Logo

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

The Strange, Dark & Mysterious delivered in podcast format.Follow the MrBallen Podcast on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes publish twice a week—every Monday and Thursday. Prime members can listen to new episodes 1-month early and all episodes ad-free on Amazon Music. Wondery+ subscribers can listen ad-free in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts.

Something is in the Woods

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 170 views
  • about 1 month ago
  • 37:59

Today’s podcast will feature 3 horrifying stories that will make you wonder who or what may be lurking in the forest. The audio from all three stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos:#3 -- "Pound Cake" -- Girl takes a "shortcut" on the Appalachian Trail (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf9ahZB9yfY)#2 -- "The Dream" -- 3 hikers attempt a rugged hike in bad weather (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNpctf6WJx8)#1 -- "Big Footprint" -- A mysterious set of footprints are found in a marsh (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZCCCxnSMxs)For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sick Day (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 160 views
  • about 1 month ago
  • 43:17

On a morning in 2002, a man in Indianapolis, Indiana woke up in a cold sweat. His hands shook as he tried to block out the images he’d seen in his sleep, but he knew these images would not just go away – they would keep haunting him until he did something about it. He got out of bed and walked to his phone. He dialed 9-1-1 and said he needed to talk to a detective, because he was having dreams that showed him everything that had happened during a horrific murder all the way back in 1989. The dreams this man claimed to have would help reopen an unsolved murder case that had shocked Indianapolis thirteen years earlier. But these dreams would not answer the questions police had been wrestling with for years, and it would take them another decade to finally track down the killer.For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You Can't Run From This (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 270 views
  • about 1 month ago
  • 31:36

This is a special bonus episode of "You Can't"I’m going to tell two stories about two very different haunted places. And even though these stories take place decades apart – and involve wildly different people – the message of both is the same… crossing paths with ghosts can kill.For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Fan Favorite - "A Rare Bird"

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 260 views
  • about 2 months ago
  • 36:22

This story is a fan favorite from MrBallen's Medical Mysteries.In 2020, a career-driven young woman in Ohio begins to hallucinate strange sounds and feels phantom sensations in her body. She believes she’s going insane. But the real reason is far more disturbing. Listen Now: Wondery.fm/MBMMFor 100s more stories like this one, check out my YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @MrBallenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A Dead Body for Christmas (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 190 views
  • about 2 months ago
  • 38:47

On Christmas morning of 2010, snow fell on a quiet suburb in South West England. But just after 9:00 a.m., the quiet was shattered by the sound of police sirens racing through town. The police cars came to a screeching stop on a wet street, and a veteran Detective Inspector stepped out into the cold. He walked towards a stone wall that separated the road from a tree-covered field on the other side. The Detective Inspector reached the wall, crouched down, and started digging through a pile of snow and leaves. And when he saw what was underneath this pile, he knew he would not be spending Christmas with his family.For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You Can't Hide Here (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 270 views
  • 2 months ago
  • 35:20

This is a special bonus episode of our new format called, "You Can't"On a dark fall night in 2010, two detectives stood in the street in an upscale suburban neighborhood outside of Boston, Massachusetts. In the middle of the road – lit by their flashlights – lay the body of a teenage boy. These were two veteran detectives, but neither of them had ever seen the type of brutal violence that had been inflicted on this young man. His legs look shattered, his jeans had been shredded, and his face was bruised and broken. The detectives felt sure this young man had been murdered, but because he had no ID on him, they didn’t know who he was. But when they did finally discover his identity, this case would take a totally bizarre turn. The detectives would find themselves 1,000 miles away from their crime scene, sifting through reported sightings of their victim that defied the laws of physics, and grasping at an insane theory that they hoped could somehow tie it all together.For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A Shot in the Dark (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 310 views
  • 3 months ago
  • 39:48

On a spring morning in 2017, a mother of three in Evansville, Indiana logged onto Facebook and noticed a story in her news feed that made her heart start to race. Just a couple of hours earlier, the body of a young woman was found in a field one town over – and police had no clue who the young woman was. The physical description was vague, but it matched all three of the woman’s daughters. So right away, she picked up her phone and began trying to reach them, to make sure each of them was okay. Her two youngest girls replied within minutes, but the oldest one of them did not. And with every minute that passed without a word from her oldest daughter, the woman became more and more frantic until she reached out to a friend of hers on the police force. And what she soon would learn, before the morning became afternoon, would change her family’s life forever... and change the course of two separate police investigations.For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

