Deep in the forests of the Czech Republic stands Houska Castle, a brooding stone fortress with no defensive purpose, no strategic location, and no clear reason for existing. Beneath its crumbling chapel lies a pit so dark and deep that no bottom has ever been found, a place locals once believed spewed creatures from Hell itself. Built not to keep invaders out, but to keep something else in, Houska remains one of the most chilling and mysterious locations in all of Europe.

Fearful is a podcast produced by Media Forge Studios, and releases a new episode here every Wednesday.

In 2012, a mysterious entity calling itself Cicada 3301 launched a series of cryptographic puzzles that spanned the internet, the dark web, and even physical locations across the globe. The puzzles, which focused on steganography, cryptography, and internet privacy, were believed to be a recruitment tool for an unknown organization. Over a decade later, no one has claimed responsibility, no official purpose has been revealed, and much of the final puzzle "Liber Primus" remains unsolved.

Fearful is a podcast produced by Media Forge Studios, and releases a new episode here every Wednesday.

Thirteen-year-old Omayra Sánchez spent sixty hours trapped in rising, filthy water. Her legs were pinned by rubble, her voice calm, her death slow and public. When the Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupted on November 13, 1985, it triggered a mudflow that killed over 23,000 people and buried the town of Armero. The haunting image of Omayra in her final hours, later called "the world’s saddest photograph", became a symbol of government failure and a global reminder of what happens when warnings go ignored.

Fearful is a podcast produced by Media Forge Studios, and releases a new episode here every Wednesday.