Bela Kiss, the Vampire of Czinkota

In May of 1916, detectives in Czinkota, Hungary, made a gruesome discovery: two dozen people, drained of blood, and preserved in metal barrels full of wood alcohol. Their murderer was Bela Kiss, a man who’d been recently killed in World War I.

Except that, even after his supposed death, Bela Kiss continued to be seen and continued to remain one step ahead of capture for the next three decades.

On this episode, we explore the gruesome crimes of serial killer Bela Kiss, the Vampire of Czinkota.

The Vampires of Eastern Europe

The mythology of the vampire dates back millennia. But, in the 16th and 17th centuries, in the mountains of southeastern Europe, these sorts of legends — stories of the dead who’d come back to harm and kill the living — started having names attached.

In this episode, we begin our exploration of “real vampires” with the stories of three of these men — Giure Grando, Petar Blagojevic, and Arnod Paole — and, when possible, those that became their victims

Resurrection Mary, Part 4: Mary Kovac

Resurrection Mary is one of Chicago’s most famous ghosts.

For decades, people fascinated with the story have been trying to answer the question: Who was she?

Over the years, a number of “candidates” have been put forth. And, in researching this episode, we found one of our own.

On this episode, we present the story of Mary Kovac who, we believe, may have been the young woman whose ghost Jerry Palus met at the Liberty Grove and Hall in 1939: The original Resurrection Mary.

Resurrection Mary, Part 3: Anna Marija Norkus

Resurrection Mary is one of Chicago‘s most famous ghosts. And, having been featured on paranormal shows like Unsolved Mysteries, In Search Of, and Arthur C. Clarke’s World of Strange Powers, she might just be the most famous Vanishing Hitchhiker in the world. For decades, people fascinated with the story have been trying to answer the […]

Resurrection Mary, Part 2: Mary Bregovy

Resurrection Mary is one of Chicago’s most famous ghosts and, over the years, a number of “candidates” have been put to answer the question: Who was she?

Mary Bregovy, like the girl in the Resurrection Mary legend, had lived on Damen Avenue and had died in an automobile accident in the 1930s. But, despite people who knew her while she was alive having reported seeing her on Archer Avenue after her death, Mary Bregovy didn’t look like the girl who is normally described in Resurrection Mary sightings.

On this episode, we discuss how she fits into the Resurrection Mary legend.

The Waldheim Flapper

Chicago’s most famous Vanishing Hitchhiker is, without a doubt, the ghost of the young woman (or women) who has come to be called Resurrection Mary. But, we’ll come back to that.

On this episode, we explore the story of one of Chicago’s other vanishing hitchhikers: The Waldheim Flapper.

Bonus: The Murdered Girl on Wilfred Barrett Drive

The story is unbelievable, like something out of a bad horror film: A girl walking home along Wilfred Barrett Drive on the Central Coast of Australia is brutally assaulted and left for dead on Jenny Dixon Beach. After dying of the injuries they’d inflicted, her ghost seeks vengeance on the men who had attacked her, ending their lives one by one.

While the lore that surrounds it may have been embellished to the point of unbelievability, at its core, the story is true.

And what’s more, her murder may have had ties to one of Australia’s most famous unsolved crimes.