PLEASE SHARE THIS EPISODE in your social media so others who love strange and macabre stories can listen too! https://weirddarkness.com/listen
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HOUR ONE: It’s rumored that an arcade game from 1980 might lead to the real death of its players. We’ll look at the death curse of Berzerk. (The Berzerker Death Curse, And The Polybius Urban Legend) *** And another arcade game in the early 80s was surrounded by controversy – because the game never existed, despite so many saying it did. Or did it exist? We’ll look at the urban legend of Polybius. (The Urban Legend of Polybius)
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HOUR TWO: Was Stanley Stiers the real-life inspiration for Michael Myers in 1978’s John Carpenter film, “Halloween?” (The Real Michael Myers) *** The last known words of Peter Rugg were “Let the storm increase! I will see home tonight in spite of the last tempest, or I may never see home!" Over two-hundred years later and he has yet to make it home – but that hasn’t stopped his tempest! (The Eternal Ride of Peter Rugg) *** Imagine attending college for several years, only to find out that the whole time you’ve been studying on top of the corpses of thousands of mental patients. That’s exactly what happened in 2013 when The University of Mississippi made plans to expand parking for their students and staff. (The Corpses Under The University of Mississippi) *** Dealing with a ghost or two is awful enough – but what if you’re attacked by a whole gang of ghouls? It was reported as real news in 1889’s Chicago Tribune! (A Whole Gang O’ Ghosts) *** People With Super Powers!
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SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME: Michael Bryson disappeared on August 5th, 2020 from Hobo Campground at Umpqua National Forest. He has yet to be found. (The Disappearance of Michael Bryson) *** When it comes to cryptids, you have many to choose from – Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, the chupacabra, the list goes on and on. But I’m willing to bet nowhere on the list of your favorite cryptids, or even the cryptids you’ve ever heard of, do you have an entry for “The Belled Buzzard” of Texas. (The Belled Buzzard Legend) *** When the Black Plague arrived at Eyam's doorstep in the 17th century, its villagers were forced to choose between life or certain doom. It’s the tragic tale of England’s Plague Village. (The Black Plague Comes to Eyam)
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SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM TONIGHT’S SHOW:“People with Super Powers” from Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.com/magazine“The Berzerk Death Curse” by Cat DeSpira: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yckk96tv
“The Polybius Conspiracy” by Ryan Houlihan for InputMag.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8h6v8z“The Real Michael Myers” from Casper McFadden at TheMorbidLibrary.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yvj6ueze, and from TheScareChamber.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/vmew9uvb; “Halloween” theme piano solo by Noud van Harskamp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T9m-fj8K9c, “Halloween Kills | Epic Orchestral Theme” by Mike Chibante: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E82MEfQiffk
“The Disappearance of Michael Bryson” posted at Strange Outdoors: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/mwvb3am8 (If you know anything that could help solve Michael Bryson’s disappearance, or if you were at the Hobo Campground around August 3rd, 4th, or 5th of 2020, please reach out to the sheriff’s office at (541) 682-4150, option 1, and reference case No. 20-5286.)
“The Eternal Ride of Peter Rugg” posted at SlightlyOddFitchburg.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/3z7pdtzn
“The Corpses Under The University of Mississippi” by Erin Wisti for Ranker.com’s “Graveyard Shift”:https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8tdu6k
“A Whole Gang O’ Ghosts” posted from Strange Company: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p9ynpev
“The Belled Buzzard Legend” from Texas Cryptid Hunter: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p875fxv
“The Black Plague Comes to Eyam” by Stephanie Almazan for TheLineUp.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/1aptirxk
==========(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for material I use whenever possible. If I have overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it immediately. Some links may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)
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"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
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WeirdDarkness®, WeirdDarkness© 2024
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To become a Weird Darkness Radio Show affiliate, contact Radio America at [email protected], or call 800-807-4703 (press 2 or dial ext 250).
==========https://weirddarkness.com/weirddarknessradio-weekend-of-may-04-05-2024/

From bathing in girls' blood to making homemade conjoined twins, we’ll look at a few famous psychopaths who are truly some of the most terrifying people in the history of the world. Plus, whether flamboyant, miserly, or paranoid, some of history's oddest individuals put modern-day eccentricities to shame. 

SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE…
“History’s Oddest Individuals” and “Sinister Psychopaths” by John Kuroski for AllThatsInteresting.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p9ca245, https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/mpvbsn6e
Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library.
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(Over time links seen above 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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"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
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WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2024, Weird Darkness.
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Originally aired: March, 2022

PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT: https://weirddarkness.com/oddest-individuals-sinister-psychopaths/

IN THIS EPISODE: We look at the intriguing start to the Slenderman legend, and how it evolved into not juste one real-life murder, but suicides as well. We debate whether it’s possible for an imaginary figure like Slenderman to become a reality. And we look at a possible connection between Slenderman and a real-life mystery in the 1830s. 

SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE…
“Slenderman: Blurring The Lines Of Reality” by Marcus Lowth for UFOInsight.com:https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p9e9srj
Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library.
= = = = =
(Over time links seen above 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.)
= = = = =
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
= = = = =
WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2024, Weird Darkness.
= = = = =
Originally aired: March, 2022

PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT: https://weirddarkness.com/slenderman-blurring-the-lines-of-reality/

Get full-length pulp audiobooks, pulp eBooks, and old-time radio shows ABSOLUTELY FREE FOR IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD by emailing [email protected]!

After September 30, 1962, commercial radio drama was as dead as the doornail described in the opening pages of Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843), and everyone understood that television killed it. People who worked in both mediums realized that working in radio was a much better overall experience than television could ever be. Sure, TV had pictures to go along with the stories, but putting those pictures on the air involved a highly technical and expensive technology, and by the time those images reached the audience they were grainy, blurry, and sometimes nearly impossible to see. One actor could play different parts on several different radio programs, even in a single episode, but once they were seen in a TV show their face was recognizable enough that they had a hard time working on another show, and even a twenty-second appearance meant hours in makeup and wardrobe. Appearing in a radio drama required just a couple rehearsals and then remaining as quiet as possible in the studio, following along in the script until time to perform your lines, which you also read from the script. There was one important thing that television could offer over radio work; money. The accounting in TV and radio was fundamentally different. A radio program was usually paid for by a single sponsor while commercial time on TV shows was sold piecemeal, but there was still a phenomenal amount of money involved in TV production and the networks and sponsors were happy to pay it. Unable to compete with the huge amount of money being spread around by TV, after the final broadcasts of Suspense and Yours Truly Johnny Dollar on September 30, 1960, the Golden Age of Radio came to an end. Or did it? In the decade after the end of the Golden Age of Radio, TV matured artistically and technically. There had been a rejection by the networks of "rural" programming which helped launch a nostalgia craze. This craze began with the release of George Lucas's American Graffiti (1973), and suddenly everything old seemed new again. One of the genres which were best suited to radio was the horror shows which made listeners sit up in bed and pull the sheets over their heads. This sort of program had been pioneered Wyliss Cooper and Arch Oboler on Lights Out as well as The Whistler, Suspense, and Inner Sanctum Mysteries. This was the type of show creators decided upon for his radio nostalgia project, which became The CBS Radio Mystery Theater. They were convinced that there was enough interest from those who had heard similar shows growing up during the Golden Age, but the show built a following of younger fans for whom radio drama was a new and exciting experience. In many ways, CBSRMT was more like a TV program on the radio than a typical Old Time Radio show. The shows were taped rather than broadcast live, which allowed for greater post-production editing and creative control. The scripts generally ran 45 minutes, and the action was broken at points to allow for separately produced commercials and news bulletins to be inserted. The opening featured the "creaking door" effect which had been part of The Inner Sanctum. Host E.G. Marshall was never as campily creepy earlier horror hosts, but his closing, "Until next time, pleasant… dreams?" was sure to inspire nightmares. Production of CBSRMT was efficient almost to the point of cheapness. Creators drew upon radio row veterans working in New York as well as up-and-coming television personalities. The show used original stories from a wide variety of genres as well as literary classics. Writers were paid a flat $350 for each recorded script, and actors received union scale rates of $73.92 per episode. The actors would come into the studio for an initial script reading at 9:00 am, and the episode was generally completed by noon. Paychecks were handed out and the tape would be edited in the afternoon.

