Listener Tales 102: Villains!

Throughout the twentieth century, few names loomed as large in the business and financial worlds as John Paul Getty. Once the richest man in the world, Getty made his fortune in the oil industry and an avid art collector, with a massive collection that served as a basis for the Getty Museum, the wealthiest museum in the world.  Getty’s wealth and business acumen made him a household name well beyond his death in 1976; however, that same wealth and notoriety made him a target for con artists and other criminals. Among those who sought to extort the Getty family, no attempt was more incredible and sensational than the kidnapping of Getty’s favorite grandchild, J. Paul Getty III, by an Italian crime syndicate in 1973.At first, the scion of the Getty family refused to negotiate with kidnappers, arguing that, if he paid the money, they would only kidnap other members of this family. But Getty reconsidered his position just a few weeks later, when his grandson’s ear arrived in the mail, with the promise of other body parts, should he not comply with their demands.ReferencesAssociated Press. 1973. "Getty kidnapers spurn offer of $430,000 ransom as 'paltry'." Buffalo Nerws (Buffalo, NY), August 3: 2.—. 1973. "Getty's mother awaits word from kidnapers on ransom." Buffalo News (Buffalo, NY), July 18: 3.—. 1973. "Grandson of Getty missing." Los Angeles Times, July 13: 9.—. 1974. "Italy arrests 3, seeks 4th in Getty kidnapping ." New York Times, Janaury 17: 14.Miller, Julie. 2017. "What All the Money in the World gets right (and wrong) about the Getty kidnapping." Vanity Fair, December 25.New York Times. 1976. "2 Getty kidnappers sentenced in Italy." New York Times, January 30: 10.—. 1973. "Roman police report a threat to sever a finger of Getty boy." New York Times, July 20: 2.Norman, Judith. 2013. "His favorite wife: A memoir looks back on the life of the fifth and final Mrs. Getty." New York Times, September 1: 10.Pearson, John. 1995. Painfully Rich: J. Paul Getty and His Heirs. London, UK: Macmillan.Reuters. 1973. "Ransom is offered for Paul Getty, 17, his father reports." New York Times, November 18: 8. Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash KelleyListener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra LallyListener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElroy (Since 6/2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When Andy and Lisa Wyrick moved into their new home in Georgia in 1989, the young couple thought they’d lucked out when they finally found a place they could afford. Within a few months, however, Andy and Lisa started noticing strange behavior in their three-year-old daughter, Heidi, and soon after, the Wyricks were forced to face the fact that they might not be alone in the house.For a decade, the Wyrick family experienced a range of strange and seemingly supernatural phenomenon from the presence of a kindly old man to apparitions of a dark entity, all seemingly focused on their daughter, Heidi. Efforts to stop the haunting provided little relief and in time, the family came to believe they’d attracted something far darker than ghosts.ReferencesAnderson, Sherry, Michael Ray Brown, and Tom Naughton. 2002. A Hautning in Georgia. Directed by Jeffrey Fine and Tom Naughton. Produced by New Dominion Pictures.Franklin, Harry. 2002. "Harris County home may be haunted." Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus, GA), April 23: 19.Walsh, Mick. 1994. "Unsolved mystery in Ellerslie is now 'Unsolved Mystery' on NBC." Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus, GA), September 18: 31. Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash KelleyListener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra LallyListener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElroy (Since 6/2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the summer of 1878, eighteen-year-old Esther Cox was assaulted at gunpoint by a male acquaintance, leaving the Nova Scotia teenager traumatized and afraid. In the days that followed, Esther and those with whom she shared a house in rural Amherst began to notice unusual things occurring around the house including knocking on the walls and floors, objects flying around the house, and Esther suffering frequent seizures without any apparent cause.In the months and years that followed, the “Great Amherst Mystery,” as it came to be known, was investigated by various clergy, scientists, and paranormal investigators, all intent on proving or disproving the poltergeist activity. While none of the investigators were ever able to identify the origins of the haunting in the Cox house, the attention made Esther a prominent national figure in spiritualist circles until several bad experiences led her to flee Canada for good several years later.Thank you to the incredible Dave White for research and writing assistance!ReferencesAllen, Alexander. 1970. "Strange to relate." Windsor Star, August 22: 32.Bird, Will R. 1932. "The Great Amherst Mystery." Star Weekly (Toronto, ON), November 19: 28.Hamilton Spectator. 1878. "Spiritualism or diabolism ." Hamilton Spectator (Hamilton, ON), November 22: 4.Hubbell, Walter. 1916. The Great Amherst Mystery: A True Narrative of the Supernatural. New York, NY: Brentano Publishing .Moncton Dispatch. 1879. "The Amherst mystery." Moncton Dispatch, June 18: 1.Ottawa Daily Citizen. 1878. "The Amherst mystery." Ottaway Daily Citizen, November 23: 1.Prince, Walter. 1919. "A Critical Study of 'The Great Amherst Mystery'." Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research 89-130.Smith, Emma. 2022. The haunting of Esther Cox is still a mystery in Amherst. October 20. Accessed October 7, 2025. Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash KelleyListener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra LallyListener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElroy (Since 6/2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Weirdos! It's our SECOND BONUS EPISODE!!! This month, Ash is ready to give you a dose of corpse medicine! From mummy dust & king's drops to blood jam & human fat poultices, this month's bonus covers the weird remedies  of yesteryear that will make you PRAISE modern medicine!  Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash KelleyListener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra LallyListener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElroy (Since 6/2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On the evening of January 27, 2001, Roxana Verona arrived at the Etna, NH home of her friends Half and Susanne Zantop for a dinner the couple had planned with friends that night. When no one answered the door, Verona entered the home and found the brutalized bodies of Half and Susanne, both dead from multiple stab wounds.The murder of the Zantops shocked the tiny community of Etna and the faculty and students of Dartmouth College, where the couple worked at the time of their deaths. The murder baffled local police, who had very little experience with violent crime, much less murder. The first few weeks of the investigation were hampered by an overwhelming number of unhelpful tips from the public and considerable time was wasted on chasing false leads. When investigators finally caught up with the killers nearly a month later, their identities were not at all what anyone was expecting, and their motive for the murder made even less sense.ResourcesBelkin, Douglas, and Lois Shea. 2001. "Slayings cast pall over Dartmouth." Boston Globe, Janaury 30: 1.Belkin, Douglas, and Marcella Bombardieri. 2001. "A faculty couple at Dartmouth slain." Boston Globe, Janaury 29: 1.—. 2001. "Officials won't discuss motive or how evidence led to pair." Boston Globe, February 18: 1.Bombardieri, Marcella, and Tom Farragher. 2001. "1 NH suspect to be arriagned today." Boston Globe, February 21.Butterfield, Fox. 2002. "Teenagers are sentenced for killing two professors." New York Times, April 5.Eddy, Kristina. 2001. "Town jholted by death of two professors." Concord Monitor, January 29: 1.Hookway, Bob. 2002. "Zantop killing was randon." Valley News, February 20: 1.Lehr, Dick, and Mitchell Zuckoff. 2003. Judgment Ridge: The True Story Behind the Dartmouth Murders. New York, NY: Harper Collins.Mooney, Brian, and Kathleen Schuckel. 2001. "Bid for a ride via CB trips up NH suspects." Boston Globe, Febraury 20: 1.New York Times. 2002. "Youth dreamed of adventure, but settled for killing a couple." New York Times, May 18.Storin, Matthew. 2001. "To our readers." Boston Globe, February 21.Tillman, Jodie. 2001. "Dartmouth College reacts." Concord Monitor, Janaury 29: 8.Zuckoff, Mitchell, and Shelley Murphy. 2001. "Love affair eyed in NH killings." Boston Globe, February 16.—. 2001. "Love affair eyed in NH killings." Boston Globe, February 6.—. 2001. "Vt. youth sought in NH killings." Boston Globe, February 17: 1.Zuckoff, Mitchell, Marcella Bombardierri, Douglas Belkin, and Rachel Osterman. 2001. "Zantops were close, but a study in contrasts." Boston Globe, February 16: 1. Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash KelleyListener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra LallyListener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElroy (Since 6/2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Weirdos! Today we are joined by legendary crime novelist Patricia Cornwell, the mastermind behind the Kay Scarpetta series and one of the pioneers of the forensic thriller genre! Whether you’re a longtime Scarpetta stan or newly forensic-curious, this episode is packed with morbid stories, writing wisdom, and bone-deep passion for the truth!Looking to Preorder SHARP FORCE, the 29th installment of the Scarpetta series? Click HERE or find it at your favorite bookseller on 10/7/25!Would you like a sneak peak to the Scarpetta Television show? Click Here!Want to read A Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Ruben? Find it here!Join us for our NEXT Morbid Bookclub by starting the first Scarpetta book, Post Mortem! Find it here!  Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash KelleyListener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra LallyListener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElroy (Since 6/2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On the evening of November 30, 1989, Linda Napolitano awoke in her lower Manhattan apartment to find herself unable to move. She felt as though she was in the presence of other individuals, then she began to lift off her bed and was transported, as though by unseen hands, out her bedroom window several floors up, before being abducted into an unidentified aircraft. Linda Napolitano is one of countless people who claim to have been abducted and experimented on by extraterrestrials; however, she is one of very few whose abduction was witnessed by nearly two dozen strangers in one of the busiest cities in the world. According to ufologist Budd Hopkins, Napolitano’s abduction has produced irrefutable evidence of extraterrestrial life, but more importantly, he believes Linda’s case is proof of a larger and more insidious plan to eradicate humanity altogether.The Manhattan Alien Abduction case is among a small number of heavily researched and well-documented cases of supposed alien abduction in American history, but it is not without its critics. In the years following Linda’s abduction, a dramatic story has unfolded, pitting skeptics and believers against one another in surprising and deeply personal ways.Thank you to the Amazing Dave White (of BRING ME THE AXE PODCAST) for research and writing assistance!ReferencesHopkins, Budd. 1996. Witnessed: The True Story of the Brooklyn Bridge UFO Abductions. New York, NY: Pocket Books.Lowe, Lindsay. 2024. ‘The Manhattan Alien Abduction’ controversial true story: Why the star is suing Netflix. November 1. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://www.today.com/popculture/manhattan-alien-abduction-true-story-rcna178005.2024. The Manhattan Alien Abduction. Directed by Vivienne Perry and Daniel Vernon.Sheaffer, Robert. 2011. "Abductology Implodes." Skeptical Inquirer 25-27. Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash KelleyListener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra LallyListener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElroy (Since 6/2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On February 4, 1941, Bronx police officers were called to the home of John and Catherine Pappas for a report of a homicide. Based on the evidence, detectives theorized that someone had been invited into the Pappas apartment while Catherine was home alone and that same someone had strangled her to death, then ransacked the apartment looking for valuables. To investigators the scene resembled a fairly straightforward robbery-homicide; however, to detective Ed Burns, there were elements of the crime scene that bore a striking similarity to another assault and robbery case he’d been assigned to just two weeks earlier in another part of the Bronx. What followed was an investigation that exploded in size from a single robbery-gone-wrong that resulted in a murder to a sprawling serial sexual assault case that would eventually involve more than eighty victims in eight states, all victimized by the same man. The hunt for the Aspirin Bandit is among the more remarkable cases in New York criminal history, not only because of the number of victims, but also because of the tremendous effort and coordination put forth to catch the killer—effort and coordination that, in 1941, was virtually unheard of.Thank you to the Amazing Dave White (of BRING ME THE AXE PODCAST) for research and writing assistance!ReferencesBrooklyn Eagle. 1941. "Papas slayer, faced by victims, confesses." Brooklyn Eagle, March 4: 1.Connor, Christine, and Elise Greven. 2017. "Gentleman Killer." A Crime to Remember. Janaury 3.Dillon, Edward, and Howard Whitman. 1941. "Cigarets, aspirin clues to woman's strangler." Daily News (New York, NY), February 6: 4.New York Times. 1941. "Alarm for burglar sent in Pappas case." New York Times, February 8: 32.—. 1941. "Cvek found guilty of Pappas murder." New York Times, May 20: 46.—. 1941. "Cvek tells court he killed in anger." New York Times, May 16: 24.—. 1941. "Mystery cloaks woman's murder." New York Times, February 6: 15.—. 1941. "Pappas strangler admits 15 crimes." New York Times, March 5: 1.—. 1941. "Slayer of woman 'rebukes' press." New York Times, March 8: 34.—. 1941. "Sun lamp halts trial." New York Times, April 22: 23.Rice, William. 1941. "Cvek a killer? No surprise to his relatives." Daily News (New York, NY), March 5: 4. Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash KelleyListener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra LallyListener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElroy (Since 6/2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Weirdos, REJOICE! It’s that time that's brought to you, BY you, FOR you, FROM you and ALLLLL about you! This week, Ash & Alaina enter their villain era, and  focus on tales from the early oughts! We’ve got haunted plants! We’ve got stories about a break in! We’ve got ghostly babysitters! So sit down, grab a cup of ambrosia and join us as we say farewell to September!LISTEN to this (nearly)Nicholas-free version on all podcast platforms OR WATCH the Nicholas version on Youtube on 9/25/2025!If you’ve got a listener tale please send it on over to [email protected] with “Listener Tales” somewhere in the subject line- and if you share pictures- please let us know if we can share them with fellow weirdos! :) Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash KelleyListener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra LallyListener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElroy (Since 6/2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Weirdos! This week, we’re diving headfirst into the haunted and the unexplainable with none other than Sam & Colby! They’ve shared their passion for seeking the paranormal, taunting the unknown, and occasionally screaming at shadows in abandoned places. Sam & Colby talk about some of their most terrifying (and hilarious) experiences on the road, as well as answer questions we can confidently say they’ve never been asked!Want to watch their ghost hunts? Check out their YouTube Channel HERE!Interested in doing a ghost hunt at the haunted school they purchased? Book your experience HERE!Check out their Escape Room: Room 1952 Asylum? Book it HERE!Purchase their NEW Hunt A Killer Game: The Haunting of Wicker Ridge HERE! Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash KelleyListener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra LallyListener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElroy (Since 6/2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.