In 1920, a baby was given something no child should ever receive, fear, delivered by design. What began as a scientific curiosity would become one of the most disturbing experiments in psychological history. This is the story of how one man taught a child to be afraid, and why that lesson still unsettles us over a century later.

Deep in the forests of the Czech Republic stands Houska Castle, a brooding stone fortress with no defensive purpose, no strategic location, and no clear reason for existing. Beneath its crumbling chapel lies a pit so dark and deep that no bottom has ever been found, a place locals once believed spewed creatures from Hell itself. Built not to keep invaders out, but to keep something else in, Houska remains one of the most chilling and mysterious locations in all of Europe.

Fearful is a podcast produced by Media Forge Studios, and releases a new episode here every Wednesday.

In 2012, a mysterious entity calling itself Cicada 3301 launched a series of cryptographic puzzles that spanned the internet, the dark web, and even physical locations across the globe. The puzzles, which focused on steganography, cryptography, and internet privacy, were believed to be a recruitment tool for an unknown organization. Over a decade later, no one has claimed responsibility, no official purpose has been revealed, and much of the final puzzle "Liber Primus" remains unsolved.

Fearful is a podcast produced by Media Forge Studios, and releases a new episode here every Wednesday.