Scared To Death
byDan Cummins, Lynze Cummins
FictionScienceSocietyCultureTrue Crime
The paranormal comes to life as husband-wife duo Dan Cummins (acclaimed standup comedian and true horror fan) and Lynze Cummins (costume and wardrobe stylist for numerous film and television productions) share terrifying stories that will leave you sleeping with the lights on. Dan’s goal? To scare Lynze with creepy accounts of demonic possession, shadow people, and other eerie phenomena. And when he’s done, Lynze fights back with chilling fan-submitted tales of true horror. Together, they explore the darkest corners of the web, dusty old books, and even their own eerie surroundings—a studio filled with occult objects and locate...
Episodes(40 episodes)
E335 - How Could I Help Her?
Dan brings us one, long tale today. We meet a young woman who moved into an old San Francisco house with roommates and then began to hear things. The more she hears, the creepier and more disturbing things get. I don’t want to give away any more than that. No lore, no historical set ups, just a deeply disturbing story. Lynze balances out the show with three tales the go from creepy, to creepier, to creepiest! We begin with two young kids creeping out their mom, then we go on to an uninvited visitor and wrap up with three...
Published: Feb 4, 2026Duration: 1:11:07
E334 - Samoa’s Ghost Sickness
Dan shares tales of two islands this week. We’ll head to the remote Pacific Samoan island of Ofu, where there’s a stretch of beach so feared that many locals refuse to walk it after dark. A place believed to be a gathering ground for spirits who’ve never crossed over. A place where ghosts can do more than just scare you. Next, we’ll head to the other side of the world to the Azores. High above a volcanic crater on São Miguel, an abandoned luxury hotel looms out of the fog - a five-star dream that collap...
Published: Jan 28, 2026Duration: 1:12:38
E333 - The Demonic Possession of Julia Melis
We begin this week in 1970’s Sardinia, where a quiet, deeply devout teenage girl began to wake up every night at exactly 3:00 a.m., convinced something terrible was standing next to her bed… watching her… and waiting to enter her. Then we head to Christmas Day, 1929, when a well-liked North Carolina farmer committed the unspeakable. Has it spawned paranormal activity? Then we find ourselves visiting the same house, ten years apart, both times the home is for sale and empty... or is it? Lastly, a sweet, sad and comforting tale of a couple so deeply connected, not even death can kee...
Published: Jan 21, 2026Duration: 1:07:33
E49 - Nightmare Fuel #49: The Long Dark Morning
In this forty-ninth installment of fictional horror written and narrated by Dan Cummins, we travel to Tromsø, Norway, where during the small, vibrant city's long, dark winter, a morning meeting at Kessel Technologies AS has been interrupted by violence. And soon, a few executives will learn that the man coming for them is not what they should fear the most... For Merch and everything else Bad Magic related, head to: https://www.badmagicproductions.com
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Published: Jan 16, 2026Duration: 48:18
E332 - Room 1009
Dan takes us to downtown Dallas, across from Union Station, to an old hotel that’s changed names so many times it’s like it keeps trying to hide from its past. Room 1009 doesn't seem to care what the hotel is called, though. Stories of encounters with its ghosts remain unchanged. The room allegedly has a long, sordid history of murders and suspicious deaths tied to it. Then we explore the lore of the elegant Adolphous Hotel. It’s been collecting tragedy since the first month it opened. On the nineteenth floor, guests still report hearing a woman sobbing like h...
Published: Jan 14, 2026Duration: 1:17:43
E331 - The Woman of the Woods
Dan gets us going with an unsolved paranormal mystery double headed this year! A nursing student who crashed her car on a lonely New Hampshire highway in the middle of a winter night seemingly vanished . Locals whisper that Route 112 is haunted by “the Woman of the Woods,” a figure seen walking the tree line before other strange crashes and disappearances. Did Maura Murray step into the forest that night to somewhere the living can’t follow? Then we explore the story of Barbara Bolick, who took a short day hike and in less than a minute she was simply… gone. Then...
Published: Jan 7, 2026Duration: 1:23:30
E48 - Nightmare Fuel #48: The Liminal Lodge (4 of 4)
In the conclusion to this story, Ellen, Marco, and Cal come up with a plan to save Ned's soul and imprison Dr. Blackwell. Will they free him? Or will Dr. Blackwell now not only possess Ned's soul, but Ellen's as well? What will become of the Liminal Lodge if the plan doesn't work? And what will become of it if it does? For Merch and everything else Bad Magic related, head to: https://www.badmagicproductions.com
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Published: Jan 2, 2026Duration: 1:24:02
E330 - The Face Peelers Of Peru
Dan takes us to Peru for our last stories of 2025. We begin in the Amazon, where indigenous villagers say seven-foot-tall armored beings with glowing yellow eyes drift through the trees at night, freezing their victims in place and taking “samples” of skin, fat, and organs. Then we go beneath the city of Lima, to a maze of tunnels stacked with the bones of tens of thousands of colonial dead, arranged in spirals and pits like macabre artwork. Tourists and locals alike report getting lost in the darkness of the San Francisco Catacombs - hearing whispered prayers from sealed passageways and m...
Published: Dec 31, 2025Duration: 1:28:34
E329 - The Mortal Immortal
It's our seventh annual holiday episode where Dan shares a classic tale! This year, he picked a tale from the amazing Mary Shelley! We hope you enjoy this modern telling of an old story from the mother of horror! Then Lynze has three tales to give us. The first is about an unknown haunted doll, the second is a beautiful confirmation tale from the other side and ends with a topsy turvy tale of a ghost named Genevieve.December Charity: This year, with your help, we were able to support 91 kids in having a wonderful holiday season...
Published: Dec 24, 2025Duration: 1:14:00
E47 - Nightmare Fuel #47: The Liminal Lodge (3 of 4)
In this chapter, Ned nearly dies when he previews Dr. Blackwell's "Quiet Room" right before his sister Ellen brings a team the Liminal Lodge to save him. Will they be able to rescue him? Will they take him to Tacoma General Hospital and have him committed to the psychiatric ward? Or will Dr. Blackwell keep him in the Liminal Lodge, and finally remove him from his "shell"? For Merch and everything else Bad Magic related, head to: https://www.badmagicproductions.com
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Published: Dec 19, 2025Duration: 1:49:31
E328 - The Hushed House of Borgvattnet
Like always, Dan has two awesome tales this week! We are headed to Sweden! The first story is about Borgvattnet Vicarage. For nearly a century, this remote, rural house has terrified priests, guests, and paranormal investigators with apparitions, phantom voices, and a grieving woman known only as the Gray Lady. Then we go deep in the forests of Värmland. Frammegården is an 18th-century parsonage so haunted that priests, investigators, and overnight guests have all fled in terror. From crawling shadow figures to violent attacks and the infamous “Black Hallway,” this house’s spirits seem less interested in communicati...
Published: Dec 17, 2025Duration: 1:14:23
E327 - The Brewer's Box
A really fun show this week with stories that are somewhat traditional and somewhat not! We hope you enjoy the variety. Dan takes us to Ohio for a dybbuk box tale, which is wildly interesting. Then we head to North Carolina to explore the Duke mansion. Lynze has three short stories this week. She covers a new kind of fear based coping mechanism, then takes us to Myrtle's Plantation and lastly, we fist fight a ghost together! Do you want to get all of our episodes a WEEK early, ad free? Want to help us support amazing c...
Published: Dec 10, 2025Duration: 1:10:44
E46 - Nightmare Fuel #46: The Liminal Lodge (2 of 4)
In this chapter, Ned pushes further into his troubling pursuit of previewing the afterlife and contacting Courtney, guided by the spirit of Dr. Blackwell herself, who Ned's sister Ellen does not believe has her brother's safety and wellbeing in mind. She and her mother look to have Ned involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility before he completely sheds his "shell." (Also - I explain why this switched from a two-parter to a four-parter in the intro.) For Merch and everything else Bad Magic related, head to: https://www.badmagicproductions.com
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Published: Dec 5, 2025Duration: 1:52:04
E326 - The Lament Box
Dan begins with a little known case of the Warren's about a grieving family heirloom and a century-old pact. Then, we’ll examine what many consider to be America’s first documented ghost story. Was Sullivan, Maine really home to America’s first documented ghost? Then, Lynze gives us two unsettling tales this week. Her first takes us to a prison infirmary for a both a paranormal and very real life set of fears. She wraps up this week with a teacher and a student both experiencing something rather bizarre. Do you want to get all of our episo...
