Morbid

In the winter of 1998, a general practitioner in Manchester, England, noticed that one of her colleagues, Dr. Harold Shipman, appeared to have an unusually high death rate among his elderly female patients. An inquiry was opened into the matter, but it went nowhere and was quickly closed with no finding of wrongdoing. Then, in August, another accusation was leveled at Shipman: he was responsible for killing more than twenty of his patients. This time, the inquiry was taken more seriously and the reality was far worse than anyone could have imagined.

Weirdos! It's almost HalloWEEEEEEEEN! So grab your pillowcase, don your spookiest costume, and get ready to be treated to some iconic listener tales! To celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, Deb has curated a batch of spooky tales that are BY you FOR you and ALL ABOUT YOU! Don't forget to check out the YOUTUBE version to fully experience the iconic costumes, because Ash & Alaina are serving this month! If you’ve got a listener tale please send it to Deb by emailing us at Morbidpodcast@gmail.com with “Listener Tales” somewhere in the subject line, and if you share pictures, please let us know if we can share them with fellow weirdos! :)

On the evening of December 13, 2020, twenty-one-year-old Texas State University student Jason Landry left his apartment in San Marcos, TX headed in the direction of his parents in Missouri City. Several hours later, just after midnight, a firefighter discovered Jason’s wrecked car along the side of a rural road several miles from his destination—the lights were still on and the keys still in the ignition, but there was no sign of Jason anywhere.

Spooky Season wouldn’t be complete without a visit from astrologer, author, and friend Aliza Kelly! She takes us on a cosmic deep dive to unravel another of history’s most chilling mysteries: the Axeman of New Orleans! We discuss the killer’s reign of terror, the haunting details surrounding the case, and how astrology offers cosmic perspective on this dark chapter in history.

In the spring of 2001, single father Steven LaChance moved his family from a cramped apartment to a spacious house in Union, Missouri. The house was intended to be a new start for the family, but before long their excitement turned to dread as life in the new house became a nightmare. Within weeks of moving into the house, Steven and his children began experiencing strange and unexplainable phenomena. Lights turned on and off by themselves, temperatures fluctuated wildly from room to room, and there was an ever-present feeling of being watched. In time, whatever entity lived in the house began focusing its malevolent attention on the children, exploiting their fears and terrifying them night after night. After several months, the LaChance family couldn’t tolerate the home anymore and moved out but, little did Steven know, that was only the beginning of his journey into the paranormal.

On May 2, 1933, the Harwich Center School received a telephone call from the father of ten-year-old Peggy McMath, a student at the school. Mr. McMath informed them that he was sending a driver to pick up his daughter and he expected her to be ready. However, when the driver showed up, Peggy didn’t recognize the man and was hesitant to get into the car. In response, the driver of the car, Kenneth Buck, grabbed the girl, threw her in the car, and drove off before anyone could stop him. This month's Bonus Episode is #sponsored by our friends at @netflixfilm and their riveting film release ANIMALS! Haven’t watched the film yet? Check it out NOW on @netflix!”

For as long as human beings have been locking one another up in cages or dungeons, there have been other human beings scheming and strategizing ways to escape their cells and break free of their prisons. More often than not, their attempts prove futile and they’re recaptured, their punishments extended and the conditions of their surroundings made worse. But in their experiences with freedom, however brief they may be, the escapee becomes legendary, their exploits going on to be told and retold in books, films, and songs long after the prisoner has passed away.  While some prison breaks—like those of the wrongfully incarcerated or unduly punished—can be justified and go on to be romanticized, others are less romantic or exciting and can even lead to deadly outcomes. And yet, no matter the circumstances and outcomes, each one can tell us something about the system and culture responsible for the initial sentence and subsequent escape. Here is the first volume of this fascinating subject!

In February 1938, thirty-four-year-old housewife Alma Fielding went to the press with an amazing story: her home in the London suburb of Croydon was haunted. According to Alma, objects would fly off the shelves without the aid of human hands, the family was constantly under assault from unseen forces, and on multiple occasions, they found a six-fingered handprint on a mirror. It was through a local clergyman that paranormal investigator Nandor Fodor learned of Alma’s haunting and he was immediately interested in the family. As a member of the International Institute for Psychical Research, Fodor had recently come under attack from the Spiritualist community, who saw him as nothing more than a cynic, and he was looking for precisely this kind of case to reestablish himself as a believer. However, after several months studying Alma and the haunting of the Fielding home, Fodor found himself at the center of a story far more complex than he’d ever expected.

Throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century, as America spread westward, industrial tycoons made a fortune building out the nation’s infrastructure, and growing their already substantial wealth in the process. In St. Louis, Missouri, one of those tycoons was Adam Lemp, whose Western Brewery was among the most productive and prosperous breweries in America. Following Adam’s death, the brewery was passed down to his son, William, starting a dynasty that would last nearly a century.  It seems that, when Lemp passed the business on, he may have also passed on something far more insidious to his descendants that would mark the Lemp family for tragedy. In the decades that followed, the Lemp family suffered one tragic death after another, each one playing out in the Benton Park mansion where the Lemps resided. For more than a century, the residents of St. Louis have wondered who—or what—resided in the mansion that caused so much misfortune, and whether the spirits of the Lemps still walk the halls.

Weirdos! We’re continuing the most wonderful time of the year with a truly iconic guest that you have been asking for: Matthew Lillard!! He joins us to talk shop about his current projects as well as his incredible body of work, all the while proving that he is human charisma with a little bit of chaos sprinkled on top! We honestly haven’t laughed this much during an episode EVER! In the episode, we chat about his upcoming Amazon Prime series Carrie where he rejoins the Flanaverse! It’s INCREDIBLY well acted, written, and directed! So prepare yourself to stream your next Spooky Season hyperfixation and appreciate the countless brilliant performances in this incredible adaptation of the Stephen King classic! We also dive into his resume (Scream, Thir13en Ghosts, Life of Chuck, The Curve, Five Nights At Freddie’s, Serial Mom, Scooby Doo, The Descendants ) and talk about why he is loving this latest chapter in his life! Catch Carrie on Amazon Prime on October 7th! We promise you will be as obsessed with it as we are! Check out Find Familiar Spirits, featuring their Ghost Face Blood Orange Killer Collection Box Set as well the GORGEOUS Macabre Spirits boxes featuring the perfect pairing of spirits, art and current voices in horror!

In the early-to-mid 1870s, as interest in Spiritualism and psychic mediums swept the United States, William and Horatio Eddy, two enterprising brothers from the tiny village of Chittenden, Vermont, made headlines for their supposed psychic abilities. In time, the brothers attracted the attention of the movement’s biggest names including Henry Olcott and Helena Blavatsky, until 1875, when allegations of fraud destroyed their massive popularity.

