In this Dark Outdoors mini episode, we step into the shadowy intersection of wilderness and human predators. Joined by Stephen G. Michaud, co-author of The Only Living Witness and Ted Bundy: Conversations with a Killer, we examine how Ted Bundy and other killers exploited false injuries, manufactured helplessness, and social trust to lure victims—and why those same tactics become even more dangerous in the woods.

Away from crowds and witnesses, trails and campsites offer predators distance, silence, and plausible deniability. This episode explores killer psychology, deception in outdoor spaces, and how moments meant for solitude can turn threatening without warning. Dark, eerie, and rooted in real conversations with a killer, this Dark Outdoors mini episode will change how you think about helping strangers—and what might be watching from just off the trail.

In this chilling episode of Far Dark Outdoors, we dive deep into the disturbing true crime case of Israel Keyes, one of the most calculating and methodical serial killers in modern American history. Known for his meticulous planning, hidden “kill kits,” and ability to blend into everyday life, Keyes exploited remote wilderness areas, highways, and outdoor recreation spaces to commit his crimes—and to evade law enforcement for years.

This episode explores how Israel Keyes used the outdoors as both a hunting ground and a hiding place, targeting victims across multiple states while leaving almost no forensic evidence behind. We break down his background, psychology, travel patterns, and the role that isolation, camping culture, and remote landscapes played in his crimes. From national parks to quiet roadside stops, no place felt truly safe.

Listeners will learn about Keyes’ methods, his eventual capture, and the haunting confessions that followed—confessions that revealed how many questions still remain unanswered. This episode is a must-listen for fans of true crime podcasts, serial killer documentaries, unsolved mysteries, and dark outdoor survival stories.

Topics covered:

Israel Keyes’ kill kits and long-term planning

How wilderness and remote locations enabled his crimes

Psychological profile and behavioral patterns

If you’re fascinated by true crime, serial killers, missing persons cases, and the dark side of the outdoors, this episode of Far Dark Outdoors will stay with you long after the final moment.

Ghost ships are not myths. They are real vessels—found drifting without crews, washed ashore on remote coastlines, or discovered floating silently in open water with no clear explanation of how they got there.

This begins a five episode run of mini-episodes before the next big season of deep dives into outdoors dangers and mysteries.

In this episode of Dark Outdoors, we explore the true stories behind ghost ships, abandoned boats, and mysterious vessels encountered by fishermen, sailors, and coast guards around the world. From derelict trawlers that appear without distress calls, to modern ships found intact but empty, these maritime mysteries reveal how quickly the ocean can erase human presence.

We dive into real-world cases of abandoned ships at sea, theories behind missing crews, and the unsettling reality of encountering a silent vessel offshore—no lights, no radio response, and no signs of life. We also examine how weather, piracy, smuggling routes, and human error contribute to the growing number of ghost ships discovered each year.

Dark Outdoors blends outdoor storytelling, maritime history, and atmospheric documentary-style narration to explore the darker side of life on the water—where isolation, silence, and vast distances turn ordinary vessels into something deeply unsettling.

If you’re fascinated by ghost ships, maritime mysteries, abandoned vessels, or unexplained encounters at sea, this episode explores why some boats are never meant to be found—and why others drift until someone stumbles across them by accident.

For decades, people across Texas and the Southwest have reported strange hairless creatures attacking livestock — animals many claimed were the legendary Chupacabra. But the real explanation is far stranger, and far more disturbing, than most people realize.

Plus, you'll hear about the night he was charged by a "chupacabra".

In this Dark Outdoors investigation, Chester Moore breaks down the true wildlife science behind “Chupacabra” sightings and shows how coyotes, foxes, raccoons and even bears suffering from severe mange can transform into nightmarish creatures.

When 24-year-old Shannan Gilbert vanished into the pitch-black marshland of Oak Beach in 2010, no one knew her disappearance would open a corridor of horror stretching miles along Long Island’s desolate barrier islands. While police searched the reeds for one missing woman, cadaver dogs led them to something far worse—multiple bodies hidden in the dunes, placed where the darkness itself seemed to protect the killer.

In this episode of Dark Outdoors, we travel deep into the windswept emptiness of Ocean Parkway, the cold marshes, and the shifting sands of Gilgo Beach.

We explore how the terrain became the killer’s camouflage and how the man now charged, Rex Heuermann, was once described by a key witness as an “ogre-like” figure stalking the night. Prosecutors say he nurtured a predatory mindset—seeing himself not just as a murderer, but as a hunter.

From Shannan’s haunting 911 call to the cadaver dogs who “heard the dead,” from the eerie witness descriptions to the final unraveling of a man who believed the wilderness would hide him forever, this is the story of a landscape that concealed unspeakable secrets… until the darkness turned on the predator himself.

The wild can hide many things. But not forever.

