MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

Episode: Panic Attacks (Podcast Exclusive Episode)
Host: John Allen (MrBallen) | Date: January 28, 2026

Episode Overview

In this exclusive episode titled "Panic Attacks," MrBallen presents two bizarre and unsettling true stories exploring mass hysteria, unintended consequences, and the very real dangers that can arise from fear and the unknown.

• Story One: The 1949 Ecuador "invasion" broadcast, inspired by "War of the Worlds," which led to citywide panic and tragedy.
• Story Two: An 1851 séance in Massachusetts that ends in unexpected, deadly fashion. True to MrBallen's trademark style, both stories are told with dramatic flair, detailed character focus, and an undercurrent of dark irony.

Story One: The Quito Radio Panic

The 1949 “Invasion” That Fueled Deadly Chaos
[Begins ~02:12]

Setting & Main Players

• Leonardo Paez: Director of Radio Quito and orchestrator of a special live broadcast.
• Jose Antonio: 17-year-old citizen of Quito, experiences the event from the streets.
• Radio Quito: Ecuador’s premier news station, deeply trusted by public.
• Quito, Ecuador: 1949, capital city, 250,000 residents, centralized information via radio.

Key Events & Insights

The Prank Broadcast is Prepared

• Leonardo, anxious but serious about his work, coordinates a live intervention into a popular music program to deliver “urgent news.”
• "He was about to deliver a potentially life changing broadcast to the entire city. And just thinking about the gravity of this moment was making him feel sick and sweaty." (MrBallen, 02:50)

Fake News, Real Panic

• The radio cuts off the music; an urgent announcement claims Ecuador is under military invasion.

• The broadcast reports the destruction of nearby Latacunga, then allege enemy aircraft have landed just north of the city.

  “The enemy had landed their aircraft right on the outskirts of Quito, in a northern area called Cota Coyao, which was only eight miles from the center of Quito.” (MrBallen, 12:27)

• Reports escalate: the enemy uses “poisonous gas,” burns everything, and kills indiscriminately.

  “They're exterminating everything and everyone... They're coming.” (MrBallen, 13:48)

Crowd Hysteria and Chaos

• Listeners on the street are plunged into terror, some already war-scarred from past conflicts with Peru.

• Different voices on-air contradict each other, amplifying confusion.

• Directives: Women and children must flee, men must stay and fight.

• Jose is swept up in the collective panic, unsure whether to run or fight. Streets become choked with people running, screaming, grabbing weapons, or looting.

  “It was like the entire country truly was just in full blown panic mode.” (MrBallen, 22:43)

The Reveal—Too Little, Too Late

• In the chaos, the “truth” is revealed: The invasion is fiction. The entire broadcast was a staged play, an Ecuadorian adaptation of "War of the Worlds" designed for realism.

• Most people do not immediately hear the clarification; the crowd, outraged at the deception, marches to Radio Quito and sets it on fire.

  “There was one very important fact that Leonardo had decided not to mention in this broadcast until the very end, when, in many ways, it was already too late.” (MrBallen, 27:10)
  “This whole broadcast was a farce. The invasion was not real. It was an act, a prank, a joke.” (MrBallen, 27:27)

Aftermath and Consequences

• Leonardo, trapped, barely escapes by jumping across rooftops. Quito’s citizens, furious and traumatized, are out for his head.

• Death toll: Between 6 and 20, with many more injured amid the chaos. Some took their own lives in terror before learning the truth.

  “So furious, in fact, that they went to the radio station in the city center...and they lit it on fire.” (MrBallen, 28:10)

• Leonardo’s reputation is ruined; he leaves Ecuador. Radio Quito is off the air for two years.

Notable Quotes and Moments

• “Ecuador was being invaded.” (10:20, The fake broadcast)
• “Jose felt himself let out this yelp that he couldn't even control. He was so suddenly terrified...” (15:35, on collective panic)
• “Everybody in the city, including all those people down there, wanted Leonardo's head.” (29:10, Leonardo in hiding)

Important Timestamps

• Planning/Setting: 02:12–07:00
• First Announcement (Invasion): ~10:00
• Escalation and Chaos: 12:30–24:00
• Station Fire/Escape: 24:45–26:55
• Revelation & Aftermath: 27:00–30:00

Story Two: The Séance That Killed

When a "Fake" Ritual Goes Fatally Wrong
[Begins ~34:10]

Setting & Main Players

• Bailey Staples: 23-year-old, professional “medium,” undisputed king of seances in Fall River, MA.
• John Gardner: Homeowner hosting the seance.
• Dr. Hopper: Town physician called after the event.

Key Events & Insights

The Séance Craze

• 1851: America is swept with Spiritualism; seances and mediums are both believed-in and ridiculed.

