The Dancing Plague of 1518
Ted Kaczynski Part 2
Ted Kaczynski Part 1
The Alaskan Triangle
The Murder of Tracie McBride
The Murder of Lana Clarkson
Junko Tabei
The Giggling Granny
Amusement Park Disasters
The Sleeping Sickness
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In 1518, the city of Strasbourg witnessed an event that still defies explanation. A woman known as Frau Troffea began dancing in the street—and continued for days. Within a week, dozens had joined her. Within a month, that number may have reached into the hundreds. There was no music. No clear cause. And no way to stop it. Contemporary records describe people dancing to the point of exhaustion, injury, and in some cases, death. Authorities, believing the condition was caused by “overheated blood,” encouraged the dancing—only intensifying the outbreak. Historians and scientists have proposed explanations ranging from ergot poisoning to mass psychogenic illness. But none fully account for the scale, duration, and physical toll of what occurred. In this episode of Monstrous, we examine the historical accounts, the leading theories, and the deeper question behind them: How does something spread through a group—not physically, but psychologically—and become real in the body? 📧 Send us case suggestions and listener stories: monstroustcpod@gmail.com 📱 Follow us on all social media links here: https://linktr.ee/monstrouspod
In Part 2 of our two-part Unabomber series, we continue the story of Ted Kaczynski — the man who terrorized the United States for nearly two decades with a bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23 more. From the first bomb at Northwestern University in 1978 to the final fatal attacks in 1995, we walk through every device, every victim, and every mystery that made this one of the longest-running domestic terror investigations in U.S. history. Listen as we uncover the turning point that finally broke the case: a 35,000-word manifesto published in the Washington Post, and the brother who recognized his own sibling’s writing style. We detail Ted’s arrest at his isolated Montana cabin in 1996, his refusal to confess despite overwhelming evidence, his life sentence at ADX Florence (“Bombers Row”), and his death in 2023 at age 81. Key Facts: • 16 known bombing devices (9 mailed) • 3 killed: Hugh Scrutton (1985), Thomas Mosser (1994), Gilbert Murray (1995) • 23 injured across 7 states • 17-year campaign (1978-1995) • Ted arrested April 3, 1996 in Montana • Never expressed remorse, pleaded guilty in 1998 to avoid death penalty • Died at Federal Medical Center Butner, North Carolina in 2023 📧 Send us case suggestions and listener stories: monstroustcpod@gmail.com 📱 Follow us on all social media links here: https://linktr.ee/monstrouspod
This is the story of how a math prodigy became the Unabomber. Born in Chicago in 1942, Theodore Kaczynski was a brilliant but isolated child who skipped grades, spent months in hospital isolation as an infant, and never learned how to connect with other people. By 16, he was at Harvard studying mathematics. By 25, he was an assistant professor at UC Berkeley—the youngest professor ever hired by the university’s math department. But he quit. He walked away from academia and moved into an off-grid cabin in rural Montana, with no electricity, no running water, and no contact with society. What happened out there changed everything. Industrial noise invaded his silence. Logging destroyed his favorite hiking spots. The wilderness he loved was being eaten by modern society. And Ted’s resentment turned into ideology. He began writing. He began blaming. And he began justifying violence. On May 25, 1978, the first bomb appeared—a package at the University of Illinois-Chicago that exploded when opened, injuring a security officer. That was the first spark of a 17-year bombing campaign that would kill three people, injure 23 others, and terrorize the United States for nearly two decades. In Part 1, we go back to the beginning. We explore how Ted Kaczynski became Ted Kaczynski—his childhood, his Harvard years, the psychological experiments he was secretly enrolled in, his academic career, and his retreat into the wilderness. We trace the slow, quiet drift from an innocent child into someone who sent bombs through the mail and killed people. This is not a story of a sudden explosion. It’s a story of a lifetime of isolation, intelligence, and bitterness that built into something monstrous. Part 2 continues the story with the deadly bombs, the manifesto, and the hunt for the Unabomber. 📧 Send us case suggestions and listener stories: Monstroustcpod@gmail.con 📱 Follow us on all social media links here: https://linktr.ee/monstrouspod
Hey y’all, this week on Monstrous, we’re heading north to one of the most mysterious places on Earth—the Alaskan Triangle. A vast, unofficial region where over 20,000 people have gone missing since the 1970s, and nearly 70% are never found. From planes disappearing without distress calls to hikers vanishing on marked trails, we’re diving deep into the cases, the statistics, and the strange theories that keep this mystery alive. Why does Alaska have the highest missing persons rate in the U.S.—ten times the national average? And why do some pilots report instruments going dead mid-flight? If you or someone you know is connected to a missing persons case in Alaska—especially an Indigenous family—please share their story. Keep their name alive. Don’t let them be forgotten. 📧 Send us case suggestions and listener stories: Monstroustcpod@gmail.con 📱 Follow us on all social media links here: https://linktr.ee/monstrouspod
In this week’s episode of Monstrous, we cover the heartbreaking murder of 19-year-old Army private Tracie McBride. Stationed at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas, Tracie should have been safe on base, but her life was stolen in a case that would lead to a federal trial, years of appeals, and an execution that still leaves a heavy mark. This is a story about violence, loss, and the life Tracie should have had ahead of her.
