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RUN, FOOL!

ByBallen Studios
77 episodes

Podcast Summary

Out of the terrifying mind of Rodney Barnes comes RUN, FOOL!, a compendium of grisly and harrowing tales guaranteed to make you scream. Pull up a seat at the campfire and lean in for a new breed of modern ghost story. If you get too scared ... RUN, FOOL! From the page to the screen – and now straight to your ears – Rodney Barnes has created genre defining stories about monsters, demons, vampires, and the occult. With RUN, FOOL!, every week he’ll tell a new story, each of a different place and period, all equally frightening - and all brought together with gripping and immersive sound design. New episodes every other Tuesday. RUN, FOOL! is presented by Ballen Studios, Campside Media, and At Will Media.

#1

Demon of Deferred Dreams

A struggling jazz singer makes a deal with a mysterious man who promises her fame, only to discover too late that her dream will cost her everything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025-05-27•52mins
#2

Ballen Studios Presents: A Twist of History

The course of history never follows a straight line. These are the epic stories that have shaped the world we now live in. From Ballen Studios, join us - for the most heart pounding podcast in history. New episodes every Wednesday. Listen now: ⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025-05-21•5mins
#3

Into Eternity

As Rodney’s mother slips away, a cutting-edge AI guides her through her final moments. What she experiences changes both of them forever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025-05-13•42mins
#4

The Big Kid

A lonely foster kid with mysterious powers begins to grow — literally — feeding off the rage around him until he transforms into an aggrieved giant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025-04-29•40mins
#5

Char-Man

A grieving teen yearning to reconnect with his late grandfather unknowingly summons a burned ghost that begins stalking the streets of Ojai, California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025-04-22•40mins
#6

The Seguin Island Lighthouse

When an ambitious influencer and her struggling musician boyfriend attempt to renovate a cursed lighthouse, they’re possessed by the vengeful ghosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025-04-15•34mins
#7

Kushtaka

Rodney’s old friend joins a survivalist group deep in the Alaskan Wilderness, only to discover that a shape-shifting creature lurks in the shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025-04-08•33mins
#8

Rolling Heads

Stranded in the Wyoming wilderness, a group of friends is hunted by rolling, flesh-eating heads that whisper their victims’ final words. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025-04-01•33mins

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#9

La Lechuza

When a corrupt businessman crosses the wrong family, La Lechuza is summoned and no amount of money can save him from the creature’s vengeance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025-03-25•34mins
#10

Dance of Death

Rodney runs into a mysterious man who knows too much and learns about a dancer’s deadly final performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025-03-18•35mins
#11

Devil at the Door

A young Rodney and his grandmother welcome a charming stranger at the door, only to realize he’s the devil and he won’t leave without a soul. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025-03-11•35mins
#12

Spearfinger

A lonely boy runs away into the Smokey Mountains, only to be hunted by a shapeshifting witch who preys on his deepest fears. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025-03-04•32mins
#13

The Slop

A woman obsessed with the internet clicks a mysterious link and finds herself trapped in a terrifying digital nightmare that warps reality and won’t let her go. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025-02-25•34mins
#14

Radioactive Hornets Pt. 2

After the radioactive hornets leave a trail of destruction, Caroline discovers the queen is still alive and the nightmare is far from over. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025-02-18•31mins
#15

Radioactive Hornets Pt. 1

As radioactive hornets terrorize a small Nebraska town, star athlete Caroline must confront her biggest fear or become its next prey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025-02-11•29mins
#16

The Boarder

When Rodney was a young kid, his grandma opened their home to a war vet and they soon learned he had a terrifying secret. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025-02-04•40mins
#17

The Whole Hog

A woman uncovers the sinister truth behind a famous barbecue joint and must escape before she becomes the next ingredient in their 'whole hog' recipe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025-01-28•45mins
#18

The Pink Haze

Three tech founders encounter a mysterious pink haze during a desert retreat that follows them home and unravels their lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025-01-14•33mins
#19

Stairway to Hell

Two college roommates explore a cursed chapel rumored to house a stairway to Hell, only to awaken their darkest fears. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025-01-07•36mins
#20

The Dover Demon

A boy’s bond with a terrifying creature offers solace from his loneliness, but its lethal instincts threaten to destroy everything around him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-12-31•30mins
#21

The Bottle Tree

A cursed family faces a malevolent spirit, forcing a son to choose between his own freedom and saving the ones he loves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-12-17•32mins
#22

The Hidebehind

A deadly creature lurking in the shadows of Oregon’s forests turns a logging site into a massacre, forcing a survivor to confront the price of destruction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-12-10•27mins
#23

The Salt Witch

When a grieving med student returns to her hometown in Nebraska for a funeral, a vengeful salt witch forces her to confront her guilt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-12-03•31mins

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#24

The River Lethe

When Rodney discovers his mother drinking from a mysterious river that erases memory, he races against time to save her before she forgets him and herself forever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-11-26•32mins
#25

The Lizzie Borden House

A desperate reporter enters the Lizzie Borden House to exploit its dark history for a true crime podcast – only to find that the house’s ghosts may have other plans for him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-11-19•31mins
#26

The Bed of The Abyss

A single mother’s dream home becomes a nightmare when an ancient, cursed bed starts to prey on her family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-11-12•32mins
#27

Black-Eyed Children

After losing his job, a man’s weekend getaway with his girlfriend turns into a nightmare when they encounter eerie black-eyed children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-11-05•31mins
#28

