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This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Whether you're selling a little or a lot, Shopify helps you do your thing, however you cha-ching. From the launch your online shop stage, all the way to the we just hit a million orders stage. No matter what stage you're in, Shopify's there to help you grow. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash special offer, all lowercase. That's shopify.com slash special offer.
He's the most terrifying serial killer you've never heard of. Haddon Clark has confessed to several murders, but investigators say he could have over 100 victims. At the center of the mayhem, a cellmate of Haddon's that was able to get key evidence into Haddon's murder spree across America.
because hadn't thought he was Jesus Christ. Born Evil: The Serial Killer and the Savior, an I.D. true crime event, premieres Monday, September 2nd at 9:00. Watch on I.D. or stream on Max. Set your DVR. Its cold stone walls have countless footsteps, and its dark halls whisper secrets of the past. Around every corner is history and the forgotten.
Like a mausoleum, its walls are a fortress for the dead. Many have walked these halls and gone their way into the otherness of the spirit world, but many have remained. Whether they chose to stay close to their home that was once theirs, or tied to this world by events of their tortured past, some will never leave the grounds of this eerie castle. Why do they remain? We can only guess.
But if you look too hard for the answers or overstay your welcome, these tortured souls may be inclined to satisfy your curiosity. Welcome to Destination Terror, your passport to the scariest places in the world. From haunted hotels to locations of unexplained creature sightings, we will travel to places that will provide excitement, adventure, and horror.
So if you are into travel and all things scary, listen close and you might discover your next exciting adventure destination, but hopefully not your final destination. Destination Terror is an EerieCast original podcast hosted by me, Carmen Carrion.
If you would like to send us a suggestion or submit a story with your own experience, you can email them to carmencarian at gmail.com or follow me on Twitter at Carmen Carian. If you enjoy the show, please follow us and rate Destination Terror on Spotify and Apple Podcasts to help us grow.
Also, check out eeriecast.com for more scary podcasts, such as Tales from the Break Room, featuring allegedly true and terrifying stories that happened on the job. It was early in the morning and the sun was just rising. Tobias Abel was just waking from a restless night's sleep. The wind had been cold, blowing across the Alps, cutting through him like daggers.
He had been dreaming of sitting next to a fire eating hot food with his father. The once normal evenings had become only a painful reminder of what life used to be like before. These days the dreams serve better as nightmares. He would have to wake up and face the literal cold reality of his situation. Tobias' parents fell ill with the plague like many before them and succumbed to it when he was only 13.
Having no other family he knew of, there was nothing to do but fend for himself. Some of the other homeless had helped him in the beginning, but it didn't last long as none of them had the time or energy to coddle him. So this had become his life, begging for food and scraps depending on the mercy of others, as if there were much of that in the world he knew. Finding a place to sleep at night was another great struggle.
Sometimes he would get lucky and find a barn or other such building where no one would notice him, providing he remained silent and didn't go out much after he made his bed. But lately, Tobias had to move further away from people. There had been a new terror come across the land where he lived. Someone had told the authorities that some of the homeless were practicing black magic.
and that many of them were cursing others and bringing on the famine and disease that had become a great problem in recent times. Several of the homeless that Tobias was acquainted with had been accused and arrested for their crimes. Even though he had not seen or heard anything about witchcraft being used among the other less fortunate, he decided it was best to stay away from everyone so that he would not end up of being accused as well.
Hearing the horrors of what was happening to these people was worse than he could imagine. So he chose a small hill slightly behind an old stable. The patchy trees were supposed to keep him shielded from sight and might have helped block the wind, at least a little, or so he hoped. But winter was getting closer and all the trees in the forest couldn't block the cold that was coming.
The night before was just a prelude of what was to come, and he may have to find another form of shelter if he hoped to survive. Of all the things a homeless young man could find regrettable about this situation, he truly hated being cold. It gripped him and never relented. Hunger came in waves, and it was the same for the pain in his legs. But being cold was a constant reminder of misery and suffering.
He forced himself out from under the blankets. As much as it hurt, he was going to have to sneak into town and find food of some sort before others had taken everything anyone would be offering. He gathered his things and started to slowly walk toward the center of town. Just as the feeling of dread started to come over him, Tobias remembered an older lady more on the outskirts who had taken pity on him more than once.
Having known his parents, she would quietly slip him a few morsels of food now and again in the past. Maybe today she would do the same and keep him from having to risk being seen and possibly accused. As he made his way up to her house, the wind was blowing through the trees, and it seemed a little more quiet than usual. If circumstances were different, it may have even seemed peaceful, if only for a few moments.
He could see the small clearing in the side of the old wooden shack. Tobias hid for a few minutes to make sure no one was around and slowly began walking towards it. He didn't see anyone outside, so he proceeded to walk up to the front door and knock, desperately waiting for her to answer. A few moments later, he knew no one was coming. As he turned around and nervously thought of anything else he could do, Tobias noticed a fire in the back of the old structure.
It had been a while since he had gotten to stand next to a flame. Tobias tried to force himself to walk away so that he wouldn't impose or trespass on land that didn't belong to him, to a fire he had not lit. Just a few minutes of relief from the chills that felt like they ran through his bones was enough to make him think just a moment might be okay.
As he slowly walked over to the reddish-orange glow, the warmth felt like a radiating spirit that melted the aura of frost that encased his being. He held out his hands and before long Tobias was on his knees forgetting about caution and just enjoying being wrapped in warmth. His eyes got heavy and he decided it was time to leave before he got too comfortable and fell asleep. That's when he heard a voice that carried over the whole area.
It said, "There he is! Get that filthy dog!" To his surprise, he had in fact fallen asleep. Not knowing for how long and being startled awake by such a threatening voice, he jumped to his feet. He saw four large men walking toward him with the old lady he had come to see standing behind them. One of the men spoke and told him to just stay still. Tobias quickly apologized for being there and trespassing. The old woman said,
I hope you enjoyed the fire. You will be seeing a lot more of it soon, witch. With a smirk on her face, Tobias woke up and pleaded, I don't know any witchcraft. I was only looking for something to eat and was warming myself by the fire. The man laughed as Tobias held out his hands and told them he would just leave in peace. But the man grabbed Tobias by his arm and struck him in the head with what looked like a big stick of sorts.
Tobias fell to the ground with a numbing feeling spreading through his head. The men began tying his hands together. He was picked up onto his feet but felt dizzy from the hard blow that he had just received almost falling back down. The man on his left grabbed him under his arm and said, "If you won't walk, we will drag you." As his feet were being drug through the dirt, he was frantically trying to think of a way he could talk himself out of the situation.
but everything he said seemed to just reinforce his captor's resolve to bring him to justice. Finally, the man that seemed to oversee the arrest told Tobias to just shut his mouth and save it for when he got to Moosham. His inside shuddered at the mention of this place. All the terrible stories he had heard took place there. Innocents had been tortured until they gave in to the feeling of despair and confessed to practicing witchcraft.
And now, he himself was on his way to meet that same possible fate. Tobias stiffened up and tried to pull away to run, but was struck over the head much harder this time. And now there was nothing but darkness. This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Whether you're selling a little or a lot...
Shopify helps you do your thing, however you cha-ching. From the launch your online shop stage, all the way to the we just hit a million orders stage. No matter what stage you're in, Shopify's there to help you grow. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash special offer, all lowercase. That's shopify.com slash special offer.
Get started with Greenlight today and get your first month free at greenlight.com slash spotify.
In the middle of the Lungau in Salzburg, Austria, surrounded by high mountains, the legendary Mushim Castle rises above the Myrrh Valley on a rocky hill of the wooded Mitterberg. Hundreds of years ago, mass hysteria swept through the world. Witch hunting and trials became a huge part of everyday life in Europe and the U.S. Many people, mostly women, lived in fear of being accused of witchcraft.
Mushim Castle is considered to be one of the world's most haunted castles and is certainly linked with the macabre. Mushim was the administrative center of the Zauberjackel witch trials, some of the bloodiest trials in Austria, and it was also the site of something equally as sinister, the werewolf hunts of the 1800s. If you are looking for a terrorific destination, you will not be disappointed.
