MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

This is a special bonus episode of "You Can't" One night in 2020, a woman named Beth Van Oss paced back and forth in a small room in the house she shared with her boyfriend, Mike, in rural Colorado. She dialed Mike’s phone number again, and put her phone to her ear. But just like the last time she’d called – he didn’t answer. Now, Beth was afraid. He had left that morning, headed for the woods, promising her that when he came back – they would finally have everything they had ever dreamed of. And he had taken something with him. Something that he had become obsessed with. Something that Beth had begged him to forget about, and throw away. But he had refused. And now, he was gone. Beth dialed the phone again, but this time, she called the police. For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @mrballen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This story is a fan favorite from MrBallen's Medical Mysteries. In September 2007, a meteor strike leaves a massive crater in the high Peruvian desert, drawing curiosity seekers from miles around. Shortly after, people from the nearby town of Carancas start becoming violently ill. Some residents fear a curse has befallen them, but the truth might be much more frightening. Listen Now: Wondery.fm/MBMM For 100s more stories like this one, check out my YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @MrBallen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today’s podcast will feature 3 unbelievable true 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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6m1ImVG1MQ)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgeDUqyCgqEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCdzzoB7jrQ For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @mrballen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In 2011, a police officer spotted a woman on a busy street in Japan, and he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He looked at a photo on his phone, and then back at the woman, it was definitely her. He’d been tasked with finding this woman and bringing her back home, it was a pretty basic task, but he’d managed to complete it way faster than he thought he would. The officer rushed down the street, greeted the woman, and she confirmed she was the person he was looking for. He led her back to his car, drove her home, and that was that. But what the officer could not have possibly have imagined, was that locating this woman and bringing her home was about to unravel 25 years of unimaginable horrors – and lead to one of the most bizarre cases Japanese investigators had ever seen. For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @mrballen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today’s podcast will feature 2 camping horror stories. The audio from both of these stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel and has been remastered for today's episode. Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODIGopvDSXAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi_GF9XOelw For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @mrballen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On a night in 1984, a college freshman listened to the music blaring through a night club. She grabbed her date’s hand and rushed out onto the dance floor. Her first year of college had its ups and downs, but it was nights like these that she’d grown to love – nights when she could stay out as late as she wanted with whoever she wanted. She and her date danced for hours, and then finally headed outside to his car, exhausted and happy. But this young woman had been having so much fun at the club with the guy she was with that she didn't notice someone else had been standing in the shadows watching her dance the whole night… and now that person was following her. For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @mrballen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today’s podcast will feature 2 stories about unexplainable phenomena. The audio from both of these 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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2FVjH4WWlUhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJlkwZ1Gr6w For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @mrballen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On a June night in 1997, Kathy Peters was asleep at her home in Mirror Lake, a quiet neighborhood of Sarasota, Florida. Around 3:45 AM, she was awakened by a strange noise. It was unlike anything Kathy had ever heard – a faint, eerie, rattling hiss. After a few seconds, the sound faded and Kathy tried to go back to sleep, but now she was too anxious. So she got up and crossed to the window. She opened the blinds and looked across the lake's glassy surface. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But then she nearly jumped out of her skin when a loud, metallic banging noise sounded right below her window. Someone was pounding on the screen door. Kathy hurried downstairs, wondering who could be bothering her at this time of night. She considered not answering, but Mirror Lake was a safe community. There had to be a reasonable explanation… so she opened the door. Through the screen, she could see someone standing in the darkness. Kathy asked who it was and what they wanted - but the figure didn’t respond. By now, Kathy was absolutely terrified, so she switched on the porch light. And when she saw what was in front of her, she reeled back in horror. For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @mrballen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today’s story comes out of China, and it is a brutal story. There’s just no way to tell it without being sort of graphic, so with that in mind, this is definitely a mature audiences only type of story. That said, it is a fascinating story, and the ending is something that very few of you are going to see coming. It's going to feel kind of predictable throughout most of the story, and then the end completely changes your impression of the story. Story name, preview & link to original YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zykdjsg1V1c For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @mrballen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is a special bonus episode of "You Can't" I’m going to tell two stories that prove that no matter what we think science can tell us about the natural world, the wilderness still holds secrets we cannot understand. For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @mrballen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It was a frigid December day in a small logging town in Maine, roughly an hour’s drive from the US-Canadian border. And despite the falling snow, Christmas shoppers were out