Welcome to the Dark Academy Summer Drive-In.

Tonight’s feature is The Lost Boys. A movie filled with neon lights, motorcycles, leather jackets, and vampires

But Santa Carla isn’t entirely fictional.

The real Santa Cruz, California, has a darker history of its own. Once called the “Murder Capital of the World,” the city was home to notorious killers including Edmund Kemper, Herbert Mullin, and John Linley Frazier.

Then we’ll step back into the movie and visit the real places where The Lost Boys was filmed, from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk to the abandoned location used for Grandpa’s house. We’ll look at what locations survived the devastating 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

Our Final Fright takes us all over the Santa Cruz area to explore the myths and legends that round out the dark atmosphere of this California town: the Mystery Spot, haunted Brookdale Lodge, the mysterious Respini Mansion, the Lady in White, and the creepy lore surrounding the tunnels beneath the boardwalk.

A deadly hit-and-run. A fisherman with a hook. A killer who refuses to let the past stay buried.

Tonight at Dark Academy, we’re celebrating the Fourth of July with a ‘90s horror classic: I Know What You Did Last Summer. We revisit the coastal slasher that helped define a generation, discuss what still works, what makes us yell at the screen, and why the Hookman remains one of horror’s most recognizable killers.

Then we examine the heartbreaking true story of Tony Parsons, a charity cyclist whose fatal hit-and-run led to a cold blooded cover-up.

Next, we head to Virginia to untangle the still-mysterious Colonial Parkway Murders. Recent DNA evidence identified fisherman Alan Wade Wilmer as the killer in several cases, but lingering questions and unsolved murders continue to fuel speculation that another predator may still be part of the story.

Finally, we gather around the campfire for our Final Fright and trace the evolution of The Hookman urban legend. From 1940s Lovers’ Lane warnings to campfire tales, Hollywood slashers, and the age of AI, why has this story survived for nearly 80 years?

So grab a flashlight, stay with your friends, and whatever you do…

Don’t stop on a lonely road.

In this episode of Dark Academy, we gather in the Midnight Library to discuss all things Exorcist. The whole show is the Exorcist.

Join me as we journey from the ancient ruins of Iraq and the legend of the Mesopotamian demon Pazuzu to the streets of Georgetown, where a young girl’s possession would forever change the horror genre.

But the story doesn't end there.

The movie was based on real events. A real demon possession? You may ask. Yes! Or so they say. We’ll explore the claims, the exorcisms, the skeptical explanations, and the events that blurred the line between faith, fear, folklore, and reality.

Then step into the resulting American fear of the occult, demon possession, ouija boards and the rise of the Satanic Panic

Finally, we'll close with the strange and unsettling stories surrounding the production of The Exorcist itself. From mysterious fires and on-set injuries to deaths connected to the cast and crew, many came to believe the film was cursed long before audiences ever sat down to watch it.

Was Roland Doe truly possessed?

Did The Exorcist unleash a new era of fear?

And was the production really cursed?

Grab your candle and join me in the Midnight Library circle as we explore one of the darkest stories in horror history.

Topics include: The Exorcist, Roland Doe, Ronald Hunkeler, exorcisms, Pazuzu, demonology, Catholic exorcism rituals, Satanic Panic, paranormal folklore, horror history, and alleged curses.