Weirdos! It’s back to school time, so grab some lunch money, don’t forget your homework, and meet us at the bus stop for some listener tales! This time, Deb has collected some scholarly tales that that will have you freaked out AND cackling with laughter. OH! And these tales are BY you FOR you and ALL ABOUT YOU!! Check out the YOUTUBE version is packed with extra Nicholas footage! If you’ve got a listener tale please send it to Deb by emailing us at morbidpodcast@gmail.com with “Listener Tales” somewhere in the subject line, and if you share pictures, please let us know if we can share them with fellow weirdos! :)

Weirdos! We are stoked to bring you this special Bonus MORBID BOOK CLUB episode, #sponsored by our friends at @ashleyofficial ! This month we are joined by the incredible Richard Chizmar to chat about his upcoming release, Killing the Boogeyman available everywhere on 10/6/2026! Richard takes us behind the scenes of the writing process of this series that blends memoir and horror, talks about ticking of not one- BUT TWO dream collaborations off of his bucket list, and what it’s like to spend YEARS willingly inviting the Boogeyman into your brain! #ashleypartner

When sixteen-year-old Anneliese Michel began having seizures and hallucinations in 1968, her parents took her to a doctor, who diagnosed Anneliese with temporal lobe epilepsy and depression and recommended psychiatric treatment. Two years later, however, her delusions and hallucinations returned, manifesting in the form of “devil faces” and voices that telling her she was evil and would be going to hell. Believing the treatment wasn’t working and fearing Anneliese was possessed by demons, Anneliese’s family arranged for her to be visited by a local Jesuit priest, who confirmed their fear: Anneliese was possessed and the only way to save her soul was an exorcism. After nearly fifty years, the exorcism of Anneliese Michel still stands as one of the most shocking and harrowing stories of supposed demonic possession and exorcism in history—not only because it resulted in a woman’s death, but because it also resulted in the prosecution of her exorcists. Yet with all the information that has been released about the case, no one seems to know what really happened to Anneliese Michel.

When sixteen-year-old Anneliese Michel began having seizures and hallucinations in 1968, her parents took her to a doctor, who diagnosed Anneliese with temporal lobe epilepsy and depression and recommended psychiatric treatment. Two years later, however, her delusions and hallucinations returned, manifesting in the form of “devil faces” and voices that telling her she was evil and would be going to hell. Believing the treatment wasn’t working and fearing Anneliese was possessed by demons, Anneliese’s family arranged for her to be visited by a local Jesuit priest, who confirmed their fear: Anneliese was possessed and the only way to save her soul was an exorcism.

In the early morning hours of April 27, 1913, a night watchman at the National Pencil Company in Atlanta, GA, found the body of thirteen-year-old former factory worker Mary Phagan in a basement room of the factory. Mary had been sexually assaulted and strangled, a strip of fabric from her coat still around her neck when she was discovered, and there were two cryptic notes found near the body. Given where Mary was discovered, it was assumed the killer was familiar with the layout of the factory and was either a current or former employee. Just one day later, suspicion fell on two factory employees, a night watchman, Newt Lee, and the factory’s superintendent, twenty-nine-year-old Leo Frank. In time, investigators ruled Lee out, leaving Leo frank as the sole suspect in the girl’s murder. To many, the arrest, prosecution, and failed appeals of Leo Frank had more to do with him being Jewish than they did his being the most likely suspect, but the real outrage was yet to come. Indeed, two years after Phagan’s death and Leo Frank’s conviction, the people of Atlanta would commit an act of extrajudicial violence that would forever stain the conscience of Georgia.

Anyone with any knowledge of his disappearance is encouraged to reach out to the family through their 24/7 tip line at 844-602-0660, or to the Buckeye Police Department at 623-349-6411. When twenty-four-year-old geologist Daniel Robinson left work on the morning of June 23, 2021, no one knew where he was going or why he was leaving work so early; they only noticed that he was driving west, further into the desert. The unexpected departure was out of character for Robinson, so when he failed to return that afternoon and no one had heard from him outside of work, his disappearance was reported to the police.   Days soon turned to weeks and there was still no sign of Daniel. Then, in late July, a month after he went missing, Daniel’s Jeep was found rolled over and crashed in a ravine some distance from the job site. The airbags in the car had both deployed and there was significant damage to the vehicle, but there was no sign of Daniel Robinson, turning a relatively routine missing person case into a bizarre mystery that remains unsolved to this day.

By the time Michael Peterson went to trial, the case had attracted national attention, particularly after details about his personal life came to light, particularly his numerous affairs with men. The case gained even more attention when it was learned that, in 1985, Michael Peterson’s friend Elizabeth Ratliff died under very similar circumstances to those of his wife.  With significant evidence against him and no compelling argument for his innocence, Michael Peterson was found guilty of his wife’s murder in 2003. But, as it turned out, that was hardly the end of the story.

When Kathleen Peterson died in December 2001, it was assumed her death had been the result of an accidental fall down the stairs after combining alcohol and Valium. However, within a few weeks, suspicion fell on Kathleen’s husband, Michael, after the medical examiner concluded that Kathleen’s injuries were consistent with assault, not an accidental fall. By the time Michael Peterson went to trial, the case had attracted national attention, particularly after details about his personal life came to light. The case gained even more attention when it was learned that, in 1985, Michael Peterson’s friend Elizabeth Ratliff died under very similar circumstances to those of his wife.

When Tina Bowen and her sister, Karen, began hearing knocking in the walls of their home in Pepperell, Massachusetts, the girls believed it was their recently deceased mother trying to reach out to them from beyond the grave. In time, however, the knocking became more intrusive and aggressive, and it was soon accompanied by objects being moved around the house and frightening messages left on the walls. After months of torment, the Bowens discovered that it wasn’t a ghost haunting their home, but sixteen-year-old Daniel LaPlante, a boy Tina had briefly dated and who’d become obsessed with her. Daniel LaPlante was arrested and charged with various crimes, for which he was convicted and served a sentence in a juvenile detention center. Unfortunately, the court’s decision to try LaPlante as an adult meant that he was granted bail and after just one year in detention, he was bailed out and allowed to live with his mother pending trial. It turned out that brief period of freedom was all the time LaPlante needed to find a new object of his obsession and by the time the police learned of his violent intentions, it was already too late.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Stamford, Connecticut was terrorized by a killer who was strangling women and leaving their bodies by the side of the parkway. After four years and five confirmed victims, police arrested a local self-proclaimed preacher named Benjamin Miller, bringing the murders to an end and closing the case on what the press had dubbed the Bra Murders—or so they thought. From the moment Miller was arrested, there were some in the community who questioned whether the police had arrested the right man or if they’d simply chosen Miller as a scapegoat. Among other things, Miller had a long history of mental illness and, although he had initially confessed to the murders, he eventually recanted his confession and claimed that detectives had manipulated him into confessing. To this day, many Connecticut residents still wonder whether Benjamin Miller was really responsible for the Bra Murders, or if the real killer was allowed to walk free.

