Dark Histories cover image

Dark Histories

Latest episodes

undefined
Aug 7, 2022 • 1h 10min

The Haunting of Willington Mill

In England, the Tyne River, famously flowing through the centre of Newcastle on its way to the North Eastern coast, has for many centuries been a vein of industry. In the early 19th Century the banks were filled with shipbuilders, rope makers and flour, grain, textile and corn mills, creaking and grinding with the constant industrial din. On the Eastern outskirts of Newcastle stood Willington Mill, a flour mill built in 1801 with a local reputation. For decades folks had talked about the old mill house, of how a witch had once lived in an old cottage on the land and of the spirit of Old Jefferey. The stories eventually seeped out into national publications after a pair of curious locals carried out an overnight vigil which ended in chaos, earning the mill the title of “most haunted house in England”, but were the stories anything more than just local rumour and legend? SOURCES Proctor, Edmund (1894) The Haunted House At Willington. Journal for The Society of Psychical Research, Vol 5, 1891-92. The Society’s Books, London, UK.   Hallowell, Michael J. & Ritson, Darren W. (2011) The Haunting of Willington Mill. The History Press, London, UK.   Summers, Montague (1927) The Geography of Witchcraft. A.A. Knopf; K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, London, UK.   Hudson, Tom (1887) The Monthly Chronicle of North Country Lore and Legend. Walter Scott, Newcastle, UK   Richardson, M.A. (1842) Authentic Account of a Visit to The Haunted House at Willington near Newcastle Upon Tyne. M.A. Richardson, Newcastle, UK   Crowe, Catherine (1850) The Night Side of Nature. J.S. Redfield, New York, USA.   Sidgwick, Eleanor (1892) On The Evidence For Clairvoyance. Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research Vol VII, 1891-92. Kegan Paul, Trench & Turner LTD. London, UK.   Stead, William Thomas (1897) Real Ghost Stories. G. Richards. London, UK   Newcastle Guardian & Tyne Mercury (1867) Local and District News. 26 January 1867, p.2. Newcastle, UK.   Newcastle Guardian & Tyne Mercury (1867) Local and District News. 23 February 1867, p.6. Newcastle, UK.   Beck, Ben. (2022) Children of Elizabeth and Joseph Procter.[online] Benbeck.co.uk. Available at:   ---------- 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 via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072 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.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
undefined
Jul 26, 2022 • 1h 25min

The Tichborne Claimant: A Tale of Two Butchers

When Sir Roger Tichborne was shipwrecked and lost at sea in 1854, his mother fell into a deep state of mourning, both devastated by the loss of her son and insistent that he was still alive. As much as the rest of her family tried their best to convince her that Roger was not ever coming back, she just refused to stop searching. It was a stance that paid off handsomely then, when her long lost son made his triumphant return to England 12 years later with a plan to reclaim the family estate. It would be a claim that would make it to court and eventually be the longest running trial in English legal history, holding the title for over a hundred years and would light up the Victorian press with scandal, humour and class warfare that would last decades. SOURCES   Annear, Robyn. (2002) The Man Who Lost Himself: The Unbelievable Story of the Tichborne Claimant. Constable & Robinson Ltd. London, UK.   McWilliam, Rohan (2007) The Tichborne Claimant: A Victorian Sensation. Hambledon Continuum, London, UK.   Kinsley, William, J. (1911) The Tichborne Case. The Yale Law Journal, Vol. 20, No. 7 (May, 1911), pp. 563-569.   Saunders News-Letter (1867) From Our Own Correspondent. Monday 14 January 1867, Dublin, Ireland.   Yorkshire Gazette (1867) Arrival of Sir Roger Tichborne Bart. Saturday 5 January 1867. Yorkshire, UK.   London Evening Standard (1867) The Tichborne Baronetcy. Wednesday 23 January 1867. London, UK   London Evening Standard (1872) A Last Appeal From The Claimant. Wednesday 27 March 1872. London, UK   ---------- 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 via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072 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.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
undefined
Jul 6, 2022 • 1h 20min

