Season 2 Episode 17: Rasputin!

Rasputin!

December 30, 1916
An assassination plot was devised and constructed by a group of nobles in order to kill a powerful figure in the Russian empire. Their plan had to go perfectly as they were not attempting to assassinate any ordinary man. Their target, Grigori Rasputin was widely known as “The Mad Monk” and some believe he had supernatural powers.

How else could one explain the events of Rasputin’s life? A peasant boy and known thief who managed to rise to the top of Russian society and perform several miraculous acts such as healing the sick and…

Drinking Poison

Intro Music: Moonlight Hall - Stings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Season 2 Episode 16: The Murder of Peter Porco

The Murder of Peter Porco

November 15, 2004
A man wakes up, goes to the bathroom, starts his morning coffee, goes outside to get his morning paper and locks himself out of his home. He then recalls that there is a spare house key outside which he then uses to gain entry back into the home.

Normally, these actions wouldn’t be that remarkable, however the individual we are referring to is Peter Porco, a father and local court clerk, and the reason these actions are interesting is because they all took place…

After Death

Intro Music: Moonlight Hall - Stings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Medium Article: LINK

Season 2 Episode 15: The Burke and Hare Murders

The Burke and Hare Murders

29 November 1827
William Burke and William Hare were two friends who lived in a lodging house that they ran together with their wives in Edinburgh Scotland. On November 29, 1827, a resident by the name of Donald dropped dead due to enema. This annoyed Hare as the man still owed Hare money for his rent. In order to recoup their losses the duo brought Donald’s body to Edinburgh University where they successfully sold the body for academic purposes. The money the two made from the fresh corpse heavily outweighed the amount they were due for rent and this is where the wheels start turning.

Through a combination of greed and legal statute, the two men would single-handedly change the laws around the sales of corpses…

but not before sixteen people were murdered

Intro Music: Moonlight Hall - Stings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Season 2 Episode 14: The Good Fire

The Good Fire

February 8, 1673
Thomas Cornell left his mother, Rebecca Cornell, seated by the fireplace on a cold evening in 1673. Soon after, Thomas returned to find the charred remains of his own mother left seated in the chair. While the circumstances of the death were intriguing enough what makes this story so strange is the way in which justice was carried out…

by the words of a ghost

New England Historical Society: LINK

Intro Music: Moonlight Hall - Stings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Season 2 Episode 13: Emanuela Orlandi

Emanuela Orlandi

22 June 1983
The Vatican is known as the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. For centuries Vatican City has been the sacred home of the Pope and his disciples. A city with a rich history and beautiful architecture and a wildly sought after vacation spot for tourists and practitioners of the faith.

But as we know with all major powers, there often lies a darker, more unknown side to things. Emanuela Orlandi was a teenager coming home from a music lesson when she was last seen. What happened to her? Did she simply run away? or is there something more to the story…

That might go straight to the top

Allthatsinteresting Article: LINK

Intro Music: Moonlight Hall - Stings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Season 2 Episode 12: The Voynich Manuscript

The Voynich Manuscript

Modern Day
In the library of Yale University lies a book containing pictures and script written in an unknown language for an unknown purpose. This collection of symbols and images have baffled thousands of cryptographers, historians, and amateur detectives.

The Voynich Manuscript is an unsolved puzzle that some believe contains information about Aliens, Gods, or even Government Conspiracy. Whatever the Voynich Manuscript is hiding, it has been hidden so well that nobody has managed to decipher any of it…

For over a hundred years

New Yorker Article: LINK

Digital Trends Article: LINK

Intro Music: Moonlight Hall - Stings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Season 2 Episode 11: The Mystery of Peter Bergmann

The Mystery of Peter Bergmann

June 2009
In the quiet ocean-side village of Sligo, Ireland, a man went about his day visiting the beach and walking through the town. This seemingly ordinary gentleman was one Peter Bergmann, a middle aged man who had just come to visit the town for the weekend. Passerby’s wouldn’t know it but Bergmann was about to become one of Ireland’s largest mysteries because in just a few short days…

Bergmann’s body would be found untouched on the beach

Intro Music: Moonlight Hall - Stings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Season 2 Episode 10: Cryptidbits! The Rougarou and the Goatman!

Cryptidbits! The Rougarou and the Goatman!

Present Day
Louisiana is a special place when it comes to folklore and legend. As we have discussed before on the podcast, Voodoo and witchcraft are common threads that appear in the history of the area and that leads to many interesting stories and macabre tales. One of these stories is the tale of the half man, half beast, the Rougarou.
Similar to the Witch Trails of Massachusetts, in the middle ages the French went through a similar period of skepticism and fear. If somebody was suspected of wrong-doing or anti-religious views, or if there were unexplained occurrences, the public would blame “Loup-Garou’s” - the French word for “Werewolves”.

Fast forward to the modern day. The name has been altered slightly to better match with the Cajun dialect but the monster still remains. it is said that if you go to the swamps of Louisiana and listen closely…

You can still hear its blood-curdling howls

Intro Music: Moonlight Hall - Stings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Rougarou Article: LINK

Goatman Article: LINK