Follow the Leader

0:00Today's podcast will feature two horror stories about manipulative people who twisted other people's faith into fear. The audio from both of these stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel and has been remastered for today's episode. The links to the original YouTube videos are in the description. The first story you'll hear is called The New Nanny, and it's about a very busy family who tries to hire a new nanny for their daughter. And the second and final story you'll hear is called Take My Soul. It's about a man who's found on the side of the road, and his discovery leads detectives down a very dark rabbit hole.

0:36But before we get into today's stories, if you're a fan of the strange, dark, and mysterious delivered in story format, then you've come to the right podcast because that's all we do and we upload twice a week, once on Monday and once on Thursday. So if that's of interest to you, please offer to make the Amazon Music Follow button a nice fresh batch of donuts, but instead of filling them with custard, fill them with mayonnaise. Okay, let's get into our first story called The New Nanny.

1:23The story of Southern New Hampshire University started in 1932 above a small storefront. Almost a century later, SNHU offers over 200 degree programs online. There are no set class times, so learning fits around your schedule, and courses are career-focused to help strengthen your skills. But the best part of the story? SNHU's online tuition rates are some of the lowest in the entire country. This could be your next chapter. Visit snhu.edu slash MrBallin today. For the military and their families, change is a constant. That's why USAA makes it easy to keep all your coverages in one place. Bundle your USAA auto and renter's insurance together and save big.

2:06Visit usaa.com slash bundle auto property to see how much you could save. Multiple product savings do not apply in all states or to all situations. Savings subject to change. Restrictions apply. Membership eligibility and product restrictions apply and are subject to change. USAA means United Services Automobile Association and its affiliates, San Antonio, Texas.

2:35One day in March of 2012, a five-year-old girl named Maria sat on the floor of her kitchen in a city in northeast Brazil, eating an empata and watching her aunt cook some stew. An empada is very similar to the empanada in that it is a pie filled with meat. But the empada is the Brazilian version of that pie. Maria's family was actually known for their cooking, specifically their empadas. In fact, at this very moment, Maria's mother was out selling their famous empadas on street corners and in bars and local restaurants. Now, the family got by okay this way. But despite their notoriety around these empadas, they really wanted more.

3:14They wanted their family name to be respected, to be powerful. And so to try to make that happen, Maria's family basically worked 24-7. Not just on making empadas, but basically in looking for ways to kind of grow and expand the family name. In fact, while Maria was sitting on the kitchen floor, she could hear her father in the other room working. And the reason she knew he was working is because periodically she could hear him yell out with excitement. He was basically sitting there coming up with ideas of how he could make the family name even bigger and better. And when he had a good idea, he would shout out and be like, oh, I found it.

3:50And in addition to constantly sort of brainstorming for ideas of how to become rich and powerful, Maria's father also was an author. And he was writing a book that he was convinced was going to be another thing that would kind of ratchet their family up the social hierarchy. But because Maria's mother and father and basically everybody in her family were so completely immersed in work all the time, it meant they didn't really pay much attention to her. And so most of the time, Maria was just kind of on her own, usually playing in the kitchen or playing in the backyard. Just then, the front door opened and in walked Maria's mother, and she was grinning ear to ear.

4:28Not only because she now had an empty tray, meaning she had sold all her empadas, but also she had brought someone along that she was really excited to introduce to Maria. Maria's mom stepped all the way into the kitchen and right behind her was this young woman. And Maria's mother pointed at this young woman and then gestured for Maria to come over and say hi. And she told Maria that this young woman wants to become her new nanny. And so you guys can play together all the time while me and your father are out doing our work. Maria stood up and gave a shy smile to the young woman. but she wasn't sold that this woman actually would become her nanny.

5:04Because in the past, there had been other women who had come by to be her nanny, and they didn't seem to last very long. And so Maria was not getting her hopes up. Still, Maria wanted to be friendly, so she walked over, and as a gesture of goodwill, she handed this woman her half-eaten empata. And the young woman took the empata and laughed and said, Thank you. After that, Maria's mother told her to head on out back and go play by herself for a bit, while she and this new nanny hammered out the details of her new job. And she told Maria that as soon as they were done, the new nanny would come outside and join her and they could play together.

5:36And so Maria, who was always very obedient, did as she was told, and she headed out back and entertained herself. And the whole time, as she's just kicking rocks around and pulling grass up and just kind of doing what kids do, she kept looking back at the house, waiting for the nanny to come outside. But she didn't. And after a whole hour had passed by and still this new nanny had not come outside, Maria felt really bored. And so she went inside to go look for her.

6:06A month later, Maria was out in her backyard playing by herself like usual when she heard a commotion happening inside of her house. She looked over at the house and couldn't really tell what was going on. And then she heard the sound of her mother and her father and her aunt raising their voices like they were fighting with somebody. and then all of a sudden, these uniformed police officers came charging out the back door towards Maria. One of the officers came right up to her and asked her what her name was, and Maria was so scared, remember she's five years old here, that she didn't even know what to say, so she just stood there staring, being totally terrified.

6:40She had no idea what was going on. But, as these police officers would soon tell her, it would turn out her entire life was one big, horrific lie.

6:54Maria's father, George Silvera, was not actually her father. Nor was Maria's mother, Isabel Silvera, her actual mother. Nor was her aunt, Bruna Silva, actually her aunt. In reality, those three people were not related to Maria. They were instead members of a cult called the Cartel Sect. And all these three cult members cared about was impressing the members of the cult. When they thought about, you know, making it big, their so-called family name becoming bigger and more powerful, that was all in relationship to the cartel sect. They wanted the members of this cult to look at them as the most powerful and important members of that cult.

7:36And the way they tried to do that was by performing the duties of this cult to the best of their abilities, better than anybody else in the cult. And so what did this cartel care about? Well, Well, the literal purpose of the cartel sect was to eliminate women they deemed unclean in order to reduce and purify the world's population. And Maria's family, the mother, the father, and the aunt, had become very well-versed at doing this. All those nannies that came around to see Maria, well, the reason they kept vanishing is because shortly after the mother, the father, and the aunt introduced them to Maria and said, oh, she's going to be your new nanny, they would shoo Maria out into the backyard and then they would murder the nanny because this person had been deemed unclean.

8:23They would cut their throats and stab them to death. But that wasn't all. That wasn't enough cleansing. After they murdered these women, they would then butcher them and stuff the human meat into their famous empadas and sell them to the people in town. They literally were feeding people in this city human meat. But the cult and the cannibalism and the murders were not actually the biggest shock of the story. The biggest shock of the story is actually the real identity of little five-year-old Maria. She was actually the daughter of the very first victim of the cartel sect. The mother, along with Maria three and a half years earlier, when Maria was just a year and a half, they had been lured to this very house where her mother was murdered right in front of Maria.

9:12And then after her mother was killed, they cooked her mother and fed pieces of the mother to Maria. And ever since, they had just kept Maria and treated her like she was a member of the family, basically turning her into an unwitting cannibal. The existence of the cult and their hideous murders were ultimately discovered after they used one of the credit cards of their victims sometime in the spring of 2012. That's when all the cops rushed into the backyard and confronted Maria. George, Isabel, and Bruna, Maria's fake family, were convicted of three murders, including the murder of Maria's real mother, and they are currently serving what amounts to life sentences in Brazil.

9:53Police believe the actual number of women that they murdered is as many as eight. As for Maria, according to recent news articles, she was reunited with distant family. Maria is not her real name, that is a pseudonym to protect her identity.

10:18When you're refreshing your space, choosing a paint color can feel weirdly high stakes. Will that seafoam green that you loved online look more like split pea soup on your walls? Luckily, Sherwin-Williams takes the guesswork out of finding the perfect paint color. With three easy ways to sample, you can choose color with confidence, testing shades in your actual space before making the final call. Order color chips, peel and stick, or color to go paint samples at swsamples.com or visit your neighborhood Sherwin-Williams store to get started today. So I've tried the whole supplement routine where you have all these different bottles for different things, but after a while it just becomes one more thing to keep track of.

10:57Well, what I actually like about IM8 is I make one drink and then I'm done. And since I started using IM8, it's become something I actually stick with every day, in part because it's so easy to do. I feel great and my energy has been consistent throughout the day. IM8's Daily Ultimate Essentials simplifies your supplement routine with 16 supplements supporting 9 major organ systems. 95 % of people who tried it for 12 weeks felt more energy, and that's from a clinical trial conducted by the San Francisco Research Institute. Go to im8health.com slash mrballin right now and use code MRBALLIN for a free welcome kit, 5 free travel sachets, plus 10 % off your order.

11:40That's code MRBALLIN at im8health.com slash MrBallin. Code MRBALLIN at im8health.com slash MrBallin. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Here's the thing about other home security systems. They're all designed for after. After the window breaks. After someone's inside. After you get the notification and after the police come. But technology has evolved, and SimpliSafe is the first security system designed for before, stopping a break-in before it even begins. With SimpliSafe, smart AI-powered outdoor cameras detect suspicious activity at the perimeter and alert live US-based agents to step in.