The Murder of George Little & The Broadstone Mystery

Broadstone station in Dublin, Ireland creaked, clanked and clattered with the din of everyday rail traffic. In 19th Century Ireland, it was one of the grandest buildings in the country's capital, and every day hundreds of people worked to ensure that its trains, serving over 500 miles of track from one coast of Ireland to the other, were running as efficiently as they could. It was an imposing machine that stood on the hillside of the city, pulsing away, day after day. In 1856, however, it became famous for more than just its trains and vast profits, when the cashier was found dead, locked in an office full of money. The investigation that followed struggled to solve the mystery for a full year, with a conclusion that pretty much no one who had followed the case, which was more or less the whole of Dublin, would find satisfactory.   SOURCES   Dublin Evening Post (1856) Shocking Occurence - Supposed Suicide. Dublin Evening Post, 15 Nov, 1856, p2. Dublin, Ireland.   London Evening Standard (1856) Murder Of The Cahsier Of The Great Midwestern Railway Company. London Evening Standard, p4. London, UK.   Dublin Evening Mail (1856) Terrible Tragedy At The Midland Railway. Dublin Evening Post, 17 Nov, 1856, p3. Dublin, Ireland.   Dublin Evening Post (1856) This Day. Dublin Evening Post, 20 Nov, 1856, p3. Dublin, Ireland.   London Evening Standard (1856) The Broadstone Tragedy. London Evening Standard, 12 Dec, 1856. p3. London, UK.   Leeds Mercury (1857) The Broadstone Tragedy. Leeds Mercury, 1 Jan, 1857. p4. Leeds, UK.   Saunders’s News Letter (1857) Murder Of The Late Mr Little. Saunders’s News Letter, 24 June, 1857. p1. London, UK.   Manchester Times (1857) The Arrest Of The Suspected Murderer Of Mr Little. Manchester Times, 27 Jun, 1857. p7. Manchester, UK.   Freeman’s Journal (1857) The Murder Of Mr Little. Freeman’s Journal, 29 Jun, 1857. p3. Dublin, Ireland.   Freeman’s Journal (1857) Trial Of Spollen For The Murder Of Mr Little. Freeman’s Journal, 10 Aug, 1857. p4. Dublin, Ireland.   Freeman’s Journal (1857) Trial Of Spollen For The Murder Of Mr Little. Freeman’s Journal, 12 Aug, 1857. p4. Dublin, Ireland.   Greenock Telegraph and Clyde Shipping Gazette (1857) Re-Arrest Of Spollen. Greenock Telegraph and Clyde Shipping Gazette, 26 Aug, 1857. p4. Scotland.   Premium.weatherweb.net (2022) Weather in History 1850 to 1899 AD. [online] Available at:   KBC, S. (2022) Virtual Reality Tour: Explore this grand former railway station in Dublin... with its own murder mystery. [online] TheJournal.ie. Available at: ---------- 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 via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072 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.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
undefined
Jun 20, 2022 • 1h 7min

