EP 110: BLIND READ — "The Poet" by Corey Mead (Part II)

This Blind Read had us absolutely feral (in the best way). We thought we were dealing with a classic “mysterious tormentor” case and instead got hit with psych letters, birdhouse cameras, BTK-adjacent clues, and some of the wildest investigative whiplash we’ve had in a while. Every time we thought we knew who “The Poet” was, the story yanked the floor out from under us again.We pick the case back up with Ruth Finley being harassed. It’s ramping up, and the threats feel way too close to home. The question stops being “Who’s doing this?” and turns into “How far can an obsession go?” We’re talking psycholinguists, surveillance vans, and a reveal that made both of our jaws literally drop mid-read. This one scratches the itch if you love cases that feel unsolvable.It’s twisty, it’s unsettling, and it left us asking whether “the monster” was ever where anyone thought to look.“That’s Genevieve. And that’s Kaitlyn.”Sisters-in-law, best friends, former CNAs, and the sharp-witted duo behind Camping Is Canceled. Known for their mix of research-driven storytelling and unfiltered commentary, Gen and Kait tackle true crime cases (and paranormal rabbit holes) with empathy, curiosity, and a healthy dose of dark humor.📲 Instagram: @campingiscanceled 📲 TikTok: @campingiscanceled 📧 Contact: [email protected]🎧 Listen now — everywhere you get your podcasts.New episodes drop every Friday. Want more stories, no ads, and exclusive bonus episodes every Thursday? Join our Patreon to support the show!

We’re blind-reading Corey Mead’s article, "The Poet," set in late 1970s Wichita, Kansas. The city is already on edge due to the active BTK Strangler when Ruth Finley, a quiet telephone company employee, begins receiving menacing phone calls from a stranger who knows a traumatic secret from her past: she was branded by a "sex maniac" as a teenager in 1946. As the harassment escalates from letters to physical confrontations, the stalker—who eventually dubs himself "The Poet"—taunts Ruth and her husband Ed with crude, rhyming letters and public messages in the newspaper classifieds. Police, including Lieutenant Bernie Drowatsky, struggle to determine if they are hunting a copycat or if Ruth is the next target of BTK.Join us for part one of this baffling case as we discuss the resilience of Ruth Finley, the investigative hurdles of the 1970s, and the terrifying mystery of a stalker who operates like a ghost.“That’s Genevieve. And that’s Kaitlyn.”Sisters-in-law, best friends, former CNAs, and the sharp-witted duo behind Camping Is Canceled. Known for their mix of research-driven storytelling and unfiltered commentary, Gen and Kait tackle true crime cases (and paranormal rabbit holes) with empathy, curiosity, and a healthy dose of dark humor.📲 Instagram: @campingiscanceled 📲 TikTok: @campingiscanceled 📧 Contact: [email protected]🎧 Listen now — everywhere you get your podcasts.New episodes drop every Friday. Want more stories, no ads, and exclusive bonus episodes every Thursday? Join our Patreon to support the show!

We’re trading historical gratitude for the absolute dumpster fire of modern family gatherings. In Episode 108, we serve up a chaotic platter of listener-submitted nightmares that prove blood isn't always thicker than gravy. We’re exploring everything from a violent brawl between aunts nicknamed "Jailbird" and "Moonpie" involving a carving fork to a sentimental wedding video that abruptly cuts to NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt’s funeral. It’s a crash course in how quickly a holiday feast can turn into a crime scene.So, before you stress about your bad turkey leftovers or political arguments at the dinner table, tune in for a reminder that it could be so much worse. “That’s Genevieve. And that’s Kaitlyn.”Sisters-in-law, best friends, former CNAs, and the sharp-witted duo behind Camping Is Canceled. Known for their mix of research-driven storytelling and unfiltered commentary, Gen and Kait tackle true crime cases (and paranormal rabbit holes) with empathy, curiosity, and a healthy dose of dark humor.📲 Instagram: @campingiscanceled 📲 TikTok: @campingiscanceled 📧 Contact: [email protected]🎧 Listen now — everywhere you get your podcasts.New episodes drop every Friday. Want more stories, no ads, and exclusive bonus episodes every Thursday? Join our Patreon to support the show!

Buckle up, because today we’re wading into one of the internet’s strangest rabbit holes: feral people.What does that term really mean? We explore everything from Appalachian legends — backwoods creatures, cave-dwelling clans, and “wrong turn” horror stories — to folklore and psychology.In this episode, we’ll balance spooky Reddit tales with sobering real-life cases: children raised in isolation, adults who reject modern society, and the fine line between myth and survival.How does isolation reshape the human brain? We explore why rural myths often hide deeper social truths and what separates “living off the grid” from being truly feral. It’s a good reminder that every legend starts somewhere real.⚠️ Content Warning: Mentions of child abuse, neglect, isolation, and violence.“That’s Genevieve. And that’s Kaitlyn.”Sisters-in-law, best friends, former CNAs, and the sharp-witted duo behind Camping Is Canceled. Known for their mix of research-driven storytelling and unfiltered commentary, Gen and Kait tackle true crime cases (and paranormal rabbit holes) with empathy, curiosity, and a healthy dose of dark humor.📲 Instagram: @campingiscanceled 📲 TikTok: @campingiscanceled 📧 Contact: [email protected]🎧 Listen now — everywhere you get your podcasts.New episodes drop every Friday. Want more stories, no ads, and exclusive bonus episodes every Thursday? Join our Patreon to support the show!

