In this chilling installment of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale explores the shocking true story of John Martin Scripps — a seemingly ordinary British traveler who used charm, knives, and stolen passports to dismember tourists across Asia in the mid-1990s. From his troubled childhood in postwar England to his gruesome crimes across Singapore and Thailand, Scripps carved a path of death masked behind the face of a smiling wanderer. Known as "The Tourist from Hell," he used his skills in butchery — learned in prison — to dispose of bodies with surgical precision and evade capture across multiple countries. With vivid storytelling, historical depth, and spine-tingling forensic detail, Damien Vale traces how a man with a suitcase full of passports and murder tools turned hotel rooms into killing chambers and oceans into mass graves. It’s not just a true crime story.

It’s a global manhunt.

It’s horror that flies economy class.

It’s Among Monsters at its most terrifying.

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In this gripping episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale uncovers the twisted, disturbing legacy of Arthur Shawcross — a man released from prison after killing children… only to become one of the most cold-blooded serial killers in upstate New York history. Known as The Genesee River Killer, Shawcross terrorized Rochester in the late 1980s, strangling and mutilating sex workers before leaving their bodies near water — like offerings to the cold currents of the Genesee. But what makes his story even more horrifying is what came before: a manslaughter conviction for killing two children… and a controversial early release that let the monster walk free. With vivid detail, psychological insight, and a narrative that blends historical facts with dark atmosphere, Damien Vale brings to life the story of a man who manipulated the justice system, slaughtered with precision, and left a trail of terror along the riverbanks of America. This isn’t just a serial killer story.

It’s a case study in failure… and a warning carved in the ice of the Genesee.

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In this cold and calculating episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale tells the true story of Alexander Pichushkin — a man who turned the act of murder into a twisted game, aiming to kill 64 people, one for each square on a chessboard. Known as The Chessboard Killer, Pichushkin stalked his victims through Bitsa Park on the edge of Moscow between 2001 and 2006. His targets? The vulnerable and forgotten — the elderly, the addicted, the lonely. With chilling precision, he bludgeoned his victims and discarded their bodies like pawns taken in a game, all while keeping count on a literal chessboard. Through vivid storytelling and chilling historical context, Damien Vale dives deep into the psychological rot behind one of Russia’s most prolific serial murderers. This isn’t just a story of homicide — it’s about obsession, methodical cruelty, and the horrifying possibility that evil can walk beside you… unnoticed.

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In this harrowing episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale unearths the chilling life of Carl Panzram — a man whose soul was soaked in hatred, violence, and unrelenting rage. From a tortured childhood in reform schools to a nomadic trail of murder and rape across continents, Panzram's confessions revealed a monstrous life fueled not by compulsion, but by absolute contempt for humanity. With over 1,000 assaults and at least 21 murders to his name, Panzram’s story is one of brutality, psychological torment, and complete moral decay. His last words were laced with venom. His legacy is a dark reminder of what happens when trauma goes unchecked… and hatred is allowed to grow. This 28-minute narrative will leave you haunted by one of history’s most dangerous minds.

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In this historically grounded episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale chronicles the life, crimes, and consequences of Luis Alfredo Garavito, also known as La Bestia — The Beast — who stands as the most prolific serial killer in recorded history. Set against the backdrop of 1990s Colombia, a nation in crisis due to guerrilla warfare, drug cartels, and institutional breakdown, Garavito found fertile ground to carry out his unimaginable spree of violence. Disguising himself as a priest, a charity worker, or a friendly passerby, Garavito used Colombia’s social instability and overburdened justice system to target street children, orphans, and the impoverished. His crimes, which spanned seven years and at least 190 confirmed murders, sent shockwaves across Latin America and redefined the conversation around criminal justice reform in the region. Damien Vale delivers a haunting yet historically rich narrative that explores how Colombia’s fractured institutions, mass displacement, and societal neglect of vulnerable children allowed a sadistic killer to operate with near impunity. From his abusive childhood through his confession and sentencing, this episode doesn’t just recount the murders — it confronts the systemic failures that made them possible.

