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

Hey cryptic cuties! Hope you are all enjoying the fall and spooky season as much as we are. This week we thought we would take a look at 2 cases involving disguises or costumes (in honour of halloween of course). 

First up, Kelsey shares the details of the murder of Marlene Warren, who was shot on her doorstep by a creepy clown, and whose identity would take decades to confirm. 

Alanna lightens the mood with the life and crimes of William Sutton, known as "Slick Willie" or "Willie the Actor", a man who frequently wore disguises during his 40 year career. 

If you have any spooky stories you would like us to read next ep, please send them to us through any of our socials or by e mail! 



Darkcast spotlight is The Final Trace! 



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201: Crimes in Disguise 

Hello friends and Happy Spooky Season! It's official we hit 200 episodes and it's time for something completely different!  A man with 3 buttocks! no wait, that's a different show...

Intro includes topics from A.I. actors, cryptid-inspired flavors, and light laughing  at children's descriptions of cryptids. Then we move into our appetizer, the Cryptid Quiz! How well do YOU know your cryptids? Play along and find out, we haven't covered all of these ones! So you think you're smarter than a podcaster, lol, our new show! Wink!

BTW, there are SO many sea creatures, damn!! Love a lake monster, too. On to the entree, a new, possibly one-off segment called Cryptid of the Week! If you like it, maybe we do more... lol let us know!

Finally, we cap it off with a Peek into the Patreon content-some Reddit threads that are curated by Alanna and her ADHD! Embarrassing anecdotes, stupid movie tropes, and when artificial intelligence tries to create ads, and fail terribly. Guess Kelsey's doubling-down on her bot-craze! Thank you so very much for listening for so many episodes and Keep it Cryptic! Or ELSE :)

Proud Member of Darkcast Network! the Best of Indie Podcasts!

If you want more C+C shenanigans, check us out on Patreon.com/castlesandcryptids !

See you soon!

200! It's here, and it's Spectacular!

Sorry for the late evening episode, it's been a long week here at C+C HQ! 

We're kicking off the spookiest season with some witchy, pagan style celebrations and we couldn't be more excited! Or hungry, by the end of the recording. Applesauce and pork and root veggies, hell yeah! 

So once we go over some of the sausage and symbols of the autumn fest, Kelsey gives us some other ways to get your Mabon on. Yes, there is lots of red, orange and gold so the fall vibes are strong with this one!

Then we dive into some origin stories like the Welsh fable from which it gets its name. It's full of unpronouncable names like Culhwch, sage old Salmon, the questing beast, and even a name drop of King Arthur! He's low-key like that's my cuz, man. So grab a snack, say Son-of-a-mother! and tune in to Mabon Fests and Feasts!

Darkcast Promo of the Week: Scottish Murders! All about crimes in Scotland and involving Scots. Such a good show!

199: Mabon Fests + Feasts

Happy September cryptic cuties, hope you are enjoying the last of the warm weather before we dive straight into fall and pumpkin spice everything. This week we investigated a few more cults we wanted to share with you all, we hope you find cults as fascinating as we do.  

Kelsey creeps Alanna out by telling her about a group that hit a little too close to home. The College of Integrated Philosophy may seem harmless on the surface, but they have had their fair share of controversy and court cases over their decades long history. 

Alanna shares updates on a cult we first discussed over on our patreon after watching Escaping The Twin Flames Universe, leaders Jeff and Shaleia Divine were recently interviewed about their beliefs, and it has everyone talking about them once again. Happy listening!

Darkcast spotlight is The Bell Witch Podcast

198: Castles, Cryptids & Cults

Hello and welcome back to another creepy, cryptic episode of your favourite paranormal podcast! This time we are diving into some visual, mental and certainly mysterious phenomenon.

 We have all probably heard of deja vu, but what do we really know about it causes, or correlations? Kelsey puts on her professor glasses and gives us a mini-lesson on the science we've learned about this glitch-type feeling. Surprising causes have been reported on, as well as other similar or opposite phenomenon, like jamais vu. 

Alanna takes us to Aberfan, Wales and an event that was seen by many people before it occurred, yet no one could have stopped the tragedy. But how could many have dreamed of a similar event, and what happened after? Well for one, thing, the Premonition Bureau was started. So you know there's gonna be a follow-up episode!

Darkcast Network Promo of the Week: Rogue Darkness Podcast

See you in two weeks! Keep it Cryptic!

197: Second Sight and Deja Vu 

Welcome back cryptic cuties, we hope you are having a great summer. Apologies for Kelsey's audio quality, we didn't notice it when we were recording (but ironic given us talking about other podcasts audio in our into), hopefully everyone still enjoys the ep! 

Kelsey kicks things off with the tale of Canadian folk hero 'Monica la Mitraille', a successful bank robber who took matters into her own hands in order to provide for her children. Featuring a high speed car chase that sounds like something out of a movie, its hard to believe it actually happened. 

Alanna has the low down on the Redpath Mansion Murders, focusing on a wealthy family and the mysterious deaths of 2 of their members. With little evidence and seemingly no motive, it truly is a classic case of whodunit. 



Join our patreon to catch up on all our monthly bonus episodes and help support the pod, we love you all and are so appreciative of all our listeners.  

Darkcast spotlight of the week is True Crime Connections: A safe, empowering space for survivors to share their stories, heal out loud, and connect through honest conversations. 

196: Notable Canadian Cases

Hey you beautiful people, we're back (on our bullsh*t :P ) First we chat about some milestones like graduation, adulting, gardening, and something we now know is called "holiday Creep". Spoilers, it's not a true crime or cryptid though! Just scary capitalism! Also it's the summer of Mr. Pink for one of us....

But Kelsey case dives us right in to some older accounts of vampirism, exhumation, and in particular the confounding case of Arnold Paole, the Monster of Medvegna, maybe. This story out of 1700's Serbia has as many as 17 vampires (fave number of Alanna!) , cattle deaths, a Serbian soldier possibly infected by the bite, and a cameo from Marie Antoinette's mom! What more could you want from history??

Then we have Alanna's Serbian vamp case, the Peasant Vampire of 1725,  centered on a man who may have killed as many as 8 people in a week, and ends with an honorable mention or two like the case of "Dracula's Bride". But for real! So please settle into your coffins for some creepiness, incredible stories and a vampire autopsy book, cause why not??

Till next time, Keep it Cryptic!

Darkcast Promo of the Week: Mystery Frequency! Story-style pod of epic sagas 

Tags: Vampyr, Sarah Ellen Roberts, the Coventry Street Vampire, Peter Blagojevic, 17 Vampires, Arnold Paole, Serbian Vampires

195: Old Cases of Cold Ones

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! 