Horrors, hauntings and mysteries! A collection of scary stories, real and imagined, that will have you on the edge of your seat. If you’re a fan of all things spooky, creepy, and thrilling, this is the podcast for you.

Have a horrifying tale, paranormal encounter, or unsolved mystery that you’d like to share? Visit https://www.heartstartspounding.com/ and submit your heart-pounding story to be featured on the podcast.

Join the Heart Starts Pounding community on TikTok and Instagram @heartstartspounding for a daily dose of spine-tingling snippets and creepypastas.

Heart Starts Pounding: Horrors, Hauntings, and Mysteries

What really happened the morning that Andrew and Abby Borden were murdered with an axe, and why is it still unsolved? Let's dive into the real story, full of the twists and turns that make that day one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history.
 
Subscribe on Patreon for more long form content, including exclusive episodes, and to become a member of our Rogue Detecting Society.
Follow on Tik Tok and Instagram for a daily dose of horror.
Heart Starts Pounding is written and produced by Kaelyn Moore. 
Music from Artlist
Shownotes: www.heartstartspounding.com/episodes/lizzieborden

Classic Case: Lizzie Borden Took an Axe

From explorer Ernest Shackleton crossing the Antarctic, to famed aviator Charles Lindbergh, many famous stories of survival have included a supernatural being come to be known as The Third Man. Who is this presence that gives guidance and encouragement in extreme survival situations?
Subscribe on Patreon for more long form content, including exclusive episodes, and to become a member of our Rogue Detecting Society.
Follow on Tik Tok and Instagram for a daily dose of horror.
Heart Starts Pounding is written and produced by Kaelyn Moore. 
Music from Artlist
Shownotes: www.heartstartspounding.com/episodes/thirdman

Supernatural Survival: Mysterious Near Death Encounters

You may have heard that “no one dies at disney” but is that really true? Let’s look into the deaths of Mark Maples, a 15 year old who died on the Matterhorn, Dollie Regina Young who died on the same ride, and Deborah Gail Stone, who was crushed on the America Sings Ride. 
 
Subscribe on Patreon for more long form content, including exclusive episodes, and to become a member of our Rogue Detecting Society.
Follow on Tik Tok and Instagram for a daily dose of horror.
Heart Starts Pounding is written and produced by Kaelyn Moore. 
Music from Artlist
Shownotes: www.heartstartspounding.com/episodes/disneydeaths

Disney Deaths: Tragedy in the Happiest Place on Earth

Did something supernatural occur in Brazil in 1966?
That’s when two men were found deceased on Vintem hill wearing black suits and lead masks, with a note by them that read 
“4:30 PM be at the determined place.
6:30 PM swallow capsules, after effect protect metals wait for mask signal”
We’re going straight down the rabbit hole in this episode, into the world of the occult, seances, secret societies, and aliens. Buckle up.
Subscribe on Patreon for more long form content, including exclusive episodes, and to become a member of our Rogue Detecting Society.
Follow on Tik Tok and Instagram for a daily dose of horror.
Heart Starts Pounding is written and produced by Kaelyn Moore. 
Music from Artlist
Shownotes: www.heartstartspounding.com/episodes/leadmasks

The Unsolved Mystery of The Lead Masks Case

Can a ghost point to the person who murdered them? In 1897, Zona Heaster Shue's mother thought Zona's ghost visited her in the night with vital information, an event that infamously became the only time a ghost's testimony was used in court. Known as the Greenbrier ghost, did Mrs. Shue really see her daughters ghost, or was there something else at play?
 

