one of seven people within their party of 16 who became sick after eating the turkey. But while the others recovered, Callagher's condition continued to deteriorate. On December 26, 2012, Boxing Day, Callagher's husband, 51-year-old John Callagher, took her to Queen's Hospital in Romford, where she was examined at an ambulance. John stated that Callagher was given an injection but that no blood test was done and she was instructed to go home and lie down. Unfortunately, Callagher suffered cardiac arrest at home later that day, so John called an ambulance but stated by that time Callagher barely had a pulse. Sadly, she died at the hospital on December 27, 2012, leaving behind her husband and a 14-year-old daughter. Callagher's family went on to file civil claims for negligence against Mitchells and Butler's, the chain which owns the Railway Hotel. However, as a total of 33 people fell ill, a major investigation was also launched into the matter by police and health safety authorities. During the investigation, it was discovered that Callagher's death was a result of Clostridium perfringens bacteria, a common cause of food poisonings. The turkeys were prepared on Christmas Eve but were not cooled properly after cooking and were not adequately reheated before being served to guests. It was also later discovered that the pub's chef, 37-year-old Mehmet Kaya and the pub manager, 40-year-old Ann Marie McSweeney, falsified records in an attempt to cover up the fact that the turkey meat had been fatally undercooked. Both Kaya and McSweeney were found guilty of perverting the course of justice. On January 23, 2015, Kaya was sentenced to a year in prison and McSweeney was sentenced to 18 months. The pub chain, Mitchells and Butler's was also fined $1.9 million after being found guilty of selling unsafe food. Around 7 a.m. on Christmas morning of 2022, 37-year-old Varon Chand of New Zealand went to collect a yellow two-seater canoe he had bought on Facebook Marketplace as a surprise gift for his family. Chand returned later that morning and eventually took his two youngest children, ages 7 and 12, to try the canoe out on Lake Rau, a man-made freshwater lake at Rotukahutu Reserve in the outskirts of McLean's Island and Hairwood Christ Church. Chand and his 7-year-old daughter were initially facing each other in the canoe, but later moved to get more comfortable. Unfortunately in doing so, the young girl's leg became trapped under Chand's and when she tried to wiggle free, the vessel overturned. After the canoe tipped over, Chand held on to the two-seater craft while his daughter, who was, thankfully, wearing a life vest, swam and culled for help. Chand's daughter was eventually spotted and rescued, but unfortunately Chand went under the water and did not resurface. Sadly, Chand was also not wearing a life jacket. His body was recovered on Boxing Day, 22 feet or 7 m underwater. Not only did Chand leave behind his wife of 14 years, Sharon Shilma Dutt and their three children, but Chand's younger brother, Vissal, stated that the yellow canoe would serve as a symbol of another heartbreaking loss. The family had gone that Christmas morning to visit the grave of their other brother, 33-year-old Abinash, who was killed in a car crash in June 2021. Margaret Shibley had planned to go to her mother's, 57-year-old Elaine Fizer's home in Detroit, Michigan, on Christmas morning in 2021 to help with dinner. However, after calling her mother over and over and getting no response, Shibley and her family decided to go to Fizer's home to see what was going on. When they arrived, Fizer did not answer the door, so the family decided to look through a window and it was then that they saw what appeared to be a body on the floor. The family called the police and Shibley's husband forced his way into the home but made a tragic discovery. Fizer and her 13-year-old adopted daughter, Donia Fields, who was nonverbal and in a wheelchair, had been shot inside the home. Police later stated that the shooting had occurred at 5.45 a.m. that morning and that Fizer's husband, 62-year-old Dwayne McDonald, was a person of interest after fleeing the scene. On December 28, 2021, police received information that McDonald was hiding in an apartment building with two men he knew. Police then obtained a search warrant, but upon entering the building, they were greeted by McDonald, who was armed. A shot was then fired, causing officers to return fire, killing McDonald at the scene. Christmas eve of 2008 had been a fun day for the Hughes family, visiting friends, shopping, and even purchasing a new television to replace the old one kept in the first floor living room of their CodePoth-Rexham home. After returning home, Robert Hughes installed the new television. Then he decided to move the old, heavy, deep, bulky widescreen television downstairs into the children's play area.  