One of Their Own (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 430 views
  • 3 months ago
  • 41:36

On a fall night in 1987, a young woman was walking down the middle of a dark street in a rural Kentucky town. She heard a car turn onto the street behind her, and it sounded like it was driving fast, so she quickly got onto the sidewalk. Suddenly, the car screeched to a stop just a few feet away from her. The car doors flew open, and before the young woman knew what was happening, someone grabbed her, lifted her off the ground, and threw her into the backseat. The car sped off, and the terrified young woman would soon find herself in the middle of a horrific nightmare that would haunt her for almost 20 years…For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Ingenues

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 370 views
  • 3 months ago
  • 30:48

Several years ago, prank videos were huge on YouTube. Basically, a Prank YouTube channel would go out in public, and they would do something to some unsuspecting person and they’d film it. And that video would get tons of views on YouTube. Well, during this prank heyday, there was one YouTube channel that pulled off a prank that really stood out amongst the thousands of others that were getting pumped out around this time. And the reason this particular prank stood out was because 1) it was masterfully planned, 2) it was brilliantly executed, and 3) most memorably, it had massive intended and unintended consequences – international scandal-level consequences. And amazingly, this story has yet to be converted into a major motion picture, so I would imagine that most of you have actually never heard of it.Story name, preview & link to original YouTube video:#1 -- "The Ingenues" -- A masterfully planned and brilliantly executed prank video would have massive consequences on an International scale (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roHIIpevnTE)For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The City of Death

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 310 views
  • 4 months ago
  • 38:12

One of my former teammates from back when I was a Navy Seal had one of the most insane stories you will ever hear. He gave me permission to tell his story, so today I will share it with you all. Story names, previews & links to original YouTube video:#1 -- "The City of Death" -- A Navy SEAL buys a 1 way ticket to Iraq (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79uDkod_FIk)For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Murder on the Answering Machine (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 370 views
  • 4 months ago
  • 46:28

On a fall night in 1998, a woman walked into her kitchen after being out all day and tossed her keys onto the counter. She saw the light on her answering machine blinking, so she checked the message. At first, it just sounded like static noise, or maybe someone was breathing heavy. And she figured it was either a prank call or someone had just accidentally dialed her number. But then she heard screaming and crying and then it just went silent, and the message ended. For a moment, the woman just stood there, shocked. She tried calling the number back who had left the message, but it went straight to voicemail. Out of fear that this message she had been left potentially just captured the sound of someone being badly hurt, the woman called 911.For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An Unforgettable Fare

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 330 views
  • 4 months ago
  • 31:06

Today’s story is a good old fashioned spooky story. It’s about a missing person in Taiwan, and it takes a totally bizarre turn, and I will say most of you will probably get the most thrill out of the “apartment scene.” You’ll know that scene when you get to it, and that’s towards the end of this podcast. So, make sure you stick around if you enjoy being spooked.Story names, previews & links to original YouTube video:#1 -- "An Unforgettable Fare" -- This story takes a wild turn, just wait for the apartment scene (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXuLJJtJp1g)For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the Weeds (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 380 views
  • 4 months ago
  • 38:15

On a Monday afternoon in 1986, medical staff at a clinic in San Antonio, Texas were starting to get worried, because their most respected nurse had not shown up for work and nobody could get a hold of her. So later that morning, two of the nurse’s colleagues drove down to her apartment. But when they got there, they found two notes taped to the door. They were messages from the nurse’s family, who had been looking for her since the day before. By the time the nurse’s family filed a missing person’s report, investigators at the sheriff’s department were tied up investigating another mystery – the death of a teenage girl found murdered earlier that morning. And after getting the description of the missing nurse, investigators started to wonder if they had a serial killer on their hands who was hunting down blonde women... or if there was some other connection between the women that they just couldn’t see.For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Listen Now - REDACTED: Declassified Mysteries with Luke Lamana

