Pretty Wicked

A birthday sleepover. Three best friends. A game of hide and seek in the woods. By the time it was over, one girl was crawling toward a road with nineteen stab wounds, and the other two were walking toward something they swore was real. That was 2014. Eleven years later, one of them cut off her ankle monitor and ran.

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Pretty Wicked is hosted by Megan Alda.

🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Here is everything used to research this episode.

🔗 WEB SOURCES

ABC News - Slender Man Stabbing Survivor's Parents: 'She's Meant to Do Something Special'

ABC News - 'Slender Man' Interrogation Tapes Reveal Shocking New Details About Alleged Stabbing Plot

ABC News - Mothers of teens who pleaded guilty in 'Slender Man' stabbing case say there were no warning signs of violence

ABC News - 'Slender Man' teen to be released, survivor's family wishes she served longer sentence

ABC News - Slender Man Stabbing Timeline: Out of the Woods

ABC News - Slender Man stabbing victim speaks publicly for first time: 'Without the whole situation, I wouldn't be who I am'

Newsweek - The Girls Who Tried to Kill for Slender Man

Newsweek - How Slenderman, the Internet's Horror Star, Crawled out of Creepypasta

New York Magazine via Harvard Center for Law, Brain & Behavior - Slender Man Is Watching

NBC News - 911 Call Released in Waukesha 'Slender Man' Stabbings

NBC News - 'Slender Man' Victim's Family Thankful for Special Day

NBC News - The 'Slender Man' stabber made a close new friend — then ran away so they could be together

CNN - What we know about Morgan Geyser's 24-hours on the run more than a decade after the 'Slender Man' stabbing took place

Courthouse News Service - Slender Man stabber loses conditional release after escape

WBAY/AP - Conditional release of Morgan Geyser upheld by judge

WTMJ - Conditional release plan moves forward for accused "Slenderman" stabber Morgan Geyser

WTMJ - Conditional release finally approved for Slenderman stabber Morgan Geyser

TMJ4 News - Judge approves conditional release plan for woman convicted in Slender Man stabbing

TMJ4 News - Morgan Geyser arrested in Illinois after cutting off ankle bracelet, fleeing group home

TMJ4 News - Slender Man trial: Jury finds Anissa Weier mentally ill, won't face prison

FOX6 Milwaukee - Slenderman stabbing case: Court learns what private investigator found in Morgan Geyser's bedroom

FOX6 Milwaukee - Slender Man stabbing: Morgan Geyser escapes, group home neighbors react

ABC7 Chicago - Morgan Geyser 911 calls detail Slender Man attacker's escape from Madison group home

ABC7 Chicago - Where is Morgan Geyser now? Wisconsin judge sends suspect in Slender Man stabbing back to mental health institution

ABC7 Chicago - Morgan Geyser waives extradition after escape from Wisconsin group home

WKOW - DOC places three staff on leave during investigation into Morgan Geyser's escape from group home

WMTV - Despite escape, state finds no supervision violations at Morgan Geyser's group home

CBS 58 - The Latest: Jury finds Anissa Weier not criminally responsible for stabbing classmate due to mental illness

CBS News Minnesota/AP - Wisconsin Judge Orders Release Of Anissa Weier In Slender Man Stabbing

Court TV - Judge approves conditional release plan for Morgan Geyser

Patch.com - Slenderman Trial: Anissa Weier Sentence Is 25 Years

Inverse - Mr. CreepyPasta Explains the Problem with 'Slenderman'

Biography.com - Slender Man Attacker Morgan Geyser Is Back in Custody After Sparking a Brief Manhunt

A&E - The Slender-Man Inspired Attempted Murder of a Sixth Grader

Heavy - Payton Leutner's Injuries in the Slender Man Stabbing

Heavy - Morgan Geyser's Parents: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Crime + Investigation UK - The Slender Man stabbing: Attempted murder inspired by an urban legend

All That's Interesting - Who Is Payton Leutner, The Girl Who Nearly Died In The Infamous Slender Man Stabbing?