00:00:00.000 = INTRODUCTION
00:01:54.482 = The Case of MJH (August 22, 1974)
00:46:43.193 = The Deadliest Favor (August 26, 1974)
01:31:38.360 = The Fatal Marksman (August 28, 1974)
02:16:41.790 = Medium Rare (August 29, 1974)
03:01:39.324 = The Return of Anatole Chevenic (September 02, 1974)
03:46:35.909 = The Imp In The Bottle (September 03, 1974)
04:31:42.592 = Deadline For Death (September 05, 1974)

SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LINKS…
This episode is sponsored by http://RadioArchives.com
Weird Darkness Retro Radio theme by Storyblocks.
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"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
Find out how to escape eternal darkness at https://weirddarkness.com/eternaldarkness
WeirdDarkness® - is a registered trademark. Copyright, Weird Darkness, 2024.

CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/cbsrmt-marathon-016

Adapted from the daily bible study in the YouVersion bible app on Tuesday, April 30, 2024.
Hear previous messages and find our social media at https://WeirdDarkness.com/Church! Please share this podcast with your friends, family, and co-workers, and post a link to this episode in your own social media! Thank you, and God bless!
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Darren Marlar is a licensed minister through the Universal Life Church: https://www.themonastery.org. Find his other podcast, Weird Darkness, in your favorite podcast app at https://weirddarkness.com/listen. “Church Of The Undead” theme music by Epidemic Sound.
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"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
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Find out how to escape eternal darkness at https://weirddarkness.com/eternaldarkness
===
Weird Darkness® and Church Of The Undead™ are trademarked. Copyright © 2024.
===
CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/a-victim-no-longer-churchoftheundead/

From Alexander the Great being buried alive to one man paying to watch a little girl be cannibalized, some real-life horror stories are too horrifying even for “Rated R” Hollywood. Stories in this episode are more graphic than what you usually hear from me – so listener discretion is advised, and I’d make sure the children are well out of earshot. 
SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE…
“Real-Life Horror Stories More Freaky Than Fiction” by Marco Margaritoff for AllThatsInteresting.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8p9c72
Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library.
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(Over time links seen above 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.)
= = = = =
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
= = = = =
WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2024, Weird Darkness.
= = = = =
Originally aired: March, 2022

PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT: https://weirddarkness.com/true-horror-stories-more-freaky-than-fiction/

I’m sharing a chapter from the book “Nevermore: The Haunted Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe” by Troy Taylor, which I narrated the audiobook for. But this chapter by itself was so interesting to me that I thought it would make a great episode of Weird Darkness – plus, it gives you a little peek into what you might get if you purchase the book itself. I’ve left a link to the book in the show notes below. This is the true story about the murder of a girl who worked in a cigar shop, the investigation of it by law enforcement, how Edgar Allan Poe saw it as an opportunity to escalate his career and name… and how it all almost blew up in his face, even with some claiming Poe was the murderer of the poor girl!

SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE…
“Nevermore: The Haunted Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe” by Troy Taylor: https://amzn.to/41e7BxJ
Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library. = = = = =
(Over time links seen above 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.)
= = = = =
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
= = = = =
WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2024, Weird Darkness.
= = = = =
Originally aired: March, 2022

CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/the-true-crime-story-of-edgar-allan-poe-and-the-murdered-cigar-girl/

Get full-length pulp audiobooks, pulp eBooks, and old-time radio shows ABSOLUTELY FREE FOR IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD by emailing [email protected]!

