Among Monsters Podcast | Chilling True Crime

Charles Terry - The Predator Who Wore a Friendly Smile

In this haunting episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale uncovers the disturbing life of Charles Terry—a manipulative drifter whose friendly smile masked a chilling, violent soul. Born in 1930s Maine, Terry’s early years were marked by instability and abuse, setting the stage for a lifetime of cruelty and calculated murder. By the 1960s, he wandered the Pacific Northwest, charming unsuspecting women before unleashing unspeakable violence.With strangulation as his gruesome signature, Terry left behind a trail of terror and silence. But even the most cunning serial killers slip. As brave survivors came forward and law enforcement pieced together the clues, Charles Terry’s horrifying secrets began to unravel. This episode of Among Monsters takes you deep into the mind of a predator who stalked in plain sight—leaving behind broken lives and haunting questions.Join Damien Vale as he exposes the terrifying truth of Charles Terry, a serial killer whose legacy still echoes through the shadows of America’s dark history. If you’re drawn to criminal psychology, unsolved murders, and stories of true evil, this is an episode that will stay with you long after the final word.#CharlesTerry #AmongMonstersPodcast #DamienVale #TrueCrimePodcast #SerialKillerStory #MaineTrueCrime #PacificNorthwestMurders #StrangulationMurders #DarkTrueCrime #DrifterKiller #PsychologicalCrime #CriminalProfiling #TwistedMinds #UnsolvedMurders #TrueCrimeNarrative #RealLifeMonsters #TrueCrimeAddict #ApplePodcastsTrueCrime #InfamousKillers #ColdCaseFiles #ViolentCriminals #ChillingCrimeStories #CrimePodcast #HorrorCrimeTales #TrueCrimeSurvivors #ManipulativeKillers #SilentVictims #TrueCrimeExplained #EvilAmongUs #TrueCrimeCommunity

Among Monsters: Takahiro Shiraishi – The Twitter Killer of Zama

In this harrowing 26-minute episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale explores the disturbing case of Takahiro Shiraishi, a Japanese serial killer who exploited social media to lure vulnerable individuals to their deaths. Between August and October 2017, Shiraishi used Twitter to contact people expressing suicidal thoughts, inviting them to his apartment in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, under the guise of assisting in their suicides. Instead, he murdered and dismembered nine victims, storing their body parts in his apartment. This episode examines the depths of Shiraishi's manipulative tactics, the psychological torment inflicted upon his victims, and the eventual unraveling of his reign of terror.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/among-monsters-podcast-chilling-true-crime--5739090/support.

“Velma Barfield: The Death Nurse of North Carolina”

In this haunting episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale uncovers the chilling case of Velma Barfield — a Southern church-going woman whose soft voice and gentle smile concealed a trail of poison, lies, and murder. Known as the first woman in the United States to be executed after the 1976 death penalty reinstatement, Barfield’s crimes stunned the nation. By lacing food and drinks with arsenic, she quietly killed those closest to her — not for passion, but to cover up embezzlement and avoid consequences. From her troubled upbringing and drug addiction to the manipulative charm that allowed her to blend into her community, this episode reveals how a grandmotherly figure became one of America's most deceptive and deadly killers. This is the terrifying true story of Velma Barfield — the killer in a cardigan.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/among-monsters-podcast-chilling-true-crime--5739090/support.

“Dana Sue Gray: The Nurse Who Killed for Comfort”

On this chilling episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale peels back the layers of a murderer who defied all expectations. Dana Sue Gray wasn’t your typical serial killer — she was a nurse, a caregiver, and a seemingly compassionate woman living in Southern California. But beneath her calm demeanor lurked a deadly obsession with wealth, beauty, and revenge. Between February and March of 1994, Gray targeted elderly women in a twisted scheme of murder and luxury shopping. What drives a woman to kill for fashion? Was it trauma, greed, or something far more monstrous? Walk with us through the calculated cruelty and cold manipulation that marked Dana Sue Gray’s descent into infamy. This is the story of a killer who wore a nurse’s smile — and left death in her wake.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/among-monsters-podcast-chilling-true-crime--5739090/support.

Among Monsters Andrei Chikatilo Butcher of Rostov

In this bone-chilling episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale dissects the life and legacy of Andrei Chikatilo, the infamous Butcher of Rostov, who murdered, mutilated, and cannibalized over 50 victims in the shadows of the crumbling Soviet Union. Against the backdrop of post-Stalin famine, Cold War paranoia, and a regime that denied the very existence of serial killers, Chikatilo hunted with terrifying efficiency—luring women and children from train stations and forests into his orbit of depravity. He killed in silence for over a decade, protected by a state blinded by ideology and fear. With his signature sadism and sexual violence, Chikatilo's case revealed the rot at the heart of Soviet justice and left a legacy of horror that haunts Russia to this day. This 28-minute episode takes listeners from famine-stricken Ukraine through the fall of the Iron Curtain—and into the cell where evil met its end.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/among-monsters-podcast-chilling-true-crime--5739090/support.

