In 1987, the Dardeen family’s quiet life in rural Illinois ended in unimaginable horror.

A crime so savage, it left investigators speechless — and decades later, still haunted by questions that no one could answer.

Cults. Serial killers. Satanic panic. Lies and legends.

American Dread: The Dardeen Family Massacre — one of the most graphic and disturbing cases in Illinois history.

Brought to you by American Hauntings Network.

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Mark spent the night drinking beer with his friends and trying to pick up girls, passing most of his time in a cantina called Sgt. Peppers, and a honky-tonk called the London Pub. But when his friends are ready to call it a night, they can’t find him in either bar. They assumed he’d gotten lucky and went back to the hotel without him. 

But Mark Kilroy was never seen alive again.

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This episode was written by Troy Taylor

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The initial inspiration for the film was NOT based on a true story – it was based on an unfinished Edgar Allan Poe story that was also called “The Lighthouse.” Max Eggers began adapting the story but couldn’t figure out what to do with it so his brother jumped in to help, sourcing the plot from the story of a Welsh lighthouse tragedy, which for most people, would sound tame. 

It isn’t. 

And while the story of Thomas Howell, Thomas Griffith, and the Smalls Lighthouse isn’t a story of an unexplained disappearance, a mysterious death, or brutal true crime, it’s still a horror story that is worthy of Edgar Allan Poe.

Have a question or comment? Text us on the Haunt Line @ 217-791-7859

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This episode was written by Troy Taylor

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It’s been called the “SCARIEST FILM ON NETFLIX” by critics and viewers alike. It’s a Spanish film that’s written and directed by Paco Plaza, who found fame a few years before it came out with the REC found-footage franchise. But even though we’ve often bragged that the true stories we’ve talked about this season are scarier than the films they’re based on, the reality of that is really up to you. This time, though, the actual story behind VERONICA manages to stand out. It’s a very real story of an actual case of paranormal activity that had terrifying, even deadly, consequences.

Have a question or comment? Text us on the Haunt Line @ 217-791-7859

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This episode was written by Troy Taylor

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Check out the brand new podcast, American Dread, from Adam White.

On Halloween 1992, 20-year-old Penny Timmons vanished in Decatur, Illinois, leaving behind a chilling note in a gas station restroom: “He has a gun in his pants! HELP! This isn’t a joke!”

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NEW PREVIEW OF OUR NEW SHOW ON PATREON!

CANYON: THE TRUE STORY OF THE STARVED ROCK MURDERS

Available ONLY by becoming a Patreon supporter of American Hauntings. 

Go to https://patreon.com/americanhauntings and get signed up now!

On the cold, snow-covered morning of March 16, 1960, when the bodies of three women from the Chicago suburbs were discovered at Starved Rock State Park in Northern Illinois. The murders shocked the entire state and led to a manhunt that snared a confessed killer who spent the next 59 years in prison. It was a tragic, heart-wrenching case, but thankfully, it was over – or was it?

Not only have the murders left ghost stories in their wake, but the man who confessed nine different times to the murders changed his mind behind bars and then spent the next six decades trying to get out of prison, declaring himself innocent.

Was he guilty? Not guilty? Had the cops railroaded the wrong man? What really happened in 1960 -- and what didn't?

This podcast will look at ALL sides of the story. We’ll present the evidence, the rumors, the mistakes, and hopefully, the truth – and then you can judge the guilt or the innocence of those involved for yourself.

COMING SOON!

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Check out the brand new podcast, American Dread, from Adam White.

Two winters. Two murders. Eighteen years apart.

In Decatur, Illinois, the winters of 1942 and 1960 were marked not by snow and holiday cheer, but by the sound of shotguns shattering the night.

In this episode of American Dread, we revisit two chilling cases: the Short Street double shooting of 1942, and the shotgun murder of Virginia Eades in 1960. Different killers, different motives—but each crime left the same lasting scar on the community.

Step into the cold, walk the streets where it happened, and hear the true stories of tragedy and terror from the dark side of the American Heartland.

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On October 26, 1965, a 16-year-old girl named Sylvia Likens died in Indianapolis from shock, malnutrition, and a brain hemorrhage. She had been tortured for three months and by the time she died, she could barely move or speak. She had been tortured, neglected, sexually humiliated, starved, beaten, and cut by her tormentors. Her autopsy later revealed 150 wounds on her body, including cigarette burns, skin brandings, and knife wounds.

What had Sylvia done to deserve such torture? Nothing.

Have a question or comment? Text us on the Haunt Line @ 217-791-7859

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This episode was written by Troy Taylor

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Check out the brand new podcast, American Dread, from Adam White.

On a quiet May night in 1976, the city of Decatur, Illinois, was shattered by a brutal double murder that still echoes nearly fifty years later. Two young cousins, June and Marcella Freeman, were savagely stabbed to death and left discarded like trash on the side of West Center Street. Their killer, Michael Timothy Gibson, would soon be caught — but justice didn’t end the nightmare.

In this debut episode of American Dread, host Adam White takes you deep into the horror of that night, the trial that followed, and the decades of pain that haunted the victims’ families and the Decatur community. With real crime statistics, eyewitness details, and chilling atmosphere, this story explores not just the crime itself, but the scars it left behind.

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The true story of THE ENTITY doesn’t begin with Carla Moran coming home from work one night, it actually started with researchers Barry Taff and Kerry Gaynor from the Department of Parapsychology at UCLA visiting the home on August 22, 1974. A short time earlier, the two men had been discussing the paranormal in a local bookstore when they were approached by a woman name Doris Blither, who wanted to tell them about her haunted house. The pair agreed to meet Doris at her home, not realizing at the time how baffling and terrifying the case would turn out to be.

Have a question or comment? Text us on the Haunt Line @ 217-791-7859

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This episode was written by Troy Taylor

Produced and edited by Cody Beck

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