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 340 views
  • 5 months ago
  • 46:23

Behind the closed doors of government offices and military compounds, are hidden stories and buried secrets from the darkest corners of history. Each week, Luke Lamana, a Marine Corp Reconnaissance Veteran, pulls back the curtain on what once was classified information exposing the secrets and lies behind the world’s most powerful institutions. From the hitmakers at Wondery and Ballen Studios, we bring you REDACTED: Declassified Mysteries with Luke Lamana. The stories are real, and the secrets are shocking.Listen Now: http://wondery.fm/REDACTEDSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Diagnosis

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 380 views
  • 5 months ago
  • 32:09

Today’s podcast will feature 3 medical horror stories. The audio from all three stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos:#3 -- "Honking Boy" -- A doctor rushes to help a boy who's having trouble breathing, what he finds is truly absurd (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRzdiHG3_eY)#2 -- "Magic Elixir" -- A 1900's drink had serious consequences (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MpR4k3-edc)#1 -- "Shiny But Deadly" -- A healthy man suddenly becomes extremely sick, and doctors only clue being the man's very unusual side job (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn7eaj36dUY)For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Bounty Hunter (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 410 views
  • 6 months ago
  • 40:32

On the day after Thanksgiving in 1998, a police officer responded to a 9-1-1 call at an apartment in a Florida beach town. But the 9-1-1 call had been vague, so the officer did not know if he was responding to an accident, a break-in, or something else. He knocked on the front door, and nobody answered. He tried the doorknob, but it was locked. So the officer walked around the outside of the apartment, and he found an open window that led into the kitchen. The officer climbed in the window, and then made his way through the apartment – everything looked totally normal. Then he came to a door that was slightly cracked open. The officer opened the door, stepped into a small bedroom, and screamed, “Oh my God!”For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Murder by the Slice (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 460 views
  • 6 months ago
  • 41:17

On a spring night in 2009, a middle aged married couple was closing up the local pizza place they ran in a small Virginia mountain town. The husband walked to the back of the restaurant and grabbed a large bucket of ice. He carried the bucket out the back door, and dumped the ice into the grass. He stood up and felt the cool breeze on his face – it was a nice change from the hot pizza ovens he’d been working around all night. But then, he heard screaming coming from inside the restaurant. Without thinking, he dropped the bucket, and rushed back inside. But when he discovered what was happening, all he could do was turn around and run for his life.For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coach Killer (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 530 views
  • 6 months ago
  • 40:38

On a February night in a secluded suburban neighborhood, a man sat down to eat at his dining room table. When suddenly, he heard a "POP, POP, POP" coming from somewhere nearby. The man dropped his fork on the plate and ran to the window at the front of his house, but everything outside looked completely normal and calm. Still, the man could not shake the feeling that something bad might have just happened. So he called the police and explained what happened, and they sent an officer out to investigate. But the officer saw the same thing the man had seen – everything looked normal and calm. So the police officer went back to the station, and the man finished his dinner. And neither imagined that a dead body would lay there, undiscovered in the neighborhood, for almost two full days.For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sophomore Obsession (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 550 views
  • 6 months ago
  • 42:30

On a hot summer day in Illinois, police officers made their way through a field out in the middle of nowhere. They pushed aside the tall grass, and they could see and hear flies buzzing all around them. Suddenly, the officer at the front of the group stopped, crouched down, and called back to the others – he had finally found the body. The other officers rushed to him, and they all stared down at the dead young woman. The cops knew something like this would leave people in the small town nearby in complete shock, but they had no idea what their discovery would lead to. Because this dead young woman in the field would soon help solve a murder that had taken place across the border in Indiana, and lead police to a killer who had been on the run for two years.For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Fan Favorite - "The Curse of Veneto"

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

  • 680 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 36:13

This story is a fan favorite from MrBallen's Medical Mysteries.In 1983, an Italian man finds himself completely unable to sleep, and when he looks in the mirror, his own eyes frighten him. A sense of doom washes over the man. He knows that within a year, he’ll be dead – because he’s just fallen prey to a centuries-old family curse.Listen Now: Wondery.fm/MBMMFor 100s more stories like this one, check out my YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @MrBallenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.