Published: Dec 3, 2025Duration: 1:21:46
E325 - Jenny Greenteeth
We head to Northern England for Dan's first tale and meet the creepy bog hag, Jenny Greenteeth. She’s the monster kids went to sleep fearing for centuries there, worried the next time they strayed to close to a pond’s edge, they might get sucked in and never return alive. Then we go to Japan for more water horror. We’ll meet the kappa a river monster who might come for your butthole if you don’t give him a cucumber. Finally, we’ll head to Australia and meet a billabong-haunting cryptid called the Bunyip. Lynze is sharing a creepy...
Published: Nov 26, 2025Duration: 1:20:06
E45 - Nightmare Fuel #45: The Liminal Lodge (1 of 4)
In this forty-fifth installment of fictional horror written and narrated by Dan Cummins, tech millionaire Ned Watkins becomes dangerously obsessed with resurrecting a century-old sanitarium’s occult legacy after uncovering the hidden journals of its founder, Dr. Mildred Blackwell. When his sister Ellen visits, she fears the lodge isn’t just haunting her brother… it’s consuming him.** originally envisioned as a two-parter at the time of this recording, it is now a four-parter ** For Merch and everything else Bad Magic related, head to: https://www.badmagicproductions.com
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Published: Nov 21, 2025Duration: 1:32:31
E324 - The Science Of Poltergeists
Dan offers us a poltergeist double header this week! We start with some wild, cool and interesting science that explores these strange occurrences. From Zimbabwe to Kentucky, poltergeists know no bounds. Then, in response to Lynze's request for widow tales, she brings us just that. Lastly, a very detailed encounter from one man on his daily run and the strange, out of date character he runs into. Do you want to get all of our episodes a WEEK early, ad free? Want to help us support amazing charities? Join us on Patreon!Want to be a...
Published: Nov 19, 2025Duration: 1:18:02
E323 - The Ceiling Man
We head to South Africa to start this week. Two South African men vanished from separate hospitals in recent years - only to be discovered days later, their bodies found in the strangest of places. Official explanations have never added up. Were they murdered? And if so… was their murderer human? Or something else entirely? Then we’ll head to England, where, perched high above the sea on the island’s northeast coast, the ruins of Whitby Abbey have stood for nearly fourteen centuries - silent, watching, and supposedly haunted.Then, a Veteran shares with us his tale of something...
Published: Nov 12, 2025Duration: 1:09:46
E44 - Nightmare Fuel #44: The Curse of Captain Bannister’s Gold
In this forty-forth installment of fictional horror written and narrated by Dan Cummins, we head back to 1921, when sixteen year-old Tommy Calloway is discovered as the sole crew member aboard a shipwreck near North Carolina's Cape Fear Lighthouse. The story of what happened to the rest of the crew will strongly test the head keeper's skepticism of the supernatural... before it smashes it to pieces. For Merch and everything else Bad Magic related, head to: https://www.badmagicproductions.com
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Published: Nov 7, 2025Duration: 1:09:46
E322 - The Man Across The Street
Dan has a modern encounter claim revolving around a man and his friend seeing something across the street from his house when he was a kid. the events that occur years later make him think what they thought they saw wasn’t just in their heads. Then, we return to extraterrestrial lore, and explore a series of sightings in Scotland in the 1990s. Lynze tells the story of a long known haunted college campus with a specific tale of dorm room visitor who just won't go away. Then, we explore the possibility that we might have a Scared To De...
Published: Nov 5, 2025Duration: 1:17:08