Ominous Origins

Ominous Interviews | S.A. Bradley

This week is yet another special episode featuring maybe the most passionate horror fan in the world in S.A. Bradley. Bradley has a storied history in the world of horror, and his podcast, Hellbent For Horror, has made a fan our of Guillermo Del Toro. It's been nominated for several awards as well, and it's just a treat to listen to. Beyond the podcast, Bradley wrote and published a book back in 2018 called Screaming For Pleasure, which you can find online, or as he prefers it, ordering through a small local book store (and I agree!). In his book, which has become university curriculum, he details many aspects of what makes horror unique, not just in filmmaking, but as a cultural and societal influence as well.
I say it during the intro to the podcast, and near the end of the interview, but I can't say it enough: this man has such an unrivaled passion for horror, and the depth in which he takes his fascination is remarkable. The parallels he draws between cultural events, timelines, and allegory with real life is outstanding. He has the ability to take horror and turn it into real world history, and the results are truly special. Anybody with an interest in horror, movies, history, culture, or even anthropology needs to not just listen to this interview, but his library of work as well.
You can find S.A. Bradley online below:
Website: https://hellbentforhorror.com/
Hellbent for Horror (Podcast): https://open.spotify.com/show/68xLebLSjI4Paw8vCK6063?si=f218d81fba1f471b
Screaming For Pleasure (Book, and where to find it at an independent store): https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780692193358
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hellbenthorror
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellbentforhorror/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellbentforhorror
 

Ominous Interviews | Hauntingly Krista

Krista, more affectionately known as HauntinglyKrista on social media is an Ontario based paranormal investigator who not only searches for the unknown in the province, but also travels around the continent to check out the spookiest of places. Her TikTok has blown up over the last few months, garnering over 82k followers since just December of 2021. Her rise on the platform is nothing short of amazing. Krista is a kind, passionate, and charming person, and her success is very deserved. 
Her stories and adventures over her lifetime are incredible and fascinating to listen to, and she was kind enough to share just some of those memories with me today. I highly suggest checking out all of her content, from TikTok to Instagram, and her Youtube as well. You certainly don't want to miss an upload!
So please, welcome HauntinglyKrista, and enjoy the interview!
Follow Krista at all the places below:
TikTok: @HauntinglyKrista
Instagram: @Hauntinglykrista
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd5AK-QnWswbOqR3tN9_-9A
 

A Nice Glass of Jinn

No, we're not talking about the alcohol, so you can relax ya filthy animals! Geeze, the first mention of booze and you turn into a frat boy on Saturday night. No, we're talking about something much cooler and way older than the drink, gin. We're talking about the Jinn, a near pre-historic entity that features heavily in the Islamic, and pre-Islamic cultures and religion. What was once thought to be a heavenly body has been described as so much more, or less, depending on how you look at it. The Quran may even describe a certain Jinn the devil. 
Jinn's have always fascinated me. I wrote a book years ago called Necromancy... And Other Mystical Things that heavily featured a Jinn character. Of course there were a lot of creative liberties taken with the lore, and is a complete work of fiction and humor, sooo yeah. Regardless, I can't believe it took me this long to cover the topic. The Jinn is one of the oldest stories I can think of, in terms of modern religion anyway, which I guess doesn't make it all that old. Nevertheless, as you'll see upon listening, there are some very distinct parallels between the Jinn, the lore, and the religion and more western religions and stories. Funny how that works, eh?
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Nobody Puts Bella In a Wych Elm

Okay, somebody did, and that's the whole mystery here. Somebody stuffed the body of a woman in a wych elm tree in a field in England in the early 1940's. Yes, way back in the days of World War II, a single murder took hold of a county in England, despite what was going on around them. The story goes that 4 boys were out looking for birds nests in the woods on some private land when they stumbled across a skull lodged in the hollowed out trunk of a tree. Spooked, the boys made a blood pact (maybe some creative liberates taken on my part there) to never speak of what they'd found. 
Well, the youngest boy clearly didn't know the meaning of a blood pact and tattled to his parents. Naturally an investigation ensued and they boy who broke the blood pact was sacrificed to the old gods.... Of course I'm kidding, you think we'd be talking about an unsolved murder if a boy was openly sacrificed in the same breath? Anyway, the investigation lasted years, yet yielded nothing but theories, which are fun and all, but don't often lead to many arrests. The only odd thing that really stuck in this case is that some graffiti appeared a while after the body was found asking Who put Bella down the wych elm?
Theories ranged from witchcraft to espionage, and everything in between. But you'll just have to listen to find out more!
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Carrie Ann Jopek Went To A Party...

