This week on Spirits with Crime, we’re talking about mothers. Not the Pinterest quote version of motherhood. Not the “a mother always knows” version either.

One mother spent the rest of her life wondering what she missed after her son helped carry out one of the deadliest school shootings in American history. Another appeared to spend years shaping her son into a criminal partner willing to lie, steal, and kill alongside her.

This episode explores the stories of Sue Klebold and Sante Kimes — two women connected by maternal love, but divided completely by what they did with it. Cheers!

Send Me a Story! @ [email protected]

Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast

Sources: https://www.ted.com/talks/sue_klebold_my_son_was_a_columbine_shooter_this_is_my_story

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/317243/a-mothers-reckoning-by-sue-klebold/

https://vault.fbi.gov/columbine-high-school

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/02/15/the-mother-of-columbine-shooter-dylan-klebold-breaks-her-17-year-silence/

https://www.theatlantic.com/search/?q=columbine

https://www.nytimes.com/topic/subject/columbine-high-school-shootings

https://murderpedia.org/female.K/k/kimes-sante.htm

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/enabling

https://www.apa.org/

What makes a dangerous idea irresistible? This week on Spirits with Crime, we follow Aleister Crowley: Victorian occultist, self-declared prophet, and the man a British tabloid called the wickedest man alive. We trace his rise from a suffocating religious upbringing through the secret society halls of the Golden Dawn, across the Mediterranean to a crumbling Sicilian commune, and into the psychology of why intelligent people hand their loyalty to dangerous leaders. This episode asks the question that feels more relevant every year: Are we following dark prophets because they possess truth, or because they offer permission? The ritual awaits. Cheers!

Send Me a Story! @ [email protected]

Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast

Sources: www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-39568-3

www.britannica.com/topic/soma-Hinduism

www.rbth.com/blogs/stranger_than_fiction/2017/01/09/how-russian-scientists-cracked-the-secret-of-a-riga-veda-era-drink_676758

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_of_Thelema

sicilianmagpie.com/en/thelema-abbey

www.broadwayworld.com/bwwbooks/article/New-Book-Shares-True-Story-of-Arthur-Conan-Doyle-and-the-Paranormal-20160314

www.doingsofdoyle.com/2024/05/global-conan-doyle-launching-edinburgh.html

plato.stanford.edu/entries/weber

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NXIVM

www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html

www.doingsofdoyle.com/2024/05/global-conan-doyle-launching-edinburgh.html

www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html

www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html

A confession should settle a case. But what happens when the confession becomes the question?

This week on Spirits with Crime, we continue one of the most controversial cases in modern true crime, following the interrogation of Brendan Dassey, the trial that followed, and the legal battle that forced unsettling questions about suggestion, memory, and whether a story can be shaped in real time.

The conclusion of this case will absolutely have you reeling, and questioning when a confession reflects truth and when might it reflect pressure instead. Cheers!

Send Me a Story! @ [email protected]

Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast

Sources: https://famous-trials.com/avery/2749-dasseyconfession

https://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/wrongfulconvictions/

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/03/false-confessions

https://famous-trials.com/avery/2749-dasseyconfession

https://www.wicourts.gov

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/the-confessions/

https://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/wrongfulconvictions/

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/

https://www.workwithkz.com/

https://apnews.com/

https://www.chicagotribune.com/

Making a Murderer Netflix Docuseries

What if the most convincing part of a case… isn’t actually the truth? We trust confessions. We rely on them, and sometimes we build entire cases around them.

But what happens when a confession isn’t as solid as it seems?

In this Part 1 of 2 episodes of Spirits with Crime, we explore a case that sits at the center of that question. A question where perception, pressure, and a carefully constructed narrative may have shaped something far more fragile than it appears. And it all starts with one man and his family. Cheers!

Send Me a Story! @ [email protected]

Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast

Sources: https://www.doj.state.wi.us/

https://innocenceproject.org/cases/steven-avery/

https://www.wicourts.gov/

https://www.chicagotribune.com/

https://www.nytimes.com/

https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1258&context=cplpej

https://www.reddit.com/r/MakingaMurderer/comments/43m92u/did_gene_kusche_actually_trace_steven_averys/

https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=300

https://wislawjournal.com/

https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/11/us/dna-frees-wisconsin-man-after-18-years.html

What would it take for you to believe in fairies? In 1917, two young girls from a small village in Yorkshire answered that question for the entire world, with a camera. 

