True Monsters

Ambitious, attractive, and full of potential, five young college students prepared for the new semester. They dreamed of beginning careers and starting families. They had a lifetime of experiences in front of them. But death came without warning in the dark of the night. Brutally ending five promising lives, leaving behind three gruesome crime scenes, the Gainesville Ripper terrorized the University of Florida, casting an ominous shadow across a frightened college town.

Monsters and maniacs, ghosts and ghouls, brutes and beasts. In this latest volume of real-life nightmares, author John Harker presents listeners with chilling accounts of strange creatures, evil entities, and demonic deviants. Combining historical tales with modern day testimonies, Monsters and Maniacs is an enthralling, if not disturbing, look at the seen and unseen fiends in our midst.

When Baltimore Police Sergeant Wayne Jenkins said he had a monster, he meant he had found a big-time drug dealer - one who he wanted to rob. This is the story of Jenkins and the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF), a super group of dirty detectives who exploited some of America’s greatest problems: guns, drugs, toxic masculinity, and hypersegregation. In the upside-down world of the GTTF, cops were robbers and drug dealers were the perfect victims, because no one believed them.

True Werewolves of History uses archival chronicles and new research to bring to life the stories of 100 werewolves. This unique tour-de-force focuses on real tales of werewolves (not to mention "werebears,” “werejaguars” and others) from throughout the world and across the centuries. You'll find them all in this volume for your delectation and enlightenment.

I have researched and written over 150 books on strange and mysterious phenomena. Some of these books are based on my own experiences and most topics are based on my research. My fascination with strange things has become a major passion in my life. This book includes over sixty true stories on many different subjects to provide a lot of food for thought on these topics.

In 1931, San Diego's idyllic image as a beach town with peaceful suburbs concealed a harrowing reality: a series of unsolved crimes targeting women, fueling fear and vulnerability. Monsters on the Loose tells the tragic and true stories of three women murdered early that year: Virginia Brooks, Louise Teuber, and Hazel Bradshaw. Local law enforcement, out-of-town criminologists, and investigators from what would become the FBI pursued hundreds of leads. Yet, the killer(s) were never identified and brought to justice.

For more than a century, reports of a strange beast known as the Fouke Monster have circulated among the locals in southern Arkansas. Described as a large hairy man-like creature, it's said to haunt the vast Sulphur River Bottoms as it travels the secluded waterway known as Boggy Creek. Over the years, the creature has been seen by numerous witnesses including respected citizens, experienced hunters, famous musicians, and even a police officer. The encounters were often so shocking, they served as inspiration for the classic horror film, The Legend of Boggy Creek, by Charles B. Pierce.

When police in Florida's Volusia County were called to investigate the murder of Richard Mallory, whose gunshot-ridden body had been found in the woods just north of Daytona Beach in December 1989, their search led them to a string of dead ends before the trail went cold six months later. During the spring and summer of 1990, the bodies of six more middle-aged white men were discovered. The police soon discovered the killings were the work of a single culprit, Aileen Wuornos, one of the first women to ever fit the profile of a serial killer.

Although it's hard to believe now, Rose West was an exceptionally beautiful little girl with long, glossy dark hair and big brown eyes. Looking at photos of young Rosie as a child, it is almost impossible to comprehend that she would grow up to become one of Britain's most notorious female murderers. But Rose's early life made her the perfect partner for Fred West, and the two committed a string of murders in Gloucester throughout the '70s and '80s. Her part in the killings is very different to that which many people believe even today.

The Black-Eyed kids are an urban legend of vast proportions. The stories of small children turning up on people's doorsteps all across the world spreading fear and terror have only increased over time. This compilation of G. Michael Vasey's books on this scary phenomena includes new material and new true stories as well as the complete texts of The Black-Eyed Demons are Coming and The Black-Eyed Kids. G. Michael Vasey, a supernatural expert, carefully investigates this truly terrifying phenomenon using real-life encounters with these scary supernatural beings.

This book is for listeners of true crime podcasts and audiences of both fiction and true-crime nonfiction. It's the true story of first-generation Irish-American nurse Jane Toppan, born as Honora Kelley. Jane Toppan was absolutely a monster, but she did not start out that way. When Jane was a young child, her father abandoned her and her sister to the Boston Female Asylum. From there, Jane was indentured to a wealthy family who changed her name, never adopted her, and wrote her out of the will.

