The feast. The alliance. The disease. The massacre. The ghostly echoes of lives and lands lost. Today's episode explores the darker, rarely told truths about a major US holiday - Thanksgiving.

Today we are discussing cases where the family drama went just a little too far and the holiday table became a crime scene.

TV Recommendation:

Happily Never After - Season 1, Episode 5: “Devoured by Love”

Deadly Women – Season 6, Episode 7: “Love You to Pieces”

Sources & Reference Material:

Thanksgiving Massacre Witness: Paul Merhige Ate Dinner, Sang Songs Then Executed Family - CBS News

2009 Thanksgiving murders - Wikipedia

[UPDATED with Victim's Daughter at Parole Denial:] Omaima Aree Nelson and the Prosecutor Trying to Keep the Model-Cannibal in Prison: Then and Now – OC Weekly

Omaima Nelson | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers

76-Year-Old Accused of Killing Son on Thanksgiving | Fox News

Aylais Oliver Obituary - Colorado Springs, CO

Join us as we head to one of the most mysterious and eerie sites in Delaware-Cape Henlopen State Park.

Cape Henlopen, home to Fort Miles, is a former military installation that has seen centuries of history and hauntings. One of those hauntings lingers today- the Soldier Ghost. Today we discuss the tale that whispers from the windswept shores of Delaware.

Source Notes:

• Fort Miles History
  The U.S. National Park Service has detailed records on the history of Fort Miles, including its role during World War II and its transformation into a state park.

• Fort Miles Historic Site Overview - National Park Service

• Bing Videos

• Delaware Paranormal Research Group (DPRG)
  The Delaware Paranormal Research Group has conducted several investigations at Cape Henlopen, including EVP sessions and ghost hunting tours.

• Delaware Paranormal Research Group - Official Site

• Haunting Claims
  Firsthand accounts of ghost sightings and paranormal experiences at Cape Henlopen come from local residents, park rangers, and ghost hunters. These testimonies can be found in online forums and websites dedicated to paranormal investigation.

• Haunted Delaware - Cape Henlopen

• TripAdvisor - Visitor Reviews of Cape Henlopen State Park (Haunting Experiences)

• EVP Recordings & Field Reports
  The DPRG’s investigations at Cape Henlopen have produced EVP recordings that are widely shared online. Some of these include the mysterious voice saying, "I didn’t mean to fall," among others.

• DPRG EVP Recordings - YouTube

Join us as we trace the final steps of Shane Montgomery — a college student who vanished from Philly on Thanksgiving Eve in 2014. Some believe his disappearance is part of a larger, more disturbing pattern, one that points to a hidden network of killers.

Show/movie recommendations:

Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice (TV Series 2019– ) - IMDb

Sources & Reference Material:

CONSPIRACY: The Smiley Face Killer | Crime Junkie Podcast

Fox News True Crime Newsletter: Alex Murdaugh's money man, Charles Manson's cult | Fox News

The Smiley Face Murder Theory … - Serial Killers - Apple Podcasts

Shane Montgomery’s body found in Schuylkill River – Mainline Media News

Shane Montgomery's body found in Schuylkill River, family says - CBS News

One Bizarre Theory About Shane Montgomery's Disappearance - Philadelphia Magazine

https://www.crimemagazine.com/bones-river-smiley-face-serial-killings

https://www.phillymag.com/news/2014/12/08/shane-montgomery-victim-smiley-face-killers/

The Jersey Devil is one of the most infamous creatures said to haunt the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. But what is it and why is it there? And how does it tie into politics, rumor and cross-dressing?

Join us for the last episode of our Halloween week and learn something new and unexpected!

Sources:

• • "The Jersey Devil" by James F. McCloy and Ray Miller Jr.

  
  

• A comprehensive history of the Jersey Devil legend, covering early sightings and theories.

  
  

• • "The Pine Barrens" by John McPhee

  
  

• A classic exploration of the Pine Barrens region, its natural history, and its cultural myths, including the Jersey Devil.

  
  

• • Historical records from the New Jersey State Archives

  
  

• Detailed accounts of the Leeds family and early colonial records from the 17th century.

  
  

• • Newspaper Articles from the 1909 sightings

  
  

• Various local newspapers (Camden Courier-Post, Trenton Times) detailing the events of the 1909 sightings.

  
  

• • Interviews and eyewitness accounts

  
  

• Modern documentaries featuring interviews with people who claim to have seen the Jersey Devil, particularly in the 1980s and beyond.

  
  

• • Family Folklore: The Jersey Devil, aka The Leeds Devil — Hoosier Kin

  
  

• • Politics & Policy wrote in “The Jersey Devil: A Political Animal” in NJS:

What do you think happens when two famous people collide with a cursed relic?

Join us as we delve into the depths of a religious relic's legend and its impact on the people around it.

Is it coincidence, curse or hoax?

Movie Recommendation:

⁠The Possession (2012) - Plot - IMDb⁠

Sources & Reference Material:

⁠Finally, the truth behind the 'haunted' Dybbuk Box can be revealed⁠

⁠A jinx in a box? - Los Angeles Times⁠

⁠The Dibbuk Box | Skeptical Inquirer⁠

⁠https://youtu.be/PzkesF2lun0⁠

⁠Ghost Adventure's Stars Wife in 'Love' with Man Serving Life for Massacring His Family⁠

⁠Victoria Goodwin sentenced for 'Ghost Adventures' star murder plot⁠

One of Hollywood's most iconic movie monsters has a resting place right here in the States. Join us for a trip to a land famous for its cheesesteaks, its football fans and a home to thousands of relics, intricate sarcophagi, and other relics of the past- the Penn Museum in Philadelphia.

Resources:

• Penn Museum's Egyptian and mummy collection overview: vast Egyptian & Nubian artifacts, including mummies.museum.upenn.eduWikipedia

  
  

• Historical context of Philadelphia’s mummies: from early curiosities to major collections.Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia

  
  

• PUM I autopsy details: the museum’s 1972 examination of a mummy.Penn Museum

  
  

• Curse lore: cultural origins and skepticism.Wikipedia

  
  

• Expedition Magazine | Tangled Afterlives

  
  

• Ghost stories at Penn: sightings of George Vaillant.The Daily Pennsylvanian

  
  

• Folklore/audience tale via Reddit: lends immersive flavor.Reddit

  
  

• The Mummy's Curse: Myths and Legends from Ancient Tombs –

  
  

• What is the ancient Egyptian 'mummy's curse'? | Live Science

Ride with us into the fog as we cross continents and centuries, Irish moors, Scottish valleys and Mexican borderlands...in pursuit of that legend that lacks a head. That’s right- we are discussing the rider that has infiltrated all our Halloween stories, the one that carries a legend of vengeance... the Headless Horseman!

Movie Recommendations:

Disney's Sleepy Hollow

Sleepy Hollow (1999) - IMDb

Book Recommendation:

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Sources & Reference Material:

What Inspired 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'? | HISTORY

The True History Behind "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"

Headless Horseman Ball - Visit Sleepy Hollow

The Dullahan: Ireland's Headless Horseman and Harbinger of Death - IrishHistory.com

The Dullahan of Celtic Mythology - The Irish Place

Isle Of Mull: Witches, Ghosts And Fairies | Spooky Isles

Whispers in the Mist: Folklore & Ghost Stories of the Isle of Mull

The Legend of the South Texas Headless Horseman, El Muerto | Ripley's Believe It or Not! | Aquariums, Attractions, Museums

El Muerto — Headless Horseman Folklore Of Texas