And she was never seen alive again. Yes, you read that right, little 13 year old Carrie Ann Jopek was just 13 in 1982 when she got sent home from school for wandering the halls without a pass. It was suspected that she did this to attend a party at her best friends house. I still don't know why a 13 year old was throwing a house party at 1 in the afternoon on a school day, but here was are. Nevertheless, at this party she met a boy, this boy would be the last person she would ever get to meet as he thought it was a good idea to toss her down a flight of stairs, breaking her neck and ultimately killing her. This boy somehow buried her body under the deck during the house party - which might I remind you, took place during the day. 
It wasn't until 17 months later that she was discovered. Now, I don't want to give too much away, but it's a pretty brutal case, especially when you take into account what the boy did after she fell down the stairs. I've left out some details with are only available in the episode. So you'll just have to listen. Beyond that, there are so many questions that were never really answered, even after a confession 33 years after the murder took place. Yes, it took 33 years for this case to be resolved. 
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Nixie, A Water Horse By Any Other Name

Alright, so we've been covering a lot of depressing topics lately. Serial killers, true crime, and all that real life stuff can get to ya after a while, so today I thought we'd get back to our roots and take a look at some folklore, something nice and light hearted; so let's talk about the women and child luring shapeshifting water horse who used his magical voice to kill. Yup, super light and fun.
So, the Nixie, which is also known by about a dozen other names (Nixy, Nix, Näcken, Nicor, Nokk, or Nokken, to name a few) is just as I mentioned above. He's an alluring figure in Scandinavian and German folklore, and much like the siren or mermaid, they would lure people to the water's edge via their voice or song in order to drown their victim. At least, that's how some stories go. Other's say that they would cut deals with people down on their luck in order to get children in exchange for fish, or other resources. 
There's also stories involving trickery and wit, as well as ways to defeat this mischievous creature. As with many of these older tales, they come with morals and meanings, and much of it has been bastardized by the church and Christianity as a whole, which of course is a shame. Nevertheless, the stories of the Nixie are quite fascinating.
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Smiley Face :)

Ah yes, the smiley face. It's an icon as old as time. It brings people together with its warmth and charm. Of course, like any form of language, the symbol has evolved to mean any number of things, from sarcasm to indifference. But one thing the smiley was never meant to mean was murder! Yes, today we're talking about the smiley face murders, or the theory surrounding it. The story goes that a couple detectives had a hunch that men who were being found dead in bodies of water where victims of either one, or multiple serial killers that left a smiley face tag/graffiti at the site in which they dumped the bodies. Some agreed that this was a sound theory, others called it ludicrous.
Whatever you believe about that theory, there is one man who was legit in his use of the famous emoji and murder, and was Keith Jesperson. At a young age Keith showed some trademark signs of being a bad, bad boy, but like many in the 70's, the signs were ignored, or missed. He had an abusive father, and was bullied at school because he was a giant (at 35 years old he was 6'7.5"). All this lead to him becoming a fairly prolific serial killer, who was charged with 8 counts of murder when it was all said and done. But what makes him the smiley face killer? Well, when a woman claimed her and her boyfriend killed one of his victims, he left a note on a public washroom wall signed with a smiley face. He later sent letters to the media signed with a smiley face.
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Brian Shaffer Walked Into A Bar...

And he never came out... Or he did? Either way, he was never seen again. Yeah, the story of Brian Shaffer is an interesting one. The story goes (cheat notes version), is that he was a med student who went bar hopping with a couple friends the night before he was meant to leave for a spring break vacation with his girlfriend. However, once the end of the night rolled around, he was nowhere to be seen.
Neither friend he was with recalled seeing him past a certain point, and the CCTV, which was rather extensive given the high crime rate of the area, only spotted him entering the bar. It never showed him leaving. Brian was never seen or heard from again. Of course, there are a bunch of theories, like he ran off because he couldn't handle the recent death of his mother. It's been suggested that he was kidnapped, though no ransom was ever given. It's possible he left wearing a disguise. There are countless theories, but that's all they are: theories.
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of the case is that his best friend, Clint, refused to take a polygraph test. It makes one think, but it's also hard to believe he did anything nefarious as there's no evidence of Brian leaving the bar, or Clint being seen with him at the end of the night. 
Anyway, to hear the full story, and more in depth theories, you'll just have to listen to the whole thing.
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