The Devil Within

🎙️ The Devil’s Ledger

Week of March 9

Welcome back to The Devil’s Ledger, the weekly dispatch from across the Evio Universe — where we catch you up on everything happening across the network and occasionally ask the kinds of questions that make you realize nobody is really in charge of anything.

For example…

Daylight Saving Time.

Really?

Still?

We’re still doing this?

Let’s do better, government.

This week on The Devil Within, we travel to Scotland and investigate one of the most ominous places in the entire United Kingdom: Hermitage Castle.

For centuries this fortress has been associated with demonic possession, violent hauntings, shadow figures, and enough verified paranormal encounters to make even experienced investigators take a step back and say, “You know what… maybe we’ll just admire this one from the parking lot.”

This is the castle that guards what historians call the bloodiest valley in Britain. And if the accounts are even half true, Hermitage Castle might be one of the most paranormally active places in Europe.

That’s this week on The Devil Within.

Meanwhile on The Ides of April, we conclude our series Son of the Blade.

For more than two thousand years historians have been arguing about the untimely death of Alexander the Great.

One of the greatest military commanders in human history conquers most of the known world by the age of thirty-two… and then suddenly dies...

Over on Criminal Mischief, we’re proud to re-release Episode One of The Shadow Girls.

For many listeners around the world, this was the podcast that first introduced journalist Carolyn Ossorio to a global audience.

There’s a reason we’re bringing this episode back — and that reason will be revealed during the episode itself.

So if you’ve never heard The Shadow Girls, or if you remember the impact it had when it first premiered, don’t miss this one.

Taboo Treasures is dark for the week — but the show will return soon with more strange, rare, and occasionally unsettling artifacts from history.

Meanwhile comedian Josh Wolf is — as they say — here all week.

His daily podcast and journal Finding Me continues to explore his personal journey of self-discovery, creativity, family life, comedy, and the strange process of figuring out who we are while we’re still in the middle of becoming it.

And finally, in horror this week we have a fascinating adaptation coming to streaming.

The Long Walk — based on Stephen King’s 1979 novel.

The premise is simple and terrifying.

In a dystopian version of the United States, fifty teenage boys are forced into a televised endurance competition. The rules are brutally straightforward.

Each walker must maintain a pace of three miles per hour.

If they slow down, they receive a warning.

Three warnings…

and soldiers execute them.

That’s The Long Walk, coming soon to streaming.

And that’s it for this week’s Devil’s Ledger.

Thanks for listening…

and we’ll see you this week across the Evio Universe.

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🎧 The Ides of April
Episode 3 — The Death of the Impossible Man
In this episode, we follow the final months of Alexander the Great — from the long return from India to the glittering capital of Babylon, where the most powerful man in the world was already planning his next conquest. 
What begins as another banquet among generals soon turns into one of the greatest mysteries of the ancient world: a sudden fever, a rapid decline, and the shocking death of a king who seemed almost impossible to kill. 
But Alexander’s death was only the beginning.
With no clear heir and an empire stretching from Greece to India, the power he once held together begins to fracture. Generals maneuver, rumors spread, and suspicion quickly falls on those who stood to gain the most from his disappearance. 
Was this the natural end of a man exhausted by years of conquest…
Or the quiet removal of a ruler who had become too powerful to survive?

In This Episode
• The brutal desert march that nearly destroyed Alexander’s army
• The political tension between Macedonian veterans and rising Persian elites
• The fever that struck after a banquet in Babylon
• The final days of the most powerful man in the ancient world
• Alexander’s famous last words: “To the strongest.”
• The immediate struggle for control of the empire
• The first whispers of poisoning and conspiracy

Historical Hinge Moment
When Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BCE, he left behind the largest empire the ancient world had ever seen — but no clear plan for who would rule it.
Within a few years, his generals would begin a series of brutal wars that reshaped the ancient world and shattered the empire he had built.
🎧 LISTEN & FOLLOW
If you’re enjoying the show, make sure you’re following the entire Evio Creative lineup wherever you get your podcasts — The Devil Within, The Ides of April, Criminal Mischief, Taboo Treasures, Finding Me with Josh Wolf, and more — so you never miss a new episode.

