A border patrol agent encounters hooded figures around a fire in an area known for satanic rituals. A security guard sees a ritual taking place and three boys encounter a bizarre ritual-all involving mysterious hooded figures. In this episode we talk about encountering the dark occult, secret satanic groups and sacrificial sights in the great outdoors.

We appreciate Chris James of the  Strange Things with Chris James podcast for contributing one of these mysterious accounts..

Please subscribe to Dark Outdoors® to keep up with stories about true crime and terrifying encounters in the great outdoors.

A woman encounters an orangutan-looking creature on her porch at her swampy homestead. A hunter sees a troop of baboons. A hairy hand reaches into a deer blind.

Across the American South, particularly in states like Texas and Florida, tales have surfaced for decades of strange, often unnerving encounters in the wilderness—not with known native wildlife, but with creatures resembling feral apes or wild primates. 

Some researchers believe these sightings may be linked to feral populations of escaped or released primates. In the mid-20th century, exotic pet ownership and roadside zoos were far more common, and many animals were let loose or escaped into the wild. Over time, it’s possible that some species adapted to their environments, forming secretive breeding populations in remote, unmonitored regions.

Wildlife journalist and field investigators have documented everything from anomalous hair samples to strange vocal recordings in these hotspots. The behaviors described—chest-beating, howling, and ambush-like movements—align more with great apes than with any known North American species.

In the latest episode of Dark Outdoors, we dive deep into these encounters with feral apes and wild primates, exploring the theories, legends, and firsthand accounts that paint a chilling portrait of what might be lurking just beyond the campfire’s glow.

Join host Chester Moore on an intense discussion of Sinister Swamps with the author of the book of the same name Lyle Blackburn.

Learn about several strange cases of campers, hunters and others who went missing without a trace in the Everglades and Great Dysmal Swamp.

Hear about the super strange and scary case of the mysterious dolls set up in an Alabama Swamp.

Learn about serial killer activity in the swamps and more in this show with master storyteller Lyle Blackburn.

In a special episode of Dark Outdoors® Ben Verheul gives an hour-long uncut story of his harrowing grizzly attack in the Wyoming wilderness.

Learn how he survived and how he knew for sure the grizzly that attacked him was one he had already had an encounter with.

If bear stories intrigue you-this one will blow your mind!

Dark Outdoors® is sponsored by Texas Fish & Game who bring you the Missing in the Wild reports on our weekly episodes.

Chester Moore interviews author R.C. Bramhall author of Haunted War Tales: True Military Encounters with the Bizarre, Paranormal and Unexplained about the terrifying wildlife encounters faced by military around the world.

We cover:

*A Crocodile-Caused Massacre

*Tiger Attacks

*The U.S.S. Indianapolis

*Snakebites

*Huge bunker rats in Vietnam and much, much more!

Dark Outdoors® important Missing in the Wild component is brought to you by Texas Fish & Game magazine.

Dark Outdoors® gives an exclusive, detailed report of a huge drone seen at Sabine Lake on the Texas-Louisiana border as well as a large drone in the interior of Louisiana, plus more reports from the region.

We also talk with Scott Tompkins who has created www.dronetracker.app a mapping system to log drone sightings and to help get to the bottom of what's going o

Strange drones are showing up on the East and Gulf Coast. Homeland Security claims they don't know what's going on. We have uncovered strange drone reports of people being stalked by them in different areas of the country.

What's really going on?

Check out this special edition of Dark Outdoors® as we delve into the issue.

Please subscribe to this program to get the most unique take on the great outdoors you will hear anywhere.

Dark Outdoors® is sponsored by Texas Fish & Game.

In our special annual Halloween cryptozoology edition, author and researcher Lyle Blackburn talks about his new book The Lake Worth Monster: The True Story of the Greer Island Goatman.

In this show we get deep into a topic that has been greatly misunderstood and is super creepy!

Dark Outdoors is brought to you by Texas Fish & Game.

Ben Verheul, a hunter from Wyoming, experienced two harrowing encounters with grizzly bears during an elk hunting trip that pushed his survival instincts to the limit. In an interview with Chester Moore on Dark Outdoors, Verheul recounted how the first incident occurred during the day when he was scouting the area.

He came face-to-face with a grizzly, narrowly escaping a direct confrontation. As if that wasn’t enough, a second, even more intense encounter unfolded later that night. While walking back to camp in the darkness, Verheul was suddenly attacked by another grizzly, leaving him in a desperate fight for his life.

The attack came without warning, and Verheul had to rely on his experience and quick thinking to defend himself. Injured and shaken, he fought the bear off and somehow survived the terrifying ordeal. 

Chester Moore talks with best-selling author Randi Minetor about the contents of her seven-book series on death in national parks.

*Learn what kills more people than anything in national parks

*Hear about the harrowing and deadly "night of the grizzly"

*Alligator attacks

*Missing people found weeks later dead on the same trails where numerous searches took place

And more

Dark Outdoors is sponsored by Texas Fish & Game