Chambers of the Occult - EP# 26 Tracks of Tragedy and the Devil’s Trail: Lauren McCluskey & The Devil’s Footprints

Episode Date: January 16, 2025

Welcome to the first episode of 2025! We’re kicking off the year with an emotionally charged true crime case and an eerie paranormal mystery that will leave you questioning reality.Kai starts us off with the heartbreaking story of Lauren McCluskey, a talented student-athlete whose life was tragically cut short by a system that failed to protect her. Through meticulous research, Kai delves into Lauren’s life, the events leading up to her untimely death, and the lessons we can all learn from this devastating case. This story serves as a stark reminder of the importance of accountability and the consequences of ignoring cries for help.Then, J takes us on a chilling journey into the unknown with the tale of The Devil’s Footprints—a bizarre phenomenon that occurred in Devon, England, during the winter of 1855. After a heavy snowfall, townsfolk awoke to discover strange, cloven hoofprints stretching across miles of countryside, defying logic and natural boundaries. Was it a trick of the weather, an elaborate hoax, or something otherworldly? J explores the history, theories, and the lingering mystery that continues to baffle researchers to this day.Join us as we balance the tragic with the supernatural, offering a thought-provoking start to the year on Chambers of the Occult.Send us a text

Chambers of the Occult may contain content that might not be suitable for all listeners. Listener discretion is advised. Hello. Hello. I froze again. What a great start. You know what? I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed.

I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed.

I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm again. What a great start. You know what? Let me say. We can't change the classics.

It's just how things go. Yeah. Yeah. I'm Jay. I'm Kai. And happy new year. Happy new year. This is the first episode we're recording in the new year.

2025. First episode we're making this year. We're making the first episode of new year. Happy new year. This is the first episode we're recording in the new year. 2025. First episode we're making this year. We were supposed to get an episode out last week, but I got really sick. So we had to take off a week from recording. Yeah.

I was sick after being sick. It was this whole thing. I got my wisdom teeth out. It was a whole journey. Cover. It was a whole journey. It sucked. But I'm good now. And we're excited. Yeah. We have stories, like always. We do, like always. 2025, who knows what we'll cover though. Well, I think we know what we're gonna...

Yeah, yeah, but I'm just saying like year and like entire year stuff. No, yeah, no, 100%. Yeah, yeah. Nothing really new happening on my side. Full disclosure, I still need to finish packing. Me too. I'm like halfway packed. Okay. too. I'm like... halfway packed? Okay.

Maybe? That's more than me. I have everything to the side, but nothing in the suitcase. Okay. Yeah. You know what? That's fair. But other than that, I think the listeners want some scary stories because they're deprived. Deprived? depraved...

Both? Both. Yeah, I agree. Let's get started. You're starting us off, right? I am. I got a crime case for us. Cool. My heart was racing. I was like, we haven't discussed this. I was like, I hope that we're on the same page. Okay, I'm glad we were, because I definitely was like, what's going on, who's who, but I realized, it's what should be me doing true crime.

Okay, yeah, you're getting to start the year off with murder. Murder... Or something. Crime could be anything. Unfortunately. Tax evasion, anything. Pirating a movie. That is crime. That would be true crime. Yeah.

Yeah. Breaking and entering. Did you know that breaking and entering isn't an actual crime? It's just like a Hollywood movie term. Is it? Yeah, breaking and entering isn't like... They actually use when it comes to it so it would either would be like trespassing or like okay or like robbery or

burglary got the panel happens yeah depending on what happens so I don't know I learned that recently I was interesting you want to know what I learned recently that does not apply apply to us because we live in California What? So multiple states have like an official Drink in their state. Okay, Minnesota. It's milk Minnesota what are you guys doing over there? Apparently it's also some other states like drink, but California doesn't have one. It's also some other states like drink, but California doesn't have one I

Guess that kind of makes sense. What would be California's drink? I was thinking be like wine, but would it really be wine see like in Theory it would be wine, but in spirit. It's not wine now I don't think overall in California people are big wine fans Drink I think people in California like everything. That's why we don't have a drink. That's why we don't have one drink. Fair. Something I also learned today, more about like everything, is that India doesn't have an official language

because they have so many languages. Yeah, I was gonna be like, isn't just like a culmination of multiple? Yeah. And like, of course, they have like... I imagine they have like their official languages, but there's also like a lot of unofficial languages in the country. I don't know, yeah. I was just interested in me.

No, that's cool. Yeah. Great. With those fun facts out of the way, share your fun fact with us my fun fact I need some water. Sorry my serious one off Indian man anyone hurt that or no, no, it's just a man's voice

And I said that it scared me and it just replied, it's okay. Oh, no. Very comforting, Siri, thank you. I don't know if you guys heard it or not, but if yours went off, I'm sorry as well. All right. So, I'm starting off 2025 right with a question.

Because that's kind of turned into like one of our things. I'm starting off 2025 right with a question. Because that's kind of turned into like one of our things. Like, yeah. We like ask a question that sets the scene, I would say. Yeah. All right. Well, my question to you is, have you ever had to call the cops or been in a situation where the cop showed up? I've been in a situation

where someone called the cops. I'm not sure if it was me or not. I mean, at some years back, when I was like years back, my dad got like a heart attack and like we called for help. So like we called 911. Got it. Firefight fireman showed up first, of course. Yeah, because we live two blocks away from the firehouse.

Okay, so they were right there. They were right there. But there was one time when I did call 911. I was driving home from work and it was a day that it was raining. And I was just going my, my, my, I drive speed limit because. Yes, you do. Anyway, and then some car got impatient behind me and decided to cut me, like just past me. And I was like, okay, cool. Like I'm not going to speed up. I'm not going to slow down.

I was like, you clearly are in a hurry. It was raining. And because it tried to just like cut me off and like merge, it hit the divider and then like spun and then... Fuck! Yeah, it was raining. Like people are crazy when it rains. They don't know how to drive in California.

They don't. My car was fine other than a few scratches here and there, but like immediately like I called like 911 and I was like, hey, I was like, I just witnessed an accident. I was like, yeah, it's here. Yeah. But that's about it. How about yourself? Have you ever had to call 911? No, thankfully I have not. Actually, when was it? Last week? Was it last week? Yeah, something like that. I actually went on a ride along with the police department around here.

Not gonna say the exact name, but... No, that's cool though. My city's police department. Yeah. It was really fun. I was with the officer for like four hours. Wow. And that was really cool.

I don't know. We- I mean, I'm assuming that because it was just like a ride along, it wasn't really like an emergency. It was just- No, definitely not. Something related to something you were doing at some point. Definitely not.

Yeah, but it was really fun. Anyway, that was related, but it's not related at all. Yeah. Continue on with my case. Well, like, why do most people call the cops, right? Yeah. Because they need help. Yeah. Because you need help or something like that. But a lot of times it's because they need some type of assistance. Yeah. We're taught or we're sometimes taught that police are there to help. Yeah. When we're sometimes taught, that police are there to help.