Author and researcher Lyle Blackburn joins the program again and we give a detailed behind the scenes look at the new documentary Wild Men: The Search for Feral Humans & Lost Tribes that details reports of primitve people in East Texas in areas of the Trinity Triangle. This is our second show on this topic but now with fresh reports and new insight.

Watch the new documentary and subscribe to Chester Moore's YouTube channel here.

Are primitive, tribal people still living in the United States in modernity? Are feral people or “wild men” living in the shadows of Texas?  Chester Moore and Lyle Blackburn investigate chilling reports from Trinity Bay to the Big Thicket.

What’s really lurking in the wild woods of Texas?

From the windswept marshes of Trinity Bay near Galveston to the shadowy trails of the Big Thicket National Preserve, Chester and Lyle uncover forgotten tales, firsthand accounts, and investigative research that point to off-grid people living outside the norms of society—some possibly for generations.

🔍 Inside the episode:

A deep dive into a forgotten book documenting 1960s–80s reports of primitive people and strange encounters in the Trinity Bay region

Accounts of a “wild man” said to haunt the Old and Lost River areas in recent years

Shocking similarities to Big Thicket encounters covered by a longtime Texas newspaper columnist

A discussion on the blurred lines between cryptid legends, folklore, and real human survival stories

The reality—and implications—of feral humans or clandestine off-grid groups in the backwoods

🧠 Chester and Lyle also examine how this topic ties into growing national interest in feral people lore, asking hard questions about what might still be hidden in the remote corners of the American wilderness.

💀 Perfect for fans of:

Dark Outdoors pulls back the curtain on the hidden realities of America’s wild spaces—and this episode may be the most thought-provoking yet.

It’s our annual Halloween Monster Special! Lyle Blackburn returns to Dark Outdoors to dive into the legends of Momo, the Lizard Man, and the Lake Worth Monster in this chilling cryptid deep dive.

In this special Halloween edition of the Dark Outdoors podcast, we welcome back Lyle Blackburn—renowned cryptozoologist, author, and monster hunter—for our Annual Monster Episode. This time, we're plunging deep into the chilling backwoods lore of Momo the Missouri Monster, the swamp-dwelling Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp, and Texas’s own Lake Worth Monster.

These aren’t your average urban legends. These regional cryptids have sparked mass hysteria, eyewitness encounters, and intense investigations. Lyle unpacks the folklore, historical sightings, and what makes each of these monsters so unique in the world of American cryptozoology.

Whether you're a lifelong believer or a curious skeptic, this episode will make you think twice before heading out into the woods after dark...

🔍 Topics Covered:

Origins and sightings of Momo in 1970s Missouri

The strange case of the Lizard Man of South Carolina

How the Lake Worth Monster terrorized North Texas

Cultural impact and media coverage of these cryptids

What these legends say about human fear, folklore, and the wilderness

💀 Perfect for fans of:

📌 Don’t miss this spine-tingling journey into the darker corners of the outdoors… because in the wild, you’re never really alone.

Mysterious lights flicker through the woods of Bragg Road and the Louisiana fields — are they swamp gas, headlights, or something not of this world? The 13 Days of Dark Outdoors begins where science and the supernatural collide.

They’ve appeared for generations — glowing orbs floating above the dirt roads and swamps of East Texas and Louisiana. Some say they’re lanterns carried by the dead. Others swear it’s nothing more than chemistry in the dark: methane gas, refracted headlights, or static electricity.

In this kickoff to 13 Days of Dark Outdoors, we travel from Bragg Road in the Big Thicket to Fields, La. chasing the mysterious “ghost lights” that have haunted both states for decades. Along the way, we talk to locals, dig into folklore, and explore the science that tries to explain the unexplainable.

Is it superstition, optical illusion… or proof that some mysteries still live out there in the dark?

What if America’s wilderness hides a predator science won’t acknowledge? In this episode of Dark Outdoors®, author Michael Mayes—known for his work Shadow Cats—joins us to dig into the controversial and chilling reports of black panthers roaming across the U.S.

For decades, eyewitnesses from Texas to the Appalachians have sworn they’ve seen something impossible: massive black panthers prowling the woods, stalking farmlands, and vanishing into the shadows. Yet, mainstream science insists such creatures don’t exist in North America.

In this thought-provoking episode of Dark Outdoors, we sit down with author and researcher Michael Mayes to explore the mystery at the heart of his book Shadow Cats. Together, we examine chilling accounts, folklore, and the deep cultural roots of black panther sightings. Are these elusive predators a product of myth, mass misidentification, or could there be something truly hidden in America’s wild places?

Expect a conversation that pushes beyond campfire tales—diving into history, biology, and the unsettling implications of predators that may walk unseen. Whether you’re a skeptic or a believer, this is one episode that will make you think twice the next time you walk into the woods after dark.

Are they black mountain lions - black cougars?

Are they black jaguars?

Are they jaguarundi?

Are they escaped exotics?

What about the mysterious black longtail?

Take a deep dive on black panthers with us.