Episodes
Monday Oct 30, 2023
Thames Torso Mysteries: London in the Shadow of the Ripper
Monday Oct 30, 2023
Monday Oct 30, 2023
For over a century, 19th century criminal history has been dominated by a single name. With his murders so violent, his acts so senseless, his victims so vulnerable and his legacy so profound, Jack the Ripper is as synonymous with Victorian London as the Queen herself. But whilst Jack was busy ripping, there was another series of murders being carried out that were equally as gruesome, executed by a killer equally as mysterious and whose story shared all the same traits of the Ripper, though despite it all, it is a story that has forever remained in the shadow of Jack, whose reign of terror consumed everything in its path, relegating all other mysteries to the back pages, for well over a hundred years.SOURCES
Hebbert, Charles A. (1889) An Exercise in Forensic Medicine.
Trow, M. J. (2011) The Thames Torso Murders. Pen & Sword Books, LTD. Yorkshire, UK.
Stubley, Peter (2012) 1888: London Murders in the Year of the Ripper. The History Press, Gloucestershire, UK.
The London Evening Standard (1887) To-Days Telegrams. The London Evening Standard, Wed 11 May 1887, p4. London, UK.
Bradford Daily Telegraph (1887) The Rainham Mystery. Bradford Daily Telegraph, Mon 16 May 1887, p3. Bradford, UK.
Essex Newsman (1887) Horrible Discovery At Rainham. Essex Newsman, Sat 21 May 1887, London, UK.
Essex Standard (1887) The Rainham Mystery. Essex Newsman, Sat 13 Aug 1887, London, UK.
Tavistock Gazette (1888) A Thames Mystery. Tavistock Gazette, Fri 14 Sep 1888, Tavistock, UK.
Daily Telegraph & Courier (1888) The Whitehall Murder. Daily Telegraph & Courier, Wed 3 Oct 1888, London, UK.
Newcastle Daily Chronicle (1888) More Remains Discovered. Newcastle Daily Chronicle, Sat 6 Oct 1888, Newcastle, UK.
Birmingham Mail (1888) The Whitehall Mystery. Birmingham Mail, Tues 9 Oct 1888, Birmingham, UK.
Tamworth Herald (1888) The Whitehall Mystery. Tamworth Herald, Sat 27 Oct 1888, Tamworth, UK.
Dundee Courier (1889) The Victim Identified. Dundee Courier, Wed 26 June 1889, Dundee, UK.
Derbyshire Courier (1889) The Battersea Mystery. Derbyshire Courier, Sat 29 June 1889, Dundee, UK.
Illustrated Police News (1889) The Latest Thames Horror. Illustrated Police News, Sat 15 June 1889, London, UK.
Northern Daily Telegraph (1889) The Inquest. Northern Daily Telegraph, Wed 11 Sep 1889, Lancashire, UK.
Glasgow Evening Post (1889) Whitechapel In Panic. Glasgow Evening Post, Tues 10 Sep 1889, Glasgow, UK.
Shields Daily Gazette (1889) The Pinchin Street Mystery. Shields Daily Gazette, Tues 24 Sep 1889, London, UK.
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For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories
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Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
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The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.
Tuesday Oct 17, 2023
Listen Now: MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries
Tuesday Oct 17, 2023
Tuesday Oct 17, 2023
Follow MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge the first 8 episodes, early and ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today.
The human body is a miracle. But when it’s not working, it can be the stuff of nightmares. On this new series from master storyteller MrBallen, we’re sharing medical horror stories and diagnostic mysteries that are surgically calibrated to make your blood run cold.
