For months, Frank Bowen’s daughters were convinced something was wrong inside their Pepperell, Massachusetts home. They heard footsteps where no one should have been, objects moved on their own, and an uneasiness settled over the house that no amount of logic could shake. Frank dismissed it as imagination — until one winter night in December 1986, the unimaginable happened.

An intruder emerged from the dark and took the Bowen family hostage inside their own home. When police arrived, the truth stunned everyone — the intruder wasn’t a stranger from far away, but a sixteen-year-old local boy named Daniel LaPlante, a resident of Elm Street in nearby Townsend, Massachusetts.

The Bowens survived that night, but the community couldn’t shake the story — the boy who had lived inside someone’s home, watching and tormenting them from the dark. After his arrest, LaPlante was released on bail, and for a brief moment, it seemed like the nightmare had ended. But what no one realized then was that the horrors had only just begun.

Over the following year, Daniel’s behavior would spiral into something far more sinister. His childhood trauma, isolation, and fixation on control would manifest in unthinkable ways. And by the next winter, another family — the Gustafsons — would pay the ultimate price.

TW: This episode includes disturbing content related to child abuse, psychological trauma, home invasion, hostage situations, and the murders of a mother and her two children. It also references stalking, sexual assault, and violent criminal behavior involving minors. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

As October approaches, so does Domestic Violence Awareness Month — a time to remember the lives lost, the families forever changed, and the warning signs too often ignored. Few cases embody that tragedy more than the Powell family.

In December 2009, Susan Powell vanished from her Utah home. Her husband, Josh, claimed she simply disappeared during a midnight camping trip with their two young boys. But as investigators dug deeper, disturbing secrets within the Powell family surfaced: Josh’s controlling behavior, his father Steven’s obsessions, and a home filled with tension and fear.

The nightmare didn’t end with Susan’s disappearance. Three years later, Josh carried out an unthinkable act of violence against their sons, Charlie and Braden, in a horrific ending that shocked the nation.

This episode examines Susan’s disappearance, the devastating loss of her children, and the unanswered questions that still linger. Through it all, her parents — the Cox family — continue to fight for justice, and to ensure Susan, Charlie, and Braden are never forgotten.

TW: This episode includes disturbing content related to domestic violence, child abuse, child pornography, family annihilation, and the murders of Susan Powell and her two sons. It also includes references to stalking, coercive control, and disturbing criminal behavior.Listener discretion is strongly advised.

In August 1995, six-year-old Rosie Tapia was taken from her Salt Lake City home in the middle of the night. By morning, she was found murdered in a nearby canal. This past August marked the 30th anniversary of Rosie’s death — a case that remains one of Utah’s most haunting mysteries, a story of innocence stolen and justice delayed.

Over the years, the investigation has twisted through rumors, overlooked leads, and heartbreaking dead ends. Rosie’s family — especially her mother, Lewine — has never stopped fighting for answers. And now, three decades later, there is renewed hope.

On August 25, 2025 — just two weeks before this episode’s release — Salt Lake City police announced a fresh appeal to the public. Detectives are actively seeking two men who may hold critical information about Rosie’s abduction and death, and advances in forensic genealogy have given the case new direction.

In this episode, I walk through Rosie’s story from the night she vanished to the most recent developments in 2025, examining the investigation’s failures, the resilience of her family, and the community’s ongoing search for the truth.

If you have any information about the kidnapping and murder of Rosie Tapia, please call 801-799-3000 or submit an anonymous tip through the CityProtect App, referencing case number 95-119190.

TW: This episode includes discussion of crimes against children and sexual violence, and potentially distressing circumstances. Listener discretion is advised.

Have you ever heard someone you love call your name… only to realize they couldn’t have? Or seen a familiar figure standing in the room… when you knew they weren’t home? That’s the terror of mimics — entities that steal voices, faces, and movements to pass as the people we trust most.

In this episode, I uncover chilling reports and folklore of the uncanny. Voices luring people into the woods. Loved ones seen in two places at once. Figures that breathe and speak like us — until they vanish. These aren’t just stories; they’re encounters that strike at something universal: the fear that what feels familiar is suddenly wrong.

We’ll explore the different forms of mimicry — from doppelgängers said to foreshadow death, to Appalachian fleshgaits that stalk the living with stolen voices. And we’ll confront the uncanny valley itself — that unsettling space where something looks human… but isn’t, and where the thing wearing your loved one’s face might not have human intentions at all.

Because if it wasn’t really them — then who, or what, was it?

In August 1995, six-year-old Rosie Tapia was taken from her Salt Lake City home in the middle of the night. By morning, she was found murdered in a nearby canal. This past August marked the 30th anniversary of Rosie’s death — a case that remains one of Utah’s most haunting mysteries, a story of innocence stolen and justice delayed.

Over the years, the investigation has twisted through rumors, overlooked leads, and heartbreaking dead ends. Rosie’s family — especially her mother, Lewine — has never stopped fighting for answers. And now, three decades later, there is renewed hope.

On August 25, 2025 — just two weeks before this episode’s release — Salt Lake City police announced a fresh appeal to the public. Detectives are actively seeking two men who may hold critical information about Rosie’s abduction and death, and advances in forensic genealogy have given the case new direction.

In this episode, I walk through Rosie’s story from the night she vanished to the most recent developments in 2025, examining the investigation’s failures, the resilience of her family, and the community’s ongoing search for the truth.

If you have any information about the kidnapping and murder of Rosie Tapia, please call 801-799-3000 or submit an anonymous tip through the CityProtect App, referencing case number 95-119190.

TW: This episode includes discussion of crimes against children and sexual violence, and potentially distressing circumstances. Listener discretion is advised.

