The Pandemonium Witches: Murders, Mystery, and Mayhem

The Pandemonium crew is back with another unhinged plunge into cryptid chaos - and this time, we’re setting sail for the icy waters of island myth and maritime mayhem.

In the fourth installment of our October spooky series, we're diving deep into the legends of Selkies, those seductive, seal-skinned shapeshifters who lured sailors with more than just a song.

Join Rachel, Cat, and Meg as we wade through European folklore, explore the eerie waters of Orkney, and unpack tales of human skin suits, fishy seduction, and the line between love and abduction.

We’re talking WickieWatchies, ghostly ocean brides, and enough sea-salted swearing to keep Poseidon blushing.

It’s wet, weird, and full of warnings - because sometimes, the most haunting love stories live just beneath the waves.

Links We Used - Selkies:

• https://intrepidusoutdoors.co.uk/scottish-folklore-the-selkie#:~:text=The%20selkie%20is%20a%20mythological,to%20as%20being%20incredibly%20attractive.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selkie
• https://www.wildernessireland.com/blog/irish-myths-legends-part-4-selkies/
• https://scotlands-stories.com/traditional-scottish-selkie-stories/
• https://www.shanore.com/blog/the-legend-of-the-selkies/
• https://folklorescotland.com/selkies/
• https://www.wildernessscotland.com/blog/scottish-water-mythology-selkies-kelpies/
• https://www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2016/12/selkies-sex-and-the-supernatural/

The Pandemonium team is back and wilder than ever with another spine-tingling installment of our October cryptid series!

In this third episode of our spooky season saga, we’re diving into the dark heart of Native lore and swampy Southern nightmares - featuring stories of Skinwalkers and Rougarous.

Join Cat, Meg, Rachel, and Em as we unravel twisted tales of corrupted healers, blood-hungry shape-shifters, undead folklore, and haunted ranches where nothing is as it seems.

We’re talking Navajo legend, Cajun werewolves, body part recycling (yep, you read that right), and a whole lot of coyote-fueled chaos.

Fair warning: this episode includes strong language, stronger cryptids, and some very questionable life choices.

Links we used - SkinWalkers: 

• https://www.tumblr.com/myth-lord/142230498869/name-skinwalker-rougarou-alternate-names-yee
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin-walker
• https://mythos-and-legends.fandom.com/wiki/Skinwalker
• https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/strange-creatures/skinwalker.htm
• https://www.legendsofamerica.com/navajo-skinwalkers/

Links We Used - The Rougarou:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rougarou
• https://64parishes.org/entry/rougarou
• https://www.neworleanslegendarywalkingtours.com/blog/the-rougarou-louisianas-spine-chilling-bayou-beast
• https://mytpl.org/project/rougarou-the-swamp-werewolf/
• https://pelicanstateofmind.com/louisiana-love/history-rougarou-louisiana-werewolf/
• https://monster.fandom.com/wiki/Rougarou
• https://blog.nwf.org/2019/10/save-the-swamp-but-beware-the-rougarou/
• https://ragincajunairboattours.com/new-orleans/what-is-the-rougarou

The Pandemonium team is back with another dripping wet episode just in time for spooky season - and this time, we’re diving even deeper into the haunted waters of CRYPTID CHAOS. From eerie old wives’ tales to the soul-snatching sisters of the sea, Rachel and Cat are unraveling the haunting legends of La Llorona and the Kelpies.

We’re talking fishermen, seal skin, shapeshifters, and ghostly women with tears (and vengeance) to spare. It’s the second installment in our October Special Haunting Episodes: Women in Water - where hitchhiking ghosts lure men to their doom, and mythical seals might just be your long-lost wife.

Grab your floaties and hold your breath - because in this episode, the only thing deeper than the lore is the HELL NAW you'll be screaming.

Links we used - LaLa:

• https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2021/10/la-llorona-an-introduction-to-the-weeping-woman/#:~:text=La%20Llorona%20is%20often%20closely,to%20be%20a%20wandering%20ghost.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Llorona#:~:text=La%20Llorona%20is%20said%20to,to%20ward%20off%20such%20spirits.
• https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2021/10/la-llorona-storytelling-for-halloween-and-da-de-muertos/
• https://originmexico.com/blogs/news/the-legend-of-la-llorona?srsltid=AfmBOopxfEaQQNw9OhO94whK7nGlpFFOdE6M1LWc3sZUVmED6NyGvfye
• https://austinghosts.com/la-llorona-the-weeping-woman/
• http://www.supernaturalwiki.com/Woman_in_White

Links we used - Kelpies:

• https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/The-Kelpie/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelpie
• https://www.timberbush-tours.co.uk/news-offers/scottish-folklore-kelpies
• https://www.wildernessscotland.com/blog/scottish-water-mythology-selkies-kelpies/#kelpies
• https://mythus.fandom.com/wiki/Kelpie
• https://folklorescotland.com/the-kelpies-chimney/ (great podcast!!)

