In the final chapter of our FLDS deep-dive, we uncover what happened after Warren Jeffs seized power — the moment faith turned into fear, and a community became a controlled kingdom of silence. We break down the suffocating rules, the destruction of individuality, and the psychological warfare used to keep followers obedient and terrified. 

This is a story of control, manipulation, and survival — but ultimately, it’s about courage.
 If you’ve ever wondered how something like this could happen in modern America… this is the episode you need to hear. 

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussions of abuse, including physical and sexual violence. Listener discretion advised.

INTRO Music used :  " SINISTER " composed and produced by "Vivek Abhishek"

Music link : https://youtu.be/s7_oukTEFrc

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References:

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

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna30016991⁠

⁠https://www.deseret.com/2006/8/29/19971153/the-rise-of-warren-jeffs/⁠

⁠https://local.sltrib.com/charts/jeffstimeline/timeline.html⁠

⁠https://www.deseret.com/2006/8/30/19971276/from-nerd-to-flds-chief/⁠

⁠https://local.sltrib.com/upload/2010/11/1288813415awantedman.pdf⁠

⁠https://www.netflix.com/title/81292539⁠

⁠https://www.peacocktv.com/watch-online/tv/preaching-evil-a-wife-on-the-run-with-warren-jeffs/8910741537945005112⁠

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✨⁠⁠Support the show⁠⁠✨

If you enjoy the stories we tell and want to help us keep bringing them to life, you can support the podcast here:

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Every contribution goes directly back into the show — from research and recording to editing and equipment. Your support truly means the world to us and helps us continue sharing strange, mysterious, and unbelievable tales every week. Thank you for listening and being part of the Storyteller family.

✨🔮🕯

Part Two is Here!! The Making of Warren Jeffs
Content warning: discussion of abuse, child abuse, and spiritual coercion.

Before he became the self-proclaimed Prophet of the FLDS and one of America’s most notorious cult leaders, Warren Jeffs was just a boy born into chaos — the “golden child” of a sprawling polygamist family and the son of the church’s future prophet.

In this episode, we trace how a quiet, awkward teacher turned into the architect of absolute control. From the turmoil of the Jeffs household to his years running Alta Academy, we uncover the blueprint of obedience, isolation, and fear that would later define his reign.

Through survivor accounts, family testimonies, and chilling early patterns of abuse, we explore how Warren learned to manipulate faith itself — turning devotion into domination.

🎧 This is The Making of Warren Jeffs — Part Two of our FLDS series.

Music used :  " SINISTER " composed and produced by "Vivek Abhishek"

Music link : https://youtu.be/s7_oukTEFrc

SUBSCRIBE us on YOUTUBE: https://bit.ly/3qumnPH

Follow on Facebook: https://bit.ly/33RWRtP

Follow on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2ImU2JV

References:

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

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna30016991

https://www.deseret.com/2006/8/29/19971153/the-rise-of-warren-jeffs/

https://local.sltrib.com/charts/jeffstimeline/timeline.html

https://www.deseret.com/2006/8/30/19971276/from-nerd-to-flds-chief/

https://local.sltrib.com/upload/2010/11/1288813415awantedman.pdf

https://www.netflix.com/title/81292539

https://www.peacocktv.com/watch-online/tv/preaching-evil

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Instagram ⁠⁠⁠@storyteller.pod⁠⁠⁠

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Facebook ⁠⁠⁠@Storyteller Podcast⁠⁠⁠

✨⁠⁠Support the show⁠⁠✨

If you enjoy the stories we tell and want to help us keep bringing them to life, you can support the podcast here:

🔗 ⁠⁠https://www.buzzsprout.com/2535436/support⁠⁠

Every contribution goes directly back into the show — from research and recording to editing and equipment. Your support truly means the world to us and helps us continue sharing strange, mysterious, and unbelievable tales every week. Thank you for listening and being part of the Storyteller family.

✨🔮🕯

Imagine being born into a dynasty where faith is law, obedience is survival, and a man’s word determines your destiny. In this episode, we follow the gripping true story of Carolyn Jessop, a sixth-generation member of the FLDS who defied her husband, her prophet, and her entire community to save her eight children.