San Pedro, California. 1988.

Jackie Hernandez had just left an abusive relationship and was starting over—pregnant Jackie and her young son, moved into a bungalow at 593 W. 11th Street. But almost immediately, something in the house felt… off. The air was thick, the nights heavy. And then things started happening.

It began small—noises in the walls, the feeling of being watched. But it escalated fast. Lights would flicker, objects would move on their own, and Jackie swore she saw figures—shadowy, fast, and wrong—slipping through rooms when no one else was home.

She tried to rationalize it. Stress. Sleep deprivation. Anything. But then came the voices. Male, guttural, disembodied. Sometimes whispering from the walls. Sometimes calling her name.

By the time a team of investigators arrived, the house had already turned hostile. One of them, Barry Conrad, brought a cameraman and a friend named Jeff Wheatcraft. During one session in the attic, Jeff was violently attacked—dragged, then nearly hung by a length of wire. Something unseen had looped it around his neck and pulled. And it wasn’t the last time.

What followed was a series of events that defied every known explanation—blood oozing from the walls, strange orbs caught on camera, and a presence that seemed to follow Jackie even after she moved.

To this day, no one can say for certain what haunted that house—or why it chose her. But the San Pedro case remains one of the most aggressive and unnerving hauntings ever documented. And for those who witnessed it firsthand… it never really ended.

San Pedro, California. 1988.

Jackie Hernandez had just left an abusive relationship and was starting over—pregnant Jackie and her young son, moved into a bungalow at 593 W. 11th Street. But almost immediately, something in the house felt… off. The air was thick, the nights heavy. And then things started happening.

It began small—noises in the walls, the feeling of being watched. But it escalated fast. Lights would flicker, objects would move on their own, and Jackie swore she saw figures—shadowy, fast, and wrong—slipping through rooms when no one else was home.

She tried to rationalize it. Stress. Sleep deprivation. Anything. But then came the voices. Male, guttural, disembodied. Sometimes whispering from the walls. Sometimes calling her name.

By the time a team of investigators arrived, the house had already turned hostile. One of them, Barry Conrad, brought a cameraman and a friend named Jeff Wheatcraft. During one session in the attic, Jeff was violently attacked—dragged, then nearly hung by a length of wire. Something unseen had looped it around his neck and pulled. And it wasn’t the last time.

What followed was a series of events that defied every known explanation—blood oozing from the walls, strange orbs caught on camera, and a presence that seemed to follow Jackie even after she moved.

To this day, no one can say for certain what haunted that house—or why it chose her. But the San Pedro case remains one of the most aggressive and unnerving hauntings ever documented. And for those who witnessed it firsthand… it never really ended.

Washington, D.C., 2006.

Robert Wone arrived at a friend’s townhouse just before 10:30 p.m.—a safe place to crash after a late shift. He was well-liked, grounded, freshly married. Nothing about the night should’ve stood out. But within an hour, he was dead—stabbed three times in the chest with almost surgical precision.

There were no signs of forced entry. No defensive wounds. Barely any blood. The three men inside the house—his hosts—claimed an intruder had slipped in undetected and vanished without a trace. But the scene told a different story.

The investigation uncovered evidence of restraint, possible chemical sedation, and a troubling lack of urgency from those inside the home. Yet no one was ever charged with his murder.

To this day, Robert Wone’s case remains one of the most chilling unsolved crimes in modern D.C. history. A man murdered in a locked house… surrounded by people who insisted they had no idea what really happened.

In the summer of 1977, three young girls went to Camp Scott in rural Oklahoma. It was supposed to be two weeks of hikes, crafts, and campfires. By morning, it became one of the most shocking unsolved child murders in American history.

This episode of Darkly Speaking retraces the haunting details — from the eerie warning note found weeks before the crime, to the flawed investigation, the controversial arrest of Gene Leroy Hart, and the DNA evidence that could still change everything.

Nearly fifty years later, we’re still waiting for the truth. And asking the question: Did they get it right?

They show up without warning. No footsteps. No fanfare. Just a knock at the door... or a quiet tap on the driver’s side window. And when you look—there they are. Children. But something’s wrong. Their eyes are pitch black. No whites. No irises. Just void.

For years, people across the world have reported encounters with these so-called Black-Eyed Children. And it’s never just unsettling—it’s invasive. The air shifts. Fear spikes for no clear reason. And afterward? Things don’t go back to normal. Illness. Bad luck. A sense that something followed you home.

No one knows exactly what they are. But theories swirl—ancient, off-world, demonic. Whatever the truth is, one thing stays consistent: once you’ve seen them… you wish you hadn’t.

In the premiere episode of Darkly Speaking, we’re diving into the mysterious death of Elisa Lam — a case that captivated the internet and continues to raise questions more than a decade later.

In 2013, 21-year-old Elisa checked into the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles — a building with a long, disturbing history of violence, tragedy, and unexplained events. But shortly after arriving, she vanished.

What followed was a chilling sequence of events: unsettling elevator footage that showed Elisa acting strangely, a rooftop water tank, and a discovery that sparked worldwide speculation.

Her death was ruled accidental. But between the contradictions in the timeline, the bizarre behavior caught on tape, and the hotel’s dark reputation — many believe there’s more to the story.

Was it a mental health crisis? A tragic coincidence? Or did something far stranger unfold within the walls of the Cecil Hotel?

We’re breaking down the timeline, the theories, and the disturbing details that still don’t sit right.

TW: This episode includes discussion of mental illness, death, and potentially distressing circumstances. Listener discretion is advised.

Hosted by 🎙️: Alex Kern