This week, we’re diving into the story of the Cottingley Fairies; the picture that captivated Arthur Conan Doyle and a grief-stricken post-war world. We’re also getting into the dark side of fairy folklore that nobody talks about, and why the need to believe in something magical might be one of the most human things there is. 

Grab your favorite elderflower mix and meet me by the stream. Cheers!

Send Me a Story! @ [email protected]

Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottingley_Fairies

https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/The-Fairies-of-Cottingley/

https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/cottingleys-scientific-fairies-and-enchanting-technology/

https://photographyproject.uk/research/elsie-wright-the-cottingley-fairies-a-great-photographic-hoax/

https://medium.com/university-of-leeds/the-cottingley-fairies-a-study-in-deception-2ab08b8cafb0

https://qz.com/911990/the-cottingley-fairy-hoax-of-1917-is-a-case-study-in-how-smart-people-lose-control-of-the-truth

https://library.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/1000/library/132/fooled-by-fairies

https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-cottingley-fairies-a-study-in-deception-leeds-university-library-galleries/lgVB6Ceti9WVAw

https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php/The_Coming_of_the_Fairies

https://www.realyorkshireblog.com/post/the-cottingley-fairies-the-photographs-that-fooled-the-world-for-60-years

https://allthatsinteresting.com/changeling

https://longreads.com/2018/06/08/fairy-scapegoats-a-history-of-the-persecution-of-changeling-children/

https://folklorethursday.com/folktales/unchanging-appeal-changelings/

https://britishfairies.wordpress.com/2017/03/23/changelings-fairy-thefts-of-human-children/

https://www.countrylife.co.uk/nature/history-elder-tree-deities-dryads-shakespeare-j-k-rowling-197720

https://britishfairies.wordpress.com/2019/02/17/fairies-and-elder-trees/

https://seedsistas.co.uk/2023/11/24/myth-magic-and-folklore-of-the-elder-tree/

https://wildhunt.org/2020/02/column-faery-lore-of-the-elder-tree.html

What happens when belief in the paranormal collides with the law… and someone pays the price?

In this episode of Spirits with Crime, we're heading to England for two stories separated by nearly two hundred years, but connected by the same unsettling question: how much does belief cost?

First, we travel to Hammersmith, where an entire village became convinced a ghost was stalking their streets. Then we jump to 1994, and one of the strangest legal scandals in British courtroom history. 

Two cases. Two very different consequences. Grab your favorite drink and join me in these ghostly proceedings. Cheers!

Send Me a Story! @ [email protected]

Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast

Sources: https://punchdrink.com/recipes/smoking-bishop/

https://list25.com/100-creepy-mysteries-that-will-make-your-skin-crawl/

https://theanxiousadult.com/15-urban-legends-people-doubted-until-proof-showed-up/

https://www.meshpedia.com/eerie-mysteries-the-most-haunted-unsolved-cases-in-history/

https://www.buzzfeed.com/angelaandaloro/true-crimes-solved-over-20-years-later

https://nofspodcast.com/10-terrifying-real-life-ghost-stories-that-defy-rational-explanation

https://listverse.com/2024/01/06/10-unusual-pieces-of-evidence-that-helped-solve-murder-cases/

https://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/searchingandexamining.html

https://usghostadventures.com/haunted-stories/are-ghosts-real-a-serious-case-study-on-the-science-of-hauntings/

https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/true-crime-science

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranormal

https://kustomsignals.com/blog/four-cold-cases-solved-years-after-the-crime

Welcome back, haunted friends. Today's episode begins with every Final Girl's nightmare- a voice on the radio.

In 1947, ships passing through the Strait of Malacca picked up a chilling transmission. When rescuers finally boarded the vessel, they found a scene no one ever could have expected. This week we are diving into one of the most unsettling maritime mysteries ever recorded. The story of the SS Ourang Medan.

Grab a drink and get comfortable, because we're heading out to sea. Cheers!

Send Me a Story! @ [email protected]

Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast

Sources: https://creamandamber.com/book/9781728271569

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsolved-mysteries/id1549903604

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ourang_Medan

https://navalhistoria.com/the-mysterious-case-of-the-ss-ourang-medan/

https://skittishlibrary.co.uk/the-myth-of-the-ourang-medan-ghost-ship-1940/

https://theghostinmymachine.com/2020/04/20/unresolved-what-happened-to-the-ourang-medan-did-it-exist-at-all-ghost-ship/

https://vocal.media/fyi/faces-of-terror-the-ss-ourang-medan

https://leifericksonwriting.com/ss-ourang-medan/

http://captainstableblog.com/the-terrifying-mystery-of-the-ss-ourang-medan/

https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp80r01731r000300010043-5

What if the luckiest day of your life was actually the beginning of the end? This week on Spirits with Crime, we're diving into the strange, fascinating, and sometimes deadly world of luck.

