Black Tom was a small, manmade island off the coast of New Jersey. During the first World War, it served as a depot for munitions being sold overseas, until the whole place exploded. This week we take a look at what happened, and why it might be a bad idea to leave two million pounds of explosives largely unguarded and unsecured. 

Sources:

Black Tom Explosion: The Bombing That Rocked New York In 1916 (allthatsinteresting.com)

Black Tom explosion - Wikipedia

Dennis DePue was your average property assessor in the great state of Michigan. And though he may have had a humble lot in life, he did become kind of inspirational. And by that, we mean his horrific crime inspired the opening of the movie Jeepers Creepers. Check it out.

Sources:

The Killer Who Inspired Jeepers Creepers (truecrimeedition.com)

Dennis DePue And The Real Story Of 'Jeepers Creepers' (allthatsinteresting.com)

In 1884, 17 year old Pittsburg resident Frank Lenz took a month of his accountant's salary and jumped headlong into the most bad-ass hobby of the time: Penny Farthing. Unfortunately, the march of time and mankind's slow but sure ability to eventually use common sense meant that Frank's dream of riding a big-wheeled bike around the world was unlikely to happen. So instead, he traded his ridiculous 55-lb monstrosity for a "safety bike" and took off west. 

Would he make it home? No. 

Sources:

The Adventurous Life and Mysterious Death of Frank Lenz - JSTOR Daily

Frank Lenz (cyclist) - Wikipedia

Thomas Stevens (cyclist) - Wikipedia

This week, Ben takes a gander-peek at one of Japanese mythology's hardest drinkin, root'n toot'n'est half-man half-demon's: Shuten Douji. Also included are Ibara Kidouji and the Junior-Douji, Kidomaru. 

Sources:

yokai.com/shutendouji/

yokai.com/ibarakidouji/

yokai.com/kidoumaru/

This week, Steve goes way, way back to the 1980's and 90's to take a look at two of NYPD's finest organized crime detectives who were, shockingly, also in organized crime. Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito used their fortuitious position within the police department to hand info, and on numerous occasions, victims, over to New York's infamous Five Families. 

Was it cunning deception that let them get away with it for nearly three decades, or was it something else? 

Sources:

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

https://themobmuseum.org/blog/mob-cops-saga-still-reverberates-10-years-after-their-life-sentences/

This week, Ben takes us on a trip to Georgia's infamous Lake Lanier. The man-made lake was built in 1956, but its waters couldn't cover up the area's tragic past. In fact, it only seems to have added to the aura of haunting sorrow, and otherworldly disquiet. 

Sources:

Inside Lake Lanier’s Deaths And Why People Say It’s Haunted (allthatsinteresting.com)Inside Lake Lanier’s Deaths And Why People Say It’s Haunted (allthatsinteresting.com)

Lake Lanier: A Georgia lake's deadly history has some people seeing ghosts | CNN

By the time a fella has spent six years on the force, you'd think he had seen it all. However, the protagonist in this week's story quickly realizes that this is one thing he has not actually seen. Get cozy, and preferably drunk, as Steve reads Six Years a Cop, But I've Never Seen Anything Like This by JPScrawlings. 

Source: Six Years as a Cop, But I've Never Seen Anything Like This | Creepypasta Wiki | Fandom

This week, Ben takes a look at a creepypasta that almost reads as one of our true-crime episodes. A creepy cult? Kidnappings? Murderdeath? It has it all. Check out 'Another Kind of Evil' originally written by Killahawke1. 

Source:

Another Kind of Evil | Creepypasta Wiki | Fandom

This week Steve reads a story that he anonymously wrote himself, about an unlucky mountain loaner and his outhouse. Check out the mystery crime drama, 'A Plop in the Night.'

After a three-week hiatus, the show returns. Was it worth the wait? Don't asnwer that. This week, Ben reads the wolf-filled horror-thriller And the Autumn Moon is Bright by Shadowswimmer77. It's a howling good read, or some other, better pun. 

Source:

And the Autumn Moon Is Bright | Creepypasta Wiki | Fandom