Unfortunately, unbeknownst to her father, Emily was lying on her stomach at the foot of the stairs, and as Hughes staggered down carrying the old TV set, he tripped over Emily and dropped the television on her head, pinning her down. Hughes immediately got the TV off of Emily and carried her into the kitchen where his wife, Louise Sandra Hughes, called for an ambulance. Mr. and Mrs. Hughes attempted to resuscitate Emily until paramedics arrived, but she never regained consciousness. Emily was rushed to the Rexham-Maylor Hospital and later transferred to Liverpool's Alderhay Hospital due to a lack of oxygen and blood to her brain.  She was pronounced dead at 10.10 p.m. on Christmas Day. When Sophia Aloha got pregnant at 16 years old, her mother, Tina Mendoza, naturally worried that her daughter wouldn't finish high school. However, Mendoza stated, Boy, did that girl prove me wrong, as Aloha went on to maintain good grades, hold down a job, graduate, and take care of her baby. By the year 2000, 20-year-old Aloha and her 4-year-old daughter, Jasmine, had moved in with Mendoza and her stocked-in California home. Sadly, what was supposed to be the best Christmas ever turned into the worst and would tear their family apart. On Christmas Eve of 2000, Aloha decided to do some last-minute Christmas shopping in search of the perfect Christmas gift for Jasmine, a new scooter. While Aloha went shopping, Mendoza went to bed. However, just after midnight on December 24, 2000, Mendoza heard loud screams from outside that woke her up. Mendoza ran outside to find Aloha standing behind her car, holding her side and saying, Go get him, I've been stabbed. Rather than running toward Aloha, Mendoza went back into the house to call 911. When detectives arrived, they found Aloha lying next to her car, which was full of Christmas presents for her daughter. Stocked-in police began their search for a suspect, but the only clue they had was that a light-colored Ford Thunderbird or Mercury Cougar was seen leaving the area at the time of the murder. Sadly, Aloha, their only witness, was pronounced dead just after 1 a.m. after being rushed to the hospital. Aloha's best friend at the time, Lisa Orozco, later claimed that the night before, someone called her Aloha and said that someone would kill her. However, Ed Rodriguez, one of the lead detectives with the Stocked-in Police Department, stated he was never given any information about the phone call Orozco claimed Aloha received. In 2001, Rodriguez, in conjunction with the California State Governor's office, established a $50,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest and conviction in Aloha's case. Unfortunately, while countless people have been interviewed and re-interviewed, no suspect has ever been named. Aloha's daughter Jasmine is now grown with a baby of her own, but every Christmas Eve is a tragic reminder of Aloha's death and a case that remains unsolved. 12-year-old Kason Hallwood of Winsford, Cheshire suffered from asthma and had a nut allergy. Due to his asthma, Hallwood often spent Christmas in the hospital. However, Christmas of 2020 was the one-year Hallwood didn't spend the holiday in the hospital, so naturally the youngster woke up very excited Christmas morning in anticipation of opening gifts. Hallwood spent the day at home with his mother, Louise, and his three brothers, 18-year-old twins, Cohen and Corley, and 13-year-old Caden, before going to his grandparents' house for dinner, where he licked his plate clean. After eating, Hallwood went to the Wharton Recreation Park with some of his friends. Approximately 20 minutes later, Hallwood called his mother to ask if she could send one of his brothers to the park to bring his inhaler. One of the Hallwood's twin brothers took the inhaler and reported that Hallwood seemed fine. However, when Louise received a second phone call from her son, she could tell the inhaler hadn't worked. At that point, Louise ran to the park with an EpiPen that had been kept at Hallwood's grandparents' house, but unfortunately it had expired. When Louise got to the park, Hallwood's eyes were puffy, signaling an allergic reaction, but the EpiPen injection made no difference in his condition. Louise called for an ambulance and Hallwood was rushed to Leighton Hospital in crew. Unfortunately, he died a short time later as a result of anaphylactic fatal asthma that was caused by peanut ingestion with bilateral pneumonia or collapsed lungs as a contributing factor. In a heartbreaking turn of events, it was later discovered that Hallwood's grandfather, Albert, had prepped a beef joint and a gammon joint for Christmas dinner the night before, but had forgotten about Hallwood's nut allergy. He used a gammon glaze that had nuts in it. 28-year-old Cody Hedick of Spencer Township, Michigan, described his wife, 27-year-old Sasha Hedick as a ridiculously smart woman, a fantastic mom and a great