In tears as he sat on the witness stand at 16 testifying against his father, one of his many abusers that stole his childhood, Walt McKinley found the strength to fight for himself for the first time. In that life-changing moment, he made a promise to himself he would do whatever it took to take his power back, become a warrior of his abuse, and break the generational cycle. Monsters in My House is a true story of extremely shocking abuse and a child’s fight to stay alive. Walt’s grit and compassion shine through as he shows us the unbreakable nature of the human spirit.

Charles Manson, Issei Sagawa und Dorothea Puente sind kaltblütige Massenmörder. Aus ihren Taten machen sie ein Mordsgeschäft. Als "Ikonen des Horrors" verkaufen sie Fanartikel, laden zu kostspieligen Rede-Shows oder versteigern Marathon-Sex. Micael Dahlén, schwedischer Wirtschaftsprofessor mit Kultstatus, hat sich in den Bannkreis der "Monster" begeben und fünf von ihnen hautnah erlebt.

Sie haben Menschen vergiftet, erschossen oder mit ihren eigenen Händen umgebracht. Sie haben ihre Opfer zerstückelt, vergraben oder verspeist. Charles Manson, Issei Sagawa, Dorothea Puente sind kaltblütige Massenmörder. Aus ihren Taten machen sie noch dazu ein Mordsgeschäft. Als "Ikonen des Horrors" verkaufen sie Fanartikel, laden zu kostspieligen Rede-Shows oder versteigern Marathon-Sex.

Dive into the story of Larry Gene Bell, one of the first killers who used phones to terrorize people. Uncover the origins of this local monster as we peel back the layers of his past. Discover the complexities of his twisted personality that led to national attention. Step by step, follow the details of Bell's heinous, cunning acts, from victim selection to killing methods. You will see why it took innovative investigative techniques to get Bell behind bars.

In May 2005, Natalee Holloway disappeared from a high school trip to Aruba. A 22-year-old Dutchman, Joran van der Sloot, was arrested in connection with the murder, only to be released after questioning. He admitted to being present for Holloway's death - but later recanted his statement.

“Sharks are as timid as rabbits,” says a superintendent of the Coast Guard, dismissing the possibility that a shark could be the culprit in an unprecedented fatal attack at the Jersey Shore. It’s July, and swimming in the sea is a popular new pastime, but people up and down the East Coast are shocked and mystified by the swimmer’s death. A prominent surgeon at the shore, Dr. Edwin Halsey is the one who examines the victim, and the only one who believes the perpetrator was a shark—and that it will strike again.

Billy Dean is a secret child. He has a beautiful young mother and a father who arrives at night carrying the scents of candles and incense and cigarettes. Birds fly to his window. Mice run out from his walls. His world is a carpet, a bed, pictures of the holy island, and a single locked door. His father fills his mind and his dreams with mysterious tales and memories and dreadful warnings. But then his father disappears, and Billy’s mother brings him out into the world at last. He learns the horrifying story of what was saved and what was destroyed on the day he was born, the day the bombers came to Blinkbonny.

Michael Ross was a serial killer who raped and murdered eight young women between 1981 and 1984, and several years ago the state of Connecticut put him to death. His crimes were horrific, and he paid the ultimate price for them. When journalist Martha Elliott first heard of Ross, she learned what the world knew of him - that he had been a master at hiding in plain sight.

Prostituierte und Tiere konnten Peter Kürtens sexuelle Neigung nicht mehr befriedigen. Bei einem Einbruch in eine örtliche Kneipe stieß er auf ein neunjähriges Mädchen, das in ihrem Bett schlief. Er erwürgte sie, schlitzte ihr die Kehle mit einem Taschenmesser auf und hatte einen Orgasmus, als er ihr Blut auf den Boden tropfen hörte. Seine Verbrechen wurden durch den Ersten Weltkrieg und eine achtjährige Gefängnisstrafe gestoppt, aber 1929 ließ er seinen Trieben freien Lauf und beging eine Reihe brutaler Morde, die ihm den Spitznamen „Das Düsseldorfer Monster“ einbrachten.