Weirdos! We are stoked to bring you this special Bonus MORBID BOOK CLUB episode, #sponsored by our friends at @ashleyofficial ! This month we are joined by the incredible Richard Chizmar to chat about his upcoming release, Killing the Boogeyman available everywhere on 10/6/2026! Richard takes us behind the scenes of the writing process of this series that blends memoir and horror, talks about ticking of not one- BUT TWO dream collaborations off of his bucket list, and what it’s like to spend YEARS willingly inviting the Boogeyman into your brain! #ashleypartner

When sixteen-year-old Anneliese Michel began having seizures and hallucinations in 1968, her parents took her to a doctor, who diagnosed Anneliese with temporal lobe epilepsy and depression and recommended psychiatric treatment. Two years later, however, her delusions and hallucinations returned, manifesting in the form of “devil faces” and voices that telling her she was evil and would be going to hell. Believing the treatment wasn’t working and fearing Anneliese was possessed by demons, Anneliese’s family arranged for her to be visited by a local Jesuit priest, who confirmed their fear: Anneliese was possessed and the only way to save her soul was an exorcism. After nearly fifty years, the exorcism of Anneliese Michel still stands as one of the most shocking and harrowing stories of supposed demonic possession and exorcism in history—not only because it resulted in a woman’s death, but because it also resulted in the prosecution of her exorcists. Yet with all the information that has been released about the case, no one seems to know what really happened to Anneliese Michel.

When sixteen-year-old Anneliese Michel began having seizures and hallucinations in 1968, her parents took her to a doctor, who diagnosed Anneliese with temporal lobe epilepsy and depression and recommended psychiatric treatment. Two years later, however, her delusions and hallucinations returned, manifesting in the form of “devil faces” and voices that telling her she was evil and would be going to hell. Believing the treatment wasn’t working and fearing Anneliese was possessed by demons, Anneliese’s family arranged for her to be visited by a local Jesuit priest, who confirmed their fear: Anneliese was possessed and the only way to save her soul was an exorcism.

In the early morning hours of April 27, 1913, a night watchman at the National Pencil Company in Atlanta, GA, found the body of thirteen-year-old former factory worker Mary Phagan in a basement room of the factory. Mary had been sexually assaulted and strangled, a strip of fabric from her coat still around her neck when she was discovered, and there were two cryptic notes found near the body. Given where Mary was discovered, it was assumed the killer was familiar with the layout of the factory and was either a current or former employee. Just one day later, suspicion fell on two factory employees, a night watchman, Newt Lee, and the factory’s superintendent, twenty-nine-year-old Leo Frank. In time, investigators ruled Lee out, leaving Leo frank as the sole suspect in the girl’s murder. To many, the arrest, prosecution, and failed appeals of Leo Frank had more to do with him being Jewish than they did his being the most likely suspect, but the real outrage was yet to come. Indeed, two years after Phagan’s death and Leo Frank’s conviction, the people of Atlanta would commit an act of extrajudicial violence that would forever stain the conscience of Georgia.

Anyone with any knowledge of his disappearance is encouraged to reach out to the family through their 24/7 tip line at 844-602-0660, or to the Buckeye Police Department at 623-349-6411. When twenty-four-year-old geologist Daniel Robinson left work on the morning of June 23, 2021, no one knew where he was going or why he was leaving work so early; they only noticed that he was driving west, further into the desert. The unexpected departure was out of character for Robinson, so when he failed to return that afternoon and no one had heard from him outside of work, his disappearance was reported to the police.   Days soon turned to weeks and there was still no sign of Daniel. Then, in late July, a month after he went missing, Daniel’s Jeep was found rolled over and crashed in a ravine some distance from the job site. The airbags in the car had both deployed and there was significant damage to the vehicle, but there was no sign of Daniel Robinson, turning a relatively routine missing person case into a bizarre mystery that remains unsolved to this day.

By the time Michael Peterson went to trial, the case had attracted national attention, particularly after details about his personal life came to light, particularly his numerous affairs with men. The case gained even more attention when it was learned that, in 1985, Michael Peterson’s friend Elizabeth Ratliff died under very similar circumstances to those of his wife.  With significant evidence against him and no compelling argument for his innocence, Michael Peterson was found guilty of his wife’s murder in 2003. But, as it turned out, that was hardly the end of the story.

When Kathleen Peterson died in December 2001, it was assumed her death had been the result of an accidental fall down the stairs after combining alcohol and Valium. However, within a few weeks, suspicion fell on Kathleen’s husband, Michael, after the medical examiner concluded that Kathleen’s injuries were consistent with assault, not an accidental fall. By the time Michael Peterson went to trial, the case had attracted national attention, particularly after details about his personal life came to light. The case gained even more attention when it was learned that, in 1985, Michael Peterson’s friend Elizabeth Ratliff died under very similar circumstances to those of his wife.

When Tina Bowen and her sister, Karen, began hearing knocking in the walls of their home in Pepperell, Massachusetts, the girls believed it was their recently deceased mother trying to reach out to them from beyond the grave. In time, however, the knocking became more intrusive and aggressive, and it was soon accompanied by objects being moved around the house and frightening messages left on the walls. After months of torment, the Bowens discovered that it wasn’t a ghost haunting their home, but sixteen-year-old Daniel LaPlante, a boy Tina had briefly dated and who’d become obsessed with her. Daniel LaPlante was arrested and charged with various crimes, for which he was convicted and served a sentence in a juvenile detention center. Unfortunately, the court’s decision to try LaPlante as an adult meant that he was granted bail and after just one year in detention, he was bailed out and allowed to live with his mother pending trial. It turned out that brief period of freedom was all the time LaPlante needed to find a new object of his obsession and by the time the police learned of his violent intentions, it was already too late.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Stamford, Connecticut was terrorized by a killer who was strangling women and leaving their bodies by the side of the parkway. After four years and five confirmed victims, police arrested a local self-proclaimed preacher named Benjamin Miller, bringing the murders to an end and closing the case on what the press had dubbed the Bra Murders—or so they thought. From the moment Miller was arrested, there were some in the community who questioned whether the police had arrested the right man or if they’d simply chosen Miller as a scapegoat. Among other things, Miller had a long history of mental illness and, although he had initially confessed to the murders, he eventually recanted his confession and claimed that detectives had manipulated him into confessing. To this day, many Connecticut residents still wonder whether Benjamin Miller was really responsible for the Bra Murders, or if the real killer was allowed to walk free.

Weirdos! For August's BONUS EPISODE we are focusing on an entity that has MANY faces and wears MANY hats: The bogeyman! For as long as people have been telling stories, these supernatural beings have been lurking in the woods, or in the dark alleys, or under the bed. They might look different depending on the culture they come from, or be called by another name, but their function in society is consistent: to invoke fear!