in full force. While most of the shoppers hurried from store to store, a small crowd had gathered in front of the police station. The shoppers watched as an officer stapled a poster to a telephone pole. Then, when he was done, they shuffled closer for a better view. The poster contained a forensic artist’s sketch of a middle-aged woman. She had a narrow face, thin nose, glasses, and bangs. And according to the text above the image, the police were looking for this woman in connection with a recent double homicide. The murders were shocking, but they were also the most exciting thing to happen in this part of rural Maine for as long as anyone could remember. So despite the cold, the shoppers stood there studying the sketch and discussing whether it looked like anyone they knew. They were so caught up in their conversation, no one noticed a bundled-up figure hurrying past on the sidewalk. This figure slowed just long enough to glance at the poster and recognize the face in the sketch, which bore a striking resemblance to their own. Then, before anyone could notice them, the figure turned and hurried off into the falling snow. For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @mrballen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. And today’s podcast features 3 stories that demonstrate that. 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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JPEtNglQ4ohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7VtahvTLH4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCvx4jikmsI For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @mrballen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On a night in March of 2017, a bonfire lit up the yard at a house party in Youngstown, Ohio. A group of friends in their 20s and 30s sat around the fire, drinking beer, talking, and having a good time. And as the night went on and they kept partying, they couldn’t imagine that this bonfire would soon help police solve one of the most horrific crimes the city of Youngstown had ever witnessed. For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @mrballen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today’s podcast will feature 2 borderline unbelievable stories that remain a mystery to this day. The audio from both of these 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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf9ahZB9yfYhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD_Ot9aXy7s For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @mrballen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On a cold winter day in 2013, police officers rushed through the dense woods outside of a small town in Kentucky. They weaved their way through the trees, keeping their eyes peeled, and finally, one of them shouted out. He saw what they were looking for in the distance. The other officers quickly followed him into a clearing, and there, they saw a man with a long gray beard sitting in a large self-made camp. It looked like the man had been living out in the woods for months. The officers stared at him, and they almost couldn’t believe it, because they had finally tracked down the man who they thought could help solve a murder that had taken place a year earlier in a town 150 miles away. For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @mrballen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This story is a fan favorite from MrBallen's Medical Mysteries. One night in 1944, over 300 patients at a mental hospital in Oregon become violently sick after eating dinner. Many of them die. An investigation is quickly launched to determine the source of this deadly illness. Was there something wrong with the food itself? Or could it have been the work of a deranged killer? Listen Now: Wondery.fm/MBMM For 100s more stories like this one, check out my YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @MrBallen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In 2002, two days after Halloween, a police officer stepped out of a house in the small town of Navasota, Texas. He shielded his eyes from the early morning sunlight, then ducked under the band of yellow tape that surrounded the house. The officer had been working all night and really needed a break. So he went down to the sidewalk and lit a cigarette. And as he smoked, his eyes fell on a muddy ditch that ran alongside the street. He saw something in the ditch that looked out of place. He walked closer and crouched down to examine the object. And when he saw what it was, his heart started racing. Because lying in the ditch was a mask. Under different circumstances, finding a mask two days after Halloween wouldn’t be that strange. But this wasn’t the kind of mask you’d buy at a costume shop... and the officer had found it 25 yards from the site of a murder. For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @mrballen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today’s podcast will feature 2 sailing horror stories. The audio from both of these 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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54toJMsfg94https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWOMY0JQdFs For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @mrballen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On a summer night In 2013, newlyweds Joe and Olga Connell walked into their condominium in Wilmington, Delaware. Joe flipped on the light and sat down on the couch, while Olga headed to the bedroom to get changed. Suddenly, Joe heard a loud scream. He got up, and ran down the hall to the bedroom. There, he found Olga sitting on the floor yelling and crying. And he saw her jewelry boxes had been completely emptied and thrown off her dresser – thousands of dollars worth of rings and necklaces were just gone. But through her tears, Olga said she didn’t care about how much money they cost. Some of those pieces were precious family heirlooms that had been passed down to Olga from hers and Joe’s mothers. Joe comforted his wife, but he didn’t tell her what he was thinking. Because Joe thought he knew who had robbed them, and he feared this might be just the first attack in an escalating family war. For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @mrballen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today’s podcast will feature 3 stories about people who vanished without a trace. 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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZCCCxnSMxs)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lOsTCBg4fQhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FvnihQ8dJo For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If 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 @mrballen See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.