Jezebel - There's More Than One Boogeyman in the Slender Man Doc

Inside Edition - Slender Man Fan Who Tried to Kill Friend at 12 Gets Release Hearing

Good Morning America - Cyclist Recalls Finding Slender Man Stabbing Victim

LegalClarity - Anissa and Morgan Case: Charges, Mental Health, and Release

📚 BOOKS

Slenderman: A Tragic Story of Online Obsession and Mental Illness - Kathleen Hale, 2022

Folklore, Horror Stories, and the Slender Man: The Development of an Internet Mythology - Shira Chess and Eric Newsom, 2014

Slender Man Is Coming: Creepypasta and Contemporary Legends on the Internet - edited by Trevor J. Blank and Lynne S. McNeill, 2018

🎬 DOCUMENTARY & FURTHER LISTENING

Beware the Slenderman - HBO, 2016, directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky

20/20: Out of the Woods - ABC News, September 2014, with David Muir

20/20: 'Out of the Woods' - ABC News, October 2019, Payton Leutner's first interview, with David Muir
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Some stretches of ocean don't give people back, and the Bermuda Triangle is the most famous one. Navy squadrons. Cargo giants. A cabin cruiser that called for a tow on a calm December night and was gone before the Coast Guard could get there. This week we're going into the lore. The famous cases. The ghost ships. And what science actually thinks is happening out there, because the real answers might be stranger than the myth.

SHOW NOTES

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Pretty Wicked is hosted by Megan Alda.

🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Here is everything used to research this episode.

🔗 WEB SOURCES

Naval History and Heritage Command - H-057-4: The Disappearance of Flight 19

National Archives - The Official Record and the Loss of Flight 19

History.com - The Mysterious Disappearance of Flight 19

Naval History Magazine (USNI) - USS Cyclops, The Deadliest Unsolved Mystery in the Navy

History.com - Bermuda Triangle Mystery: What Happened to the USS Cyclops?

Naval Historical Foundation - The Unanswered Loss of USS Cyclops

Library of Congress - The Mysterious Disappearance of Ghost Ship Carroll A. Deering's Crew

NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources - The Carroll A. Deering, Ghost Ship

National Park Service - The Ghost Ship of the Outer Banks

PlaneHistoria - BSAA Star Tiger coverage and inquiry summary

PlaneHistoria - BSAA Star Ariel coverage

Bernews - Plausible Solutions To Bermuda Triangle Mysteries (Tom Mangold reporting)

Civil Aeronautics Board / USDeadlyEvents - Report on DC-3 NC16002

Coast Guard Inquiry Findings, summarized - USDeadlyEvents on Marine Sulphur Queen

Porchlight International - Burack and Father Horgan / Witchcraft case file

NOAA Ocean Service - What is the Bermuda Triangle?

National Geographic - Gas Craters Off Norway Linked to Bermuda Triangle Theory

Live Science - Could Gas Explosions Explain Bermuda Triangle Mystery?

Fox News - Bermuda Triangle Rogue Wave Theory (Dr. Simon Boxall, Channel 5 documentary)

Britannica - What Is Known (and Not Known) About the Bermuda Triangle

Smithsonian Magazine - How the Disappearance of Flight 19 Fueled the Legend

ElectronicFog.com - Bruce Gernon's account of his 1970 flight

📚 BOOKS

The Bermuda Triangle Mystery - Solved - Lawrence David Kusche, 1975

The Bermuda Triangle - Charles Berlitz, 1974

Invisible Horizons: True Mysteries of the Sea - Vincent Gaddis, 1965

Beyond the Bermuda Triangle: True Encounters with Electronic Fog, Missing Aircraft, and Time Warps - Bruce Gernon and Rob MacGregor, 2017

Sailing Alone Around the World - Joshua Slocum, 1900

Ghost Ship of Diamond Shoals: The Mystery of the Carroll A. Deering - Bland Simpson, UNC Press, 2005

🎬 DOCS

The Bermuda Triangle Enigma - Channel 5 documentary featuring Dr. Simon Boxall of the University of Southampton

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In a quiet Italian town, there was a woman everyone trusted. She baked. She welcomed people in. She was the kind of person no one questioned. And then people started disappearing. When she finally confessed, it wasn’t just what she had done… it was why.

