In February 2018, 20-year-old Ryan Shtuka left a house party in Sun Peaks and began the short walk toward home. A route that should have taken just a few minutes. Ryan never made it home. Instead, his final movements remain frozen in time.

Search crews pushed through deep snow and subzero temperatures. Volunteers returned week after week. Helicopters and ground teams covered every direction the terrain allowed. No footprints. No belongings. No confirmed trace. The trail turned cold almost immediately.

Seven years later, the case sits at a standstill — suspended between what is known and what has never surfaced.

Does someone know something… or does nobody know anything at all?

Hosted by 🎙️: Alex Kern

⸻

🖤 ABOUT DARKLY SPEAKING 🖤

Welcome to Darkly Speaking — where true crime, the paranormal and the crazy strange and unexplained converge.

Every Monday, host Alex Kern unpacks stories that challenge our understanding of what’s real — from unsolved disappearances and psychological unravellings to encounters with the unexplained.

Think: true crime, the paranormal, and everything in between. If you’re drawn to the strange, the hidden, or the stories that won’t sit quietly — you’re in the right place.

Expect immersive storytelling, a dose of dark curiosity, and the occasional rabbit hole you didn’t plan to fall into.

Because in the darkest corners of our reality… truth gets weird.

⸻

🎧 LISTEN ON: Available wherever you get your podcasts!

YouTube

⁠Spotify

Apple Podcasts ⁠

⸻

📲 CONNECT WITH US:

⁠YouTube ⁠

⁠Instagram ⁠

⁠TikTok ⁠

⁠Website ⁠(Sources, Show Notes & More!)

Email us your stories! → [email protected]

⸻

⚠️ DISCLAIMER

This podcast explores real cases and sensitive subject matter.

Listener discretion is advised.

All research is grounded in publicly available sources and cited to the best of our ability. Opinions are those of the host unless otherwise stated.

Copyright Disclaimer:

Some audio/visual materials used may be protected under copyright law and are included under “fair use” for commentary, criticism, and educational purposes.

January 1959 — nine hikers set out into the frozen Ural Mountains. Experienced, prepared, and full of life. Days later, their tent was found ripped open from the inside. Their gear abandoned. Their bodies scattered across the snow.

What happened on that mountainside has haunted investigators and historians for more than sixty years.

In Part 2 of THE UNKNOWN: The Dyatlov Pass Tragedy, we break down the search, the recoveries, the injuries, and the theories — from avalanche to military involvement — and examine why none of them fully explain what happened on that mountain.

Hosted by 🎙️: Alex Kern

⸻

🖤 ABOUT DARKLY SPEAKING 🖤

Welcome to Darkly Speaking — where true crime, the paranormal and the crazy strange and unexplained converge.

Every Monday, host Alex Kern unpacks stories that challenge our understanding of what’s real — from unsolved disappearances and psychological unravellings to encounters with the unexplained.

Think: true crime, the paranormal, and everything in between. If you’re drawn to the strange, the hidden, or the stories that won’t sit quietly — you’re in the right place.

Expect immersive storytelling, a dose of dark curiosity, and the occasional rabbit hole you didn’t plan to fall into.

Because in the darkest corners of our reality… truth gets weird.

⸻

🎧 LISTEN ON: Available wherever you get your podcasts!

YouTube

⁠Spotify

Apple Podcasts ⁠

⸻

📲 CONNECT WITH US:

⁠YouTube ⁠

⁠Instagram ⁠

⁠TikTok ⁠

⁠Website ⁠(Sources, Show Notes & More!)

Email us your stories! → [email protected]

⸻

⚠️ DISCLAIMER

This podcast explores real cases and sensitive subject matter.

Listener discretion is advised.

All research is grounded in publicly available sources and cited to the best of our ability. Opinions are those of the host unless otherwise stated.

Copyright Disclaimer:

Some audio/visual materials used may be protected under copyright law and are included under “fair use” for commentary, criticism, and educational purposes.

