Sometimes the best horror stories are the ones that draw on our real-life experiences. This week, Ben shares how he lures his victims to their mysterious deaths. Or maybe that's the part that's fiction? Check out his original story, Morning Walks.

The text-version of 'Morning Walks' can be found here.

This week, Steve reads his original creepypasta, "Man Eater." What happens when a latchkey kid faces a very hungry home intruder? Is he afraid or not? And most importantly, who is MarkBurger? 

Music Source: Nicolas Gasparini (The Dark Piano)

The text version of the story can be found here. 

Season two is finally here, and we're kicking it off with a great creepy-pasta called 'The Crocodile Cult'

Source: https://t.co/tLlBNqID5v

Royalty-free music source: https://t.co/rdRiKOQe03

It's the Season One finale, and it's a big one. This week, Ben and Steve have brought their own, original Creepypasta (horror fiction).

In part one, we've got Steve's tale of outsiders, curious kids, and a super-dimensional creature who feeds on anger in 'That Donovan Kid'.

On the back-half, Ben takes us for a ride with a bounty hunter in the middle of nowhere who suddenly finds himself way out of his league in his story 'Straw Dummies.'

Links to the text-versions for each story:

Straw Dummies: http://thenonessential.libsyn.com/straw-dummies-by-ben-matlock

That Donovan Kid: http://thenonessential.libsyn.com/that-donovan-kid-by-steve-gibson

On the front half, we take a look at some more incredible creatures from Japanese mythology. Man-eating snail-women, necks that just won't quit, and more. 

On the back half, we take a look at some legendary Japanese samurai, and reflect on how real life people morph into legendary heroes over time. 

Sources: 

Andress, Justin. 10 Unbelievably Badass Stories of Real Samurai from Ancient Japan. Ranker. Last accessed on May 16, 2019. https://www.ranker.com/list/awesome-samurai-stories/justin-andress?page=3

DHWTY. Tomoe Gozen - A Fearsome Japanese Female Warrior from the 12th Century. Ancient Origins. April 29, 2015. https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/tomoe-gozen-fearsome-japanese-female-warrior-12th-century-002974

Honda Tadakatsu. Wikipedia. Last accessed on May 16, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Tadakatsu

Legendary Minamoto No Tametomo - First Samurai to Commit Seppuku. AncientPages. April 12, 2018. http://www.ancientpages.com/2018/04/12/legendary-minamoto-no-tametomo-first-samurai-to-commit-seppuku/

Meyer, Matthew. Various. Yokai.com. Last accessed on May 20, 2019:

http://yokai.com/onihitokuchi/

http://yokai.com/sazaeoni/

http://yokai.com/oomukade/

http://yokai.com/yonakibabaa/

http://yokai.com/rokurokubi/

http://yokai.com/nukekubi/

Miyamoto Musashi. Wikipedia. Last accessed on May 5, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyamoto_Musashi

Saikaiangle. Japan History: Date Masamune. Japan Italy Bridge. March 28, 2018. http://www.japanitalybridge.com/en/2018/03/japan-history-date-masamune/

In the front half of this week's show, we explore Vermont's "mysterious" Bennington Triangle, and attempt to get to the bottom of the area's mysterious disappearances. Our favorite theory is a man-eating rock. Seriously.

In the back half, we explore the tale of the Mary Celeste; a ship found adrift between the Azores and Portugal. There are many theories surrounding the fate of her crew. None of them are good ones. 

Sources:

The Bennington Triangle and the Man-eating Stone of Glastonbury Mountain. Mysterious Universe. May 2, 2014. https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2014/05/the-bennington-triangle-and-the-man-eating-stone-of-glastonbury-mountain/

Clendenin, Maggie. Numerous People Disappeared In Vermont's Bennington Triangle - No One Knows Why. Ranker. https://www.ranker.com/list/vermont-bennington-triangle-disappearances/maggie-clendenin?page=3

Kammerer, Ted. Inside the Unsolved Disappearances of the Bennington Triangle. All That's Interesting. May 30, 2018. https://allthatsinteresting.com/bennington-triangle

Mary Celeste. Wikipedia. Last accessed on May 9, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Celeste

Pruitt, Sarah. What Happened to the Mary Celeste. History. August 22, 2018. https://www.history.com/news/what-happened-to-the-mary-celeste

On the front half of this week's show we take a look at the scandalous life of Dolly Oesterreich, who for more than two decades, hid her lover in the attic! 

The back-half of the show looks at the life and crimes of Leopold and Loeb, who thought their "superior existence" would make it easy for them to pull off the "perfect crime."

