Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories

That viral claim about "The 12 Days of Christmas" being a secret Catholic catechism turns out to be the perfect example of how our brains can trick us into seeing faith where none was planted. From a $28,000 grilled cheese sandwich bearing the Virgin Mary's face to ghost hunters hearing spirit voices in radio static, we're wired to find meaningful patterns everywhere — even when those patterns don't exist. What does this mean for believers trying to discern genuine revelation from the stories we tell ourselves?

SERMON TRANSCRIPT (Includes Sources): https://weirddarkness.com/COTU-12DaysOfChristmas

Weird Darkness® and Church Of The Undead™ are trademarked. Copyright © 2025.
#WeirdDarkness #12DaysOfChristmas #ChristmasMyths #Pareidolia #ChristianPodcast #BibleTeaching #ChurchOfTheUndead #GhostHunting #ChristmasHistory #CriticalThinking

The True Story Behind Zurvan - The Demon From The Novel, "Advent of Evil"

In Persian Mithraism, there was a deity associated with time and fate. His followers celebrated him during mid-winter festivals — festivals that reached their peak on December 24th. In the novel Advent of Evil, that deity appears as a demon who operates through a cursed advent calendar, enforcing strict rules: one door opened every day, no skipping, no ignoring. Break the rules, and there are consequences. Researchers tracing the object's history in the novel found it connected to a spirit board, a serial killer, a Christmas Eve fire, and thirty years of patient waiting. How much of the demon Zurvan has any basis in actual ancient mythology — and was there ever a real entity behind the fiction? We'll examine what archaeologists found on clay tablets dating back over three thousand years.
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = The Demon In The Advent Calendar
00:05:13.171 = Show Open
00:06:33.462 = A Thousand Years of Sacrifice
00:18:20.446 = *** The Lion-Headed God In The Vatican
00:41:40.408 = *** Kill Them All
01:05:08.640 = *** The God Who Doesn’t Care
01:12:21.326 = Show Close

*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad break
PRINT VERSION to READ or SHARE (Includes Sources):
https://weirddarkness.com/zurvan
=====(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)= = = = ="I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46= = = = =WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.=====Originally aired: December 27, 2025
EPISODE PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/zurvan
ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all things strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold cases, conspiracy theories, and more. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “20 Best Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a blend of “Coast to Coast AM”, “The Twilight Zone”, “Unsolved Mysteries”, and “In Search Of”.DISCLAIMER: Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.
#WeirdDarkness #AncientMythology #PersianMythology #Zoroastrianism #ChristmasOrigins #OccultHistory #AncientDemons #DarkHistory #MysteryReligions #WinterSolstice #Zurvan #AdventOfEvil

“OPERATION: CORNERED KRINGLE” By Scott Donnelly

#scarystories #halloweenstories #halloweenkids #storiesforkids #kidsstories #scarystoriesforkids #microterrors
Visit our website: https://MicroTerrors.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/microterrors
Other stories, novels, and more from author Scott Donnelly: https://amzn.to/3LymHaUOther narrations, podcasts, and audiobooks from voice artist Darren Marlar: https://WeirdDarkness.com
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Weird Darkness®, 2023. Weird Darkness©, 2023
“Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids”™ 2023

https://weirddarkness.com/operation-cornered-kringle/

I was just a janitor mopping floors when a Harvard professor invited me to witness history – the opening of the first wormhole. What came next cost me fifteen years of nightmares.

IN THIS EPISODE: It’s Thriller Thursday! This week - “The Artist” by C.J. Henderson *** “The Harvard Wormhole Experiment” by Nathaniel Lewis *** “The Itch” by Weirdo family member Mark Towse 

YOUTUBE CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS…
00:00:00.000 = Show Open
00:01:05.760 = “The Artist” by C.J. Henderson
00:16:35.736 = *** “The Harvard Wormhole Experiment” by Nathaniel Lewis
00:40:08.187 = *** “The Itch” by Mark Towse
00:50:13.177 = Show Close

SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE…
“The Artist” by C.J. Henderson: http://bit.ly/2EIdZFQ
“The Harvard Wormhole Experiment” by Nathaniel Lewis: http://bit.ly/2EEl1vp
“The Itch” by Weirdo family member Mark Towse – submitted at https://WeirdDarkness.com
Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library.
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(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)
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"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
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WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2024, Weird Darkness.
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Originally aired: June, 2021

CUSTOM LANDING PAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/HarvardWormholeExperiment

#WeirdDarkness #HorrorStory #WormholeExperiment #CosmicHorror #ScaryStories #GovernmentCoverUp #Paranormal #HorrorPodcast #CreepyStories #Interdimensional

Charles Dickens didn't invent the Christmas ghost story — he was continuing a tradition that stretched back centuries. These true tales of holiday hauntings show why the longest nights of winter were once considered the most dangerous.