January 1959 — nine hikers set out into the frozen Ural Mountains. Experienced, prepared, and full of life. Days later, their tent was found ripped open from the inside. Their gear abandoned. Their bodies scattered across the snow.

What happened on that mountainside has haunted investigators and historians for more than sixty years.

In Part 1 of THE UNKNOWN: The Dyatlov Pass Tragedy, we retrace the group’s final days through their recovered journals, photographs, and official reports—following their footsteps into one of the most chilling mysteries of the 20th century.

Hosted by 🎙️: Alex Kern

⸻

🖤 ABOUT DARKLY SPEAKING 🖤

Welcome to Darkly Speaking — where true crime, the paranormal and the crazy strange and unexplained converge.

Every Monday, host Alex Kern unpacks stories that challenge our understanding of what’s real — from unsolved disappearances and psychological unravellings to encounters with the unexplained.

Think: true crime, the paranormal, and everything in between. If you’re drawn to the strange, the hidden, or the stories that won’t sit quietly — you’re in the right place.

Expect immersive storytelling, a dose of dark curiosity, and the occasional rabbit hole you didn’t plan to fall into.

Because in the darkest corners of our reality… truth gets weird.

⸻

🎧 LISTEN ON: Available wherever you get your podcasts!

YouTube

⁠Spotify

Apple Podcasts ⁠

⸻

📲 CONNECT WITH US:

⁠YouTube ⁠

⁠Instagram ⁠

⁠TikTok ⁠

⁠Website ⁠(Sources, Show Notes & More!)

Email us your stories! → [email protected]

⸻

⚠️ DISCLAIMER

This podcast explores real cases and sensitive subject matter.

Listener discretion is advised.

All research is grounded in publicly available sources and cited to the best of our ability. Opinions are those of the host unless otherwise stated.

Copyright Disclaimer:

Some audio/visual materials used may be protected under copyright law and are included under “fair use” for commentary, criticism, and educational purposes.

In the summer of 2003, 19-year-old Sonya Ivanoff vanished from Nome, Alaska. When her body was discovered days later, the truth that surfaced would devastate the small town and force a reckoning with its own police force.

As investigators closed in, they uncovered a betrayal that went far deeper than anyone imagined — one that exposed years of neglect and mistrust between Nome’s authorities and Alaska Native women, a crisis that still haunts Alaska today.

TW: This episode contains references to violence, sexual assault, and systemic abuse against Alaska Native women. It also includes discussion of police misconduct, murder, and the mishandling of criminal investigations. Listener discretion is advised.

Hosted by 🎙️: Alex Kern

⸻

🖤 ABOUT DARKLY SPEAKING 🖤

Welcome to Darkly Speaking — where true crime, the paranormal and the crazy strange and unexplained converge.

Every Monday, host Alex Kern unpacks stories that challenge our understanding of what’s real — from unsolved disappearances and psychological unravellings to encounters with the unexplained.

Think: true crime, the paranormal, and everything in between. If you’re drawn to the strange, the hidden, or the stories that won’t sit quietly — you’re in the right place.

Expect immersive storytelling, a dose of dark curiosity, and the occasional rabbit hole you didn’t plan to fall into.

Because in the darkest corners of our reality… truth gets weird.

⸻

🎧 LISTEN ON: Available wherever you get your podcasts!

YouTube

⁠Spotify

Apple Podcasts ⁠

⸻

📲 CONNECT WITH US:

⁠YouTube ⁠

⁠Instagram ⁠

⁠TikTok ⁠

⁠Website ⁠(Sources, Show Notes & More!)

Email us your stories! → [email protected]

⸻

⚠️ DISCLAIMER

This podcast explores real cases and sensitive subject matter.

Listener discretion is advised.

All research is grounded in publicly available sources and cited to the best of our ability. Opinions are those of the host unless otherwise stated.

