Riders on the Storm” turned out to be the last song Jim Morrison ever recorded. When the album was finished, he left L.A. for Paris and either died on July 3, 1971, or he went permanently off the grid – whichever you’d like to believe.

But it’s the lyrics behind the song that is the most unsettling of all – it was inspired by one of the most sinister spree-killers in history. His reign of terror began in the last days of 1950, and over the next two weeks, he went on a senseless rampage. He kidnapped nearly a dozen people, including a deputy sheriff, and murdered six of them in cold blood, including three children. 

During those 14 days, the killer – a born loser named Billy Cook – terrorized the highways of the American Southwest and earned a permanent place in the history of music and as the inspiration for two terrifying films.

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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American Nightmares begins with the horror at the root of the stories that kept the early settlers huddled around the fire late into the night – the Devil himself.

Understanding the Devil in America is the key to understanding our undeniable taste for the evil and the monstrous in all their many forms. The pages of our history can be read as a tale of horror -- with the Devil as one of the main characters. The Devil, like the first white settlers, was imported to these shores, and he found great success here. At almost every turning point in our history, at every moment of great societal and cultural change, the Devil has embodied, and even legitimized our nation. He has been the uninvited guest at the American banquet and the inspiration for religious movements, politics, entertainment, and our country's greatest nightmares.

American Nightmares is part of the American Hauntings Podcast Network. You can find more about us, our books, tours, ghost hunts, dinner events, the Haunted America Conference, and the American Oddities Museum in Alton, Illinois, at the American Hauntings Website!

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Our nightmare begins, as all bad dreams do, in the dark.

The new show coming to the American Hauntings Podcast Network is AMERICAN NIGHTMARES, hosted by Troy Taylor (that’s me) and I’ll be delving into America’s history, hauntings, spirits, and sins in a way that we’ve never done before. I’ll be tackling the origins and the history of horror in America, from frightening stories of witch trials to monsters of literature and lore. In the shows to come, I’ll offer tales of terror and stories of revenge and despair, haunted houses, mysterious monsters, brutal murders, death and dying, and true tales of murder, madness, and mayhem that you may find hard to believe can be true. 

But I can assure you they are.

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“So, I’d been listening to this conversation and I finally walked over and picked up a film off the rack. I handed it to the biggest guy and told him, this is it. Take this home and watch it and if it’s not scary enough for you, I’ll give you your money back when you return it.”

“The guy came back the next day, and he handed me the case with the VHS tape in it. I asked him what he thought and he just had this look in his eye.”

“’Scared the shit out of all of us,’ he said. ‘Seriously man, I was so freaked out I barely slept last night. You were right – gotta be the scariest film in the store.’

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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This Halloween, we discuss our favorite guilty pleasure Horror movies! And we try our best to not judge ourselves and others about the scary movies we all hate to love. Check it out!

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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In October 1985, four-year-old Timothy “TJ” Davison vanished from a grocery store parking lot in Decatur, Illinois — in broad daylight, while his aunt was just steps away. What followed was one of the most haunting mysteries in Central Illinois history: decades of silence, false leads, and another family disappearance that may be connected in ways no one ever proved. Nearly forty years later, American Dread revisits the case that still grips Decatur — the boy who vanished in twenty-five minutes, and the questions that still echo through time.  

Brought to you by American Hauntings Network.

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Post Malone only went into the room because he was with an expert. That’s what he said later, with a lot of regret. The room was part of the other man’s haunted museum in Las Vegas and inside it was the Dybbuk Box, considered by many as the world’s most haunted and cursed object. 

Even that creepy Annabelle doll wouldn’t mess with this thing, some said. It had never been opened before, though, because it was haunted by a Dybbuk...

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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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.

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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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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Check out our updated website and sign up for our newsletter at AmericanHauntingsPodcast.com

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Follow us on Twitter @AmerHauntsPod, @TroyTaylor13, @CodyBeckSTL

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This episode was written by Troy Taylor

Produced and edited by Cody Beck

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