Mike Browne

Mike Browne, host of the popular Canadian podcast Dark Poutine, chronicles some of his all-time favourite stories of true crime and dark history from Canada and around the world. Divided into four sections —Murders with a Twist, Perpetual Puzzles, The Madness of Crowds and Notable Disasters — all the stories in this collection (except two) are brand new and haven’t been covered by the podcast. In Murders with a Twist, Browne recounts seven true crime stories with atypical elements, including weird motives, unusual perpetrators and bizarre murder weapons. In one case, we meet a man who is willing to kill to possess a human voice. In another, two women play a deadly game to prove their love to each other. Perpetual Puzzles covers six stories that remain unresolved and will leave you with more questions than answers. They include the archaeological find of the century, which turns out to be something far more sinister, as well as the discovery of a dead man on the beach with a mysterious clue in his pocket. The Madness of Crowds reveals that murder and mayhem are sometimes a group effort. We meet two young Canadians who leave home one summer to find work and instead end up on a murder spree, and a bizarre California cult that asks its members to topple the Mormon church. The book concludes with Notable Disasters, which describes some of the most tragic and deadly events in history, including the deadly tsunami in the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004, as well as the devastating Grenfell Tower fire in London in June 2017. The book includes a foreword by Alan R. Warren, bestselling true crime author and host of the House of Mystery Radio Show.

Twenty-Five Tales of True Crime and Dark History

Murder, Madness and Mayhem

Murder, Madness and Mayhem: Twenty-Five Tales of True Crime and Dark History is a compilation of compelling true crime stories from all corners of the world. Inspired by the popular Canadian podcast, Dark Poutine, host Mike Browne chronicles some of his all-time favourite dark tales that haven't been covered on his show. While some stories will be familiar, and others more obscure, twenty-two of these stories will be all new to fans of the podcast. The book's four sections include Murders with a Twist, Perpetual Puzzles, The Madness of Crowds and Notable Disasters. In Murder with a Twist, we learn about a man who was willing to kill to possess a human voice and two women who played a game coldly dispatching innocents in an elder care home to prove their love to one another. Perpetual Puzzles includes a story about an archaeological find of the century that turns out to be something far more sinister and a northern spree killing by two teens that sparked a multi-province manhunt in Canada in the summer of 2019. The Madness of Crowds delves into the bizarre world of murderous cults, including the story of cult leader Marshall Applewhite and his band of space travellers and a dark tale about post-war Nazis who got up to their old tricks in South America. The book concludes with Notable Disasters, which covers the devastating Boxing Day tsunami in the Indian Ocean on Boxing Day 2004, the Chilean mine disaster in 2010, and the deadly Grenfell Tower fire in London in June 2017. The book also includes a foreword by Alan R. Warren, bestselling true crime author and host of the House of Mystery Radio Show.

Twenty-Five Tales of True Crime and Dark History 

Strange, Spooky and Supernatural is divided into three sections and recounts stories of unusual and enigmatic people, places and things.

The first section explores strange people in history, including the death of escape artist and occult debunker Harry Houdini; BC resident Granger Taylor, who left a note saying he was leaving on a spaceship and disappeared; and a man known only as Jerome, who was discovered on a Nova Scotia beach in 1863 and was unable to communicate anything about his past.

The second section, about strange places, embarks on a journey around the world, touching down in locations cloaked in mystery and steeped in spine-chilling stories of hauntings, unexplained deaths and lost civilizations. This chapter includes stories about the Borley Rectory, which has been labelled the most haunted house in England; Nahanni National Park in the Northwest Territories, which is referred to by many as “the Valley of Headless Men”; and the unexplained occurrences at Old MacDonald’s Farm in Caledonia Mills, Nova Scotia.

In the final section, Browne explores mysterious things including the Van Meter Visitor, an unidentified nocturnal creature that terrorized citizens of the small town of Van Meter, Iowa, in 1903; the Vampire of Highgate Cemetery, an entity that allegedly haunted the famous cemetery in London during the 1970s; and the Philip Experiment, a 1970s-era parapsychological experiment conducted in Toronto.

Strange, Spooky and Supernatural includes a foreword by paranormal researcher Morgan Knudsen, who is also a co-host of the podcast Supernatural Circumstances.

Curious Tales of Fascinating People, Places and Things

Strange, Spooky and Supernatural

NATIONAL BESTSELLER Toronto Star Bestseller Globe and Mail Bestseller Indigo Staff Pick of the Month The creator of the Dark Poutine podcast—and bestselling author of Murder, Madness and Mayhem—is back with a new collection of stories for those who are curious about the paranormal, the mysterious and the unexplained Strange, Spooky and Supernatural is divided into three sections and recounts stories of unusual and enigmatic people, places and things. The first section explores strange people in history, including the death of escape artist and occult debunker Harry Houdini; BC resident Granger Taylor, who left a note saying he was leaving on a spaceship and disappeared; and a man known only as Jerome, who was discovered on a Nova Scotia beach in 1863 and was unable to communicate anything about his past. The second section, about strange places, embarks on a journey around the world, touching down in locations cloaked in mystery and steeped in spine-chilling stories of hauntings, unexplained deaths and lost civilizations. This chapter includes stories about the Borley Rectory, which has been labelled the most haunted house in England; Nahanni National Park in the Northwest Territories, which is referred to by many as “the Valley of Headless Men”; and the unexplained occurrences at Old MacDonald’s Farm in Caledonia Mills, Nova Scotia. In the final section, Browne explores mysterious things including the Van Meter Visitor, an unidentified nocturnal creature that terrorized citizens of the small town of Van Meter, Iowa, in 1903; the Vampire of Highgate Cemetery, an entity that allegedly haunted the famous cemetery in London during the 1970s; and the Philip Experiment, a 1970s-era parapsychological experiment conducted in Toronto. Strange, Spooky and Supernatural includes a foreword by paranormal researcher Morgan Knudsen, who is also a co-host of the podcast Supernatural Circumstances.

Mike Browne

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