The Pandemonium team is back with another unhinged episode - and this time, we’re diving headfirst into the eerie, the unexplained, and the downright weird.

Welcome to October - Pandemonium style. That’s right! We're discussing Cryptids, hauntings, and all things Spoopy for the ENTIRE month of October!

This episode we go from deep mining tunnels to French Cajun Louisiana, chasing the spooky trail of folklore, old wives’ tales, and unsettling local legends.

This week, Rachel and Cat crack open the chilling stories of the Tommy Knockers - the mischievous (and maybe murderous) cousins of leprechauns - and the haunting mystery of Louisiana’s Casket Girls and their rumored vampiric ties.

We’re talking empanadas, crosses, boarding houses, and a whole lot of creepy.

So grab your garlic, pour a drink, and settle in as we feed the Fae, confront some haunted nuns, and dig into the bones of folklore.

Links we used - Tommy Knockers:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knocker_(folklore)
• https://mythus.fandom.com/wiki/Knocker
• https://www.icysedgwick.com/knockers/
• https://www.legendsofamerica.com/gh-tommyknockers/
• https://steemit.com/history/@itsallfolklore/knockers-ghosts-and-tommyknockers
• https://www.ncm.org.uk/news/tommyknockers/
• https://www.hypnogoria.com/folklore_pasties.html
• https://www.tumblr.com/bestiarium/679966497965309952/the-knockers-cornish-folklore-celtic-folklore
• https://astonishinglegends.com/astonishing-legends/2023/10/11/tommyknockers

Links we used - Casket Girls:

• https://www.neworleans.com/things-to-do/history/the-casket-girls-of-new-orleans/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casquette_girl
• https://wams.nyhistory.org/settler-colonialism-and-revolution/settler-colonialism/casket-girls/
• https://wams.nyhistory.org/settler-colonialism-and-revolution/settler-colonialism/casket-girls/
• https://ghostcitytours.com/new-orleans/ghost-stories/truth-casket-girls/
• https://locationsoflore.com/2022/08/06/casket-girls-new-orleans-vampire-tale/
• https://www.neworleanslegendarywalkingtours.com/blog/womens-history-month-the-casket-girls/
• https://www.geni.com/projects/Casket-Girls/436
• https://gonola.com/things-to-do-in-new-orleans/history/the-casket-girls-wives-for-french-new-orleans.
• https://www.maritawoywodcrandle.com/secret-letter.
• https://www.verylocal.com/ursuline-convent-casket-girls/20209/
• https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/explorers/sitec23.htm.
• https://nouvelleorleans.consulfrance.org/lieux-de-memoire-francais-en-3186.
• https://www.kmmcfarland.com/blog/new-orleans-vampires-and-the-ursuline-nuns.
• https://www.stlouiscathedral.org/convent-museum.
• https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1236&context=djglp.
• https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/pelican-girls/

The Pandemonium team is back - and this time, we’re stirring up trouble in turn-of-the-century Missouri.

In this deliciously deranged episode, Rachel, Cat, and Em unravel the chilling tale of Bertha Gifford: a seemingly sweet old woman with a thing for baking…and poisoning.

We’re talking arsenic, a trail of sick (and suddenly dead) neighbors, some suspicious caretaking, and a body count that just kept rising. Add in a little cheating, a lot of bedside “compassion,” and a whole mess of secrets, and you’ve got Missouri’s first serial killer - and yep, she’s a lady.

Pull up a rocking chair and pour yourself something not made by Bertha. You’re gonna need it.

Links we used - Bertha Gifford:

• https://slcl.libguides.com/c.php?g=1344823&p=9919109
• https://murderpedia.org/female.G/g/gifford-bertha.htm
• https://fox2now.com/news/true-crime/bertha-gifford-missouris-first-female-serial-killer/
• http://www.berthagifford.com/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_Gifford

The Pandemonium crew is back with another delightfully unhinged episode - and this time, we’re serving MERDER with a side of haunted real estate.

Join Rachel, Cat, and Em as we hack our way into one of America’s most chilling cold cases: the Villisca Axe Murders.

Set in the eerie stillness of rural Iowa in the early 1880's (ish), we’re talking about a whole family slaughtered in their beds, vagrant suspects, face mutilation, and a house that may still be holding a grudge. Isolated farmhouses, unlit roads, and a killer who vanished into the night - what more could you ask for?

So grab your EMF detectors and lock your doors… it’s about to get axe-identally terrifying.

Links We Used - Villisca Axe House:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villisca_axe_murders
• https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2022/06/09/1912-villisca-ax-murders-what-to-know-iowa-cold-case/7567590001/
• https://murderhouse.com
• https://usghostadventures.com/villisca-axe-murder-house/
• https://dannyechase.com/blog/villisca/
• https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/crime/true-crime/5news-villisca-axe-murders-111-years-later/527-a904613f-f933-4450-a3e6-2bc284feb970
• https://allthatsinteresting.com/villisca-axe-murders
• https://www.kcci.com/article/archive-the-story-of-the-villisca-iowa-ax-murder-house/37993852
• https://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/villisca-axe-murders/
• https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/crime/true-crime/villisca-ax-murders-unsolved-111-year-anniversary/524-017c592f-9a74-415b-923a-62ae0d6b9ff6
• https://www.lectures.iastate.edu/lectures/massacres-trains-and-iowa-connecting-1912-villisca-axe-murders-cross-country-serial-killer
• https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/crime/true-crime/villisca-ax-murders-unsolved-111-year-anniversary/524-017c592f-9a74-415b-923a-62ae0d6b9ff6

The Pandemonium team is back with a Case Exclusive Update - and this one will shake you to your core.

In today’s episode, we return to the cold corridors of the English healthcare system, where neonatal nurse Lucy Letby betrayed the very oath she took to protect. Acting as judge, jury, and executioner, Letby stands accused of the unthinkable: ending the lives of the most vulnerable infants in her care.

Join Cat, Rachel, and our special guest Sylvia as they unpack the latest developments in this deeply disturbing and ongoing case.

From courtroom updates to the chilling psychology behind the crimes, this is one episode you won’t want to miss - but may need to take breaks from.

Links We Used:

• https://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/topics/lucy-letby/

The Pandemonium crew is back and utterly unhinged in this wild ride of an episode - and yes, we’re talking about MERDER!

This week, Rachel, Cat, and Meg take you from the eerily peaceful hills of 1990s Aramoana to the disturbingly quaint countryside of 1880s New Zealand, where hobbits roam and secrets fester.

We’re diving headfirst into the tragic story of mass shooter David Gray, before hopping back in time to meet Minnie Dean - baby farmer, lean-to dweller, and one suspiciously polite lady with a very deadly habit.

Expect talk of rabbit's feet, hobbit holes, babies in chef hats (don’t ask), and the kind of historical horror that makes your skin crawl.

Come for the chaos, stay for the crime - and maybe bring a blanket. This one gets weird.

Links We Used - Wilamena Dean:

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/116903024/williamina-irene-dean
• https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/black-sheep/story/2018761597/baby-farmer-the-story-of-minnie-dean
• https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/minnie-dean-baby-farmer-murder-new-zealand
• https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2d7/dean-williamina
• https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/baby-farmers/minnie-dean
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnie_Dean

The Pandemonium team is back with another unhinged dose of merder - and this time, we’re heading to the dark heart of Indiana farmland, where pigs weren’t the only ones being fed.

Join Rachel and Cat as they unearth the chilling story of Belle Gunness, the towering Black Widow of La Porte who lured unlucky suitors through lovelorn ads, and then made sure they never left.

With whispers of insurance fraud, suspicious fires, chopped-up corpses, and a body count that keeps rising, this case is anything but quaint.

She looked like a sweet mother - but she was hiding a butcher’s heart.

The Links we used - Belle Gunness:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Gunness
• https://www.biography.com/crime/belle-gunness
• https://allthatsinteresting.com/belle-gunness
• https://www.chicagotribune.com/2023/04/20/photos-serial-killer-belle-gunness-the-la-porte-ghoul/
• https://laportecountyhistory.org/exhibits/belle-gunness/
• https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-belle-gunness-murder-farm

The Pandemonium team is back with our latest unhinged episode - and yes, it’s time for merder once again. This week, we’re sipping something deadly as we head to 1950s Australia to uncover the sweet-yet-sinister story of Caroline "Carrie" Grills.

Join Rachel and Cat as they explore the unsettling case of a grandmotherly killer with a taste for poison, comfort care gone wrong, and family members who never saw it coming.

From laced tea trays to dying relatives and deceptive smiles, this case proves that not all killers look the part.

Put the kettle on… just maybe don’t drink from it.

Links We Used - Caroline Grills:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Grills
• https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/grills-caroline-10371
• https://murderpedia.org/female.G/g/grills-caroline.htm#google_vignette
• https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/serial-killer-caroline-grills-served-rat-poison-to-her-relatives/news-story/d4bc91eecf8ff0d85050cd38ecc0737d
• https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/serial-killer-caroline-grills-served-rat-poison-to-her-relatives/news-story/d4bc91eecf8ff0d85050cd38ecc0737d
• https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/69484978