House of Mystery True Crime History

In 1971, a skyjacker with a briefcase bomb demanded a $200,000 ransom and a parachute. Then he vanished out the jet’s back door and became an instant legend. Now a determined citizen sleuth has assembled a forty-member cold case team, spearheaded by former FBI agents, to solve the mystery of D. B. Cooper. And after a five-year quest, they believe they have succeeded--with a fugitive at trail’s end. The team’s relentless investigation and final confrontation with the mystery man serve as the bookends in The Last Master Outlaw. The suspect’s astonishing life story as a daredevil fills the remaining chapters, the bulk of which comes from the heartwarming, gut-wrenching accounts of six of his women--two former wives; his only sister; a befriended college coed; a “getaway gal” he met up with during two more FBI escapes, both again involving planes; and a Hollywood producer who was also his cocaine-trade partner. Buckle your seatbelts as this Jekyll-and-Hyde ladies’ man travels through five countries, utilizing more than a dozen identities, wigs, and fake mustaches while engaging in a half-dozen careers and raising three families. Then be a witness as the cornered chameleon is forced to face the truth in front of the cameras of a dogged cold case team, which was armed and ready for any eventuality.

The Killing Season, from Executive Producer Alex Gibney, is an immersive series that follows documentarians Joshua Zeman (Cropsey) and Rachel Mills as they investigate one of the most bizarre unsolved serial killer cases of our time – the deaths of ten sex workers discovered on Gilgo Beach, Long Island. Authorities believe these killings are the work of the Long Island Serial Killer, who after five years remains at large. Forging relationships with cyber-sleuths, journalists and victim’s families, Zeman and Mills uncover connections that suggest Long Island is just the beginning.

On November 6, 1936, 40-year-old Verna Garr Taylor of LaGrange, KY, was found dead in a soggy ditch just over the Henry County line. Her companion that night, 60-year-old Henry H. Denhardt, the sitting adjutant general of the Kentucky National Guard and recent lieutenant governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, insisted that Verna had spontaneously committed suicide with his gun on the same night she tried to return his engagement ring. Because of a series of macabre, bizarre, and sometimes laughable events, "the Iron General" would never be held legally responsible for the murder of this beautiful, honorable widow and businesswoman. But that does not mean that Denhardt was innocent. Just in the time for the 80th anniversary of this tragedy, Ian Punnett who resigned as host of the most listened to overnight show in North America to pursue a PhD in journalism and mass communication has uncovered the final missing, convincing details that bring A Black Night for the Bluegrass Belle to life. As part of the Commonwealth of Kentucky book series by Acclaim Press, Punnett also reveals the unknown truth behind Denhardt's ignoble demise, a death that is considered the last "code of honor" slaying in Kentucky history. Through storytelling skills honed as a veteran radio personality on the nationally syndicated Coast to Coast AM, a PhD candidate at Arizona State University, and an instructor of Multimedia Journalism at Ohio Northern University, Punnett crafts every chapter of this murder-to-trial-to-murder-to-trial nonfiction narrative with evocative historical detail and the passion that is only possible from a family member. Punnett's maternal grandmother was Verna Garr Taylor's first cousin and confidante. As a result, Punnett has access to family insight no other author can claim

Award-winning investigative reporter Robert Kolker delivers a haunting and humanizing account of the true-life search for a serial killer still at large on Long Island, in a compelling tale of unsolved murder and Internet prostitution. One late spring evening in 2010, Shannan Gilbert, after running through the oceanfront community of Oak Beach screaming for her life, went missing. No one who had heard of her disappearance thought much about what had happened to the twenty-four-year-old: she was a Craigslist prostitute who had been fleeing a scene—of what, no one could be sure. The Suffolk County Police, too, seemed to have paid little attention—until seven months later, when an unexpected discovery in a bramble alongside a nearby highway turned up four bodies, all evenly spaced, all wrapped in burlap. But none of them Shannan's. There was Maureen Brainard-Barnes, last seen at Penn Station in Manhattan three years earlier, and Melissa Barthelemy, last seen in the Bronx in 2009. There was Megan Waterman, last seen leaving a hotel in Hauppage, Long Island, just a month after Shannan's disappearance in 2010, and Amber Lynn Costello, last seen leaving a house in West Babylon a few months later that same year. Like Shannan, all four women were petite and in their twenties, they all came from out of town to work as escorts, and they all advertised on Craigslist and its competitor, Backpage. In a triumph of reporting—and in a riveting narrative—Robert Kolker presents the first detailed look at the shadow world of escorts in the Internet age, where making a living is easier than ever and the dangers remain all too real. He has talked exhaustively with the friends and family of each woman to reveal the three-dimensional truths about their lives, the struggling towns they came from, and the dreams they chased. And he has gained unique access to the Oak Beach neighborhood that has found itself the focus of national media scrutiny—where the police have flailed, the body count has risen, and the neighbors have begun pointing fingers at one another. There, in a remote community, out of sight of the beaches and marinas scattered along the South Shore barrier islands, the women's stories come together in death and dark mystery. Lost Girls is a portrait not just of five women, but of unsolved murder in an idyllic part of America, of the underside of the Internet, and of the secrets we keep without admitting to ourselves that we keep them.

An exposé for Making a Murderer fans that shows how Ken Kratz and other corrupt officials framed an innocent man and a vulnerable teenager. Each chapter breaks down one of the many numerous devious, underhand and illegal tactics used: The Art of Framing Innocent People Strategy 1: Trigger Emotional Reactions Strategy 2: Conceal Other Suspects Strategy 3: Pay Expert Witnesses to Lie Strategy 4: Coerce False Confessions Strategy 5: Plant Evidence Strategy 6: Ensure Public Defenders Work for the Prosecution Strategy 7: Discredit Honest Witnesses to Neutralise Alibis Strategy 8: Coach Dishonest Witnesses Strategy 9: Never Disclose or Punish a Prosecutor’s Sex Crimes Strategy 10: Rig the Jury All of the profits from this book will be going to Steven Avery, Brendan Dassey via their lawyers and to donate free books to school kids and prisoners. In the last two years, Shaun Attwood has donated 15,000 books to prisons and schools.

Eva McLelland was good at keeping secrets, and she had a big one. Sworn to secrecy for thirty-one years until the death of her husband, Eva was at last able to come forward and share a story that turns twentieth century history on its head and fills in puzzling blanks in the mysterious life of the tycoon Howard Hughes. How could Hughes appear to witnesses as an emaciated, long finger-nailed, mental incompetent, yet fly a jet aircraft four months later? How could a doctor describe him as looking like a "prisoner of war," when at the same time investment bankers, politicians, and diplomats who met him said he was articulate and well-groomed? The answer is a perfect example of the brilliance of the elusive billionaire. He simply found a mentally incompetent man to impersonate him, drawing the attention of the Internal Revenue Service and an army of lawyers who pursued him, while he conducted his business in peace from Panama with his new wife, Eva McLelland. Sound fantastic? It is. However, after seven years of research and verification, Eva's story produces the final pieces in the mysterious puzzle that was Howard Hughes. Douglas Wellman has been a television producer and director in Hollywood since 1980. He is currently Assistant Dean of the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Deborah.

Marcia Clark is a bestselling author and a criminal lawyer who began her career in law as a criminal defense attorney and went on to become a prosecutor in the L.A. District Attorney's Office in 1981. She spent ten years in the Special Trials Unit, where she handled a number of high profile cases, including the prosecution of stalker/murderer Robert Bardo, whose conviction for the murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer resulted in legislation that offered victims better protection from stalkers as well as increased punishment for the offenders. She was lead prosecutor for the O.J. Simpson murder trial.

Author and researcher Mitch Horowitz discussed the growing popularity of witchcraft, and the worldwide revival of Wicca and pagan traditions. Yet, with this upsurge, there has been an unfortunate increasing wave of violence against witches. Here in the West, in the US, Canada, and Europe, practitioners are generally peaceful 'New Agers' who practice Wicca, as a form of nature-based spirituality. But "in other parts of the world, including Africa, Latin America, and the South Pacific, people are practicing ancient traditions of witchcraft that sometimes get them accused of performing black magic or Satan worship, and they are being harassed and murdered by mobs, in the thousands, and that's why I'm talking about the existence of a war on witches," he said. This is the secret human rights crisis of our times, he continued, with the majority of the accused being women, and sometimes kids, and most of them completely innocent of any wrongdoing. We have to start compiling statistics and encourage law enforcement to do something about it, Horowitz proposed. Violence is also cropping up in the US and UK, as migrant populations move in with their "witch hunting traditions," he detailed.

Andrew Cohen is one of the most controversial spiritual teachers of the last 30 years. In 2013 his organization EnlightenNext collapsed amidst claims of abuse and the shocking revelation it had been a cult. This groundbreaking 6-part series features interviews with Andrew Cohen, former students including William Yenner (author of American Guru) and Marlowe Sand (author of Paradise and Promises), and commentary from experts Dr. Roger Walsh, Tami Simon, Steve McIntosh and Doshin Michael Nelson. How I Created a Cult investigates three decades of abuse, the danger of unchecked power in the hands of a charismatic leader, how this co-existed alongside stories of genuine spiritual awakening and transformation, and ultimately what happens when people risk it all in the name of spiritual awakening. New episodes added each Sunday night starting Oct. 16, 2016 - See more at: https://www.conscious2.com/how-i-created-a-cult/#sthash.PJaxcx72.dpuf

On the morning of December 26, 1996, JonBenet Ramsey was found murdered in the basementof her parents’ million-dollar Boulder, Colorado home. The death of the 6-year-oldbeauty queen horrified the city’s residents and immediately captured the country’sinterest. As throngs of reporters swarmed into Boulder, local and national networksflashed images of JonBenet — provocatively dressed in pageant outfits — acrossAmerican TV screens and around the world. Like the talk show media, the Boulder Police Department focused its suspicions almostexclusively on John and Patsy Ramsey. Despite pressure from the police to arrestthe Ramseys, the D.A.’s office, led by Alex Hunter, looked for new leads andother possible suspects. With conflict between the D.A. and the cops intensifying,the investigation gradually came to a standstill. Expanding on the role he’d played a few years earlier in O.J. Simpson case,Singular decided to look deeper. Not content to pass judgment on the Ramseys withoutconclusive evidence, and convinced there was a reason the legal system was waryabout prosecuting the case, he followed his own trail into the murder. It took himfrom the local bars to the county jail and onto shocking Internet web sites featuringimages of girls the same age as JonBenet who’d been tied up and sexually tortured– for pleasure and profit. Instead of simply wanting to know who killedJonBenet Ramsey, Singular began to question what part of our culture andwhat kind of child exploitation may have caused her death?

The Religion Virus is a fun and fascinating tour of how simple ancient spiritualism evolved into the incredibly infectious religions we know today, punctuated with humorous and insightful stories of the author’s own spiritual journey. Whether you are religious, agnostic, or atheist, when you close the book’s last chapter, your understanding of religion will forever be changed. "Ingenious. Craig James has cracked open the mystery of Religion's tenacity. It puts the pieces together into a fascinating, coherent model that makes sense!" - Dan Barker, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation and author of Godless. At any given moment, tens of thousands of religions, branches, sects, and belief systems are competing with each other for survival in a battle as ferocious as anything in nature. But this battle takes place in our minds and in our culture. Religions are locked in an endless fight for survival, and with each generation there are winners and losers. Only the "fittest" survive. The trouble is, "fitness" has little to do with truth and everything to do with what we want to believe and fear. Religion has evolved for thousands of years, and in the process has become incredibly infectious to the human mind. It preys on our hopes, fears, instincts, and desires, and it's very good at it. Like biological life, ninety-nine percent of the world's religions are extinct, but the ones that remain are quite remarkable, the very strongest and best