Yeah. When we're in need, we can rely on them to answer our call. You know, that their duty to protect and serve Trumps over all, like they are there. At least that's what we hope, right? Yeah. I mean, I want to say that's what the majority of the public is aware of. Yeah. I don't know if I'm putting too much hope in public, but I would say the majority of the people know that.

Yeah. Like, we hope that the police are going to be there and protect us, but it's not always the case, as proved in many different situations that have happened over the past several years. Yeah. Lots of controversies with the police, but we won't get into that right now. I feel like, yeah, anyway, we won't get into that. Yeah, go ahead. But how would you feel if you needed the police and they didn't show up? Or even worse, they repeatedly blew you off because your problem was deemed not a priority or something like that. Oh that'd be... that'd make me upset.

Right? At the least. And I... I don't know because it's involving like the cops I don't know if I would be like I need to talk to a manager I'd be like, I need to talk to a manager, or I need to file a complaint report or something. I think I'd just kind of lose hope. Yeah. I mean, definitely. Doesn't mean everywhere. Probably just this department that didn't respond.

It would leave a very bad taste in your mouth. Yeah. Like it just would not be okay. The other time, sorry real quick, that the cops had to be called was three years ago at work at night. And they didn't show up. Well they did show up, but I was already gone by then. Because my manager was like, you're still on the clock, we have to send you home. And then probably like 20 minutes after I left,

they showed up. But I haven't really had to deal with them or not with them apparently to this story. Yeah, I guess. Okay, interesting. So you've had a couple of experiences. Cool. Yeah, or lacking experiences.

Lacking experiences. Cool. Yeah, or lacking experiences. Lacking experiences. Yeah. Yeah. Um, well, I guess in this vein of lacking the police in a way, um, when, well when the police didn't help her when she needed them the most, Lauren McCluskey experienced exactly what all of that was like. All of the anger, the fear, the distrust, and she felt that to such a worse degree. And unfortunately, Lauren would suffer the worst fate imaginable because of it. Yeah.

So Lauren McCleskey, she was a 21-year-old girl, a model student at the University of Utah. She was bright, active, engaged with the community. She was quite accomplished for her age actually. She was a track and field star. She actually was on scholarship for track at the university. So she had things going for her. She was an athlete that, yeah, yeah.

Yeah. She had been running since she was a kid. She became involved in her first track meet when she was eight years old. So, you know, she started young. Her parents got her involved. McCluskey was born on February 12th, 1997 in Berkeley, California, to parents Matt and Jill McCluskey. For most of her life, though, she did move or she did live in Washington State. She moved there pretty early on because her parents, they both got professor positions at the Washington State University there. So they moved in, that's where she grew up.

Yeah, a little bit of backstory on her and all that to say that she had everything going for her. You know, a beautiful accomplished life. Until she didn't. Oh. I know we're covering true crime. And you just like share this like big happy story and then you're like, until it wasn't. And I was just like, oh, that's right.

We're doing this. It's like, it's almost the cliche of're like, until it wasn't. And I was just like, oh, that's right. We're doing this. It's like, it's almost the cliche of being like, things were great until they weren't. Yeah. Fire Nation attacks and then hell breaks loose. Yeah. Anyway, go ahead. September 2nd, 2018. Lauren McCluskey meets a man named Melvin Sean Rowland at a local bar. Local bar there in Utah, it's a popular one.

He's the bouncer. They hit it off and they eventually begin a relationship with Rowland, often coming to McCluskey's dorm and even getting to know other people who lived there, like in the building, at the school. They really start to build up this relationship. They get comfortable. I mean, at least as much as you can in a month, right?

So- Some people can get very comfortable in a month. Oh, yes, trust me, I know. Even less. Yeah. It's the start of September, right? So some people can get very comfortable in a month. Oh, yes, trust me. I even less Yeah It's the start of September right so yeah, they meet London Bell is what the The bar was called. Okay, they go No Roland Starts to do more things with her, you know, they hang out more

They go to a gun range to go shooting with some of Roland's friends as well okay that's still September the the month continues to go on but then McCluskey's friends start to get a little bit worried oh okay she doesn't really seem like herself anymore. You know, her appearance begins to change just a little bit and apparently Roland told McCleskey that she was not allowed to hang out with her friend Okay, I See where this is going. Yeah. So these friends, they're concerned. They reach out to some staff at the university.

They explain the situation. They're scared their friend, Lauren, is getting taken advantage of or controlled by this guy, Roland. He was often there. He often had guns, and they were just worried about safety. That report gets made, nothing comes of it. You know, the campus, they don't really see too much of a problem just yet. And it isn't a problem just yet. This is the end of September. Now it's October 9th. And October 9th kind of changes everything.

The world gets turned upside down, not literally, but McCluskey learns that Roland isn't exactly who he says he is. He's been lying about his age. He's actually about 10 years older than what he said he was. He's also been lying about the fact that he's a registered sex offender and that he did serve time in jail or other crimes. Wait, so he told her that he was a registered sex offender? No, he did not tell her that. Okay, got it. That was the lie that he didn't disclose that information. Okay. Now, McCleskey learns all of this through social media,

through other people, but she gets this crazy information. So, she invites Roland over to her apartment to confront him. Uh, no. Now, at first, actually, nothing really happens. McCluskey confronts him. He denies the age difference, but he does admit to being a registered sex offender. Okay. The conversation continues, nothing really happens.

Roland actually stays the night at her dorm, which is stupid. What are you doing, girl? Why are you at home? Also, there's a real simple way to figure out if he's lying about his age. Show me your driver's license. Yeah. There's a real simple way to figure out if he's lying about his age. Show me your driver's license I'm not sure if he had it had one Okay, whatever which is crazy if he didn't have a driver's license Especially if he was ten years older than what he said he was. Yeah, he has some sort of ID Yeah, no, it's because the next day, October 10th, he actually borrows McCluskey's car to run

Aaron's. So he has to have a license. I guess so. I don't know. Hopefully. Okay. Yeah, hopefully. McCluskey is fine, but she tells her parents what happened.

Jill, her mother, reaches out to campus security, campus police dispatch. They tell her, Jill says that she's worried for her daughter's safety, that you know, there's this vehicle that this guy is borrowing from her. So University Dispatch reaches out to Lauren and asks if she needs any assistance being escorted to go pick up the vehicle or anything like that. Lauren McCluskey, she at first declines any assistance from the university because Roland was just going to drop off the car

at the parking lot, she was gonna go pick it up. Later McCluskey does actually request a transport from security to help her just get a ride over to the car to go pick it up, because it was kind of far, it's in one of the far parking lots of the university. Got it, so it's a bit of a walk-in. It could just be safer and easier. Yeah, now this happened from campus security, not campus police. Yeah. And that becomes

important. I did catch that detail. That becomes important because the police and the security use two different information systems. Oh. And you'll see why that comes into play a little bit later on, yeah. Okay. So now it's October 10th, the drop-off happens, McCleskey gets her car back and everything seems fine for the rest of the day, or the next day, it seems fine as well.