From her grandmother’s fairytales to the night she fled in secret with a van running on fumes, Carolyn’s story of courage and conviction mirrors the dark evolution of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints—from its 19th-century origins under Joseph Smith and Brigham Young to the eventual rise of the “Keep Sweet” doctrine.

This is a journey through faith turned fanatic, freedom reclaimed from fear, and a community whose secrets would one day shock the world.

👉 Stay tuned for Part 2, where we dive into the rise of Warren Jeffs, his stranglehold over the FLDS, and the women who risked everything to expose him.

Tags: #FLDS #TrueCrimePodcast #CultStories #WarrenJeffs #StorytellerPodcast #KeepSweet #EscapingFLDS #WomenSurvivors #TrueCrime #ReligiousCults

📚Further Reading:

https://www.amazon.com/FLDS-Books/s?k=FLDS&rh=n%3A283155

📚References:

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

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamentalist_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-Day_Saints

https://abcnews.go.com/US/twisted-world-warren-jeffs-former-flds-members-speak/story?id=107493397#:~:text=From%201986%20to%202002%2C%20Rulon,%E2%80%94%20the%20all%2Dknowing%20prophet.

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✨⁠⁠Support the show⁠⁠✨

If you enjoy the stories we tell and want to help us keep bringing them to life, you can support the podcast here:

🔗 ⁠⁠https://www.buzzsprout.com/2535436/support⁠⁠

Every contribution goes directly back into the show — from research and recording to editing and equipment. Your support truly means the world to us and helps us continue sharing strange, mysterious, and unbelievable tales every week. Thank you for listening and being part of the Storyteller family.

✨🔮🕯

Beneath Gatlinburg’s neon lights, pancake houses, and souvenir shops lies a chilling true story that most visitors will never hear.

In 1986, a confession letter left in a phone booth in Maggie Valley unraveled one of Tennessee’s most brutal crimes — the murders of Melissa “Missy” Hill and Troy Valentine at the Rocky Top Village Inn.

What began as an ordinary night for a young dispatcher and his wife became a nightmare that would haunt the Smoky Mountains for decades.

Join Courtney and Teresa as they uncover the bizarre, tragic, and downright unbelievable story of “Tattoo Eddie,” his ragtag crew, and the senseless violence that rocked this Appalachian tourist town.

🎙️ Welcome to Storyteller — where every episode is a blind date with the bizarre.

#TrueCrime #Appalachia #Gatlinburg #RockyTopMurders #Podcast #StorytellerPod

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If you enjoy the stories we tell and want to help us keep bringing them to life, you can support the podcast here:

🔗 ⁠⁠https://www.buzzsprout.com/2535436/support⁠⁠

Every contribution goes directly back into the show — from research and recording to editing and equipment. Your support truly means the world to us and helps us continue sharing strange, mysterious, and unbelievable tales every week. Thank you for listening and being part of the Storyteller family.

✨🔮🕯

Grab your marshmallows and settle in by the fire—because this week on Storyteller, we’re taking you deep into the haunted woods of Ohio to uncover one of Appalachia’s creepiest legends: Red Eyes, The Mad Man of Camp Manatoc.

But this episode isn’t your average campfire ghost story… we’ve got special guests—our husbands—joining us around the fire as we swap spooky tales, suspicious noises, and more laughter than we expected. Courtney digs into the bizarre "history" and chilling folklore surrounding a dismembered counselor, a cursed campsite, and a pair of glowing red eyes that still stalk the trees.

Meanwhile, Teresa faces her worst nightmare—not the ghost—but a caterpillar attack (yes, really).

It’s equal parts eerie, hilarious, and pure Appalachian chaos. So grab a blanket, light the fire, and join us for the story that proves some legends never die… they just keep wandering the woods.

📑References:

Red Eyes Camp Legend of Manatoc: Ohio

Red Eyes, the Mad Man of Camp Manatoc

Do you have 1920s photos of Camp Manatoc?

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✨⁠⁠Support the show⁠⁠✨

If you enjoy the stories we tell and want to help us keep bringing them to life, you can support the podcast here:

🔗 ⁠⁠https://www.buzzsprout.com/2535436/support⁠⁠

Every contribution goes directly back into the show — from research and recording to editing and equipment. Your support truly means the world to us and helps us continue sharing strange, mysterious, and unbelievable tales every week. Thank you for listening and being part of the Storyteller family.

✨🔮🕯

In the latest installment of our Spooky Season series, we’re headed to southwest Virginia, once again recording from the deck...at night...in rural Appalachia—to dig into the story behind America’s loudest founding father… and his darkest secret.

Everyone knows Patrick Henry as the man who shouted “Give me liberty, or give me death!” But few know the story of Sarah Shelton Henry, his wife who was locked away in the cellar of their home, Scotchtown, as her mind unraveled after childbirth.

What happened to Sarah? Was Patrick protecting her—or protecting his reputation? And why do visitors still hear chains dragging in the basement centuries later?

Join Courtney and Teresa as they explore the unsettling side of American history, where love, madness, and legacy collide.

Featuring true history, tragic love, and one seriously haunted house.

✨Follow Us on Social Media✨

Instagram: @storyteller.pod

Facebook: @Storyteller Podcast

Tiktok:@storytellerpod

Send us story requests to our gmail: ⁠[email protected]⁠

References:

⁠Patrick and Sarah Henry: Mental illness in 18th century America | National Museum of American History⁠

⁠Founding Mother: Sarah Shelton Henry – History Made Seamless⁠

⁠Sarah Shelton Henry - Wikipedia⁠

⁠899) Sarah Shelton Henry – The Exasperated Historian⁠

⁠Scotchtown and the Haunting of Sarah Henry⁠

⁠Scotchtown – OCCULT WORLD⁠

⁠Patrick Henry - World History Encyclopedia⁠

⁠Sarah Henry: Patrick Henry’s Basement Kept Wife - Richmond Ghosts⁠

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✨⁠⁠Support the show⁠⁠✨

If you enjoy the stories we tell and want to help us keep bringing them to life, you can support the podcast here:

🔗 ⁠⁠https://www.buzzsprout.com/2535436/support⁠⁠

Every contribution goes directly back into the show — from research and recording to editing and equipment. Your support truly means the world to us and helps us continue sharing strange, mysterious, and unbelievable tales every week. Thank you for listening and being part of the Storyteller family.

✨🔮🕯

Welcome to Storyteller, where every episode is a new chapter of mystery, wonder, and the unexpected.

In this spine-tingling kickoff to our Appalachian spooky series, Courtney and Teresa trade mountain mist for moonlight as they record from deep in the Blue Ridge—where legends breathe through the fog and the past never really rests.

This week, we check into one of Virginia’s most haunted and storied places: The Martha Washington Inn in historic Abingdon. Once a family mansion, then a college, and later a Civil War hospital, The Martha has witnessed centuries of love, loss, and tragedy. And some say… not everyone who entered ever truly left.

From the ghostly violin of a devoted nurse to the phantom horse that still searches for its fallen rider, to whispers rising from tunnels where the dead were sealed into stone—this is a story steeped in beauty, sorrow, and the supernatural.

So draw your curtains, pour a drink, and settle in. Because tonight, we’re unraveling the haunting history of The Martha Washington Inn… where every creak, sigh, and flicker of candlelight might be something watching back.

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✨⁠⁠Support the show⁠⁠✨

If you enjoy the stories we tell and want to help us keep bringing them to life, you can support the podcast here:

🔗 ⁠⁠https://www.buzzsprout.com/2535436/support⁠⁠

Every contribution goes directly back into the show — from research and recording to editing and equipment. Your support truly means the world to us and helps us continue sharing strange, mysterious, and unbelievable tales every week. Thank you for listening and being part of the Storyteller family.

✨🔮🕯

Love is in the air… or maybe that’s just the flapping of enormous wings. 👀

In this episode of Storyteller, Courtney and Teresa step onto the Cryptid Connection Dating Game stage to uncover the truth about West Virginia’s most infamous legend—the mysterious, red-eyed heartthrob known as Mothman.

Is he a harbinger of doom or just a misunderstood romantic with a killer wingspan and a bad reputation? From 1960s Point Pleasant sightings to bridge collapses, Chernobyl conspiracies, and beyond, this episode dives deep into the eerie history and enduring allure of America’s favorite nocturnal bachelor.

