“H.H. HOLMES HELLISH HOTEL AND LINGERING HAUNTING” and More Terrifying True Horrors! #WeirdDarkness

Before inspiring the horrors of *American Horror Story: Hotel*, H.H. Holmes’ Murder Castle in Chicago was a real-life house of nightmares—filled with trap doors, gas chambers, and victims who checked in but never checked out. IN THIS EPISODE: It’s one of the most infamous and macabre subjects of Chicago history – it even served as inspiration for TV’s “American Horror Story: Hotel”. It’s what has become known as “The Murder Castle” where serial killer H.H. Holmes committed his monstrous crimes. But even today, Holmes continues to terrify… in spectral form. (H.H. Holmes’ Hellish Hotel And Lingering Haunting) *** A woman tries to save the soul of her daughter, believing her to be possessed… but her solution to drive out the demon was to murder her daughter using a holy crucifix. (Murder By Crucifix) *** What’s worse than proclaiming yourself to be a supernatural being and starting your own cult? How about telling your followers you are God so you could do drugs and have sex with teenage girls? It’s the disturbing true story of the cult called “The Group”. (Theodore Rinaldo – The Drug Cult Rapist) *** Shrunken heads – believe it or not, they are real. And some tribal peoples create them even today – from real human heads. But why do it at all? We’ll look at the reality behind shrunken heads, the reason they are created… and even how they are created. (The History and How of Shrunken Heads) *** A terrifying series of paranormal activities invade a family’s home in Wales. (The Swansea Entity) *** Tenome is a Japanese Urban Legend about a blind man who was robbed and murdered. His dying wish? To have eyes on his hands so he could see. (The Seeing Hands of Tenome) *** Unsolved mysteries are intriguing simply because they are unsolved. That’s why we are so fascinated by stories of people disappearing without a trace. But one man’s disappearance is so bizarre, so weird, that upon hearing the story you’ll be scratching your head wondering what the heck you just heard. (The Strangest Disappearance at Sea in History) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Disclaimer and Lead-In 00:01:45.248 = Show Open 00:04:26.886 = H.H. Holmes’ Hellish Hotel and Lingering Haunting 00:22:30.856 = The Seeing Hands of Tenome 00:25:59.616 = The Strangest Disappearance at Sea In History 00:36:19.277 = Murder By Crucifix 00:42:24.007 = The Swansea Entity 00:51:37.702 = The History and How of Shrunken Heads 00:58:14.234 = Theodore Rinaldo: The Drug Cult Rapist 01:04:46.175 = Show Close, Verse, Final Thought SOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE… Episode Page at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/HHHolmesHotel “The Swansea Entity” by Brent Swancer for Mysterious Universe: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/3pt262t4 “Murder By Crucifix” by Inigo Gonzalez for Ranker’s Graveyard Shift: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/4h6mjabw “The Strangest Disappearance at Sea in History” from Strange Company: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/nsrhjdew “Theodore Rinaldo – The Drug Cult Rapist” by Matthew Lavelle for Ranker’s Unspeakable Times: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yx2hmzus “The Seeing Hands of Tenome” from The Scare Chamber: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/y4dnxee6 “The History and How of Shrunken Heads” by Bipin Dimri for Historic Mysteries: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/4wdznwwc “H.H. Holmes’ Hellish Hotel and Lingering Haunting” from Chicago Hauntings: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/pvthp98 ===== 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: November, 2021