• The Cannibal Who Walked Free: The Issei Sagawa Case
    Feb 18 2026

    He confessed to murder, necrophilia, and cannibalism and then walked free. Discover the horrifying true story of Issei Sagawa and the Paris crime that shocked the world.

    In 1981, Paris became the backdrop for one of the most infamous true crime cases in history.


    Issei Sagawa, a Japanese graduate student at the Sorbonne, murdered and cannibalized his classmate, Renée Hartevelt, a 25-year-old Dutch student. Over several days, he consumed portions of her body before attempting to dispose of her remains in the Bois de Boulogne.


    But the horror didn’t end there. Despite confessing in detail to murder, necrophilia, and cannibalism, Sagawa was declared legally insane in France and later released in Japan, never serving a day in prison.


    In this episode of Chasing the Dark, we explore:

    • The obsessive mind of Issei Sagawa

    • How he stalked and murdered his victim

    • The gruesome act of cannibalism that shocked the world

    • And the international legal failures that let a confessed killer walk free


    This is a story of obsession, darkness, and injustice, and a reminder that sometimes, the monster doesn’t hide.


    Listener discretion is strongly advised.



    Show Notes & Sources


    Sources for this episode include:

    • French police investigation and court records (1981–1983)

    • Psychiatric evaluations in France and Japan

    • Contemporary reporting: Le Monde, The New York Times, The Japan Times

    • Interviews with Issei Sagawa (1985–2013)

    • Memoir: In the Fog (霧の中) by Issei Sagawa

    • Sorbonne University enrollment and academic records

    • Legal analysis of international jurisdiction and extradition limitations

    • Biographical records of Renée Hartevelt from archives and news reporting

    • Criminal psychology and forensic studies on paraphilic and cannibalistic offenders

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    50 mins
  • The Demon House: Latoya Ammons’ Real Exorcism Battle Against 200 Demons | True Horror Story
    Jan 12 2026

    What happens when darkness doesn’t just haunt a house… it claims a family?


    In November 2011, Latoya Ammons moved her three young children into a quiet rental on Carolina Street in Gary, Indiana, hoping for a fresh start. Instead, they walked into what many call the most documented case of demonic possession in modern history: the infamous Demon House.

    Black flies swarmed the porch in freezing winter. Footsteps climbed empty stairs at midnight. Children levitated, walked backward up walls in front of horrified witnesses, spoke in guttural voices no child should have, and convulsed with unnatural strength. A 9-year-old boy described his own murder to an unseen entity. Objects moved on their own. Shadows watched. And Latoya herself felt something ancient and malevolent coil inside her—weakness, shaking, heat from within—while the house slammed doors and dripped impossible oil in response.

    Police investigated. DCS took emergency custody. A priest performed multiple exorcisms—three major rites authorized by the Diocese of Gary, including one in Latin—while estimating over 200 demons tormented the family. Officers guarded the rituals. Equipment failed. Photos captured silhouettes that weren’t there. Even skeptics became believers.

    This is the true story behind the “Demon House” that Zak Bagans bought, filmed, and demolished for his 2018 documentary—the chilling real events that inspired Netflix’s The Deliverance and countless true horror discussions.

    From black mold theories to full demonic infestation, we dive deep into the documented terror: witness statements, police reports, priest accounts, and the family’s fight to reclaim their lives. Listener discretion advised, this episode contains disturbing accounts of possession, child trauma, exorcisms, and unexplainable phenomena that may unsettle even the bravest souls.

    If you love true crime with a paranormal twist, real exorcism stories, haunted house investigations, demonic possession cases, or the scariest true horror from Gary Indiana, this episode of Chasing the Dark will keep you up long after it ends.

    Subscribe now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode as we chase the shadows others fear to face. Follow @ChasingtheDark21 on social media for updates, behind-the-scenes, and community chills.

    Sweet dreams… or whatever’s left of them.


