Nightmares artwork

True Crime · Sword and Scale

Nightmares

by Sword and Scale

Welcome to Nightmares. True-Crime for Bedtime.  Your nightmare begins now…

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Closeted

A man named Jeffrey Freeman was found dead in his own home. The most disturbing aspect of this case isn't just the manner of his death; it's what was occurring inside the

Jul 14
28 min

Slicer

On September 25, 2014, an ordinary shift at Vaughn Foods in Moore, Oklahoma exploded into chaos after a workplace dispute took a horrifying turn. As panic spread through

Jun 30
26 min

Choices

A fugitive on the run takes a woman hostage. Ashley Smith is not only fighting for her life, but also trying to take back control of it. To make it through, she must forc

Jun 22
23 min

Gamer

On a quiet evening in Wichita, Kansas, flashing police lights suddenly flood a residential street. When 28-year-old Andrew Finch steps onto his front porch to see what’s

Jun 14
24 min

Visitor

On April 18, 2019, 57-year-old Wilfred Guzman was at home when a familiar visit turned into a savage fight for survival. By the time police forced their way inside Apartm

May 26
26 min

Barren

A plot to find a million dollars in buried fortune ends in unthinkable violence. Mary was caught in the middle of it all. She shouldn’t have survived the desert, but when

May 23
24 min

Lovers

In November 2012, freshly divorced auto shop manager Dave Kroupa thought he was navigating the casual dating scene in Omaha, Nebraska until one short relationship ended a

May 20
31 min

Sanctuary

On a quiet January morning in rural Pennsylvania, Rhonda Smith went to work at her church and never came home. What started as a shocking act of violence inside a place o

Apr 1
29 min

Bad Friends

On March 12, 2000, in Spearfish, South Dakota, nineteen-year-old Chester Allan Poage agrees to a night that seems harmless… until it isn’t. In a secluded pocket of the Bl

Mar 25
25 min

Survival

In October 2013, fourteen-year-old Abby Hernandez vanished on her walk home from school in rural New Hampshire. Months passed, searches faded, and a letter arrived that c

Mar 11
22 min

Echo Chamber

When an 83-year-old woman is found dead inside her quiet Old Greenwich home, investigators start piecing together the final months of her life, and the unraveling of her

Mar 4
24 min

Hollywood

It's March 2006 in Villa Park Illinois and nineteen-year-old Rose thinks she’s found an escape, until a woman vanishes and the search starts pointing somewhere darker. As

Feb 24
28 min

Snap

Thirteen-year-old Thad Phillips fell asleep on his couch—and woke up in a nightmare. Trapped in a decaying house with a smiling teen and sinister intentions, he would spe

Feb 18
28 min

Party

James Rackover looked like someone who had it all. He had style, status, and a last name that carried weight. But the truth behind the image was darker. When a man goes m

Feb 4
30 min

Trouble Ahead

A teenage girl’s discovery of a human skull on Iowa’s Greenbelt River Trail led investigators to the murder of missing 29-year-old Angela Nicole Bradbury. The case unrave

Jan 28
20 min

Consumed

When a devastating fire consumed the lives of an affluent British family, suspicions arose, pointing fingers at those who knew business tycoon Chris Foster and may have w

Jan 21
22 min

One Percent

62-year-old Kathy Hughes Anderson spent her career tending to trees, preserving beauty and order across the towns she served. In retirement, she brought that same quiet d

Jan 14
23 min

Room Service

17-year-old Linda Bury’s home life was a mess, so she turned to social media to reinvent herself. There she met Joshua Mebane and this unassuming, wealthy monster would c

Jan 7
37 min

Family Meal

The town of Chickasha, Oklahoma was shaken to its core when they heard the news that two were dead, one of which was a four year old child, and another was seriously maim

Jan 1
26 min

Mom

Kimberly Cargill was evil personified. She abused her children for years, circumventing the system to keep them in her clutches. Finally, the state caught on and what she

Nov 27 2024
34 min

Chart trend

Position in the True Crime chart (US), last 90 days.

#22
all-time peak
39
days in the top 50 since Nov 2024

Chart positions

Where Nightmares ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 21, 2026).

#99 ▼ 19 True Crime US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

As good as sword and scale with a better intro. Each episode is organized, detailed, and recorded/edited well so that I can listen in the car and the road noise doesn’t take away from it. I like that most episodes include the actual recordings from the case’s evidence, it’s why I will always listen to this guy’s podcasts.

Jayzepps · Nov 2024

The skillful telling of these unthinkable crimes is captivating. Decades ago I became interested in true crime because of my teenage children, maybe I’d learn something to help protect them now it’s more about awareness for my own safety. Good stuff. I became a subscriber today!

BAR#907 · Sep 2024

Mike is an incredible story teller! The best true crime podcast out there! Also love his wit through out the shows. Keep up the great work !

BMZ2832 · Nov 2024

Best podcast out there, great writing and intense, captivating narration. There are a few podcasts that are close, but this is in a league of its own.

Gulag 69 · Oct 2024

I used to be a huge fan of Sword and Scale, but found that I was listening to more audio from interrogations/interviews/media/etc., than the actual narrator, so I decided to end my subscription and deleted the app. It is personally my biggest pet peeve to listen to a podcast and hear more crappy audio from other sources than the narrator. Despite ending the subscription in my Apple account, I was shocked to receive a $19.99 charge from PAYPAL (never used PayPal in my life) at the end of the month for a "super supporter" subscription to Sword and Scale. Now, I'm not at all blaming the host or show for this, I know I was probably being negligent to some terms and conditions, but I was infuriated to be charged this as it was quite literally the last $20 I had in my account. Because it was a debit card, I couldn't even dispute it, and the bank would not accept it as a "fraudulent transaction." So just be careful when subscribing, and make sure you are aware of where and what your payment method is being stored.

skylargraman99 · Nov 2024

2 stars bc of the loud ads scattered thru the podcast. This is supposedly a bedtime podcast but the ads will sometimes keep you awake. Other bedtime podcast will include ads but in a quiet smooth tone that don’t interrupt trying to go to sleep because they are mindful. The stories are good and short. Some of his side commentary make him sound like a bitter old man who’s been thru a nasty divorce but I can get past that. I just can’t get past the loud ads when I’m going to sleep. Do with this information what you will. If you don’t sleep to podcast then it’s worth a try.

asucenab · Oct 2024

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About Nightmares on Reason.fm

Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of Nightmares, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.

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