SHOW NOTES

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Pretty Wicked is hosted by Megan Alda.

🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Here is everything used to research this episode.

🔗 WEB SOURCES

Weird Italy - Leonarda Cianciulli, the Soapmaker of Correggio https://weirditaly.com/2013/04/25/leonarda-cianciulli-the-soapmaker-of-correggio/

All That's Interesting - The Chilling Story of Leonarda Cianciulli https://allthatsinteresting.com/leonarda-cianciulli

Utterly Interesting - The Crimes of Leonarda Cianciulli https://www.utterlyinteresting.com/post/the-crimes-of-leonarda-cianciulli-the-soap-maker-of-correggio

Cardinal Points Online - Soap Maker of Correggio https://cardinalpointsonline.com/cardinal-sins-soap-maker-of-correggio-murders-three-women/

Medium - Mother Dearest: The Crimes of Leonarda Cianciulli https://medium.com/@rocknrollgeek1975/mother-dearest-the-crimes-of-leonarda-cianciulli

Museo Criminologico, Rome - The Correggio Soap-Maker http://www.museocriminologico.it/correggio_uk.htm

Life in Italy - Italy During the Second World War https://lifeinitaly.com/italy-second-world-war/

History Rise - Italy Under Mussolini https://historyrise.com/italy-under-mussolini-fascism-propaganda-and-world-war-ii/

Chapman University - Italian Society During World War II https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1038&context=history_books

Working Class History - Italian Resistance https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e77-80-italian-resistance/

Baltimore Sun - "Rendered Her Friends to Wax, She Says" (April 28, 1946) Referenced in multiple secondary sources above - original print archive only.

📚 BOOKS

The Curse: A Shocking True Story of Superstition, Human Sacrifice and Cannibalism - Ryan Green (2019)

Confessioni di Un'Anima Amareggiata (Confessions of a Bitter Soul) - Leonarda Cianciulli
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What if the boogeyman you grew up hearing about wasn't just a story? On Staten Island, there was a figure parents whispered about to keep their kids close to home. Bedtime warnings, campfire dares, everyone thought it was just make-believe. But then children started to vanish. And suddenly, it wasn't just scary anymore. It was real.

SHOW NOTES

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Instagram: @prettywickedthepodcast

If you loved this episode, leaving a review means the world and helps other listeners find the show.

Pretty Wicked is hosted by Megan Alda.

🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Here is everything used to research this episode.

Quick corrections: Ethel Atwell disappeared October 1978, Rand legally changed his name in 1972, and Tiahease Jackson was sent to the supermarket by another motel resident while her mother was napping, not on an errand from home. Sources in the show notes

🔗 WEB SOURCES

The Charley Project - Holly Ann Hughes

The Charley Project - Alice Pereira

The Doe Network - 136DFNY Holly Ann Hughes

The Doe Network - 134DFNY Alice Pereira

NCMEC - Have you seen this child? Alice Pereira

UPI Archives - Jennifer mourned as loveable child who comforted all

All That's Interesting - The Haunting Story of Andre Rand, the Real-Life Cropsey Killer Who Stalked Staten Island in the 1980s

The Line-Up - Cropsey: The Terrifying Urban Legend Brought to Life

Historic Mysteries - Cropsey: New York's Terrifying Urban Legend

Disability Justice - The Closing of Willowbrook

NYU Undercover Reporting - Willowbrook: The Last Disgrace - Geraldo Rivera, WABC-TV

