We Would Be Dead

Waning Crescent (Jeannette DePalma Part 1)

This two part episode and our subsequent special episode have been in the making for a long time. Our next two episodes we are covering the still unsolved 1972 murder of 16 year old Springfield NJ resident Jeannette DePalma. Jeannette went missing on August 7th 1972, just another runaway according to the police. We've seen this all before, but when Jeannette's decomposing body turned up 6 weeks later atop a large and perilous rock formation in the local quarry known as "the devil's teeth", people began to wonder, had Jeannette been murdered, or sacrificed?
Stay tuned for the full story. Then don't miss our special episode with one of the writers of the definitive source on Jeannette's case, the novel Death on the Devil's Teeth: the strange murder that shocked Suburban New Jersey, Jesse Pollack. Click the link below to buy your copy now!
Death on the Devil's Teeth book
 
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Based on a Fictional Story 2 (Scary Stories to tell in the Dark)

In our second installment of Based on a Fictional Story" we explore the Scary Stories to tell in the dark series by Alvin Schwartz. This week we'll take a few of these legendary scary stories and pull on the possible threads of truth. Did a possessed scarecrow really skin people in a field? Can a green ribbon really hold on a human head for decades? And what about the viper, did he really vash and vipe the windows? Let’s find out…
*Oh! Thanks for giving me a reason to write and read my own scary story to tell in the dark, fiends. it was a dream come true. XO Holly
 
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books 1-3
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Murder House (The Los Feliz Murder Mansion)

Deep in the Hollywood Hills lies the stunning neighborhood of Los Feliz. There you'll find a diverse array of beautiful homes ranging from charming little bungalows to sprawling early 20th century Spanish revival mansions all tucked neatly into palm tree lined streets and sloping hills. In the middle of all this beautiful real estate sits one such mansion, long since abandoned but never empty, 2475 Glendower Place is a testament to our fascination with murder and the paranormal,  it is both a legend and a nightmare.
On December 7th 1959 Dr. Harold Perelson woke up early to commit an unthinkable and bloody act. Since that day, 2475 Glendower Place has sat unoccupied, frozen in time, blood spatter still on the walls, dishes still in the sink. But why? Why would no one live in this gorgeous estate? Why did all the Perelson's belongings stay put? And why, did Dr. Harold Perelson do what he did. This week, we'll find out the answers to those questions and so much more. It's Murder house week fiends!
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The Los Feliz Murder Mansion Podcast
The Murder House by Jeff Maysh
The Terrible Curse of Griffith Park
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Drink Me (Black Widow Stacey Castor)

On Monday August 21'st 2005, two Onodoga County NY police officers respondrd to a 911 call from a woman named Stacey Castor. Stacey presented an unusual story about her husband locking himself in their bedroom and refusing to come out. When police kicked down the door and made their way into said bedroom, they discovered David Castor, facedown on a filthy mattress, completely naked, dead. A glass of bright green antifreeze sat on his bedside table. It seemed pretty obvious to everyone what had happened. David completed suicide, leaving his devastated wife and their blended family of three behind. Something just wasn't right about this crime scene though, and it would take 3 years for officers to find out exactly what it was.
 In this episode we explore the slow and painful process of antifreeze poisoning, naked suicide and why it's a red flag, Black Widows of all kinds, and the story of a woman who seemed to have everything but chose to destroy it all.... twice. 
 
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20/20 episode
Naked Suicide
Killer Wives: 8 Most Infamous Black Widow Murderers
 
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Based on a True Story 2 (Five Nights at Freddy’s)

Welcome to our second installment of Based on a True Story, where we tell you the real events that inspired and created some of your favorite scary things. This week we tackle one of the most popular video games of all time, a game that dares to scare you with characters an settings that may have delighted you as a child, Five Nights at Freddy's. We take you behind the ball pit to discuss the psychology behind why this game is a finely tuned nightmare machine. Then we take a dip into the fascinating history of the business behind Freddy Fazbear's Pizza joint, Chuck E Cheese .Finally, we unravel the case many believe to have inspired Freddy's urgent, after hours, scramble for survival: The 1993 Aurora Colorado Chuck E Cheese Massacre. If you're confused, not a gamer or a person with a child, don't Worry! We brought in a real live youth to clear it all up. 
*This episode is aimed to be fun for everyone, no prior game knowledge is required to listen, seriously. 
 
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The Rock-afire Explosion "live"
Five Nights at Freddy's game trailers
 
 
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Bristol’s Angel (The Murder of Becky Watts)

On February 20th, 2015, friends of Darren Galsworthy were met with an unsettling sight while scrolling through their Facebooks feeds. Darren had posted a large photo of his teenage daughter Becky along with the following caption “PLEASE SHARE!!!!! missing 16 year old girl. please private message if you have seen her or know anything.” This is every parent's worst nightmare, but it pales in comparison to what detectives would discover happened to Becky in the place she should have been the safest, her own bedroom. When the only people home are your immediate family, it's horrifying to realize that calls are coming from inside the house. 
 
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The Evil Within (Becky's Father's Book)
The Murder of Becky Watts: Police Tapes (Documentary)
 
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Two Truths and a Lie

This week we have something just a little different to offer you. Holly and Leslie play a little game of two truths and a lie! Each host will tell three short stories, two of them are true and one is a lie! See if you can guess which is which, they don't make it easy. 
All six stories are the wildest, weirdest, scariest, silliest, and most unbelievable tales we have come across in our two years of bringing WWBD to you, so listen closely and don't forget to play along on our social media accounts when you're done! 
*These stories were originally aired during a YouTube live campfire stories event in September of 2020, but they were too good not to share with you all.
 
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Mother’s In The Attic (John List)

On December 7th 1971,  the Westfield police department made one the the most bizarre and terrifying discoveries in New Jersey history. After numerous reports of lights slowly shutting off at historic Breeze Knoll mansion, the police had been summoned to check on it's occupants. The List family, who had purchased the sprawling manse in 1965 had not been seen or heard from in nearly a month. The Lists were reclusive and peculiar people, with not many local friends or any family near by, there had been no one to notice what should have been a very conspicuous absence. Upon entering Breeze Knoll police discovered 5 members of the List family dead, and their patriarch, John, nowhere to be found. Leaving only a chilling confession letter to his pastor, John List went on the run and managed to evade capture for eighteen long years. Join WWBD as we examine one of the world's most infamous family annihilators, and New Jersey's most famous boogeyman, John List. Leave the lights on and lock your doors, because this one is sure to leave you wondering just how well any of us know our neighbors.  
 
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Father Wants Us Dead Podcast and more
Original newspaper articles 
FBI - D. B. Cooper Hijacking
Wiki - D. B. Cooper Hijacking
 
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Dungeons and Dragons and the Devil (Satanic Panic)

THAT’S RIGHT STRANGER THINGS FANS, it was real! Not the actual hell beasts, but the misplaced fear and anger for sure. In the nineteen eighties and early nineties the United States was locked in a full scale panic. Law enforcement was convinced that cults of child raping, child murdering, animal sacrificing, pro suicide, ritual sacrificing, goat man loving, devil worshiping Satanists were bubbling up in every state. These monsters were on the loose, taking children at will, and summoning the dark forces with their seductive role playing games and country preschools. 
Did the devil actually take up residence in a bunch of little towns? No, of course not, but people were scared, and where there’s fear there’s panic, and where there's panic there is blame, and when misguided fear leads to blame, we have a good ole fashioned witch hunt. Join us as we examine how the devil took a hard right into the beloved hobby of everyone’s favorite Hawkins Highschool students, Dungeons and Dragons. 
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Quoted New York Times Article
Get your Dungeons and Dragons on
 
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In The Pines (The Jersey Devil)

The New Jersey Pine Barrens hold so many wild and dramatic secrets that we know this won’t be the only episode we devote to them. This week we’ll take a little walk through Piney history before focusing on the main event, Jersey’s very own monster… (not all state’s have one, so we’re very proud), the Jersey devil! 
 
Many of you will be familiar with the story of Mother Leeds and her cursed 13th child, but hang on to your hat because the origins of this dark and stormy tale are not what you might expect. Join us on quite the wild ride straight into the heart of the weird state we call home.
 
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The story of Lord Cornbury
Norman Jeffries Devil madness
The Devil’s Government page
Information on forced Piney sterilization
*The Domestic Life of the Jersey Devil: or, BeBop's Miscellany - A book by Bill Sprouse (a descendent of the Jersey Devil)
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