⭐ RATE & REVIEW
Ratings and reviews genuinely help independent shows grow.
If you have a moment, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps more than you think, and yes… we read them.

📺 WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE
You can now watch full video episodes, clips, and exclusives from all Evio Creative shows on YouTube.
👉 Subscribe to Evio Creative on YouTube and turn on notifications so you don’t miss new drops across the network.

📲 FOLLOW ON SOCIAL
Follow for updates, visuals, and behind-the-scenes content:
• @thedevilwithinpod
• @idesofaprilpod
• @eviocreative
• @findingmewithjoshwolf (Instagram, TikTok & Facebook)

🌐 VISIT THE NETWORK
Explore all of our shows, projects, and upcoming releases at
⁠eviocreative.com⁠

✉️ GET IN TOUCH
Have a story, tip, correction, or something you think we should cover?
Email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠

🔁 SHARE THE SHOW
If you know someone who loves true crime, history, horror, or stories that refuse to let go — share the episode.
Word of mouth keeps this network alive.

💼 SPONSORS
🛋️ RULA
Online therapy that takes your insurance.
Get matched with a licensed therapist today:
👉 ⁠http://www.rula.com/IDES⁠ 
🧥 QUINCE
Luxury essentials at affordable prices.
Free shipping + 365-day returns:
👉 ⁠http://www.quince.com/MISCHIEF⁠
📱 MINT MOBILE
Premium wireless for just $15/month.
Switch and get free shipping:
👉 ⁠www.mintmobile.com/DEVILWITHIN⁠
🛰️ EXPRESSVPN
Protect your data anywhere.
Get up to 4 months free:
👉 ⁠http://www.expressvpn.com/DEVILWITHIN⁠
🌿 MOOD
CBD and THC gummies shipped nationwide.
20% off with code DEVILWITHIN:
👉 ⁠http://www.mood.com/DEVILWITHIN⁠
🐶 OLLIE DOG FOOD
Real, fresh, human-grade meals for your dog.
60% off your first box:
👉 ⁠http://www.ollie.com/IDES⁠
💰 MONARCH
The only finance app you’ll ever need.
50% off your first year:
👉 ⁠www.monarchmoney.com/IDES⁠
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Devil Within

Prayers for the Damned — Episode Two: The Exorcism That Broke the Church’s Silence

In August 1928, Father Theophilus Riesinger arrived at a secluded convent in Earling, Iowa.

He believed he was performing an exorcism.

Instead, he walked into a spiritual war that had been building for 105 years.

Episode Two documents the most detailed and widely reported exorcism in American history — a twenty-three-day ordeal that tested the limits of ritual, endurance, and belief.

This episode explores:

Anna Ecklund’s condition upon arrival at the convent

Reports of multiple entities speaking through her voice

Supernatural strength, levitation, and unknown languages

Psychological warfare against priests and nuns

The emotional and physical toll on everyone involved

A radical shift in strategy: instead of fighting the demons… allowing them to reveal themselves

As the entities expose their methods and motives, a disturbing possibility emerges:

Anna isn’t just possessed.

She’s a spiritual anchor — the center of a network of damage spread over decades.

The Turning Point

Father Riesinger abandons traditional exorcism.

Instead of resistance, he allows full manifestation — a dangerous gamble that ultimately reveals the limits of the forces inside her.

On December 23, 1928, at 3:17 PM, Anna speaks in her own voice for the first time in more than a century.

The voices are gone.

But the victory comes at a cost.

Themes in This Episode

The psychological toll of prolonged spiritual conflict

Institutional faith pushed to its breaking point

The idea that some possessions are transformations, not conditions

A haunting question:

If suffering defines a person, what remains when it’s removed?

Anna lived twelve more years after the exorcism — quiet, withdrawn, and described by witnesses as spiritually “translucent.”

Saved.

But never the same.

Call to Action

If this story challenged your understanding of faith, evil, and the human mind:

Because sometimes the real horror isn’t possession…

It’s the price of being set free.