Copyright Disclaimer:

Some audio/visual materials used may be protected under copyright law and are included under “fair use” for commentary, criticism, and educational purposes.

Legend has it, if you stand in a dark room with a mirror and say her name three times… she’ll show herself. Maybe she’ll whisper. Maybe she’ll crawl right out and drag you with her.

So go on. Let’s play.

Bloody Mary.

Bloody Mary.

Bloody Mary.

The story has been passed down for generations — a sleepover dare turned ritual, stitched together from fear, history, and something much older than either.

But who — or what — are we really summoning?

Some say she was a witch.

Some say a queen bathed in blood.

Others say she was just a woman — punished, twisted, and remembered as a warning.

In this episode, we step through the mirror to uncover the truth behind the legend — the women who became her, the science that explains her reflection, and the meaning buried beneath the myth.

Because this isn’t just a story about a ghost. It’s about reflection. Transformation. Power. And what happens when we stop running from the things that terrify us — and face them head on.

The vanity. The blood. The becoming. And the moment you realize the mirror was never haunted at all. It was just waiting for you to look back.

TW: This episode contains references to folklore violence, blood, historical execution, and the persecution of women accused of witchcraft. It also includes discussion of body imagery, menstruation symbolism, and psychological horror themes. Listener discretion is advised.

Hosted by 🎙️: Alex Kern

⸻

🖤 ABOUT DARKLY SPEAKING 🖤

Welcome to Darkly Speaking — where true crime, the paranormal and the crazy strange and unexplained converge.

Every Monday, host Alex Kern unpacks stories that challenge our understanding of what’s real — from unsolved disappearances and psychological unravellings to encounters with the unexplained.

Think: true crime, the paranormal, and everything in between. If you’re drawn to the strange, the hidden, or the stories that won’t sit quietly — you’re in the right place.

Expect immersive storytelling, a dose of dark curiosity, and the occasional rabbit hole you didn’t plan to fall into.

Because in the darkest corners of our reality… truth gets weird.

⸻

🎧 LISTEN ON: Available wherever you get your podcasts!

YouTube

⁠Spotify

Apple Podcasts ⁠

⸻

📲 CONNECT WITH US:

⁠YouTube ⁠

⁠Instagram ⁠

⁠TikTok ⁠

⁠Website ⁠(Sources, Show Notes & More!)

Email us your stories! → [email protected]

⸻

⚠️ DISCLAIMER

This podcast explores real cases and sensitive subject matter.

Listener discretion is advised.

All research is grounded in publicly available sources and cited to the best of our ability. Opinions are those of the host unless otherwise stated.

Copyright Disclaimer:

Some audio/visual materials used may be protected under copyright law and are included under “fair use” for commentary, criticism, and educational purposes.

Before The Conjuring Universe, there were the real stories — and the real consequences.

In 1974, the quiet town of Amityville became ground zero for one of the most infamous hauntings in the world. Six members of the DeFeo family were murdered inside their home, and when the Lutz family moved in, they claimed something inhuman remained. Voices whispered. Walls bled. Crosses turned upside down. The Warrens arrived with faith and cameras, determined to prove evil was real. But behind the fame that followed came something else — suspicion, profit, and a growing question about where belief ended and justice began.

Seven years later, another case would push them to the edge. In 1981, 19-year-old Arne Johnson stabbed his landlord to death — and claimed he was possessed by a demon that had once plagued an eleven-year-old boy. It became the first U.S. murder trial to argue demonic possession as a defense. And for the first time in American history… The Devil stood trial.

The Warrens stood by Arne, risking their credibility — and perhaps their conscience — to defend what they called the Devil’s truth. The Church refused to sanction the exorcism. The court refused to acknowledge the supernatural. And the world was left wondering whether the Warrens were fighting for salvation… or selling it.

From the haunted rooms of Amityville to the chaos of Brookfield, this episode exposes not just the stories that made the Warrens famous — but the ones that made them infamous. The moral questions, the contradictions, and the thin line between conviction and corruption.

Hosted by 🎙️: Alex Kern

⸻

🖤 ABOUT DARKLY SPEAKING 🖤

Welcome to Darkly Speaking — where true crime, the paranormal and the crazy strange and unexplained converge.

Every Monday, host Alex Kern unpacks stories that challenge our understanding of what’s real — from unsolved disappearances and psychological unravellings to encounters with the unexplained.

Think: true crime, the paranormal, and everything in between. If you’re drawn to the strange, the hidden, or the stories that won’t sit quietly — you’re in the right place.

Expect immersive storytelling, a dose of dark curiosity, and the occasional rabbit hole you didn’t plan to fall into.

Because in the darkest corners of our reality… truth gets weird.

⸻

🎧 LISTEN ON: Available wherever you get your podcasts!

YouTube

⁠Spotify

Apple Podcasts ⁠

⸻

📲 CONNECT WITH US:

⁠YouTube ⁠

⁠Instagram ⁠

⁠TikTok ⁠

⁠Website ⁠(Sources, Show Notes & More!)

Email us your stories! → [email protected]

⸻

⚠️ DISCLAIMER

This podcast explores real cases and sensitive subject matter.

Listener discretion is advised.

All research is grounded in publicly available sources and cited to the best of our ability. Opinions are those of the host unless otherwise stated.

Copyright Disclaimer:

Some audio/visual materials used may be protected under copyright law and are included under “fair use” for commentary, criticism, and educational purposes.

If you see something… no, you didn’t.

If you hear something… no... you didn’t...

These are just a few of the unspoken rules of the Appalachian Mountains — a place where the forest doesn’t just breathe, it listens. Stretching more than two thousand miles across the eastern United States and beyond, the Appalachian Trail cuts straight through the heart of some of the oldest — and most haunted — land on Earth. These mountains have swallowed more souls than history dares to count, and some say they never let go.

In this episode, we’ll follow the Appalachian Trail through the Great Smoky Mountains — from the mysterious disappearances of Dennis Martin and Trenny Gibson to the chilling legends whispered in their wake. Stories of what might still move beneath the earth… and what feeds above it.

So if you’re curious enough to brave the trail with me, we have to tread carefully. Because if you stray too far from the path, yours might be the next story they tell.

Out here, there are rules:

Respect the land.

Never stray from the marked path.

Never whistle in the woods.

Never look too long into the tree line.

Never stay out past dark.

And whatever you do — don’t answer when something calls your name. 

If you see something… no, you didn’t.

If you hear something… no... you didn’t...

Hosted by 🎙️: Alex Kern

⸻

🖤 ABOUT DARKLY SPEAKING 🖤

Welcome to Darkly Speaking — where true crime, the paranormal and the crazy strange and unexplained converge.

Every Monday, host Alex Kern unpacks stories that challenge our understanding of what’s real — from unsolved disappearances and psychological unravellings to encounters with the unexplained.

Think: true crime, the paranormal, and everything in between. If you’re drawn to the strange, the hidden, or the stories that won’t sit quietly — you’re in the right place.

Expect immersive storytelling, a dose of dark curiosity, and the occasional rabbit hole you didn’t plan to fall into.

Because in the darkest corners of our reality… truth gets weird.

⸻

🎧 LISTEN ON: Available wherever you get your podcasts!

YouTube

⁠Spotify

Apple Podcasts ⁠

⸻

📲 CONNECT WITH US:

⁠YouTube ⁠

⁠Instagram ⁠

⁠TikTok ⁠

⁠Website ⁠(Sources, Show Notes & More!)

Email us your stories! → [email protected]

⸻

⚠️ DISCLAIMER

This podcast explores real cases and sensitive subject matter.

Listener discretion is advised.

All research is grounded in publicly available sources and cited to the best of our ability. Opinions are those of the host unless otherwise stated.

