So clearly this is a very sensitive topic, like most true crime, so please be aware this will contain mentions of child death,  child sexual abuse and other very violent topics. No explicit details are included but be forewarned it's a rough one. "we observe, but we must not need absorb" about bearing witness to trauma survivors in crime cases. 

So first we learn about a William Cook from Kelsey, and he was born to a big family and grew up to be a man who made very poor choices. He had a terrible temper, a penchant for kidnapping instead of just carjacking, and had too many children, who surely hated their father. To make a semi-Minecraft reference, no his children did not, in fact, yearn for the mines. Who wants to live underground but worms, anyway?

Alanna covers the Dunblane Massacre, a school massacre in 1990's Scotland that sent the small  town and nation into grief. What causes such impulses, we discuss, and what effects must it have on a vulnerable section of people? our kids are prepped for everything from drunk driving to school shooting these days, and we wonder what the consequences on our mental health must be. 

But then also, we find the light that shines through the cracks sometimes, when Alanna messes up musical numbers NOT from Hamilton, etc. So tune in and clutch a stress toy if you can, such is the joy of life, and we love you for being here with us!

Happy Listening and Keep it Cryptic!

Darkcast Promos of the Week!: Murder Unscripted, Psychology of the Strange



209: Mass Murders + Killings sprees

We are back, back again (just like Kelsey's hearing and voice) and we are ready to dive into some lore about creatures around the UK. First we have British Flying Rods, known for their segmented and wavy motions, they move fast and are incredibly rare with only 2 known sightings. Next, Kelsey covers the Boneless, featuring the phrase "undulating mass of gelatinous flesh", it's a segment you don't want to miss. 

Alanna caps things off with Sam the Sandown Clown, a ghost clown who may or may not also be an alien or a robot. Listen to the strange encounter 2 kids had with Sam before he vanished forever and let us know what you think he is.  

Thanks for listening, head over to our Patreon to catch up on all our bonus eps and be sure to leave us a review. 

Until next time, keep it cryptic!



This weeks promo is for Murder Shelf Book Club!

208: UK Cryptids & Creatures

Hey you lovely listeners, today we have a wee episode to tide you over while our co-host is on the mend. Alanna is reading some local ghost stories to you!   To be fair, it's since she feels bad she switched topics and delayed recording, sorry! Send help lol.

We pulled from the book by Barbara Smith, previously featured on the McKay Museum Hometown Haunts  episode, so listen to that one too if you haven't( between ep 165-166 in the feed.) Smith has researched ghost stories and legends from all across the province, from Native warrior Chief spirit stories to haunted hotels. We hear about a haunted bookstore, The Banff Springs Hotel (which they deny is haunted but we know better, don't we?), a ghost arsonist captured on camera, and some Shining-style hotel ghosts. 

Let's get ghosting! If you want more Castles and Cryptids content, try our Patreon to support the show! Plug over now lol. Love you all and happy hauntings! 

Ghost Stories of Alberta- A Haunted Minisode

It's been a minute since we did a castle haunt or horror, so here are two very cool, eerie castles to live up to our name!

Quick into of obligatory bitch session and catch-up, this time we go on about annoying and aging bodies, can anyone relate to that? Taking meds with side effects and lucky if they don't hurt your damn liver! Side shout-out to a couple comments from last episode and we're off to Germany!

Kelsey takes us to Eltz Castle, Wierschem, Germany, and it's long, long history that we skip over for the good parts. One medieval family lived here forever somehow, if only we had a mockumentary called Medieval Family! Ghosts, George R.R. Martin bashing, and stolen kisses com into conversation and that's normal for us.

On to Bran Castle and Bram Stoker's Dracula. A tangential connection maybe, but Vlad Dracule has had our fascination for a long time too so we hope you don't mind the side quests into Dracula, haunts and a little history. Plus the great Question: Do you get impaled up the ass??Torso? do you all know??

Darkcast Promo of the Week: Love and Murder Podcast

207: Creepy Medieval Castles

Hey cryptic cuties, hope your 2026 is treating you well and we are so excited to be back. We have a fun episode for you, diving into the fascinating world of counterfeiting, forgeries and replicas, featuring everything from the well done, all the way to the bizarre and laughable. 

Starting with the arrest of Frank Bourassa, Kelsey covers how a life of crime led one man on a path to printing millions and becoming named the world's greatest counterfeiter. 

Alanna closes out the ep with a collection of expensive forgeries that shook the world, as well as some failed restorations that made the 2 of us question if some things should just be left alone. 

Happy listening and catch up with you all next time! Join our patron for exclusive episodes, videos and even more banter and tangents!



