Advertise on podcast: Nightmares

A day of drinking for Aaron Vargas ends in a night of revelation for an entire California town. For twenty years, he kept another man’s secret. But on a cold February night in 2009, that secret comes out, and the reaction isn’t what anyone would expect. Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com

On a dark April night in rural Hebron, New York, 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis and her friends are searching for a party when they turn down the wrong driveway. At first, it seems like an awkward mistake, the kind anyone could make on rural roads with no streetlights and no clear signs. But within minutes, the night turns violent, leaving investigators to piece together what happened in the darkness.

Kimberly Neptune spent her life helping others in the close-knit community of Sipayik. Then, one spring night, a trusted visitor came knocking. The investigation that followed would uncover hidden betrayals, conflicting stories, and a truth that remains frustratingly out of reach. Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com

On August 4th, 2022, a quiet street in Laurel, Nebraska wakes to fire, smoke, and a woman dead inside her burning home. As the neighborhood becomes a crime scene, police begin unraveling the private world of paranoia, obsession, and loyalty that turned Elm Street into a funeral pyre. Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com

When friends of Jaime Feden called for a welfare check, they feared something terrible had happened to her. What police uncovered instead was a web of lies, manipulation, and a sinister plot that ended in the Nevada desert. Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com

February 24, 2016, in Kingston, Laura Buckingham had built what seemed like a picture-perfect life, until a bitter custody battle began to unravel it. Behind the façade, a plan took shape, one that involved a disgraced sniper, a hired killer, and a price tag on a father’s life. But as the plot moved forward, not everyone was who they seemed, and one decision changed everything. In the end, the most dangerous person in the room wasn’t the one anyone expected. Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com

A man named Jeffrey Freeman was found dead in his own home. The most disturbing aspect of this case isn't just the manner of his death; it's what was occurring inside the house before anyone was aware of it. There was a hidden life, a secret relationship, and nearly 18 hours passed before anyone called for help. Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com

On September 25, 2014, an ordinary shift at Vaughn Foods in Moore, Oklahoma exploded into chaos after a workplace dispute took a horrifying turn. As panic spread through the factory and terrified employees fled for their lives, the violence unfolding inside pointed to something personal, deliberate, and far from over. By the time the work day ended, those who survived would be left trying to understand how one man’s grievance became one of the most gruesome attacks the town had ever seen. Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com

A fugitive on the run takes a woman hostage. Ashley Smith is not only fighting for her life, but also trying to take back control of it. To make it through, she must force a killer to face what he has done and finally face the past she has been avoiding. Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com

On a quiet evening in Wichita, Kansas, flashing police lights suddenly flood a residential street. When 28-year-old Andrew Finch steps onto his front porch to see what’s happening, he’s shot by police responding to a reported emergency. In the days that follow, investigators start uncovering a strange chain of events that stretches far beyond that neighborhood and raises troubling questions about how a single moment can spiral into tragedy. Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com

On April 18, 2019, 57-year-old Wilfred Guzman was at home when a familiar visit turned into a savage fight for survival. By the time police forced their way inside Apartment 16, they found blood in every room and signs that the attack had unfolded with whatever was within reach: kitchen knives, forks, spoons, even a small television. Detectives quickly pieced together what happened. What they couldn’t understand was how an ordinary late-night visit had turned so vicious. Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com

A plot to find a million dollars in buried fortune ends in unthinkable violence. Mary was caught in the middle of it all. She shouldn’t have survived the desert, but when she did, she led the authorities to a scene of deliberate mayhem. At the center of it all is Adam Nayeri, and a plan built on a belief that was never real. Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com

In November 2012, freshly divorced auto shop manager Dave Kroupa thought he was navigating the casual dating scene in Omaha, Nebraska until one short relationship ended and the stalking began. For the next three years, the messages grew more violent, more personal, and more terrifying, all coming from a woman who refused to let him go. But as detectives dug into the case, they uncovered a truth that forced Dave to confront a chilling possibility: the nightmare stalking him had been much closer than he ever imagined. Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com

On a quiet January morning in rural Pennsylvania, Rhonda Smith went to work at her church and never came home. What started as a shocking act of violence inside a place of worship slowly unraveled into something far more personal. As investigators dug deeper, they uncovered whispered jealousies, blurred boundaries, and a devotion that may have crossed a dangerous line. Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com

On March 12, 2000, in Spearfish, South Dakota, nineteen-year-old Chester Allan Poage agrees to a night that seems harmless… until it isn’t. In a secluded pocket of the Black Hills, it’s hard for a trusting kid like Chester to tell the difference between friends and predators. Get commercial free access to over a decade of Sword and Scale's true crime podcasts at http://swordandscale.com