Blackbeard has inspired generations of storytelling in his own right. From the 1718 novel On Stranger Tides to the 2015 Hollywood movie Pan - a stylized prequel to a better-known novel, J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. In the movie, the character of Blackbeard takes center stage, serving as the main antagonist. One story, however, that seems to linger above all others in regards to Blackbeard's legendary life, is the existence of his so-called 'lost treasure'. But is there any truth to this claim, or is...
Nov 14, 2023•27 min•Ep. 16
For the people of Fukushima Prefecture, in Japan, time stopped at 2:46pm on March 11th , 2011. This is the moment that the coastal region was rocked by the Tōhoku earthquake, the largest in Japan’s history. The quake lasted all of 6 minutes, and caused extensive damage to infrastructure, raising buildings and roads in the blink of an eye. Many human lives were lost in those few minutes. But the horror had only just begun. The quake created a tsunami, pummeling the Fukushima nuclear power plant. ...
Nov 07, 2023•27 min•Ep. 15
Demon summoner. Sadist. Child murderer. History is peppered with dark and disturbed characters. People who left unchecked, exercised untold horrors onto the unsuspecting, the marginalized, and the vulnerable. Often, these folks operated from positions of privilege and power, as we saw last week with our tale about the Blood Countess, Elizabeth Bathory. One man in particular – a precursor to Elizabeth, if you will – takes the cake in terms of bloodshed, madness, and overall mayhem. This man, a pe...
Oct 31, 2023•50 min•Ep. 14
Imagine, a countess living alone in a dark castle, bathing herself in the blood of young virgins in order to retain a youthful glow. This is the aura that enveloped Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary, a woman who has been labeled as one of history’s most prolific serial killers – with vampiric tendencies on top of it all! But, when it comes to the so-called “Blood Countess”, what is fact and what is fiction? Today, we dive into the world of one of history’s most enigmatic women. In doing so, we’ll hea...
Oct 24, 2023•29 min•Ep. 13
The idea that demons can possess a person isn’t new. Many ancient cultures held the belief that evil spirits could enter the human body and make us do things that are either beyond our capabilities, or just downright evil. And, just as many cultures believed that an entity could occupy a person, they also believed that this spirit could be forced out. Today, we tell the story of the ‘real-life’ exorcism that inspired the famous movie, as well as another, maybe lesser-known instance of documented...
Oct 17, 2023•22 min•Ep. 12
An entire community under a spell, an invisible threat. This forces one the masses to turn on each other, to cast aspersions, to point fingers. Neighbour’s become enemies; enemies take each other down. You can trust no one, as even members of your own family begin whispering under their breaths: “witch”. This is what happened to the folks of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. For less than a year, the community seemed to suffer a bout of collective insanity as it persecuted over 200 of its own. Many ...
Oct 14, 2023•39 min•Ep. 11
What if I told you that the asylum responsible for churning out the villains in Batman comics was real? Or, at least, that there exists a “real-life” analog to it? Today, I’m taking you all on a tour of another one of America’s most haunted asylums, a place known as the “birthplace of the lobotomy”. Come with me as I tell you the origin story of the inspiration for the Arkham Asylum: the Danvers State Hospital. Macabrium is produced by Macabrium Creative and hosted by Megan Alda and Derek Stephe...
Oct 10, 2023•20 min•Ep. 10
Vampires are arguably one of the more well-known mythical creatures worldwide that seem to exist in some form in many cultures. But where did this legendary creature come from? And how has it changed over the years to form what we know now as a modern-day vampire? Well tonight, we will find out, because this bonus episode is on the origins of the vampire! Macabrium is produced by Macabrium Creative and hosted by Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown, with writing and research by Chloë Kibbe, Megan ...
Oct 07, 2023•16 min•Ep. 9
Imagine, you’re paddling along a canal near Mexico City, and you are taken to a small island nestled in a lagoon. Verdant lawns, whimsical bridges made of twisted branches, Spanish moss falling in loose curls from crooked trees, from which hang the mangled bodies of endlessly eerie dolls. You heard right! This place, called “The Island of the Dolls”, or “La Isla de las Muñecas” in Spanish, is a small island located in the Xochimilco canal system, south of Mexico City. It is a popular dark touris...
Oct 03, 2023•19 min•Ep. 8
Today's story is one that many of you may not be familiar with. It's the shocking story of America's real-life 'ghost girls', who - along with the public - were poisoned for profit at the hands of big corporations. But how did something marketed as being able to increase vitality ultimately lead scores of young women to their deaths? And, was justice ever served for these women? Let's find out together, as today, I'm telling you the story of...the Radium Girls." Macabrium is produced by Macabriu...
Sep 26, 2023•26 min•Ep. 7
Unexplainable oddities on set, a plethora of injuries and malfunctions and the deaths of four members of the cast, today we explore the curse surrounding a movie franchise that marked a generation of horror-enthusiasts, the cult-classic, Poltergeist. Macabrium is produced by Macabrium Creative and hosted by Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown, with writing and research by Chloë Kibbe, Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown. • Follow us on Instagram • Subscribe on Youtube • Support us on Patreon...
Sep 19, 2023•23 min•Ep. 6
This week we are exploring an old haunted Inn that sits on top of a 5,000-year-old pagan burial ground and is infamous for devil worship and even human sacrifice! Where is this Inn you ask, and is it really haunted? Listen to this week's episode, to find out! Macabrium is produced by Macabrium Creative and hosted by Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown, with writing and research by Chloë Kibbe, Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown. • Follow us on Instagram • Subscribe on Youtube • Support us on ...
Sep 12, 2023•24 min•Ep. 5
The fall season of Haunted History is upon us! This week we are heading to Bran Castle in Romania, one of the top destinations for ghost-hunting tourists. But what makes Bran Castle so haunted? And what’s the connection between Count Dracula and Vlad the Impaler? You'll have to listen to this week's episode to find out! Macabrium is produced by Macabrium Creative and hosted by Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown, with writing and research by Chloë Kibbe, Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown. • Foll...
Sep 05, 2023•24 min•Ep. 4
This week we are visiting the Hoia Baciu Forest in Transylvania, Romania. A lot of the time this haunted forest gets overlooked when tourists visit Romania, as most people flock to all of the Dracula tourism, however, very strange and unexplainable events have happened to people visiting the forest that even scientists haven’t been able to explain, so come with me, and we’ll take a look into how Hoia Baciu earned the title of the world’s most haunted forest. Macabrium is produced by Macabrium Cr...
Jul 25, 2023•14 min•Ep. 3
Like many asylums before the twentieth century, Beechworth has a dark history. So little was known about mental health then, that most of the treatments administered to patients would be considered torture by today's standards. Shackles, chains, electrocution, lobotomies, being submerged in cold water being purged and bled were just a few of the many things patients endured, and according to records, most of those admitted to Beechworth never made it out alive, in fact, it’s reported over 9000 p...
Jul 18, 2023•23 min•Ep. 2
This week I am taking you to the Iroquois Theatre where a horrific fire broke out during a packed show just after Christmas. Six hundred souls, mostly women, and children, were tragically killed in the deadliest single-building fire in US history. The theatre has been rebuilt and rebranded a few times over the years, but one thing has always remained, and that's the ghosts and spirits that are said to still haunt the area today. Macabrium is produced by Macabrium Creative and hosted by Megan Ald...
Jul 11, 2023•19 min•Ep. 1