Subscribe on Patreon for more long form content, including exclusive episodes, and to become a member of our Rogue Detecting Society.
Follow on Tik Tok and Instagram for a daily dose of horror.
Heart Starts Pounding is written and produced by Kaelyn Moore. 
Music from Artlist
Shownotes: https://www.heartstartspounding.com/episodes/greenbrierghost

The Greenbrier Ghost: A Haunting Tale of Murder and the Supernatural

Four bodies have been recovered from Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas this year, causing many to wonder- is there a serial killer currently operating, and are these drownings at all connected to similar ones five years ago?
Subscribe on Patreon for more long form content, including exclusive episodes, and to become a member of our Rogue Detecting Society.
Follow on Tik Tok and Instagram for a daily dose of horror.
Heart Starts Pounding is written and produced by Kaelyn Moore. 
Music from Artlist
Shownotes: https://www.heartstartspounding.com/episodes/austinkiller

Special Edition: Is There A Serial Killer In Austin Right Now?

Ghosts of Russian soldiers, red eyed creatures made from smoke. These are real life horror stories from soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq in the early 2000's who saw the unexplainable. 
Have your own story to share, or a request of something you want covered? Reach out on heartstartspounding.com
Follow the podcast on instagram @heartstartspounding,
You can support the podcast on patreon, or with a one time donation to Buy Me A Coffee. Thank you SO much to everyone who has already joined and donated, it means so much and allows me to keep making the podcast!
Check out The Timekeeper
Shownotes: www.heartstartspounding.com/episodes/ghostsofwar

Ghosts of War: Haunting Encounters in Afghanistan and Iraq

Spine tingling, bone chilling, and downright mysterious hauntings. Listeners share their own heart pounding tales about a headless cowboy, two separate ghost sightings in the military, and a girl who believes she may have gotten a sign from her deceased sister. 
 
Have your own story to share? Reach out on heartstartspounding.com
Follow the podcast on instagram @heartstartspounding,
You can support the podcast on patreon, or with a one time donation to Buy Me A Coffee. Thank you SO much to everyone who has already joined and donated, it means so much and allows me to keep making the podcast. 
 
Shownotes: www.heartstartspounding.com/episodes/listenertalesghosts

Listener Stories: Terrifying True Ghost Stories

When Mrs. Kent learned of the grisly murder of her three year old son, she had only one thing to say. “Someone in the house has done it”
 
What would follow would be the biggest whodunit of the 19th century. The Kent family would have their dirty laundry hung out to dry as London’s top detective investigated them all for the murder of Saville Kent
 
Heart Starts Pounding is written and produced by Kaelyn Moore. Follow the podcast on Instagram @heartstartspounding, subscribe on patreon, or support the podcast with a one time donation to Buy Me A Coffee. And if you have a heart pounding story you’d like to share on the podcast, you can visit heartstartspounding.com
Shownotes: https://www.heartstartspounding.com/episodes/roadhillhouse

Murder At Road Hill House: The Scandal That Shook Victorian England

Imagine if the final words you heard from someone were so bone-chilling that they forever altered your perception of them.
 
These deathbed confessions rocked families, changed the course of police investigations, and showed where the bodies were buried.
Heart Starts Pounding is written and produced by Kaelyn Moore. Follow the podcast on Instagram @heartstartspounding, subscribe on patreon, or support the podcast with a one time donation to Buy Me A Coffee. And if you have a heart pounding story you’d like to share on the podcast, you can email heartstartspounding@gmail.com

Deathbed Confessions: Chilling Secrets Revealed

A child with a deadly capsule. A rich playboy who lost his jaw and then his life. A fuel plant worker who absorbed more radiation than anyone in history. 
We're telling three stories about one of the deadliest forms of energy and the people that shouldn't have gone near it. 
Listener discretion is advised
 
Enjoying the podcast? Follow @heartstartspounding on instagram. You can support the podcast on Patreon, or make a one time donation by buying Kaelyn a coffee while she researches at Buy Me A Coffee.
Heart Starts pounding is written and produced by Kaelyn Moore. Music by Artlist. Have a heart pounding story you’d like to share on the podcast? Email HeartStartsPounding@gmail.com

Fatal Dose: Three Tales of Radiation Poisoning

In the middle of the night, strangers ripped Zara from her bed and told her she was going to a troubled teen wilderness therapy program. Little did she know, the troubled teen industry would prevent her from going home for over three years.
 
