On February 24, 1978, five friends left a college basketball game in Chico, California and never came home. Days later their car was found abandoned on a remote mountain road in the Plumas National Forest, seventy miles in the wrong direction. Four of the men were eventually found dead. The fifth, Gary Mathias, was never found at all.

In this episode:

• The night of the game and the drive that went seventy miles off course
• The abandoned Mercury and Joseph Schons, the stranger stranded on the same road that night
• The Forest Service trailer, the tucked sheets, and Ted's months of survival
• The search for Gary Mathias and the 2020 sheriff's memo calling it a homicide case
• Every major theory: the wrong turn, foul play, the bridge, and what the evidence actually supports

Sources: Wikipedia (Yuba County Five), StrangeOutdoors.com, Den of Geek, Tony Wright's Things Aren't Right: The Disappearance of the Yuba County Five (2024), Netflix's Files of the Unexplained Season 1 Episode 3, Stuff You Should Know.

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Keywords: Yuba County Five, Gary Mathias, 1978 disappearance, Plumas National Forest, Chico California, unsolved mystery, missing persons, Ted Weiher, Jack Madruga, Bill Sterling, Jackie Huett

In November 1929, a young London occultist named Norah "Netta" Fornario traveled to the remote, wind-swept Scottish island of Iona. Deeply embedded in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn lineage and Alpha et Omega temple, Netta was searching for a "thin place"—a geographic portal where the earthly veil drops and nature spirits can be summoned. Days later, she was dead.

Was she the victim of a catastrophic psychic feud? Did she successfully open a gateway to interdimensional UAPs or the mythical Sidhe? Or did her extreme ritual fasting trigger a tragic, undiagnosed medical emergency known as metabolic acidosis?

Join host Amanda Joy as we peel back the layers of this classic gothic mystery, exploring the physical evidence left on the mound, the strange chemical reaction that turned her silver cross pitch black, and the final night that the island of Iona refuses to give up.

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Thank you for walking down this crooked path with me! Let’s keep the conversation going on social media:

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Step into the overgrown, foggy paths of London's historic graveyard as we uncover one of the most bizarre chapters in modern vampire lore. In the early 1970s, a media-fueled frenzy gripped the city, transforming a local ghost hunt into a full-blown paranormal media circus. At the center of this unexplained mystery were two rival researchers, David Farrant and Sean Manchester, whose bitter obsession with tracking down the elusive Highgate vampire sparked a Fifty-Year War.

From midnight cemetery raids and shocking court evidence to a 1974 Old Bailey prison sentence and decades of digital sabotage, Amanda Joy breaks down the raw, human madness behind the myth

🕸️ Where to Find Down the Crooked Path

Don't get lost in the dark! Follow the trail and join our community of mystery junkies online:

• Instagram: @DownTheCrookedPath — Behind-the-scenes look at the graveyards, historic crime photos, and episode visual aids.
• TikTok: @DownTheCrookedPath— Bite-sized deep dives into the world's strangest urban legends.
• Facebook: Down the Crooked Path Podcast Discussion Group — Chat with Amanda and fellow listeners about tonight's case.

🎙️ Community Shout-Out

A massive shout-out to our incredible network at the Creators Collective! We wouldn't be here without the absolute best community of indie audio storytellers. If you love things that go bump in the night, go give our eerie family a follow over on Instagram at the @SpookyPodSquad for your ultimate fix of daily macabre content and indie podcast recommendations.

Want to sink your teeth into the primary documents, and deep dives used to map out tonight's journey? Explore the links below:

• Gothic History Breakdown: Read the historical timeline, cultural impact, and secondary accounts of the rivalry on the Gothic lore archives at David Castleton's The Serpent's Pen Blog.
• The 1974 Legal Case: Read the original archival reporting on David Farrant's Old Bailey trial and the media frenzy surrounding the cemetery desecration via the New York Times Archival Library.
• The Magician's Duel & Feud History: Explore how the urban legend completely consumed the lives of both men in the comprehensive investigative feature by The Observer.

This week on Down the Crooked Path, we are stepping aside from our usual chapter to bring you a special crossover episode from our Thursday segment on the Canadian Creepies Podcast!