When the dramatic anthology series "Suspense" premiered over CBS Radio on June 17, 1942, it did so as both a summer series and as a sustaining program. The network had no idea how well the series would perform - its only previous showcase was as an hour-long audition on the 1940 series "Forecast" - so running out and getting a sponsor didn’t seem to be important at that particular stage. Besides, in the show’s salad days, the guest stars that did appear were of considerably low wattage. But as "Suspense" grew in popularity and began to attract a more upscale acting clientele anxious to participate in “radio’s outstanding theater of thrills,” finding someone to pick up the weekly tab became a top priority for CBS. Luckily, in December 2, 1943, the series found its 'angel' in the sponsorship of Roma Wines. "Suspense’s" long association with Roma (and co-branded Cresta Blanca) was good for both the series and the company; a bigger budget attracted bigger guest stars and, as the program began to climb in the ratings, the company began to enjoy substantial profits. This fruitful arrangement came to an end on November 20, 1947. Roma had been admittedly seeing other programs behind "Suspense’s" back and the bright array of top Hollywood talent began to dim a bit as many of the stars began to tire of the program. CBS rolled the dice and took one heck of a chance in keeping "Suspense" on the air; the network still felt that the series was popular with audiences and they agreed to sustain the program until another sponsor could be found.How serious was CBS about keeping its prestige show? Beginning January 3, 1948, "Suspense" was moved to Saturday nights and was broadcast from 8:00 to 9:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. That’s right: a full hour of “Suspense.” Hour-long dramatic shows were a gamble at best; many stars tended to shun these programs - a half-hour show was grueling enough to get through - and only a few, "The Lux Radio Theater" being the best example, managed to continue on the air for very long. But Lux had a sponsor all too willing to write checks on a weekly basis...while CBS, without a sponsor to back them up, was still the sole support of "Suspense." What's more, the network learned soon enough that by doubling the show from half-hour to hour-long status, they had to double the pay of the individuals working on the show as well. (Networks, as a rule, cringe at the thought of giving money away.) To jazz up "Suspense," CBS hired actor Robert Montgomery to be the host and occasional performer, figuring that on the weeks when they had to resort to a less-than "A" list of guest stars, at least Montgomery would be around to provide a certain degree of glitter. Montgomery, at it turned out, made appearances in quite a few of the hour-long shows, including both the premiere, “The Black Curtain”, and most notably in “Night Must Fall”, which allowed him to reprise the role he had created in the 1937 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture of the same name. "Suspense’s" hour-long experiment closed up shop on May 15, 1948 and the show moved back to Thursday night in its familiar half-hour form through September 1962.
00:00:00.000 = INTRODUCTION
00:01:54.350 = The Ten Grand (June 22, 1944)00:31:15.744 = The Walls Came Tumbling Down (June 29, 1944)01:00:28.813 = The Search For Henri LeFevre (July 06, 1044)01:30:02.526 = The Beast Must Die (July 13, 1944)01:59:29.689 = The Black Shawl (July 27, 1944)02:28:49.817 = Banquo’s Chair (August 03, 1944)02:58:17.500 = The Diary of Saphronia Winters (August 17, 1944)03:27:47.412 = Black Path Of Fear (August 31, 1944)03:57:20.238 = Voyage Through Darkness (September 07, 1944)04:26:51.081 = You’ll Never See Me Again (September 14, 1944)
SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LINKS…
This episode is sponsored by http://RadioArchives.com
Weird Darkness Retro Radio theme by Storyblocks.
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"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
WeirdDarkness® - is a registered trademark. Copyright, Weird Darkness, 2024.

CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/suspense-marathon-011

“The Bitter Lake” by Alara Ullah, age 11
“The Stone Hill” by Harrison Van Middelem, Age 10
Tell your friends about Micro Terrors – and find more family-friendly frights and creepy games to play on our website - http://MicroTerrors.com! And be sure to subscribe to the podcast at https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors!
Visit our website: https://MicroTerrors.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/microterrors
Other stories, novels, and more from author Scott Donnelly: https://amzn.to/3LymHaU
Other narrations, podcasts, and audiobooks from voice artist Darren Marlar: https://WeirdDarkness.com
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Weird Darkness®, 2023. Weird Darkness©, 2024
“Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids”™ 2024

https://weirddarkness.com/the-bitter-lake-and-the-stone-hill-microterrors/

This is a Fireside Frights episode where all of the stories are sent in by you, the listeners of Weird Darkness. Plus, in these episodes I strip away all of the music, sound effects, and other fancy audio production… it’s just you, me, this campfire, and your stories. Send in your own true stories at https://weirddarkness.com/submit“Strange Superstitions of the Stage” episode I referred to: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2py62wmu= = = = =
(Over time links seen above 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.)
= = = = =
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
= = = = =
WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2024, Weird Darkness.
= = = = =https://weirddarkness.com/firesidefrights-volume-31
Originally aired: May 03, 2024

Get full-length pulp audiobooks, pulp eBooks, and old-time radio shows ABSOLUTELY FREE FOR IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD by emailing [email protected]!

By the mid 1950s, science fiction had largely fallen into a familiar pattern, regardless of medium. When fans tuned into the radio or caught the latest science fiction movie, they either encountered space opera adventures or fare aimed largely at a juvenile audience. Only in magazines such as Astounding Science Fiction and Galaxy were stories grounded firmly in science fiction being told with mature themes aimed at character development, true literature taking off to the stars. The debut of X Minus One in April 1955 changed that on radio, making this program not only the best of its type, but in many ways one of the only shows from Radio’s Golden Age to present science fiction for a well-rounded adult audience. It is an often debated point among experts and fans as to whether or not X Minus One was simply a new season of Dimension X, a program that ran on NBC in 1950-51, or a revival of sorts of this previous show. The latter is probably more accurate since the first 15 episodes of X Minus One were new productions of Dimension X episodes. What makes X Minus One stand out, however, is the fact that the remaining programs were actually adaptations of works from two of the best science fiction magazines of the period. NBC staff writers, primarily Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts, scoured the pages of Astounding Science Fiction and then later Galaxy Magazine for tales that would thrill and chill their listeners, aiming most assuredly at the more sophisticated science fiction fans. Stories penned by noted science fiction and genre authors such as Philip K. Dick, Robert Heinlein, Frederik Pohl, and Isaac Asimov, and many others found themselves expertly adapted for radio over the program’s nearly three-year run. Listen to X Minus One and rocket to new heights of top-notch science fiction old time radio!

00:00:00.000 = INTRODUCTION
00:01:54.470 = The Embassy (July 28, 1955)
00:25:49.998 = The Veldt (August 04, 1955)
00:49:44.039 = Almost Human (August 11, 1955)
01:13:13.099 = Courtesy (August 18, 1955)
01:36:44.580 = Cold Equation (August 25, 1955)
02:00:18.990 = Shanghaied (September 01, 1955)
02:23:11.605 = The Martian Death March (September 08, 1955)
02:46:33.950 = The Castaways (September 15, 1955)
03:08:36.379 = The Moon Be Still As Bright (September 22, 1955)
03:32:25.135 = First Contact (October 06, 1955)
03:55:03.177 = Child’s Play (October 20, 1955)
04:18:08.170 = Requiem (October 27, 1055)
04:41:50.103 = Hello, Tomorrow (November 03, 1955)

SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LINKS…
This episode is sponsored by http://RadioArchives.com
Weird Darkness Retro Radio theme by Storyblocks.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
Find out how to escape eternal darkness at https://weirddarkness.com/eternaldarkness
WeirdDarkness® - is a registered trademark. Copyright, Weird Darkness, 2024.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/xminusone-marathon-011