Earworm Special

In this special, one-hour Season 1 finale, Rodney – trapped in a recording studio – receives a terrifying call from a survivor claiming a deadly pop song is turning listeners into violent killers. Now, Rodney must decide: stay safe in isolation or risk everything by facing the nightmare outside. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-10-29•1hr 1mins
#29

Season 1, Look Back, Season 2, Look Forward

Rodney takes a look back at how we got here, and provides a sneak peek of next week's very special one-hour season 1 finale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-10-22•23mins
#30

The Raven Mocker

Rodney confronts the Raven Mocker, a deadly spirit targeting his dying best friend, only to realize that even defeating the supernatural can't stop the inevitability of death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-10-15•33mins
#31

Fan Favorite: Black Aggie

With the one year anniversary of RUN, FOOL! approaching, Rodney thought it'd be a great time to share one of his personal favorite episodes from this season: Black Aggie One of the most insidious, abhorrent creatures comes after Rodney's grandmother Estelle and changes the way she sees the world forever. Don’t forget to check back next week for a brand new episode of RUN, FOOL! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-10-08•30mins
#32

Polybius Pt. 2

Now an adult and a disillusioned video game developer, Vinny is haunted by the disappearance of his friends Jenna and Jim. He returns to his hometown of Barnaby, Oregon, and attempts to recover the digital souls of his friends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-10-01•33mins
#33

Polybius Pt. 1

A group of friends — Vinny, Jenny, and Jim — discover a mysterious arcade game in an abandoned bar in Oregon. The game is rumored to cause seizures, hallucinations and night terrors, but that doesn’t stop them from playing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-09-24•27mins
#34

The Other Case of M. Valdemar

After receiving a terminal diagnosis, George seeks out an experimental treatment from a mysterious doctor. But his desire to cheat death takes a dark turn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-09-10•25mins
#35

The Monsters of Grunch Road Pt. 2

In part 2, Rodney’s new friend Evie decides to help him escape. While fleeing both the Outsiders and the Broussard family, the pair uncover the unsettling truth behind the longstanding feud between the warring families. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-08-27•27mins
#36

The Monsters of Grunch Road Pt. 1

A young Rodney visits the Grunches, a freakish tribe who live in the Louisiana swamps, after his laptop is stolen by one of them. When the group’s matriarch discovers he’s trespassing, she decides Rodney must be fed to the bloodthirsty monster that protects them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-08-20•31mins
#37

The Shaman’s Portal

Lauren’s soulmate, Brian, is swallowed whole by a mysterious portal while the couple is picnicking at Beaver Dunes Park in Oklahoma. Every year on the anniversary of Brian’s disappearance, Lauren returns to the same spot in hopes of finding answers, and then one day, she’s confronted with an existential question. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-08-13•28mins
#38

Plat-Eye Pt. 2

In part 2, as the trio gets closer to finding the treasure, they’re confronted by tortured souls who’re trapped between worlds and doomed to haunt the burial site. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-08-06•33mins
#39

Plat-Eye Pt. 1

Three friends set out to find treasure buried on a little island off the coast of South Carolina. They traverse swamps and avoid traps, oblivious to what lurks in the shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-07-30•28mins
#40

The Night Marchers

Kam returns to Hawaii, where he spent much of his childhood, for spring break with a few college friends who make a mockery of the ancient tribal warriors and protectors of the land. He initially joins them to fit in, but has to make a difficult decision when the crew is confronted by the Night Marchers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-07-23•28mins
#41

The Slide-Rock Bolter

When a subsidized housing complex in a Colorado mining town collapses, Trish Manners’s company is accused of corporate negligence. She hires a renowned geologist to figure out what happened and learns the destruction may have been caused by monsters lurking in the mountain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-07-16•29mins
#42

The Possessed Drone

A drone is possessed by the spirit of a North African date-farmer who, along with his pregnant wife, was targeted because he was believed to be a high-priority “insurgent.” Now the drone haunts the airman who operated it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-07-09•26mins
#43

The Night Folk, Pt. 2

In Part 2, Rachel learns the factory workers behind the gruesome attacks are actually ancient, vampiric creatures who’re preparing to massacre everyone. She needs to get out of there, but leaving her town to the wolves doesn’t sit right with her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-07-02•27mins
#44

The Night Folk, Pt. 1

A failed journalist moves back home to take care of her sick mom. She considers her town dull as dirt until she finds a flattened corpse hanging from a tree and uncovers what’s behind the gruesome attack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-06-25•27mins
#45

Fingernails Freddie

When a counselor is bullied by her peers and struggles to fit in at Camp Harmony, she summons the spirit of an old man who was burned alive by campers’ fire to get revenge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-06-18•30mins
#46

The Trash Pit

A lab develops a chemical spray that shrinks trash as part of an effort to curb New York’s waste problem. But the plan backfires when the spray inadvertently spawns a ravenous, filthy monster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-06-11•32mins
#47

Skinwalkers, Pt. 2

After the neighbor and her cat show up dead, Jaya feels that something terrifying was responsible. And that thing might be living in her house. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-06-04•35mins
#48

Skinwalkers, Pt. 1

A married couple from Maine visits a ranch on a Navajo reservation and leaves with a mysterious stray dog. Except the dog isn’t really a dog. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-05-28•30mins
#49

Eastern State Penitentiary

Ghosts of the departed prisoners come alive, ready to feast on the living, and a security guard fights for his life inside the fortified walls and stone arches of the notorious penitentiary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-05-21•28mins
#50

Hotel Monte Vista, Pt. 2

After Rodney’s life flashes before his eyes, he learns why his friend Lottie turned on him and failed to fulfill her promise to help the ghosts of Hotel Monte Vista. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024-05-14•28mins

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