About this episode
Halloween horror stories—making spooky season terrifyingly real. Richard Trenton Chase , the “Vampire of Sacramento,” whose 1977–1978 crimes turned neighborhood fear into a citywide lockdown. We connect the early warning signs to the unlocked-door “invitation” pattern , the frantic manhunt and FBI profile , and the courtroom fight over sanity and responsibility. With clear sourcing and zero fluff, we trace how untreated psychosis, blood-fixated delusions, and institutional failures produced one of America’s most nightmarish true-crime horror cases. Inside this episode Early warning signs: Escalating animal cruelty, delusions, and missed interventions. Method of entry: Why unlocked doors became his “permission”—fueling the vampire legend. Timeline of murders: From Dec 29, 1977 (Ambrose Griffin) through Jan 1978 home invasions marked by mutilation and blood-drinking. Profilers move in: How the FBI Behavioral Science Unit sketched a near-perfect suspect. Arrest & evidence: The apartment, the freezer, and what they revealed about ritual and motive. Trial, verdict, and death: The sanity battle, death sentence, and end on death row . Legacy & lessons: Media panic, myth vs. pathology, and what communities can learn. If you’ve ever wondered how a horror legend becomes flesh-and-blood fact, this is the case. We’re telling that story tonight. Check out more Terrifying & True episodes! https://www.weeklyspooky.com/categories/terrifying-true/ 🎧 LISTEN NOW and subscribe for spine-tingling horror stories every week! 🎉 Unlock exclusive bonus episodes and support the show on Patreon! 👉 WeeklySpooky.com/Join 📬 Contact Us / Submit Your Horror Story! Twitter: @WeeklySpooky Facebook: facebook.com/WeeklySpooky Email: WeeklySpooky@gmail.com 🎵 Music by Ray Mattis 👉 Check out Ray’s incredible work here ! 👨💼 Executive Producers: Rob Fields, Bobbletopia.com 🎥 Produced by: Daniel Wilder 🌐 Explore more terrifying tales at: WeeklySpooky.com