From bizarre, unheard-of diseases and miraculous recoveries to strange medical mishaps and unexplainable deaths — you’ll never hear the phrase “heart-stopping” in the same way again. MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries is a first of its kind collaboration between MrBallen and Wondery, the award-winning company behind Dr. Death. Listen Now: Wondery.fm/MBMM_DH
Tuesday Oct 17, 2023
The Ratcliffe Highway Murders of 1811
Tuesday Oct 17, 2023
Tuesday Oct 17, 2023
In 1811 a series of brutal murders on the Ratcliffe Highway in the east end of London shook the locals to the very core with their unrivalled brutality and seemingly random, everyday targets. The murders exposed a fear in the city that had been bubbling away beneath the surface for several years and made some of the first inroads into the long debate over the reform of the way the police operated throughout the country. Considered as the crime of the century and unparallelled in the fear and panic it provoked amongst the population of the city, it was only overshadowed by a group of five murders in Whitechapel during the summer and autumn of 1888, attributed to the elusive and infamous Jack the Ripper.
SOURCES
Flanders, Judith (2011) The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime. Harper Press, London, UK
James, P.D. & Critchley, T.A. (2010) The Maul and The Pear Tree. Faber & Faber, London, UK.
Phillips, Watts (1855) The Wild Tribes of London. Ward & Lock, London, UK.
King, Peter (2010) The Impact of Urbanization on Murder Rates and on the Geography of Homicide in England and Wales, 1780-1850. The Historical Journal, Vol. 53, No. 3 (SEPTEMBER 2010), pp. 671-698, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Morning Chronicle (1811) Horrid And Unparalleled Murders. Mon 9 Dec, 1811, p3. London, UK.
Morning Chronicle (1811) Depositions Before The Magistrates. Sat 21 Dec, 1811, p3. London, UK
Morning Post (1811) The Late Horrible Murders. Wed 25 Dec, 1811, p3, London, UK.
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This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, check out betterhelp.com/darkhistories to get 10% off your first month.-------
For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories
The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: http://author.to/darkhistories
Dark Histories merch is available here: https://bit.ly/3GChjk9
Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories
& Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/
Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com
or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf
The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.
Sunday Oct 01, 2023
The Lancashire Seven: Possessions, Exorcisms & Executions
Sunday Oct 01, 2023
Sunday Oct 01, 2023
In the late 1500s, Britain was, spiritually speaking, in something of a confusing place for the average citizen. With the protestant reform in full swing, many old traditions were being unceremoniously cast aside by the officials, whilst still being clung to by the public, leading to a thriving underground trade in charms and trinkets and the quiet trade of conjurers, folk healers and those ministers willing to indulge the old Catholic rituals. In Cleworth Hall, an estate manor on the outskirts of Manchester, the owner, Nicholas Starkie was forced to dig into this deep underground market, when he found his household ravaged by a host of demons. Fortunately there was an exorcist willing to help, though with his ministry as controversial as it was, it would not be long before the officials would sweep him away with all the other traditions that they felt no longer had a place in a society that was rapidly changing, seemingly at times, without a rudder.
SOURCES
Darrell, John (1600) A True Narration…. The English Secret Press, London, UK.
More, George (1600) A True Discourse…. Richard Schilders, London, UK.
Harland, John & Wilkinson, T. T. (1867) Lancashire Folk-Lore. Frederick Warne & Co. London, UK.
Almond, Philip C. (2004) Demonic Possession & Exorcism in Early Modern England. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Orchard Halliwell, James (1642) The Private Diary of Dr John Dee. John Bowyer Nichols & Son, London, UK.
Young, Francis (2014) A History of Anglican Exorcism. I.B. Tauris, London, UK.
Walsh, Brendan C. (2021) The English Exorcist: John Darrell & The Shaping of Early Modern English Protestant Demonology. Routledge, London, UK.
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This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, check out betterhelp.com/darkhistories to get 10% off your first month.-------
For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories
The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: http://author.to/darkhistories
Dark Histories merch is available here: https://bit.ly/3GChjk9
Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories
& Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/
Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com
or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf
The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.
Sunday Sep 17, 2023
The Haunting of Hinton Ampner
Sunday Sep 17, 2023
Sunday Sep 17, 2023
In an old estate situated just outside Chichester, on the South coast of England sits the HInton Ampner manor house. Rebuilt several times over its 1000 year existence, its current iteration is an innocuous brick building with little in common with the Tudor mansion that stood before and no hints to its creepy past. Once considered by the locals to be haunted, it was the site of an old gothic style haunting, a hundred years before they were all the rage of Victorian readers. Suggested by many to be the influence for Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw, the haunting of Hinton Ampner was a ghost story that took place long before its time.