The next day after that though, October 12th, things aren't really as fine. McCleskey starts to get texts from suspicious messages from somebody unnamed. Oh, okay. Roland's friends is what she believes. Actually, we're saying kind of crazy things. Roland was dead and you killed him. What? Stuff like that. McCleskey knew this wasn't true because why the hell would it be? But she went through his social media, Roland's found out, yeah, he's still alive. What is going on? So, now McCleskey reaches out to campus police,

because, okay, she needs to report these messages. Yeah. The police tell her, just stay at your house, don't fall for these texts, which of course is what she was already going to do. Okay, I... Okay, yeah, I don't know where my brain is going. Go ahead.

They move on. The rest of the day goes by. Next day, October 13th, she contacts the police again because this time she's getting more messages. This time the messages are worse. Oh no. She's being blackmailed. With what?

With some private photos. Got it. That she sent to Roland. Is this Roland texting her? At this point, they're not entirely sure. Of course it likely is him, but it's, you know, spoofed numbers yeah stuff like that so the person texting demands a thousand dollars to not to keep the photos private or else they're gonna release them she's a college student on a scholarship thousand

dollars doesn't really seem like that much of like a ransom yeah I don't want ransom type Yeah, I Don't want to comment on it because it yeah, I mean yeah, it's terrible it really is yeah Also, I don't know I feel like I Mean I'm glad that nowadays there's more loss against this, but I don't know which ones that were in place in 2018. Yeah I don't know which ones were in place in 2018. Yeah. I don't know. So she contacts police and at this point they're forced to investigate. It is something criminal, illegal that's happening.

There's money, private pictures involved. Officer Miguel Deris of the University Police Department is the primary investigating officer that McCluskey speaks to. And she talks with Officer Deris for the next few days, text, phone, in person. They don't really get many places, so McCluskey reaches out to the Salt Lake City Police Department, but they tell her, yeah, you need to go through your university police. So, there's already this back and forth of her not getting the exact help that she needed. And that's one of the things I've heard in the past, and it kind of really upsets me.

You try to go to the proper channels, and then nothing gets done. And then you reach to, like, the local police department. They're like, you have to use your school one. And then you reach to like the local police department. They're like, you have to use your school one. And it's like, I did, nothing happened. Exactly. Now, this is where the way I start this story

really starts to blend in. Officer incompetence officer corruption in a way because they're not They're not helping her as best as they can Now it's gonna be a running theme You're gonna notice as I go further in that the police really did not handle this case The vest okay, they took the police report the chief of the University police took the police report. The chief of the University Police took the police report. They pulled Roland's criminal history, but for

some reason they didn't think to check if he was on parole at all. Oh, was he also on parole? He was on parole, but the University Police didn't know that. Which also would have meant that it was illegal for him to have been holding guns and going to the shooting range, like I mentioned that they did. Which means it would be illegal for him to have a social media presence, which he did. But you know what? Didn't matter. The police didn't know about it.

And I guess that's on them. I also find it, I mean,? Didn't matter. The police didn't know about it. And I guess that's on them. I also find it... I mean, I don't know. I don't know how pulling up the records of a student would work, but... I don't know if it would also say that he was a registered sex offender or not. They did find out he was a registered sex offender. They did receive all that. I think it's a different database to check if someone's on parole. Fair. Yeah. I feel like that info should just come up naturally. No, fair.

Anyway, um, Officer Darris, the primary officer on McCleskey's case, um, sometime after talking to her, um, there were actually reports that, um, well, well first of all let me back up a little, since he was investigating he received evidence. And of course the evidence that he was going to receive were those private images of McCleskey. There are actually some accounts that Officer Daris, he actually was just going around to other officers and showing them the pictures He was honestly bragging about how he was able to have them and look at them Yeah, cuz he had this quote-unquote evidence. Yeah. Yes Yeah, and so this was found out in a report an independent report

a state investigation that happened on the University Police Department because they were extensively investigated after that happened. Okay Yeah, so This goes on even further, you know the formal investigation of the blackmail the extortion charges begins a Detective from the University Police actually is then transferred over onto this case. She contacts McCleskey to get more info. But for a while, things just kind of go unnoticed.

They fly under, the police don't do a great job. All the while, McCleskey, Lauren, is still dealing with harassment by this unknown number. She continues to receive text messages, emails, and other instances. There's actually security footage from the following days Towards mid to late October that actually show Roland showing up on campus numerous times Apparently believe you know of course they have been looking for McCleskey. Okay, I'm trying to find her so She is dealing with this yet the police continue to not really take her seriously. They're more interested in the extortion, just the actual investigation. Yeah, but at the same time, I don't know.

I would want to keep closer tabs on this person because they're trying to extort her. She's not given in. She's not given in the money, so what's the next move? Yeah, I don't know. So, the detective that was assigned to the case, her name was Kayla Dallif. Kayla was the primary on her case at that point. That was literally nothing from, you know, October 16th around there, throughout the next week or so. There really wasn't much that happened. And do you mean like because there wasn't like no records or just because they didn't do anything?

Or because the detective was on vacation yeah how how do you assign someone that's invocation for an active case no clue that's is this is what I mean. This is what I mean. It's October 19th at this point. It has been six days since this all started, since the report, since her being extorted, blackmailed. McCluskey is frustrated. So on the evening of October 19th, she reaches back out to Salt Lake City Police Department. She's concerned, she's frustrated the university campus police is not doing their job.

Salt Lake City says, sorry, we can't do anything. You got to go back to your campus police. That's when she tries to call the detective the detective calls her back. Sorry. I'm not gonna be back in the office until October 23rd Nothing I can do At this point I'm angry for her Yeah, yeah, I go to the Station at the campus and demand to get someone assigned that is not on vacation. Seriously. She at least tried to. She sent emails, multiple emails. She even sent screenshots to the university department, literally showing Rowling's criminal history.

Okay. University Department. Yeah. Literally showing Rowling's criminal history. Okay, and and all of that just Pushing them and pushing them to get some help. My god Sorry thinking of all this I was like Tik Tok would have had a field day if she like put this information out there. It's like My school is not doing anything about this put them on blast She should have she should should have. But I... I don't know, man.

I mean, 2018, I think the closest thing we had was YouTube. Yeah. So that was October 19th that she called. The next couple of days, she's still dealing with texts. And these couple of days is when eventually that security footage is is Recovered and it shows Roland showing up on campus, you know over that weekend trying to look for her So I'm assuming that the text that she was getting were daily Yes, okay. It was just it was harassment constant harassment

That she couldn't do anything about she was relying solely on the police who were not there to help her yeah did she get I don't know if you have the details but like did you try blocking the number and then she would get a text from a different number I don't know how it worked I'd likely that I don't have the

full details of it but I'm sure if she ever I'm sure they just kept getting new numbers and spoofs and whatnot October 22nd comes around it is 1039 in the morning That is when McCluskey receives a different text from a supposed deputy chief Rick McLennan of the University campus police requesting that she comes to the police station to meet. She shows them that, but the University police, of course, they believe that that came from Roland.

It was a ploy to try to get her to leave her dorm so that he could come find her. Yeah. And at that point, he's like trying to, I don't know what the laws were, but like imitating like an official officer, like, I don't know. Yeah, oh yeah, it's a felony.

