When Jeannette DePalma’s body was discovered in 1972 on a makeshift altar, surrounded by wooden crosses and cult-related symbols, the town of Springfield, New Jersey began to suspect that the young teenager had been murdered by a coven of witches. Jeannette’s cause of death has never been determined, and the case has never been solved. Was Jeannette sacrificed as part of a witch rite? Was she murdered by a serial killer? Did she die of a drug overdose? Join us as we explore the enigmatic case of the murder of Jeannette DePalma.

Articles Used:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/4594122/the-unsolved-mystery-of-the-16-year-old-girl-who-locals-believe-was-murdered-by-a-coven-of-teenage-witches-in-1972/https://weirdnj.com/stories/mystery-history/jeannette-depalma/https://thecurrentatahs.com/5563/unsolved/death-by-witchcraft-the-murder-of-jeannette-depalma/http://deathonthedevilsteeth.blogspot.com/p/publication.htmlhttps://www.nj.com/union/2019/08/teens-unsolved-death-in-the-1970s-was-blamed-on-satanists-a-man-who-never-knew-her-is-the-cases-biggest-advocate.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Listhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/conditions-and-treatments/conditions/l/lead-poisoning/symptoms-and-causeshttps://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/crime/jersey-mayhem/cold-cases/2019/08/23/nj-cold-case-jeannette-depalma-springfield-1972-watchung-reservation/1889140001/

Music:

Night Music by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/…) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-…  Artist: http://incompetech.com/ /Classic Horror 1 – Dark World by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/…) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-…  Artist: http://incompetech.com/ /

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Promo by Pretty Nice Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pretty-nice/id1512223029

This episode was written and recorded by Jaden McKell. It was edited by Austin Blackwell. Our theme song, “Straight-Up Enigmas,” was written by Chuck Flyer.

Straight Up Strange website: http://www.straightupstrange.com

In 1928, newlyweds Glen and Bessie Hyde went on a white water rafting trip down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. One month later, their boat was found fully intact, with all of their gear and supplies (including Bessie’s diary) perfectly preserved. But the couple had disappeared. It’s been nearly a century since then, and their bodies have never been recovered. There has never been any proof of what happened to them. Was there an accident on the river? Did they both drown?Was Glen murdered by a famous photographer or by Bessie herself? Join us as we explore the tragic, mysterious disappearance of Glen and Bessie Hyde. 

Research/Narration:

https://historycollection.com/the-disappearance-of-bessie-and-glen-hyde-remains-one-of-the-most-puzzling-unsolved-mysteries/2/https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Glen_and_Bessie_Hydehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Glen_and_Bessie_Hyde#cite_note-9 

“Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com“ 

Our theme song, “Straight-Up Enigmas,” was created by Chuck Flyer. This episode was created by Jaden McKell.

Check out the Straight Up Strange Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/straightupstrange/.

Thank you to our sponsor, Best Fiends, for helping to make this episode possible! Download Best Fiends FREE on the Apple App Store or Google Play. You can visit their website at http://www.bestfiends.com.

Promo by Realm of Unknown:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/realm-of-unknown/id1447775290

Why does Alexa randomly speak without being prompted? Could she possibly be haunted? Is this the Skynet takeover we’ve all been waiting for? Join us as we discuss a few of the very weird, creepy things Amazon’s Alexa has said and done.

Sources:

https://www.the-ambient.com/features/the-creepiest-freakiest-things-alexa-has-ever-said-and-done-2154https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-alexa-insight/kill-your-foster-parents-amazons-alexa-talks-murder-sex-in-ai-experiment-idUSKCN1OK1AJhttps://www.zdnet.com/article/has-alexa-snapped-why-alexa-sometimes-laughs-or-does-other-creepy-things/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/21/technology/amazon-alexa-world.htmlhttps://www.zdnet.com/article/has-alexa-snapped-why-alexa-sometimes-laughs-or-does-other-creepy-things/https://www.cnet.com/how-to/the-weirdest-things-your-amazon-echo-can-say-and-do/

In the 1950s, wrestler Jack Adkisson created his sinister alter ego, Fritz Von Erich, and began what would become a very successful career in the sport. Tragedy, however, struck in 1959, when Jack’s six-year-old son died in a bizarre electrical accident: knocked unconscious by a short circuit in his family’s trailer park, he fell into a puddle and drowned. This terrible event would only be the beginning of the so-called Von Erich Family curse. In the years that followed, illness, injuries, depression, drug addiction, and suicide would plague all of Jack’s remaining sons until only one child survived. Can it really be just a horrible happenstance that Fritz Von Erich outlived 5 of his 6 children? If there was a curse, what could he possibly have done to bring it upon himself and his family? Can fame and fortune instead be blamed for the athletes’ deaths?

Sources:

https://medium.com/wrestling-deep-end/wrestling-abuse-and-death-the-twisted-tale-of-the-von-erich-family-ba689fd51021

https://www.oxygen.com/martinis-murder/von-erich-family-curse-wrestling-family-story-dark-side-of-the-ring

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heel_(professional_wrestling)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayfabe#:~:text=In%20professional%20wrestling%2C%20kayfabe%20%2F%CB%88,predetermined%20nature%20of%20any%20kind

 

Music:

Quarantine Isle was created by Edmond Aggabao: https://soundcloud.com/drumj8/quarantine-isle.

Our theme song, “Straight-Up Enigmas,” was written and created for the podcast by Chuck Flyer.

Long Note One by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100418

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Lightless Dawn by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100655

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

The case of Jack the Ripper is possibly the most famous unsolved crime ever, but another string of lesser-known, similarly gruesome murders happened halfway across the world just a few years before.

In Austin, Texas, an individual who became known as the “Servant Girl Annihilator” was responsible for the deaths of eight people between late 1884 and Christmas Eve 1885. Attacking victims in their beds and then dragging them outside to mutilate their bodies, the killer eluded police, private investigators, and civilian mobs who took to the streets of newly settled Austin in anger and panic. He—as most eyewitnesses claimed it was a man—has been called America’s first serial killer, and his crimes remain unsolved to this day.

Who was the Servant Girl Annihilator? Some investigators believe that before he prowled the foggy streets of London, Jack the Ripper struck first in the Texas Hill Country. Could the Annihilator and Jack the Ripper be one and the same?

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/94680/how-servant-girl-annihilator-terrorized-1880s-austin

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jack-the-Ripper

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/civil-war-facts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Texas_(1865%E2%80%9399) 

https://texashillcountry.com/austins-axe-man-jack-the-ripper/

 

Echoes of Time v2 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300030

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

In the late 1960s, a B-movie producer and an eccentric European director teamed up to create an instant horror movie classic. Rosemary’s Baby set the stage for all the devil-themed films that followed it, from The Exorcist to The Omen to The Exorcism of Emily Rose. It’s terrifying and eerie — but the spooky and elegant filmmaking is pretty masterful. But, filming the horror classic came hand in hand with catastrophe. Rosemary’s Baby is considered one of the most cursed films of all time. Actor Sidney Blackmer (who played coven leader Roman Castevet) once said on set “No good will come of all this ‘Hail Satan’ business.” Was the movie actually haunted? Did thinking, writing, speaking, and filming scenes all about the devil invite a dark energy onto the set and into the lives of the people involved? From illness, tension among the crew and divorce to “accidental” death and grisly murder, it sure seems like it.

Sources:

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/504972/13-devilish-facts-about-rosemary%E2%80%99s-baby

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/06/the-most-cursed-hit-movie-ever-made-rosemarys-baby

https://www.ranker.com/list/rosemarys-baby-curse-facts/jacob-shelton