The Devil Within

THE IDES OF APRIL A Christmas Assassination: The Death of Rasputin Christmas 1916. Russia is starving. The First World War is grinding the empire into dust. Faith, monarchy, and legitimacy are collapsing in real time. And inside a candlelit palace, a small group of aristocrats convinces itself that killing one man might still save the nation. In this stand-alone holiday episode of The Ides of April, we examine the assassination of Grigori Rasputin—a murder born of fear, myth, and desperation, carried out just days before Christmas, and destined to change nothing. 🎄 IN THIS EPISODE Cold Open — “They Killed Him Once” A story that refuses to end quietly. Poison. Bullets. Ice. And the unsettling question of why Rasputin’s death had to be so absolute. Chapter One — Russia in December: War, Winter, and the Need for a Devil World War I has hollowed out the Russian Empire. Soldiers freeze at the front. Cities starve. The Tsar is absent. And Rasputin—mystic, peasant, outsider—becomes the human symbol of everything the ruling class can no longer control. Christmas approaches as faith collides with collapse. Chapter Two — The Night at the Moika Palace Inside a palace dressed for the holidays, a plan unravels. Poison fails. Gunshots follow. Panic replaces precision. Rasputin’s murder becomes legend not because it was supernatural—but because it was chaotic, amateur, and fueled by fear rather than certainty. Chapter Three — The Assassination That Saved NothingRasputin’s death does not stabilize Russia. It accelerates its collapse. This chapter examines why political assassinations so often fail to deliver the futures they promise—and how killing a symbol can reveal the moment an empire stops believing in itself. ❄ CLOSING THOUGHT The murder of Rasputin was not an act of strength. It was an admission of panic. Violence did not save imperial Russia. It only revealed how desperate its guardians had become. 🎁 HOLIDAY GREETING As the year closes and the season asks us to reflect on endings and beginnings, we wish you peace, safety, and perspective. History rarely offers clean endings. Be gentle with yourselves—and with each other. 🔮 NEXT WEEK ON THE IDES OF APRIL Another assassination. Another belief that history could be redirected by a single act of violence. It couldn’t. 🎧 THE USUAL EVIO CREATIVE CTAs LISTEN & FOLLOW Follow The Ides of April and the entire Evio Creative lineup wherever you get your podcasts. ⭐ RATE & REVIEW If this episode stayed with you, leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps independent shows survive—and we read every one.📺 WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE Watch full episodes, clips, and exclusives from all Evio Creative shows. 👉 Subscribe to Evio Creative on YouTube and turn on notifications. 🌐 VISIT THE NETWORK Explore all shows and upcoming projects at ⁠eviocreative.com⁠ ✉ GET IN TOUCH Have a story, tip, or correction? Email ⁠[email protected]⁠ 🔁 SHARE THE SHOW If this episode felt worth sitting with, share it. Word of mouth keeps this network alive. QUINCELuxury essentials at affordable prices.Free shipping + 365-day returns: www.QUINCE.com/MISCHIEF 📱 MINTMOBILEPremium wireless for just $15/month.Switch and get free shipping: www.mintmobil.com/DEVILWITHIN 🛰 EXPRESSVPNProtect your data anywhere.Get up to 4 months free: www.ExpressVPN.com/DEVILWITHIN 🌿 MOOD CBD and THC gummies shipped nationwide. 20% off: www.mood.com/DEVILWITHIN 🐶 OLLIE DOG FOODReal, fresh, human-grade meals for your dog. 60% off your first box: www.ollie.com/IDES 🔥 MONARCH The only finance app you’ll ever need.For 50% off your first year: www.monarch.com/IDES Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

📖 The Devil’s Ledger — Week of December 22 Christmas Shadows, Haunted Lodges, and the Things We Can’t Leave Behind This week on The Devil’s Ledger, the books close out the year the only way they know how — by leaning into the darker side of the holidays. We begin with The Creepiest Thing I Heard This Week: a chilling account of the Whistler Ski Lodge Poltergeist, where staff and guests alike report unexplained footsteps, moving objects, and the unsettling feeling that the lodge is never truly empty. Set against the long winters and deep history of Whistler, it’s a reminder that beautiful places can still hold something restless. From there, we move across the Evio Creative slate for a holiday-themed tour of fear, reflection, and reckoning. 🎄 This Week on The Devil Within It’s the Christmas Special, where we step away from cults and crime scenes to explore the Christmas movies that scared us, unsettled us, or left us with an existential dread about what the holidays really mean. From ghostly visitations to stories of isolation, regret, and time running out, we unpack why so many holiday films feel more like reckonings than celebrations. 📖 This Week on Criminal Mischief Carolyn Ossorio takes a rare break from murder and mystery to read The Velveteen Rabbit, the classic Christmas story about love, loss, and becoming real. There are no suspects this week — just a quiet, moving reminder that being loved often means being changed forever. 🩸 This Week on The Ides of April Christmas turns deadly as The Ides of April revisits one of history’s most infamous holiday murders: the assassination of Grigori Rasputin. Poisoned, shot, beaten, and drowned, Rasputin’s death reads like myth — but its consequences were very real, accelerating the collapse of an empire already on borrowed time. 🗝️ This Week on Taboo Treasures The boys are taking the week off to enjoy the holidays, but they’ll be back in the New Year with more strange objects, dangerous histories, and cursed curiosities. 🎬 What’s New in Horror 28 Years Later, directed by Danny Boyle, returns to a world long past the initial panic of apocalypse. Rather than chaos, the film explores endurance — and asks whether survival without hope is really survival at all. Bleak, mature, and occasionally haunting, it’s less about thrills and more about what remains when the world simply refuses to end. 🎧 Listener CTAs     •    ⭐ Follow, rate, and review The Devil’s Ledger on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.     •    📤 Share this episode with someone who likes their Christmas stories a little haunted.     •    📩 Send your thoughts — or the creepiest thing you heard this week — to [email protected].     •    🎙️ Explore the full Evio Creative lineup at eviocreative.com, including The Devil Within, Criminal Mischief, The Ides of April, and Taboo Treasures. 🎄 Happy Holidays from all of us at Evio Creative. Thank you for listening this year — we’ll see you in the New Year, with the ledger open once again. 💼 SPONSORS 🧥 QUINCE Luxury essentials at affordable prices. Free shipping + 365-day returns: www.QUINCE.com/MISCHIEF (http://www.quince.com/MISCHIEF) 📱 MINT MOBILE Premium wireless for just $15/month. Switch and get free shipping: http://www.mintmobil.com/DEVILWITHIN 🛰️ EXPRESSVPN Protect your data anywhere. Get up to 4 months free: www.ExpressVPN.com/DEVILWITHIN (http://www.expressvpn.com/DEVILWITHIN) 🌿 MOOD CBD and THC gummies shipped nationwide. 20% off: 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. For 50% off your first year: http://www.monarch.com/IDES Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Blood on the Bluegrass, Part Two (Chapters 4–6) Episode Title: Blood on the Bluegrass — Part Two In the conclusion of this two-part series, fantasy collapses into murder, the manhunt and trial reshape the lives of everyone involved, and the lingering aftermath reveals the true cost of a story believed too deeply. CHAPTERS Chapter Four — “The Double Murder Inside the Wendorf Home” Rod steps into a quiet Florida home and commits an act of violence that shatters two families and destroys the world his followers thought they understood. Chapter Five — “The Vampire on Trial” The justice system confronts Rod’s mythmaking as prosecutors dismantle the Vesago persona and seek the harshest penalty allowed. Chapter Six — “The Appeal of the Damned” From death row to life without parole, Rod’s myth erodes under the weight of time as the surviving clan members search for lives beyond the story that defined their youth.💼 SPONSORS Don’t forget to check the show notes for amazing deals from the great companies that still support long form storytelling: 🧥 QUINCE – Luxury essentials at affordable prices. Free shipping + 365-day returns: www.QUINCE.com/MISCHIEF 📱 MINT MOBILE – Premium wireless for just $15/month. Free shipping: www.mintmobil.com/DEVILWITHIN 🛰 EXPRESSVPN – Protect your data & unlock global content. 3 months free: www.ExpressVPN.com/DEVILWITHIN 🌿 MOOD – Premium THC-free gummies & botanicals. 