MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

Episodes

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  Human Resources (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE) 14.09.2026 30m

  One morning in March of 1999, a detective in Norcross, Georgia leaned in closely to his computer screen. He was reviewing video footage his team had recorded at a murder scene – and finally, he arrived at the exact frame he wanted. He zoomed in and smiled. Because the thing he was looking for... wasn't there.
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  What I Saw in My Room | Campfire Stories with MrBallen 11.09.2026 50m

  Welcome back to the Campfire! Tonight, I’m sitting down with a legend of the outdoors, Steven Rinella from MeatEater. We swap stories in the Montana wilderness, including an experience from my own life that I truly cannot explain. Be sure to WATCH this episode on my YouTube channel on Friday, September 11th!
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  Origins Vol. III 10.09.2026 26m

  Today’s podcast will feature 4 stories about how a single decision changed the lives of the people in these stories, as well as millions of others’ lives around the world. The audio from all four stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.
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  A Lie to Die For (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE) 09.09.2026 28m

  Today, I'm going to tell you three stories about people who tried really hard to be something that they were not. And not only do they get caught, but they also face extreme repercussions.
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  Open Door Policy (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE) 07.09.2026 35m

  In the fall of 2009, a college student sat in a crowded lecture hall in Southern California, listening to his professor. Suddenly, the doors swung open and three campus police officers walked in, followed by a man in a suit. The officers went over and whispered something to the professor, who leaned into his microphone. And before the professor even said a word, the student’s stomach dropped – because he’d just realized what was about to happen.
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  Down the Stairs/Home Forever | Campfire Stories with MrBallen 04.09.2026 36m

  Welcome back to the Campfire! Tonight, I have two very weird and equally creep stories to share... perfect stories to be told at the fire. Be sure to WATCH this episode on my YouTube channel on Friday, September 4th!
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  The Clearing 03.09.2026 24m

  One summer day, a man named John Randolph was hiking through a remote forest in Colorado when he began to smell something terrible. Intrigued, he followed the smell until it brought him to this clearing, and in the clearing John saw what looked like an old campsite. Now, John is out in the middle of nowhere, so the idea that somebody was camping out out here, in what looked like a long term settlement, was pretty bizarre to John. John walked into the clearing to see what was going on, and when he turned the corner, he saw something in the middle of the campsite he just couldn’t even process... it was so horrible, it just looked fake. But eventually, he realized what he was looking at was real, at which point John turned around and began sprinting out of there screaming for help.
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  Demise by Design (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE) 02.09.2026 27m

  Today, I'm going to tell you three stories about people who thought they'd come up with the perfect plan, but instead, they actually planned out their own demise.
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  In An Instant 27.08.2026 26m

  Today’s podcast will feature 4 stories that prove the line between life and death can disappear in an instant. The audio from all four stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.
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  Lethal Leisure (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE) 26.08.2026 27m

  Today, we have three stories about people who found a really amazing pastime that they thought had changed their lives for the better, but ended up realizing that, actually, it was for the worse.
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  Last Call (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE) 24.08.2026 33m

  In the fall of 2010, a detective dug through a dresser in a bedroom near Paris. He was looking for evidence, and when he pulled open the last drawer, he found five cell phones hidden inside. He powered one of them on and checked the call history and messages – then he opened the photos app and froze. He swiped to the next photo, then the one after that. There were dozens of them – and they all showed the same thing.
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  The Capitol Theatre Haunting | Campfire Stories with MrBallen 21.08.2026 50m

  Welcome back to the Campfire! I have a great story to tell. It's a classic ghost story – and not only are the elements in the story quite unnerving, but it also has a high degree of believability. There are quite a few people in this story who, independently, witnessed and experienced these events.
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  Fatal Depths 20.08.2026 27m

  Today’s podcast will feature 3 stories about divers who underestimated what was waiting for them beneath the surface. The audio from all three stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.
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  Risky Business (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE) 19.08.2026 29m

  Today, I'm going to share four stories about people who took big career risks in order to be as successful as possible. But, in each case, the risk did not pay off.
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  The Cheapskate (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE) 17.08.2026 31m

  In January 1988, the clerk of a sporting goods store in a small town in Canada looked up as a man walked into his shop. It was below freezing outside, but the man wasn’t wearing a coat. Just sneakers, ripped pants, and a thin, plastic rain poncho. The man grabbed a pair of ski pants off the rack, paid in cash, then hurried out of the store. But after he left, the clerk turned on the radio... and heard a breaking news report about a murder up the road.
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  Fan Favorite - "The Dog and the Golden Gun" 14.08.2026 42m

  Today's story is a fan favorite that was previously published as Episode 346. On a cold winter night in 1999, a man drove down a dark street towards his house in a small Iowa town. Suddenly, he saw something glowing in his headlights, and he slammed on the brakes. He got out of his car. And there, in the lights, he saw a dog standing all by herself. And she was making this soft squeaking sound like she was scared. The man slowly approached, talking to the dog as he walked. He knew everyone who lived in his neighborhood, and he’d never seen this dog before. He knelt down and kept trying to calm the dog. She didn’t look hurt and she didn’t have any tags. Slowly, the man coaxed her to follow him into his house. And over the next few weeks, he would try to locate her owner. But the man had no idea that this dog hadn’t just wandered off… and that she was the key police desperately needed to solve a gruesome murder.
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  Stranger Than Fiction Vol. XV 13.08.2026 28m

  Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. And today’s podcast features 4 stories that demonstrate that. The audio from all four stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.
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  Professional Hazards (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE) 12.08.2026 24m

  Today, I am going to tell you three stories about people who were just trying to do their jobs... and ended up facing an extremely unexpected – and dangerous – professional hazard.
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  Moving Day (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE) 10.08.2026 34m

  On a cold night in November 2013, a woman sat in a hospital waiting room, wondering if her new husband would survive until morning. It was a cruel reversal – just months ago, she’d told him she was dying. And in fact, it was her terminal diagnosis that defined their marriage from the start. But now, it looked like she was the one who’d be making funeral arrangements.
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  The Devil's Station/The Hunt | Campfire Stories with MrBallen 07.08.2026 36m

  Welcome back to the Campfire! I have two awesome stories to share tonight. The first is about a woman in Japan in the early 2000s who has a totally bizarre occurrence on a train, and she documented the entire thing on social media. And the second story is about this really creepy creature who lives in the mountains of northern Thailand, and a village has a horrible encounter that has become a legend over time. Be sure to WATCH this episode on my YouTube channel on Friday, August 7th!