IN THIS EPISODE: Before Halloween claimed the spooky spotlight, Christmas Eve was once the traditional time for telling ghost stories - a centuries-old custom that gave us Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" and brought families together around crackling fires to share spine-tingling tales on long winter nights. Tonight I continue my efforts to bring back this tradition with some ghost stories and hauntings that took place during the Yuletide season… and every single ghost story is absolutely true.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE…
Photo of the Berthelot ghost: https://weirddarkness.com/TrueChristmasGhostStories
“A Christmas Carol” narrated by Darren Marlar: https://weirddarkness.com/?s=%22A+Christmas+Carol%22
More holiday horror stories from Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/?s=%23holidayhorrors
Most stories were gathered from the book, “30 Real Christmas Ghost Stories” by MJ Wayland: https://amzn.to/41QrPBj
Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library. = = = = =
(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)
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"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
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WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2024, Weird Darkness.
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Originally aired: December 25, 2024

SOURCES PAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/RealParanormalChristmas


#WeirdDarkness #ChristmasGhostStories #HolidayHauntings #TrueScaryStories #ChristmasHorror #Paranormal #GhostStory #ChristmasEve #HauntedHistory #VictorianGhosts

Twenty-three days ago, a mysterious advent calendar arrived on Officer Matthew Klein's doorstep — no sender, no return address, just a heavy wooden box with twenty-four numbered doors and a carved face with hollow eyes. Since then, every trinket inside has proven to be an omen of death, each prophecy fulfilled in violence and horror. The entity behind it is Zurvan, an ancient demon from Persian Mithraism — the same demon ten-year-old Matthew accidentally summoned through a spirit board on Christmas Eve, 1995, the night his house burned and his family died while he ran. Now Zurvan has returned to finish what he started, possessing Matthew's loved ones, murdering those around him, and enforcing one rule: open each door on schedule, or suffer consequences beyond imagination. Matthew tried to destroy the calendar. It came back. He refused to open a door. Snakes attacked his son. Now it's December 24th — the final door, the culmination of Zurvan's ancient mid-winter celebration — and Matthew is engulfed in flames, his home burning, his family scattered in the chaos. The countdown ends today.

Get the print version of the novel: https://weirddarkness.com/AdventOfEvil
#WeirdDarkness #ChristmasHorror #HolidayHorror #SupernaturalThriller #HauntedCalendar #DarkChristmas #HorrorStory #DemonicEvil #CreepyTales #YuletideTerror

On Christmas Eve 1642, shepherds witnessed something impossible — two phantom armies fighting a brutal battle in the sky over Edge Hill. When investigators arrived, they saw it too, and testified under oath to the king.

Episode 12 of 12 in the #12NightmaresOfXmas series!
IN THIS EPISODE: “Christmas Carols in the Woods”, “St. Mary’s Church”, “The Lady In The Pantry”, “Mrs. Eustace Returns”, “The Phantoms of the Mamie R. Mine”, “The Wreck of the General Arnold”, “Up In Flames”, “The Battle of Edgehill”, “50 Berkeley Square”
SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LINKS…
All stories in this episode are from the book, “The Spirits of Christmas: The Dark Side of the Holidays” by Sylvia Shults: https://amzn.to/3uT2vMA
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library. Background music provided by Alibi Music Library, EpidemicSound and/or StoryBlocks with paid license. Music from Shadows Symphony (https://tinyurl.com/yyrv987t), Midnight Syndicate (http://amzn.to/2BYCoXZ) Kevin MacLeod (https://tinyurl.com/y2v7fgbu), Tony Longworth (https://tinyurl.com/y2nhnbt7), and Nicolas Gasparini (https://tinyurl.com/lnqpfs8) is used with permission of the artists.= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)
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"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
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https://weirddarkness.com/EdgeHill

When Santa's costume caught fire at a small-town Christmas program in 1924, the crowd rushed to the only door — but it opened inward, and they couldn't escape. One little girl vanished that night, and nearly a century later, two ghost children are still seen at the building where the bodies were taken.

IN THIS EPISODE: “When The Show Didn’t Go On: The Iroquois Theater Fire” *** “A Deadly Christmas: Ghosts of the Babbs Switch School Fire” *** “Horror For The Holidays: Ghosts of the Ashtabula Bridge Disaster” *** “A Christmas Mystery: The Vanishing of the Sodder Children” *** (Originally aired December 23, 2016)
SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LINKS…
“When The Show Didn’t Go On: The Iroquois Theater Fire” from the book “And Hell Followed With It” by Troy Taylor and Rene Kruse: https://amzn.to/3nNw0qJ
“A Deadly Christmas: Ghosts of the Babbs Switch School Fire” used by permission from Troy Taylor: https://tinyurl.com/yav7oyye
“Horror For The Holidays: Ghosts of the Ashtabula Bridge Disaster”, from the book “And Hell Followed With It” by Troy Taylor and Rene Kruse: https://amzn.to/3nNw0qJ
“A Christmas Mystery: The Vanishing of the Sodder Children” used by permission from Troy Taylor: https://tinyurl.com/y7cy4h78
Visit our Sponsors & Friends: https://weirddarkness.com/sponsors
Join the Weird Darkness Syndicate: https://weirddarkness.com/syndicate
Advertise in the Weird Darkness podcast or syndicated radio show: https://weirddarkness.com/advertise
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Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library. Background music provided by Alibi Music Library, EpidemicSound and/or StoryBlocks with paid license. Music from Shadows Symphony (https://tinyurl.com/yyrv987t), Midnight Syndicate (http://amzn.to/2BYCoXZ) Kevin MacLeod (https://tinyurl.com/y2v7fgbu), Tony Longworth (https://tinyurl.com/y2nhnbt7), and Nicolas Gasparini (https://tinyurl.com/lnqpfs8) is used with permission of the artists.
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(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)

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"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46

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WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2023, Weird Darkness.

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https://weirddarkness.com/BabsSwitch
#WeirdDarkness #ChristmasEveTragedy #HistoricDisaster #TrueCrime #HauntedOklahoma #GhostStory #ForgottenTragedy #SchoolFire #Paranormal #HolidayHorror

There's a reason that 100-year-old nutcracker was marked 80% off. And on Christmas Eve, my mom and I found out exactly what it was.

STORY AND MUSIC CREDITS/SOURCES…
The Grither”: https://tinyurl.com/qvkfdtg
“Christmas Tree Decorations”: https://tinyurl.com/rapx4d7
“Die Nutcracker, Die!” by Dax Varley: https://tinyurl.com/wkp7uu6
“Machete Santa” by Medeia Sharif: https://tinyurl.com/wkp7uu6
“Saturn Rising” by Ty Drago: https://tinyurl.com/wkp7uu6
All music used with permission of the artists. Spooky Santa theme by Midnight Syndicate (http://amzn.to/2BYCoXZ). All other music by Nicolas Gasparini (http://bit.ly/2LykK0g).
I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use. If I somehow overlooked doing that for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I’ll rectify it the show notes as quickly as possible.***Spooky Santa™ and Weird Darkness® are creations and trademarks of Marlar House Productions and Weird Darkness, LLC. Copyright © Weird Darkness, 2023
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
https://weirddarkness.com/MomsNutcracker
#WeirdDarkness #ChristmasHorror #ScaryStory #Creepypasta #HauntedAntique #HorrorStory #PossessedToy #ScaryChristmas #TrueScaryStories #HolidayHorror

On Christmas Eve 1973, a woman hiding from her ex-husband was found — and five children woke up without parents on Christmas morning.

Episode 11 of 12 in the #12NightmaresOfXmas series!

In this episode: “The Eternal Beatle”, “Home For The Holidays”, “The Kennedy Road Phantom”, “Santa Stuffs The Stockings”, “Santa And The Elf”, “The Ghost In The Living Room”, “That’s Not Santa!”, “Poe Finds His Inspiration”

SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LINKS…
All stories in this episode are from the book, “The Spirits of Christmas: The Dark Side of the Holidays” by Sylvia Shults: https://amzn.to/3uT2vMA
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library. Background music provided by Alibi Music Library, EpidemicSound and/or StoryBlocks with paid license. Music from Shadows Symphony (https://tinyurl.com/yyrv987t), Midnight Syndicate (http://amzn.to/2BYCoXZ) Kevin MacLeod (https://tinyurl.com/y2v7fgbu), Tony Longworth (https://tinyurl.com/y2nhnbt7), and Nicolas Gasparini (https://tinyurl.com/lnqpfs8) is used with permission of the artists.= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)
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"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2023, Weird Darkness.

https://weirddarkness.com/MothersFinalChristmas