Your host Amanda Joy teams up with her frequent partner-in-creepy, Valerie, to wander down a distinctly French-Canadian path. Quebec is legendary for its European charm, cobblestone streets, and stunning landscapes—but beneath that beautiful surface lies a deeply rooted history of dark folklore, tragic history, and terrifying paranormal encounters.

In this special release, Amanda and Valerie unpack the spirits that still refuse to rest in one of Canada's oldest provinces. From the eerie, cobblestone corridors of Old Montreal to the haunting folklore passed down through generations, we are digging into the stories that still linger out of sight. It’s creepy, it’s historic, and it is definitely going to keep you up tonight.

In the winter of 1803, a terrifying specter held a small English village in a state of total mass panic. Long before the Victorian era, witnesses were already reporting chilling encounters with a phantom lurking in the pitch-black lanes, leaping out from behind tombstones, and physically assaulting residents. The paranormal terror grew so intense that armed citizen patrols took to the streets to hunt down the entity. But on January 3, 1804, a tragic case of mistaken identity ended in a brutal, real-world shooting and a sensational courtroom showdown.

But the story doesn't end with a royal pardon. What started as terrifying neighborhood ghost stories about a haunted churchyard ultimately forced the justice system to fundamentally rewrite the rules of self-defense for generations to come.

Join us as we break down the documented facts of the haunting, the frantic race against the execution clock, and the landmark case that changed the law forever..

📱 Connect With Us

Follow us down the crooked path for episode visuals, behind-the-scenes deep dives, and community discussions:

• Instagram: @DownTheCrookedPath
• TikTok: @DownTheCrookedPath

✨ Shoutout to the Squad: A massive shoutout to our incredible creative collective, the Spooky Pod Squad on Instagram! Thank you for keeping the lights on in the dark and supporting independent true crime storytelling. Give them a follow for your daily dose of the strange and unusual!

📚 Documented Historical Sources

• The 1804 Court Proceedings: The original details of the trial, the jury's attempts to lower the charge, and the forced murder conviction are preserved in the Proceedings of the Old Bailey (Ref: t18040111-79, 11th January 1804) [Old Bailey Online].
• The Murder Act of 1752: The strict penal mandate requiring the dissection of executed murderers is cataloged under the historical statutory records of Great Britain (The Murder Act 1752, 25 Geo. II c. 37).
• The 1984 Appellate Resolution: The formal overturning of the paradox and the creation of the modern "honest belief" standard is archived under R v Williams (Gladstone), available via the British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII) [UK Court of Appeal].
• The Legal Conundrum: The long-term academic debate regarding ignorantia facti (mistake of fact) originating from the 1804 trial is heavily documented in British common law textbooks, including Glazebrook's Criminal Law Theory.

In Part 2 of our true crime deep dive into the 1982 Chicago Tylenol murders, we look past the initial nationwide panic and focus directly on the aftermath, the primary suspects, and the intense manhunt that gripped Illinois. We break down how the newly formed Tylenol Murders Task Force scrambled to track down who was slipping lethal doses of potassium cyanide into Extra-Strength capsules. The trajectory of the investigation completely shifts when an anonymous extortion letter demanding $1 million is sent to Johnson & Johnson, triggering a coordinated FBI search for the writer.

We untangle the web of the key figures who fell into the crosshairs of law enforcement, focusing heavily on the enigmatic James W. Lewis—the man convicted of that extortion plot who spent decades playing a cat-and-mouse game with investigators. We also look into local Chicago dock worker Roger Arnold, whose suspicious behavior made him a prime suspect in the product tampering nightmare. Finally, we explore how this unprecedented act of domestic terrorism targeted vulnerable store shelves and forever altered over-the-counter medicine, forcing McNeil Consumer Products to pioneer tamper-proof triple-seal packaging and inspiring the federal Tylenol Act. Decades later, this case remains one of the most chilling unsolved mysteries in American history.

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Don’t miss out on case photos, archival newspaper clippings, and mid-week updates! Follow our community on these platforms:

• 📸 Instagram: @DownTheCrookedPath
• 🎵 TikTok: @DownTheCrookedPath
• 👥 Facebook: Down The Crooked Path Podcast

Proud Member of The Creators Collective

Find us on Instagram : @spookypodsquad

"A Bitter Pill" Feature by Joy Bergmann – The definitive investigative deep-dive from the Chicago Reader exploring alternative supply chains, warehouse tracking, and suspect timelines.