Weirdos! For August's BONUS EPISODE we are focusing on an entity that has MANY faces and wears MANY hats: The bogeyman! For as long as people have been telling stories, these supernatural beings have been lurking in the woods, or in the dark alleys, or under the bed. They might look different depending on the culture they come from, or be called by another name, but their function in society is consistent: to invoke fear!

Weirdos! Grab your PJ's, some Aqua Net, and your favorite blue eye shadow and get ready to burn the midnight oil with us! This time, Deb has found 90's tales that will ensure that you're not the first to fall asleep at the slumber party... OH! And these tales are BY you FOR you and ALL ABOUT YOU juuuuust in case you were wondering! Don't forget to check out the YOUTUBE version is packed with extra Nicholas footage! If you’ve got a listener tale please send it to Deb by emailing us at Morbidpodcast@gmail.com with “Listener Tales” somewhere in the subject line, and if you share pictures, please let us know if we can share them with fellow weirdos! :)

When Ellie Green left her house on the night of June 19, 2019, she thought she and her mother would continue their conversation the following day. However, Ellie says that she was shocked to discover that, just four days later, her father had her mother committed to a psychiatric hospital and she wouldn’t be allowed to see her. She was even more shocked when, a month later, she says that she was told that her mother had died from a stroke while in the hospital. Devastated by her mother's death, Ellie wanted an explanation of how someone so young could suddenly die, but each question was met with vague and confusion answers. This was just the beginning of the mystery surrounding her mother's disappearance. If anyone has any information about Angela Green’s disappearance, investigators urge them to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS. Information can also be sent to Steve Ridge directly at (319) 573-0657 or steveridge40@gmail.com.

After killing his family in the winter of 1971, John List went on the run, initiating a worldwide manhunt that would last nearly twenty years before he was finally apprehended. In that time, the List case would become one of the largest and most notorious investigations since the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby.

In early December 1971, after a month of watching the lightbulbs in the List house slowly burn out one after another, neighbors finally became concerned about the List family and called the Westfield, NJ police to report their suspicions. Acting on the calls, officers arrived at house on the morning of December 7 to perform a wellbeing check, and when no one answered the door, they managed to gain access to the house through a basement window.

Today we are revisiting the tragic case of Molly Bish and combing it with the followup episode with Molly's sister, Heather.

Weirdos! We're revisiting Whitechapel in this MASSIVE episode which includes all 5 episodes of Alaina's Roman Empire, Jack the Ripper!

This Bonus Episode is brought to YOU by our friends at State Farm! Weirdos!! Get ready to return to Forks for the epic conclusion of our MORBID recap of the Twilight franchise! Today we're diving into Breaking Dawn (Part 2) and part 3 of the book, and what a gift it is! Bella is the BEST at everything, even though her selfishness gets the Cullens in hot water AGAIN! Jacob is the new creep on the block with his imprinting escapades. And the Volturi are walking... I guess? Prepare yourself for Alaina's masterful impression of Bella's singsong voice, worry with Ash about dear Charlie's heart health, and join us as we attempt to untangle the host of inconsistencies that had us angry, confused or howling with laughter! Grab the nearest tissue box and prepare to cry-laugh with us!

On the morning of March 20, 1995, millions of rush hours commuters boarded trains across Tokyo, just as they countless other mornings. Unbeknownst to those millions of riders, five of those trains were carrying large quantities of a nerve agent called Sarin, a colorless, odorless liquid that, when released into the air, can cause extreme respiratory problems and eventually death. As the trains traveled to their respective destinations through the underground system, the bags of Sarin became punctured and released the gas into the packed trains cars and within seconds, the first victims began dropping to floor, choking and vomiting. The Tokyo gas attacks killed thirteen people and injured nearly 6,000 others, and they remain the worst case of domestic terrorism in Japan’s history. Yet beyond the obvious trauma of the incident, the attack has left a deep wound in the nation’s psyche. When the perpetrators of the attack, a doomsday cult known as Aum Shinrikyo, were apprehended, the nation was shocked that a small religious cult had managed to cause such tremendous damage. Even now, thirty years later, the impact of Aum Shinrikyo and the sarin gas attacks are still felt around Japan.

Weirdos! We are 7 days away from PUB DAY for THE BUTCHER LEGACY, and we're celebrating with a special sneak peak of the audio title! We are thrilled to introduce you to the newest member of the Cast, Cary Hite, who is narrating for Detective John Leroux! Keep an eye on Instagram for additional clips with Sophie Amoss and Joe Knezevich!

When a realtor entered the Toronto home of Barry and Honey Sherman on December 15, 2017, she expected the couple to be out of town and the house to be empty. The agent showed a young couple around the massive home, room by room, and when they reached the bottom floor, where the pool was located, they found the bodies of the Shermans. It took multiple autopsies and significant advocacy from the family, but eventually the Sherman’s deaths were labeled a homicide. But the question remained, who would have wanted to kill the older couple, and if not for money, why?

For this month's bonus episode, we are joined by one of our favorite storytellers, Aaron Mahnke of Lore Podcast, to discuss his upcoming book Exhumed: Unearthing the History of the American Vampire. We discuss this fascinating book which dives into one of history's strangest rabbit holes: the New England vampire panic. We touch on the tragic story of Mercy Brown, corpse medicine, pseudoscience, folklore, and the very real fears that led ordinary people to do some truly diabolical things! Aaron shares the inspiration for the book, some unconventional home theft deterrents, and talks about his favorite moments from his incredible podcast!

Weirdos! Let's pack up the MORBID family station wagon and get ready to go on a little vacation! This time, Deb has found vacation tales that will have you freaked out AND cackling with laughter. OH! And these tales are BY you FOR you and ALL ABOUT YOU! So, buckle your seatbelt and hold onto your butts, friends! Check out the YOUTUBE version is packed with extra Nicholas footage!

After Lorenna Bobbitt’s husband John sexually assaulted her at their home in Virginia in the summer of 1993, she retaliated by waiting until he was asleep, she decided to fight back. Following the attack, Lorena fled the house in her car and eventually pulled over to the side of the road to call 911 and report the incident, at which time she was arrested. Though salacious, this incident of domestic violence would likely have gone unnoticed by the rest of the American public; however, at the time, debates about domestic violence and marital rape were raging and the Bobbitt case came to serve as an example of the consequences and effects of that violence, for arguments on both sides. As a result, the Bobbitt case became one of the most high-profile criminal cases in the country—and then it became a national joke.

