Sinister Sisters

On this week's spooktacular special episode for October, Felicia & Lauren read their favorite selections from "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark". They both stumbled upon this book series in their elementary schools way back in the early 2000s. The series has now been turned into a supernatural horror film produced by Guillermo del Toro. Listen to hear these delightfully funny and frightening stories.

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On this week's spooktacular special episode for October, Felicia & Lauren both take us through a couple of extreme haunted houses! 

Felicia kicks it off with the grandfather of extreme haunts - Blackout. This notorious NYC/LA-based immersive horror experience, tailored to people’s individual fears, was created in 2009 to be the antithesis of the traditional haunted house and has been called “more performance art than haunted house" by its creators. Participants had to sign a liability waiver as Blackout’s performers are able to touch and physically interact with the participants. 

And yet it still pales in comparison to Lauren's pick this week: the infamous McKamey Manor. McKamey Manor was created in San Diego by madman Russ McKamey, who describes it as a "survival horror boot camp experience.” If you beat McKamey and the manor, you receive a $20,000 grand prize. No one has ever won this prize, but participants do have to sign a 40 page waiver. The experience may involve guests being physically assaulted, waterboarded, forced to eat and drink unknown substances, or being bound and gagged, but the list goes on. And as you can imagine much controversy surrounds McKamey Manor and its creator. 

Listen with caution this week for a very spooky and memorable episode. 

PS: If you have requests for future episodes or just want to hang out, follow us on Instagram @sinistersisterspodcast 

Happy October boos & ghouls! 👻

Light the jack-o'-lantern and put on your costume because it’s the most frightful time of the year - Halloween! 🎃 And that means it’s also time for Lauren & Felicia’s annual Halloween history lesson. This week, they dig into why black cats and spiders are associated with All Hallows’ Eve. We see them everywhere from decorations to party favors (remember those little plastic spider rings?!) to haunted houses and of course treats. But are their origins more tricks? Naturally, it all started with witches for these creepy crawlies and frightening felines. Listen to hear more about why these animals and insects as iconography are so foundational in our favorite holiday. 🕷️🐈‍⬛

PS: If you have requests for future episodes or just want to hang out, follow us on Instagram @sinistersisterspodcast 

This week, it’s an underground haunted historical close and an underwater ghost plane! 

First up, Felicia takes us on a tour of Mary King's Close - an area of ancient alleyways and abandoned houses under the Edinburgh City Chambers in the historic Old Town area of Edinburgh, Scotland. From plagues to poltergeists, naturally this area has had a reputation for dark misdoings and hauntings since the 17th century, as it soon became “shrouded in myths and urban legends; tales of hauntings and murders abounded.”

Next, Lauren goes fishing for clues in the Monongahela River with the Mystery of Pittsburgh’s “Ghost Bomber” of 1956. How does a 15-foot high B-25 bomber go missing in a 20-foot deep river never to be seen again? Well that’s the mystery! Was it carrying dangerous or mysterious cargo that the government wanted gone? A nuclear weapon?! A UFO from Area 51?! To this day, the Ghost Bomber remains one of aviation’s murkiest unsolved mysteries that’s just plane weird.

PS: If you have requests for future episodes or just want to hang out, follow us on Instagram @sinistersisterspodcast

This week, it's witches & weddings! 

First,  Lauren uncovers the case of Lilias Adie - a Scottish woman who was accused of practicing witchcraft in 1704.  Adie was held in prison and interrogated  day after day for over a month before she confessed only to eventually die in prison. But because she died before she could be burned at the stake, the townspeople had to bury her unlike most witch trials of the time.  She was given a grave on the beach and her burial site was covered with a large stone so she couldn't rise from the dead. This was the only case of a sea interment of an accused witch in Scotland.

Next, Felicia takes us through the history of wedding rituals. Have you ever wondered why people where white bridal gowns? Or why brides will throw their bouquet to single women? Weddings have a lot of strange traditions that have evolved over the years. Listen to learn more! 

PS: If you have requests for future episodes or just want to hang out, follow us on Instagram @sinistersisterspodcast

This week, we're putting the Sinister Sisters spin on “fairy tale cottagecore!”

First, Felicia peels back the page on the real life history behind the classic Grimm's Fairy Tales "Hansel and Gretel.” It may be a story we all know, not to mention one that provided plenty of nightmare fuel for the fire at bedtime as children, but the fact behind the fiction is far more horrifying than just witches eating children. The Great Famine of 1315-1317 that plagued Europe early in the 14th century led people to go to extreme lengths to stay alive…and if you know the fairy tale, well then you can imagine where it goes from here. Let’s just say things get dark on the episode…leave a trail of breadcrumbs to find your way back. 

Next, Lauren explores the case of “The Cottingley Fairies” - a series of several photographs taken by young girls Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths in England in the early 1900s that supposedly showed real life fairies. Eventually the photos caught the attention of theosophist Edward Gardner and even Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The photos are still discussed and debated to this day - how did these girls with primitive photography equipment manage to fake such convincing? Or did they actually provide photographic proof of the existence of these mythical creatures from folklore?!

PS: If you have requests for future episodes or just want to hang out, follow us on Instagram @sinistersisterspodcast

The world is all about aliens right now and so is Sinister Sisters this week! 

First up, Lauren explores the UFO phenomena through the ages, hitting the historical highlights going all the way back to when the Halley's Comet was first observed in 240 BC! Then on to the modern UFO frenzy that began when Kenneth Arnold sighted nine unidentified flying objects in Washington in 1947 (the same year as the infamous Roswell crash). She also gives some background on past government programs to investigate UFO sightings, leading listeners right into... 

Felicia covering the recent US Congressional hearing on UFOs (or UAPs as they’re referred to) that took place on Wednesday July 26, 2023. Unless you live under a rock around Area 51, three former military officials testified to Congress that the US government knows much more about UFOs and aliens than they are telling the public and can provide proof. Felicia explores and explains the most significant and shocking claims from this hours-long hearing.

#IWantToBelieve 
#TheTruthIsOutThere 👽🛸

This week, it's the curse of Macbeth and the mystery of a missing man named Marx!

First, Felicia explores the dramatic history of “The Curse of Macbeth!” For 400 years, theatre kids have lived in fear from simply uttering the name of the famous William Shakespeare play in a theater, for they may be the ones that tragedy befalls. But what is the origin behind this long-held stage superstition? And is there actually evidence of a real curse?!

Next, Lauren covers the mysterious case of missing man Steve Carter aka Marx Panama Barnes. Carter wasn’t actually missing but his past was…that was until he found his own face while searching a missing person’s website! But how did this New Jersey man end up in a Hawaiian orphanage as a child?! And what happened to his birth parents and those missing years from his childhood?!

PS: If you have requests for future episodes or just want to hang out, follow us on Instagram @sinistersisterspodcast

This week, it's paranormal stories from The Aloha State to True Crime in the wrestling world. 

First, Lauren explores the “Kasha House of Kaimuki” in Honolulu, Hawaii - one of the state’s most well-known urban legends and considered one of the most haunted places on the island. The paranormal activity in this historic haunted home spans decades, dating all the way back to August 1942 in which the police were called to shoo a ghost (as the actual headline in a Hawaiian newspaper read). 30-years-later, Halloween 1972, another attack by the angry spirit, including on the police officer who responded to the call. But this is not your normal neighborhood ghost…listen to find out about the man-eating ghost creature from Japanese folklore that is believed to be behind this house of horrors!

Next, Felicia tells us the tragic story of Bruiser Brody aka Frank Goodish, a professional wrestler from the ‘80s who was stabbed by another wrestler backstage before a match and later died. But was Bruiser Brody’s killing a case of self defense? Or did someone take the rivalry too far outside of the ring…

PS: If you have requests for future episodes or just want to hang out, follow us on Instagram @sinistersisterspodcast

This week, it’s icebergs and Icelandic monsters!

First, Felicia discusses the Titan submarine incident that’s been sinking the news recently. In case you live under a rock (or an actual iceberg) and haven’t seen the headlines, a small submersible carrying 5 people (including the founder of the company that operates the vessel) to explore the wreckage of the Titanic went mysteriously missing, thus giving us this generation’s “Baby Jessica in the well.” But with all of our modern technology, how can something like this happen?! *For the record, we recorded this episode prior to recent findings from the international recovery team that discovered debris from the submarine, confirming a catastrophic imploding of the vessel on its descent. All five people onboard are now believed to have been instantly killed in the incident.  Our hearts will go on…

Next, Lauren tells us about the Draugr - an undead creature from Nordic folklore / Scandinavian saga literature and folktales! The Draugr may have similarities to other creatures we know - zombies, ghosts, or even vampires…but it’s their magical abilities set them apart. We're talking shape-shifting, seeing the future, cursing victims, creating temporary darkness in the day, possessing superhuman strength, entering the dreams of the living, being immune to all weapons…even controlling the weather! If this sounds like something out of a J.R.R Tolkien novel, you’re right on the "barrow-wight.”

PS: If you have requests for future episodes or just want to hang out, follow us on Instagram @sinistersisterspodcast