Two friends, Kristin and Rebecca, swapped true crime, paranormal, cryptid, and alien stories with Southern sass. Think spooky front-porch tales with a side of humor. While new episodes have ended, you can still binge past chilling tales, then follow Kristin to her new podcast, Dark Academy, where the stories continue in a spookier, more immersive world.
Dark Academy Episodes are Clean. Southern Belles and Chilling Tales, not so much
What’s scarier than Michael Myers? Real people mistaken for Halloween decorations.
This Halloween, Dark Academy Pod is exploring the monsters we see on screen, and the ones who walk among us.
First, we’re returning to Haddonfield to revisit John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978), the slasher classic that gave us Michael Myers and one unforgettable Halloween night.
Then the horror gets real. We’ll explore the chilling Pocatello babysitter murders and the disturbing case of Gary Alvord, before closing with three real-life cases in which people’s bodies were mistaken for Halloween decorations. Because sometimes, the most horrifying stories aren’t fiction, and the truth is far stranger than a movie.
If you love classic horror, unsettling true crime, and stories that stay with you after the credits roll, pull up a seat, and join us by the fire
Welcome back to the Library, Inductees. Class is in session.
Content warning: Discussions of murder, violence, sexual assault, and death.
12 Aug 2026
18 The Lost Boys
Welcome to the Dark Academy Summer Drive-In.
Tonight’s feature is The Lost Boys. A movie filled with neon lights, motorcycles, leather jackets, and vampires
But Santa Carla isn’t entirely fictional.
The real Santa Cruz, California, has a darker history of its own. Once called the “Murder Capital of the World,” the city was home to notorious killers including Edmund Kemper, Herbert Mullin, and John Linley Frazier.
Then we’ll step back into the movie and visit the real places where The Lost Boys was filmed, from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk to the abandoned location used for Grandpa’s house. We’ll look at what locations survived the devastating 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
Our Final Fright takes us all over the Santa Cruz area to explore the myths and legends that round out the dark atmosphere of this California town: the Mystery Spot, haunted Brookdale Lodge, the mysterious Respini Mansion, the Lady in White, and the creepy lore surrounding the tunnels beneath the boardwalk.
1 Jul 2026
17 I Know What You Did Last Summer and the Hookman Urban Legend
A deadly hit-and-run. A fisherman with a hook. A killer who refuses to let the past stay buried.
Tonight at Dark Academy, we’re celebrating the Fourth of July with a ‘90s horror classic: I Know What You Did Last Summer. We revisit the coastal slasher that helped define a generation, discuss what still works, what makes us yell at the screen, and why the Hookman remains one of horror’s most recognizable killers.
Then we examine the heartbreaking true story of Tony Parsons, a charity cyclist whose fatal hit-and-run led to a cold blooded cover-up.
Next, we head to Virginia to untangle the still-mysterious Colonial Parkway Murders. Recent DNA evidence identified fisherman Alan Wade Wilmer as the killer in several cases, but lingering questions and unsolved murders continue to fuel speculation that another predator may still be part of the story.
Finally, we gather around the campfire for our Final Fright and trace the evolution of The Hookman urban legend. From 1940s Lovers’ Lane warnings to campfire tales, Hollywood slashers, and the age of AI, why has this story survived for nearly 80 years?
So grab a flashlight, stay with your friends, and whatever you do…
Don’t stop on a lonely road.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.1 / 5
7 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
17 ratings
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