20% off: www.mood.com/DEVILWITHIN 🐶 OLLIE DOG FOOD – Fresh, human-grade meals for your dog. 50% off: www.ollie.com/IDES 🔥 MONARCH MONEY – The finance app Branden actually uses. 60% off your first year: www.monarch.com/IDES Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Blood on the Bluegrass Part One (Chapters 1–3) Episode Title: Blood on the Bluegrass — Part One We begin the story of Rod Ferrell and the so-called Vampire Clan by exploring the myth he built, the vulnerable teenagers he pulled into it, and the road trip that carried them from fantasy into imminent tragedy. CHAPTERS Chapter One — “The Vampire of Murray, Kentucky” A lonely teenager crafts an identity powerful enough to mask his wounds and attract followers who see him as something larger than life. Chapter Two — “The Lost and the Searching” Rod gathers a circle of fragile, impressionable teens who mistake his certainty for purpose and mistake his mythology for truth. Chapter Three — “Crossing the Threshold” The clan leaves Kentucky for Florida on what they believe is a rescue mission, unaware that they are driving toward irrevocable violence. 💼 SPONSORS Don’t forget to check the show notes for amazing deals from the great companies that still support long form storytelling: 🧥 QUINCE – Luxury essentials at affordable prices. Free shipping + 365-day returns: www.QUINCE.com/MISCHIEF 📱 MINT MOBILE – Premium wireless for just $15/month. Free shipping: www.mintmobil.com/DEVILWITHIN🛰 EXPRESSVPN – Protect your data & unlock global content. 3 months free: www.ExpressVPN.com/DEVILWITHIN 🌿 MOOD – Premium THC-free gummies & botanicals. 20% off: www.mood.com/DEVILWITHIN 🐶 OLLIE DOG FOOD – Fresh, human-grade meals for your dog. 50% off: www.ollie.com/IDES 🔥 MONARCH MONEY – The finance app Branden actually uses. Extended 30-day free trial: www.monarch.com/IDES Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Devil’s Ledger — Week of December 15 Welcome back—and happy holidays. It’s that special time of year filled with forced cheer, soft lighting, and quietly wondering whether leftovers have crossed from festive into forensic. Whether you’re decking halls, dodging relatives, or just surviving December, we’re glad you’re here. This week’s Ledger is packed with folklore, fanaticism, lost idealism, and a reminder that some remakes exist solely to make us feel ancient. 🔥 The Creepiest Thing I Heard This Week In Icelandic folklore, a ritual known as nábrók—or necropants—promised endless wealth at an unimaginable cost. Crafted from the skin of a dead man and worn directly against the flesh, the necropants blurred the boundary between survival and damnation. It’s a story where greed literally wears the dead, and prosperity requires intimacy with decay. Fair warning: once you hear it, you won’t forget it. 🩸 This Week on The Devil Within We begin a brand-new two-part series, Blood on the Blue Grass, examining the disturbing case of Rod Ferrell, the so-called Kentucky Vampire. This is not a gothic fantasy—it’s a chilling exploration of teenage alienation, unchecked belief, and how confidence and charisma can become lethal forces when pointed in the wrong direction. 🕯️ On The Ides of April We conclude our series on the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy with Part Two of The Death of the New America. From the Ambassador Hotel pantry to the gunshots that silenced a movement, this episode explores not just how Bobby Kennedy died—but what died with him. A nation’s momentum. A generation’s hope. A future that never arrived. 🧠 Criminal Mischief Life mirrors fiction on this week's CM...we delve into the horrifying details of a real life Fatal Attraction and the deveststingly cruel consequences of obsession, jealousy and rage... 🗝️ Taboo Treasures Content TBD. Even the devil needs a week to sharpen his pitchfork. 🎬 This Week in Horror It’s officially “I’m super old” week with a remake of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle—a psychological thriller I remember being filmed right here in Los Angeles what feels like a century ago. A nanny who never should’ve been let into the house, and proof that the scariest monsters often arrive smiling. As we close out the episode, warm Hanukkah wishes to those celebrating, and holiday greetings to everyone navigating this strange, sparkly, emotionally complicated season. Lock your doors. Trust cautiously. If something feels off—you’re probably right. Sleep well. Or don’t. We’ll see you next week. 🎄🕯️👁️ 💼 SPONSORS 🧥 QUINCE Luxury essentials at affordable prices. Free shipping + 365-day returns: www.QUINCE.com/MISCHIEF (http://www.quince.com/MISCHIEF) 📱 MINT MOBILE Premium wireless for just $15/month. Switch and get free shipping: http://www.mintmobil.com/DEVILWITHIN 🛰️ EXPRESSVPN Protect your data anywhere. Get up to 4 months free: www.ExpressVPN.com/DEVILWITHIN (http://www.expressvpn.com/DEVILWITHIN) 🌿 MOOD CBD and THC gummies shipped nationwide. 20% off: 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. For 50% off your first year: http://www.monarch.com/IDES Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices