In November 1971, John List shot his mother, his wife, and his three children inside their Westfield, New Jersey, mansion, then walked out the next morning and stayed free for nearly 18 years. Criminologists at Birmingham City University later went through three decades of British cases like his and found that most of the men responsible had steady jobs, everything from surgeons to postmen to serving police officers, and few of them had a criminal record.
EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources):
https://weirddarkness.com/FamilyAnnihilatorsREAD or DOWNLOAD the full transcript of this episode:
https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yckhusk6FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: Weirdo family member, Katie Jo, tells us that as a child she saw something similar to glitter – but in a very supernatural form! (Sparkles) *** An old man opens up to something that happened to him over six decades ago that he has never told anyone before – something that he says ruined his life. (Something Happened 63 Years Ago) *** A woman in bed is startled awake in the middle of the night when she feels someone pull her arm out from under her head – but she’s the only one in her apartment. (Someone Or Something Moved My Hand) *** Mirrors, mirrors, mirrors everywhere. The more mirrors Lucida had the more she could admire herself. She even is said to have made a deal with the devil in order to maintain her youthful beauty. (The Creepy Story of Lucida Mansi) *** Village life in Lemont, Illinois was as peaceful as it could be, and the Willmans farm was one of the collection of typical sleepy homesteads in the region. Until the day the demon came. (The Demon of Lemont) *** Chillingly, statistics suggest that a child is more likely to be killed by a parent than by a stranger and in most cases, the killer takes his own life after the act. We’ll look into the disturbing psychology of family annihilators. (The Psychology of Familicide)
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding
00:03:27.691 = Show Open
00:05:43.393 = Sparkles
00:07:29.864 = Someone Or Something Moved My Hand
00:10:27.289 = Something Happened 63 Years Ago
00:30:31.899 = The Demon of Lemont ***
00:41:50.983 = The Creepy Story of Lucida Mansi
00:47:07.041 = The Psychology of Familicide, Part 1 ***
01:05:12.385 = The Psychology of Familicide, Part 2 ***
01:15:38.578 = The Psychology of Familicide, Part 3 ***
01:27:53.923 = Show Close
01:29:46.402 = Bloopers
*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad break
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SOURCES and RESOURCES:
“Sparkles” by Weirdo family member, Katie Jo
“Someone Or Something Moved My Hand” by Mirandra for Your Ghost Stories:
http://bit.ly/37muJPH“The Creepy Story of Lucida Mansi” by Ellen Lloyd for Ancient Pages:
http://bit.ly/2DgFrcK“The Demon of Lemont” by Ursula Bielski for Chicago Hauntings:
http://bit.ly/2rnR9zG“The Psychology of Familicide” by Fiona Guy for Crime Traveller:
http://bit.ly/2rmEOM2“The List Family Massacre” from All That’s Interesting:
http://bit.ly/34itO0I(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)
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Originally aired: November 2018
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https://WeirdDarkness.com/OFFICIALWeird Darkness moves from the John List murders and the psychology of family annihilators to a letter-writing demon on an Illinois farm, a Lucca noblewoman's bargain with the Devil, a hidden library in Maine, and two first-hand encounters in the dark.
It opens in Westfield, New Jersey, in 1971, where John List, who couldn't bring himself to tell his family he'd lost his job at the bank, shot his wife, his mother, and his three children, left religious hymns playing through the family's mansion, and disappeared for nearly 18 years.
From there, a Weirdo family member named Katie Jo remembers the hundreds of colored lights, each the size of a fleck of glitter, that drifted out of the corner of her par