• Baileys is a beloved performer (“the go-to medium”) who admits privately that his act is fake, but he’s very good at convincing his audiences.

  “Bailey's whole seance act was a blatant fake... But Bailey's was really good at faking it.” (34:59–35:11)

The Night of the Fatal Seance

• Bailey's third séance of the day; he assures the crowd, “I have broken two tables today, and now I've come to break yours.” (36:33)
• The act: Hooks hidden under his sleeves let him lift and thump the table, convincing guests a spirit is present.
• The mood: Guests are delighted, “really excited,” both skeptics and believers swept up.

Something Goes Very Wrong

• As Bailey exerts himself for dramatic effect, he is suddenly overcome with an icy cold sensation and can't move.

  “He suddenly felt the room turn icy cold, and he had this weird tingling sensation flowing through him.” (40:13) “He was frozen.” (40:42)

• Guests—at first thinking it a powerful act—watch as Bailey's eyes roll back, he begins moaning, and collapses violently.

  “Bailey's eyes rolled all the way back in his head so only the whites were visible.” (42:13)

Death Shocks the Crowd

• Dr. Hopper, called to scene, finds Bailey is dead, with no obvious cause.

• Rumors fly: Some claim Bailey is in a trance, not dead—if an autopsy is performed, it will "kill" him.

• Masses swarm police and doctor, demanding the body not be cut.

  “Some people were claiming that this was a ghost that possessed Bailey's, but it didn’t actually kill him. The ghost must have put Bailey's into a trance where he appears dead, but is not actually dead.” (47:27)

The Truth is Discovered

• Eventually, public pressure subsides enough for Dr. Hopper to perform the autopsy.

• Medical finding: Bailey had a preexisting heart issue (aneurysm); the strain of lifting the table and performing all day led to his sudden death.

  “Bailey's had a preexisting heart condition and his passionate performance, coupled with the physical exertion it took... caused his weak heart to swell and develop an aneurysm which ruptured and caused fatal internal bleeding.” (49:06)

• Irony: The best, most convincing séance of his life “was so good in fact, that it killed him—and also accidentally convinced an entire house full of dinner guests and many people all across the country that ghosts were real.” (49:45)

Notable Quotes and Moments

• “I have broken two tables today, and now I've come to break yours.” (36:33, Bailey to the crowd)
• “It looked like Bailey’s is possessed for real.” (41:25, John’s perspective)
• “Whatever killed Bailey Staples was not a ghost, but he didn’t know what it was yet.” (45:51, Dr. Hopper facing the mysterious death)

Important Timestamps

• Spiritualism Trend & Setup: 34:15–36:30
• Séance Begins: 36:30–39:00
• Physical Collapse: 40:10–42:45
• Medical Investigation/Aftermath: 45:50–49:50

Memorable Episode Themes

• Mass panic can have devastating consequences—no matter how unbelievable the source.
• The desire for belief (or even disbelief) can lead to cutthroat collective delusion, sometimes with deadly outcomes.
• Hoaxes and tricks, even when ‘innocent,’ can spiral far beyond their creators' intentions.
• Unexplained phenomena, when combined with real physical vulnerabilities, can make chilling events legendary.

Selected Quotes by Timestamp

• “He was about to deliver a potentially life changing broadcast to the entire city. And just thinking about the gravity of this moment was making him feel sick and sweaty.” (MrBallen, 02:50)
• “They're exterminating everything and everyone. He continued to yell that the enemy was using poisonous gas and they were using fire, and they were literally killing people and destroying homes and buildings. And then he issued a simple and terrifying warning. They're coming.” (MrBallen, 13:48)
• “There was one very important fact that Leonardo had decided not to mention in this broadcast until the very end, when, in many ways, it was already too late. This fact was the final update, the one Jose had not been able to hear, but that had caused everybody on the street who had heard it to stop running around, stop screaming, and just get their guns, knives, and torches and head towards the center of town.” (MrBallen, 27:05)
• “Bailey's whole seance act was a blatant fake. In fact, many of the people who hired Bailey's knew in advance that it was all an act, that Bailey's really was more of a performer than a psychic medium. But Bailey's was really good at faking it.” (MrBallen, 34:59)
• “It looked like Bailey’s is possessed for real.” (41:25, John’s observation)
• “Bailey Staples had basically put on the absolute best seance performance of his life. It was so good in fact, that it killed him and also accidentally convinced an entire house full of dinner guests and many people all across the country that ghosts were real.” (MrBallen, 49:45)

Conclusion

This episode vividly illustrates how fear, credulity, and showmanship can rapidly spin into disaster, be it on the scale of an entire city's hysteria or a single man's fatal devotion to performance.
For those who crave stories combining historical oddity, psychological suspense, and the macabre, "Panic Attacks" delivers MrBallen's signature blend of strange, dark, and mysterious storytelling at its best.