Yeah, impersonating an officer. Yeah, impersonating, that's the word, yeah. Yeah. Some of the day goes by, Lauren's still in her apartment. Now, it gets to about 3 p.m., October 22nd still. Roland shows up on campus. He spends that afternoon just waiting for Lauren, for McCleskey to be seen at university.

Is he just like walking around or like chilling in areas hoping to see her? He's just at the residence hall. Like knowing her routine? He's at the building just waiting for her. So he's not a student, right? No. He's a student at a different college near Utah or in Utah,

but no, not at the same one. Okay. Still October 22nd now it's 8 20 p.m. Roland finally confronts Lauren. She is in a parking lot outside of her residence hall she's on the phone with her mom but while she's on the phone with her mom her mother hears commotion screaming yelling he's her mother Jill here's the phone drop everything drop her mother here hears Lauren being dragged across the block. Now Jill is alarmed. Her mom is alarmed. Yeah. 823 p.m. three minutes later University dispatch gets a call from Matt, Lauren's father. Okay.

My daughter is in trouble. She needs help. He relays what happens, what they heard over the phone. The officers respond. Ten minutes later, nine minutes later, 832, that's when police respond. They go to the parking lot, they find Lauren's belongings that had fallen on the floor, they begin a search, they search her dorm, they search the surrounding area. They eventually check security footage, eventually they realize Roland had been taken off, but

they keep searching. 8.30, 8.40, 8.50, 9 o'clock, 915, 930, 955 is when they discover the body of Lauren McCleskey in the back seat of a car. Okay. It's in the parking lot that they had been searching. No. Yeah, it's the car parked in one of the campus parking lots. Lauren was dragged across the lot. She was forced into the back seat of Roland's car and he shot her multiple times.

Campus was in a frenzy. Police were doing the best they could to control the chaos. A secure-in-place was put onto the campus because they didn't know if Roland was still there. Yeah, of course. There were updates sent every half an hour to re-update the secure in place order. It wasn't eventually until about 11.45 PM when the secure in place order was lifted because they did have, you know, they determined that Roland had left the campus. Left, okay.

Yeah. The alert was sent out. Everybody's looking at this point. It's past midnight. Salt Lake City police, they discover him about 12 45 in the morning. There's a foot pursuit. This foot pursuit leads the police and Roland into Trinity AME church. It's a church in Salt Lake City. Okay. And as the police enter the building, Roland shoots himself. Ah.

I have so many things that when I yell at that man. And at the police as well, but... Mm-hmm. Mostly the police. And that's the overarching story of this case. Is that if the police did their job, she might still be alive. Yeah. Yeah. If they took things a little bit more serious.

If they... Yeah. Not a little. If they just took it serious. I'm already thinking the whole assigning someone that's not even working, that's on vacation, that's already like a big red flag. If the police didn't... There were so many steps, so many ways they dropped the ball, if they investigated properly, if they took her seriously, if they took the time to figure

out that he was on parole, they could have alerted the parole officers. And the parole officers could have easily taken him in and stopped all of this. Because they know his address. Exactly. Do you know? There's so much wrong. I don't know. I don't know how much information is out there,

but like, do you have those texts that she was receiving? No, I don't have those exact texts. Okay, no, that's fair. That's fine. I don't think they were ever released. Okay, because I can just imagine how it went from Bad to worse and it just kept getting worse. Yeah. No it did Now the very next day October 23rd

Classes are canceled Everyone's morning 24th there's a vigil that's held. The 25th is when the governor of Utah he actually orders an investigation into how all of the police handled the case. Or you know, didn't handle. or didn't handle. Yeah. And from this point on, still to this day, there has been so much call for change and reform and support to make sure something like this never happens again. There have been laws pass bills pass. Her parents, Jill and Matt, have sued the university actually on two separate occasions. As they should have.

Essentially to fail to keep Lauren safe. Yeah. And to this day, they're still trying to spread awareness. Yeah, I mean, it's... It's so unfortunate that there are so many times where... the police wait... and they keep waiting because they're like, they haven't acted on anything. They search just messages, or it's just the way you feel,

or it's something you saw, but like... they wait, and it's always too late. It is. it is. Eventually there were some of the 911 calls between Laura and her mom Jill and the police that were released. And there's record, you know, it shows these 911 calls were going back two weeks before Lauren was murdered. You know, there was two weeks of requests

for assistance, for help to be seen that the police just did nothing about. Did anyone get fired? So the chief of police, he resigned. Okay. Um, the officer, um, what was his name? Bitch ass officer, Miguel Deras, who was bragging about having her nudes. He was fired. Good.

But he's currently employed at another police department. Okay, well, you know, it is what it is, but... Yeah. Um... This is a terrible situation overall. There's... Do you know, so... Was she murdered before the person that was assigned to her case came back from vacation?

Yes. Okay, see? That's the thing that I find the most disturbing. Because she, like, the person was gone for what, one week on vacation? Or something like that? Like five-ish days? Yeah. And in five days, the person that you got assigned, you come back and you find out that they're dead. And I'm not putting any fault on that person that was on vacation, but definitely whoever assigned her to that case.

Like just why? Like, yeah. When I was reading about this, I was just like, the fuck like why why did this have to happen this way? And so There's so much that's happened eventually the University They did do a lot of things to honor McCleskey they the university, they did do a lot of things to honor McCleskey. They...

Yeah, I mean, you have two lawsuits, you better do something. Yeah, I mean, they built a new indoor track field and they named it in honor of McCleskey. They, you know, did some other things and now there currently is the Lauren McCleskey Foundation. Okay. Um, now there currently is the, uh, the Lauren McCleskey foundation. Um, it, um, it's here to honor the life and spirit of Lauren McCleskey, but also to help empower change, to, um, help young women, um, stay safe from physical violence, especially with intimate partners. Um, it offers resources, uh, lessons, and it's really just a way to remember what happened to McCluskey and make sure it never happens again. Good, good.

Yeah, unfortunately it takes something like this to happen for change to start. It does. And it applies to everything, everything. Like something has to go wrong in order for something to change. Why does it feel like so many things are like that? That's the way so many things are. I mean, you can look at any law that we have on the books, and it was written because something happened for that law to be written.

Like, something had to have happened for it to be thought of to... Yeah, of course and It's I Don't think it's very uncommon for just the security and like police department from the campus to not be Reliable, I think it's more common than we like to admit There was more that happened. So the Department of Corrections and you know the division of parole and probation, they actually revealed that a parole agent had spoken to Roland on October 16th, which was three days after the extortion text began.

But of course, the Department of Corrections, they had no idea any of this was happening because the university police failed to report it. They failed to find anything. They failed to share any information. And the police were previously unaware that there was even a problem with Roland before these text messages, because the people who deal with it beforehand

was the campus security. Remember, not the police. And you said they're not in the same system. So they'll- Exactly. When they pull something up on him, it's just their thing, not the campus security. Remember, not the place. And you said they're not in the same system, so they'll- Exactly. When they pull something up on him, it's just their thing, not the other ones, yeah. Exactly, and so that is one of the first changes that they made.