12:28One specific moment that released it out to me was when I got a notification on my phone. But at the same time, I knew SimpliSafe was already monitoring the situation and was ready to take action, and it really just gave me a huge level of confidence that I wouldn't have had with other systems. That's the difference between simply hoping everything is okay and knowing your home has an extra layer of protection. SimpliSafe has been protecting your world for 20 years. Celebrate their anniversary with us and save 60 % on your new SimpliSafe system at simplisafe.com slash strange. That's 60 % off at simplisafe.com slash strange.

13:07Plus, when you order, write in our show name in the How Did You Hear About Us survey to let them know we sent you. Don't forget, there's no safe like SimpliSafe.

13:20The next and final story of today's episode is called Take My Soul.

13:39On the afternoon of July 18th, 1997, a man was driving down a road surrounded on both sides by trees in a rural part of Wisconsin called Douglas County. There were no other cars on the road, and so this guy was driving pretty fast. And as he rounded this bend in the road, something out the passenger side window on the side of the road in the grass caught his eye. He couldn't tell what it was, but it was a pretty big object. And after he drove right past it, he just couldn't stop thinking about it. Like, whatever it was, it just seemed out of place. And so for whatever reason, this man felt compelled to actually stop and go see what it was.

14:14And so he slowed down and parked on the shoulder. He got out and began walking along the road back in the direction of this object. And as he got closer, you know, he began to see this object again in the shoulder of the road. and it was sort of obscured by grass and other things, so he couldn't see what it was. But as he got closer, he saw the object was pretty big, and it was all white. And as he took a few more steps and got within maybe 20 or 30 feet, he finally got a better look at this object, and he just froze. Because the object was a man. A man wearing all white. A white suit, a white belt, white shoes, all white.

14:49And he was laying on the side of the road, just totally motionless. And for a second, the driver thought, you know, maybe this guy is sleeping. But after taking only a few more steps and getting a totally unobstructed view at this guy, he saw there was a gaping hole in this man's chest. He was obviously dead. And so the driver turned around, ran back to his car, sped to the nearest house, and called 911. one.

15:17The next morning, a Douglas County detective named Stephen Long was sitting at his desk looking at the photos of the dead man in white. This murder case was less than 24 hours old, but already this was one of the weirder cases that this detective had ever been assigned to. The victim had pretty much immediately been identified because he was carrying on his person his wallet, and in his wallet was his driver's license, and so they knew who he was. But the man in white's identity actually made the whole case more confusing, not less. The dead man was a 45-year-old millionaire named Mark Foster.

15:52Mark lived three hours away in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and had no discernible ties to Douglas County. And so the detective was thinking, like, what is this rich guy doing here, dressed head to toe, all in white, getting murdered on the side of some local random back road. But things only got more confusing from there. After the medical examiner did Mark's autopsy, he told Detective Long that he had discovered a note inside of Mark's shoe. And the note just said, Jack Frazier isn't here, but it's Jimmy Bailey or a lookalike? I hope I'm okay. Now, nobody, including Detective Long, had any idea what this note meant.

16:29It was far too cryptic. But when they ran Jack Frazier and Jimmy Bailey's names through their database, the police discovered that both of those men, one, existed, and two, they lived in Minnesota, same as Mark Foster. And so naturally, Detective Long began to suspect that maybe those two, those two men were connected in some way to Mark Foster. You know, maybe they were involved in his murder, or maybe they were actually his killer or killers. He didn't know, but it was his best lead. So Detective Long decided he would just have to go to Minneapolis to try to find out more. A few hours later, Detective Long parked his car at the Minneapolis police station.

17:08He got out and walked inside the building. Waiting for him inside was the local detective who Mark had already spoken to. And so after meeting this detective, the two of them went into an interview room where Mark Foster's wife was waiting for them. And right away, Detective Long noticed that she was very pregnant and at least 15 or 20 years younger than Mark. But despite that, she seemed very composed. It would turn out she had already been told about her husband's death, and she was basically resigned to the fact that she was here to try to answer questions to figure out what happened. And so the detectives sat down and they began to interview her, and then when they brought up the note that was found in Mark's shoe, specifically when they said the two names that were on that note, Jack Frazier and Jimmy Bailey, when they said that, it triggered something in Mark Foster's wife.

17:56She immediately began to cry. And then in between sobs, she would tell the detectives, that she knew who those two men were. She told them that she had previously had relationships with both of them before marrying Mark. And she said after she married Mark, Jack and Jimmy became very jealous. They didn't like the idea that she had chosen Mark over them. And so she had always felt like those two, Jack and Jimmy, sort of had it up for Mark as a result of this romantic rivalry. After the interview with Mark's wife ended, Detective Long began to think that, you know, Now, despite this case appearing on the surface to be very odd and confusing, that perhaps in reality, it was quite simple.