On the evening of December 24, 1926, a farmer in Farwell, Texas, called the sheriff to report that his neighbor, George Hassell, had been acting very strangely in recent days and he had been telling conflicting stories about the whereabouts of his family, who had been missing for several days. When the sheriff arrived at the Hassell farm, he began questioning George about where his family had gone, but mid conversation, Hassell removed a pocket knife from his pocket and stabbed himself three times in the chest. Hassell was taken to the hospital, where he was not expected to survive, but against the odds, George pulled through. With no option for escape and having given law enforcement good reason to suspect him in the disappearance of his family, George began confessing to multiple murders. At first, it was assumed he had flown into a rage and murdered his family a week earlier, but the more Hassell talked, the clearer it became that George Hassell violent and murderous behavior went well beyond the walls of his home in Farwell.

In eighteenth and nineteenth century England, two phantom stalkers terrorized the public and captured the collective imagination to the point of violence. However, violent outcomes and legal consequences notwithstanding, neither phantom was ever anything more than a figment of people’s imaginations.

(Part 4 of 4) In the summer of 1982, it became obvious that a serial killer was operating in the Tacoma area and dumping his victims in the waters of the Green River. In time, The Green River Killer, as the press soon dubbed him, would claim a staggering number of victims to become the most prolific serial killer in American history, a title he would hold until relatively recently.

(Part 3) In the summer of 1982, it became obvious that a serial killer was operating in the Tacoma area and dumping his victims in the waters of the Green River. In time, The Green River Killer, as the press soon dubbed him, would claim a staggering number of victims to become the most prolific serial killer in American history, a title he would hold until relatively recently.

(Part 2) In the summer of 1982, it became obvious that a serial killer was operating in the Tacoma area and dumping his victims in the waters of the Green River. In time, The Green River Killer, as the press soon dubbed him, would claim a staggering number of victims to become the most prolific serial killer in American history, a title he would hold until relatively recently.

(Part 1) In the summer of 1982, it became obvious that a serial killer was operating in the Tacoma area and dumping his victims in the waters of the Green River. In time, The Green River Killer, as the press soon dubbed him, would claim a staggering number of victims to become the most prolific serial killer in American history, a title he would hold until relatively recently.

(Part 2 of 2) When the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation opened an investigation and Blanche was charged with the attempted murder, the arrest came as a shock to those who knew her. How was it possible that someone they all knew as “a sweet, Christian lady”—was an attempted murderer? And if she had been cunning enough to hide that side of herself from her community, what else had she been hiding?

When the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation opened an investigation and Blanche was charged with the attempted murder, the arrest came as a shock to those who knew her. How was it possible that someone they all knew as “a sweet, Christian lady”—was an attempted murderer? And if she had been cunning enough to hide that side of herself from her community, what else had she been hiding?

Spoilers Ahead!!! For this month's BONUS EPISODE it's Book Club time, weirdos! This time we're joined by bestselling horror author Paul Tremblay for a conversation about one of our favorite recent reads: Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito! We dive into everything that makes this deliciously deranged novel so unforgettable, from its razor-sharp dark humor and gloriously unhinged protagonist to the gothic atmosphere and jaw-dropping moments that had us audibly gasping. So grab your beverage of choice, settle in, and join us for a delightfully creepy conversation with one of horror's finest. And if you haven't read Victorian Psycho yet... consider this your sign, and join the bookclub discussion once you've devoured it!

Weirdos! It's one of our favorite times of the month: Listener Tales!! This time, Deb has found some spine tingling camping tales that will make you rethink ever stepping foot in the woods again! The best part? These tales are BY you FOR you and ALL ABOUT YOU! We go off the rails the week, so strap in, friends! Check out the YOUTUBE version is packed with extra Nicholas footage! If you’ve got a listener tale please send it to Deb by emailing us at Morbidpodcast@gmail.com with “Listener Tales” somewhere in the subject line, and if you share pictures, please let us know if we can share them with fellow weirdos! :)

Since the late nineteenth century, amusement parks have been providing countless hours of enjoyment for people all around the world. Often driven by the latest technology and advances in mechanical engineering, the thrill rides at parks like Disney Land, Great America, and other independent parks offer a controlled environment to experience terror and excitement. While these rides, and the parks in general, are very safe and held to strict safety standards, there are times when the unthinkable happens—a cable snaps, a safety harness breaks—and the once safe ride becomes a nightmare for passengers. Far more often than not, tragic amusement park accidents are the result of human foolishness or, far less often, operator error. But other times, they are a bizarre fluke; a one in a million mechanical problem no one saw coming. Either way, the results can be shocking, horrifying, and even deadly.

Today we are revisiting a tragic case of negligence which originally captivated us back in 2024. When Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium in 1898, the chemical element was quickly adopted by manufacturers for its luminescent properties that would go on to be used in, among other things, the painting of clock faces, watches, and instrument panels, allowing them to be seen in the dark. At the time, the introduction of radioluminescent materials into manufacturing was hailed as a scientific solution to an age-old frustration, but it didn’t take long before that solution was shown to have terrible consequences.

In the early morning hours of July 4, 1925, the crowd at The Pickwick Club in Boston were celebrating the holiday at the “Before-the-Fourth” dance when roughly fifty couples took to the dance floor for one of the final songs of the night. With so much revelry and vibrations from the dancing, no one noticed the subtle sounds distressed infrastructure makes just before a tragedy, and even if they had, there likely wasn’t enough time to avoid the disaster. Around 3:30 am, the ceiling above them collapsed, as the entire five-story building came down on top of them, killing forty-four people and injuring countless more. At the time, the Pickwick Club disaster was the deadliest building collapse and one of the worst accidents in in the city’s history. It was followed by large investigation, during which the disaster was temporarily blamed on the Charleston, and a sensational trial aimed at punishing those responsible. However, in the one hundred years since the disaster, the tragedy at the Pickwick Club has been largely forgotten, overshadowed by larger and more devastating accidents.

In the early evening of October 19, 1970, police and firefighters were called to the Santa Cruz County home of Dr. Victor Ohta, a well-respected ophthalmologist, for a report of a house fire. Intending to siphon water from the pool out back, firefighters ran a hose from the truck to the backyard. However, when they reached the pool, the made a horrible discovery—floating in the pool were the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Ohta, as well as their two children, and the doctor’s secretary, Dorothy Cadwallader. When they searched the scene, investigators discovered a cryptic note stuck under the windshield wiper of Victor Ohta’s car that made references to the occult and the counterculture movement. At the time of the murders, Southern California was experiencing an unprecedented wave of violent murders by multiple serial and spree killers, as well as the notorious murders committed by the Manson family. Given the content of the note and the potentially ritualistic way in which the Ohta family had been killed, investigators and residents couldn’t help but fear that they may have another murderous cult on their hands.

On the afternoon of July 18, 1984, James Huberty left his apartment in the San Ysidro neighborhood of San Diego, California, and drove one block over to the nearby McDonalds. After walking through the door of the restaurant, Huberty raised his Uzi semi-automatic 9mm and began indiscriminately shooting at patrons, employees, and anyone else who happened to cross into his line of sight.

(Part 2 of 2) On October 30, 1975, fifteen-year-old Martha Moxley failed to return home after a night out with friends in Belle Haven, an exclusive wealthy enclave in Greenwich, CT. The following morning, Moxley’s badly beaten body was discovered underneath a tree, just a few hundred feet from her house, triggering one of the most notorious murder mysteries in the state’s history.

(Part 1 of 2) On October 30, 1975, fifteen-year-old Martha Moxley failed to return home after a night out with friends in Belle Haven, an exclusive wealthy enclave in Greenwich, CT. The following morning, Moxley’s badly beaten body was discovered underneath a tree, just a few hundred feet from her house, triggering one of the most notorious murder mysteries in the state’s history.

WEIRDOS!! For this month's BONUS EPISODE, Ash & Alaina dive fang-first into Breaking Dawn: Part 1. Share in the trauma of the ATROCIOUS Cullen wigs, the weird internalized misogyny of vampire reproduction, and the fact that Jacob imprints on a child with a name that sounds suspiciously like a pharmaceutical side effect! Honestly, NOTHING is marked safe from discussion!

Weirdos! Has a child ever traumatized you by vibing with the supernatural? This month, DebDeb has cultivated a batch of tales where the kids play nice with people that have crossed the veil. The best part? They are brought to you By you FOR you and ALL ABOUT YOU! Check out the YOUTUBE VIDEO VERSION is packed with extra Nicholas footage! If you’ve got a listener tale please send it to Deb by emailing us at  Morbidpodcast@gmail.com with “Listener Tales” somewhere in the subject line, and if you share pictures, please let us know if we can share them with fellow weirdos! :)

(Part 2 of 2). Visit https://www.markkilroyfoundation.org If you would like to donate to the Mark Kilroy Foundation. In March 1989, twenty-one-year-old University of Texas student Mark Kilroy and some friends traveled south of the border to Matamoros, Mexico to celebrate the end of spring break, along with thousands of other American students that year. After drinking all night at a bar on the night of March 10, Kilroy got separated from his friends when they decided to call it a night a little after 2:00 am. No one would see Mark Kilroy alive again. As one of several towns bordering the United States, Matamoros was popular with American tourists; however, by the late 1980s, it was beginning to develop a reputation for drug-related crime. In fact, Mark Kilroy was just one of sixty people who went missing in Matamoros in just the first three months of 1989 alone. When Kilroy’s friends reported him missing to the Brownsville, Texas police a massive search began, with investigators fearing Mark might have been kidnapped by one of the local gangs. It turned out, the truth was far worse than anyone had feared.

(Part 1 of 2) In March 1989, twenty-one-year-old University of Texas student Mark Kilroy and some friends traveled south of the border to Matamoros, Mexico to celebrate the end of spring break, along with thousands of other American students that year. After drinking all night at a bar on the night of March 10, Kilroy got separated from his friends when they decided to call it a night a little after 2:00 am. No one would see Mark Kilroy alive again. As one of several towns bordering the United States, Matamoros was popular with American tourists; however, by the late 1980s, it was beginning to develop a reputation for drug-related crime. In fact, Mark Kilroy was just one of sixty people who went missing in Matamoros in just the first three months of 1989 alone. When Kilroy’s friends reported him missing to the Brownsville, Texas police a massive search began, with investigators fearing Mark might have been kidnapped by one of the local gangs. It turned out, the truth was far worse than anyone had feared.

Today we are revisiting Episode 27 with an incredible tale of survival! Mary Vincent survived something so horrifying that most of us couldn't even conjure it up in our nightmares. Her attacker, Lawrence Singleton, could have never imagined that Mary would walk away from where he left her to die in a canyon as a symbol of strength and resilience in the face of insurmountable odds. This is a story of survival, but also one of a justice system that is in desperate need of fixing.

Today we are revisiting an oldie! Episode 13: Torture! It's been around since the beginning of time and it used to almost always involve a spike. Today, Alaina and Ash will discuss the various medieval methods of pain and suffering that could only come from the twisted mind of the human species. Strap in, because this is a rough one.

(Part 2/2) When thirty-four-year-old Shanann Watts missed a doctor’s appointment on August 13, 2018, her friends reported her missing to the Frederick, Colorado Police. When officers searched the home, they found Shanann’s car parked in the garage and her belongings—including her wallet, cell phone, and medication—were found in various spots around the house, but there was no sign of Shanann or the couple’s two children anywhere. The next day, the FBI opened an investigation into the disappearance of Shanann, Bella and Celeste and Chris took to local television to give one of the most infamous and suspicious interviews of all time. He asked anyone with information about their whereabouts to come forward. The very next day however, Chris failed a polygraph exam and eventually confessed to murdering his wife, but he initially denied killing their children.

When thirty-four-year-old Shanann Watts missed a doctor’s appointment on August 13, 2018, her friends reported her missing to the Frederick, Colorado Police. When officers searched the home, they found Shanann’s car parked in the garage and her belongings—including her wallet, cell phone, and medication—were found in various spots around the house, but there was no sign of Shanann or the couple’s two children anywhere. The next day, the FBI opened an investigation into the disappearance of Shanann, Bella and Celeste and Chris took to local television to give one of the most infamous and suspicious interviews of all time. He asked anyone with information about their whereabouts to come forward. The very next day however, Chris failed a polygraph exam and eventually confessed to murdering his wife, but he initially denied killing their children.

Today we are joined by the legendary Patricia Cornwell! We dive into all things Scarpetta, the highly praisedTV adaptation of her iconic book series. We also get into the evolution of forensic science in storytelling, and how Patricia basically walked so every crime show could run. Then we shift gears into her deeply personal new memoir, where she opens up about her life, career, and the experiences that shaped her storytelling. From behind-the-scenes publishing drama to the real-life inspirations for her chilling cases, Patricia gets candid in a way that is equal parts fascinating and inspiring!

Guys! It's that special time of the month! You know... the one that's brought to you By you FOR you and ALL ABOUT YOU! This month we're getting our bangs sky high to honor a batch of tales from the eighties! Want to see the fits? Check out the YOUTUBE version is packed with extra Nicholas footage! If you’ve got a listener tale please send it to Deb by emailing us at Morbidpodcast@gmail.com with “Listener Tales” somewhere in the subject line, and if you share pictures, please let us know if we can share them with fellow weirdos! :)

If anyone has any information about the whereabouts of Amy Bradley, they are encouraged to contact the family through their website amybradleyismissing.com or the FBI at tips.fbi.gov. When Ron Bradley won an all-expense paid cruise to the Caribbean in 1998, it seemed like a great opportunity to have one last family vacation with his wife, Iva, and his kids, twenty-three-year-old Amy and twenty-one-year-old Brad. In March, the family flew to Puerto Rico, where they boarded “Rhapsody of the Seas,” a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, and set off for the island of Curacao. The trip was everything Ron and his wife had hoped for, but just two days after departing from Puerto Rico, Amy went missing and their lives would never be the same again.

This month’s bonus episode we are revisiting Eclipse, where the stakes are higher, the wigs are worse, and the love triangle is somehow even more unhinged. Bella Swan continues her lifelong hobby of making absolutely baffling decisions as she’s torn between sparkly control enthusiast Edward Cullen and aggressively boundary-ignoring werewolf Jacob Black. Meanwhile, a literal vampire army is being assembled… but sure, let’s focus on Bella’s engagement anxiety. Revisit the series that puts the 'why?' in 'Y.A.' So queue up the movie, dust off your copy, and continue with us as we spiral back into the alarmingly problematic world of The Twilight Saga!

In the spring of 1898, the British government began a large-scale infrastructure project, building a bridge connecting Uganda to Kilindini Harbor in Kenya. The ambitious project involved building a large railroad bridge across the Tsavo River in the Coast Province of Kenya. Just days after the bridge project began, workmen on the construction crew began disappearing, their remains turning up mangled days later, if they turned up at all. In time, it was discovered that two male maneless lions in the region were stalking, killing, and eating the men working on the infrastructure project.

This week we are packing their emotional support sage and heading straight into two deeply unsettling homes because apparently “cozy” is overrated. First stop: the infamous Blood House of Atlanta, where a mystifying issue plagued the house owners.Then we hop across the pond to Perthshire, Scotland, to dig into the legend of Ballechin House. Built by a man with a very specific obsession with reincarnation, the house became a hotspot for terrifying phenomena after his death. From bloodstained histories to ghostly tantrums, these houses prove that sometimes it’s not the location, it’s the lingering energy that turns a home into a nightmare.

When twenty-seven-year-old James Bullock was shot and killed in St. Louis in the winter of 1958, investigators immediately focused their attention on Bullock’s wife, Edna, who was the beneficiary of her husband’s large life insurance policy. Witnesses recalled seeing the victim being chased by a man with a gun on the night of the murder, and detectives suspected Edna had arranged for her husband to be killed so she could collect the insurance money. They didn’t know it at the time, but St. Louis investigators were investigating what was to be the first victim in a decades-long career of a most unlikely hitman and serial killer. Although they had their suspicions that Edna Bullock had enlisted the help of her ex-husband, Glen Engleman, in the murder of her new husband, it would take many more years before those suspicions were confirmed. And by that time, Engleman, a successful suburban dentist had taken the lives of several more people, all to satisfy his own interest in calculated and carefully planned assassinations.

In April 1834, a massive fire broke out at the mansion of Delphine LaLaurie on Royal Street in New Orleans French Quarter. LaLaurie was known to have kept several slaves as servants in the home, but when bystanders attempted to enter the house to rescue those trapped inside, they found the doors barred. After forcing the doors open and making their way inside the house, the rescuers were horrified to find the “horribly mutilated” bodies of at least seven of LaLaurie’s slaves. Delphine LaLaurie was known to treat her servants very badly, including physically abusing them, but no one in New Orleans had imagined she was a sadistic murderer.

Chicago in the 1920s is often remembered for the rise of organized crime and it’s larger than life leaders like Al Capone and Johnny Torrio. While these men and their organizations surely shaped the city’s identity, their infamy and influence were, at least for a short time, rivaled by a group of young women whose murderous acts would dominate headlines in papers around the country throughout the decade. While Beulah Annan and Belva Gardner—the real-life inspiration for the musical Chicago—were arguably the most well known of the female murders from this era, their famous murders were preceded by the equally sensationalized murder spree of Tillie Klimek. Between 1914 and 1921, Klimek was believed to have killed as many as seven people including four husbands. While her crimes would ultimately land her in the Illinois State Penitentiary for the rest of her life, her exploits and criminal trial were sensational and occupied the front pages of city newspapers for years.

On October 14, 1987, Reba McClure and her eighteen-month-old daughter, Jessica, stopped by the Midland, Texas home of her sister for a visit. As Reba sat in the backyard watching Jessica play with some neighborhood children, she heard the phone ring and went inside to answer it. When McClure returned to the backyard a few minutes later, she saw the other children staring at the ground on the far-side of the yard, but Jessica was nowhere to be seen.

When Carolyn and Roger Perron moved into a small farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island, they thought they’d found the perfect house in which to raise their five daughters and enjoy the rest of their lives. Before long, the Perron’s dream home turned into a nightmare. It started small—disembodied voices, unpleasant odors—but soon the unpleasant and obnoxious experiences developed into an all-out attack of ghostly apparitions, assaults from unseen hands, and the presence of something far worse than the spirits of the undead. At first, the Perron family ignored or dismissed the various incidents that disturbed them, but after several years in the house, the experiences had become too numerous and too severe to dismiss. Faced with the unimaginable scenario of losing their house to forces beyond their comprehension, the Perron’s decided to fight back.

We are THRILLED to invite to you join our Morbid Book Club in this bonus episode that is #sponsored by our friends at @ashleyofficial. This quarter, we are serving up forensic chills with a side of culinary chaos as we dive into Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell! And the best part? We’re joined our new best friend Chef Reilly Meehan who helps us break it all down! #Morbidbookclub #ashleypartner

Weirdos! Pack your getaway bag and get ready to hit the road for a haunted roadtrip in West Virginia! Alaina starts a trend by telling us about a chilling crime at Cabin 13 in Babcock State Forrest in Babson, WV. Not only is this place's history haunted, what people have seen will give you goosebumps! Ash gives us the pallet cleanser about the Blennerhassett Hotel in Parkersburg where the haunting is a bit more whimsical and includes a spirit who may be our new spirit guide! UK Bookreaders! The Butcher Legacy & The Butcher Game are going to be available for you!

Weirdos! We NEEDED a nostalgic moment, and decided to share it with you! This month, DebDeb has cultivated a batch of 90's tales that are brought to you By you FOR you and ALL ABOUT YOU! Check out YouTube to see what happened mid episode that made us all lose our damn minds! If you’ve got a listener tale please send it to Deb by emailing us at  Morbidpodcast@gmail.com with “Listener Tales” somewhere in the subject line, and if you share pictures, please let us know if we can share them with fellow weirdos! :)

(Part 2 of 2) On March 1, 1932, someone crept into a second-floor window of the home of Charles and Ann Lindbergh and kidnapped the couple’s twenty-month-old son, Charlie, leaving behind a ransom note demanding $50,000 for the boy’s return.