They now have this system where- I think that's still a relatively large thing that happens. Or at least some places are trying to be better at it. Yeah. Yeah, no, and so that's one of the first changes they made. You know, they made a fully integrated system. There's it's all in one place now. Good. Yeah, so they actually did more research and more of Roland's violent past was uncovered because of it.

In 2004, he did attempt sexual assault on a teenage girl. In 2012, he had a parole hearing. He admitted to raping that girl and two other women as well. And in 2016, there were admissions of violence and violence targeted toward police, law enforcement officers. Did they have a psychological profile on him or anything like that? No. They really didn't pay much attention to this guy. Wow. It's...

Yeah. It feels recent. Because it has been like... 2018. I mean it's... Seven years ago. Seven years ago. Wow. But it feels more recent than that. Yeah.

Yeah. Anyway, that is the unfortunate murder of Lauren McCluskey. And that could have entirely been avoidable. Yeah. Thank you. If better precautions were taken I mean It is a good story. The reason i'm saying that it's because it's january a lot of people are back to school

Um, be careful out there It's supposed campus is supposed to be feel feel safe and if it doesn't talk to someone be careful And I know I just did a whole story about, you know, how the police did not help. But if you are feeling in danger, call the police. Like, let them know. This is one case. It does not speak for everyone. Yes. Yeah.

Like, they will do what they can to help you. And if they don't, fuck them and keep on bugging them until they help you. Yeah, yeah. I agree with that. Yep. Yeah. Yep. Thank you. Anyway, yeah, take care, stay safe, guys. Yeah. What you got, Jay?

I don't know if it's better or worse. Not content-wise, but just like, mine is not recent, like at all. Okay. Um, so this is... I'll share it with you at some point through this because there are pages and pages and pages of information, and yet it's a complete mystery. So for today's story, we're going to tackle just, like I said, a mystery from the Victorian England.

Okay. So we're heading back in time, not seven years. We're heading back in time a hundred and seventy years. Hundred and seven years. That is... That is, uh... Eighteen fifty five. Not a hundred and seven, a hundred and seventy years. Oh! Okay.

Eighteen fifty five. Oh. Eighteen fifty five. Got it. I don't know if we've covered a story in the past that goes this far behind. I don't think we have. But yeah, so... The Bell Witch.

I don't think so. I was even thinking like the Dancing Plague, that was even more recent than 1855. Maybe not, maybe it's around that. Okay, well actually, the Bell Witch was a little bit earlier. Wait, when was it? 1817. 18... oh! Oh, that is a lot more recent, yeah. Yeah. But anyway, 1855 is still...

Yeah, so we're going back to 1855, overseas. We're going to the quiet countryside of Devon, England. And I looked at the map because I was like, where the hell is Devon, England? It's south, southeast? It's sort of southeast. It's just like a countryside. It's like a region. So what I find fascinating about this case is that it just throws us back into the mindset

that people had in 1855. You know, like 170 years ago, like their knowledge and science was completely different. Superstition was probably like superseding science at the time. Yeah. Yeah. So like I can only imagine what people thought, what people felt, how people interpreted things. But like you did, before we delve into this story, let me ask you a question. Have you ever followed footprints of any kind? Like animal or like person?

Yes, I have. Okay. Care to elaborate? Was it a person you were following? Was it an animal? I have followed animal footsteps just to figure out like where something went. Just like... Fair. You know, a little investigation. I followed human footsteps because, well at work, honestly, most recently. It's what I figured. Like, footsteps going off the trail to an area or something and I'll walk over and be like, oh, did somebody walk over there?

Uh huh. Yeah. No, fair. Nothing too crazy. I was researching this and I was thinking of questions I was like, oh it's like this is most likely gonna be like a yes for you Yeah so we're going to a snowy winter in

February of 1855. Okay and It was one of the coldest winters they've had in record at the time It was I read that it was like one degree cooler than the year before, which was like, okay, it's still cold. And across like Devon County, just like winter came over, a storm, everyone just stayed inside, no one went out. So what ends up happening is that people wake up in the morning and they look out their windows

or like they go outside and they find some very interesting prints on the snow. And we'll get into that. Okay. We'll get into that. What do they look like? Yeah, yeah, exactly. Oh, I have like sketches and things like that. I have into that. Okay. We'll get into that. Oh my god, what do they look like? Yeah, yeah, exactly. Oh, I have like sketches and things like that.

I have a lot. Okay. So, before we get too far into it and like the theories and like explanations of what this footprints belong to, I'm like just like 170 years ago, how do we know so much about this? There's so many eyewitness accounts for this. Eyewitness accounts, newspaper articles from the time, personal letters. Few newspapers covered this as well. And 170

years ago, people had different hobbies. They were bored. There was a reverend who became completely obsessed with documenting the details of this. That's so funny. Okay, thanks Reverend. Yeah, no, he's definitely part of the reason that we have so much stuff. There's of course nowadays there's also like modern blog posts to like see if we can make sense of any of this. But before we go into like full ghost hunting mode, like, let's get the facts straight. First off, I'm going to tell you the name of the case. This is known as the Devil Footprints.

Okay. Or the Devil Hoofs. The Devil Hoofs. I like that. I don't know, it's kind of fun. It has a nice ring to it. It does. So it all started in February 8th of 1855.

Heavy snowstorm had just blanketed the whole region. People woke up and they found these strange tracks just covering a vast area. And I mean vast. The reason we're not focusing on a specific town, it's because this tracks, depending on the records and depending from where you get them, the tracks varied from 40 miles to 100 miles of distance between villages at the time. A lot of ground to cover, especially during the winter, during the winter storm.

So, like you said, what did the tracks look like? Anything special about them? Because they showed up everywhere. So this hoof prints, this devil tracks, everyone agrees on few details. Everyone agrees that they're weird. There's a little bit of agreement on what they look like because from village to village,

there was some consistency of the strangeness of the tracks, but some sketch them out differently. Okay. But let me share with you why just random tracks became such a big deal 170 years ago. People found them in their gardens. Cool. Crossin' fields. Okay.

Crossing a frozen river without breaking the ice. Okay. And then they found them up walls Okay People found them on top of snow-covered roofs High walls, okay, and like even little it leading in and out of a drainpipe Like a like a small like a drainpipe. Like a small drainpipe? Like a drainpipe.

I imagine, yeah. Okay. I'm not sure the size of the drainpipe, but yeah. So, it was almost as if whatever made this tracks could just like defy gravity and just like, get on your roof. Shape shift and like, Yeah. I don't know. Yeah.

Weird, okay. Get on your roof shift and like Yeah, I don't know. Yeah weird. So they were described as resembling Donkey hoof prints that they were about four inches long and three inches wide Okay, but here's what it gets really interesting because Unlike usual animal tracks which alternate between like left and right Yeah, this one's appeared to be in single file line as if whatever made them was hopping or walking with its feet in perfect line. Bipedal. Bipedal what?

Not like a four-legged creature, like it was bipedal. Okay. So there's still aspects that like through, through theories and, like, history, like, we're trying to explain naturally. For example, there's the sharpness of the prints themselves. You woke up and it's like they were still fresh. Like, the snow really haven't covered them. Even the snow, like, they were just described, you know, quote, clearly defined,

brand, like, branded with hot iron, you know, like, it was just left there. Um, like, they defiled the natural kind of melting and freezing that you'd expect. And there's this distinct lack of, you know, animal tracks nearby, or any signs of disturbance. Yeah. of animal tracks nearby or any signs of disturbance. It's not like you saw this tracks and then next there was like bird tracks or like mice or anything else. It was just, that was it. That was it. That was it. Everything else was like hiding from the cold. It's almost like whatever touched them just like touched down, imprinted and then just like vanished. Because some people, some records say that they went straight through walls.

That some people found them at like their front door, like they stopped there. And then if they were to continue to walk in straight, they continued through the back door and just kept going. Weird. Yes. So the newspaper at the time, like I mentioned, and just kept going. Weird. Yes. So the newspaper at the time, like I mentioned, The Times and The Illustrated, London News,

this became news because 170 years ago, cold winter storm, we have nothing better to report. Also, this is weird. Of course it's gonna be news, yeah. They're buzzing with theories and eyewitness accounts. People were terrified. They were genuinely terrified. Like I said, people had different knowledge back in the day.

And they attribute some things to escaped animals as well as to the devil himself. So speaking of the newspapers, I did find one that I'll read a little transcript for it for you. So this is from Friday, February 16th, 1855. And it's from the Times London, Greater London, England. And it just says, Extraordinary occurrence. Considerable sensation has been caused in the towns

I'm going to butcher these names. Maybe not too much in the towns of tops men limestone x-mouth tinkmouth And dollish in the south of davon Okay Now this were just one two, three, four five six towns There's records from 30 to 40 towns that got this footprints. Oh shit. Yes.

Like it really got around. Yes. It continues by saying, In the consequence of the discovery of a vast number of foot tracks of a most strange and mysterious description, the superstitions go as far as to believe that they are the mark of Satan himself. And the great excitement has been produced among the classes, maybe judged from the fact that the subject has been descended on from the pulpit. It appears that on Thursday night last, there was a very heavy fall of snow in the neighborhood

of Exeter and the south of the Vaughan. On the following morning, the inhabitants of the above towns were surprised at discovering the footmarks of some strange and mysterious animal. Endowed with the power of ambiguity as the footprints were to be seen in all kinds of unaccountable places. On the tops of houses and narrow walls, in gardens and courtyards, enclosed by high walls and palings, as well as in the open fields.

There was hardly a garden in Limestone where these footprints were not observable. The tracks appeared more like that of a biped than a quadruped, and the steps were generally eight inches in advance of each other. The impressions of the foot closely resembled that of a donkey shoe and measured from an inch and a half to, in some instances, two and a half inches across. Here and there it appears as if cloven, but in the generality of the steps, the shoe was continuous and from the snow in the center remaining entire.

Merely showing the outer crest of the foot, it must have been convex." And then it ends up wrapping up by saying, "'The creature seems to have approached the doors of several houses and then have retreated, but no one has been able to discover the standing or resting point of this mysterious visitor. On Sunday last, the reverend Mr. Mugsgrave alluded to the subject of his sermon and suggested the possibility of the footprints being those of a kangaroo. No, don't tell me this is little. No. Oh my God.

So this reverend was really like, hey welcome in everyone those footprints. They could have been a kangaroos It continues by saying but this could scarily have been the case as they were found on both sides of the estuary of X Present it remains a mystery and many superstitious people in the above towns are actually afraid to go outside of the doors at... Uh, outside their doors at night. And that's the end of the newspaper clipping. Um... Dude, that was like in depth. Yeah!

They really, they really went through this. For like 1855, they were like, here's everything because everyone's going through it. Yes. Here's everything because everyone's going through it. Which I find fascinating that going back in time, there's so much documentation for such a strange case. It could have been a kangaroo. What? Like that? So, the whole kangaroo theory... The reverend ended up coming forward and saying that he made that up

Because he was seeing the growing panic of people thinking it was the devil. Oh So he was trying to be nice. He was just trying to calm the people down from like thinking the devil was amongst them Which is normally the other way around. Anyway, there is... what else? Yeah, the sermon that he was trying to calm people down. He said that it could have been an escaped kangaroo, which out of all the animals, why a kangaroo? People also suggested that it could have been a badger, a rat, or even a bird. What? Big ass bird. Yeah. Some even thought that it might have been a fox dragging its tail creating like the hoof-like impression.

Okay. But there's problems with all this like animal theories. First of all, how could an animal, even a really determined one, climb up walls? How could it squeeze through the drain pipes? And like just leave tracks on rooftops without like disturbing anyone at night? Yeah. So, one more detail that I think really adds to the mystery is the silence the night before. The silence of the animals, like the dogs.

The night that the hoof marks appeared, there was just silence from all local dogs. No barking, no howling. Interesting. Nothing. It's one of those like movie scenes where you're like, do you hear that? And they're like, I don't hear anything.

It's like very quiet. And it's like exactly where camping and like, you didn't even hear crickets. Yeah. So like, even if the animal sensed something was off, they didn't react the way you'd expect. So of course, like this is unsettling, especially cause we know given those like traditions

and beliefs about like animals being like sensitive to the supernatural. Yeah. Like, you'd think that they'd react to it in some sort of way. But it was the complete opposite. Like, we don't want to react to this. Nothing, yeah. Yeah.

Like, in fear of it or whatever. Yeah. Another theory that I had to just go down a rabbit hole because I was like 1855 explain There's the weather balloon theory what Which I'm like it's 2025 and we're still using weather balloons for excuses This goes as far as 1855. The idea was that hot air balloons

were drifting through the snowy night and it was dragging a horseshoe-shaped grapple, which was like the anchor. Oh. And it was kinda like, Do, do. Balancing, leaving the mark. Why do I kind of believe that? Yeah, no, like, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, would a balloon be dragging, like,

this anchor get inside walled and gardens? This is true, actually, yeah. And I'm also thinking of, like, if it's seen on roofs and stuff, because, like, it'll be on the... The footsteps will be on the ground, and then they go up to the roof. Yeah.

But wouldn't you hear it hitting the wall? Yeah, or like, wouldn't the line of it itself, like, be, like, tangled up in the roof. Yeah. So like, what do you hear it hitting the wall? Yeah, or like, wouldn't the line of it itself like be like tangled up in the snow? Yeah. And like, what are the chances that like for the entire night, the wind doesn't change? Yeah. Like, it's perfectly straight. Yeah. So once again, this is a big theory, but it has lots of weaknesses as well. Another one that creative people put out there, and of course, 1855, people were using, trying to find escape goats for the devil. This is where the gypsy theory comes in. Okay. The gypsy theory suggests that the Romani people were actually using what are called

measured stilts and that those long stilts were used for measuring. So they were like walking around on the stilts creating the hoof-like prints. But there's no reason for their motivation. No. There's no point in that. No, the theory just says that they might have been trying to scare off other groups of gypsies, maybe like they're marking their territory. scare off other groups of gypsies, maybe they're marking their territory. But like the previous one, this theory has a lot of inconsistencies and big holes, to be honest. First off, there's little evidence that the Romani people actually used stilts this way during this time period.