💘 Expect dating show chaos, Appalachian folklore, a few tragic bridge collapses, and way too many moth puns.

So grab your bug spray, dim the lights, and find out whether Teresa’s true soulmate is really the Mothman himself… because when it comes to love and legends, this cryptid might just be flying off the charts.

🦋 Is Mothman a harbinger of doom—or a harbinger of swoon? Tune in to find out.

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✨⁠⁠Support the show⁠⁠✨

If you enjoy the stories we tell and want to help us keep bringing them to life, you can support the podcast here:

🔗 ⁠⁠https://www.buzzsprout.com/2535436/support⁠⁠

Every contribution goes directly back into the show — from research and recording to editing and equipment. Your support truly means the world to us and helps us continue sharing strange, mysterious, and unbelievable tales every week. Thank you for listening and being part of the Storyteller family.

✨🔮🕯

In this episode of Storyteller, Courtney and Teresa dive into the daring true story of Nellie Bly—the 23-year-old journalist who faked insanity to go undercover inside New York City’s notorious Blackwell’s Island Insane Asylum in 1887.

What began as whispers of abuse, neglect, and overcrowding turned into one of the most groundbreaking investigations in American journalism. Listeners will follow Nellie’s bold decision to shed her identity, her harrowing experiences inside the asylum, and the shocking conditions she uncovered—from rotting food and freezing baths to women wrongfully imprisoned simply for being poor or unable to speak English.

Along the way, we explore Nellie Bly’s path from Elizabeth Jane Cochrane of Pennsylvania to one of the first women to break into serious investigative reporting. We’ll uncover how her exposé Inside the Madhouse not only forced reforms at Blackwell’s but also reshaped public understanding of mental health care, corruption, and the power of journalism itself.

From her fearless undercover work to her record-setting journey around the world, Nellie Bly’s story is one of bravery, persistence, and unapologetic defiance.

Step into 1887 with us and discover how one young woman risked everything to change the world—one story at a time.

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✨⁠⁠Support the show⁠⁠✨

If you enjoy the stories we tell and want to help us keep bringing them to life, you can support the podcast here:

🔗 ⁠⁠https://www.buzzsprout.com/2535436/support⁠⁠

Every contribution goes directly back into the show — from research and recording to editing and equipment. Your support truly means the world to us and helps us continue sharing strange, mysterious, and unbelievable tales every week. Thank you for listening and being part of the Storyteller family.

✨🔮🕯

On Christmas Eve, 1985, a Nebraska farmer stumbled upon a heartbreaking mystery: the frozen body of a little boy in blue pajamas, forever known as Little Boy Blue. But who was he—and how did he end up abandoned in a roadside ditch?

This episode unravels the shocking story of Eli Stutzman, a former Amishman whose charm hid a dark and violent truth. From a troubled childhood in Ohio to a string of suspicious deaths and, ultimately, the betrayal of his own son, Stutzman’s story is one of manipulation, murder, and secrets buried deep within Amish country and beyond.

References:

https://www.ranker.com/list/eli-stutzman-facts/jodi-smith

https://people.com/archive/the-riddle-of-the-boy-in-blue-vol-29-no-7/

https://www.shortform.com/books/blog/eli-stutzman.html

https://sinisterdeeds.medium.com/they-call-him-the-ex-amish-serial-killer-part-2-a5b44ff40736

https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/30-years-later-two-durango-murders-remain-unsolved/

https://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/stutzman-eli.htm

Olsen, Gregg. Abandoned Prayers: An Incredible True Story of Murder, Obsession, And Amish Secrets. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999, ISBN 9780312982010

Olsen, Gregg. The Amish W

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✨⁠⁠Support the show⁠⁠✨

If you enjoy the stories we tell and want to help us keep bringing them to life, you can support the podcast here:

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Every contribution goes directly back into the show — from research and recording to editing and equipment. Your support truly means the world to us and helps us continue sharing strange, mysterious, and unbelievable tales every week. Thank you for listening and being part of the Storyteller family.

✨🔮🕯