Bless Kait for showing up on antibiotics and a prayer. After two weeks of chaos (and a possible case of strep), we are diving back into the most cursed address in American true crime: 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, New York.Last time, we left off with the DeFeo family found murdered in their beds. With Butch DeFeo’s confession echoing through Suffolk County, a new family moves into the now-infamous home: George and Kathy Lutz. They’re just trying to start fresh, but what follows over the next 28 days becomes one of the most debated hauntings in history.As we retell the Lutz family’s descent into terror, we pull apart the line between trauma, psychosis, and the paranormal. As the story spirals toward priests, psychics, and the arrival of Ed and Lorraine Warren, one question remains:Was the Amityville Horror a haunting… or a haunting of the mind?⚠️ Content Warning: Includes discussion of family violence, child death, and paranormal experiences tied to real trauma.“That’s Genevieve. And that’s Kaitlyn.”Sisters-in-law, best friends, former CNAs, and the sharp-witted duo behind Camping Is Canceled. Known for their mix of research-driven storytelling and unfiltered commentary, Gen and Kait tackle true crime cases (and paranormal rabbit holes) with empathy, curiosity, and a healthy dose of dark humor.📲 Instagram: @campingiscanceled 📲 TikTok: @campingiscanceled 📧 Contact: [email protected]🎧 Listen now — everywhere you get your podcasts.New episodes drop every Friday. Want more stories, no ads, and exclusive bonus episodes every Thursday? Join our Patreon to support the show!

You’ve heard the phrase “the devil made me do it.” But what happens when someone uses it to explain one of the most infamous family murders in American history?We dig into the real events behind The Amityville Horror — the gruesome 1974 murders that inspired a best-selling book, a Hollywood franchise, and decades of ghost stories. But before the hauntings and horror-movie jump scares, there was a family: the DeFeos.We unravel the disturbing home life behind the glossy façade of 112 Ocean Avenue, a mansion gifted by old New York money, ruled by abuse, addiction, and control. From Big Ronnie’s violent temper to Butch DeFeo’s spiral into heroin and paranoia, we trace how a toxic family dynamic became the foundation for a massacre. And when the gunfire finally shattered that “perfect” suburban home, the real horror had only just begun.⚠️ Content Warning: Domestic violence, child abuse, substance abuse, and graphic descriptions of homicide.“That’s Genevieve. And that’s Kaitlyn.”Sisters-in-law, best friends, former CNAs, and the sharp-witted duo behind Camping Is Canceled. Known for their mix of research-driven storytelling and unfiltered commentary, Gen and Kait tackle true crime cases (and paranormal rabbit holes) with empathy, curiosity, and a healthy dose of dark humor.📲 Instagram: @campingiscanceled 📲 TikTok: @campingiscanceled 📧 Contact: [email protected]🎧 Listen now — everywhere you get your podcasts.New episodes drop every Friday. Want more stories, no ads, and exclusive bonus episodes every Thursday? Join our Patreon to support the show!

Welcome back, campers! (And happy spooky season.) This week, we’re tossing the script out the window and diving into real-life horror stories that sound straight out of a movie. From near-death escapes to paranormal close calls, these are the true tales that make you turn the radio down, lock the doors, and whisper, “Did that really just happen?”In this chaotic, wing-it episode, our counselors read their way through Reddit and TikTok threads filled with the internet’s most unbelievable “I survived” moments. From a haunted house that fights back to escaping attempted abductions, it’s a mix of the terrifying, the tragic, and the downright miraculous.⚠️ Content Warning: Includes discussion of abduction, sexual assault, child endangerment, domestic violence, self-harm, and graphic survival accounts.“That’s Genevieve. And that’s Kaitlyn.”Sisters-in-law, best friends, former CNAs, and the sharp-witted duo behind Camping Is Canceled. Known for their mix of research-driven storytelling and unfiltered commentary, Gen and Kait tackle true crime cases (and paranormal rabbit holes) with empathy, curiosity, and a healthy dose of dark humor.📲 Instagram: @campingiscanceled 📲 TikTok: @campingiscanceled 📧 Contact: [email protected]🎧 Listen now — everywhere you get your podcasts.New episodes drop every Friday. Want more stories, no ads, and exclusive bonus episodes every Thursday? Join our Patreon to support the show!