And second of all, the stilts that you need to create for this like hoof prints would have been incredibly difficult to maneuver. Yeah. Because the footprints were found on rooftops. You know, anyone walking on stilts is already having a hard time. And that you want to get them to climb. to get the getting on the roofs like yeah climb over You know a walled-in garden the rooftop Across a river and also 40 miles During a winter like storm Yeah, what? So yeah, like I can't imagine anyone navigating what stilts across rooftops during like snow. Me neither. Yeah, so once again, the gypsy theory, it's just like an interesting theory and like social

perspective that they had back in the day, but it doesn't add up logistically. Next, there's a theory that's a little bit more believable. And this one is the donkey theory. Okay. Because donkeys are actually a surprisingly good fit for some of the aspects of the mystery. Their hoof prints do bear a striking resemblance to the hoofs that they found. Plus donkeys have like this unique gate where they place their feet like... Like in a near straight line when they walk

So it almost looked if you were to follow their footprints. It would almost look like it was just like a bipedal creature Okay, because donkeys have a very interesting style of walking. I didn't know that yeah So like that undiviating line we talked about early could just be like donkey's natural way of walking. But this obviously doesn't explain rooftop footprints. Yeah. And on the walls. On the wall. Pipes and you know.

So once again, it doesn't explain the strange locations where the footprints were found. Yeah, some of the characteristics like match, but that's all that there is. There is another theory that offers a completely different perspective, and I think this is more of a recent theory. I don't think this is a theory that they had in like 1855, but it's the metrological theory. Because what does the weather have to do with hoof prints? The theory just suggests that the hoof prints were actually formed by falling water blobs. That freeze in a very particular way. And when they do, they create this hoof-like print shapes.

Okay. Yeah, they're trying to throw science in here and I'm not buying it. Yeah, that's like so specific. No it's like they're- It wouldn't be that consistent and- No. Can do all that. Especially because it's just like a path.

It's not like everywhere. Yeah. So even if it's like giant frozen raindrops hitting the snow and just leaving those prints, it's definitely unusual, but apparently there's been similar tracks reported in other parts of the world under very similar conditions for that snowy night. For example, there were some of those reports, similar hoof prints in Canada during a very cold winter as well. So there's been other locations that have seen those footprints, but not to the extent of Devon.

But even with that theory, and all the animal ones, there's the whole question of if that was the case, how come the animals were extremely quiet that night? A donkey or like a raindrop, like they also can't climb the walls. There would be reactions. Yeah. From animals and... Now, the footprints were not just limited to Devon and Canada. There were some reports from Scotland and even Poland occurring around the same time during the Devon incident.

Mm. Which, once again, is it the devil or is it something else? No, okay, because My theory was gonna be it's a literally just some dude with a stick Who's 40 miles during the winter? Who's just playing a prank on people? He's like a weird hoof for like a foot or something and he's just making like footprints throughout But then you're like, oh he's Devon in Canada, but also in Scotland Tell me okay. It can't be it can't be just a yeah and doing this. No. No, it can't be just the person

So what is this? What is going on? Yeah? So the theory says that we got donkey donkeys runaway kangaroos hot air balloons like the weather balloons and now like a potential global phenomenon Okay out of all of those. I I think the weather balloon makes the most plausible sense, but it's not like But what about like when it stops at your door and then like they reappear in the back? That's the thing like I don't I don't know like And I'm also gonna share like those like sketches of what the footprints look like. Because I'm like, that's a weird anchor

for like a weather balloon to have as well. It's weirdly shaped. But we actually haven't talked about the biggest theory of all. I mean, it's in the name. The devil. Oh. Oh.

Oh. Oh. Oh. Were you expecting something else? Now you're right. Yeah, so it's in the name, the Devil Footprints, the Devil Hoofs. It's just the most popular theory and it's also the reason why it's called the Devil Footprint, the Devil Hoofs. It just reflects like the genuine fear that people had during the Victorian

England period. I mean, people were terrified. They refused to leave their house after this happened. And especially given how much power religion had at the time. You know, so much talk about like fear God and the devil and then this footprint show up. It makes sense. People are waking up, seeing this bizarre footprints and their garden, their rooftops with no logical explanation. And there's no internet for like a quick search. Also, these people were familiar with animal tracks. They were not, they lived in the countryside.

They were used to seeing foxes and like birds and other animals leave their tracks behind. Yeah. So it's one of the reasons that They were used to seeing foxes and like birds and other animals leave their tracks behind. Yeah. So it's one of the reasons that they were also scared because they're like, I've never seen this tracks and they just behave so there's no logic to them. Yeah. So of course people turned to what was familiar folklore, superstition. Religion.

Religion. And because religion was very prominent during the time, the devil was also very like engraved in their heads. Yeah. So it's not surprising that something unexplained happens. And they made the deal with that. And while the devil theory might not hold up scientifically, it just offers like a really fascinating window of how people saw things during that time. It's just like a reminder of like how belief shaped how people behave, you know, and like how people interpret the events around them and the world. I mean, people still do, right?

Yeah. Oh, definitely. I'm glad not to this extent, but they still do. And then of course, it's just more questions than answers, of course, like always. I feel like that's what we end up with, the paranormal. More questions than answers. Other animals that were mentioned in those theories were badgers, rats. They thought that maybe it was a rat that was just hopping in the snow, leaving behind those prints, which is I'm like, that's very creative.

And I'm glad you had an imagination. But 40 miles for a rat. Yeah, no, that's crazy. Like in the cold, in the snow. Yeah. At that point, they're looking for somewhere warm to hide from the winter, not walk in it. And they don't usually, like these animals don't tend to walk large distances and in straight lines like this. They usually like... yeah. So, yeah, the puzzle still remains. Who's the culprit? We don't know. Um, it's...

A devil. The devil. It's the devil in disguise. Um, it's just a mystery that still lives on. Um, it's like a blend of history and like mystery because it's just, hey, here's a lot of documented things that we have for you regarding this case. But we also have nothing concrete to give you

other than like things from people. What else did I write down? Because the, okay, I'm gonna share it with you right now. Because this article is, I send it share it with you right now Because this article is I send it to you on discord is 84 pages holy shit. It's 84 pages of evidence that has been gathered throughout the years If you start scrolling down you're gonna see to see some, you're going to see the map first off.

The map is located on page three. And that one shows you the map of what towns were affected. And I'll put this on the website and on the Instagram as well. It shows like the very linear path in the bottom right corner. It shows the river. It shows, and then there's the appendix where the hoof marks were also there. It covered a lot of ground. There's also the measurements of the footprints because they measured them on page 8.

And it varies. And there's descriptions in Dalish the spacing between the footprints was 12 inches and the size was three and a half to two and a by two and a half And those were like a donkey donkeys hoof Okay, yeah, there's different location it tells you the location the size if they had the size Yeah And Yeah, there's different location. It tells you the location, the size, if they had the size. Yeah, I'm looking at them right now. That's cool. And then eventually you can see some of the tracks on page 12. Which those are animal tracks for comparison to the Devil's Hoof mark. The Devil Hoof mark...

