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In 2005, Irina Cornici died during an exorcism at a remote monastery in Tanacu, Romania. What followed was a disturbing examination of faith, fear, and systemic failure, raising difficult questions about belief, responsibility, and how a vulnerable woman was so profoundly let down.

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In 1908, a fire destroyed a farmhouse outside La Porte, Indiana. Inside were the bodies of three children. Nearby, investigators found the remains of a woman believed to be the homeowner, Belle Gunness. But the case didn’t end there.

Belle Gunness was a Norwegian immigrant and farm owner who placed personal ads seeking marriage. Men arrived at her farm with savings and plans for the future, and were never seen again.

In this episode of ClueTrail, we walk through the timeline of the Belle Gunness case, explore who her victims were, and examine the unanswered question that still remains: did Belle die in the fire, or did she manage to disappear?

Sources & Further Reading:

Chicago Tribune archives; HistoryNet; Smithsonian Magazine; Harold Schechter, The A–Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers; Jack Levin & Eric Hickey, Serial Killers and Sadistic Murderers; Encyclopaedia Britannica.

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Explore this chilling true crime story of Baba Anujka, a healer turned deadly legend at the edge of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

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Discover the chilling true crime story of Lainz angels of death in Vienna's geriatric centre and the hidden crimes within.

A hospital should be the safest room in the city, so how did a bustling Vienna geriatric centre become a hunting ground on the night shift? We follow the chilling path of four auxiliary nurses who slipped from care into killing, and the small, bureaucratic blind spots that let their crimes hide inside routine.

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Two mysteries, one restless question: how far will fear carry a story? We mark Halloween by walking two grim paths, through the Pendle witch trials of 1612 and out to the storm-beaten Flannan Isles, where three lighthouse keepers vanished without a trace. Along the way, we unpack how belief, law, and isolation turn everyday details into legends that refuse to fade.

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A city built on stone and certainty watched its streets turn into a stage. In the hot summer of 1518, a woman in Strasbourg began to dance, mechanical, relentless, and impossible to stop, and within weeks hundreds followed, their feet torn and faces locked in pain. We trace how a single, baffling act became a public crisis, and why officials, doctors, and priests each tried to tame it with wildly different tools.
If strange history, medical mysteries, and cultural psychology fascinate you, press play and wander the stranger paths of the past with us. If this story moved you, subscribe, share with a curious friend, and leave a review to help others find the show.

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In June 1912, the small town of Villisca, Iowa, awoke to a nightmare. Eight people, including six children, were found brutally murdered inside a quiet white house on East 2nd Street. The doors were locked, mirrors were covered, and more than a century later, the question still echoes: who wielded the axe that night?

Join us as we follow the trail of one of America’s most haunting unsolved murders, through the tangled investigations, shifting suspects, and eerie aftermath that still lingers in the town of Villisca today.

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Sources & References

Suarez, Michel. - The Villisca Murders Axe, Sleep, Repeat

https://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/villisca-axe-murders

Villisca Axe Murder House Official Site – https://www.villiscaiowa.com

archival documents 1912–1917)

James, Bill & McCarthy James, Rachel. – The Man from the Train

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A peaceful pond, a morning walk, and a horror scene no one expected: toads swelling, twitching, and then bursting along the water’s edge. We follow the 2005 Hamburg mystery from sensational headlines to a grounded, unsettling explanation that blends animal intelligence with fragile biology. What begins as a “Frog Plague” turns into a forensic journey through missing organs, precise wounds, and a defensive reflex gone catastrophically wrong.
If this curious detour hooked you, subscribe, share the episode with a friend who loves a good mystery, and leave a review, then tell us: do you buy the crow theory?

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