Now Fear This! with Becky & Merie

Mothballs, Earworms, and Growing a Broad: Fearing a prolific violent criminal & the Lucie Blackman case

**CONTENT WARNING: RAPE, SEXUAL ASSAULT**

In this episode Becky & Merie wade into the murky waters of Japanese hostess culture and dive into Lucie Blackman’s terrifying disappearance that led to a serial rapist who preyed on women for decades and an unexpected resolution to Carita Ridgeway’s cold case. Along the way, they address the burning questions you didn’t know you had, like:

Can you die from…mothball fumes? Does Becky have a verb in that sentence or does Merie have an arm growing out of her back? Which one of your hosts is destined to listen to a book on tape while checking…MapQuest? Based on evidence, is Becky or Merie your…grandma?! 👵 (could be neither!) Are your hosts heightists or tallists? (could be both!) Are YOUR give a f**ks on vacation?!

Come for Becky’s country music version of the juiciest bits of “Please Please Please” from the fabulous Sabrina Carpenter. Stay for the documentary where things repeatedly get "taken" from Liam Neeson.

Also, anyone who speaks Japanese want to tour your hosts around Japan? 🇯🇵🙏

See the incredible fringe-y ‘90s bangs of hostesses in an ad here.

Sources for this episode include rabbit hole mag, cinemaholic, Netflix, deadline.com, heavy.com, abc.net.au, Manchester Evening News, Business Insider, Cosmopolitan, annabillersblog,

Minisode: Fifteen Minutes of Fearing Cults, Part 2

Check out Minisode 1 on cults first, 'cause part 2 drops ya right in the middle of your hosts discussing the shocking "one taste om" from the sex cult featured in "Orgasm Inc" then ramps it up with the MLM yoga pants nightmare LulaRich and caps everything off with the "go ahead & stalk people if you say you love 'em" Twin Flames. 😳 

Sources include: Rolling Stone, Newsweek, thewrap.com, bigthink.com, verywellmind.com, oprahdaily, ABC News, Vox

Pick up your own dropped nut, dude! Fearing murder & mayhem in national parks

This episode has your hosts discussing their fears of national parks and the various murders & mysteries therein, including the case of Morgan Heimer in the Grand Canyon, the Shenandoah National Park cold case double murders* of Lollie Winans & Julie Williams, and not one but TWO horrible humans who killed their wives in national parks and thus got caught for murdering their previous wife!

Along the way, your hosts address the burning questions you didn’t know you had, like: CAN you be an a**hole without being a murderer? Why is Becky threatening to Silence-of-the-Lambs Merie? Who amongst us takes pride in our ability to…dial AAA? How big of a badass girl is serial killer survivor Kara Robinson? (hint: maybe the biggest badass ever.)

Come for the hiking friends without benefits. Stay for Merie’s verrrry different rules for the guy’s side of the Korean spa. Stay to the end for the super-sexy-yet-completely-uninformed life insurance talk. #yourewelcome

Follow Tourons of Yellowstone and be prepared for the 🤦🏼‍♀️😒🤦🏻‍♀️ of it all.

Also, someone get Merie her own bear bell. Please. Now.

*This episode was recorded waaaay back THE DAY BEFORE the murders of Lolly & Julie were announced to have been solved! Thus, a minisode will be coming up soon with all the details!

Sources include almost toooooo many to count! Blue Ridge Outdoors, WaPo, Trailed by Kathrine Miles, New York Post,. East Idaho News, Sundial Press, Out, Coloradopolitics.com, westwood.com, freerangeamerican.us, trailsunblazed blog, Cleveland 5 News

Minisode: Fifteen Minutes of Fearing Cults

In their very first minisode, Becky & Merie are fearing the sheer volume of current bat-sh*t crazy cults & cult documentaries out there, amongst them the orgasm-based cult (?!) One Taste, The Way Down, Keep Sweet Pray & Obey, The Vow, Bikram Yogi Predator, Love has Won, and MORE!

Sources for this minisode include: Newsweek, thewrap.com, bigthink.com, verywellmind.com, oprahdaily, ABC News, Vox

Only in Outlander can you say things like that! Fearing a Florida man’s fantasy-fueled family annihilation

This week’s podcast episode finds Merie & Becky diving into an online relationship’s deadly collateral damage, featuring murderer Grant Amato, where the 2 people in the “relationship” aren’t the ones who end up dead. Merie also reveals even more in-depth & terrifying info about the family annihilation of Margaret, Chad, and Cody Amato than was seen in the documentary CTRL ALT Desire.

Along the way, the phrase “adolescents going to doctors for boner pills” makes an appearance, and your hosts address the burning questions you didn’t know you had, like:

How does movie popcorn help you prevent yourself from professing that someone is your angel on earth?

What’s the most cringe-y sex scene in the history of cinema…St. Elmo’s Fire or Bridgerton?! (Hint: it’s a tie!)

Anybody out there know any old crabby widows in the highlands of Scotland that creepy creeper Grant could steal from next? (Merie might!)

Do YOU put refrigerators in corn fields when you’re going through a hard time? (Becky does!)

Come for the (wildly) inappropriate wifi names. Stay for the super-sexy grammar lesson involving propofol.

Find the violence threat assessment tool Becky mentions here. Read more about childhood resilience & the importance of neuroplasticity here. And y’all go watch the hilarious and delightful Jane the Virgin. Do it now.

Sources for this episode include The Cinemaholic, The Heavy, AETV, ABC News, Daily Mail, intouchweekly.com, Buzzfeed

Anecdotally change your life: Fearing past crimes & crimes yet to come

Season 3 has begun (finally!)! Join your favorite true crime comedy podcast hosts as they revisit some of their favorite moments from the podcast thus far (including never-released clips!) and take a glimpse into the near future, including GPS-and-grizzly-bear-based disappearances resulting in prison time and a creepy & disgusting family annihilator with a prison smile so repellent it will make your skin crawl right off your body.

Along the way, Becky & Merie address the burning questions you didn’t know you had, like:

Why is Walter the Cat the face of this episode?! Will your podcast hosts judge you for NOT drinking wine while listening? Can Becky make it through one episode without telling someone to go f**k themselves? What is the most terrifyingly realistic depiction of a psychopath on television?! What ASMR Youtuber causes Merie’s snot to fly while simultaneously bringing about a premature end to Becky’s life? Will Merie EVER directly ask for 5 star reviews from you, our beloved listeners?! (Becky is, tho! Becky is asking! 🙏)

Come for the spikey tennis ball that may or may not be a workplace sex toy. Stay for Becky's ongoing life-and-death struggle to get Merie to actually visit the life-changing https://www.fearthispodcast.com/ website.

Sources include: Dear Felicity podcast. The book Popular Crime. The Paramount+ doc CTRL ALT Desire. Bread Face. The film A Promising Young Woman. The doc The Most Hated Man on the Internet. HBO’s Euphoria. Oh! And the Bible. 🤷‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

This episode is brought to you by Merie’s vaguely rapey cat, Walter. 

If you’re interested in teenagers, go get some therapy! Fearing urban legends & Murder IRL

This week’s podcast episode has Becky and Merie diving into violent urban legends' origin stories, including the Hook Man and his roots in murder cases like the still-unsolved Texas Phantom Killer.

Along the way, your hosts address the burning questions you didn’t know you had, like:

Which mental institution do YOU want to tour for a college field trip? Is a pre-Facebook advice column responsible for putting an end to lovers’ lanes and its associated “necking?” Which “Dawson’s Creek” dreamboat is Becky’s boyfriend in this episode? (Hint: It’s not Dawson!) Is Thor responsible for brutally killing a couple of orderlies in a 1920’s Iowa farm town?

 Come for Merie yelling the phrase, “YOU F**KING FLEE!” before Becky can even say the F word once. Stay to find out which recent Netflix movie is an unintentional horror show. Also: Did YOU pick the wrong night to pick on Stanley?!

A crow on the head & a demon on the shoulder: Fearing getting murdered by the cable guy

This week’s podcast episode delves into Death by Cable Guy, featuring the lovely Texas grandma Betty Thomas murdered by Roy James Holden, Jr., who headed to WalMart with her credit cards and without changing from his murder clothes. Along the way, Becky & Merie address the burning questions you didn’t know you had, like:

Can you cut the weight line out & cover the whirl? (Neither can Becky. Or Merie’s hairdresser.) What new TV show is so bad Becky is considering filing charges against its creators? How many of you want to hack us and find all the photos of…tooth abscesses and sleeping cats? Who amongst us deserves to be punched in the dick? Depends: Are YOU the guy running a site with illegally obtained porn? Are you a wacko massage therapist “feeling” negative energy in Merie's shoulder?

Will getting murdered by the cable guy get you out of your final bill?

Come for Merie’s inability to have herself at “hello. Stay for the cuteness overload of 2 cats meeting.

 

Sources for this episode include: lawandcrime.com. New York Post. NBC news. dailymail.com and Dallas Observer. USA TODAY.

Just a bit of everyday sadism: Fearing murderous wars waged with neighbors

This week’s podcast episode involves fencing-induced violence (and not the kind that gets you an Olympic medal, more like prison time) as neighborly disputes turn horrifying and murderous. Along the way, your hosts address the burning questions you didn’t know you had, like:

How does a meal of liver & onions lead to Becky questioning Merie’s moral compass? What do you get the psychopath in your life? Try our Psychopath Gift Basket of jalapeños, black coffee, and bitter chocolates! Why is Becky threatening to give y’all an unprovoked (but sure-to-be-super-sexy) grammar lesson? How good is your Apple TV’s Black Bird serial killer voice? (Not as good as Merie’s!!! 😝) 

Come for the discussion of the tragic Schloegl family massacre. Stay for Long Beach racist Lorene Mae Lake’s relentless campaign to become the worst person in the world. (Also, get off that motorcycle!)

Advice for avoiding litigation, threats, and death can be found here.

Someone get the Bras of Life! Fearing for men who vanished forever into the woods

This week, your podcast hosts are fearing for grown adult men, Terrence Woods and Lars Mittank, who both vanished without a trace in broad daylight and in front of witnesses, never to be seen again. Along the way, Becky & Merie address the burning questions you didn’t know you had, like:

Is the doctor’s clinic in Bulgaria next to the Cinnabon or the Chilis 2? How much will Mark Cuban invest in our Shark Tank pitch that involves pixelated body parts? What could cause one of your pod-coasts to utter the words, “As a human being I cannot bless you!?” (Same for “sit down, little man?”) Do YOU answer the call of the void? …and is that before or after you find yourself in bar fights arguing over soccer & Star Wars? Anyone want to shop at our new boutique, Elements & Elephants? (us, either!) Come for Merie’s anti-climactic “f*ck you” to her boss. Stay for Becky’s horrible German accent that should get her arrested in Frankfurt even more so than that unfortunate international airport incident back in 2019. 😬

(Also, you better acknowledge that sneeze.)

Sources for this episode include Talk Murder with me . Strange Outdoors. Forbes. All That’s Interesting. Vanished.us.