🎧 LISTEN & FOLLOW

If you’re enjoying the show, make sure you’re following the entire Evio Creative lineup wherever you get your podcasts — The Devil Within, The Ides of April, Criminal Mischief, Taboo Treasures, Finding Me with Josh Wolf, and more — so you never miss a new episode.

📺 WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE

You can now watch full video episodes, clips, and exclusives from all Evio Creative shows on YouTube.

👉 Subscribe to Evio Creative on YouTube and turn on notifications so you don’t miss new drops across the network.

📲 FOLLOW ON SOCIAL

Follow for updates, visuals, and behind-the-scenes content:

• @thedevilwithinpod

• @idesofaprilpod

• @eviocreative

• @findingmewithjoshwolf (Instagram, TikTok & Facebook)

✉️ GET IN TOUCH

Have a story, tip, correction, or something you think we should cover?

Email us at [email protected]

💼 SPONSORS

🛋️ RULA

Online therapy that takes your insurance.

Get matched with a licensed therapist today:

👉 http://www.rula.com/IDES 

🧥 QUINCE

Luxury essentials at affordable prices.

Free shipping + 365-day returns:

👉 http://www.quince.com/MISCHIEF

📱 MINT MOBILE

Premium wireless for just $15/month.

Switch and get free shipping:

👉 www.mintmobile.com/DEVILWITHIN

🛰️ EXPRESSVPN

Protect your data anywhere.

Get up to 4 months free:

👉 http://www.expressvpn.com/DEVILWITHIN

🌿 MOOD

CBD and THC gummies shipped nationwide.

20% off with code DEVILWITHIN:

👉 http://www.mood.com/DEVILWITHIN

🐶 OLLIE DOG FOOD

Real, fresh, human-grade meals for your dog.

60% off your first box:

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💰 MONARCH

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Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Devil Within

Prayers for the Damned — Episode One: The Girl Who Wouldn’t Stay Saved

At 3:17 AM, the screaming stopped.

For twenty-three days, a convent in Earling, Iowa endured sounds that tested the limits of faith — inhuman voices, violent manifestations, and a woman whose suffering stretched back more than a century.

But the story of Anna Ecklund didn’t begin in America.

It began in a remote Austrian village… with a father’s betrayal.

Episode Overview

In Episode One, we follow the origins of what would become America’s most documented case of demonic possession.

This episode explores:

Emma Schmidt’s childhood in 19th-century Austria

The abuse and trauma that preceded her first possession in 1823

Early exorcism attempts by local priests

Strange phenomena: foreign languages, supernatural knowledge, violent reactions to sacred objects

The role of occult practices allegedly performed by her father and a local witch

The growing isolation of a family marked by fear, shame, and suspicion

The Church’s early failures — and the long shadow those failures would cast

As Emma becomes Anna Ecklund and emigrates to America, her symptoms disappear for years… until the darkness returns — stronger, more organized, and waiting.

Themes in This Episode

The intersection of trauma, faith, and possession

Generational sin and spiritual consequence

When religious intervention fails — and what that does to belief

How a single case can ripple through communities, clergy, and institutions

What Comes Next

By 1928, Anna is sixty-nine years old.

The Church prepares for one final attempt.

It will take twenty-three days.

And it will change how the Catholic Church understands possession forever.

🎧 LISTEN & FOLLOW

If you’re enjoying the show, make sure you’re following the entire Evio Creative lineup wherever you get your podcasts — The Devil Within, The Ides of April, Criminal Mischief, Taboo Treasures, Finding Me with Josh Wolf, and more — so you never miss a new episode.

⭐ RATE & REVIEW

Ratings and reviews genuinely help independent shows grow.

If you have a moment, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps more than you think, and yes… we read them.

📺 WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE

You can now watch full video episodes, clips, and exclusives from all Evio Creative shows on YouTube.

👉 Subscribe to Evio Creative on YouTube and turn on notifications so you don’t miss new drops across the network.

📲 FOLLOW ON SOCIAL

Follow for updates, visuals, and behind-the-scenes content:

• @thedevilwithinpod

• @idesofaprilpod

• @eviocreative

• @findingmewithjoshwolf (Instagram, TikTok & Facebook)

🌐 VISIT THE NETWORK

Explore all of our shows, projects, and upcoming releases at

eviocreative.com

✉️ GET IN TOUCH

Have a story, tip, correction, or something you think we should cover?

