PODCAST · history
Michigan Monsters
by Jenn Carpenter
Forgotten tales of true crime, dark history, and the paranormal. Host Jenn Carpenter takes the cases she covers seriously. Herself? Not so much. (Formerly So Dead/Violent Ends.)
Episodes
-
S6 Ep117: Animal
On June 23, 2001, Bernita White was killed by a single shot from a high-powered sniper rifle while at the zoo with her 5-year-old daughter. What at first seemed like an open-shut case subsequently became Lansing's most notorious unsolved crime. As the 25th anniversary approaches, we revisit...
-
S6 Ep116: Copy, Moon Joy.
When a Michigander becomes the first woman in history to fly to the moon, you break protocol so you can feature her. No ghosts or gore, just magic and moon joy. This week's episode about Christina Koch and the Artemis II mission is unlike any other. Some might say it's out of this world. Case:...
-
S6 Ep115: The Circle
When 18-year-old Amanda Davies returned from a cross-country spring break road trip in April of 1992, her parents breathed a huge sigh of relief. What no one could have predicted was that the real danger was waiting for Amanda at home, and that before she could even unpack her suitcase, she'd be...
-
S6 Ep114: Redux
Updates on some of the biggest cases covered over 100+ episodes, including serial killers on the loose, missing persons found, and more. Audio production by Bill Bee.
-
S6 Ep113: Cultish
The 1970s saw a surge in the prominence of religious cults with groups like the Manson Family, Peoples Temple, and Heaven's Gate making headlines around the world. But smaller cults began popping up in rural communities all over the country, including right here in Michigan. In this episodes…
more -
S6 Ep112: Mommy Dearest
A mother who didn't bother to look for her daughter after she was abducted by a violent stranger. A mother who spent years stalking and cyberbullying her own teenage daughter. A mother who stood by silently while her daughter was tormented by a monster. What do these three women have in common...
-
S6 Ep111: The Widow Hunter
His name isn't likely one you've heard before, but his story should feel eerily familiar. Matthew Emmanuel Macon is well-known as Lansing, Michigan's first (and only) serial killer, a young Black man who targeted elderly women living alone in the Capital City- quite a deviation from the standard...
-
S6: We're baaaaaack!
A new era begins 2/1/26. But things are going to look a bit different. How so? Listen in for more! Audio production by Bill Bertschinger.
-
S5 Ep110: The Cabin
For nearly a month, a picturesque cabin on northern Lake Michigan hid a ghastly secret. The bodies of wealthy ad executive Dick Robison, his wife Shirley, and their four children lay waiting for someone to find them following a brutal attack on a summer afternoon. From the moment a caretaker...
-
S5 Ep109: Ghosted 5.0
From haunted neighborhoods built atop cemeteries to sweet afterlife connections and more, our Halloween episode once again features listener stories. Violent Ends is sponsored by BetterHelp. To learn more about microdosing THC, visit microdose.com and enter code violentends for free shipping and...
-
S5 Ep108: Black Widow
In 1903 Chicago, a peculiar murder unfolded on the city's south side. Despite her insistence that a burglar broke in and shot her husband in bed, authorities immediately suspected Jane Quinn, who was covered from head to toe in blood. And that was BEFORE they found out about the pile of dead…
more -
S5 Ep107: Invisible Strings
In 1981, a 23-year-old woman was dragged kicking and screaming from her East Lansing apartment in front of an entire building full of onlookers. In 1982, a rebellious teen vanished while hitchhiking in a Detroit suburb. In 1983, almost exactly one year later, another pretty brunette teenager...
-
S5 Ep106: The Four
On a Monday afternoon in May of 1930, the world's first set of identical quadruplets were born in Lansing, Michigan- even though nobody knew they were coming. Instant celebrities, the Morlok quads were treated like a sideshow attraction by the community that insisted on naming them and claiming...
-
S5 Ep105: The Clown
When a young boy vanished from a small Northern Michigan town, authorities believed he'd run away with the circus. As outlandish as that sounded, it was more plausible than the awful truth- that he'd fallen victim to a killer clown hiding in plain sight.
-
S5 Ep104: Manor of Death
It's been 100 years since a Lansing socialite was murdered inside the brand new manor her politician husband built for her. Was she the victim of a traveling carnival run by outlaws? Targeted by an enemy of her husband's? Or was the police department's wide-reaching witch hunt an attempt to cover...
-
S5 Ep103: Ice Princess
The only thing they had in common was their love of the ice. One was from the east coast, the other from the west coast. One was blonde haired and blue eyed, while the other resembled Snow White with her fair skin and dark features. One came from a loving family, while the other suffered horrors…
more -
S5 Ep102: Ripper
Since opening its doors in 1850, The University of Michigan's School of Medicine has been one of the most prestigious medical schools in the country. But not all of its pupils perfected the art of saving lives. Some of them went on to do the exact opposite. In 1882, two men with similar names and...
-
S5 Ep101: Starships
On March 8, 1994, residents in 42 of Michigan's 82 counties reported seeing an unidentified flying object in the night sky. One of the best-documented UFO sightings in history, a lighted chrome aircraft with capabilities beyond any technology known to man was spotted hovering over the Great Lakes...
-
S5 Ep100: The Hundredth
In honor of 100 episodes, we celebrated with a live show at The Robin Theatre. Special guests included Michigan State University's School of Criminal Justice, author Rod Sadler, and the co-host with the most, our old friend Dani Fairman.
-
S5 Ep99: Roar
What do America's original aviatrix, the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel, a seductive government spy, and an unorthodox civil rights icon have in common? They were all trailblazing women from Michigan whose lives ended tragically. Their stories deserve to be remembered.
-
S5 Ep98: Bamba
It was 35 below, the wind was howling, and the snow was waist-deep when three young men burst through the door of Hotel St. James in the remote town of Ironwood, Michigan during the early morning hours of Feb 1, 1959. They were inadequately dressed for the dangerous weather, disheveled, and…
more -
S5 Ep97: Run. Hide. Fight.
An episode I never fathomed I'd have to record, but I suppose was inevitable. Because when it comes to mass shootings, it's no longer a question of "if," but "when." This is what it's like when it happens at home. Donate to the Spartan Strong Fund HERE. Turn your food waste into dirt with the…
more -
S5 Ep96: Fugitive
With a blood lust so strong no prison could hold him, a Michigan man preyed on a coastal California town still reeling from the Bundy murders. And even with the world's most infamous serial killer behind bars, pretty young girls with long, brown hair parted down the middle still weren't safe.…
more -
Season Five Trailer
Season five begins February 7th! Listen in for a big announcement.
-
Wondery Presents: The Vanished
The Vanished is a true crime podcast that explores the stories of those who have gone missing. The Vanished goes beyond conventional news reports to take a deep dive into the story of a different missing person each week. Host Marissa Jones brings you exclusive interviews with family members,...
-
S4 Ep95: Holy
The news was shocking. Occult obsessed cult leader Benny Evangelist, his wife, and their four young children had been murdered in their lavish Detroit home by an ax-wielding maniac. Beheaded. Dismembered. As police ran down the long list of suspects, an unfathomable possibility emerged. Was Benny...
-
S4 Ep94: Ghosted 4.0
Listener ghost stories, including the haunting of a town with a tragic past.
-
S4 Ep93: The Tower
As the Great Depression sunk its teeth into America, a Lansing man's fortune was on the rise- literally. Auto magnate R.E. Olds built a decadent sky scraper, the tallest building in Michigan's capital city, to house his bank. But less than a year after the Olds Tower opened its doors, blood and...
-
S4 Ep92: Photograph
When a young woman was found lying gravely injured on the side of the road, a mystery that would take nearly two decades to solve began to unfold. Who was she, really? And who was the strange older man claiming to be her husband? This episode's sponsor is Magic Mind. Visit magicmind.co/sodead and...
-
True Crime Story Time: Chapter Eight
In Depression-era Cleveland, a madman stalked the streets of the Kingsbury Run neighborhood, leaving body parts in his wake.
-
S4 Ep91: Scrappers
In the late 1970s, an FBI task force targeted a massive interstate auto theft ring headquartered in Mid-Michigan. Building their case proved difficult, though, because their key witnesses kept meeting grim fates.
-
S4 Ep90: Riot
The summer of 1967 was an especially violent one in the United States. Known as "the long, hot summer," there were 159 race riots in America over the course of just a few months, the deadliest of which occurred in Detroit in late July. What led to the deaths of nearly fifty citizens, mostly at…
more -
True Crime Story Time: Chapter Seven
When a beloved wife, mother, and grandmother suddenly fell ill and died, her family was shocked to learn she'd been intentionally poisoned. Even more shocking was the identity of her murderer.
-
S4 Ep89: You Go
A charismatic waitress in a Yugo headed north to visit the man she hoped to marry. A young father in a Bronco driving south, back toward home. Though their paths did not cross in life, their fates are forever linked by the tragedy that befell them both on the Mackinac Bridge, one of the world's...
-
True Crime Story Time: Chapter Six
A sideshow performer, an unknown serial killer, and an ice skating chimpanzee. Luke Karamazov seems like outlandish fiction at times, but is the true story of the Ranes brothers from Kalamazoo, Michigan, the only serial killer siblings in American history, And soon, it will be a movie starring...