Spooky season is here, campers. This week, we’re heading straight into local legend territory. Nestled in the backroads of Collinsville, Illinois, just past the world’s largest ketchup bottle, lies a string of graffiti-covered railroad underpasses known as the Seven Gates of Hell. For decades, bored teens, paranormal investigators, and the morbidly curious have driven these roads at night, hoping to glimpse something beyond the veil — and sometimes claiming they did.In this episode, we explore:🪦 The Legend of the Seven Gates — how a series of abandoned train trestles became Illinois’ own portal to the underworld.👻 Gate-by-Gate Lore — residual hauntings, disembodied voices, and the hellhounds said to chase trespassers through the woods.🩸 Real History Beneath the Myth — from Collinsville’s coal mining past to the documented 1918 lynching of John Prager, the KKK’s presence in Southern Illinois, and how a century of violence and panic shaped local folklore.🐐 Satanic Panic & the “Death House” — stories of animal sacrifice, rituals between gates three and four, and why urban legends about cults took hold in the 1970s and ‘80s.🚗 Acid Bridge — the “bonus” gate where teens on LSD allegedly met a fiery end, ghost cars appear out of nowhere, and a motorcycle club called the Sons of Satan reportedly held gatherings.We also read firsthand listener stories — from phantom cars to hellhound encounters — and dig into why certain places attract myths in the first place. Was it all just teenage rebellion, or is there something darker hiding in the woods?⚠️ Content Warning: Mentions of racial violence, lynching, animal harm, cult activity, and unsolved murder. Listener discretion is advised.“That’s Genevieve. And that’s Kaitlyn.”Sisters-in-law, best friends, former CNAs, and the sharp-witted duo behind Camping Is Canceled. Known for their mix of research-driven storytelling and unfiltered commentary, Gen and Kait tackle true crime cases (and paranormal rabbit holes) with empathy, curiosity, and a healthy dose of dark humor.📲 Instagram: @campingiscanceled 📲 TikTok: @campingiscanceled 📧 Contact: [email protected]🎧 Listen now — everywhere you get your podcasts.New episodes drop every Friday. Want more stories, no ads, and exclusive bonus episodes every Thursday? Join our Patreon to support the show!

In Part II of our coverage of SC's Rose Petal Murder.....the investigation into the fatal stabbing of 41 year old Vet Tech Christina Parcell gets far more complicated than anyone expected. In Part I, we unpacked the tangled relationships, custody battles, and harassment campaign that painted a disturbing picture of Christina's ex-bf and the father of her daughter in the months leading up to her murder. Now, in Part II, the story takes a bizarre turn.In this episode we dive into all 2 and a half hours of her murderer 's confession (31 year old piano prodigy Zachary Hughes)...and y'all...it's MESSY af. Was Zachary Hughes a genuinely a good guy who got in way over his head or a deluded narcissist with a savior complex? Was Christina everything he claimed? We're diving DEEP to get the answers for ourselves and you campers....so don't miss this episode!!!SOURCES:Zach Hughes Full Testimony:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nElGKJn8hVMhttps://www.foxcarolina.com/2025/02/20/prosecution-calls-pianist-cold-blooded-killer-defense-says-he-acted-save-child/https://www.courttv.com/news/sc-v-zachary-hughes-rose-petal-murder-trial/20/20 Season 47 Episode 26: The Rose Petal Murderhttps://www.fitsnews.com/2025/01/09/rose-petal-murder-the-four-key-players/https://www2.greenvillecounty.org/scjd/PublicIndex/PIImageDisplay.aspx?ctagency=23002&doctype=D&docid=1647544336899-966&HKey=548473824384117437574556757837410012171112971066872561181031157985114113797479122110791204384748199https://abcnews.go.com/US/rose-petals-blade-pianist-confesses-womans-2021-stabbing/story?id=120794402https://www.fitsnews.com/2025/02/14/testimony-reveals-twisted-timeline-behind-brutal-rose-petal-murder/⚠️ Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of child custody disputes, CSA allegations, graphic violence, and disturbing courtroom testimony. Listener discretion is strongly advised.📲 Instagram: @campingiscanceled 📲 TikTok: @campingiscanceled 📧 Contact: [email protected]🎧 Listen now — everywhere you get your podcasts.New episodes drop every Friday. Want more stories, no ads, and exclusive bonus episodes every Thursday? Join our Patreon to support the show!

We're sure y'all already know what horrible things have been happening these last couple of weeks... including but not limited to: yet another school shooting & the cold-blooded murder of a peaceful political activist. But there's always Jake Gyllenhaal being Jake Gyllenhaal; so there's still some love and light in the world. We talk about it all today.In this episode, we cover: Multiple school shootings, the Naval Academy incident that led to a tragic misunderstanding, and the assassination of Charlie Kirk.An incredible survival story: Angela and Cade Johnson, forced into marriage as teens by a polygamist cult, who later escaped, reconnected, and fell in love on their own terms.Jake G. gifts a lucky duck to a kid and continues being attractive beyond all reason.“That’s Genevieve. And that’s Kaitlyn.”Sisters-in-law, best friends, former CNAs, and the sharp-witted duo behind Camping Is Canceled. Known for their mix of research-driven storytelling and unfiltered commentary, Gen and Kait tackle true crime cases (and paranormal rabbit holes) with empathy, curiosity, and a healthy dose of dark humor.📲 Instagram: @campingiscanceled📲 TikTok: @campingiscanceled📧 Contact: [email protected]🎧 Listen now — everywhere you get your podcasts.New episodes drop every Friday. Want more stories, no ads, and exclusive bonus episodes every Thursday? Join our Patreon to support the show!