Email us at [email protected]

🔁 SHARE THE SHOW

If you know someone who loves true crime, history, horror, or stories that refuse to let go — share the episode.

Word of mouth keeps this network alive.

💼 SPONSORS

🛋️ RULA

Online therapy that takes your insurance.

Get matched with a licensed therapist today:

👉 http://www.rula.com/IDES 

🧥 QUINCE

Luxury essentials at affordable prices.

Free shipping + 365-day returns:

👉 http://www.quince.com/MISCHIEF

📱 MINT MOBILE

Premium wireless for just $15/month.

Switch and get free shipping:

👉 www.mintmobile.com/DEVILWITHIN

🛰️ EXPRESSVPN

Protect your data anywhere.

Get up to 4 months free:

👉 http://www.expressvpn.com/DEVILWITHIN

🌿 MOOD

CBD and THC gummies shipped nationwide.

20% off with code DEVILWITHIN:

👉 http://www.mood.com/DEVILWITHIN

🐶 OLLIE DOG FOOD

Real, fresh, human-grade meals for your dog.

60% off your first box:

👉 http://www.ollie.com/IDES

💰 MONARCH

The only finance app you’ll ever need.

50% off your first year:

👉 www.monarchmoney.com/IDES
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Devil’s Ledger

Week of March 2

Winter is doing what winter does — and depending on where you live, it’s doing a lot of it. If you’re under 35 and living in the Northeast, this may be the coldest winter of your life. In parts of the Southwest, it might be the warmest. Here in Los Angeles, it’s been suspiciously perfect. Sorry to our friends back East.

The Creepiest Thing I Heard This Week

Apparently, Bigfoot is alive and well… and wandering along power line clearings in the Upper Midwest. Multiple sightings, same week. Tall, broad, covered in dark hair, walking upright before disappearing into the tree line. Either it’s misidentification — or something out there really prefers utility access roads.

On The Devil Within

We begin a two-part series on the possession of Anna Ecklund, one of the most documented exorcism cases in American history — a story that may connect back more than a century and across an ocean.

On The Ides of April

Alexander reaches Egypt and starts naming everything after himself — cities, allies, probably his lunch — until his exhausted army finally refuses to follow him any farther toward India.

On Criminal Mischief

Carolyn covers the trial of Kouri Richins, the mother who wrote a children’s grief book after her husband’s death — and now stands accused of causing it.

On Taboo Treasures

The guys dig into the long history of executions — and how capital punishment has become one of the most politically charged debates of our time.

On Finding Me with Josh Wolf

Josh continues his daily pursuit of accountability, honesty, and becoming the best version of himself — one uncomfortable truth at a time.

This Week in Horror

The Bride! reimagines the Frankenstein story in 1930s Chicago, starring Christian Bale, Jesse Buckley, and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Follow The Devil’s Ledger for weekly updates from across the Evio universe — and share it with someone who likes their news with a darker edge.

Because sometimes the strangest stories aren’t legends.

They’re the ones happening right now.

💼 SPONSORS

🛋️ RULA

Online therapy that takes your insurance.

Get matched with a licensed therapist today:

👉 http://www.rula.com/IDES 

🧥 QUINCE

Luxury essentials at affordable prices.

Free shipping + 365-day returns:

👉 http://www.quince.com/MISCHIEF

📱 MINT MOBILE

Premium wireless for just $15/month.

Switch and get free shipping:

👉 www.mintmobile.com/DEVILWITHIN

🛰️ EXPRESSVPN

Protect your data anywhere.

Get up to 4 months free:

👉 http://www.expressvpn.com/DEVILWITHIN

🌿 MOOD

CBD and THC gummies shipped nationwide.

20% off with code DEVILWITHIN:

👉 http://www.mood.com/DEVILWITHIN

🐶 OLLIE DOG FOOD

Real, fresh, human-grade meals for your dog.

60% off your first box:

👉 http://www.ollie.com/IDES

💰 MONARCH

The only finance app you’ll ever need.

50% off your first year:

👉 www.monarchmoney.com/IDES
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices