“CHASING LEVIATHAN: What Monsters of the Deep Lurk in America Right Now?” #WeirdDarkness

For centuries, eerie tales of sea serpents and monstrous lake creatures have slithered through American folklore, leaving us to wonder if these legendary beasts still lurk beneath the surface. IN THIS EPISODE: When you think of monsters in America, you probably think of Bigfoot in the American Northwest – or perhaps the Chupacabra in the South. Maybe you think of Dogman in the upper Midwest. But people don’t typically think of the American lakes and shores, where we have our own collection of monsters and sea serpents. (American Sea Monsters) *** As the saying goes – don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time. But once in a while the punishment goes far beyond what the crime calls for. (Cruel and Unusual Punishments) *** Marilyn Monroe was found dead of a drug overdose on August 5, 1962. And while the facts of her death are shocking, her troubling childhood wasn’t pretty either. We’ll look at the life and death of this Hollywood bombshell. (The Troubled Life And Shocking Death of Marilyn Monroe) *** We’ll take a look at, not the very first serial killer - but the first serial killer FAMILY in America! The bloody Benders! (America’s First Serial Killer Family) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Disclaimer and Show Open 00:02:02.139 = American Sea Monsters 00:16:16.352 = The Troubled Life and Shocking Death of Marilyn Monroe 00:38:35.808 = Cruel and Unusual Punishments 00:48:48.663 = America’s First Serial Killer Family 00:56:41.470 = Show Close, Verse, and Final Thought 00:57:49.193 = Bloopers SOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE… “American Sea Monsters” by Charles M. Skinner, posted at LegendsOfAmerica.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/ycy9tdes “Cruel and Unusual Punishments” by Jonathan Hastad for ListVerse.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/y994jmsf “The Troubled Life And Shocking Death of Marilyn Monroe” by Margarita Hirapetian: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/55bv7naw , and Kelly Kreiss: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/432bykfc for Ranker.com “America’s First Serial Killer Family” by Miss Celania for MentalFloss.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yz7mbn7v ===== Darkness Syndicate members get the ad-free version. https://weirddarkness.com/syndicate Info on the next LIVE SCREAM event. https://weirddarkness.com/LiveScream Info on the next WEIRDO WATCH PARTY event. https://weirddarkness.com/TV ===== ( Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases. ) = = = = = "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46 = = = = = WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness. ===== Originally aired: January, 2021 EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/ChasingLeviathan