Copyright Disclaimer:

Some audio/visual materials used may be protected under copyright law and are included under “fair use” for commentary, criticism, and educational purposes.

For months, Frank Bowen’s daughters were convinced something was wrong inside their Pepperell, Massachusetts home. They heard footsteps where no one should have been, objects moved on their own, and an uneasiness settled over the house that no amount of logic could shake. Frank dismissed it as imagination — until one winter night in December 1986, the unimaginable happened.

An intruder emerged from the dark and took the Bowen family hostage inside their own home. When police arrived, the truth stunned everyone — the intruder wasn’t a stranger from far away, but a sixteen-year-old local boy named Daniel LaPlante, a resident of Elm Street in nearby Townsend, Massachusetts.

The Bowens survived that night, but the community couldn’t shake the story — the boy who had lived inside someone’s home, watching and tormenting them from the dark. After his arrest, LaPlante was released on bail, and for a brief moment, it seemed like the nightmare had ended. But what no one realized then was that the horrors had only just begun.

Over the following year, Daniel’s behavior would spiral into something far more sinister. His childhood trauma, isolation, and fixation on control would manifest in unthinkable ways. And by the next winter, another family — the Gustafsons — would pay the ultimate price.

TW: This episode includes disturbing content related to child abuse, psychological trauma, home invasion, hostage situations, and the murders of a mother and her two children. It also references stalking, sexual assault, and violent criminal behavior involving minors. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

Hosted by 🎙️: Alex Kern

⸻

🖤 ABOUT DARKLY SPEAKING 🖤

Welcome to Darkly Speaking — where true crime, the paranormal and the crazy strange and unexplained converge.

Every Monday, host Alex Kern unpacks stories that challenge our understanding of what’s real — from unsolved disappearances and psychological unravellings to encounters with the unexplained.

Think: true crime, the paranormal, and everything in between. If you’re drawn to the strange, the hidden, or the stories that won’t sit quietly — you’re in the right place.

Expect immersive storytelling, a dose of dark curiosity, and the occasional rabbit hole you didn’t plan to fall into.

Because in the darkest corners of our reality… truth gets weird.

⸻

🎧 LISTEN ON: Available wherever you get your podcasts!

YouTube

⁠Spotify

Apple Podcasts ⁠

⸻

📲 CONNECT WITH US:

⁠YouTube ⁠

⁠Instagram ⁠

⁠TikTok ⁠

⁠Website ⁠(Sources, Show Notes & More!)

Email us your stories! → [email protected]

⸻

⚠️ DISCLAIMER

This podcast explores real cases and sensitive subject matter.

Listener discretion is advised.

All research is grounded in publicly available sources and cited to the best of our ability. Opinions are those of the host unless otherwise stated.

Copyright Disclaimer:

Some audio/visual materials used may be protected under copyright law and are included under “fair use” for commentary, criticism, and educational purposes.

As October approaches, so does Domestic Violence Awareness Month — a time to remember the lives lost, the families forever changed, and the warning signs too often ignored. Few cases embody that tragedy more than the Powell family.

In December 2009, Susan Powell vanished from her Utah home. Her husband, Josh, claimed she simply disappeared during a midnight camping trip with their two young boys. But as investigators dug deeper, disturbing secrets within the Powell family surfaced: Josh’s controlling behavior, his father Steven’s obsessions, and a home filled with tension and fear.

The nightmare didn’t end with Susan’s disappearance. Three years later, Josh carried out an unthinkable act of violence against their sons, Charlie and Braden, in a horrific ending that shocked the nation.

This episode examines Susan’s disappearance, the devastating loss of her children, and the unanswered questions that still linger. Through it all, her parents — the Cox family — continue to fight for justice, and to ensure Susan, Charlie, and Braden are never forgotten.

TW: This episode includes disturbing content related to domestic violence, child abuse, child pornography, family annihilation, and the murders of Susan Powell and her two sons. It also includes references to stalking, coercive control, and disturbing criminal behavior.Listener discretion is strongly advised.