    Sources :

    • ​ Primary: “The Exorcisms of Latoya Ammons” by Marisa Kwiatkowski, Indianapolis Star (IndyStar), January 25, 2014 (updated/republished 2023–2025) – the original investigative article that went viral and sparked the case’s fame.
    • ​ Additional: Wikipedia “Ammons haunting case” (cross-referenced with primary sources); All That’s Interesting overview; US Ghost Adventures summary; IndyStar follow-ups on Zak Bagans’ Demon House (2018 documentary); Netflix The Deliverance inspiration
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    47 mins
  • A Christmas Massacre: West Covina
    Dec 24 2025

    On Christmas Eve 2008, a quiet suburban home in Covina, California, filled with laughter, tamales, and generations of the Ortega family, became the scene of one of the most shocking mass murders in American history.

    A knock at the door.

    An eight-year-old girl runs to answer, excited to see Santa Claus.

    What followed was gunfire, terror, and a deliberately set inferno that claimed nine lives and scarred survivors forever.

    This is the true story of Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, a man unraveling in silence and the night he turned a family’s most sacred tradition into annihilation.

    We walk through the planning, the attack, the chaos, the aftermath, and the lingering echoes that still haunt Knollcrest Drive seventeen years later.

    Warning: This episode contains detailed accounts of mass murder, arson, gunshot injuries, and profound trauma. Listener discretion is strongly advised.


    Sources & Further Reading

    • ​ Los Angeles Times archives (2008–2009)
    • ​ ABC News & NBC Los Angeles coverage
    • ​ Covina Police Department & Los Angeles County Sheriff reports
    • ​ Survivor interviews (including Katrina Yuzefpolsky)
    • ​ “Homicide for the Holidays” coverage
    • ​ Psychological insights on family annihilators (Kris Mohandie)
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    31 mins
  • The Onion Field
    Dec 15 2025

    March 10, 1963.

    An onion field on the edge of Bakersfield becomes the final stop for a young LAPD officer whose only crime was believing in mercy.


    In this episode of Chasing the Dark, we walk into the quiet rows where dawn arrived too late. We trace the hours after a routine traffic stop spiraled into terror, betrayal, and irreversible loss. Two men run. One officer falls. And the earth bears witness.


    This is not a story told through headlines or courtroom transcripts alone. It’s a descent into fear, moral fracture, and the unbearable weight of survival. A meditation on duty, cowardice, and what it means to live when your partner does not.


    The onion field remembers.

    And so do we.


    🎧 Listener discretion advised.

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    43 mins
  • Born to Raise Hell: Richard Speck’s night of terror
    Dec 1 2025

    Eight nurses. One killer. A night carved into the darkest corners of true-crime history.


    On July 13th, 1966, serial killer Richard Speck stepped into a South Side Chicago townhouse and turned it into a slaughterhouse. What unfolded inside those walls was not just murder—it was domination, terror, and slow, methodical brutality. One by one, the women were corralled, tied, silenced, and forced to face the kind of violence that leaves claw marks on history.


    This episode drags you deeper than the headlines ever dared:

    into the gasping fear inside that cramped dormitory…

    into the thud of bodies hitting the floor…

    into the whispered prayers that were swallowed by the walls…

    and into the cold, calculated cruelty Speck carried out as if he were moving through a nightmare he had rehearsed.


    With unfiltered reconstruction, psychological breakdowns, survivor insight, and a minute-by-minute retelling, we expose the savage heart of one of America’s most infamous murder cases—a night where mercy didn’t exist and hope died room by room.


    Step inside the townhouse.

    Feel the silence.

    And walk through the horror—one breath at a time.


    This is Chasing the Dark — where infamous murder cases, serial-killer profiles, and untold stories come alive. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

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    49 mins
  • The Black Dahlia
    Nov 17 2025

    Step into the shadows of 1947 Los Angeles, where dreams were bright... and the darkness was merciless. In this haunting episode of Chasing the Dark, we unravel the life, death, and lasting mystery of Elizabeth Short - the woman the world would come to know as The Black Dahlia.

    From her final days to the gruesome discovery that stunned the nation, we follow the investigation, the suspects, the lies, and the legends. And in the end... we explore who may have truly killed her, and why her story refuses to rest.

    Listen closely. Some whispers never die.

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    55 mins