In 2006, Florida day laborer Abraham Shakespeare won thirty million dollars in the lottery, and reportedly said almost immediately that he wished he hadn't. What followed was a story of generosity exploited, trust weaponized, and a woman who inserted herself into his life, his finances, and eventually, the investigation into his own disappearance.

If this episode resonates with you, we'd love it if you followed the show and shared it with someone or left a review. Cheers!

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

Find us on Instagram and Threads at @spiritswithcrimepodcast.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clover_Club_cocktail

https://philly.thedrinknation.com/articles/read/5731-The-Clover-Club-Phillys-Original-Cocktail

https://vintageamericancocktails.com/clover-club-cocktail-recipe/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambler%27s_fallacy

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-84929-5

https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2025/01/the-hot-hand-and-the-gamblers-fallacy-why-our-brains-struggle-to-believe-in-randomness

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortuna

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisreog

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympics_opening_ceremony

https://www.ngpf.org/blog/question-of-the-day/question-of-the-day-what-percent-of-lottery-winners-eventually-go-bankrupt/

https://www.nefe.org/news/2018/01/research-statistic-on-financial-windfalls-and-bankruptcy.aspx

https://timharford.com/2023/05/does-winning-the-lottery-actually-ruin-your-life/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Abraham_Shakespeare

https://abcnews.com/US/lottery-murder-deedee-moore-found-guilty/story?id=17926009

https://abcnews.com/US/lottery-winners-convicted-killer-speaks-bars/story?id=120595169

https://www.wusf.org/politics-issues/2022-03-02/woman-who-murdered-a-30-million-lottery-winner-backs-a-bill-to-shield-jackpot-winners-identities

https://www.oxygen.com/buried-in-the-backyard/crime-news/abraham-shakespeare-killed-after-winning-lottery

What do mermaids, museums, and nineteenth-century showmanship have in common?

More than you might think.

This week on Spirits with Crime, we step back into the strange and fascinating world of nineteenth-century exhibitions, where crowds gathered to witness curiosities that blurred the line between fact and fiction. At the center of it all was one man who understood something powerful about human nature: people love a good spectacle.

But when does entertainment cross the line into deception?

In this episode, we explore the life and legacy of P. T. Barnum, the showman behind some of the most famous attractions of the era, like the history behind the famous Feejee Mermaid hoax and the strange world of the Barnum American Museum.

So grab your favorite drink, settle in, and join me as we explore one of the most curious chapters in the history of spectacle. Cheers!

Send Me a Story! @ [email protected]

Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast

Sources: https://www.britannica.com/biography/P-T-Barnum

https://connecticuthistory.org/phineas-taylor-barnum/

https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/p-t-barnum

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-man-who-invented-show-business-180958098/

https://connecticuthistory.org/joice-heth/

https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/joice-heth

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/feejee-mermaid-and-other-hoaxes-p-t-barnum-180962624/

https://connecticuthistory.org/p-t-barnums-american-museum/

https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/mythic-creatures/mermaids/feejee-mermaid

https://connecticuthistory.org/general-tom-thumb/

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/449

https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Greatest-Showman

Have you ever gone looking for something weird… just to see what would happen?

In 2020, an app started trending that promised adventure through randomness. You set an intention. It sends you coordinates. You go exploring.

But what happens when curiosity collides with real tragedy?

This week on Spirits with Crime, we’re diving into intention, coincidence, and our very human need to believe that randomness means something. We’ll explore the cultural obsession with manifestation, the science of pattern-seeking, and the unsettling moment when a digital scavenger hunt turned into something very real. Was it fate? Or just the uncomfortable truth that when you drop enough pins on a map, eventually one of them will land somewhere you wish it hadn’t?

Do you believe intention can shape reality? Or is randomness just randomness?

Cheers!

Send Me a Story! @ [email protected]

Threads & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcast

Sources: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13546800042000015

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/patternicity-finding-meaningful-patterns/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Secret-by-Byrne

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6898789-the-power

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/finding-purpose/201910/why-we-see-meaning-in-random-events

https://www.randonautica.com/faq

https://qrng.anu.edu.au/

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53189298

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-the-difference-between-random-and-pseudo-random/

https://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2020/06/23/update-in-west-seattle-double-homicide-investigation/

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/landlord-charged-in-west-seattle-suitcase-murders/

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/

https://www.king5.com/