Podcast
Nightmares
Hosted by Sword and Scale · EN
Welcome to Nightmares. True-Crime for Bedtime. Your nightmare begins now…
22episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Sanctuary
Apr 100:29:53Tap to summarizeOn a quiet January morning in rural Pennsylvania, Rhonda Smith went to work at her church and never came home. What started as a shocking act of violence inside a place of worship slowly unraveled into something far more personal. As investigators dug deeper, they uncovered whispered jealousies, blurred boundaries, and a devotion that may have crossed a dangerous line.Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com
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Bad Friends
Mar 2500:25:41Tap to summarizeOn March 12, 2000, in Spearfish, South Dakota, nineteen-year-old Chester Allan Poage agrees to a night that seems harmless… until it isn’t. In a secluded pocket of the Black Hills, it’s hard for a trusting kid like Chester to tell the difference between friends and predators.Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com
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Survival
Mar 1100:22:39Tap to summarizeIn October 2013, fourteen-year-old Abby Hernandez vanished on her walk home from school in rural New Hampshire. Months passed, searches faded, and a letter arrived that changed how the public understood her disappearance. When Abby finally came home, the truth forced a reckoning with certainty, judgment, and what survival actually looks like when escape is not possible.Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com
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Echo Chamber
Mar 400:24:41Tap to summarizeWhen an 83-year-old woman is found dead inside her quiet Old Greenwich home, investigators start piecing together the final months of her life, and the unraveling of her son, Erik Soelberg. What first appears to be a private family tragedy reveals a disturbing descent shaped by isolation, certainty, and a voice that never challenged his fears. This episode examines how belief hardens, reality fractures, and how one ordinary house became the setting for an irreversible outcome.Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com
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Hollywood
Feb 2400:28:31Tap to summarizeIt's March 2006 in Villa Park Illinois and nineteen-year-old Rose thinks she’s found an escape, until a woman vanishes and the search starts pointing somewhere darker. As detectives close in, Rose is forced to replay every late-night call, every story, every “coincidence,” realizing the truth was being rehearsed right in front of her. By the time the case breaks, Rose understands she was never just a witness…Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com
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Snap
Feb 1800:28:57Tap to summarizeThirteen-year-old Thad Phillips fell asleep on his couch—and woke up in a nightmare. Trapped in a decaying house with a smiling teen and sinister intentions, he would spend two harrowing days fighting to survive when all hope seemed lost.Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com
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Party
Feb 400:30:15Tap to summarizeJames Rackover looked like someone who had it all. He had style, status, and a last name that carried weight. But the truth behind the image was darker. When a man goes missing after a night in Manhattan, investigators start to uncover the kind of past James hoped no one would find. He wasn’t who he said he was. And he wasn’t done breaking the rules.Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com
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Trouble Ahead
Jan 2800:20:03Tap to summarizeA teenage girl’s discovery of a human skull on Iowa’s Greenbelt River Trail led investigators to the murder of missing 29-year-old Angela Nicole Bradbury. The case unraveled into a chilling confession by Nathan James Gilmore, whose digital trail and coded clues revealed a cold, deliberate killing. What began as a missing person report ended as one of Iowa’s most disturbing murder cases.Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com
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Consumed
Jan 2100:22:53Tap to summarizeWhen a devastating fire consumed the lives of an affluent British family, suspicions arose, pointing fingers at those who knew business tycoon Chris Foster and may have wanted him dead. As detectives sifted through the ashes and debris, they uncovered even more secrets buried within the Shropshire mansion. From hidden affairs and financial troubles to long-buried grudges and shattered dreams, investigators didn’t know which direction to look in next until the killer was revealed in the family’s own CCTV footage.Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com
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One Percent
Jan 1400:23:42Tap to summarize62-year-old Kathy Hughes Anderson spent her career tending to trees, preserving beauty and order across the towns she served. In retirement, she brought that same quiet dedication to her life at home - until one December evening when a stranger walked through her front door. Kathy had no idea who he was. But Francis Wolke had been convinced he needed to kill to join the one percent.Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com
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