Town note
French trappers and explorers were the first Europeans in the area.
about 0:06:17Spoilers are covered until your reading preferences load.
FILE 658 / 20 December 2025 / 74 MIN / express
Bellaire, Ohio, far eastern Ohio, in Pultney County about 0:04:41
French trappers and explorers were the first Europeans in the area.
about 0:06:17Bellaire was founded in 1836.
about 0:06:26Its name was inspired by the Maryland town of the same name.
about 0:06:29The discovery of natural gas deposits brought people to the area and made glass manufacturing huge.
about 0:06:39French trappers and explorers were the first Europeans in the area.
about 0:06:17Bellaire was founded in 1836.
about 0:06:26Its name was inspired by the Maryland town of the same name.
about 0:06:29The discovery of natural gas deposits brought people to the area and made glass manufacturing huge.
about 0:06:39Around 15 glass companies operated there, including Belmont Glass Works and Bellaire Window Glass Company.
about 0:06:49There were also two bottle companies in the town.
about 0:07:10In 1937 the Ohio River flooded the town badly.
about 0:07:16The now abandoned Bellaire bridge was used as a location in The Silence of the Lambs.
about 0:07:20Crime overall
▼ about half
"3,927"
No direction stated.
As told in 2025 about 0:05:40
"about $39,972"
Comparison: "almost half the national average". Direction: below.
As told in 2025 about 0:05:52
"$92,100"
No direction stated.
As told in 2025 about 0:06:01
"about half"
Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.
As told in 2025 about 0:10:54
3.3 / 5 · average of 3
“A former TV news anchor in a major city who hated the job and the city picked a small town on the map near family in Pittsburgh to raise small children and loves it so far.”about 0:07:44
“Born and raised there; the town has lost much since its days as a booming river town, but the people are caring, everyone loves high school football and there are family restaurants, with the best hot dogs at Gullah's.”about 0:08:58
“Known for its historical places, but the town today is run down and can be dangerous with drugs and crime.”about 0:09:47
In September 1995 Bellaire, Ohio, was a small town of about 3,900 people on the Ohio River, its glassworks long gone and its high school football team, the Big Reds, unbeaten. Terry Brooks, born in 1942, had been a mail carrier for years; his wife Marilyn, born in 1943, worked as a pension clerk for the United Mine Workers of America.
A teenage babysitter introduced him to heavy metal and satanic imagery; by his teens he was reading the Satanic Bible, carrying it to school, collecting animal bones and, according to one neighbour, nailing live fish to trees to watch them die. He inhaled one or two cans of butane a day, which a defence psychologist later said had damaged his brain, and he talked about death constantly. At school he was quiet and polite but odd; one girl on his bus said his aura frightened her, and a classmate remembered him saying in 1995 that he would be famous by Saturday. His parents were told more than once that he needed counselling and never got it.
On September 30th, 1995, Ryan played in a Big Reds game, which the team won, and then went to spend the night at the trailer of his friend Eric Barrite. At 12.30 a.m. he was still awake. Ryan stayed on for another hour.
Eric drove Ryan home. I murdered two people and I'm going to turn myself in." In the first bedroom he found his mother dead in bed, stabbed and chopped; a long knife was still embedded in her side. An axe, a hammer and nails lay about. The room was decorated with occult drawings and a Jeffrey Dahmer biography, and detectives concluded it was a satanic ritual.
He surrendered and told officers he had another crime to report: he led them to Eric's trailer, where he had pinned an envelope to the wall with a knife. It said "For Ryan. If anyone else touches, I will kill you," and it contained money. He said he had big plans for the night, a list of sacrifices to Satan, and intended to finish by killing himself as an offering.
The lists were real. One was found in his school locker and another in his bedroom, with sixteen names. Ryan was first, marked "dismember, decapitate"; his mother second, marked "eviscerate, crucify, nails"; his father third, marked "decapitate". Other names included Amber, Lisa, Justin, Jason, Dave, Corey, Jill, Mike and Ashley, some with notes such as "molest some" or "skin". He told police he had been in hell since he was little, that he drank beer, killed his mother and then his father, and then took a walk to decide whether to kill more people. He said Satan talked back to him, just as God does to others.
A few days later someone set the front porch of the house on fire at 1.30 a.m. Bellaire cancelled Halloween that year. Three experts split on the question.
Ryan later changed his name and took a new social security number. The town, meanwhile, held seminars on Satanism and remained convinced that something demonic had touched Bellaire.
September 30th to October 1st, 1995 / the Brooks family home, Bellaire, Ohio
As told in the episode, on 20 December 2025.
Accused
Public places are marked on the map.
crime scene
about 0:44:49home
about 0:32:48landmark
about 0:31:39road
about 0:42:05school
about 0:13:32landmark
about 0:07:20landmark
about 0:07:16business
about 0:09:28business
about 0:21:54business
about 0:40:47landmark
about 1:12:46home
about 0:32:31