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In this deeply unnerving episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale unpacks the twisted legacy of Rodney Alcala — a smooth-talking predator who smiled on national television while hiding a trail of blood and broken lives behind the lens of his camera. Known as The Dating Game Killer, Alcala blended into 1970s Hollywood with charm, intelligence, and a disarming wit. But underneath the smile was a monster. He raped, tortured, and murdered women and girls across the U.S., leaving behind a storage unit full of haunting photographs — some victims identified, many not. From his near-murder of 8-year-old Tali Shapiro, to his disturbing courtroom theatrics, and his chilling appearance on a hit game show at the height of his killing spree, Alcala represents one of the most terrifying examples of evil hiding in plain sight. Damien Vale guides listeners through this grim saga with vivid storytelling, forensic detail, and eerie reflection — because in the world of Among Monsters, charm… can be lethal.

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In this chilling episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale delves into the disturbed mind and crimes of Joseph Kallinger, a Philadelphia cobbler turned murderer who embarked on a horrifying crime spree across three states — with his 12-year-old son as his unwilling accomplice. Driven by hallucinations, delusions of divine command, and years of brutal childhood abuse, Kallinger believed he was chosen by God to punish the wicked. Over six weeks in 1974 and 1975, he and his son Michael robbed, assaulted, and terrorized families — culminating in the brutal murder of nurse Maria Fasching in New Jersey. But behind the violence lay a deeper, more haunting story: of generational trauma, a system that failed to stop escalating abuse, and a child dragged into darkness by his own father. With vivid detail, historical context, and emotional gravity, Damien Vale unpacks one of America’s most unsettling family horror stories — a case that blurs the line between insanity and pure evil.

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In this bone-chilling episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale delves into the twisted legacy of Clifford Olson, one of Canada’s most reviled serial killers — a man who preyed on children, manipulated the justice system, and turned grief into personal profit. Between 1980 and 1981, Olson lured at least 11 young victims to their deaths across British Columbia with offers of rides, jobs, and friendship. But what horrified the nation even more was what happened next: a controversial deal where Olson sold the locations of his victims’ bodies to the Canadian government — for $100,000, deposited into a trust fund for his wife and child. Damien Vale guides listeners through Olson’s transformation from conman to killer, his sadistic crime spree, the infamous “cash for corpses” arrangement, and the courtroom confessions that sickened a country. This isn’t just a story of murder — it’s a masterclass in manipulation, a failure of justice, and a chilling portrait of a man who smiled through every atrocity.

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In this haunting episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale explores the terrifying legacy of Michel Fourniret, known across France and Belgium as L’Ogre des Ardennes — The Ogre of the Ardennes. With his wife and accomplice Monique Olivier, Fourniret lured, raped, and murdered young girls and women in a carefully orchestrated campaign of predation that spanned over two decades. Set against the quiet countryside and historic towns of northern France and Belgium, this historical true crime story examines how Fourniret's seemingly mundane life concealed one of Europe’s most insidious killing sprees. From his early sexual offenses to the discovery of his victims’ remains at the Château du Sautou, and the explosive courtroom confessions that followed, this episode confronts the societal and investigative blind spots that allowed Fourniret to operate in the shadows for far too long. With chilling narrative detail and historical perspective, Damien Vale walks listeners through the rise and fall of a man whose crimes shocked a continent and exposed the darkest corners of human cruelty.

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In this haunting episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale unravels the terrifying crimes of Sergey Golovkin, the soft-spoken agricultural expert who became one of Russia’s most sadistic serial killers — and the last man ever executed by the Russian state. Between 1986 and 1992, Golovkin abducted, tortured, and murdered at least 11 boys in and around Moscow, luring them with cigarettes, job offers, or fatherly charm. Beneath an unremarkable garage in a quiet neighborhood, he built a private dungeon, where he inflicted unimaginable horrors. Operating in the shadows of a collapsing Soviet Union, Golovkin exploited a fractured justice system and a nation too distracted by revolution to protect its children. Through vivid storytelling and historical context, Damien Vale takes listeners inside the investigation, confession, and eventual execution of a man who personified pure evil. This is not just a tale of murder — it’s a story of institutional failure, calculated cruelty, and the darkest corners of human nature.

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