The most terrifying monsters in the world are people.

Aaron Mahnke’s popular podcast “Lore” highlights the mysterious and terrifying things done by ordinary people. The podcast was turned into an Amazon Prime series last year and Oct. 19 saw the release of a new season. While season one presented some strange tales, season two brought out the monster in all of us, with stories of death and destruction caused by average human beings.

Each episode was directed by a different person with a different cast and had its own strengths and weaknesses. The one thing that stands out is that each story is true.

Here are the best and the worst episodes:

BEST

1. Burke and Hare: In the Name of Science

Rating: 6/10

This story wasn’t as scary as some of the other episodes but the unique direction, as well as the murder montage, made for an entertaining show about how twisted the world was as medical science was taking off.  

The story focuses on two Irish immigrants in Scotland, Burke and Hare, who learn that doctors in town will pay cash for corpses to examine and experiment on. They quickly learn corpses that are partially decomposed aren’t worth as much as fresh bodies. The boys start staking out bars and taking out prostitutes and drunks who won’t be missed if they disappear.

I liked the story and the setting was great. The modern music that played in the background as Burke and Hare killed and got paid gave the episode a light feel despite the dark theme. The episode was grim despite the light-hearted music and the ending did a complete 180 and made me feel a tingle up my spine. The slogan for the episode, ‘In the name of science,’ took on a whole new meaning once the credits rolled.

Full list of episodes: 

1. Burke and Hare: In the Name of Science
2. Elizabeth Bathory: Mirror, Mirror 
3. Hinterkaifeck: Ghosts in the Attic
4. Prague Clock: The Curse of the Orloj
5. Mary Webster: The Witch of Hadley
6. Jack Parsons: The Devil and the Divine

WORST – Elizabeth Bathory: Mirror, Mirror.

Rating: 4/10

This episode was the one I was looking forward to the most because the story of Countess Bathory is a popular one. The Countess would lead unsuspecting young women and torture and kill them and then use their blood to keep her youth. She stands as one of the most prolific female serial killers in history.

I was expecting a horrifying story of torture and murder but what I got was the story of a noblewoman who showed up at the castle and found out about the horrors and then fails to escape.

The story was extremely lacking. There wasn’t any reference to how long she kept the young women alive or how often she killed and frankly it was boring. It’s hard to believe considering upwards of 600 girls lost their lives under Bathory’s care. While it was visually stunning the focus was on the wrong person and should have explored more of Bathory instead of her ward.

BEST – Hinterkaifeck: Ghosts in the Attic

Rating: 9/10

I’m a sucker for a good ghost story and this episode took it to the next level. The story takes place in the highlands of Germany after WWI. A family lives near train tracks but little do they know that an intruder has been living on the farm and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

The episode captured isolation very well and the snowy backdrop, as well as the dark unforgiving nights, ignited my imagination into hearing creaks and footsteps in my own house.

The show is also very graphic so for anyone with a sensitive constitution skipping this episode might be a good idea. Each killing is shown and there is plenty of screaming and blood. I thought it was a little much considering these aren’t the actions of a fabricated monster and that this was a real family that was killed in cold blood.

This episode was my favorite of the season despite the fact that I covered my eyes through parts of it.

Claire Oliver can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @claireity21.