Episodes
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Happy Halloween! Here's a spooky little treat of an episode about seances, Ouija boards, and famous people in history who have believed in them (and were institutionalized because of it).
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Today I’d like to tell you the tale of a woman minding her own business in the woods. She became the town scapegoat, and eventually, the hysteria and ignorance of her neighbors took her life.
Meade County, Kentucky is a small hamlet that packs a massive supernatural punch. In terms of dark tourism, this county boasts everything from sightings of Bigfoot, giants, a headless horseman, mysterious runes, and of course, a witch whose ghost still haunts the woods.
SOURCES
Women as witches: past, present and future; By Dr Charlotte-Rose Millar
https://weirdmeadecounty6.wordpress.com/
The Battletown Witch; By Gerald Fischer
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The mother of modern sci-fi, Mary Shelley, had a life as interesting as the timeless fiction she created. A woman ahead of her time, her greatest work was an allegory for the struggles and tragedies of her own life, as well as a commentary on the politics of the time.
Trigger warning: miscarriage, infant death
SOURCES
The Lady and Her Monsters: A Tale of Dissections, Real-Life Dr. Frankensteins, and the Creation of Mary Shelley's Masterpiece; by Roseanne Montillo
SLAVERY AND RACE IN FRANKENSTEIN; A VERSION OF THIS ESSAY WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AS JASON M. KELLY, “SLAVERY AND RACE IN FRANKENSTEIN,” INDIANA HUMANITIES ONE STATE / ONE STORY: COMMUNITY READ PROGRAM GUIDE, VERSION 5 (20 MARCH 2018
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Wollstonecraft-Shelley
The Afterlife of Frankenstein: A Century of Mad Science, Automata, and Monsters Inspired by Mary Shelley, 1818-1918 (Clockwork Editions); by David Sandner (Editor)
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Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is known as the location of one of the largest, most expensive, and deadliest battles of the American Civil War. There were an estimated 50,000 casualties during the bloody days at Gettysburg, and the nightmare of that battle never ended for some of the poor souls killed there. Some believe that the souls of those who suffered there may still roam across the hallowed grounds of the battlefield and throughout the town.
SOURCES
Ghosts of Gettysburg: Spirits, Apparitions and Haunted Places of the Battlefield – January 1, 1991; by Mark Nesbitt
https://www.gettysburgbattlefieldtours.com/the-ghosts-of-gettysburg/
https://destinationgettysburg.com/trip-ideas/a-day-in-haunted-gettysburg/
https://gettysburgmuseumofhauntedobjects.com/
https://www.travelchannel.com/interests/history/articles/ghosts-of-gettysburg
https://usghostadventures.com/category/haunted-cities/gettysburgs-most-haunted/
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Can a whole town be cursed? The small village of Dudleytown in Connecticut, part of the Cornwall township, has experienced a series of unfortunate events since its inception in 1747. Bouts of insanity, suicides, and murder have plagued the city throughout its short history. Perhaps the Dark Entry Forest surrounding the village drove its people to madness.
Or so the legend goes…
SOURCES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudleytown,_Connecticut#:~:text=Rumors%20and%20vandalism,-Dudleytown%20is%20said&text=From%20that%20moment%20on%2C%20the,violent%20deaths%20in%20the%20village.
https://web.archive.org/web/20131225230849/http://www.legendofdudleytown.com/maryob.gif
https://www.nytimes.com/1980/10/26/archives/connecticut-weekly-a-lost-town-populated-by-legends.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20130515214659/http://www.legendofdudleytown.com/morex2.html
https://www.americanhauntingsink.com/dudleytown
https://usghostadventures.com/haunted-stories/americas-most-haunted-east/the-curse-of-dudleytown/
https://wokq.com/have-you-heard-of-this-haunted-new-england-town-thats-closed-to-the-public/
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You might be mistaken if you think you know the whole story of the Son of Sam. David Berkowitz, also known as Son of Sam and the .44 Caliber Killer, terrorized the New York City area from July 1976 to July 1977. Berkowitz killed six people and wounded seven, most using a .44 caliber Bulldog revolver. Since his conviction, Berkowitz has made a lot of outlandish claims, but his claim that he didn’t act alone in his murder spree might just be true.