Esther Cox & The Great Amherst Mystery

“The manifestations described in this story commenced one year ago. No person has yet been able to ascertain their cause. Scientific men from all parts of Canada and the United States have investigated them in vain. Some people think that electricity is the principal agent; others, mesmerism; whilst others again, are sure they are produced by the devil. Of the three supposed causes, the latter is certainly the most plausible theory, for some of the manifestations are remarkably devilish in their appearance and effect.” The opening lines of an account that describes an event that perplexed, excited and angered the citizens of the small, Canadian town of Amherst in the 19th Century. It probably comes as no surprise that the man who wrote them had a professional flair for dramatics, though the events were hardly short of drama to begin with. A young girl, haunted by demons, whose story book-ended a series of supernormal events with an assault and a conviction for arson. SOURCES Hubbell, Walter (1879) The Great Amherst Mystery. "Daily News" Steam Publishing Office, Canada. Prince, Walter F. (1919) A Critical Study of The Great Amherst Mystery. Journal of the American Society of Psychical Research, Vol. XIII. NY, USA. Carrington, Hereward (1913) Personal Experiences in Spiritualism. Read Books Ltd. UK. Brooklyn Daily Eagle (1897) Long Island’s Hamlet. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 15 Dec. 1897, p.7, NY, USA. The Montreal Star (1881) Strange Doings. The Montreal Star, 25 May. 1881, p.3, Montreal, Canada. The Daily Expositor (1879) Esther Cox The Medium: Is She A Humbug? The Daily Expositor, 15 Jul 1879, p.1. Ontario, Canada. The Montreal Star (1879) The Amherst Mystery. The Montreal Star, 18 Jul 1879, p.2, Montreal, Canada. The Montreal Star (1879) The Amherst Mystery. The Montreal Star, 10 May 1879, p.3, Montreal, Canada. The Montreal Star (1879) The Amherst Mystery. The Montreal Star, 19 May 1879, p.3, Montreal, Canada. Ottawa Daily Citizen (1879) The Amherst Mystery Revived. Ottawa Daily Citizen, 7 May 1879, p.1, Ottawa, Canada. The Montreal Star (1879) The Amherst Mystery Further Developments. The Montreal Star, 25 Jan 1879, p.3, Montreal, Canada. The Montreal Star (1878) The Amherst Mystery A Puzzle For Scientists. The Montreal Star, 21 Nov 1878, p.3, Montreal, Canada. Ottawa Daily Citizen (1878) The Amherst Mystery. Ottawa Daily Citizen, 23 Nov 1878, p.1, Ottawa, Canada. The Montreal Star (1878) The Amherst Mystery. The Montreal Star, 13 Dec 1878, p.3, Montreal, Canada. Evansville Courier and Press (1888) A Wonderful Book. 23 Apr 1888, p.1. Indiana, 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 via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072 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.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
undefined
Jun 6, 2022 • 1h 8min

Catherine Elise Muller & Her Mission to Mars

The belief of extraterrestrial life is one of the most exotic, exciting and long endearing throughout human history. Mars in particular has always proven to be of particular interest. One of our nearest planetary neighbours, the red planet has inspired thousands of works ranging from the earliest science fiction, all the way to contemporary fringe theology. In the late 19th Century, interest in the planet saw a boom, as astronomers battled with one another over their beliefs of the existence of a great Martian civilization, creating a scientific debate that crossed over into far more fringe elements. Spiritualism, with it’s equal boom, became far more interested in the interstellar than one might expect and one case in particular, of a young, Swiss medium named Catherine Elise muller, would charge out in front, presenting the world with not only surreal images of the hypercolour martian landscape, but with descriptions of an alien society and a working language to boot. SOURCES Flournoy, Theodore (1900) From India to the Planet Mars. Harper & Bros, London, UK Keep, Christopher (2020) Life on Mars?: Hélène Smith, Clairvoyance, and Occult Media. Journal of Victorian Culture , Volume 25 (4) – Nov 16, 2020. Leeds Trinity University, Oxford University Press, UK. Clerke, Agnes Mary (2011) A Popular History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century. Cambridge University Press, UK. Greg, Percy (1880) Across the  Zodiac: The Story of a Wrecked Record. Ballantyne Press, London, UK.   Crossley, Robert (2011) Imagining Mars: A Literary History. Wesleyan University Press, CT, USA. Tipler, F.J. (1981) A Brief History of the Extraterrestrial Intelligence Concept. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 22, P. 133, 1981. ---------- 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 via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072 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.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
undefined
May 18, 2022 • 1h 3min

