A Swedish legend of dancing with the devil. A medieval plague that made people dance to death. And a modern town haunted by a phantom attacker. Heidi Wong uncovers how real cases of hysteria, ritual, and belief inspired Midsommar and prove that madness spreads faster than any curse.

If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Twisted Tales to never miss a case! To hear episodes ad-free and released a day early, subscribe to Crime House+. Join at crimehouseplus.com or if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page. Twisted Tales is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios.

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Welcome to the first episode of Crime House's latest four-part limited series: Spooky Season. In the winter of 1803, the village of Hammersmith was convinced a ghost was stalking its darkened lanes... and armed men took to the streets to stop it. On January 3rd, 1804, excise officer Francis Smith shot and killed Thomas Millwood, an innocent plasterer whose white work clothes made him look exactly like the phantom the village feared. The case landed in London's Old Bailey with a question English law struggled to answer for the next two centuries: can a sincere but deadly mistake constitute murder?

If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Twisted Tales to never miss a case! To hear episodes ad-free and released a day early, subscribe to Crime House+. Join at crimehouseplus.com or if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page. Twisted Tales is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios.

🎧 Need More to Binge?

Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crime House 24/7, Serial Killers & Murderous Minds, Murder True Crime Stories, and more wherever you get your podcasts!

Follow me on Social

• YouTube: @watchtwistedtales
• Instagram: @Crimehouse
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Twisted Tales is hosted by Heidi Wong

• Instagram: @itsheidiwong
• TikTok: @itsheidiwong

A lakeside camping trip ends in blood. A quiet cabin becomes a house of horrors. And the killers were never caught. Heidi Wong tells the real stories that inspired Friday the 13th and The Strangers: the true tales of isolation, fear, and murder that haunt horror’s most famous cabins.

If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Twisted Tales to never miss a case! To hear episodes ad-free and released a day early, subscribe to Crime House+. Join at crimehouseplus.com or if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page. Twisted Tales is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios.

🎧 Need More to Binge?

Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crime House 24/7, Serial Killers & Murderous Minds, Murder True Crime Stories, and more wherever you get your podcasts!

Follow me on Social

• YouTube: @watchtwistedtales
• Instagram: @Crimehouse
• TikTok: @Crimehouse
• Facebook: @crimehousestudios
• X: @crimehousemedia

Twisted Tales is hosted by Heidi Wong

• Instagram: @itsheidiwong
• TikTok: @itsheidiwong