In this episode, we travel back to the summer of 1942 in Pascagoula, Mississippi — a warm coastal town where people slept with their windows open to catch the night breeze. But that summer, something else moved in the dark.

A figure slipped into homes while families slept.

Not to steal valuables.

Not to leave a message.

But to quietly cut a single lock of hair from the heads of sleeping residents.

Newspapers called him The Phantom Barber.

What began as a disturbing curiosity soon escalated into fear, panic, and eventually violence — leaving behind a trail of rumors, false arrests, and unanswered questions that still haunt Pascagoula’s history.

In this episode, we explore:

• The eerily calm early intrusions that first brought attention to the case
• How wartime anxiety and rumor fueled public paranoia
• The escalation from hair-cutting intrusions to physical assault
• The controversial trial that may have convicted the wrong man
• Why the case remains unsolved to this day
• And what this story reveals about fear, community, and the shadows we create when answers are out of reach

This is one of the strangest unsolved cases in American true crime — part folklore, part noir mystery, part haunting.

• Local Pascagoula newspaper archives (1942–1943)
• “The Phantom Barber” coverage in The Jackson Clarion-Ledger
• City of Pascagoula historical crime registry
• WPA and wartime civilian fear research notes

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Season 9 is coming one week from today with all new true stories, interviews, and more!

In this episode, John dives into one of the most astonishing mass UFO sighting and close-encounter cases in modern history — The Ariel School Encounter.

On September 16, 1994, in a small rural schoolyard outside Ruwa, Zimbabwe, more than 60 children claimed to witness a mysterious craft land nearby and strange, humanoid beings emerge. What followed were eerily consistent eyewitness reports that still baffle investigators and psychologists alike.

Through firsthand testimonies, archival footage, and expert analysis, this episode explores what really happened that morning — and why the story of the Ariel School has endured for nearly three decades.

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Long before The Exorcist terrified moviegoers, a quiet middle-class family in 1940s Maryland claimed something unholy had taken hold of their son. In this episode, we revisit the chilling, real-life case that inspired William Peter Blatty’s novel — the 1949 exorcism of a boy known only by the pseudonym Roland Doe.

We’ll retrace the case from its first strange knocks and flying objects in the family’s home, to the desperate search for help that led Jesuit priests to St. Louis, Missouri — where one of the most documented exorcisms in modern history unfolded.

Drawing on eyewitness diaries, press coverage, and later Church records, we’ll separate fact from folklore and ask: what really happened in that room? Was Roland’s possession spiritual, psychological, or something science still can’t explain?

• Thomas B. Allen, Possessed: The True Story of an Exorcism (1993)
• William Peter Blatty, The Exorcist (1971)
• The 1949 Exorcism Diary (transcripts archived by St. Louis University)
• “Diary of an Exorcist” – article, Washington Post Magazine (1998)
• American Psychological Association Journal: studies on dissociative disorders and possession-like states.

In this episode, we dive into the strange mystery of the Hexham Heads — two small carved stone heads unearthed in 1971 (or ’72) in a suburban garden in the town of Hexham in Northumberland, England. The discovery was followed by reports of poltergeist-type phenomena: objects moving, bottles flying, a bizarre half-man/half-animal creature appearing, and a scholar who claimed to be haunted after taking the heads for study.

• Screeton, Paul. Quest for the Hexham Heads. CFZ Press. (2010) — deep dive into the case.
• The Urban Prehistorian blog: “The Hexham Heads — discovery & contested testing” series.
• “1976: Lost Hexham Heads Werewolf Report Rediscovered” — BBC Archive clip covering the story on the TV programme Nationwide.
• Articles on the Hexham Heads in the context of hauntings and folk horror: e.g., “The Horrifying Hexham Heads” by A.C. Luke.

Thanks for tuning in to this exploration of the Hexham Heads. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate & review From the Void, share it with anyone who loves eerie mysteries, and follow us on all the socials!

Until then — keep your curiosity open, your mind skeptical, and your headphones ready.

In the 3rd installment of our Possession Series, we turn to one of the most controversial figures to bridge psychology and the paranormal: Dr. M. Scott Peck, psychiatrist, best-selling author of The Road Less Traveled, and—later in life—a reluctant believer in demonic possession.