The Mary Cecilia Rogers Mystery

In the 19th Century, the Elysian Fields in New Jersey, lay just a short boat trip away for New Yorkers looking to stretch their legs, take in some rural, countryside air or relax on the lawn of a riverside refreshment house with a glass of lemonade. Mostly famous for being the birthplace of modern baseball, the fields have another, somewhat less well-known story connected to their dense thickets and green walkways. Far from the straightforward drubbing of that first game of baseball, this story is, of course far darker, full of more twists and turns and has no winners. Hailed as one of the greatest criminal mysteries of 19th Century New York, the case of Mary Rogers is at once perfectly well solved and at the same time, completely wide open.   SOURCES   Stashower, Daniel (2006) The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allen Poe & The Invention of Murder. Berkley Publishing Group, NY, USA   Bowery News Office (1841) Trial of Madame Restell, alias Ann Lohman, for abortion and causing the death of Mrs. Purdy : being a full account of all the proceedings on the trial, together with the suppressed evidence and editorial remarks. Bowery News Office, NY, USA.   Poe, Edgar Allen (2014) The Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allen Poe. Race Point Publishing, NY, USA   Abbot, Karen (2012) Madame Restell: The Abortionist of Fifth Avenue. Smithsonian Magazine [online] Smithsonian Magazine. Available at: [Accessed 6 May 2022].   The Buffalo Daily Republic (1851) Riot In Hoboken. The Buffalo Daily Republic, Thursday 29 May, 1851, p.2. NY, USA.   New York Daily Herald (1838) Beautiful Girls Serving In Stores. New York Daily Herald, Monday 8 October, 1838, p.2. NY, USA.   The Evening Post (1841) The Mysterious Death of Miss Rogers. The Evening Post, Monday 16 August, 1841, p.2. NY, USA.   The Evening Post (1841) Murder of Miss Rogers. The Evening Post, Saturday 21 August, 1841, p.2. NY, USA.   The New York Tribune (1842) The Mary Rogers Mystery Explained. 18 November, 1942. P.2. 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 via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072 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.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
undefined
May 2, 2022 • 1h 9min

Garbo & The Ghost Spies of WWII

When the Allied forces hit the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, in June of 1944, everyone was well aware of the importance of success. Gaining a foothold on the beaches was the first step in the liberation of France, placing a force on the ground that would go on to steamroll to Berlin, ending the war outright. The plan was vast. multi-faceted and was as audacious as it was complicated, hinging on the cooperation of every level of the joint military system. Included in this system was a man named Garbo, a man who, squirrelled away in a London office, not only had the job of convincing the Nazis that the invasion force didn’t exist but of also conjuring an entirely fictional force one million strong from thin air and presenting them as living and breathing, flesh and blood. Of course, one man could not hope to do such a thing alone, fortunately, Garbo had 27 spies under his command to help him. That was the story as far as the Nazis were concerned at least. In truth, Garbo's agents were only as real as the stories that he, himself created for them. Out of sight, in his small office, Garbo weaved a cast of characters into a plausible tapestry of espionage that, even years after the war had ended and the truth was out, many of the people involved struggled to believe.   SOURCES   Talty, Stephen (2012) Agent Garbo: The Brilliant, eccentric secret agent who tricked Hitler and saved D-Day. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, USA.   West, Nigel & Pujol, Jean (1985) Operation GARBO: The Personal Story of the Most Successful Double Agent of World War II. Random House, London, UK.   Liverpool Daily News (1942) Deaths. Liverpool Daily News, 24 Nov. 1942, p.4. Liverpool, UK.   ---------- 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 via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072 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.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
undefined
Apr 11, 2022 • 50min

The Medieval Ghosts of Byland Abbey

Some time around the turn of the fifteenth century, a Cistercian monk of Byland Abbey took it upon himself to pen a series of ghost stories on the empty pages of a folio containing some of the library's more prestigious works. A medieval monk scribbling down ghost stories was, in truth, not entirely unusual. In the case of the Byland monk, however, the stories seemed to be less concerned with religious matters and more with grisly details of the spirits themselves. Undead rising from the graves, shapeshifting from human to animal and back again, hunting down the living to gouge their eyes from their skulls. The monk was, in his way, reporting on the folklore of the day, leaving behind one of the middle ages' more unique documents on belief in the afterlife. Republished in its original Latin by medievalist and author M.R. James in 1922, the stories had, perhaps, more in common with his own writings than they did that of the church and opened a window on the prevalence of Pagan beliefs and folklore tradition that maintained throughout medieval Europe.   SOURCES   Scmitt, Jean-Claude (1998) Ghosts in the Middle Ages: The Living and the Dead in Medieval Society. The University of Chicago Press, London, UK.   Bartlett, Robert (2008) The Natural and the Supernatural in the Middle Ages. Cambridge Universtoy Press, Cambridge, UK.   Joynes, Andrew (2001) Medieval Ghost Stories. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, UK.   Grant, A.J. (1924) Twelve Medieval Ghost Stories. Yorkshire Archeological Journal, Vol. XXVII. Yorkshire, UK.   Fleischhack, Maria & Schenkel, Elmar (2016) Ghosts - or the (Nearly) Invisible: Spectral Phenomena in Literature and the Media. Peter Lang, NY, USA.   Harrison, Stuart (2022) History of Byland Abbey. [online] English Heritage. Available at:   ---------- 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 via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072 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.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
undefined
Mar 29, 2022 • 1h 19min