On March 1, 1932, someone crept into a second-floor window of the home of Charles and Ann Lindbergh and kidnapped the couple’s twenty-month-old son, Charlie, leaving behind a ransom note demanding $50,000 for the boy’s return.

On January 2, 2000, eighteen-year-old Zebb Quinn finished his shift at Walmart in Asheville, North Carolina and set off to look at a used car with his co-worker, Jason Owens. Halfway to their destination, Zebb told Jason he received an important call on his pager and needed to return the call immediately and they would have to postpone their plans to look at the car. That was the last time anyone saw Zebb Quinn. For weeks, Zebb’s family and the Asheville police searched for the teenager, but it was as though he had disappeared into thin air. Then, to everyone’s surprise, Zebb’s car was found in a parking lot not far from the hospital where his mother and sister worked, as though someone had left it in a conspicuous place where it would be found. But more surprising than the discovery of the car itself was the incredibly strange and unexpected evidence found inside the vehicle, including several markings on the windows in red lipstick and a live black labrador puppy.

When Stephen Spielberg released his iconic film Jaws in the summer of 1975, he not only kicked off the phenomenon of the summer blockbuster, but also reignited the public’s fascination with and fear of shark attacks. Although based on a book of the same name, that novel was itself heavily influenced on several real-life events from the past, including one particular summer on the Jersey Shore. In the early twentieth-century, most Americans didn’t think much about sharks or the other potentially dangerous fish and animals that lived in the ocean. In fact, the majority of Americans don’t live in coastal areas and probably didn’t know there were differences between species. That all changed in the summer of 1916, when a loan shark killed four people and critically injured one person in the waters along the Jersey Shore. More than merely accidental bites, the attacks seemed almost intentional, leading to the widespread belief that a man-eater was stalking the waters of the northeastern state. In the century that has passed since, the Jersey Shore shark attacks have fueled Americans imaginations and nightmares, leading to widely celebrated novels and films about sharks, but also contributing to serious misunderstandings about sharks and their behavior, often with terrible consequences.

When Stephen Spielberg released his iconic film Jaws in the summer of 1975, he not only kicked off the phenomenon of the summer blockbuster, but also reignited the public’s fascination with and fear of shark attacks. Although based on a book of the same name, that novel was itself heavily influenced on several real-life events from the past, including one particular summer on the Jersey Shore.

In November 1958, Frank Duncan’s pregnant wife, Olga Kupczyk, disappeared without a trace from their Santa Barbara home after enduring months of abusive treatment from her mother-in-law. A short time later, Frank’s marriage was inexplicably annulled after his mother, posing as Olga, showed up at the local courthouse with a man she’d hired to pose as her son, Frank. One month later, in mid-December, investigators in the small coastal town of Carpinteria, California, were directed to the location of Olga’s body in a shallow grave, after one of her killers confessed to kidnapping and murdering her the previous month. The arrest of Augustine Baldonado and his accomplice, Luis Moya, solved the mystery of what happened to Olga, but when it came to the motive for the murder, the truth was more shocking than anyone had expected.

In November 1958, Frank Duncan’s pregnant wife, Olga Kupczyk, disappeared without a trace from their Santa Barbara home after enduring months of abusive treatment from her mother-in-law. A short time later, Frank’s marriage was inexplicably annulled after his mother, posing as Olga, showed up at the local courthouse with a man she’d hired to pose as her son, Frank. One month later, in mid-December, investigators in the small coastal town of Carpinteria, California, were directed to the location of Olga’s body in a shallow grave, after one of her killers confessed to kidnapping and murdering her the previous month. The arrest of Augustine Baldonado and his accomplice, Luis Moya, solved the mystery of what happened to Olga, but when it came to the motive for the murder, the truth was more shocking than anyone had expected.

In today’s February Bonus Episode, Ash & Alaina sit down to unpack Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, the new documentary that takes a long, hard look at ANTM, the world of reality TV, and the price paid by young contestants chasing swift fame. This isn’t a criminal case but it is Morbid: power dynamics, exploitation, public scrutiny, looking back with adult hindsight… so, yeah, we had to discuss it!

Weirdos! Get ready to get abducted by this month's batch of listener tales brought to you By you FOR you and ALL ABOUT YOU! This month Listeners are giving the deets of encounters from visitors from other planets, with a few ghostly and all-out-jumpscare stories! Because of the MASSIVE blizzard, we're kicking it OG style, with audio only and sans Nicholas, but fret not!! Both will be coming back in March!

In the news cycle, an elderly woman attempting to poison her husband would have garnered a pretty small amount of attention from the press, then faded away when a larger story came along. But it didn’t take long for the press to learn that the poisoning of Melissa Ann Shepard's new husband wasn't the first time she had been suspected or convicted of attempted murder. In fact, Melissa Ann Shepard had a criminal history in two countries that went back decades, including many crimes that were very similar to the one she had just perpetrated only with a much worse outcome.

Since the late nineteenth century, amusement parks have been providing countless hours of enjoyment for people all around the world. Often driven by the latest technology and advances in mechanical engineering, the thrill rides at parks like Disney Land, Great America, and other independent parks offer a controlled environment to experience terror and excitement. While these rides, and the parks in general, are very safe and held to strict safety standards, there are times when the unthinkable happens—a cable snaps, a safety harness breaks—and the once safe ride becomes a nightmare for passengers. Far more often than not, tragic amusement park accidents are the result of human foolishness or, far less often, operator error. But other times, they are a bizarre fluke; a one in a million mechanical problem no one saw coming. Either way, the results can be shocking, horrifying, and even deadly.

In the summer of 1998, eighty-two-year-old New York socialite Irene Silverman disappeared from her Manhattan townhouse without a trace. Silverman’s friends were immediately concerned, as it was completely out of character for Irene to leave town without telling anyone. Coincidentally, on the same day Irene Silverman disappeared, authorities in New York arrested Sante Kimes and her son, Kenny, on a charge of check fraud. Unbeknownst to investigators, these two events were directly linked.

(Part 3 of 3) On the morning of February 8, 1983, a plumber working in London’s Muswell Hill neighbor opened a drainage cover behind a Cranley Gardens apartment building and made a horrific discovery—the drain was blocked by pieces of bone and human tissue. Upon investigation, detectives traced the blockage back to one apartment in the building, where additional evidence suggested things were far worse than they’d initially thought.