SOURCES
The New York Times Archives; November 2, 1981, Section D, Page 14
The Ultimate Evil: An Investigation into a Dangerous Satanic Cult – January 21, 1988; by Maury Terry
https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-the-sismanplatzman-murders/40656676/?locale=en-US
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/son-of-sam-denied-parole-serial-killer-david-berkowitz/
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Death ceremonies and traditions around the world often have a similar central purpose, regardless of the religion, sect, or geography of the people. That central purpose is community. From Victorian Era romanticizing of death to sky burials, there's an option for us all.
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In the late 1970s, professor Dr. Charles Scudder and his companion Joey Odom left their lives in Chicago behind for simpler lives in the mountains of Georgia. There, they built their home by hand and furnished it with occult books and symbology. They frequently welcomed guests into their Pink Room for "parties." Eventually, the wrong person was let in, and tragic consequences followed.
SOURCES
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/114723296/joseph_d-odomThe Corpsewood Manor Murders in North Georgia - Amy Petulla (2016)
Atlanta Constitution articles
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The 1830 murder of one of Salem's wealthiest octogenarians both stunned and captivated the public. At the trials of the accused, which featured the legendary orator Daniel Webster, a convoluted murder-for-hire plot unfolded. The details of the trial inspired such works of fiction as "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Scarlett Letter", with the ghost of Captain White still making himself known to visitors.
SOURCES
https://salempl.org/captain-joseph-white/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-murder-in-salem-64885035/
The Murder of Captain Joseph White: Salem, Massachusetts, 1830Walker Lewis; American Bar Association Journal; Vol. 54, No. 5 (MAY 1968), pp. 460-466 (7 pages); Published By: American Bar Association
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During a massive storm on November 29, 1980, Granger Taylor left a note for his parents to find. It said that he had gone to board an alien spaceship after recurring dreams had told him he was going to embark on a 42-month interstellar journey. That night, Granger Taylor vanished. Both his family and the police spent months searching for him, but no one could uncover any leads on where he could be.
SOURCES
Spaceman; CBC Documentary
https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/episodes/spaceman
https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/features/bcs-granger-taylor-left-a-note-saying-he-was-boarding-an-alien-spaceship
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Granger_Taylor
https://www.vice.com/en/article/yvwjkv/the-man-who-went-to-space-and-disappeared-the-story-of-granger-taylor
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The Fresno Nightcrawler is a cryptid that resembles a pair of legs draped in white fabric and not much else. While the sightings might immediately scream “hoax”, there are at least two instances of it being captured on video. Is there really a haunted pair of pants out there or is the Fresno Nightcrawler just another clickbait story?
SOURCES
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzlf8rNyuxk
George, Carmen (October 19, 2018). "Bigfoot, Chupacabra, and … Fresno Nightcrawler? Walking pants bring Fresno freaky fame".
The Fresno Bee. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files - Unwanted Visitors / Strange Sightings
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When typically reliable Al Kite failed to show up for work on May 24, 2004, his co-workers called his emergency contact who, in turn, called the Aurora, CO police. What they believed to be a welfare check turned into a gruesome murder investigation that became more confusing with each detail they uncovered.
SOURCES
https://www.denver7.com/news/crime/murder-of-aurora-man-remains-unsolved-15-years-later-but-police-still-believe-renter-killed-himhttps://apps.colorado.gov/apps/coldcase/casedetail.html?id=193https://www.oxygen.com/the-dna-of-murder-with-paul-holes/crime-news/paul-holes-investigates-colorado-murder-of-oakey-alhttps://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Robert_Cooperhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25163639/oakey-albert-kitehttps://www.fbi.gov/wanted/vicap/homicides-and-sexual-assaults/victim-oakey-al-kite-jrhttps://www.denverpost.com/2019/11/05/al-kite-jr-dna-of-murder-with-paul-holes/
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In the early morning hours of March 24, 2012, Molly Young drove to her ex-boyfriend’s apartment after receiving numerous calls and texts asking for help. The next morning, she was found in his room, on the floor next to his bed, with a gunshot wound to her head. Her death has initially ruled a suicide, but was amended to “undetermined”. The evidence is murky and circumstantial, but seems to heavily lean toward Molly having taken her own life, but is that the case?
SOURCES
Justice For Molly, Facebook Page
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/thesouthern/name/molly-young-obituary?id=25592779https://casetext.com/case/young-v-minton-1https://www.isba.org/ibj/2016/09/lawpulse/mollyslawgivessomewrongfuldeathclai
https://media.crimewatchdaily.com/2017/11/07/mollyyoung-death-investigation-illinois-states-attorney-appellate-prosecutor.pdf
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John Bodkin Adams was a British general practitioner, more than 160 of whose patients died under suspicious circumstances. Many of them just so happened to be very wealthy women and some 132 patients left him money or gifts when they died. Rumors started that Adams was killing them with drugs, but many of their bodies had been cremated before a post-mortem was conducted. Was Dr. Adams a serial killer or was he just a terrible doctor?
SOURCES
A Stranger in Blood: The Story of Dr Bodkin Adams; by Pamela Cullen
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On March 26, 1997, a tip from a former member led police to a grizzly discovery: 39 decomposing bodies in a San Diego mansion. The Heaven’s Gate massacre was the largest mass suicide that had ever taken place on US soil.
SOURCES
Heaven's Gate: America's UFO Religion; By Benjamin Zeller
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On August 23, 1912, Percy and Lessie Dunbar loaded their two young sons and left their Opelousas home for a camping trip at nearby Swayze Lake. Four-year-old Bobby Dunbar wandered away from the family’s tent and disappeared that night. During a search, a boy matching Bobby’s age and description was found. Assuming this was the missing boy, “Bobby” was returned to the Dunbar family despite protests from a woman claiming to be the boy’s mother.
SOURCES
A Case for Solomon: Bobby Dunbar and the Kidnapping That Haunted a Nation Hardcover – August 14, 2012; by Tal McThenia (Author), Margaret Dunbar Cutright (Author)
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/this-american-book-a-case_b_1756592?utm_hp_ref=bookshttps://www.dail
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The idea of life after death has confounded humans since the beginning of time. While it is truly impossible to know, endless theories have been proposed to lessen the blow of what is, quite possibly, nothingness after death. Reincarnation is one such possibility. The strange case of the Pollock twins is still cited as a credible instance of reincarnation.
SOURCES
Books cited within the episode
https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/wp-content/uploads/sites/360/2016/12/STE17.pdf
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In October 2009, the Jamison family disappeared after touring a plot of land in Oklahoma. Days later, their abandoned pickup truck was found in a remote area of the Ouachita National Forest. Inside they found an odd assortment of items, along with their dog. There was no sign of the family.
SOURCES
https://www.enidnews.com/archives/found-remains-could-belong-to-missing-okla-family/article_082dab1f-6fa7-5586-90b6-bdfd60095352.htmlhttps://www.newson6.com/story/5e3669372f69d76f62079d9b/eufaula-familys-disappearance-still-a-mystery-one-year-later
https://okcfox.com/archive/missing-family-mystery-expands-thanks-to-video-and-anonymous-tipster
https://guardianlv.com/2013/11/missing-oklahoma-family-demons-and-drugs/
https://www.koco.com/article/latimer-county-skeletal-remains-identified-as-missing-eufaula-family/4299050
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One evening in late September 1937, Charles S. Ross, the wealthy president of a greeting card company, was driving toward Chicago when he was pulled over and kidnapped at gunpoint by a pair of criminals. The ensuing investigation became one of the largest for the young FBI. The plot did not end well for Ross and one of the men who abducted him.
SOURCES
Seadlund v. United States, 97 F.2d 742 (7th Cir. 1938)
https://www.newspapers.com/article/marshfield-news-herald-charles-ross-chic/14593916/?locale=en-US
https://www.nytimes.com/1938/07/14/archives/seadlund-dies-in-chair-kidnapper-of-c-s-ross-pays-penalty-in.html
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In 2002, investigators made a horrendous discovery at the Tri-State Crematory in Noble, Georgia. The owner had not cremated bodies that had been entrusted to him, but instead had dumped or buried them on the property. In all, 339 bodies were found on the 16-acre property. No explanation has been given as to why the bodies were not cremated.
SOURCES
Noble, a podcast by Shuan Raviv; Wavland Media
https://casetext.com/case/in-re-tri-state-crematory-litigation-3
https://www.lieffcabraser.com/pdf/tri-state-complaint.pdf
https://www.cremationassociation.org/cremationprocess.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20110718010013/http://www.wdef.com/node/2478
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