Iron Mike Malloy: The Man Who Would Not Die

Depression-era New York was a tough time for a guy just looking to get by. The pressure of feeding a family, the lack of available work, the poor conditions suffered from much of the work that was available and at the end of the day, you couldn’t even relax with a drink or drown your sorrows in the bottom of a bottle. At least, not legally. Whilst laws attempted to stop people from drinking alcohol, the culture of the speakeasy ripped through the underground. It was a place where one could relax and unwind, listen to some live music, play some cards, or set up an insurance fraud with a few of the friendly locals. It was the latter that took place in a small dive in The Bronx over several months in 1933 that would highlight how desperate the times could really be. It would also prove to be one of the most catastrophic displays of disorganised crime that the 19th-century newspapers would ever write about in what was dubbed as New York’s “most fantastic” murder. SOURCES   Read, Simon (2005) On The House: The Bizarre Killing of Michael Malloy. Berkly Publishing Group, NY, USA.   Funderburg, Anne (2014) Bootleggers and Beer Barons of the Prohibition Era. McFarland Incorporated Publishers, NC, USA.   Brooklyn Times Union (1933) Gang Murderers “Rub Out” 4 Men, Wound Another. Brooklyn Times Union, 20 March, 1933. P.3. NY, USA.   Brooklyn Times Union (1933) Two Gun Girl Seized In Bronx Holdup. Brooklyn Times Union, 17 April, 1933. P.1. NY, USA.   Daily News (1933) 5 Indicted As Murderers In Insurance Ring Probe. Daily News, 17 May, 1933. NY, USA.   Daily News (1933) When Justice Triumphed. Daily News, 29 October, 1933, P.42. Daily News, 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 via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072 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.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
undefined
Mar 14, 2022 • 1h 1min

Jürgenson, Raudive & A Brief History of EVP

An evolution of centuries-long efforts to contact and communicate with the dead, the practice of recording voices from the great beyond was attempted almost as soon as radio and tape recording technology became widely available in consumer devices. From garbled electrical chirps emanating out of swathes of white noise, to perfectly clear, eloquent speech, the results across the years have been as varied as they have been numerous. Up there with the capturing of “orbs” on camera in regards to its plausibility, EVP Research has somehow survived sceptical analysis and become a surprisingly persistent area of parapsychology. Though there were several pioneers in the space, there was one man who was supposedly so invested in the subject by the time of his death that he decided to come back and continue the job from the afterlife, through the medium of the telephone. SOURCES Jürgenson, Friedrich (1967) Voice Transmissions with the Deceased. Firework, Sweden. Raudive, Konstantin. (1971) Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication with the Dead. Smythe, UK. Roach, Mary. (2005). Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife. W.W. Norton & Co. UK. Banks, Joe (2001) Rorschach Audio: Ghost Voices and Perceptual Creativity. Leonardo Music Journal, Vol. 11, pp 77-83. MIT Press, USA. Estep, Sarah (1988) Voices of Eternity. Fawcett Gold Medal, NY, USA. Estep, Sarah (2005) Roads to Eternity. Glade Press, MN, USA. Moreman, Christopher M. (2013) The Spiritualist Movement: Speaking with the Dead in America and Around the World. ABC-CLIO, CA, USA. ---------- For extended show notes, including maps, links and scripts, head over to 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 via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The AI-powered Podcast Player

Save insights by tapping your headphones, chat with episodes, discover the best highlights - and more!
App store bannerPlay store banner
Get the app