SOURCES
Doubleday, Herbert Arthur (1901) A History of Hampshire & The Isle of Wight, Vol I. Victoria County History, London, UK.
Page, William (1908) A History of the County of Hampshire, Vol III. Victoria County History, London, UK.
Price, Harry (1945) Poltergeist Over England: Three Centuries of Mischievous Ghosts. Country Life Ltd. London, UK.
Parsil, Tim (2022) Certain Nocturnal Disturbances: Ghost Hunting Before the Victorians. Brom Bones Books, UK.
The Gentleman’s Magazine (1872) A Hampshite ghost Story. The Gentleman’s Magazine, v.233 1872 Jul-Dec. London, UK.
Lindley, Charles, Lord Halifax (1936) Lord Halifax’s Ghost Book. Geoffrey Bles, London, UK.
Howard, Catherine Mary (1838) Reminiscences For My Children. Charles Thurnham, London, UK.
Barnham, Richard (1870) The Life and Letters of the Rev. Richard Harris Barnham. Richard Bentley, London, UK.
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This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, check out betterhelp.com/darkhistories to get 10% off your first month.-------
For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories
The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: http://author.to/darkhistories
Dark Histories merch is available here: https://bit.ly/3GChjk9
Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories
& Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/
Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com
or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf
The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.
Wednesday Sep 06, 2023
Hypnotism & Murder: The Bloody Trunk of Eyraud & Bompard
Wednesday Sep 06, 2023
Wednesday Sep 06, 2023
Amid the opulence of Belle Époque France, a trial took place that threatened to unravel the very meaning of human legal justice. Michel Eyraud and Gabrielle Bompard, two French citizens living their lives quietly in Paris were launched into the spotlight following the discovery of a decomposing corpse, the reconstruction of a destroyed wooden trunk and an international manhunt. Whilst their names eventually disappeared into obscurity, the crime they were involved in left an indelible mark of legal history, as the first case using hypnosis as defence for murder, offering the jury the unique opportunity to not only decide the fate of the convicted, but to reshape the legal definition of free will in a courtroom forever.SOURCES
Levingston, Stephen (2014) Little Demon in the City of Light. Doubleday Publishing, London, UK.
The Daily Telegraph (1889) Paris Day By Day. The Daily Telegraph, Wed 25 Dec 1889, p5. London, UK.
The Standard (1890) The Trial of Michel Eyraud and Gabrielle Bompard. Wed 17 Dec 1890, p5. London, UK.
The Pall Mall Gazette (1890) The Extraordinary Paris Murder Trial. Thurs 18 Dec 1890, p6. London, UK.
The Pall Mall Gazette (1890) The Eyraud-Bompard Murder Trial. Fri 19 Dec 1890, p6. London, UK.
The Pall Mall Gazette (1890) The Eyraud-Bompard Murder Trial. Sat 20 Dec 1890, p5. London, UK.
The Pall Mall Gazette (1890) Eyraud-Bompard Murder Trial - Sentences. Mon 22 Dec 1890, p7. London, UK.
Corydon Hammond, D. (2013) A Review of the History of Hypnosis Through the 19th Century. American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, Routledge, USA.
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This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, check out betterhelp.com/darkhistories to get 10% off your first month.-------
For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories
The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: http://author.to/darkhistories
Dark Histories merch is available here: https://bit.ly/3GChjk9
Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories
& Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/
Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com
or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf
The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.
Tuesday Aug 22, 2023
The Assassination of Orléans: The Rise & Fall of a Medieval Detective
Tuesday Aug 22, 2023
Tuesday Aug 22, 2023
On the eve of the worst winter for over a century and with France on the brink of war with the English, the 1400s in Paris were a tumultuous period. With a mentally unstable king and a collection of dukes, lords and nobles all vying for power in the background, catastrophe was only a single assassination away. Which is exactly what happened on the night of St Clements Day, 1407, when the Duke of Orleans was jumped by a gang of mysterious hooded men on his way to the palace, leaving the head of the investigation with a difficult choice to make, turn a blind eye to the crime and forgo any semblance of integrity, or uphold the law and throw the country into civil war. SOURCES
Adams, Tracy & Rechtschaffen, Glenn (2013) Isabeau of Bavaria, Anne of France, and the History of Female Regency in France. Early Modern Women: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Volume 8, Fall 2013.
