Scams, Money, & Murder:

The Real Doomed Camping Trip Behind Friday the 13th | Twisted Tales with Heidi Wong

Date: January 2, 2026
Host: Heidi Wong (of Twisted Tales, a Crime House Original)

Episode Overview

This episode, hosted by Heidi Wong, explores the terrifying real-life events that inspired two iconic horror films set in isolated cabins: Friday the 13th and The Strangers. Heidi takes listeners deep into the unsolved Lake Bodom murders in Finland and the infamous Keddie Cabin murders in Northern California, illuminating the harrowing true stories that fueled fictional nightmares. Through gripping narration, she uncovers how isolation, flawed investigations, and chilling randomness turn "cabin in the woods" horror into reality.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Cabin-in-the-Woods Trope & Its Lasting Power

• Heidi introduces and contextualizes the “cabin in the woods” motif in horror (e.g., Friday the 13th, The Strangers) as rooted in universal fears of isolation and vulnerability.
• "These might sound like scary stories you tell in the dark, but sometimes out in the forest, real monsters are lurking." – Heidi Wong (01:15)

2. The Friday the 13th Franchise & Origins

• Quick summary of the original 1980 film: masked Jason Voorhees, his vengeful mother Pamela, and the mythos surrounding Camp Crystal Lake in New Jersey.
• Friday the 13th's premise isn’t as fictional as viewers might hope.

3. The Real Horror Behind Friday the 13th: The Lake Bodom Murders

Details of the Crime

• June 4, 1960: Four teens (Seppo Boisman, Nils Gustafsson, and their girlfriends Maila Björklund & Anja Mäkinen) camp at Lake Bodom, near Helsinki, Finland.
• In the early morning, someone collapses their tent and attacks with a knife and rock. Three are killed; Nils survives with serious injuries but has no memory of events.
• "Asleep, trapped in the collapsed tent, the teens never had a chance. Think about that for a moment. These kids went to sleep under the stars, probably talking about their futures, their dreams. And they never woke up. Except for one of them. Nils." (05:26)

Botched Investigation

• Crime scene contaminated by onlookers, loss and theft of evidence, crucial items (clothes, wallets, Nils’s shoes) missing or found scattered.
• Police lack suspects, physical evidence, and are decades away from DNA testing.

Theories & Suspects

• Carl Valdemar Gylstrom: Violent, disliked local shopkeeper, known for hating campers, allegedly confessed multiple times while drunk. No physical evidence.
• "If this were a slasher movie, I would say, we have our man... but real-life murder cases usually don’t tie themselves up as neatly as a Hollywood script. And Carl wasn’t as good of a suspect as he seemed to be." (09:29)
• Hans Assmann: A former Nazi, accused KGB agent, fit descriptions of a man leaving the campsite, acted suspiciously after the murders, but police deemed his alibi sufficient and did not test his blood-stained clothes.

The Final Twist: The Survivor on Trial

• In 2004, Finnish authorities unexpectedly arrested Nils Gustafsson, the sole survivor, suspecting an inside job.
• Blood evidence on Nils's shoes contained victims’ blood—but not his own. Prosecutors theorized he killed his companions and injured himself.
• "Giving yourself a black eye is one thing. Breaking your own skull, that’s entirely different. And the court saw it that way too. In 2005, Niles was acquitted of all charges..." (15:38)

Mystery Remains

• "65 years later, we still don’t have answers. Which means somewhere out there in the waters of Lake Bodom, a killer may still be lurking." (16:37)

4. The Real Story Behind The Strangers: The Keddie Cabin Murders

Setting & Background

• 1981: Sue Sharp, who fled Connecticut with her five children after domestic abuse, moves into Keddie Resort, a rustic Northern California collection of cabins.

The Night of the Attack

• On April 11, 1981: Sue and three children are home with two neighbor kids and a friend. Daughter Sheila is sleeping at a neighbor’s.
• Sheila returns next morning, finding her mother, brother John, and friend Dana dead; they had been beaten and stabbed. Three younger boys survive, Tina Sharp (12) is missing.

Investigation Fumbles

• Crime scene contaminated; hypnosis-based composite sketches.
• FBI involvement is brief and insufficient; Tina’s case prematurely downgraded from kidnapping.
• "As one investigator put it in 2018, 'This case is screwed up as a soup sandwich.' Which is certainly one way to describe it." (20:30)

Tina's Remains & The Anonymous Caller

• 1984: Tina’s skull is found at a nearby campground after a tip from an anonymous caller who seemed eerily certain of the identity. The tape of the call is overlooked for 32 years.
• "If the police had paid attention to the call at the time, the story might have gone very differently, because this call meant that... Tina’s killer... was still around and watching..." (26:46)

Suspects & New Evidence

• 2013: Sheriff George Hagwood assigns special investigator Mike Gamberg, who focuses on Martin Smart (neighbor), abusive and with a missing hammer.
• Suspicion arises that Smart, possibly with help from friend Bo Bobedy (linked to organized crime), killed the Sharps because Sue was helping Marilyn (his wife) leave him.
• “In one last attempt to save the relationship, he sent Marilyn a letter: ‘I’ve paid the price of your love and now that I bought it with four people’s lives, you tell me we are through. Great. What else do you want?’ The letter was never entered into evidence.” (31:46)
• Hammer believed to be the murder weapon is finally recovered in 2016.

Mystery Endures

• Both prime suspects died before they could be charged. With lost and degraded evidence, doubts linger whether they were the killers.
• “With no hard evidence, there’s still a chance that Martin and Bo are innocent. Which is a terrifying thought, because if they didn’t kill the people in cabin 28, who did? And why? And most importantly, where are they hiding now?” (32:05)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the horror of isolation:
  "The isolation, the whispering trees, the infinite places to hide. I don’t know about you, but I think I’m gonna stay in the city for a while after this." – Heidi Wong (32:09)

• On the randomness of evil:
  "That randomness is what’s so scary about The Strangers. Humans like logic...when we can’t figure out the why of a murder, that terrifies us." (18:46)

• On real evil versus movies:
  "Because when you watch something like The Strangers or Friday the 13th, you can tell yourself it’s just a movie. But in real-life horror, there’s no turning it off if it gets too scary." (32:17)

Timestamps of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |------------|--------------------------------------------------| | 01:11 | Heidi Wong introduces "Cabin in The Woods" trope | | 03:29 | Recap of Friday the 13th & Lake Bodom intro | | 05:26 | Description of Lake Bodom attack | | 09:29 | Discussion of Carl Gylstrom as suspect | | 15:38 | Nils Gustafsson charged & acquitted | | 16:37 | Reflection on Lake Bodom mystery | | 18:26 | Introduction & summary of The Strangers | | 20:30 | Keddie cabin murder investigation critique | | 26:46 | Tina Sharp remains found, mishandled evidence | | 31:46 | Evidence implicating Martin Smart | | 32:05 | Enduring doubt about the killers’ identity | | 32:09 | Chilling reflection and episode close |

Closing Thoughts

Heidi Wong uses real-life terror to show that the scariest cabin-in-the-woods stories aren’t just the product of Hollywood imaginations—they’re echoes of unsolved, traumatic events with victims whose stories still haunt us. Isolation and randomness, combined with human failings, mean that sometimes the real world is far more horrifying than film.

“There’s no reason to fear the dark unless you try to hide from it.” – Heidi Wong (32:19)

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