The Devil Hoofmark. They have deer tracks, cottontail hares, fox badgers, and otters. Another theory was that it was an otter. From what I'm looking, it kind of seems a lot of these are described as like a donkey's hoof or a donkey's shoe. So like yeah, it would kind of make sense that it's a donkey, but then, like, how does it get on the walls? How does it get on the roofs? Yeah. And stuff.

It doesn't make sense. Like, even if there was someone trying to play a prank with their donkey while riding the donkey, it's like, there's still the roofs. On page 24, there's a drawing of those tracks that appeared. And these were the tracks that they sketched out from south of Devon. And they literally just look like a donkey hoof. Yeah, like a horseshoe. Page 32 has more images there. More of the hoof marks.

32? Yes, 32. Very similar to like hoof marks like a shoe. Oh yeah, they're like normal. Yeah. And then on page, I think 43, there's the variety. So the hoof mark, but depending where you went, they drew it differently. Oh, I see.

For some of them, there was finger looking things, toes. Yeah. For other ones, it was just the hoof mark. Page 44 also has more sketches there. And I like how it says the name of the person that also like sketched them out. So they're like, this are sketches from this person, this are sketches from this other person.

Page 52 shows the distance between the prints. And then page 62 has more. They're comparing it with a Fox tracks, a Badger's Henderfoot. Very similar shape. There's like I said, 84 pages that I was like, I was not expecting this much information. Yeah, that's crazy. It is so in-depth. Yeah, and then 72 shows mouse tracks. And it's like 72 doesn't add up.

Mouse tracks don't add up even if they're jumping in the snow. Okay. Weird. I literally have no theories. Like I have no clue what it could be. At this point, I'm just gonna suck with the devil That makes the most sense like because you know, like sometimes the supernatural is what we go to when we can't find logic It is supernatural or like, you know Religion in a way and I guess this is kind of the mix of both right now

Yeah, and like I said, this was not the first... I mean, I think it was like the first major one, but it was not the only location that had the Devil's footprints. That's crazy. That's what really gets me too, because like I said, my theory is going to be it's just some dude playing a prank, you know, with like hoof marks or something. But how could he be in all those places? And it's like, surprise, surprise, there's other countries that are affected by this.

Yep. So. Yeah. Yeah. So, and the fact, just 40 miles, I don't think I could walk 40 miles in a day. Maybe. Let alone during like a storm. Oh yeah, no that would suck.

And then doing that just for like a prank? Or just like have fun? Is it like, nah? And I find it interesting that like the tracks were not like fading, like snow had covered them, like they were just very clear to everyone. Yeah. But that's the story of the Devil's Hoof Prince. I am sorry it wasn't longer.

Like I said, there's a ton of pages, but it's a lot of repeat and it's a lot of theories. For the listeners, I'll put that on the website so you can actually take a look at it. I did my best to read through all of it, but it's so repetitive That I'm just like it's all the same information valid Yeah, and of course, you know other sources other people talking about it. Yeah But yeah, I also have to look up what like weather balloons look like in 1855 They're not fun

Looking balloons. Okay. They're just fun-looking balloons. They're just intriguing. No, I like this case. It's really making me be like, what is that? What could that be? I don't really do that much, because I definitely have some sort of explanation for something. Yeah, of course.

And for this one, animals make sense until you're like the rooftop and like, closed in gardens that there's a high fence around. Mm-hmm. Um, the river that was frozen and didn't crack. Yeah. Yeah. And then 40 miles. If that's like the bare minimum, it's still a lot of...

Yeah. I just keep going back to the distance. What do you think, listeners, viewers? Like, what theories have you got? What do you think it could be? Hold up. My drive to work is about 50 miles. I can't walk that in a day.

I mean, I could, but definitely not during a storm. Like, no, it wouldn't be fun. And it would take the whole day. I mean I could, but definitely not during a storm. Like, no, it wouldn't be fun. It would take the whole day. Yeah. Yeah. So, someone was really committed to this hoax. Or, it's the devil. It's the devil. There was a theory that it was a monkey as well, but the monkey doesn't add up either. What? And also, a monkey would not survive in the snow No, they they said that the monkey broke out from a rich person's menagerie Okay, of course, but there's also no records of missing monkeys or kangaroos from anyone's private collection

Okay. Yeah, I literally don't know I've no Fair yeah, no, and that's part of the mystery. So listeners, what do you think? Was it the devil? Was it a donkey? Was it a hoax? Was it my dad? Where are you? He's living footprints in the snow. Anyway, this was a fun little episode for the first of 2025.

Episode 26. Thanks for being here, guys. Thanks for sticking around. We have some fun things coming. Yeah a lot. So yeah make sure to stay tuned in we're gonna be doing some stuff make sure to share. Make sure to get our word around about who we are here at Chambers of the Occult. Yeah, quarter of a mouth really helps. It might come in handy in some future episodes, who knows. Yeah.

A lot of things we planned, a lot of things we did not plan are coming to fruition. Also, we're recording this on Tuesday, January 14th. Tomorrow we're gonna be flying out to Florida for PodFest. Yeah, by the time you hear this we'll already be there. We're already gonna be in PodFest. So if you're at PodFest, like let us know and then like there's the meet and greets that are happening.

Yeah, there is. And we'll be there for most of it. So reach out. Yeah. Cause that should be your New Year's resolution. Reach out to us. Reach out to your favorite podcasters more. If you reach out one time, that's more than last year.

To any podcaster more, yeah. That's one more than last year, yeah. Um, any message that you wanna give your future self, Kai? That like, if you listen to this episode on Thursday Hang in there You'll be home soon Like you already want to leave It's okay that you're in Florida, I know it's probably hot and humid it's cold

It's okay that you're in Florida. I know it's probably hot and humid. It's cold It I did see have you know okay rain, and I didn't see that like it's gonna be like moderate So it shouldn't actually be too bad. Yeah, yeah It'll you'll it'll be fun. You'll have fun. I am gonna have fun. Oh, yeah, yeah Future message to myself Jay if you're listening to this good. You got the episode out in time first of all kudos to you Second of all have fun I Would say let me know how it was, but you're already knowing how it is So yeah message from the past to the future

So yeah, message from the past to the future. Enjoy that time off and enjoy that trip to Florida. Time off is going to be nice. Yeah. Yeah. All right. And socialize network. Why does it get so... Cool.

That wraps it up. And like always, we'll see you next time. Smurf. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. And like always, we'll see you next time. Smurf! Aaaaaaahhhhhhh! Bye! Bye! Thanks for listening to Chambers of the Occult. For photos, sources, and anything else mentioned during the episode, check out our website

at chambersoftheoccult.com. You'll find everything you need there if you do find yourself wanting more. You can also follow us on all of our socials at Chambers of the Occult and on Twitter at COTO Podcast. If you have any questions, comments, recommendations, personal anecdotes, or concerns, let us know. Fill out our contact form on our website, email us at chambersoftheoccult.gmail.com, or leave us a message on our socials. We would love to hear from you.

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