• NPR Archival Obituary Report – The historical look-back breaking down the life, extortion conviction, and 2023 death of prime suspect James W. Lewis.WTTW Chicago Stories Special Feature – The comprehensive digital home for the multi-perspective documentary on the local victims, complete with reporter roundtable reflections.
• PBS Video: Inside the Tylenol Murders – Full streaming entry for the seasoned documentary investigating how the laced capsules upended consumer safety.
• CBS News Chicago 40-Year Retrospective Hub – The centralized network hub detail archive capturing the tracking efforts of the Tylenol Murders Task Force.
• CBS News Chicago: Profiles of Suspects & Persons of Interest – Detailed historical breakdowns of Roger Arnold, James Lewis, and other key figures scrutinized by the FBI.James W. Lewis Case Documentation on Wikipedia – Full historical repository outlining his financial crimes, extortion trial background, and decades of legal scrutiny.

A true Crime Classic: The security of daily life vanished over a few terrifying days in late September 1982. What started as a localized nightmare in the suburbs of Chicago quickly exploded into a nationwide panic, fundamentally changing the way we look at household items forever. In this episode, we trace the heartbreaking chronological timeline of the seven Chicago victims, the frantic street-level responses, and the corporate crisis that followed. But just when investigators thought they were dealing with a regional emergency, a cold case from the mountains of Wyoming blew the entire timeline wide open. We end tonight’s story on a dark Chicago street corner in 1983, where a random execution leaves investigators completely blind and leaves us down a crooked path of unanswered questions.

Connect With Us

If you loved this episode and want to dive deeper into the darkness with us, make sure you are following our journey across social media. Come say hi, share your theories, and hang out with the community!

• Instagram: @DownTheCrookedPath
• TikTok: @DownTheCrookedPath
• Facebook: Down The Crooked Path Podcast

The Creators Collective

This show is a proud member of the Creators Collective. We are a network of independent true-crime storytellers dedicated to ethical reporting, deep-dive research, and supporting indie creators. Check out the collective website to find your next favorite podcast binge!

Sources & Further Reading

To verify the facts, timelines, and case files discussed in tonight's episode, please visit our verified source directory:

• The Janus Family & Incident Overview: Explore the detailed interactive timeline of the initial suburban collapses through the CNN Interactive Timeline of the Janus Family Tragedy.
• The Chicago Investigation & Retrospective: Read the full historical case breakdown and investigative overview provided by the PBS NewsHour Tylenol Murders Archival Report.
• The Wyoming Connection: Verify the case files and toxicological breakthroughs regarding the death of nineteen-year-old Jay Mitchell via The New York Times Cyanide Death Archive.
• The Shooting of John Stanisha: Review the original 1983 crime records and arrest reports details surrounding the June 18 street-corner execution through the UPI Archives 1983 Crime Records.

A historical True crime story dealing with witches and hexes and perhaps, some midguided ideas. On November 27, 1928, in Rehmeyer’s Hollow, Pennsylvania, three men brutally murdered 60-year-old folk healer Nelson Rehmeyer. Believing Rehmeyer had cast a fatal curse, John Blymire and his accomplices hunted him down to steal his copy of the traditional healing text Long Lost Friend and break the spell.

In this episode, we dive into the chilling 1928 "Hex Murder" of York County, Pennsylvania. We explore the rich, complex traditions of Pennsylvania Dutch "powwowing" (folklore healing) and how a dangerous cocktail of fear, mental instability, and superstition led to a tragic, sensationalized murder trial that shocked the nation.

Sources & Further Reading

• Baseline history and context via the York Daily Record's Hex Hollow Feature.
• Background on regional folklore and local preservation from WGAL News.
• Deep dive into the legal and cultural aftermath via Rehmeyer’s Hollow Wikipedia Overview.

Connect With Us

• TikTok: @DownTheCrookedPath – Join us live for cemetery walks and behind-the-scenes content!
• Instagram: @DownTheCrookedPath

Community Shout-Out

A huge shout-out to the incredible Creators Collective over on Instagram! We are so proud to be part of the community alongside you all as the #spookypodsquad. Go give them a follow for more incredible indie audio content!