wife. Sasha loved cooking, canning vegetables and baking, enjoyed gathering with friends, and even made sure to put extra time into doing things for her children. Sasha began to struggle with postpartum depression after the birth of their daughter, but thankfully she received treatment and recovered. Unfortunately, Sasha again began struggling a few months before the birth of their son in July 2015. Despite counseling and therapy through a support group, her mental health never recovered. On Christmas Day in 2015, Sasha told Cody that she and their three-year-old daughter and five-month-old son were going to Starbucks. Cody stayed behind to clean up at home. However, Sasha was gone much longer than expected, and Cody reported her missing later that night. Sadly, around 10.30 a.m., December 26, 2015, Sasha was found in a remote area, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Their daughter was snuggled up against Sasha's body, and their infant son was found strapped inside her vehicle, shivering. Both children were treated for hypothermia, and by December 29, 2015 they were back at home doing well. Although Cody stated this isn't something that a healthy Sasha would have done, he never could have anticipated her tragic, untimely death, or just how serious her thoughts had become. And if you're suffering from depression during this holiday season, I would encourage you to go to WeirdDarkness.com and click on the Hope in the Darkness page for free resources to help you get through your depression. That's WeirdDarkness.com Hope Lauren Kaeperd of Bryn Mauer Wales was diagnosed with severe epilepsy at the age of 14. Despite her condition, the 19-year-old dedicated her life to helping others, volunteering with her local St. John ambulance group, church, youth club, and food bank. On Christmas Eve 2018, the family shared a meal of Chinese food, which was Kaeperd's favorite. Afterward, Kaeperd went upstairs to her bedroom to finish wrapping Christmas presents. Approximately 20 minutes later, Kaeperd's father, Robert, went upstairs but found his daughter face down on her bed, not breathing. Robert began performing CPR while Kaeperd's mother, Del, called for an ambulance. Robert continued performing CPR and when the paramedics arrived, they were able to resuscitate Kaeperd. Unfortunately, when she arrived at Neville Hall Hospital, it was discovered that Kaeperd had suffered irreparable brain damage. She died December 26, 2018 and was laid to rest in one of her Christmas presents, mint green fleece pajamas and fluffy socks. Despite Kaeperd's tragic death, she went on to fulfill her dream of helping others and to save three lives through an organ donation. 40-year-old Gareth Blankens of Armley Leeds was described as someone strong, protective and the type of person who would do anything for anybody. In fact, if someone was sad, he'd often ask, Do you need a Blankens cuddle? Sadly, this loving father tragically died on Christmas Day in 2022 after suffering a heart attack. Blankens was enjoying the holiday with his family and cuttingly. As the evening began to wind down, Blankens decided to go outside for a cigarette, all seemed well as Blankens returned inside laughing and joking, but all of a sudden he clutched his chest, fell to the floor and began having a fit. Blankens was rushed to the hospital, but given that his brain went for too long without oxygen, he did not survive. Blankens left behind a 15-year-old son who he lived for. Watch the podcast in your favorite podcast app at WeirdDarkness.com. Listen! Not only will you hear a copy of tonight's show, you will also get a daily episode of Weird Darkness as I post seven days per week! Again, you can subscribe to the podcast at WeirdDarkness.com. Listen! Or search for Weird Darkness wherever you listen to the podcast. You can follow the show on Facebook and Twitter at Weird Darkness. Please tell others about the show who love the paranormal or strange stories, true crime, monsters or unsolved mysteries like you do. Doing that helps make it possible for me to keep doing the show. And if you'd like to be a part of the show, you can send in your own paranormal experiences by clicking on Tell Your Story at WeirdDarkness.com. You can also email me anytime at Darren at WeirdDarkness.com. Darren is D-A-R-R-E-N. Weird Darkness is a production and trademark of Marlar House Productions. Copyright 2022. And now that we're coming out of the dark, I'll leave you with a little light. Luke 1, verses 30-33. But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his Father David and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever. His kingdom will never end. And a final thought. Bless us, Lord, this Christmas with quietness of mind. Teach us to be patient and always to be kind. Helen Steiner Rice I'm Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me in the Weird Darkness and Merry Christmas.