A deeply reported, New York Times bestselling exposé of the money and the clerics-turned-financiers at the heart of the Vatican—the world’s biggest, most powerful religious institution—from an acclaimed journalist with “exhaustive research techniques” (The New York Times). From a master chronicler of legal and financial misconduct, a magnificent investigation nine years in the making, God’s Bankers traces the political intrigue of the Catholic Church in “a meticulous work that cracks wide open the Vatican’s legendary, enabling secrecy” (Kirkus Reviews). Decidedly not about faith, belief in God, or religious doctrine, this book is about the church’s accumulation of wealth and its byzantine financial entanglements across the world. Told through 200 years of prelates, bishops, cardinals, and the Popes who oversee it all, Gerald Posner uncovers an eyebrow-raising account of money and power in one of the world’s most influential organizations. God’s Bankers has it all: a revelatory and astounding saga marked by poisoned business titans, murdered prosecutors, and mysterious deaths written off as suicides; a carnival of characters from Popes and cardinals, financiers and mobsters, kings and prime ministers; and a set of moral and political circumstances that clarify not only the church’s aims and ambitions, but reflect the larger tensions of more recent history. And Posner even looks to the future to surmise if Pope Francis can succeed where all his predecessors failed: to overcome the resistance to change in the Vatican’s Machiavellian inner court and to rein in the excesses of its seemingly uncontrollable financial quagmire. “As exciting as a mystery thriller” (Providence Journal), this book reveals with extraordinary precision how the Vatican has evolved from a foundation of faith to a corporation of extreme wealth and power God's Bankers: A History of Money and Power at the Vatican

Take a rare insider’s look at a mysterious world most people have only seen on television. Join Gale St. John on her amazing journey as a psychic sleuth who has helped find missing persons from Ohio to Kathmandu, with victims ranging from innocent young children to Mafia bosses. Missing and Presumed Dead shows you how Gale is able to tune in to a missing person, describing what she sees, hears, and feels to detect whether the individual is alive or not. Discover her extensive work with specially trained dogs that search for the missing. Experience high profile cases, including the ones where spirits help Gale save lives. Each extraordinary account—from those that made national headlines to those that are still unsolved—sheds light on the dramatic life of a psychic detective. Praise: “The heart-pounding suspense will keep you turning pages thinking you know the answers, while realizing nothing is like it seems.”—Marta Sosa, producer and host of the online radio show “Missing in America”

The Guide to Mysterious Loch Ness and the Inverness Area This is a guide to everything supernatural, paranormal, folkloric, eccentric and, above all, mysterious that has occurred on the dark waters of the enigmatic Loch Ness and the surrounding area of Inverness. Containing Celtic gods and martyrs, telepathy, exorcism and magic, mermaids, demons and saints (and based on texts both ancient and modern), it is a fascinating introduction to the heritage of the area.This is a guide that the armchair adventurer or the on-location visitor can revel in. Comprehensive entries covering Inverness' tombstones, simulacra, standing stones, gargoyles, ruins, churches and archaeological curiosities are complemented by more than 100 photographs. The book also includes notes and cross-references to enable the reader to follow up the sources.

Peter Kurten, a German who'd been sent to prison for deserting his comrades, sat in a cell contemplating what to do when he got out. He had no control within the prison walls and it drove him mad. The things that happened to him while in custody, unlocked oppressed sadistic feelings within Peter, and forced him to unleash a level of sexual deviancy on innocent victims in and around Dusseldorf, Germany, that no one will ever forget. Young girls, women, and men would succumb to horrific attacks including being bludgeoned by a hammer and stabbed to death. In several instances, Peter admitted to drinking blood from his victims and needing the act of rape and murder to reach orgasm. Oddly, the man lived a double life and his love for his wife drove him to turn himself in. Had he not done so, 'The Monster' would have continued to keep the country locked in fear. for many more years.