Donald Harvey: The Angel of Death – A Killer in Scrubs

In this chilling episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale uncovers the deeply unsettling case of Donald Harvey — a trusted hospital orderly who used his access to patients not to heal, but to kill. Known as The Angel of Death, Harvey claimed the lives of between 70 and 100 victims across Kentucky and Ohio hospitals from 1970 to 1987. By poisoning IV bags, suffocating patients, and tampering with feeding tubes, he turned places of healing into silent morgues. Set against the backdrop of post-Vietnam America, the rise of healthcare bureaucracy, and the cracks in the medical system, this 26-minute true crime journey explores how one man manipulated trust, disguised evil as mercy, and kept meticulous records of every calculated kill — all while wearing the uniform of a caregiver. This is not just the story of a serial killer, but a terrifying betrayal by the very system meant to protect the sick.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/among-monsters-podcast-chilling-true-crime--5739090/support.

Jane Toppan: Jolly Jane – The Angel of Death in a Nurse’s Cap

In this haunting episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale takes you back to 19th-century New England to unravel the twisted legacy of Jane Toppan—better known as Jolly Jane. Behind her cheerful smile and nurse’s uniform was a mind consumed by obsession, sadism, and a fatal thirst for control. Toppan, born Honora Kelley, was orphaned, renamed, and molded into a seemingly devoted caregiver. But under the surface, she was experimenting with death—mixing morphine and atropine to toy with patients, sometimes reviving them… only to poison them again. She later confessed to over 31 murders, calling the act of killing a sexual thrill. This 28-minute episode explores her tragic childhood, disturbing methods, and the trial that shocked a nation unprepared for a woman capable of such methodical evil. Jane Toppan didn’t just take lives—she held them close as they slipped away.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/among-monsters-podcast-chilling-true-crime--5739090/support.

Ahmad Suradji: The Black Magic Killer – 42 Ritual Murders in the Sugarcane Field

In this harrowing episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale uncovers the disturbing tale of Ahmad Suradji, the infamous Indonesian shaman who murdered 42 women in a twisted quest for supernatural power. Operating for over a decade in North Sumatra, Suradji presented himself as a spiritual healer — a “dukun” who could cure illness, mend broken relationships, and bring prosperity. But behind the ceremonial cloth and incense rituals was a man driven by a nightmarish vision: a dream in which his dead father ordered him to kill 70 women and drink their saliva to become spiritually invincible. With immersive storytelling, rich cultural context, and a chilling forensic lens, Damien Vale walks listeners through the sugarcane fields of Medan, the graves, the betrayals, and the silence of a community too afraid to question its holy man. This is not just a tale of murder — it’s a story of belief turned to blood. This is the true story… of The Black Magic Killer.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/among-monsters-podcast-chilling-true-crime--5739090/support.

Moses Sithole: The ABC Killer – South Africa’s Smiling Monster

In this bone-chilling episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale exposes the twisted legacy of Moses Sithole — the infamous “ABC Killer” who terrorized South Africa between 1994 and 1995. With a disarming smile and a calm, trustworthy demeanor, Sithole lured desperate women under the guise of employment opportunities before leading them to remote locations where he raped and strangled them. Operating across Atteridgeville, Boksburg, and Cleveland, his crimes shook a nation in transition and left over 70 confirmed victims in his wake. Through deception, manipulation, and unmatched brutality, Sithole became one of South Africa’s deadliest serial killers. This 28-minute true crime narrative unpacks his traumatic past, his calculated murder spree, and the historic sentencing that followed. Step into the shadows of hope, betrayal, and horror in one of the darkest cases in African criminal history.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/among-monsters-podcast-chilling-true-crime--5739090/support.

William Bonin: The Freeway Killer – Blood on the Asphalt of America’s Lost Innocence

In this historically charged episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale takes you on a terrifying journey through the life and legacy of William Bonin — The Freeway Killer. Born into the post-World War II baby boom and forged in the trauma of an abusive childhood, Bonin's descent into one of California’s most vicious killing sprees unfolds against a backdrop of Cold War paranoia, Vietnam's psychological scars, and a justice system buckling under the weight of its own failures. Between 1979 and 1980, Bonin terrorized Southern California’s freeways, abducting, torturing, and murdering at least 21 young boys. With chilling historical context from the '40s through the '90s, this 26-minute true crime narrative blends horrifying fact with the societal chaos that allowed evil to ride unchecked. This isn’t just the story of a killer — it’s the story of the America that enabled him.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/among-monsters-podcast-chilling-true-crime--5739090/support.