What happened to Emily Pike—and why does this case still not make sense?

Darkness doesn’t always arrive with warning. Sometimes it slips in quietly—into ordinary lives, familiar places, moments that should have been safe. And by the time it’s noticed… it’s already too late.

In this episode of Chasing the Dark, we explore the haunting Emily Pike case—a chilling true crime story marked by unanswered questions, a disturbing timeline, and an investigation that left more uncertainty than closure.

We follow the events leading up to her disappearance, examine the key details of the murder investigation, and break down the theories that continue to surround this case. Each layer reveals something deeper. Something darker.

If you’re drawn to true crime podcasts, unsolved mysteries, and dark, atmospheric storytelling, this is a case that will stay with you long after the episode ends.

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SHOW NOTES

• Who Emily Pike was

• Timeline of her disappearance

• Key investigation details and evidence

• Theories and unanswered questions

Listener Discretion Advised:

This episode contains discussions of violence and sensitive content.

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SOURCES

• News coverage and case reports

• Public records and available documentation

• Archived research and compiled case materials

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Emily Pike case | true crime podcast | unsolved mystery | murder investigation | dark true crime stories

The Mothman is one of the most famous cryptids in paranormal history. In 1966, a terrifying winged humanoid with glowing red eyes was spotted stalking the skies above Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Witnesses described a towering creature with massive wings, piercing red eyes, and an unnatural presence that seemed to follow them through the darkness.

But the sightings didn’t stop there.

Over the next year, dozens of witnesses reported encounters with the mysterious creature now known as the Mothman. Many believed the entity was not just a cryptid… but a warning — a harbinger of something terrible about to happen.

Then on December 15, 1967, tragedy struck.

The Silver Bridge connecting Point Pleasant, West Virginia and Gallipolis, Ohio suddenly collapsed during rush hour, killing 46 people. In the aftermath, rumors spread that the Mothman sightings had been an omen predicting the disaster.

Coincidence… or something far darker?

In this episode of Chasing the Dark, we dive deep into the chilling eyewitness accounts, the strange paranormal patterns surrounding the sightings, and the theories that still haunt investigators decades later.

Was the Mothman a cryptid creature lurking in the Appalachian wilderness?

A supernatural harbinger of disaster?

An extraterrestrial observer?

Or an interdimensional entity crossing briefly into our world?

Turn down the lights and listen closely… because sometimes the things we see in the dark are watching us too.

SHOW NOTES

In this episode we explore:

• The first Mothman sightings in Point Pleasant, West Virginia (1966)

• Eyewitness encounters with a winged humanoid with glowing red eyes

• The mysterious connection between Mothman sightings and the Silver Bridge collapse

• Reports of UFO activity and unexplained phenomena surrounding the sightings

• The strange Men in Black encounters reported by witnesses

• Paranormal patterns surrounding Point Pleasant during the Mothman sightings

• Theories about what Mothman could really be: cryptid, supernatural omen, extraterrestrial visitor, or interdimensional being

• Why the legend of the Mothman continues to haunt paranormal investigators today

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Your support helps the show grow and keeps the darkness calling.

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He confessed to murder, necrophilia, and cannibalism and then walked free. Discover the horrifying true story of Issei Sagawa and the Paris crime that shocked the world.

In 1981, Paris became the backdrop for one of the most infamous true crime cases in history.

Issei Sagawa, a Japanese graduate student at the Sorbonne, murdered and cannibalized his classmate, Renée Hartevelt, a 25-year-old Dutch student. Over several days, he consumed portions of her body before attempting to dispose of her remains in the Bois de Boulogne.

But the horror didn’t end there. Despite confessing in detail to murder, necrophilia, and cannibalism, Sagawa was declared legally insane in France and later released in Japan, never serving a day in prison.

In this episode of Chasing the Dark, we explore:

• The obsessive mind of Issei Sagawa

• How he stalked and murdered his victim

• The gruesome act of cannibalism that shocked the world

• And the international legal failures that let a confessed killer walk free

This is a story of obsession, darkness, and injustice, and a reminder that sometimes, the monster doesn’t hide.

Listener discretion is strongly advised.

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Show Notes & Sources

Sources for this episode include:

• French police investigation and court records (1981–1983)

• Psychiatric evaluations in France and Japan

• Contemporary reporting: Le Monde, The New York Times, The Japan Times

• Interviews with Issei Sagawa (1985–2013)

• Memoir: In the Fog (霧の中) by Issei Sagawa

• Sorbonne University enrollment and academic records

• Legal analysis of international jurisdiction and extradition limitations

• Biographical records of Renée Hartevelt from archives and news reporting

• Criminal psychology and forensic studies on paraphilic and cannibalistic offenders

What happens when darkness doesn’t just haunt a house… it claims a family?

On Christmas Eve 2008, a quiet suburban home in Covina, California, filled with laughter, tamales, and generations of the Ortega family, became the scene of one of the most shocking mass murders in American history.

March 10, 1963.

An onion field on the edge of Bakersfield becomes the final stop for a young LAPD officer whose only crime was believing in mercy.

In this episode of Chasing the Dark, we walk into the quiet rows where dawn arrived too late. We trace the hours after a routine traffic stop spiraled into terror, betrayal, and irreversible loss. Two men run. One officer falls. And the earth bears witness.

This is not a story told through headlines or courtroom transcripts alone. It’s a descent into fear, moral fracture, and the unbearable weight of survival. A meditation on duty, cowardice, and what it means to live when your partner does not.

The onion field remembers.

And so do we.

🎧 Listener discretion advised.

Eight nurses. One killer. A night carved into the darkest corners of true-crime history.