Five days before Christmas in 1984, 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews returned to her home in Greely Colorado after a school concert and vanished without a trace.

No forced entry. No struggle. Just footprints in the snow behind the Matthews home. 

Her disappearance quickly gained national attention, becoming one of the first cases featured in the milk carton campaign. And for nearly four decades, the investigation remained frozen, shaped by shifting stories and stalled leads. That is, until nearly 35 years later, when Jonelle’s remains were discovered more than 20 miles from her home.

And all signs pointed to a man whose involvement only grew stranger as he continued placing himself in the center of the investigation long before anyone suspected him.

TW: This episode includes discussion of crimes against children and sexual violence, and potentially distressing circumstances. 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.

Have a terrifying story or strange encounter? I'd love to hear it! Please send your spooky scary stories to [email protected]

⸻

Winter has a way of hiding things — until they step out of the dark right in front of you.

In this episode, we’re walking through five chilling encounters that took place in the dead of winter. Footprints in the snow from an unwanted guest, strangers emerging out of the darkness on a frozen mountain pass, a pale ghost boy’s staring from hospital room 9, an unsettling midnight offering deep along the Appalachian Trail, and a creature on the highway that defies anything you’d expect to see on the road.

These aren’t just odd moments or tricks of the light — they’re the kind of winter encounters that leave you questioning what you saw… and who, or what, might’ve been watching you back.

Bundle up.

Because these stories are anything but a silent night.

Hosted by 🎙️: Alex Kern

Spooky Winter Book Recs:

⸻

🖤 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 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.

Weeks after the Dyatlov group’s final journal entries, search teams reached the site. The scene didn’t line up with a simple hiking accident: a tent sliced from the inside, barefoot tracks in the snow, and bodies found under injuries and circumstances no single theory could fully explain.

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.

TW: This episode contains discussion of death, hypothermia, trauma, and graphic forensic details. 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.

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.