The Lineup Podcast

On Christmas Day, 1929, shots rang out from the Lawson family homestead near Germanton, North Carolina. Charlie Lawson had murdered his wife and six of his children. Hours later, he took his own life. What could motivate a man to commit such a terrible act?

Soon after he attempted to contact the other side, young Roland Doe was possessed by a sinister force. Sound familiar? That's because the real-life case of Roland Doe was the inspiration behind "The Exorcist." Eric and Clarissa analyze the exorcism of Roland Doe and the psychological horrors of demonic possession.

Nearly 100 years after the séances ceased and the hammers fell silent in Sarah Winchester's sprawling Winchester Mystery House, the question remains: was it a labor of love or otherworldly obsession? Join Eric and Clarissa as they step inside the haunted halls of Sarah’s peculiar home, the Winchester Mystery House, where stairs lead to nowhere and doors open onto dangerous three-story drops.

West Virginia’s Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum is known for its abundance of paranormal activity. One spirit said to haunt the shuttered hospital is a little girl named Lily, a former resident who now wanders the halls, looking for a playmate. Eric and Clarissa explore the dark history of this crumbling asylum in search of its haunting child ghost.

His crimes were the stuff of nightmares, but how accurate are the many tales surrounding Plainfield’s Mad Butcher? Eric and Clarissa dissect the case of Ed Gein, a real-life American psycho whose capacity for murder and ghoulish predilection for crafting masks made of human skin inspired cinematic madmen like Norman Bates and Leatherface.

Bobby Mackey’s Music World has a little something for everyone—classic country music, cold beer and hard liquor, ghosts and demons, perhaps even a portal to Hell. Join hosts Eric Olsen and Clarissa Cole as they peer into the dark and bloody history of this haunted Kentucky honky-tonk.

Jim Sherl fights for his life as the dark and crooked truth about the Big Easy murder case is finally revealed.

Jim Sherl finally confronts Ecks Chinsky’s killer, and comes face to face with the sinister force that set the Big Easy murders into motion.

Sherl and Cajun Rob close in on the sinister force behind the Big Easy killings, only to discover their top suspect keeps some surprising friends.

Sherl and Cajun Rob struggle to make sense of the second line attack, when a mysterious stranger appears at Sherl’s doorstep with a midnight proposition. Later, a visit to the Seven Oaks nursing home cracks the case wide open.

A familiar face shines new light onto the brutal murder of Ecks Chinsky. Sherl and Cajun Rob are close to unraveling the mystery, when a second line parade stirs up an explosive scene.

The mystery of Ecks’ grisly death takes a strange new twist when Sherl and Cajun Rob track down their former rival’s driver at a seedy rock club. Then, after long night of chasing leads, Sherl heads home only to find his front door cracked open with someone waiting inside.

Welcome to our special presentation of The Murder Chronicles, a serialized mystery set in New Orleans. We gave you a taste of the case last summer, and now we're thrilled to serve up all 12 chapters. So let's return to the scene of the crime with Jim Sherl, a bleed-it-leads photojournalist who uncovers one grisly killing that hits too close to home.

In this episode we head to Florida with true crime author Fred Rosen. While investigating the murder of sideshow performer Grady Stiles, a.k.a. Lobster Boy, Rosen receives a videotape that changes the course of the trial forever. But not without a threat to his own life.

In this episode we join Cheryl Eddy of io9 True Crime, who shines a light on two bizarre cases that prove life's dark side is stranger than fiction. Afterward, we sit down with Cheryl to discuss her career and the pros and cons of life as a true crime writer.

In this episode we join Eric Olsen of America’s Most Haunted, whose daredevil performance one Halloween night leads to a life-saving encounter with the other side. Afterward, we sit down with Eric to discuss his lifelong fascination with the paranormal.

In this episode we join author Elizabeth Hand in the snow-covered fields of upstate New York where one childhood ritual at twilight awakens a strange presence in the woods. Afterward, we sit down with Elizabeth to discuss the experience and its impact on her life and work.

In this episode, we join author Eric Van Lustbader, whose thrilling work of fiction, The Ninja, becomes all too real when one passage turns up at a London crime scene scrawled in blood across the wall. Afterward, we sit down with Eric to discuss the case and its impact on his work.

In this episode, we serve up a dramatic reading from The Murder Chronicles, our interactive mystery serial. Join us as we take a trip to the Big Easy and meet Jim Sherl, a bleed-it-leads photojournalist who’s about to witness one grisly crime scene that hits too close to home. Afterward, we sit down with the author behind the serial, Adrian Van Young.

In this episode, we join Peter Blauner on a journey through 1980s New York, where one hostile street encounter leads him to a shadowy world hidden beneath the city.