In 2003, Hollywood actress Lana Clarkson walked into the Alhambra, California, mansion of music‑industry legend Phil Spector — and never walked out. On this episode of Monstrous, we unravel the story of Lana Clarkson, a woman with her own dreams, career, and family, whose life became forever tangled in one of the most infamous celebrity murder cases of the 21st century. This isn’t just about a famous man and a fatal shot in the foyer. It’s about a pattern of control, guns, and intimidation that stretched back decades, and the way fame and power made people look away for far too long. We’ll walk through Lana’s life, Phil Spector’s rise and fall, the chaotic night at the House of Blues, the two trials, and the final verdict that forced the world to finally see him for what he was. If you’ve ever wondered how a genius producer became a convicted murderer, and how a struggling actress got caught in his orbit, this is the episode for you. Stay safe, watch for monsters, and try not to kill people. Follow us: • Buy Me a Coffee (support the show): https://buymeacoffee.com/monstroustcpod • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561641454715 • TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@monstrouspodcast?_r=1&_t=ZT-94Neh2zo5DJ Email us: monstroustcpod@gmail.com
This week on Monstrous, we step away from the usual darkness and into the thin air of the Himalayas for a story about quiet courage, not chaos. We’re telling the life story of Junko Tabei—a Japanese schoolteacher and mother who became the first woman to climb Mount Everest and one of the first women to complete the Seven Summits. Her journey wasn’t just about breaking records; it was about quietly redefining what women were “allowed” to attempt in one of the most male‑dominated, physically extreme sports in the world. This episode covers her childhood in post‑war Japan, her early love of the mountains, the formation of the all‑women Everest expedition, the avalanche that nearly ended it all, and the summit day that changed her life and the history of women in mountaineering. You’ll hear about her later climbs, her environmental advocacy, her writing, and how she used fear as a guide instead of an obstacle. Unlike most of our episodes, this is a family‑friendly, inspirational story that still matches the depth and research you expect from Monstrous. It’s about a woman who climbed mountains, wrote books, guided others, and kept going after an avalanche, cancer, and decades of public pressure. If you enjoy the show and want to help us keep growing, you can: • Leave a rating and review • Subscribe wherever you listen • Support us on Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/monstroustcpod Follow our socials: • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561641454715 • TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@monstrouspodcast?_r=1&_t=ZT-94Neh2zo5DJ Email us at: monstroustcpod@gmail.com
In this episode of Monstrous, we meet Nannie Doss — The Giggling Granny — the sweet, grandmotherly figure who baked cookies, giggled through interrogations, and poisoned everyone who got in the way of her idea of “true love.” She looked like everyone’s favorite grandmother: wire‑rimmed glasses, floral dresses, and a plate of freshly baked cookies. However, behind the kitchen door, she was one of America’s most prolific suspected arsenic killers, with eleven confirmed deaths stretching across multiple states and decades. We trace Nannie’s life from a strict, repressive upbringing in rural Alabama to her lonely‑hearts hunting of husbands, the suspicious “illnesses” and house fires, and the one stomach that finally looked odd enough to call for an autopsy. Then, the tables turned: Detective Harvey Tyree sat her down, laid out the photos, and watched her giggle through her own confession. Join us this week as we walk through this granny serial killer but remember to stay safe, watch for monsters and don’t kill people. Support us at • Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/monstroustcpod Follow us at • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561641454715 • TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@monstrouspodcast?_r=1&_t=ZT-94Neh2zo5DJ Got a case idea or a story you’d like to share? Email us at: monstroustcpod@gmail.com
Strap in for our wildest ride yet—Carrie takes you behind the scenes to uncover the dark history of amusement park disasters that turned summer fun into tragedy. From the 1930 Big Dipper derailment at Krug Park that killed four and banned coasters in Omaha, to Action Park’s decade-long reign of terror earning it the nickname “Class Action Park,” we dive deep into what went wrong, who paid the price, and the lawsuits that changed the industry. Hear the full stories of Battersea Fun Fair’s 1972 catastrophe that left five dead, including three children, when an overloaded wooden coaster collapsed and Schlitterbahn‘s 2016 Verrückt horror, where 10-year-old Caleb Schwab was decapitated on the world’s tallest waterslide, sparking criminal charges and a $20 million settlement. We’ll trace amusement parks from 16th-century pleasure gardens to Disneyland’s golden age, exposing how corner-cutting turned thrills into nightmares. Social links: https://buymeacoffee.com/monstroustcpod https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561641454715 https://www.tiktok.com/@monstrouspodcast?_r=1&_t=ZT-94Neh2zo5DJ Email us at: Monstroustcpod@gmail.com
In this episode of Monstrous, we dive into the terrifying and baffling history of encephalitis lethargica, the mysterious sleeping sickness that swept the world in the early 1900s. What began as flu-like symptoms soon turned into a nightmare of extreme sleepiness, paralysis, violent spasms, and a terrifying aftermath that left many survivors trapped in their own bodies for decades. From World War I and the Spanish Flu to Constantin von Economo’s first observations, the global spread of the disease, the failed treatments, and the haunting work of Oliver Sacks, this episode explores one of the strangest medical mysteries in history. If you love strange true stories, medical horror, and historical mysteries that still don’t have clean answers, this one is for you. Social links: https://buymeacoffee.com/monstroustcpod https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561641454715 https://www.tiktok.com/@monstrouspodcast?_r=1&_t=ZT-94Neh2zo5DJ Email us at: Monstroustcpod@gmail.com