Sources:

Baatz, Simon. Leopold and Loeb’s Criminal Minds. Smithsonian Magazine. August 2008. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/leopold-and-loebs-criminal-minds-996498/

Kelly, Erin. The Story of Dolly Oesterreich—The Woman Who Kept Her Secret Lover In the Attic For Years. All That's Interesting. December 19, 2017. https://allthatsinteresting.com/dolly-oesterreich

Walburga Oesterreich. I Can't Believe It's Non-Fiction. May 16, 2018. https://icantbelieveitsnonfiction.com/2018/05/16/walburga-oesterreich/

Ward, Donna Patricia. Crime and Punishment: 5 Most Controversial ‘Trials of the Century’. History Collection. Last accessed on May 2, 2019. https://historycollection.co/guilty-5-shocking-trials-century/

On the front half, Ben read's OC's creepypasta, My Memories. It's a tale of murder, questionable pasta, and a very urgent job interview.

On the back half, Steve takes a look at the very sad, and very weird circumstances surrounding the murder of Girly Chew Hossencofft.

Sources:

OC. My Memories. Creepypasta Wiki. https://creepypasta.fandom.com/wiki/My_Memories

Murder of Girly Chew Hossencofft. Wikipedia. Last accessed on April 24, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Girly_Chew_Hossencofft

Smith, Benjamin. The Disappearance of Girly Chew Hossencofft: A Con Man, A Fashion Designer, UFOs, and a Ninja Sword. Oxygen. August 1, 2018. https://www.oxygen.com/crime-time/the-disappearance-of-girly-chew-hossencofft-a-con-man-a-fashion-designer-ufos-and-a-ninja

On the first half, Ben takes a look at the legendary Kay's Cross; a ghostly place tied to a cult and their shockingly far-out leader. Most cults have a bit of an odd history, and this one is really dynamite.

On the second half, Steve discusses another well known haunt: The Rolling Hills Asylum. Started as a county poorhouse in the 1820's, the long abandoned facility has a large cast of well-known spirits.

Sources:

Conklin, Susan. Genesee County Home/Poorhouse. Genesee County, NY. Last accessed on April 11, 2019. http://co.genesee.ny.us/departments/history/county_home.php

Haunting of Rolling Hills Asylum, The. Weird NJ. https://weirdnj.com/stories/rolling-hills-asylum/

Jones, Jennifer. Kay's Cross — Polygamists, Cultist Leaders, & Satanic Panic. The Dead History. August 30, 2018. https://www.thedeadhistory.com/kayscross/

Kaczmarek, Dale. Rolling Hills Asylum, The. Ghost Research Society. Last accessed on April 17, 2019 https://ghostresearch.org/Investigations/rolling.html

Souleles, Lee. Stop Three: Krishna Venta and the Fountain of the World 1958. October 10, 2013. http://leesouleles.com/blog/2013/10/10/stop-three-krishna-venta-and-the-fountain-of-the-world-1958

Wardlow, Clint. The Many Mysteries of Kay's Cross. Weird US. Last accessed on April 22, 2019. http://www.weirdus.com/states/utah/stories/kays_cross/index.php

On the front half, we talk about Major John André. The revolutionary war-era British soldier was liked by his peers and his enemies alike, but having a (probable) affair with the wife of man on the inside doesn't tend to turn out well.

On the back half, we take a look at Detroit's curious legendary Nain Rogue, or Red Gnome, and the creatures centuries long habit for leaving a wake of pain and destruction wherever it is seen. 

Sources:

10 of the Most Famous Spies in History. All That's Interesting. April 11, 2014. https://allthatsinteresting.com/famous-spies/3

A Very Strange Tale About a Red Gnome. Unexplained History. November 27, 2018. https://coolinterestingstuff.com/a-very-strange-tale-about-a-red-gnome

Antoin de la Mothe Cadillac. Wikipedia. Last accessed on April 11, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_de_la_Mothe_Cadillac#Le_D%C3%A9troit_(1701%E2%80%931710)

Burney, Beth. The Unfortunate Death of Major André.  Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Last accessed on April 15, 2019. https://www.history.org/history/teaching/enewsletter/volume3/january05/iotm.cfm

Great Fire of 1805, The. The Encyclopedia of Detroit. Last accessed on April 11, 2019. https://detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/great-fire-1805

John André. American Battlefield Trust. Last accessed on April 15, 2019. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/john-andr%C3%A9

LaForest, James. French Heritage: Legends of Le Detroit. Encyclopedia Detroit. Last accessed on April 11, 2019. https://detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/french-heritage-legends-le-detroit

Nain Rogue, The. Astonishing Legends. October 8, 2018. https://www.astonishinglegends.com/astonishing-legends/2018/9/30/the-nain-rouge

William Hull. The Encyclopedia Britannica. Last accessed on April 11, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Hull