Donate to our October 2024 OVERCOMING THE DARKNESS campaign at https://weirddarkness.com/overcoming. Weird Darkness is narrated by professional full-time voice actor Darren Marlar. No A.I. voices are ever used in the show. *** Darkness Syndicate members received the commercial-free early release of this episode with all artwork created for the YouTube and podcast thumbnails: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yck5neh4 IN THIS EPISODE: It has been scientifically proven that we can truly be scared to death – but some of the situations of people dying of fright might surprise you. We’ll look at a few newspaper headlines and stories from the past where people were deemed to be scared to death. (Incidents of Death By Fright) *** The tragic death of 11-year-old Darius Flinders could quite possibly be one of the strangest deaths ever recorded. It wouldn’t seem so at first, but it gets that way as the possible explanations come forth. (The Strange Death of Darius N. Flinders) *** Last month a group of disgruntled TikTok witches reportedly got together and combined their online powers to cast a negative spell on the moon. Not a sentence I thought I’d ever read aloud, but that’s just the kind of year we’re having, isn’t it? (Disgruntled Witches Curse the Moon) *** Weirdo family member Chris Harrell feels something hop onto the end of his bed… and it wasn’t his dog. (Zombie Paralysis) *** Philadelphian Dorothy Cooper Forstein appeared to be happily married, comfortably well-to-do, a loving mother, and well-liked. She was, in short, one of the last people anyone would imagine as a victim of one of the creepiest disappearances in American history. (The Disappearance of Dorothy Forstein) *** Allan Pinkerton started the nation's first P.I. firm, saved Abraham Lincoln's life, and led Union spies behind Confederate lines during the Civil War. We’ll look at the formation of the Pinkerton Agency. (America’s First Private Eyes) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Disclaimer, Cold Open, and Show Intro 00:04:07.710 = Incidents of Death By Fright 00:32:08.806 = Strange Death of Darius N. Flinders 00:40:56.527 = Disgruntled Witches Curse The Moon 00:43:33.709 = Zombie Paralysis 00:48:35.629 = Disappearance of Dorothy Forstein 00:53:32.396 = America’s First Private Eyes 00:59:37.943 = Show Close & Bloopers SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE… “Incidents of Death by Fright” by Chris Woodyard for The Victorian Book of the Dead: https://tinyurl.com/yyojesk6 “The Strange Death of Darius N. Flinders” by Jennifer Jones for The Dead History: https://tinyurl.com/y2ulwdfv “The Disappearance of Dorothy Forstein” posted at Strange Company: https://tinyurl.com/y295teyk “Disgruntled Witches Curse The Moon” by Rob Schwarz for Stranger Dimensions: https://tinyurl.com/y4etwyck “Zombie Paralysis” by Weirdo family member Chris Harrell: https://tinyurl.com/yydgjgye “America’s First Private Eyes” by Grace Srinivasiah for The Line Up: https://tinyurl.com/yxo4akj3 Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library. = = = = = (Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit...