Episode 81: The Salem Witch Trials

"Do you guys ever think about dying?" Why, yes, just all day every day. Turns out, only 11 percent of the population is as obsessed with mortality as we are, but we know you're on the same page, Coven. No one can truly say what happens after you die, but a select few have an idea. Near Death Experiences have captivated the minds of supernatural and scientific alike for years. Some say it's the brain's way of coping before its demise, others think it's a look into the afterlife. (We're obviously here for the magic.) This week, we're going to hear from six different people who came close to death and lived to tell the tale. We'll talk to an EMT who gets a gut feeling when someone isn't going to make it. We'll hear from a young woman who was nearly paralyzed in a rodeo accident. And we'll talk to our dear friend Katie who nearly died in a head-on collision, but someone in the car told her to turn the wheel. Was it an angel? Spirit guide? Intuition? Who can really say? Tune in to decide for yourself. Happy Haunting! 

Happy March, Coven! With a new month comes plenty of new strangeness. In Europe, we have a submerged  stone wall that's at least 10,000 years old, and a tree-tossing mom risking it all for glory. In the northeast, we have halee's dream scenario- bigfoot prints in the Hudson Valley! And some excitement as our favorite hairy cryptid is coming to the big screen soon. We'll talk about haunted homes, a pregnant stingray (thanks immaculate conception?) and the scariest thing of all- mommy bloggers. All that and more when you tune in for this week's weirdness! 
Happy Haunting! 

Dearest coven, today marks an important milestone for EBC… our 100th episode! To celebrate, we’re taking it back to the beginning of Elise and Halee’s friendship and covering the mystery/true crime(?) story that started it all! On August 1st, 2018, Samantha Sayers left her Seattle apartment to climb Vesper Peak in the Cascade mountain range. Sam was a relatively experienced hiker who loved Seattle for its easy access to the great outdoors. She signed her name in a log book at the trail head, was seen summiting the mountain by several witnesses, and then virtually disappeared. A heroic search and rescue effort began, ‘Sam’s Army’ rallied on Facebook, but no sign of Sam. It wasn’t long before the conspiracy theories started to pop up, as folks wondered how in this day and age someone could seemingly vanish into thin air. This week we’ll share our hot takes on Sam’s disappearance, her partner’s strange behavior, and the marvel that is Mother Nature. Come help us celebrate episode 100 and untangle this strange and tragic tale!
Happy Haunting!

It's a dog eat dog world out there, folks. And the proof is in the pudding because this week we're talking about rabid coyotes and mutant wolves. The former are biting hikers, while the latter just may be saving the world from cancer. You can thank Chernobyl for that. (Actually, thank science.) Sadly, not everyone is so advanced. Texas hands out a measly 180-day jail sentence for a husband-induced abortion. Parents are dealt the swift hand of justice on behalf of their children's deadly choices, and a 12-year-old boy is failed by counselors at a North Carolina therapy camp. Heavy. On the lighter side, fire demons appear in Chile, ghosts of grandmas past appear in nurseries and Rachel Dolezal is grifting on Only Fans. Saved the scariest for last. There's all that and more in this week's news update. Happy Haunting! 

On July 17, 1980, electrical workers outside of Anchorage uncovered the badly decomposed body of a woman buried in a shallow grave. She became known as Eklutna Annie and was the first in a series of murders to sweep across Southcentral Alaska. Sex workers started disappearing at an alarming rate. Was there a serial killer on the loose or were these vulnerable young women simply choosing to move on? As the bodies started to pile up and shell casings from a .223 rifle appeared at every crime scene, it was clear a deranged man with a lust for blood was on the loose. That man was Robert Hansen, the town baker. With a long history of arson, theft and abduction under his belt, Hansen was no stranger to darkness. His deep-seated resentment toward women resulted in a slew of gruesome murders that continue to haunt the Matanuska Valley to this day. We'll discuss Hansen's past, uncover how he was so easily able to murder so many women and memorialize the victims who tragically lost their lives to a monster. This one hits a little too close to home for Elise. It's a long walk home through the dark Alaskan night. Happy haunting! 

Happy February, coven! We made it through what can only be described as the longest month of all time! And it turns out that even in February, weirdness abounds. This week we travel from possible historic wreckage on the ocean floor, to justice in the sky as the perv flight attendant finally gets criminally charged. Speaking of justice, we're happy to report on both an influencer and murderer who were held accountable this week too! We'll hear about the devil spontaneously shattering a violin, mysterious deaths in Kansas City, and some pretty compelling survey data that suggests you all want to believe (in UFOS) just as much as we do! Tune in for your weekly roundup of all things weird and wonderful. 
Happy Haunting! 

In late August 2013, Bryce Laspisa had been exhibiting weeks of uncharacteristic and erratic behavior. Bryce was a college student in a suburb of Sacramento who was described as happy and well loved, when he suddenly began giving away belongings and sending cryptic text messages. He told his mom he desperately needed to speak with his parents about something important, got in his car, and started driving south towards his parents' home. Tragically, Bryce would never make it home, but instead would leave behind a strange trail of mysteries that still baffles investigators over a decade later. This week, we cover what we know of Bryce's road trip south and his strange disappearance. You'll hear our hot takes on web sleuths as we discuss some outlandish reddit theories, and try our best to crack this perplexing case! 
Happy Haunting! 

It's happening, Coven. Aliens are finally making their presence known - or at least that's how it seems in this latest news update! We've got UFO sightings, alien shadows and panels blowing off airplanes. Just kidding - that one was totally a human error, and we're all the more terrified because of it. This week, we're talking about proof of the afterlife, violent offenders using Spiderman tactics to attack judges and bear sightings in India and Halee's backyard. Best of all, we'll take a walk down memory lane to revisit our very own Desperate Housewives moment with the mailman. Happy Haunting! 

In 2015, Gypsy Rose Blanchard had reached her breaking point. She’d spent the last 24 years under the thumb of her mother Dee Dee, taking countless medications she was told would heal her. And her ailments were many : muscular dystrophy,  leukemia, mental incompetency and more all plagued Gypsy from a young age. Or did they? A victim of Munchausen by Proxy, Gypsy was forced to ride in a wheelchair when she could walk just fine, had her salivary glands removed for no reason at all and had a feeding tube surgically inserted for a supposed “fear of eating,” all at the hands of her mother. Attempts to run away failed her, until only the most extreme scenario provided escape - kill Dee Dee. This week, we’ll expose the abuse that brought Gypsy face to face with a life or death decision, the aftermath of her choices and the life she’s trying to lead now. Sometimes, mother doesn’t always know best. Happy Haunting! 

Happy New Year, coven! Though the year may be new, the world continues to be very much the same and the news is as weird as ever. This week's episode takes us all over the world, from a British psychic using asparagus to predict the future, to a possible goblin sighting in Argentina. Not to be outdone by a goblin, bigfoot  makes an appearance in Virginia... or does he? We talk about a woman who has erotic feelings for an oak tree- but don't worry guys, it's not sexual! We find out that strange men on the internet have very sinister intentions. And we enjoy the sweet sweet justice of a judge holding an abusive fast food customer accountable. All that and more on our first news wrap up of the new year. 
Happy Haunting!