Down the Crooked Path

A remote Bavarian farm. Six people who never saw spring. Footprints in the snow that led in but never led out. And an attic that seemed to breathe when no one was looking.

In this episode, we walk the crooked path to Hinterkaifeck, a case that feels less like true crime and more like a folktale that refuses to settle. We trace the strange days leading up to the murders, the unsettling signs the family tried to ignore, and the theories that still cling to the rafters more than a century later.

If you want to follow the strange cases and the stories that wander onto this show, you can find me on TikTok and Instagram at @downthecrookedpath. If you have your own story, a family legend, or a case you want me to look at, send it to [email protected].

The Hexham Heads have been blamed for hauntings, poltergeist activity, wolf‑man sightings, and a decades‑long argument between scientists, folklorists, and anyone who ever walked through that house. This episode looks at the theories people built around two small stone faces and why so many different groups became convinced they were dealing with something more than a garden find.

We get into the Stone Tape theory, the “recording device” angle, the hoax claims, and the psychological side of why multiple witnesses reported similar experiences. No single explanation settles the case, which is exactly why the Hexham Heads refuse to fade out of the paranormal world.

If you want to keep up with the strange cases, the odd stories, and whatever else decides to wander onto this show, you can find me on TikTok and Instagram at @downthecrookedpath. And if you’ve got your own story, a family legend, or a case you want me to look at, send it to [email protected]. I love seeing what you’ve got hiding in your drafts.

In this episode, we step into one of Europe’s most baffling unsolved mysteries. In November 1970, a woman was found dead in Norway’s Isdalen Valley: burned, staged, and surrounded by clues that only raised more questions. Multiple passports. Disguises. Wigs. Cryptic travel notes. Hotel aliases. International movements that touched Paris, Basel, Geneva, and Stavanger. And a trail that may have crossed paths with intelligence agencies, militant groups, and a Swiss banker with a very dark history.

We follow her footsteps through Europe, decode her notepad, dig into the spy theories, and look at the strange forces that seemed determined to shut the investigation down. We also explore the witness who came forward decades later from Forbach, France, claiming he knew her

If you enjoyed this episode, come hang out with me on social — I’m @downthecrookedpath on TikTok and Instagram. You can also reach out anytime at [email protected]. I love hearing your theories, your thoughts, and the weird little rabbit holes you fall into after listening.

This week, we’re heading straight into one of Canada’s strangest, smokiest, most stubborn hauntings — the Baldoon Mystery. A family farm under siege. Fires that sparked out of nowhere. Bullets that bent in mid‑air. A suspected witch who absolutely did not appreciate being accused of anything. And a curse that refused to mind its business.

We’re unpacking the folklore, the eyewitness chaos, the generational drama, and the one bizarre solution that supposedly ended it all. If you love a haunting with attitude, this one’s for you.

In this episode:

• The McDonald family and the haunting that wouldn’t quit
• Fires, stones, apparitions, and the infamous “walking bullet”
• The neighbourly feud that escalated into full‑blown witchcraft accusations
• The folklore roots behind the curse
• The strange ritual that allegedly broke it
• And of course… the messy, human, very dramatic underbelly of it all

Want to keep wandering down the crooked path with me?

Come hang out on socials! I’m always sharing behind‑the‑scenes chaos, folklore deep dives, and episode extras: @downthecrookedpath on TikTok and Instagram

Got a story, theory, or family haunting of your own? Email me at [email protected] I love hearing from you.

In this episode of Down the Crooked Path, Amanda Joy walks through the 1827 murder of Maria Marten and the strange trail that followed. From the dream that sent Maria’s stepmother back to the Red Barn to the discovery that shocked the village to the trial that turned William Corder into one of the most talked about men in England, this case has all the twists you would expect from early true crime.

We also look at the stories that surfaced long after the murder, including the tale of Dr. John Kilner and the skull he should have left alone, and how this case echoes other moments in history like the Greenbrier Ghost from West Virginia.

If you enjoy historical mysteries, eerie coincidences, and cases that refuse to stay quiet, this one is for you.

Want to stay connected between episodes? Follow Down the Crooked Path on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, @downthecrookedpath

Have a story of your own? Send it [email protected]

I’m always listening.

In this episode, we return to Point Pleasant, West Virginia, a quiet river town that became the center of one of the most unsettling waves of sightings in American history. Between 1966 and 1967, dozens of witnesses reported a winged figure with glowing red eyes moving through the abandoned TNT area, appearing on lonely roadsides, and watching from the treetops.

But the creature was only part of the story. As the sightings continued, strange lights appeared in the sky, unsettling letters arrived, and a sense of dread settled over the town. When the Silver Bridge collapsed on December 15, 1967, many wondered if the sightings had been a warning.

This episode walks through the eyewitness accounts, the folklore, the fear, and the tragedy that shaped the legend of the Mothman, and why this story still refuses to fade.Have a story suggestion, a strange encounter, or a topic you want us to explore Find us on TikTok and Instagram at @downthecrookedpath Or email your recommendations to [email protected]

A true crime story about an unsolved mystery, a cryptic note, and two unexplained deaths in Brazil. On August 20th, 1966, two Brazilian electronics technicians were found dead on a lonely hillside overlooking Niterói. Their bodies were neatly laid out. Their belongings were untouched. And over their eyes, lead masks, the kind you'd wear to shield yourself from radiation.

No signs of struggle. No obvious cause of death. Just a cryptic note in one man's pocket that read: "Take capsules. After effect, protect metals. Await signal."

I mean, what signal? That reads like instructions, not a goodbye note. So you tell me, what were they waiting for?

In this episode:

• The masks themselves, and what they were made to shield against
• The note in one man's pocket, and the signal it told them to wait for
• The hillside scene, and what was left untouched
• The question that has gone unanswered since 1966

Follow the path further on Instagram and TikTok @downthecrookedpath, and explore our behind the scenes content, updates, and more twisted tales. New episodes every Thursday.

I am a part of the Creators Collective. Your next spooky obsession can be found here on Instagram @spookypodsquad

A true crime story about an unsolved serial killer, missing women, and a cold case in New Mexico. A single bone found on Albuquerque's West Mesa led investigators to a discovery no one was prepared for. Over the following days, the desert revealed the remains of eleven women and one unborn child. This episode traces the years before that moment, the women whose lives were taken, and the long search for clarity that has yet to bring closure. It is a story of vulnerability, systemic failure, and a landscape that held its silence for far too long.

This is the case of the West Mesa Bone Collector.

Eleven women, one unborn child, and a desert that kept its silence.

In this episode:

• A single bone found on Albuquerque's West Mesa
• The remains of eleven women and one unborn child revealed in the desert
• The years before that discovery, and the women whose lives were taken
• The long search for clarity that has yet to bring closure

Follow the path further on Instagram and TikTok @downthecrookedpath, and explore our behind the scenes content, updates, and more twisted tales. New episodes every Thursday.

I am a part of the Creators Collective. Your next spooky obsession can be found here on Instagram @spookypodsquad

A Canadian cryptid story about Bigfoot, folklore, and an unsolved mystery from British Columbia. This week we are sharing a sister-podcast crossover from Canadian Creepies: the strange little tale of Jacko the Ape. In the summer of 1884, a strange creature was said to have been captured near Yale, British Columbia, a being caught somewhere between man and beast. Reporters called it Jacko the Ape, and for a brief moment, the story gripped the imagination of a young nation. But was Jacko a living relic of a lost species, or something else entirely?

A creature caught between man and beast, and a story that vanished as fast as it appeared.

In this episode:

• The capture near Yale, British Columbia, in the summer of 1884
• The folklore around Jacko the Ape
• The questions that still haunt this curious chapter of Canadian cryptid lore

Regular episodes of Down the Crooked Path resume next week!

For more creepy content, find us here: TikTok and Instagram: @downthecrookedpath

Canadian mysteries: @canadiancreepies

A paranormal story about demonic possession, exorcism, psychiatry, and the unexplained.

In this episode, we dive into one of the most controversial modern possession cases ever documented: the story of Julia, the woman psychiatrist Dr. Richard Gallagher publicly claimed was genuinely possessed by a demonic entity. Gallagher, a trained medical professional and skeptic by nature, became convinced that Julia's case defied every psychiatric explanation he knew.

A psychiatrist, a skeptic, and a case he could not explain away.

We explore:

• Who Dr. Richard Gallagher is and why his opinion carries weight
• The background of Julia and how she came under Gallagher's care
• The disturbing phenomena reported during her evaluation
• Why Gallagher believed this case crossed the line from psychological to supernatural
• The ongoing debate between medical science, religious interpretation, and the unexplained

Follow the path further on Instagram and TikTok @downthecrookedpath, and explore our behind the scenes content, updates, and more twisted tales. New episodes every Thursday.

I am a part of the Creators Collective. Your next spooky obsession can be found here on Instagram @spookypodsquad