Musham Castle is believed to have been built on the foundations of a Roman castrum fortress or a military fort as we call them in the west. Unfortunately, no traces of the fort can be found today. The fort that is presumed to have once stood on the same foundation was first abandoned in 1191.
From 476 AD to 1191 AD is considered a dark age for the castle, as there is no information on what happened there during this time. Also during this time, numerous wars and conflicts were going on in and around the castle. It is estimated that 45 battles were fought. Several wars soaked the ground near the castle in blood.
Witch hunting and trials became a massive part of everyday lives in Europe and the US when mass hysteria caused by people's irrational fear of witches living among them swept through the world. Moosham Castle is the scene of one of the most horrible witch hunts in European history.
The so-called Zauberjackel trials from 1675 to 1690 led to the execution of 139 people. The remarkable thing is that most of the executed were male. The mass hysteria started when Barbara Coleran was arrested for theft and sorcery in 1675.
She was put on trial along with her partner Paul Kauthenpacker. During torture, Barbara confessed that her son, Paul Jacob Collar, had made a pact with Satan. Paul Kauthenpacker confirmed her story. Barbara was executed in August of that year and the hunt for Jacob began. In 1677, the government received the news that Jacob was dead.
but when they arrested a young beggar named Dionysus Feldner, that news was contradicted. The 12-year-old handicapped Feldner, also known as Dirty Animal, told the authorities that he had been in contact with Jacob shortly before his arrest. According to him, Jacob, or Jackal, was the leader of a gang of beggar children and teenagers from the slums. Feldner also claimed Jackal had taught the children black magic.
His confession led to the arrest of hundreds of homeless children and teenagers. During the interrogations, the stories about Jackal grew larger and larger. In the end, the authorities even feared the man for his bloodthirst and cruelty. They preferred to avoid capturing him. So, even though the Jackal was the most famous wizard in the city's history, he was never captured. Instead, the witch's hunt for homeless children and teenagers continued.
The witch trials took place on the grounds of Mushim Castle. The castle was involved in the whole process: the administration, the court, the imprisonment, the torture, and the execution. Of the 139 executed, 113 were male. They were executed because they were loyal followers of the jackal. 39 were just children. The youngest, Haneril, was only 10 years old.
53 executed were aged between 15 and 21. 21 executed were of unknown ages. The oldest to be executed was Margaret Rhineberg, who was 80 years old when she was killed. Most of the executions, 109 in total, took place in 1681. Before the followers of Jackal were executed, they were brutally tortured.
Some had their hands cut off and had been marked on the chest with a burning iron. Some were hanged, some were decapitated, and some were burned at the stake while they were still alive. This really was a very dark piece of history. The witch hunt ended in 1690, and life at Moosham Castle turned back to normal. This lasted until 1790, when the Archbishop Count Hieronymus von Colorado dissolved the Moosham Bellwick.
Without the church's finances, the castle fell into disrepair. Not long after this event, local deer and livestock were found mutilated and killed in the area surrounding the castle. The superstitious locals soon started pointing at the remaining residents of the castle. They believed these people turned into werewolves at night, feasting on the flesh of the unfortunate animals. The locals went up to the castle, captured the residents and murdered them in their own courtyard.
After this, the castle was abandoned. There are many tales and legends that surround Musham Castle. One of these stories is about a bailiff named Anton. Anton ruled Musham Castle in the mid-1800s and was known for his cruelty. He took pleasure in torturing his prisoners in the most horrible ways, and he even mistreated his own parents.
Even though Anton's behavior was well known throughout the entire region, he was never punished for his crimes. The locals started to believe that he had sold his soul to the devil. One night when a storm swept over the land, Anton made his final round in the dungeon. He really enjoyed seeing the wounds and pain he had inflicted during the day. Satisfied, he went up to his apartment.
When he heard the terrible storm, an uncomfortable thought popped into his mind. He decided to shake the feeling off him by taking a drink and sitting down in his chair. In the meantime, a carriage drawn by four shiny black horses came closer to the castle's gates. The gates opened for the unknown guest, as if done by magic. The carriage stopped in the castle's courtyard, and a figure dressed in black got out of it.
Anton had nearly dozed off when he was suddenly startled by a knock on the door. Who in the world would set out on a night like this? When he opened the door, he saw a figure in black. The stranger started to speak. "Good night, dear man. I come from hell, and my prince ordered me to prepare you for your journey." Anton started to plead. He knew this day was coming eventually, but he wasn't ready to face his fate.
but the dark figure was ruthless and dragged Anton along in his carriage and took him down to hell. Today, Musham Castle is in the private hands of Countess Teresita Wilczek, but a large part of the castle is open to the public. Throughout the years, reports of paranormal incidents have been claimed. People feel as if they are being watched, touched, especially in torture chambers, or being breathed on.
Strange white mists and shadow figures have been seen in the corridors. Disembodied voices have been heard during EVP sessions. A dark presence is often felt in Anton's rooms, and doors tend to open and close on their own. There are also claims of people hearing footsteps, but when they turn around, there's no one there. Banging noises are often heard as well. Yes, this is one creepy place.
Today, visits to Musham Castle are only possible through a guided tour. The tours are scheduled hourly and are headed by the owner of the castle. Pre-registration is required. Even though the tour is presented in German, there is a pamphlet in English so you can follow along. Inside the castle is very cold even in the summer. You need warm clothes and shoes, but regardless of the cold, you will enjoy every minute of the tour.
Guided tours for children take place every Thursday at 10 a.m. in the summer. The children's tours at Moosham Castle are designed for children aged four and over. No pre-registration is required in the summer. The castle is not only one of the most beautiful alpine castles in Austria, but is in the true sense of the word a wonderful museum of local history.
The Lungau region, which is not only rich in natural beauty and natural treasures, old customs and customs, but also in art and antiquity, is brilliantly represented here. Here you will find old Lungau tiled stoves, chests, traditional costumes, weapons, beautiful room paneling, and entire furnishings from Lungau farmhouses. The castle is visited by travelers from all over the world because of its collections and art treasures.
- Finally, after all these years, I've found complete, foolproof evidence of cryptids. Bigfoot, Wendigo, Mothman. They are real.
And now you can do battle with them against friends and foes alike. Cryptid is available for pre-order right now. Go to cryptidcardgame.com to pre-order today, or go to eeriecast.store. To make shipping and keeping stock easier on our small team, we'll be shipping Cryptid in rounds. In this pre-order round, orders received before October 1st, 2024 will ship by October 31st, 2024.
Now get out there and prepare to make your werewolf eat your friend's skinwalkers and all that. When four friends embark on a guy's trip to go ice fishing in the Alaskan wilderness, they expect adventure, but find horror instead. After strange events and gruesome gifts are left at the remote cabin, the men set out to find help, only to become hopelessly lost in the ominous forest as an unseen evil stalks them. Their friendships and sanity are pushed to the breaking point.
Amanda Graves got out of her car and began searching around the back seat. Looking for her apron, she moved some of the things, or junk as she often called it, to the side and finally found what she was looking for.
It wasn't that she needed the apron, but her name tag was attached, and she couldn't do without that. As she walked away, she hit the lock button on her key fob and listened to the satisfying beep sound it made to signal the doors are in fact locked. She threw the apron over her shoulder and made her way to the large building in front of her. It wasn't just any building, such as a regular office. This building had a much more intense purpose, or at least it looked like it did.
This was Moosham Castle. Amanda had gotten hired at a cleaning service a couple of years before and she was sent to clean this establishment a few times a week. The castle, or at least most of it, was open to the public. Tourists and locals came there all the time to see it. Several wars had been fought around the grounds and then there was those terrible witch trials that hung over its history and many believed it to be haunted.
Most of Amanda's friends and relatives had told her that they wouldn't be hanging out there especially in the late evenings for any amount of money. But Amanda had taken the job mainly to keep her busy. Her three children were grown, and it helped her deal with having, as her husband called it, empty nest syndrome, whatever that was. Not to mention the extra money was nice to have around for vacations or outings on the town. She had been working there for two years and never saw a ghost.
Sometimes the odd noise or strange smell appeared, but the place was hundreds of years old. It seemed to Amanda it would be kind of normal for such things to occur. Besides, it wasn't like she was alone. There were four or five other girls working there as well. The place was huge and would take her a week to clean by herself. So, as on many other days, she was there and ready to work. As she made her way to the front door, she checked to make sure it was closed for the afternoon and let herself in.
Just inside, two of the other ladies were there waiting on her with the cleaning equipment. They were talking about one of the other places they had cleaned and the strange owner and making jokes about it. And then Amanda asked about one of the other ladies who was usually there and found out that she had called in sick. The lady hadn't been there long and had already started to make a bit of a habit of that, it seemed. So the discussion carried over to what her fate might soon be with the company if she continued on that way.
and the fact that the ladies seemed to be scared to work there for obvious reasons. Amanda made the comment that all the ghost stuff was just silly, and the other ladies laughed and agreed. It was decided since they would be short-handed a few corners could be cut, and the other jobs would just have to be absorbed by them. With a game plan in place, the other three ladies headed off to their usual starting points and Amanda to hers. She began moving furniture so the floors could be done shortly after.
It was then that Amanda heard a strange sound. It wasn't like the normal sounds of settling that she was used to. This sound was like a strange creaking and a slight popping along with it. It was coming from the room adjacent from hers. She knew she had heard the sound before but couldn't quite place it in her memory. Quickly trying to brush it off, she started the vacuum and began running it over the floors.
As she worked away wiping down the tables and gathering the trash bags from the receptacles, Amanda noticed a strange smell. It was earthy with a hint of something almost sour in it. The smell was faint but just strong enough to be a problem. She started smelling around the room to see if she could find its source. But it seemed to be coming from everywhere. The air also seemed more still than usual. There was a feeling of quiet though, not a peaceful one either.
like a river on a windless day that runs smooth on top, but is violent and unforgiving in its depths. Amanda made her way to the doorway that opened into the small hallway. It was dark, and for the first time she felt just a little bit of fear. The illogical kind of fear. As if she looked too slowly down either side of the hallway, she might see something that she didn't want to.
She gathered her reasoning and then looked first right, then left as fast as she could. Nothing was there, and she sighed slightly to herself. Looking at her watch, she decided it was time for a break. She texted one of the other ladies to let them know that she was stepping outside for a minute to get some fresh air. The lady responded, letting Amanda know that they would join her.
Walking quickly to the main room where there would be more light, she was relieved to see it and more relieved to step outside. The wind was blowing and it was starting to get cold. She immediately regretted not grabbing her jacket from the car earlier. Winter was just around the corner and in the Alps that meant bitter cold winds. She crossed her arms and was content to be cold if she could just shake the feeling of dread that a few minutes earlier had gripped her.
A few moments later she heard her co-workers coming out the door, deep in conversation about the ridiculous conditions one of the bathrooms was left in. As they came outside and looked towards Amanda, they both stopped and asked was she okay. Jen was not her boss but had the most seniority amongst them, so she served as kind of a mentor of the group. She told Amanda that she didn't look well and asked if she was getting sick. Amanda confided that she in fact wasn't feeling well.
Both of the other ladies asked her where her coat was and insisted that she go back inside where it was warm. Glad to be talking to other people, she walked back through the door with them. Once inside, she was asked the obvious question of exactly what was wrong and if she needed to go home. Amanda was feeling a little better, feeling as though talking to them had snapped her back to reality.
Deep down she wanted to go home, but didn't want to leave her friends in worse shape as they were already short-handed. After a few minutes, she asked Jen if they had heard or smelled anything different or out of place. They both answered no and laughed a little, and told her she was starting to sound like the new girl. Apparently she had complained about the same thing the week before. Jen asked if she had gotten scared, and asked if that is what was wrong with her.
Amanda didn't want to swallow her pride and admit that something had shaken her up due to the fact that she had laughed at so many girls times before. She just said no and assured them that she just wasn't feeling well. Jen shook her head and then said in that case they should get back to work if they wanted to get done on time. Amanda agreed and started to walk back towards the hallway that would take her back to her cleaning implements.
Taking a deep breath, she began down the barely lit corridor of the side she was working on. It wasn't but a few seconds and a strange smell was back. The hallway seemed smaller than usual, and the way the small amount of light was hitting the walls and changing the color of what was around her felt like standing in a funeral home. At that moment, the thought of the popping slash creaking noise came back to her mind.
Lost as to why such a simple sound could be so out of place and creep her out so badly. She felt stupid for being like a scared child. Just then, as she made it to the room that had been her destination, she saw something further down the hall that made every hair on her head feel as though they could stand up at once.
Only for less than a second it looked as though a small slither of something barely sticking out more than an inch at the corner had pulled back quickly down the other hallway, like something that did not want to be seen. It almost took the breath from her body. Amanda's legs began to ache, and the cold she had felt outside seemed like it was stuck to her clothes and wouldn't warm up. She forced herself to become unstuck from where she had stopped.
and decided that she would go investigate to prove to herself nothing was there. As she continued walking, she began hearing the popping sound again. The earthy smell began to fill her nostrils, and she was chilled to the bone. Once arriving at the corner, she walked out and turned right to face whatever she thought she had seen, but just as she suspected, there was nothing there.
though a new sound had found its way to her ears, a rasping type of sound. This one could not be mistaken for anything but the sound of air passing by vocal cords. She stood so still that all the muscles in her body were tensed at once. The sound felt so near that somehow it seemed it was in her personal space, but at the same time was everywhere all at once.
She broke quick and began to walk in an almost jog back to where she had come from. As she passed the room where she had been cleaning, she looked through the door. What she saw in an instant brought back the popping sound that she had heard before but could not place. She remembered being a little girl playing outside and the tire swing her father had put up for her and her siblings, putting her foot in and pushing it off.
The rope having a tension of movement put on it would slightly crack and pop. That is the memory that flashed before her as she was sure she saw a young man hanging by the neck swinging gently back and forth from the center of the room. His skin was ashen white and his lips blue from lack of circulation.
His wrist looked like torn ligaments hung loosely from them, as it seemed his hands had been archaically removed in some pseudo-surgical fashion. His cream-colored eyes cracked red with busted capillaries. The eyes seemed to follow her as she walked by. This was more than Amanda could handle, and finally she burst into a dead run for the front door.
As she slung it open, she ran to her car, grabbing the door handle and pulling up quickly several times before realizing it was locked. She grabbed her keys and pushed the unlock button many times as she pulled up, opening the door and jumping inside. Amanda could not shake the panic even once she was on the road. She couldn't bring herself to even look in the rearview mirror as she was afraid the terrifying specter might be in the backseat looking back at her.
She was still freezing and had turned the heater on full blast, which made the earthy smell that was stained in her clothes seem to multiply. She now realized this was the putrid smell of old rot. Her phone went off many times, and she knew it was the lady she had been working with. Pulling into her driveway, she jumped out of the car and ran into the house. Her husband jumped from his recliner, startled from the commotion she had made coming in.
Amanda lunged into his arms and hugged him like it would be the last time. He grabbed her back and held her tightly, asking her what on earth was wrong. She couldn't come up with a reasonable answer, so she just told him that she loved and missed him and wanted to come home. After calming down for a bit, Amanda texted the ladies back, apologizing for leaving so quickly, and told them she had become incredibly sick.
She laid down beside her husband late that night, not sure if what she had seen had been real or her imagination. Her husband quickly confirmed at least something had happened by asking her what that terrible odor was. She had showered and could still smell it in her hair. Imagination or not, the one thing Amanda was sure of was that she wouldn't be going back to work at Moosham Castle again for any amount of money.
As she drifted to sleep, the name Tobias kept crossing her mind strangely enough. That night, she had a dream that she woke up early in the morning. She was hungry and outside amongst the trees. The wind was blowing cold across the Alps, cutting through her like daggers. Thank you for joining us to explore the Witch's Castle.
Join us next time as we venture over to St. Augustine, Florida for the ever so haunted St. Augustine Lighthouse. I'm Carmen Carrion. Remember, you can send me suggestions and stories of haunted places to my email carmencarrion at gmail.com or follow me on Twitter at Carmen Carrion. Be sure to check out eeriecast.com for more terrifying podcasts.
I'll see you all again at the next destination.