Jager, Eric (2014) Blood Royal: A True Tale of Crime and Detection in Medieval Paris. Little Brown & Co. NY, USA.
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This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, check out betterhelp.com/darkhistories to get 10% off your first month.-------
For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories
The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: http://author.to/darkhistories
Dark Histories merch is available here: https://bit.ly/3GChjk9
Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories
& Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/
Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com
or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf
The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.
Tuesday Aug 08, 2023
Mary Ellen MacDonald & The Haunting of Caledonia Mills
Tuesday Aug 08, 2023
Tuesday Aug 08, 2023
In the winter of 1922, a bizarre series of events fell across an isolated Nova Scotian farmhouse, leaving the locals grappling with a set of mysteries that were as terrifying as they were exciting. Unseen forces braided horses' tails and moved livestock, while bluish lights danced eerily around the property and soon, the situation escalated to a series of unexplained fires igniting within the farmhouse, forcing the occupants to flee their home amidst the harsh Canadian winter. As the press descended onto the farm, a series of investigations sought to dig deeper into the events, hoping to find answers for the phenomena and exonerate the occupants in the eyes of the locals, though their successes were mixed in their results and the answers given would prove to be inconclusive for many, leaving Canadian folklore with a new mystery.
SOURCES
Prince, Walter F. (1922) An Investigation of Poltergeist & Other Phenomena Near Antigonish. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. Volume 16. pp.422-441. ASPR. NY, USA.
Whidden, Harold B. (1922) Statement of Fact of My Experiences at the MacDonald Homestead. Self Published. Canada
Graham, Monica (2013) Fire Spook: The Mysterious Nova Scotia Haunting. Nimbus Publishing, Canada.
Colombo, John Robert (2000) Ghost Stories of Canada. Dundurn Press, Toronto, Canada.
Whidden, David Graham (1930) Genealogical Record of the Antigonish Whiddens. NS, Canada.
The Evening Mail (1922) Antigonish Farming Community Is Aroused By Mysterious Actions Believed To Be The Work Of Spooks. The Evening Mail, 19 Jan 1922. Canada.
The Evening Mail (1922) Story Of Spooks Setting Fires In Antigonish Farmers Home Confirmed. The Evening Mail, 24 Jan 1922. Canada.
The Evening Mail (1922) Eye Witnesses Tell Of Mysterious Fires In Home Of Antigonish Farmer. The Evening Mail, 25 Jan 1922. Canada.
The Evening Mail (1922) Antigonish Chief Of Police Puzzled Over Mysterious Fires. The Evening Mail, 03 Feb 1922. Canada.
The Evening Mail (1922) Where Detective And Reporter Will Live Until Mystery Is Solved. The Evening Mail, 04 Feb 1922. Canada.
The Evening Mail (1922) Detective Carroll Becomes More Mystified Over Mysterious Fires At Caledonia Mills. The Evening Mail, 06 Feb 1922. Canada.
The Evening Mail (1922) Detective And Reporter Leave For House Of Mystery As New Rumours Of FIre Origin Open Up. The Evening Mail, 07 Feb 1922. Canada.
The Evening Mail (1922) Detective And Reporter Are Mystified As They Probe Mysterious Fires And Play Forty-Fives In House Of Mystery. The Evening Mail, 11 Feb 1922. Canada.
The Evening Mail (1922) Mystery At Caledonia Mills Deepens As Detective And Reporter Get Slap. The Evening Mail, 13 Feb 1922. Canada.
The Evening Mail (1922) Detective And Reporter Driven From House Of Mystery And Move To Barn To Start Probe Into Strange Antics There. The Evening Mail, 14 Feb 1922. Canada.
The New York Times (1922) Scientist To Seek Antigonish Ghost. The New York Times, 26 Feb 1922. NY, USA.-------------
For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories
The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: http://author.to/darkhistories
Dark Histories merch is available here: https://bit.ly/3GChjk9
Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories
& Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/
Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com
or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf
The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.
Wednesday Jul 26, 2023
Mina Crandon, Scientific American & The $5000 Psychical Challenge
Wednesday Jul 26, 2023
Wednesday Jul 26, 2023
In the 1920s as the world reeled from the first world war and the great flu pandemic, people in their collective grief turned to alternative systems of belief. Spiritualism, already making a new rise, was launched into the spotlight as proponents like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle waltzed around the globe giving lectures on the benefits of communicating with the dead. At the same time, there were others who found the subject altogether distasteful. The infamous magician Houdini had a particular fondness for uncovering false mediums, a past time that would wind up causing some heavy controversy when one of America’s oldest magazines proposed a competition, to pay $2,500 to the first medium that they could prove to be genuine.
SOURCES
Jaher, David (2016) The Witch of Lime Street: Séance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World. Crown Publishing Group, NY, USA.
Conan Doyle, Arthur (1917) The New Revelation. Hodder & Stoughton LTD. UK.
Conan Doyle, Arthur (1922) The Coming of The Faeries. Hodder & Stoughton LTD. UK.
Conan Doyle, Arthur (1923) Our American Adventure. Hodder & Stoughton LTD. UK.
Kuritz, Hyman. (1981) The Popularization of Science in Nineteenth-Century America. History of Education Quarterly, 21(3), 259–274. https://doi.org/10.2307/367698
Bird, J. Malcolm. A Square Deal for the Psychics. Scientific American 127, no. 6 (1922): 388–445.
Bird, J. Malcolm. Our Psychic Investigation. Scientific American 128, no. 1 (1923): 6-7.
New York Times (1923) To test Mediums Psychic Control. Friday April 6 1923, p.10. NY, USA.
New York Times (1923) Spirit Messages Impress Scientists. Wednesday October 17 1923, p.1. NY, USA.
Bird, J. Malcolm (1923) Another Mediumistic Failure. Scientific American 129, no. 6 (1923): 6-7.
New York Times (1923) Tie Up Boy Medium; Find Trance Is Real. Wednesday December 19 1923, p.1. NY, USA.
Houdini, H (1924) “Margery” The Medium Exposed. USA
New York Times (1924) Margery Passes All Psychic tests. Wednesday July 22 1924, p.19. NY, USA.
Bird, J. Malcom (1928) The Margery mediumship. Proceedings of the American Society for Psychical Research. New York: American Society for Psychical Research. USA
Dingwall, E.J. (1928). A report on a series of sittings with the medium Margery. Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 36, 79-158.
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For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories
The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: http://author.to/darkhistories
Dark Histories merch is available here: https://bit.ly/3GChjk9
Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories
& Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/
Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com
or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf
The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.
Tuesday Jul 11, 2023
The Bussey’s Woods Ghost Mystery & The Murders of Franklin B. Evans
Tuesday Jul 11, 2023
Tuesday Jul 11, 2023
Hi everyone! Thanks for bearing with me over the short summer break! It's good to be back and I've got a cracking episode to launch into the second half of the season. This one has it all, ghosts, murder... well alright, it's got ghosts and murder, but that's not bad! It is a darker one and has some fairly brutal murdery bits, but I don't think it's especially worse than what we've seen before. Little heads up though. I hope you enjoy! In the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, lies a 281 acre wooded parkland area known as Arnold’s Arboretum. A beautiful botanical garden and research institution planted in naturalistic style, its serene park walks bely a history before its life as the arboretum, where dark events in its past stained the ground and transformed a popular picnic spot into an ugly memorial that few wished to visit. Several years later, these events in Boston found themselves tied into a story of a murderer that the contemporary press called “The most monstrous and inhuman criminal of modern times - or indeed any time,” though despite their shocking nature, they have somehow become largely forgotten, if not for a bizarre report of a ghost sighting that keeps the linked cases alive, sparking the public imagination.-------
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, check out betterhelp.com/darkhistories to get 10% off your first month.-------
SOURCES
Brent, Henry Johnson (1868) Was it a Ghost? The murders in Bussey's wood. An extraordinary narrative. Loring, USA.
Bangor Daily Whig & Courier (1865) A Terrible Tragedy In Roxbury. Bangor Daily Whig & Courier, Tuesday, 20 June 1865, p.3. USA
New York Daily Herald (1865) Horrible Tragedy In Roxbury. New York Daily Herald, Tuesday, 20 June 1865, p.8. USA
Hartford Courant (1865) Horrible Murder And Outrage. Hartford Courant, Tuesday, 20 June 1865, p.2. USA
The Burlington Free Press (1865) Tragedy In Roxbury. The Burlington Free Press, Wednesday, 21 June 1865, p.2. USA
The Enterprise & Vermonter (1865) Horrid Murder At West Roxbury, Mass. The Enterprise & Vermonter, Friday, 23 June 1865, p.2. USA
The Indianapolis Star (1865) The Roxbury Tragedy. The Indianapolis Star, Monday, 26 June 1865, p.2. USA
Boston Evening Transcript (1865) Coroner’s Inquest In The Case Of The Murdered Children. Boston Evening Transcript, Tuesday, 27 June 1865, p.4. USA
Boston Evening Transcript (1865) Reward. Boston Evening Transcript, Wednesday, 28 June 1865, p.3. USA
The Buffalo Commercial (1865) Arrest Of The Supposed Murderer Of The Joyce Children. The Buffalo Commercial, Wednesday, 12 July 1865, p.2. USA
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (1865) AIsabella Joyce - The Late Boston Tragedy. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Friday, 14 July 1865, p.1. USA
Boston Evening Transcript (1865) The Recent Tragedy In West Roxbury. Boston Evening Transcript, Wednesday, 19 July 1865, p.4. USA
New York Daily Herald (1865) The Roxbury Tragedy. New York Daily Herald, Friday, 21 July 1865, p.8. USA
Boston Evening Transcript (1865) The West Roxbury Tragedy. Boston Evening Transcript, Monday, 24 July 1865, p.3. USA
DeWolfe, Byron (1872) Georgiana Lovering, Or The Northwood Tragedy. New Hampshire, USA.
Spirit of the Age (1874) Franklin B. Evans. Spirit of the Age, Thursday 26 February 1874, p.3, USA.
Brown, Janice (2004) Early History of Town of Strafford, Strafford County, New Hampshire. USA.
St Johnsbury Caledonian (1873) The New Hampshire Murder. St Johnsbury Caledonian, Friday 14 February 1843, p.2. USA.
Lewis, John B. (1896) Stratagems and conspiracies to defraud life insurance companies. J. H. McLellan, USA.
Schecter, Harold (2012) Psycho USA, Famous American Killers You Never Heard Of. Ballantine Books, USA.
Boston Evening Transcript (1872) A Young Girl Outraged And Murdered By Her Uncle. Boston Evening Transcript, Monday, 04 November 1872, p.1. USA
The Boston Globe (1872) The Northwood Tragedy. The Boston Globe, Friday, 08 November 1872, p.5. USA
The Argus & Patriot (1872) Summary Of News. The Argus & Patriot, Thursday, 14 November 1872, p.5. USA
North Star (1872) The Northwood Murder. North Star, Friday 29 November 1872, p.2. USA.
Boston Evening Transcript (1873) The Northwood, N.H, Murder. Monday 03 February 1873, p.4. USA.
Boston Evening Transcript (1873) The Murder Trial At Exeter, N.H.. Tuesday 04 February 1873, p.4. USA.
Boston Evening Transcript (1873) The Murder Trial At Exeter, N.H.. Wednesday 05 February 1873, p.4. USA.
Rutland Independent (1873) Confessions Of Evans. Rutland Independent, Saturday 08 February 1873. P.8. USA
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The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.
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