18:37Maybe Jimmy and Jack were so jealous of Mark that they killed Mark. I mean, based on what Mark's wife had just told them in the interview about them being romantic rivals of Mark, and also the fact that that note was in Mark's shoe and named those two men, it certainly seemed very possible. But over the next couple of days that Detective Long began digging into this theory, that theory fell apart. because it would turn out Jack Frazier and Jimmy Bailey had absolutely airtight alibis. They simply couldn't have been the killers. Now, Detective Long was obviously frustrated. He felt like he really had it here, but he was not deterred.

19:13He decided his next move would be to try to better understand his victim. To this point, he had already interviewed a lot of Mark's friends and family, but something he had not done yet was simply go to Mark's house and have a look around. So Detective Long got a search warrant, and on July 29th, roughly a week after Mark was killed, Detective Long, along with another detective, pulled up in front of Mark Foster's large two-story home in the middle of a quiet suburban neighborhood. Now, from the outside, the home looked totally ordinary relative to its neighbors. But once they got inside the house, it was anything but.

19:50the detectives made their way up to the front door and knocked and a few seconds later mark foster's wife opened up the door and let them inside and right away detective long is looking around and he's seeing all over the walls on the first floor of the house are these graphic pictures and paintings of naked people and then in addition to that on some of the coffee tables and various surfaces on the first floor right when you walk in are all these pornographic magazines and books everywhere. And Mark's wife didn't acknowledge any of it. She acted like it was completely normal to have all this stuff right in the front part of your house.

20:25And so the two detectives are looking at each other as, you know, Mark's wife is leading them on this tour through the first floor. And at some point, Detective Long just said, hey, you know, Mrs. Foster, why don't you have a seat on the couch and you just let us take a look around your house on our own? And so she said, okay. She sat down on the couch and then the two detectives, they left the living room, went back to the front of the house and made their way upstairs. And once they got upstairs, they found the master suite, and there was all this bondage gear inside. There were leather straps attached to the bedposts, there was whips and handcuffs, there was also additional pornographic material in there.

20:58But, I mean, considering what the detectives had seen downstairs, this sort of felt on par for this house. And so after searching the other bedrooms and other rooms on the second floor and finding more pornographic material basically everywhere, where the detectives found their way back to the hallway in the second floor, and they noticed there was a rope hanging down from the ceiling, and it was attached to the pull door that led to the attic. And so the two detectives, they walked over, they pulled the rope down, it revealed this fold-out set of stairs that came down from the attic, and once those were in place, the two detectives began climbing up.

21:30And once they got up there, they discovered that this attic was not a storage space, like many attics are in American homes. Instead, this attic was a fully functional room that sort of resembled like a satanic dungeon of sorts. All the walls were totally jet black, and there were all these burned-out candles all over the place and tarot cards littering the floor. And on the back of the attic, basically all the way on the other side, there was what appeared to be an altar that sort of overlooked the entire room. And on the altar were more candles, and there was a voodoo doll. I mean, it's totally creepy, and the two detectives are looking at each other like, what's going on here?

22:07And so the detectives, they climbed all the way into the attic and then slowly began walking across towards the altar. And when they got close enough to actually see the altar up close, they just froze. Because sitting on the altar, in addition to the candles and the voodoo doll, were two business cards. Their own business cards.

22:31It's time to get the most out of your money with Chime. Chime offers the most rewarding, fee-free banking, all with no overdraft fees, no monthly fees, and no minimum balance fees. You get 5 % cash back on ChimeCard in a category of choice, like gas or groceries, all while building credit through everyday spending. Plus, you can grow your money faster with a savings rate that's 9 times the national average. And, if you're ever in a pinch, SpotMe lets you overdraft up to$200 fee-free. Join the millions who are already banking fee-free with America's number one choice for banking. Head to chime.com slash ballin.

23:10That is chime.com slash ballin. Sign up now. It only takes a few minutes. Chime is a fintech, not a bank. Banking services and ChimeCard provided by Chime's bank partners. Qualifying direct deposits required. Terms and limits apply. Go to chime.com slash disclosures for details. This fall, L.L. Bean is celebrating the moments people look forward to all year. The first school drop-off, the first sweater weather day, and the first chilly evening around the fire pit. For over a hundred years, L.L. Bean has been part of these traditions. Crunching leaves in Maine-made bean boots, cheering from the sidelines in scotch-plaid flannel, and walking the dog in a rugged field coat.