In 1981, a plain black arcade cabinet appeared overnight in a Portland, Oregon arcade. No logo, no artwork, just a name glowing in pale green letters: Polybius. Players reported migraines, memory loss, and night terrors, and mysterious men in suits came to collect data from the machine before it vanished without a trace. The story stayed buried for nineteen years until a single internet post turned it into one of gaming's most enduring urban legends.

Head over to our Twisted Tales YouTube channel to WATCH this episode: https://www.youtube.com/@crimehousestudios

Join Crime House+ to binge a special limited series on Murder: True Crime Stories for America’s 250th: The Crimes That Built America. These are the cases that created the FBI, gave us Miranda rights, sparked criminal profiling, and gave us America’s Most Wanted. Join at crimehouseplus.com or if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page. You’ll also get episodes of Twisted Tales ad-free and released one day early.

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Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crime House 24/7, Serial Killers & Murderous Minds, Murder True Crime Stories, and more wherever you get your podcasts!

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Twisted Tales is hosted by Heidi Wong

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In early 2001, a recreational caver named Ted documented his obsessive attempt to break through a sealed passage deep inside a cave... and what he found on the other side became one of the internet's earliest and most disturbing horror stories. Presented as a real personal account with photographs and journal entries, Ted the Caver predated modern creepypastas and convinced countless readers it was true. The story builds from physical claustrophobia to something far darker: unexplained sounds, a dog's terror, a screaming passage, and a presence that may have followed Ted home.

Head over to our Twisted Tales YouTube channel to WATCH this episode: https://www.youtube.com/@crimehousestudios

Join Crime House+ to binge a special limited series on Murder: True Crime Stories for America’s 250th: The Crimes That Built America. These are the cases that created the FBI, gave us Miranda rights, sparked criminal profiling, and gave us America’s Most Wanted. Join at crimehouseplus.com or if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page. You’ll also get episodes of Twisted Tales ad-free and released one day early.

🎧 Need More to Binge?

Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crime House 24/7, Serial Killers & Murderous Minds, Murder True Crime Stories, and more wherever you get your podcasts!

Follow me on Social

• YouTube: @crimehousestudios
• Instagram: @Crimehouse
• TikTok: @Crimehouse
• Facebook: @crimehousestudios
• X: @crimehousemedia

Twisted Tales is hosted by Heidi Wong

• Instagram: @itsheidiwong
• TikTok: @itsheidiwong

Crime House’s Murder: True Crime Stories presents a special series for America’s 250th Birthday: The Crimes That Built America. Listen every Monday until July 6th on Murder: True Crime Stories. Join Crime House+ to get all 4 episodes right now ad-free. To subscribe, go to crimehouseplus.com or if you are listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page.

250 years ago, a brand-new country declared its independence, and in the centuries since, some of the worst crimes this country has ever seen reshaped America. Four murders. Four turning points. The crime behind Miranda rights. The case that created the FBI. The era that gave us criminal profiling. And the murder of Adam Walsh that built America's missing-children movement.