Dawn of Mantis: True Crime, Mysteries and More

In this episode, we cover how Jim met Marceline Baldwin, the couple's move from Lynn to Richmond, the failed adoption of Ronnie Baldwin, and Jim's first preachin' gig. Oh, and there's an attack monke…

In our first ever episode from the brand new studio, we begin a series on the most infamous cult leader in American history- Jim Jones. In this episode, we cover the first seventeen years of Jim's li…

In our second and final episode on the Charley Starkweather Murder Spree, we cover the latter part of Charley's reign of terror, as well as his and Caril's apprehension by police. We also discuss the…

From November of 1956 to January of 1957, nineteen year old Charley Starkweather killed eleven people across 2 states. He had his fourteen year old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, with him during the m…

In this episode, we talk about one of our favorite shows ever- the raunchy, enuendo filled British comedy "Are You Being Served?". 

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In our second and final episode on John Murray Spear, we cover the second, far wackier part of John's life. 

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This is part one of a two part series on John Murray Spear- a Universalist pastor turned Spiritualist turned low-key cult leader who operated in the mid to late 1800s. In this episode we cover the fi…

In the 1960s, the Centralia City council set fire to a trash pile on top of an abandoned coal mine, and ignited an an underground coal fire that would eventually spell the end of the town.

In just a few decades, Picher went from a booming mine town of over 14,000 residents, to a literal ghost town. Turns out, the very industry that gave the town life would also be its undoing, and toda…

We conclude our series on Fern Rodgers by covering the  trials of the three conspirators,  as well as their lives after sentencing. 

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In the third part of our four part series, we continue covering Fern's ongoing investigation as well as the initial arrests made in the case. 

In part 2 of our 4 series, we cover the details of Fern's murder, as well as the genesis of the investigation.  

In late September, 1974, a wealthy doctor's wife and socialite named Fern Rodgers was found lying dead in the floor of her sprawling colonial home. She had been shot twice in the head. The evidence s…

Welcome to yet another Dawn of Mantis Christmas Special! In this episode, we review the dozen killers that we covered over 2024, and rank them from worst to worstest in a sort of Santa's top ten naug…

In our third and final episode on the unsolved murder of Ruby Stapleton, we discuss several theories as to what may have happened and who may have committed the murder.

This is part two of our three part series on the abduction and murder of Harding College professor Ruby Stapleton. In this episode, we delve into the very interesting and complicated life of Ruby's h…

Ruby Stapleton was a professor at Harding College in Searcy, Arkansas. On the night of October 8th, 1963, while she was washing clothes at a laundry mat, she was attacked and abducted. Eleven days la…

This is a replay of the first ever episode we recorded in Redbeard Sound Studio. 

In this episode, we discuss a few times which we came dangerously close to global catastrophe via nuclear war.

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In this episode, we cover a few incredible cases in which people survived injuries and accidents that no human being should have been able to live through.