This episode explores how Peck’s clinical background shaped his approach to exorcism, the patients who challenged his skepticism, and the ways he sought to reconcile science, faith, and evil. We’ll look at his case studies, his insistence that genuine possession is rare, and his cautionary stance toward both blind belief and total disbelief. Then we’ll ask what his work means for modern discussions of mental health, spirituality, and the human shadow.

• Peck, M. Scott. People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil (1983)
• Peck, M. Scott. Glimpses of the Devil: A Psychiatrist’s Personal Accounts of Possession, Exorcism, and Redemption (2005)
• Interviews with Dr. Peck on PBS and in Psychology Today discussing the intersection of psychiatry and spirituality.
• American Psychiatric Association position papers on religion and mental health.
• Scholarly critiques of Glimpses of the Devil in The Journal of Religion and Health.

In this episode, we explore one of the most infamous poltergeist cases in North America: the so-called Great Amherst Mystery, which occurred in Amherst, Nova Scotia in 1878-79. Centering on 18-year-old Esther Cox, her sister’s household and the investigator Walter Hubbell, we walk through the bewildering phenomena of objects flying, knocks on the wall, unexplained fires, swelling seizures, and the question: was this supernatural, psychological or a hoax?

We trace the narrative from its traumatic catalyst through the escalation of events, the public spectacle, the investigation, and the eventual fading of activity. We also dig into the skeptical evaluations, the cultural context of spiritualism in the 19th century, and what this case tells us about the human mind, belief and the boundary between the seen and unseen.

• Hubbell, Walter. The Great Amherst Mystery: A True Narrative of the Supernatural. 1888.

• “Esther Cox and the Great Amherst Mystery” — Episode from Stuff You Missed in History Class.

• “A Critical Study of ‘The Great Amherst Mystery’” — by Dr. Walter Prince, Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 1919.

• Wikipedia entry on the Great Amherst Mystery.

Thank you for joining us for this deep dive into the Amherst case. If you enjoyed the episode, please rate & review From the Void on your favorite podcast platform, share it with someone who loves spooky history, and follow us on social media.

Until then — keep your eyes open, your mind curious, and your headphones plugged in.

In 1976, a 23-year-old German woman named Anneliese Michel died after undergoing 67 Catholic exorcisms over 10 months.

Her death would spark one of Europe’s most controversial legal battles — pitting faith against medicine, and belief against responsibility.

Was Anneliese a victim of possession? Or of a system that failed to recognize mental illness as something sacred, not demonic?

In this haunting episode, John Williamson takes you beyond the horror-film legend to uncover the human story — one of devotion, suffering, and the thin line between faith and fear.

• Court Records, Klingenberg am Main (1978) – West German trial transcripts of Fr. Ernst Alt, Fr. Arnold Renz, and the Michel family.

• Der Spiegel Archives (1976–1978) – German reporting on the death, trial, and public reaction.

• Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung – Coverage of the legal and theological controversy following the verdict.

• Bishop Josef Stangl’s Official Approval (1975) – Diocese of Würzburg documentation authorizing the exorcisms under the Rituale Romanum.

• The Guardian, “Faith and Madness: The Story of Anneliese Michel” (2003).

• BBC Radio 4 – Beyond Belief (2013) – Episode exploring demonic possession and the Michel case.

• Anna Katharina Michel, Anneliese: A Family’s Story (1999) – Family perspective and diary excerpts.

• Felix Kersten, Der Teufel und Anneliese Michel (2006) – German investigative account combining psychological and theological interpretation.

• Dr. Felicitas Goodman, anthropologist, How About Demons? Possession and Exorcism in the Modern World (1988).

• DSM-II / DSM-III Diagnostic Shifts – Understanding how epilepsy and psychosis were classified in the 1970s.

• Catholic Canon Law on Exorcism (1962–1999) – Comparison of pre- and post-Vatican II guidelines.

• The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) – Hollywood’s adaptation of the case, and how the real story differs.

• Faith vs. Medicine – When spiritual belief collides with scientific understanding.

• Obedience and Guilt – How devotion to authority shaped Anneliese’s final days.

• Suffering and Meaning – Why humanity continues to see the sacred in pain.

• Media Mythology – How Anneliese’s death became one of modern history’s most enduring exorcism legends.

Written & Hosted by: John Williamson

Produced by: John Williamson Productions LLC

Research & Script Development: Harper (Research Assistant)

Music: Original score inspired by Jóhann Jóhannsson and Ben Frost.

Special Thanks: To theologians, psychiatrists, and survivors who continue to examine the boundaries of faith and the mind.