Hosted by 🎙️: Alex Kern

⸻

🖤 ABOUT DARKLY SPEAKING 🖤

Welcome to Darkly Speaking — where true crime, the paranormal and the crazy strange and unexplained converge.

Every Monday, host Alex Kern unpacks stories that challenge our understanding of what’s real — from unsolved disappearances and psychological unravellings to encounters with the unexplained.

Think: true crime, the paranormal, and everything in between. If you’re drawn to the strange, the hidden, or the stories that won’t sit quietly — you’re in the right place.

Expect immersive storytelling, a dose of dark curiosity, and the occasional rabbit hole you didn’t plan to fall into.

Because in the darkest corners of our reality… truth gets weird.

⸻

🎧 LISTEN ON: Available wherever you get your podcasts!

YouTube

⁠Spotify

Apple Podcasts ⁠

⸻

📲 CONNECT WITH US:

⁠YouTube ⁠

⁠Instagram ⁠

⁠TikTok ⁠

⁠Website ⁠(Sources, Show Notes & More!)

Email us your stories! → [email protected]

⸻

⚠️ DISCLAIMER

This podcast explores real cases and sensitive subject matter.

Listener discretion is advised.

All research is grounded in publicly available sources and cited to the best of our ability. Opinions are those of the host unless otherwise stated.

Copyright Disclaimer:

Some audio/visual materials used may be protected under copyright law and are included under “fair use” for commentary, criticism, and educational purposes.

In September 2006, 16-year-old Cassie Jo Stoddart was house-sitting for her aunt and uncle in Pocatello, Idaho. She was responsible, kind, and trusted — but what should have been a quiet weekend became a nightmare that no one could have imagined.

Two of Cassie’s classmates were obsessed with the movie Scream — the 1996 slasher film known for its masked killer who stalks and murders teenagers in their homes. For most, it was entertainment. A cult classic that shaped horror for a new generation. But for two high school classmates in Pocatello, Idaho, Scream became an obsession. And in 2006, they set out to bring it to life. 

That night, Cassie was brutally murdered in the place where she should have been safe. The crime devastated her family and sent shockwaves through the community.

This episode focuses on Cassie’s case: the betrayal she faced, the chilling recordings left behind, and the lasting impact of a murder driven by a horror obsession.

TW: This episode contains disturbing material, including explicit details of a violent crime, audio and video footage created by the perpetrators, references to mass shootings, and discussions of premeditated violence. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

Hosted by 🎙️: Alex Kern

⸻

🖤 ABOUT DARKLY SPEAKING 🖤

Welcome to Darkly Speaking — where true crime, the paranormal and the crazy strange and unexplained converge.

Every Monday, host Alex Kern unpacks stories that challenge our understanding of what’s real — from unsolved disappearances and psychological unravellings to encounters with the unexplained.

Think: true crime, the paranormal, and everything in between. If you’re drawn to the strange, the hidden, or the stories that won’t sit quietly — you’re in the right place.

Expect immersive storytelling, a dose of dark curiosity, and the occasional rabbit hole you didn’t plan to fall into.

Because in the darkest corners of our reality… truth gets weird.

⸻

🎧 LISTEN ON: Available wherever you get your podcasts!

YouTube

⁠Spotify

Apple Podcasts ⁠

⸻

📲 CONNECT WITH US:

⁠YouTube ⁠

⁠Instagram ⁠

⁠TikTok ⁠

⁠Website ⁠(Sources, Show Notes & More!)

Email us your stories! → [email protected]

⸻

⚠️ DISCLAIMER

This podcast explores real cases and sensitive subject matter.

Listener discretion is advised.

All research is grounded in publicly available sources and cited to the best of our ability. Opinions are those of the host unless otherwise stated.

Copyright Disclaimer:

Some audio/visual materials used may be protected under copyright law and are included under “fair use” for commentary, criticism, and educational purposes.