The New York Review of Books - The Horrors of Hepatitis Research

Our Black Girls - Tiahease Jackson, 11: May Have Fallen Victim to Serial Killer in 1983

Whereabouts Still Unknown - Ethel Atwell

Find a Grave - Holly Ann Hughes Memorial

🎬 DOCUMENTARY & FURTHER LISTENING

Cropsey (2009), directed by Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio

Willowbrook: The Last Great Disgrace (1972), Geraldo Rivera for WABC-TV

Killer Psyche Daily episode on Staten Island's "Cropsey" Killer

Production notes: Specific quotes from Andre Rand have been attributed broadly to prison staff and fellow inmates rather than named individuals where the named source could not be independently verified. Some details about the missing victims, particularly the adult cases, are circumstantial and Rand was never charged in connection with them.
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Today Megan is revisiting a medieval building in a quiet Cotswolds village. A 900-year legend that doesn't quite hold up under the tree rings. A pagan burial ground nobody can find in the archaeological record. And the man who spent fifty years inside it, telling stories nobody could verify and experiencing things he couldn't explain.

The Ancient Ram Inn calls itself the most haunted building in England. The reality is stranger, and more layered, than the marketing.

SHOW NOTES

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New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe so you never miss one.

Instagram: @prettywickedthepodcast

If you loved this episode, leaving a review means the world and helps other listeners find the show.

Pretty Wicked is hosted by Megan Alda.

🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Here is everything used to research this episode.

🔗 WEB SOURCES

Triskele Heritage - Mediaeval Mythbusting Blog #26: The Ancient Ram Inn

Historic England - The Ancient Ram Inn, List Entry 1088885

Historic England - Educational Resource: The Ancient Ram Inn

The Ancient Ram Inn - Official Website

Higgypop Paranormal - The Former Gloucestershire Inn Where History and the Paranormal Collide

Higgypop Paranormal - Ancient Ram Inn Ghost Hunt Review

Find a Grave - John Humphries Memorial

Stroud Times - Owner of Ancient Ram Inn Speaks of Plans for the Iconic Former Pub

Ex Utopia - The Ancient Ram Inn: A Visit to England's Most Haunted House

Travel Channel - Ancient Ram Inn's Haunted History

Astonishing Legends - The Ancient Ram Inn

From Tiny Pennies - The Ancient Ram Inn, Wotton-Under-Edge

Visit Herefordshire - Introducing Alfred Watkins, a Fascinating Man

Woolhope Club - Alfred Watkins

English Heritage - Witchcraft: Eight Myths and Misconceptions

English Heritage - Building Stonehenge

University of Reading - New Research Reveals Origin of Stonehenge's Great Sarsen Stones

University College London - Stonehenge Bluestone Quarries Confirmed 140 Miles Away in Wales

Birmingham Museums Trust - Sarehole's Inspiration for Tolkien's Middle-earth

Wotton Heritage - Wotton-Under-Edge Local History

British History Online - Wotton-under-Edge (RCHME 1976)

Gloucestershire Archives - Deeds D1193/16/1 (1350-1724)

IMDB - Most Haunted: The Ancient Ram Inn (Season 5, 2005)

📚 BOOKS

Historic Building Mythbusting: Uncovering Folklore, History and Archaeology - James Wright, The History Press, 2024

The Old Straight Track - Alfred Watkins, 1925

Early British Trackways - Alfred Watkins, 1922

Vernacular Architecture Group Spring Conference 2014 - Gloucestershire - Linda Hall, Vernacular Architecture Group, 2014

Tree-ring Dates from the Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory List 263 - Daniel Miles and Martin Bridge, in Vernacular Architecture Volume 45, 2014

🎬 DOCUMENTARY & FURTHER LISTENING

Ghost Adventures (Travel Channel) - The Ancient Ram Inn episode

Most Haunted, Series 5 - The Ancient Ram Inn (originally broadcast 29 January 2005)
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