Darkcast spotlight: Box in the Basement 



206: Fakes, Forgeries and Phonies

Happy Holidays, here is your second helping of psychic stuff! We love talking about parapsychology, and of course, we are not the only ones. So Alanna's topic of the day is telepathy; trying to test it, a brief history of our fascination with it, and into the most recent claims and controversies! 

After some minor Game of Thrones spoilers (its old, come on, it's ok ), we dig into some topics discussed on the Telepathy Tapes Podcast and the response to both it's popularity, and some pushback against it.  So some spoilers for that podcast too, as we talk about how we can try and do better in testing in the future, and in education for people with special needs.  We did our best to be respectful as we navigated this touchy subject, so please listen with care as well, as you all do!  There's a mention of a banned Ted Talk, which can happen, we guess! Don't ban us lol, we are just asking some questions and trying to teach ourselves lol. Don't put us on the dark web! We love you all and hope you have a safe and Happy New Year!  

205: Telepathy Talk: Claims and Controversy

Hello Cryptic Crew, and welcome back to our latest episode! 

This time its Kelsey's turn to deliver a curious case of a man who had some very prophetic dreams. Chris Robinson (not the one married to Amanda Knox, not to be confused with Canadian icon Christopher Robin either, you're welcome :) 

He was often accurate at predicting disasters like airplane crashes and received the information through dreams. He even had a working relationship with local police. Theories include other worldly guides giving him advance knowledge, but you be the judge! We like to try and keep our minds open, and don't forget the movie talk, has anyone else seen Tron: Ares lol or ... what are you all watching this season? 

Part two will be a dive into Telepathy Tests and  Controversies too! Stay tuned, it's dropping soon as a Yule treat! Keep it Cryptic! 

Head to Patreon.com for bonus content monthly and a backlog of hundreds of hours of creepy and cool stories!  



204:  Psi Phenomena: Premonition Man

Welcome back, this week we dive into some drug-related crimes. Kelsey  shares the scary tale of the Paraquat Vending Machine Murders in Japan- we are sad to say we'd never heard of it. A motive is nothing but senseless murder of strangers, so it's especially hard to fathom. So random.

Then we move to the Canadian Maritimes where the story might be called Cocaine Plane, but it doesn't really get off the ground? It's been called the biggest drug bust in the country's history, but what really went down is more unexpected than we ever guessed. Tune in but party on responsibly with Drug Crimes. Oh did we mention Mounties and Mustaches, Canada's Country-wide fake Girlfriends and boyfriends alibis, and some facts about Pablo Escobar and his thwarted-New Brunswick jailbreak. Keep it Cocaine-free and cryptic!



203: Your Podcast on Drug Crimes

This week is a Patreon Peek! We opened up the vault to give us some time to recover from some colds that can take down a host for a bit. But we love this episode, two very different takes on forensics, first a crimes solved with some, and then a teaching tool to solve killings with a unique twist. 

So Kelsey covers the Soham murders, so-called for the area of the crimes, and trigger warning for child violence. But Forensic science and botany would play a big role in the evidence in this case, key to solving it. 

Finally Alanna tells the tale of Frances Lee Glessner, A very smart woman who put her talents into re-creating crime scenes on a small scale for learning and training purposes. Her mini murder and unclassified death sequences were done to the most precise detail and the cases still kept secret for officers to learn from today. 

Thanks for your patience and we should be back next week, so Keep it Cryptic! Much love!

Soham Murders and Mini Crime Dioramas

Samhain/Sauin season is here and a Happy All Hallow's Eve to all of you! Call them creepy campfire stories, or what you want but we wanted the dark and eerie vibes this time!

So let's all snuggle in for the first tale of terror- Kelsey's recitation  of the Man Who Watched Me Sleep story?! Or should we say the Red Man Story...

Either way, we on the edge of our seats and butts puckered! Always watching me....

 then it's on to some older tales...

In some sort of old-school stories of Samhain, from Celtic folklore gods and goddesses of death and destruction, to anecdotes of the unexplained, Alanna runs through some morbid mythology then a Sumerian story of a trip to the Underworld. Bloodthirsty battles can leave deep scars, it seems, and we wonder, are some warriors-mostly called berserkers, infected with "battle madness"? What a superpower she must have! 

Send us your favourite creepy pastas, odd tales, and other weird stories you might have! we will feature all in a future episode, so don't delay! thanks and as always, Keep it Cryptic!

Darkcast Network Promo of the Week: Tragedy with a View

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Thanks Cryptic Cuties!!!



202: Sinister Samhain Stories

Welcome to Castles & Cryptids,  a paranormal podcast hosted by a couple of Canadian chickies! Follow Alanna and Kelsey  down the rabbit hole as we explore lore and legends, murder and mysteries, the unsolved and the unexplained.  Where the castles are haunted and the cryptids are cryptic AF! 

Alanna Peters

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