Part 2 of 3) On the morning of February 8, 1983, a plumber working in London’s Muswell Hill neighbor opened a drainage cover behind a Cranley Gardens apartment building and made a horrific discovery—the drain was blocked by pieces of bone and human tissue. Upon investigation, detectives traced the blockage back to one apartment in the building, where additional evidence suggested things were far worse than they’d initially thought.

On the morning of February 8, 1983, a plumber working in London’s Muswell Hill neighbor opened a drainage cover behind a Cranley Gardens apartment building and made a horrific discovery—the drain was blocked by pieces of bone and human tissue. Upon investigation, detectives traced the blockage back to one apartment in the building, where additional evidence suggested things were far worse than they’d initially thought. When the occupant of the apartment, Dennis Nilsen, was confronted with the human remains, he began telling investigators a shocking story and when he was finished, Nilsen had confessed to murdering and dismembering at fifteen men over the course of five years. In the annals of British crime, Dennis Nilsen ranks among the worst serial killers the country has ever seen, not only because of the number of people he killed, but also the method of disposal and the motive.

In the early hours of March 3, 1993, someone snuck into the Maryland home of Millie Horn, where she lived with her disabled eight-year-old son, Trevor, and his nurse, Janice Saunders. After shooting both women in the head multiple times, the intruder smothered Trevor Horn to death, then quietly left the house. Hours later, the bodies of all three were discovered by Millie’s sister, who stepped by to check on them.

Weirdos!! It's here! the second deep dive into the twisted world of the Twilight Saga! Grab your brown-tinted filters and emotional support glitter, because Ash and Alaina are back in Forks for a full-throttle deep dive into New Moon. For this month’s BONUS EPISODE we’re unpacking Edward’s dramatic exit, Bella’s months-long depression montage (hello, spinning seasons), and the introduction of a jort-wearing werewolf jamborees: Jacob Black. We debate whether ghost Edward is helpful or wildly unhinged, and try to make sense of the Volturi’s whole vibe!  There’s chaos, hot takes, and Bella imitations that will make you howl! Light a candle, stare moodily out a window, and join us, because the angst is real, the wolves are howling, and we’re all #TeamMessy! 🖤

Weirdos! We invite you to don your softest apparel, get comfy, and settle in for a batch of haunted listener tales! Nicholas DEFINITELY took note of the theme, and set the mood! This episode POPPED OFF before we even officially started the show! Curious to hear what freaked us out? Listen after the ending theme for the wild moments that didn't make the audio version! LISTEN on all podcast platforms OR WATCH on Youtube!

Lizzie Halliday was known in the late nineteenth century as “the worst woman on earth” and ended up being the first woman EVER to be sentenced to die in the electric chair.

On the afternoon of March 26, 1997, the San Diego County Sherrif’s Department received an anonymous call through 911 reporting a mass suicide at an address in Rancho Santa Fe, California. A single sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to the address and knocked on the front door, but got no response. Finding a side door to the home unlocked, the deputy entered the house and was horrified to discover nearly forty bodies of adults, all of whom appeared to have taken their own lives in what appeared to be some kind of ritual. Not since the terrible mass deaths at Jonestown decades earlier had Americans seen such a bizarre and ultimately tragic occurrence and few were able to understand how such a thing could have happened in the modern age. What could have caused so many people to willingly give up their lives, and who was he enigmatic man who’d convinced them to do it?

In the early hours of March 13, 1964, twenty-eight-year-old Kitty Genovese returned home from work and parked her car in a lot near her Queens apartment, completely unaware that someone was following her. As she approached the door to her apartment building, Kitty’s stalker ran up behind her and stabbed her in the back twice before being scared off by a neighbor who yelled from his window. Wounded, Kitty managed to get to the back of the building, but her attacker soon returned and brutally assaulted her. By the time an ambulance arrived an hour later, it was too late; Kitty Genovese died before she reached the hospital. Kitty’s murder and the arrest of her killer, Winston Moseley, were quickly overshadowed by what were believed to be the facts of the attack, primarily the widely held belief that at least thirty-eight neighbors had seen the assault or heard Kitty’s cries for help and did nothing. Despite there having been no evidence to support that belief, the narrative quickly became about urban apathy, with the death of a Queens bartender merely a footnote. The murder of Kitty Genovese is one of the most notorious violent crimes in modern American history—not because of the details or circumstances of the crime, but because of the legend and mythology that has built up around it.

In the early summer of 1984, seventeen-year-old Gary Lauwers was murdered by his friend Richard “Ricky” Kasso in the small Long Island suburb of Northport, New York. Lauwers was stabbed more than thirty times in the attack and his body showed signs of what appeared to be torture. The death itself was shocking to the tiny community of Northport, but the details that emerged in the wake of Kasso’s arrest would shock the entire nation.

In late 1916, while treating a group of patients at his psychiatric clinic at the University of Vienna, Dr. Constantin von Economo began noticing the appearance of strange symptoms that he could not account for. At the same time, in France, Rene Cruchet began noticing similarly strange and unexpected symptoms in his patients. Though the two men had never met and knew nothing of one another’s patients, they would come to learn they were both witnessing the emergence of a new mysterious disease that would soon affect millions of people around the world. The illnesses documented by von Economo and Cruchet would eventually come to be know as encephalitis lethargica, or sleeping sickness, a strange condition that caused profound lethargy, hypersomnia, and a wide range of other frightening symptoms. Between 1919 and the early 1930s, millions of people all around the world contracted the illness, with nearly half of all cases resulting in death, and many more suffering long-term effects; yet a cause of the illness has never been established and the terrifying epidemic appears to have faded from memory not long after the disease itself ostensibly disappeared.

Weirdos!! On today's episode Alaina announced the third chapter in the Wren Muller series- The Butcher Legacy . Be sure to visit to PREORDER NOW by visiting butcherlegacy.com. Order NOW to get exclusive signed editions from BN.com AND the Special Edition from Target! In the winter of 1980, wealthy socialite Martha “Sunny” von Bulow was found unconscious in the bathroom of the mansion she shared with her husband, Claus, in Newport, Rhode Island. An ambulance was called and Sunny was rushed to the nearest emergency room, but paramedics and doctors were unable to revive her and Sunny would remain in a coma until her death in 2008. At first, Sunny’s coma was a mystery to doctors, but soon suspicion fell on her husband, Claus, who appeared indifferent to her condition and was openly carrying on an affair with another woman. The family launched a private investigation and eventually turned up strong evidence they believed implicated Claus in the attempted murder of Sunny, but, as they soon learned, believing it and proving it were two very different things.

On the afternoon of August 23, 2003, Erie, Pennsylvania pizza delivery driver Brian Wells walked into the local branch of the PNC Bank and handed the teller a note warning that he had a bomb and they had fifteen minutes to hand over $250,000 or it would detonate. Unable to access the vault, the teller gave Wells all the cash on hand and he left as the employees triggered the emergency protocol.