Heart Starts Pounding: Horrors, Hauntings and Mysteries
Episodes
65: Old Hollywood Murder: The Mysterious Death of William Desmond Taylor
02 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hollywood's first whodunnit. Two young starlets, an angry mother, a scorned valet, a corrupt DA, and the dead body of one of Hollywood's most prolific...
64: Old Hollywood Curses: The Superman Curse, Rosemary's Baby, and more
25 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Can films be cursed? What about specific roles? Today we're going to look into the story of a curse that was placed on Hollywood in the 1800's, and th...
63: Old Hollywood Scandal: Clara Bow, The First 'It' Girl
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From her tragic childhood, to her meteoric rise to fame, all the way through the scandal that ended her career. Who was Clara Bow? And why is her stor...
62: Old Hollywood Ghosts: Haunted Hotels, Star-Studded Seances, and more
11 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The ghost sightings of the Knickerbocker Hotel, a woman makes a final attempt to contact her husband on the other side, and an actress whose premoniti...
61: Folklore: Southern Gothic Horror
04 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The haunting of the Gray Man, The vengeful Witch of Yazoo, and the man who made a deal with the devil. Today, we're exploring the horrors of the gothi...
60: 8 Brutal Execution Methods from Ancient Times
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The waist chop, slow slicing, being thrown to the beasts, and more. Today, we're traveling back in time to check out 8 of the most brutal execution me...
59: Haunted Mexico City: Three Tales of Horror
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The legend of the Burned Woman, the Black House, and the ghosts of Lecumberri prison. Today, we're talking about the folklore, myths, and legends stem...
58: Murder House: The Korean Cannibal Gang and the Woman Who Escaped Them
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rule #1: We Hate The Rich. Rule #2: Death is the only thing that awaits he who betrays this group. Rule #3: Never trust a woman, not even your own mot...
57: Morbid Medicine: Human Experiments
07 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A brain disease caused by a routine treatment, a deadly medical mixup during a medical trial, and a doctor hell bent on proving he can give patients c...
56: She Fell From The Sky: The Sole Survivor of Flight 508
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Juliane Koepcke boarded flight 508 with her mother on Christmas Eve, 1971, she knew the airline they were flying had a horrible reputation. She n...
55: Love and Lies Pt. 2: The Captor
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2015, Robert Hendy Freegard disappeared with Sandra Clifton. Robert's shocking past is uncovered in the search to find her, including the story of ...
54: Love and Lies Pt.1: The Disappearance of Sandra Clifton
08 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2011, Sanda Clifton found her perfect match on a dating site. Handsome, charming, successful--David Hendy was everything she wanted. The only probl...
53: Pet or Predator: The Deadly Consequences of Keeping Exotic Animals
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when a man tries to keep one of the deadliest creatures on the planet as a pet? Or when an Ohio man who has kept over 50 Lions in cages i...
52: Griselda Blanco: The Dark History of Cocaine's Queenpin
25 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
CW: Violence, Drug use, Kidnapping Before there was Pablo Escobar, there was Griselda Blanco, a woman who left the slums of Colombia to become a bill...
51: Terrifying True Urban Legends: Australia
18 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A ghost ship. The Button Man. A shark that threw up a major clue to a murder. Today we're talking about Australian urban legends and the terrifying tr...
50: India: A Horror, A Haunting, and A Mystery
11 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Women dropping dead inside of temples, a haunted limestone mine, and a mysterious orb of light attacking locals. We're doing a taste of Indian history...
49: Haunted New Orleans: Cursed Cemeteries, Voodoo Queens, and more
04 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Come with me on my trip to one of the most haunted cities in the world, New Orleans. Which ghosts haunt the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1? Could Marie Lave...
48: Beneath The Icy Depths: The Mysterious Disappearance of the Martin Family
21 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On December 7th, 1958, Ken Martin, his wife Barbara, and their three young daughters drove east of Portland to get a Christmas tree and were never see...
47: "Smee": A Christmas Ghost Story
14 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A game of hide and seek takes a paranormal turn. In the spirit of the old Victorian tradition of telling ghost stories around the holidays, I prese...
46: The Winecoff Fire: The Deadliest Hotel Disaster in American History
07 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On the night of December 7th, 1946, a woman working the night shift at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia smells smoke. A few floors up, a man is ...
45: When Looks Kill: Mad Hatters and Other Deadly Trends in Fashion and Beauty
30 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A woman loses the ability to move her arms, A man bursts into flames from seemingly nowhere, and one of the most notorious assassinations in history. ...
