Happy New Year, listeners! What better way to jump into 2020 than to hear about the story of the Tromp family of Australia and their strange road trip. By all accounts, the Tromp family was a normal family. Mark and Jacoba lived and worked on the family farm in Silvan, Victoria with their three kids: Ella, Mitchell and Riana. But one day, the family suddenly fled their home, leaving behind phones, credit cards and passports. They feared for their lives. But what were they afraid of? Over the next few days, the family would travel hundreds of miles and spark a bizarre missing person's case that baffled Australia. The reason behind it still baffles many today: including the Tromp family. 
(Sources: Buzzfeed Unsolved, BBC.com "Tromp Family: The Mystery of a Tech-Free Road Trip Gone Wrong", The Daily Mail, Danelle Hallan "What Happened to the Tromp Family?")

The plan to rob the bank was a simple one - go in, steal the cash, hurt no one and escape via the getaway car parked strategically in an alley. It should have been an easy job. But for Marshall Ratliff and his three accomplices, a shot through a window caused complications that would turn their easy plan into a complicated mess that took many lives and would become a legendary story in West Texas. 

He had a hook for a hand. The call is coming from inside the house. Bloody Mary. Everyone grew up hearing urban legends. But where exactly do these stories come from? Are they true stories or folktales passed down through generations to warn us about something? Take a trip across the country with The Darker Side of Life to learn about top urban legends in several states and decide for yourself if there are truths to these twisted tales. 

It first happened in 1959, when a group of Russian hikers died under mysterious circumstances. Few people know that it happened again, in 1993. Seven hikers set out on a long trip near Lake Baikal, when suddenly 6 of them died mysteriously, violently, and at the same time. Even with a lone survivor to recap the details, the mystery remains. Today we discuss the Buryatia Incident, otherwise known as Russia's other Dyatlov Pass incident. 

Who put Bella in the Wych Elm? We've been asking that same question 76 years after a group of boys from the skeletonized remains of a woman on the grounds of Hagley Estate in Hagley, Worcestershire, England. And then, a year after, strange graffiti starting popping up with a name for the unknown woman. The theories of what happened to Bella and her true identity run the spectrum from the supernatural to the covert. Do you know who put Bella in the Wych Elm? 

"Ghost and goblins, spooks galore, scary witches at your door. Jack o' Lanterns shining bright, wishing you a haunting night." Happy Halloween from the girls of The Darker Side of Life!! Because it's the best day of the year, we have a bonus episode for all you guys! So turn off the lights, grab your candy corn, put out your pumpkin and listen to some spooky tales to get you in the Halloween mood. Trick or Treat! 

It all started as a normal day on the Bell farm. But when John Bell shot at a creature in one of his fields, things started changing. Soon, his family would experience a haunting like no other. He had unknowingly awoken a spirit - one who promised to haunt him and his family until John Bell was dead. This is the story of the Bell Witch of Adams, Tennessee

It was the OG of witch hunts in what would become the United States. Between January and October of 1692, hundreds of colonists in and around Salem Village and Salem Town were accused of one of the worst possible things you could be accused of: Witchcraft. There was no way to defend yourself as neighbors, friends and family pointed the finger at you and accused you of signing the Devil's book while your spirit tormented others. And at the center of it all was an unlikely group of accusers: Girls. Teenagers and children suddenly had the attention of everyone as they became the main people to point the finger. At the end of it all, 20 innocent people would be killed as "witches." To this day, it's a piece of history that still baffles many. Why did it happen? How did it happen? And how do we make sure it doesn't happen again? 

"Escape" with us while we "break out" some more stories (see what we did there?) about one of the most infamous prisons: Alcatraz. These stories have a paranormal twist you might not have seen coming. 

It was a prison on an island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay. It held those who couldn't be held in other prisons. It's reputation for being inescapable was so large it was commonly referred to as "The Rock."  But that doesn't mean nobody ever tried. In 1946, a group of inmates almost did in what became known as the Battle of Alcatraz. And in 1962, three men did leave the island, and their whereabouts have been unknown ever since. Join Dana and Kristen as they discuss two of the biggest escape attempts from Alcatraz.