Carolina Snowflakes Podcast

On this week’s episode we take a look at the grossest house in NC. They say a person’s home is a reflection of their personality and general state of being, but what if a home is a reflection of even more? What if the home is also a reflection of the atmosphere of the community where they live and their community’s willingness (or lack thereof) to help?  

Such would be the case of Pazuzu Algarad, a self-proclaimed Satanist from the small Winston-Salem suburb of Clemmons, North Carolina. Pazuzu’s home was his horror-filled castle and what it contained was so disturbing that no one wanted to intervene; not even the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.  Deeply held religious beliefs and fear of a literal Devil kept most everyone away.

That is, until the bodies were discovered. Pazuzu’s story made national news when bodies were found buried in the yard of his suburban home. Bodies that remained undiscovered for years despite multiple reports to law enforcement and families missing loved ones and fearing the worst. Despite national news attention, the story of who Pazuzu Algarad really was and what he represented within the community of Clemmons, NC was unknown until the premiere of a 5-part documentary series called “The Devil You Know”.

Through the combined efforts of filmmakers, journalists and local newspaper reporters, the real story of Pazuzu Algarad began to unfold. Interviews with neighbors and friends paint a picture of a troubled young man who fell through the cracks of every protective system designed to stop bad things from happening.

Listen in as we tell the story of the grossest house in NC and how a community systematically failed to prevent it from becoming a graveyard.

References:

“The Devil You Know” documentary. Directed by Patricia Gillespie, narration by Chad Nance, Viceland/ViceTV,  August 2019.

Nance, Chad. “John Pazuzu Lawson…The Boogey Man Cometh”. Camel City Dispatch, October 6, 2014.

McDowell, Ian. “Devil in Pazuzu Algarad case wasn’t Satan: Viceland Miniseries criticizes Forsyth law enforcement”. Yes Weekly, August 27, 2019.

Chad and Carissa’s upcoming work:

“Life in the Sacrifice Zone” documentary. Anticipated release in late 2021. Trailer: https://youtu.be/qTcCybFHtFo

“America’s Hometown” documentary. Currently in post-production.

Special thanks to Chad Nance for answering our questions.