In 1981, a plain black arcade cabinet appeared overnight in a Portland, Oregon arcade. No logo, no artwork, just a name glowing in pale green letters: Polybius. Players reported migraines, memory loss, and night terrors, and mysterious men in suits came to collect data from the machine before it vanished without a trace. The story stayed buried for nineteen years until a single internet post turned it into one of gaming's most enduring urban legends.

Head over to our Twisted Tales YouTube channel to WATCH this episode: https://www.youtube.com/@crimehousestudios

Join Crime House+ to binge a special limited series on Murder: True Crime Stories for America’s 250th: The Crimes That Built America. These are the cases that created the FBI, gave us Miranda rights, sparked criminal profiling, and gave us America’s Most Wanted. Join at crimehouseplus.com or if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page. You’ll also get episodes of Twisted Tales ad-free and released one day early.

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In early 2001, a recreational caver named Ted documented his obsessive attempt to break through a sealed passage deep inside a cave... and what he found on the other side became one of the internet's earliest and most disturbing horror stories. Presented as a real personal account with photographs and journal entries, Ted the Caver predated modern creepypastas and convinced countless readers it was true. The story builds from physical claustrophobia to something far darker: unexplained sounds, a dog's terror, a screaming passage, and a presence that may have followed Ted home.

Head over to our Twisted Tales YouTube channel to WATCH this episode: https://www.youtube.com/@crimehousestudios

Join Crime House+ to binge a special limited series on Murder: True Crime Stories for America’s 250th: The Crimes That Built America. These are the cases that created the FBI, gave us Miranda rights, sparked criminal profiling, and gave us America’s Most Wanted. Join at crimehouseplus.com or if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page. You’ll also get episodes of Twisted Tales ad-free and released one day early.

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Crime House’s Murder: True Crime Stories presents a special series for America’s 250th Birthday: The Crimes That Built America. Listen every Monday until July 6th on Murder: True Crime Stories. Join Crime House+ to get all 4 episodes right now ad-free. To subscribe, go to crimehouseplus.com or if you are listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page.

250 years ago, a brand-new country declared its independence, and in the centuries since, some of the worst crimes this country has ever seen reshaped America. Four murders. Four turning points. The crime behind Miranda rights. The case that created the FBI. The era that gave us criminal profiling. And the murder of Adam Walsh that built America's missing-children movement.

In September 2010, a college student bought a used copy of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask at a garage sale, and discovered a save file named BEN belonging to a boy who had drowned years before. What started as glitchy gameplay quickly became something far more sinister: a presence that manipulated the game, invaded his computer, and refused to be deleted. Ben Drowned is the creepypasta that redefined internet horror... and it may have been watching you all along.

Head over to our Twisted Tales YouTube channel to WATCH this episode: https://www.youtube.com/@crimehousestudios

Join Crime House+ to binge a special limited series on Murder: True Crime Stories for America’s 250th: The Crimes That Built America. These are the cases that created the FBI, gave us Miranda rights, sparked criminal profiling, and gave us America’s Most Wanted. Join at crimehouseplus.com or if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page. You’ll also get episodes of Twisted Tales ad-free and released one day early.

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In August 2017, New York-based cartoonist Adam Ellis began documenting a haunting on Twitter: a dead boy named David, a dented skull, and a rocking chair that moved on its own. What started as a unsettling dream spiraled into months of photos, videos, and unexplained events that millions followed in real time. Unlike anonymous creepypastas, Ellis put his real name and face on every post, blurring the line between performance and paranormal experience.

Head over to our Twisted Tales YouTube channel to WATCH this episode: https://www.youtube.com/@crimehousestudios

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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In the summer of 2012, a teenager's camping trip on remote Alabama woodland turns into something no one can explain. What begins with strange smells and figures standing motionless in the dark escalates when the group realizes there's an extra person in their group... without anyone noticing. The horror isn't a monster in the woods. It's a creature already inside the room.

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If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Twisted Tales to never miss a case! For Ad-free listening and early access to episodes, subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts. Twisted Tales is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios

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Twisted Tales is hosted by Heidi Wong

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In 2018, an anonymous user posted a photograph of an empty yellow room on 4chan — no caption, no story, no name. A year later, two paragraphs turned that image into one of the most elaborate horror mythologies the internet has ever produced. What followed was a global phenomenon: hundreds of levels, thousands of contributors, and a teenage filmmaker handed a feature film deal by A24.

Head over to our Twisted Tales YouTube channel to WATCH this episode: https://www.youtube.com/@crimehousestudios

If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Twisted Tales to never miss a case! For Ad-free listening and early access to episodes, subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts. Twisted Tales is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios

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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!

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Twisted Tales is hosted by Heidi Wong

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Three of the internet's most notorious lost media creepypastas take aim at SpongeBob SquarePants, The Simpsons, and classic Disney — spinning tales of hidden episodes so disturbing they were allegedly buried and erased forever. What makes these stories so unsettling isn't gore alone, but the way they corrupt the cartoons millions grew up trusting. This episode explores why lost media horror hits differently than any other kind of scary story.

Head over to our Twisted Tales YouTube channel to WATCH this episode: https://www.youtube.com/@crimehousestudios

If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Twisted Tales to never miss a case! For Ad-free listening and early access to episodes, subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts. 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: @crimehousestudios

• Instagram: @Crimehouse

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Twisted Tales is hosted by Heidi Wong

• Instagram: @itsheidiwong

• TikTok: @itsheidiwong