-
S4 Ep88: Delicate Conditions
A disgraced Lansing doctor out to make a quick buck by performing "illegal oprations" left countless bodies in his wake. A socialite unable to live with the shame of being an unwed mother took her own life in a Charlotte hotel room. A Benton Harbor farmboy felt murder was the only way out when…
more -
S4 Ep87: Creeper
When a leisurely Sunday drive near the Michigan/Indiana border turned into a scene out of a horror movie for Ray and Marie Thornton, their lives were changed forever. Their experience, quite literally, inspired a horror movie. But the true story was so much more terrifying than anything Hollywood...
-
S4 Ep86: The Box
In 1998, the body of a young boy was found beneath a billboard along a North Carolina highway. With very little to go on, authorities were not able to determine who the boy was, or who killed him. But one investigator was determined to solve the case no matter how long it took. So he kept the…
more -
True Crime Story Time: Chapter Five
Promising wellness and everlasting youth, Dr. Linda Hazzard lured wealthy patients to her "health retreat" in Washington state. Once she'd captured her prey, she held patients hostage and bled them dry- literally and figuratively.
-
S4 Ep85: Bad Apples
In the early 1900s, the auto industry reigned supreme in Lansing. But another, more deadly industry was making moves in the shadows. Fruit. When two rival fruit companies owned by Italian immigrants with strong ties to La Cosa Nostra went to war, no one was safe. Using fruit stands as a front...
-
True Crime Story Time: Chapter Four
What led two young brothers from Chechnya to commit one of the most shocking terrorist attacks in American history? Acclaimed journalist Masha Gessen aims to answer that question.
-
S4 Ep84: The Call
The young caller's voice waivered only slightly as she detailed a ghastly scene to the 911 operator. It almost sounded like a prank, too wild to believe. But what happened in the house on Sunnydale Street was very real, and ultimately worse than anyone could have imagined.
-
True Crime Story Time: Chapter Three
When a young couple was attacked on a Lover's Lane one stormy Halloween night, the pressure was on police to arrest someone. So they did.
-
S4 Ep83: Lawman
The name Tom Toaz was well-known in Mid-Michigan at the turn of the 20th century. He was a celebrated lawman, infamous for throwing more citizens behind bars than all of the other constables combined. He had a hand in all of the scandalous, headline-making cases in Eaton County in the late 18 and...
-
S4: True Crime Story Time: Chapter Two
When a young woman is found dead in her Tijuana hotel room, authorities have more questions than answers. Mainly- why doesn't the photo on the driver's license match the body on the floor?
-
S4 Ep82: The Triangle
Out on the open water, there is a hotspot of unusual activity- ships disappearing in broad daylight, planes vanishing into thin air, unexplainable weather phenomena. Not the infamous Bermuda Triangle, but a similar danger much closer to home- the Lake Michigan Triangle.
-
S4: True Crime Story Time: Chapter One
When a serial killer was sent to the gallows in Victorian-era London, his infamous last words were, "I am Jack the..." before the noose snapped his neck. Were the Lambeth Poisoner and Jack the Ripper one in the same?
-
S4 Ep81: Maneater
Born just outside Detroit to a single teenage mother and a violent criminal, Aileen Wuornos had the cards stacked against her from birth. She was raised in a house of horrors, amidst rumors of incest and unspeakable abuse. A child sex worker who gave birth at the age of 15, Aileen lived in the...
-
Bonus: Ghostface
In celebration of the new Scream movie coming to theaters this week, here is a Patreon bonus episode from a couple years back exploring the true story behind the inspiration for the Scream movies.
-
S3 Ep80: Rampage
On February 20, 2016, the city of Kalamazoo, Michigan found itself under siege. From a father/son duo out car shopping to a group of friends meeting for dinner, a madman was methodically gunning down unsuspecting citizens with no rhyme or reason. When the family man responsible for the rampage…
more
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
Forgotten tales of true crime, dark history, and the paranormal. Host Jenn Carpenter takes the cases she covers seriously. Herself? Not so much. (Formerly So Dead/Violent Ends.)
HOSTED BY
Jenn Carpenter
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Michigan Monsters have?
Michigan Monsters currently has 153 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Michigan Monsters about?
Forgotten tales of true crime, dark history, and the paranormal. Host Jenn Carpenter takes the cases she covers seriously. Herself? Not so much. (Formerly So Dead/Violent Ends.)
How often does Michigan Monsters release new episodes?
Michigan Monsters publishes regularly with 153 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Michigan Monsters?
You can listen to Michigan Monsters on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Michigan Monsters?
Michigan Monsters is created and hosted by Jenn Carpenter.
URL copied to clipboard!