44: Thanksgiving Day Terror: The Unsolved Case of The Blount Family
22 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On Thanksgiving Day, 1985, Susan Blount awoke to screams coming from her living room. What she would find remains one of the strangest cold cases in T...
43: HSP x Murder With My Husband: Kaelyn and Payton Talk Strange Disappearances
15 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I'm joined by my friend Payton from Murder With My Husband to bring you two stories of disappearances we could not stop thinking about. In 1928, the w...
42: Human Sacrifice: Dark Rituals Throughout History
09 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Human sacrifice has been a part of many cultures throughout history. But why did they do it? And more importantly, what was it like for the person bei...
41: Two Marys, Two Murders: A Houston Cold Case
02 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2000, two Houston-area women named Mary Morris were murdered in their cars within a few days of each other. 23 years later, it's still not certain ...
40: The Devil's Bible and Other Haunting Tales for Halloween
26 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In honor of Halloween, I'm sharing some of the most chilling tales I've heard this year Subscribe on Patreon for bonus content and to become a member...
39: Listener Stories: Ghost Children, Haunted Campgrounds, and More
19 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A ghost who steals, ghostly wailing being heard in the night. These are terrifying stories from listeners. Subscribe on Patreon for bonus content and...
38: Cursed Movies: The Wizard Of Oz and The Exorcist
12 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Can movies really be cursed? Today, we're looking at what's fact and what's fiction when it comes to The Wizard of Oz and The Exorcist being cursed ...
37: Invisible Intruder: The Chilling Tale of the Denver Spiderman
05 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Here's a good reminder to check every nook and cranny of your house tonight.... Subscribe on Patreon for bonus content and to become a member of ou...
36: Into Thin Air: The Unsolved Disappearance of Joan Risch
28 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What happened to Joan Risch the last day she was ever seen? Limited drop live now. Get yours in time for spooky season. Subscribe on Patreon for b...
35: Dark Therapy: Brainwashing and Forced Confinement
21 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when the system that says it'll help you instead uses you as part of their sick experiment? We're looking into two stories of people who ...
34: Terrifying True Urban Legends
14 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We've all heard terrifying urban legends growing up, but what happens when they're based on real events.... We're diving into some terrifying urban l...
33: Vanished in The Wilderness Pt. 2: The Cult
31 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Why did Boris Weisfeiler disappear in 1985. And did the cult hiding out deep in the Chilean wilderness have anything to do with it? Today, we're explo...
32: Vanished in The Wilderness Pt 1: The Professor Disappears
24 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Boris Weisfeiler embarked on a solo vacation to Chile, he never returned. What came next was a deeper and darker rabbit hole than anyone could ha...
31: Haunted DC: White House Seances, Lincoln’s Ghost, and More
17 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We're diving into the two most haunted houses in DC, The White House and The Halcyon House. Who was the ghost that tormented Taft's staff, which first...
30: Nasubi: The Darkest Reality Show You Haven’t Heard Of
10 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Nasubi was cast for the Japanese reality show Sweepstakes Life in 1998, he didn't know he'd spend the next 15 months in a studio apartment with n...
29: Morbid Medicine: History’s Deadliest Cures
03 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From drilling holes in your skull to eating tapeworms for weight loss, we're looking at some of the most morbid medical advice that's been given throu...
28: Folklore: Stories of Appalachian Horror
27 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Witches in the woods, screams in the middle of the night, the most haunted piece of land in all of Appalachia. Bring a backpack, because we're going d...
27: Harvard’s Dirty Secret: Bejeweled Skulls and Grave Robbing
20 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The manager of Harvard's Medical school was just indicted for selling human remains to oddities shops, but the history of Harvard's involvement in bla...
26: Murder On The Lake: Finland’s Greatest Unsolved Mystery
13 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What happened the night of June 4th, 1960, when three teens were murdered at Lake Bodom in Finland? And why has no one ever been charged with the crim...
25: Disney Deaths Pt. 2: The Disney Dark Ages
29 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The "Disney Dark Ages" was a period of time from the late 90's to the early 2000's that marked the bloodiest era in the Disney parks' history. Su...
24: Listener Stories: Haunted Disney and More
22 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A haunted ride at Disney, a mysterious man at a car wreck, and a haunted house being rented by college students. Welcome to the Heart Starts Pounding ...
23: The Monster With 21 Faces
15 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 1984, an anonymous group in Japan known as The Monster With 21 Faces tormented police, poisoned candy across the country and kidnapped a man. To th...
22: National Park Horror: True Stories of Terror
08 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dangers inside of National Parks, both strangers and freak accidents. We'll hear about people who got the sense something was watching them, feral peo...
21: Bonus: The Dark Psychology of Lizzie Borden (feat. Women & Crime)
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Let's take a modern, scientific lens to last week's Lizzie Borden case, and try to understand why someone would commit this crime. Dr. Amy Schlosberg ...
20: Lizzie Borden: A Fresh Look at a Classic Case
01 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What really happened the morning that Andrew and Abby Borden were murdered with an axe, and why is it still unsolved? Let's dive into the real story, ...
19: Supernatural Survival: Mysterious Near Death Encounters
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From explorer Ernest Shackleton crossing the Antarctic, to famed aviator Charles Lindbergh, many famous stories of survival have included a supernatur...
18: Disney Deaths: Tragedy in the Happiest Place on Earth
18 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You may have heard that “no one dies at disney” but is that really true? Let’s look into the deaths of Mark Maples, a 15 year old who died on th...
17: The Unsolved Mystery of The Lead Masks Case
11 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Did something supernatural occur in Brazil in 1966? That’s when two men were found deceased on Vintem hill wearing black suits and lead masks, with...
16: The Greenbrier Ghost: A Haunting Tale of Murder and the Supernatural
04 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Can a ghost point to the person who murdered them? In 1897, Zona Heaster Shue's mother thought Zona's ghost visited her in the night with vital inform...
15: Special Edition: Is There A Serial Killer In Austin Right Now?
20 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Four bodies have been recovered from Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas this year, causing many to wonder- is there a serial killer currently operating, ...
14: Ghosts of War: Haunting Encounters in Afghanistan and Iraq
30 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ghosts of Russian soldiers, red eyed creatures made from smoke. These are real life horror stories from soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq in the early ...
13: Listener Stories: Terrifying True Ghost Stories
23 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Spine tingling, bone chilling, and downright mysterious hauntings. Listeners share their own heart pounding tales about a headless cowboy, two separat...
12: Murder At Road Hill House: The Scandal That Shook Victorian England
16 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Mrs. Kent learned of the grisly murder of her three year old son, she had only one thing to say. “Someone in the house has done it” What...
11: Deathbed Confessions: Chilling Secrets Revealed
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine if the final words you heard from someone were so bone-chilling that they forever altered your perception of them. These deathbed confess...
10: Fatal Dose: Three Tales of Radiation Poisoning
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A child with a deadly capsule. A rich playboy who lost his jaw and then his life. A fuel plant worker who absorbed more radiation than anyone in histo...
9: Horrifying Tales from the Troubled Teen Industry
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the middle of the night, strangers ripped Zara from her bed and told her she was going to a troubled teen wilderness therapy program. Little did sh...
8: Natalia Grace: ’Orphan’ Horror Movie Come To Life (feat. Jeff Topolski)
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Writer Jeff Topolski (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) joins us this week to answer the question: Was Natalia Grace Barnett a murderous woman parading as a child, ...
7: Hospital Hauntings feat. Hospice Nurse Julie
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is about the supernatural things that happen around the time of someone's death, either leading up to it or right after. We read stories ...
6: Scary Campground Tales
12 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Pack a bag, today we're going to a spooky campground. In this episode, we hear two terrifying campground tales. The first one is The Tale of The Solo...
5: The Mysterious Reappearance of Mary Edens
22 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On Christmas Eve, 1924, a devastating fire broke out at a schoolhouse in Babbs Switch. 36 people died in total, and every person who was at the school...
4: The Sodder Children Disappearance
15 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On Christmas Eve, 1945, a fire broke out in the Sodder family home destroying the entire house and taking five of the nine children with it. Shortly a...
3: A Naval Base On A Haunted Swamp
08 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What if I told you there were a bunch of people in the Navy in Groton, Connecticut who believe their military homes are haunted? And that some of thos...
2: Haunted House Tales From Listeners
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever wondered if the sound outside your door at night was really a ghost? In this Episode- Kaelyn hears from two listeners with chilling haun...
1: The Devil in the Nursing Home: America’s First Female Serial Killer
03 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Amy Archer-Gilligan was one of America's first female serial killers, killing up to 60 of her patients with her "special" lemonade... Make sure y...