Among Monsters Podcast | Chilling True Crime

Dorothea Puente: The Death House Landlady – Murder for the Monthly Check

In this bone-chilling episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale peels back the lace curtains of 1426 F Street in Sacramento, California—home to Dorothea Puente, the sweet, elderly landlady with a deadly secret. From the outside, she was charitable, Christian, and grandmotherly. But inside her Victorian boarding house, she was forging checks, drugging the elderly, and burying her victims in the backyard. Operating during the 1980s, Puente preyed on society’s most vulnerable—disabled tenants, mentally ill men, and the elderly—killing them for their Social Security benefits. With chilling detail, this 28-minute episode dives into her traumatic childhood, decades of fraud, a backyard full of corpses, and a trial that shocked the nation. She wasn’t a monster in the shadows. She was the one who served you tea.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/among-monsters-podcast-chilling-true-crime--5739090/support.

Béla Kiss: The Metal Drum Killer – Love Letters, Preservation, and a Vanishing Monster

In this eerie and mysterious episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale explores the chilling true story of Béla Kiss — the charming Hungarian bachelor who lured women through lonely hearts ads in the early 1900s… and preserved their corpses in metal drums. When World War I called him to the front, Kiss left behind a house of horrors: 24 bodies, pickled in alcohol, carefully stored like a collection. Investigators uncovered his sinister seduction schemes, occult interests, and anatomical obsessions, but by then… he had vanished. Was he killed in war? Did he escape under an alias? Or did he live out his life undetected? This 28-minute descent into one of Europe’s most bizarre unsolved serial killer cases will leave you haunted by a man who murdered for control, preserved for power, and disappeared into legend.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/among-monsters-podcast-chilling-true-crime--5739090/support.

Robert Hansen: The Butcher Baker – Alaska’s Human Hunter

In this bone-chilling episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale unveils the terrifying true story of Robert Hansen — the mild-mannered Anchorage baker who secretly became one of the most sadistic serial killers in American history. Between 1971 and 1983, Hansen lured women into his trap, flew them deep into the Alaskan wilderness, set them loose… and hunted them like animals. With 17 confirmed murders and over 30 rapes, Hansen’s crimes went undetected for over a decade behind a mask of suburban normalcy. This 28-minute deep dive explores Hansen’s brutal childhood, his methodical killing spree, the survivor who brought him down, and the chilling evidence buried beneath Alaska’s snow-covered soil. Step into the frostbitten footsteps of a true predator in this haunting true crime narrative.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/among-monsters-podcast-chilling-true-crime--5739090/support.

Tsutomu Miyazaki: The Otaku Murderer – Japan’s Collector of Horror

In one of the darkest episodes of Among Monsters to date, host Damien Vale explores the harrowing life and crimes of Tsutomu Miyazaki — the "Otaku Murderer" who shocked Japan with a series of horrific child abductions and killings between 1988 and 1989. Born with physical deformities and consumed by isolation, Miyazaki descended into a twisted world of horror media, obsession, and violent fantasy. But his fantasies turned real when he began abducting young girls, murdering them, and preserving gruesome souvenirs — including photos, body parts, and audio recordings. This 28-minute descent into madness unveils Miyazaki’s fractured psyche, his gruesome methods, and the terror he unleashed on an unsuspecting nation. From his eerie VHS collection to the chilling letters he sent to victims' families, this is a story of obsession, delusion, and the monster that lived behind closed doors.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/among-monsters-podcast-chilling-true-crime--5739090/support.

Pedro Rodrigues Filho: The Butcher of Brazil – Serial Killer or Street-Level Savior?

In this explosive episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale unravels the chilling and contradictory life of Pedro Rodrigues Filho — better known as Pedrinho Matador, Brazil’s most notorious vigilante serial killer. Born into violence and shaped by vengeance, Pedro claimed to kill only criminals: rapists, murderers, drug dealers — even his own father. With over 100 murders to his name, 47 of them committed behind prison walls, Pedro blurred the line between justice and pure bloodlust. From his first kill at 14 to his savage rampage behind bars, to his shocking post-prison transformation into a YouTube anti-crime crusader, this 28-minute journey digs into the soul of a man who was both feared and admired. Was he a monster with a moral code… or just a psychopath with a purpose? Find out in one of the most jaw-dropping episodes yet of Among Monsters.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/among-monsters-podcast-chilling-true-crime--5739090/support.

Joachim Kroll: The Ruhr Cannibal – Flesh, Silence, and Germany’s Forgotten Butcher

In this disturbing episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale delves into the horrific crimes of Joachim Kroll — the unassuming toilet cleaner who became one of Germany’s most grotesque serial killers. Dubbed The Ruhr Cannibal, Kroll brutally murdered at least 14 victims between 1955 and 1976, including children, young women, and the elderly. But he didn’t just kill—he consumed. With a slow, methodical approach, Kroll stalked his victims, committed necrophilic acts, and carved pieces of flesh from their bodies to cook and eat. For two decades, he evaded justice by blending into the background as a shy, quiet man. It wasn’t until police investigated a clogged toilet that his sickening secret was finally exposed. This 28-minute narrative unpacks Kroll’s childhood trauma, eerie behavior, cannibalistic rituals, and cold courtroom confessions. Step inside the chilling mind of one of Europe’s most unnerving murderers.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/among-monsters-podcast-chilling-true-crime--5739090/support.

Robert Pickton: The Pig Farmer from Hell – Canada’s House of Horrors

In this disturbing episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale unearths the horrifying story of Robert Pickton, the Canadian pig farmer who turned his Port Coquitlam property into a slaughterhouse for the forgotten. From the 1980s to early 2000s, women—many Indigenous, poor, and sex workers from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside—vanished without a trace. Behind the façade of “Piggy’s Palace,” Pickton lured victims with drugs, money, and parties, then butchered them in the same barns where he raised livestock. For years, law enforcement ignored cries from families, activists, and survivors—allowing Pickton to claim the lives of at least 49 women, possibly more. This 28-minute true crime descent explores his twisted upbringing, the systemic failures that let him operate for decades, and the nightmarish discovery that shook Canada to its core. What happens when a country refuses to count the lost—until it's too late?Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/among-monsters-podcast-chilling-true-crime--5739090/support.

Charles Edmund Cullen: The Silent Nurse – Death Administered by Drip

In this unnerving episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale reveals the chilling true story of Charles Edmund Cullen, a trusted nurse who used his position to silently murder dozens—possibly hundreds—of patients across nine hospitals in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Between 1988 and 2003, Cullen administered fatal doses of medications to unsuspecting patients while hiding behind a calm demeanor and a crisp uniform. He worked the night shift, memorized drug codes, manipulated medical charts, and escaped scrutiny time and time again. With confessions that sent shockwaves through the medical world, Cullen may be the most prolific serial killer in American history. This 28-minute deep dive explores Cullen’s troubled upbringing, his manipulative medical murders, the system that repeatedly failed to stop him, and the brave nurse who ultimately brought him down.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/among-monsters-podcast-chilling-true-crime--5739090/support.

Pedro López: The Monster of the Andes – 300 Victims and a Vanishing Killer

In this bone-chilling episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale tells the haunting true story of Pedro López — one of the most prolific and terrifying serial killers in recorded history. Nicknamed The Monster of the Andes, López claimed to have murdered over 300 young girls across Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru during the 1970s and early 1980s. But what makes his case even more horrifying isn’t just the staggering death toll — it’s what happened after. With masterful storytelling and disturbing detail, Damien Vale guides listeners through López’s nightmarish childhood, his horrific spree of abductions and murders, his shocking prison sentence… and the baffling moment when he was quietly released — free to disappear into the shadows. This isn’t just a true crime story.It’s a failure of justice.A tale of monstrous evil… that walked away.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/among-monsters-podcast-chilling-true-crime--5739090/support.

Robert Black: The Midnight Hunter – UK’s Vanishing Girls & the Man in the Shadows

In this haunting episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale pulls back the curtain on one of the most terrifying child predators in British history — Robert Black. Through an immersive historical narrative and cinematic storytelling, we follow Black from his bleak childhood in post-war Scotland to his chilling years as a roaming delivery driver who used his van as a vessel of horror. With a nation still reeling from the aftermath of World War II and struggling to find its footing, communities were unprepared for the quiet terror Black would unleash. Between the 1980s and early 1990s, a series of unsolved abductions and murders of young girls struck fear into the hearts of millions — but the man behind them remained hidden in plain sight. This isn’t just true crime. It’s a spine-tingling journey into post-war trauma, failing institutions, and the psychology of a predator cloaked in normalcy. Featuring vivid detail, period context, and chilling forensic analysis, Damien Vale reconstructs the crimes, the investigation, and the eventual capture that stunned the world. Among Monsters is not just about murder. It’s about what happens when evil wears the face of the ordinary — and why we must never stop looking over our shoulder.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/among-monsters-podcast-chilling-true-crime--5739090/support.