The Troubled Teen Industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that holds kids prisoner and may do more harm than good in their attempt to rehabilitate teens. Wilderness therapies expose teens to extreme physical conditions for months on end. Today we're going to hear stories from inside those programs, including Zara's.
You can support the podcast and hear more of Zara's story on our new Patreon 
Follow Zara on Tik Tok
Follow the podcast on instagram
Have a heart pounding story you'd like to share on the podcast? Email heartstartspounding@gmail.com
Heart Starts Pounding is written and produced by Kaelyn Moore. Music by Artlist. 
 
Links for this episode:
Breaking Code Silence (donate and read more stories)
https://wjactv.com/news/local/new-ruling-could-lead-to-retrial-for-man-convicted-of-1993-murder-of-teen
https://wildernesstherapyinfo.tripod.com/id22.html
https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/losing-erica-cynthia-clark-harvey-doesnt-want-anyone-elses-child-to-die-in-a-wilderness-therapy-program-6431310
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/08/when-wilderness-boot-camps-take-tough-love-too-far/375582/
https://wwaspsdeath.blogspot.com/
https://allthatsinteresting.com/elan-school
https://wwaspsdeath.blogspot.com/ 
https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/life/health-wellness/2022/12/08/wilderness-therapy-troubled-teen-industry/9890694002/
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/committees/childrens-rights/practice/2021/5-facts-about-the-troubled-teen-industry/
https://bcsnetwork.org/category/our-stories/

Horrifying Tales from the Troubled Teen Industry

Writer Jeff Topolski (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) joins us this week to answer the question: Was Natalia Grace Barnett a murderous woman parading as a child, or a victim of terrible adoptive parents?
In 2010, a 6-year-old girl named Natalia Grace was adopted by Michael and Kristine Barnett. The Barnetts, as well as national headlines, would go on to portray Natalia as a disturbed con artist pretending to be a child. According to the Barnetts, she made their lives hell and repeatedly threatened to kill their children. In today's episode, we're going to break this whole story down, piece by piece, and examine all it's layers to figure out what was really going on. Buckle up because it's going to get even crazier than what the headlines were writing.  
Thank you so much to Jeff Topolski  for joining me today. You can follow the podcast on instagram @heartstartspounding. Have a heart pounding story you'd like to share on the podcast? Email heartstartspounding@gmail.com 
 
Links cited in this episode:
https://www.amazon.com/Spark-Mothers-Nurturing-Genius-Autism/dp/0812983564?asin=0812983564&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/9884021/Russia-seeks-return-of-adopted-boy-in-US-after-brothers-death.html
https://nypost.com/2010/04/09/us-woman-put-adopted-russian-son-on-one-way-flight-alone-back-to-homeland/
https://www.insideedition.com/couple-who-hoped-to-adopt-ukrainian-orphan-shocked-people-think-shes-an-adult-posing-as-child-56997
https://www.jconline.com/story/news/local/lafayette/2022/02/20/kristine-michael-barnett-natalia-update/6802645001/
https://www.jconline.com/story/news/2019/09/18/michael-kristine-barnett-daughter-abandon-ukraine-adoption-dwarfism-prodigy/2364895001/
 https://www.jconline.com/story/news/crime/2019/09/27/kristine-and-michael-barnett-walked-a-small-crowd-of-reporters-and-news-cameras-on-their-to-their-in/3779458002/
​​https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7479061/Mom-claims-Ukrainian-daughter-9-adopted-really-22-year-old-dwarfism.html

Natalia Grace: ’Orphan’ Horror Movie Come To Life (feat. Jeff Topolski)

This episode is about the supernatural things that happen around the time of someone's death, either leading up to it or right after. We read stories from people who experienced the unexplainable right when their loved one died and hear from two healthcare workers about a supernatural phenomenon that is common when someone is dying. 
You can follow Hospice Nurse Julie on tiktok @hospicenursejulie
Follow the podcast on instagram @heartstartspounding
Read more from u/spinyfever here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Thetruthishere/comments/102xoha/experiences_from_working_overnight_at_a_old_folks/ 
Have a scary story you'd like to share on the podcast? Email HeartStartsPounding@gmail.com

Hospital Hauntings feat. Hospice Nurse Julie

Pack a bag, today we're going to a spooky campground. In this episode, we hear two terrifying campground tales.
The first one is The Tale of The Solo Traveler- a tale of a girl who learns something may have been watching her while she camped.
And then we hear a tale from a listener of a time when their husband's intuition while camping may have saved them both.
Heart Starts Pounding is written/produced by Kaelyn Moore
Instagram: @heartstartspounding 
Have a heart pounding tale you'd like to share on the podcast? Email heartstartspounding@gmail.com
Music by Artlist

Scary Campground Tales

On Christmas Eve, 1924, a devastating fire broke out at a schoolhouse in Babbs Switch. 36 people died in total, and every person who was at the schoolhouse that night was accounted for. Except for one person- 3-year-old Mary Edens. Her aunt remembered passing her out of a window to someone, but no one knew what happened to her afterward.
 
Until 30 years later, when a woman shows up at the Edens home claiming to be Mary. She's welcomed in with open arms, but is she really who she says she is? Something starts to feel off to people in the community....
Heart Starts Pounding is written and produced by Kaelyn Moore. Additional commentary by Leo, and music by Artlist.
Have a heart pounding story you'd like to share on the pod? Email Heartstartspounding@gmail.com. And be sure to follow the podcast on instagram @heartstartspounding.
Happy Heart Pounding Holidays!!

The Mysterious Reappearance of Mary Edens

On Christmas Eve, 1945, a fire broke out in the Sodder family home destroying the entire house and taking five of the nine children with it. Shortly after the fire, and due to some VERY strange evidence, the father of the family started to believe that maybe the children were actually....kidnapped
In this episode, we'll deep dive into the night of the fire as well as the bizarre events that took place afterward to try and figure out just what happened to those children that fateful night. 
Heart Starts Pounding is written and produced by Kaelyn Moore, with additional commentary by Leo. Enjoy what you're hearing? Leave us a rating and follow the podcast on instagram @heartstartspounding. If you have a heart pounding story you'd like to share on the podcast, email heartstartspounding@gmail.com.
sources:
https://seletyn.com/2019/11/08/fayco-history-the-sodder-children/
https://stacyhorn.com/2005/12/28/long-long-long-sodder-post/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-children-who-went-up-in-smoke-172429802/
https://www.npr.org/2005/12/23/5067563/mystery-of-missing-children-haunts-w-va-town
Happy Heart Pounding Holidays to all!

The Sodder Children Disappearance

What if I told you there were a bunch of people in the Navy in Groton, Connecticut who believe their military homes are haunted? And that some of those people believe it's a result of the ancient and mysterious land they live on?
In this episode, we hear from Jack, a behavioral health tech in the Navy who feels something strange coming from the swamp by his house, called Gungywamp. Jack believes the ghost stories told on his base are maybe because of it. 
Have a heart pounding story you'd like to tell on the podcast? Email us at heartstartspounding@gmail.com, and be sure to follow the podcast on instagram @heartstartspounding.
Hosted by Kaelyn Moore

A Naval Base On A Haunted Swamp

Have you ever wondered if the sound outside your door at night was really a ghost? In this Episode- Kaelyn hears from two listeners with chilling haunted house tales, and Leo gives a little bit of their take on it.
 
Have a heart pounding story you'd like to share on the podcast? email heartstartspounding@gmail.com. And follow the podcast on instagram @heartstartspounding. 
 
This episode will also be available on youtube!

Haunted House Tales From Listeners

Amy Archer-Gilligan was one of America's first female serial killers, killing up to 60 of her patients with her "special" lemonade...
 
Make sure you're following the podcast on instagram @heartstartspounding. Have a heart-pounding story you'd like to share on the pod? Email heartstartspounding@gmail.com

Heart Starts Pounding: Horrors, Hauntings, and Mysteries

Heart Starts Pounding - heartstartspounding.com

Latest episode: Thu Jun 01 2023