Macabrium

In the spring of 1967, amateur prospector Stefan Michalak emerged from the woods near Falcon Lake—burned, disoriented, and terrified. What he claimed he saw deep in the Manitoba wilderness would spark one of Canada’s most famous UFO investigations. A strange craft. A searing light. And a silence that felt like it was watching him. What happened in those woods remains unexplained. But the scars it left were very real. Macabrium is produced by Macabrium Creative and hosted by Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown, with writing and research by Chloë Kibbe, Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown.  • Follow us on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• Subscribe on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• Support us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Visit us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.macabriumpod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more! Episode Reference Material Stefan Michalak’s Story: No Aliens Required by The Iron Skeptic  Falcon Lake incident is Canada's 'best-documented UFO case,' even 50 years later by Darren Bernhardt The Falcon Lake Incident by Lyndon Froese Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a different episode of Lore & Legends today - one that factually explores Aokigahara Forest, Japan’s “Suicide Forest,” tracing its evolution from a natural wonder at the base of Mount Fuji to a global symbol of tragedy. Spanning its geological origins from the 864 CE eruption, 19th-century emergence as a suicide site, and peak suicide rates in the early 2000s, this episode examines economic crises, cultural attitudes, and media influences like Seichō Matsumoto’s Kuroi Jukai that amplified its notoriety. Learn about Japan’s suicide prevention efforts, including national policies and Aokigahara-specific measures like drone patrols, alongside the forest’s role as a tourist destination attracting both nature enthusiasts and “dark tourists.” Macabrium is produced by Macabrium Creative and hosted by Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown, with writing and research by Chloë Kibbe, Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown.  • Follow us on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• Subscribe on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• Support us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Visit us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.macabriumpod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more! Episode Reference Material Aokigahara Forest - Wikipedia CNN: Suicide in Japan's Aokigahara Forest (2009) Aokigahara: Suicide Forest - IMDb Aokigahara: Suicide Forest - WatchDocumentaries Suicide Prevention in Japan - WHO Aokigahara Forest - National Geographic Inside Japan’s ‘Suicide Forest’ - CNN (2018) Japan's Suicide Forest: 33 Creepy Facts - Best Life National Suicide Prevention Policy in Japan - Injury Prevention The General Principles of Suicide Prevention Policy - PubMed The Creepy Confines of Aokigahara - All That’s Interesting Real Stories From the Japanese Suicide Forest - Bustle Sea of Trees: Poetic Gateways to Aokigahara - Tokyo Poetry Journal Aokigahara Forest - Japan National Tourism Organization Suicide Data and Trends in Japan - Tokyo Mental Health Excess Suicides in Japan Post-Pandemic - ScienceDirect Drones Deployed to Aokigahara for Patrol - The Asahi Shimbun From Tragedy to Tourism - Life360 Aokigahara: A Dark Tourism Spot - Travel Tomorrow Macabre Tourism in Japan - ResearchGate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spring, 1943. In the quiet woods of Hagley, four boys stumble upon something no child should ever find—a skull, staring out from the hollow of a wych elm. Her hand is missing. Her name is unknown. But soon, questions begin to bleed through the brickwork of Birmingham and beyond: Who put Bella in the Wych Elm? In this bonus episode of Macabrium, we unravel one of England’s most eerie and enduring mysteries. Was Bella a spy tangled in wartime secrecy, a victim of dark ritual, or something else? Macabrium is produced by Macabrium Creative and hosted by Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown, with writing and research by Chloë Kibbe, Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown.  • Follow us on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• Subscribe on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• Support us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Visit us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.macabriumpod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more! Episode Reference Material Who Put Bella In the Wych Elm? - CrimeReads Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm? | Tales of History and Imagination A Digital Reconstruction Reveals the Face of Famed Murder Victim 'Bella in the Wych Elm' Revealed after 75 years: The face of Bella in the Wych Elm - Birmingham Live The Unsolved Mystery of Bella in the Wych Elm - Historic Mysteries Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm? The Unsolved Murder That Still Haunts Britain - The Guardian Bella in the Wych Elm: A Midlands Murder Mystery - BBC News The Strange Case of Bella in the Wych Elm - Strange Remains Who Put Bella In the Wych Elm? - Stuff You Should Know | iHeart ‘Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?’: Espionage, Witchcraft, and other Theories - Curious Archive BBC investigator asks museums for help tracing remains of murder victim ‘Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?’: Espionage, Witchcraft, and other Theories Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It began with a sound—low, then rising. A groan like steel bending under a terrible weight. Then came the rush. Not of water, but something thicker. Darker. A wall of molasses, fifteen feet high, traveling at the speed of a freight train. It shattered buildings, snapped beams like twigs, and swept horses, wagons, and people into its syrupy current. In mere moments, a neighborhood was drowned in sweetness… and death. They called it the Great Molasses Flood. Some said on hot summer days, the scent still lingers in the air, clinging to the city like a ghost. But what really caused a tank to explode with such fury? Was it poor engineering—or a corporate cover-up? And why does this sticky disaster still seep into Boston’s memory more than a century later? * This episode's audio has been updated to reflect the correct timeline of the Cold War and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Thank you for your understanding as we strive for historical accuracy! Macabrium is produced by Macabrium Creative and hosted by Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown, with writing and research by Chloë Kibbe, Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown.  • Follow us on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• Subscribe on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• Support us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Visit us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.macabriumpod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more! Episode Reference Material The Great Molasses Flood by Susan Donnelly  Without Warning, Molasses in January Surged Over Boston by Edwards Park  12 Killed When Tank of Molasses Explodes by The New York Times Anarchists, Horses, Heroes: 12 Things You Didn’t Know about the Great Boston Molasses Flood by Spencer Bull The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 killed 21 After 2 million gallon tank exploded by Ben Kesslen 100 Years Ago Today: Molasses Crashes Through Boston’sNorth End by Archives and Records Management of the City of Boston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

She came back wearing the same dress they buried her in. Pale. Still. And when she spoke, the truth spilled out like a frostbitten breath: “He broke my neck.” In this haunting tale from the hills of 19th-century West Virginia, a grieving mother claims her dead daughter returned—not for revenge, but for justice. What followed would become the only known U.S. murder trial where ghostly testimony played a part in the conviction. Macabrium is produced by Macabrium Creative and hosted by Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown, with writing and research by Chloë Kibbe, Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown.  • Follow us on⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• Subscribe on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• Support us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠ Visit us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.macabriumpod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more! Episode Reference Material The Greenbrier Ghost - West Virginia Archives and History The Full Tale of West Virginia's Remarkable Greenbrier Ghost - West Virginia Explorer Greenbrier Ghost Historical Marker - Historical Marker Database Greenbrier County Courthouse - Atlas Obscura The Greenbrier Ghost: A Haunting Tale of Murder and the Supernatural - Heart Starts Pounding Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices