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Introducing: The Last Resort

Fortnightly narratives on the unsolved and the unexplained, mysteries, historical true crime, touches of the paranormal and cultural peculiarities.

History

Society & Culture

Following the first world war, Germany, having never found its feet economically throughout the conflict, now found itself crumbling under the further weight of heavy reparations. Many of those that had survived the fighting found themselves in a desperate state, carrying out all sorts of underground, legally dubious, or just straight up illegal activities, in order to get by. There were some that thrived in the lawless environment, profiteering from others misfortune, and then there were others, a very select few, who not only thrived, but positively excelled at breaking the law, and amongst those, there were one or two who did so in some very dark ways. Friedrich Haarmann was one such individual. Trading used clothing by day, he carried out a series of brutal murders that would earn him the monikers of “The Butcher of Hanover,” “The Wolf Man,” and “The Vampire of Hanover.” Perhaps even more frightening than his nicknames, was the attitude of the man himself, who once told a shocked audience, “Oh believe me, I’m not ill, it’s only that I occasionally have funny turns.”
SOURCES
Theodor, Lessing (1925) Monsters of Weimar. Haarmann - The Story of a Werewolf. Nemesis Books, London, UK.
Daily News (1924) Behead Me! Vampire Slayer Cries, Raving, Tossing In Cell. Daily News, Sun 13 July 1924, p36. NY, USA
The Muncie Morning Star (1925) Germany To Behead Both Murderers. The Muncie Morning Star, Fri 6 Feb 1925, p1. IN, USA.
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This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, check out betterhelp.com/darkhistories to get 10% off your first month.

 
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For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com 
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories
The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: http://author.to/darkhistories
Dark Histories merch is available here: https://bit.ly/3GChjk9
Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories
& Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/
Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com
or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf
The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.

Fritz Haarmann: The Vampire of Hanover

Hi everyone, something a little different this week, but I'll be back as usual with next episode. Thanks as always!



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For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com 
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories
The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: http://author.to/darkhistories
Dark Histories merch is available here: https://bit.ly/3GChjk9
Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories
& Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/
Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com
or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf
The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.

Story Time: Dark Rituals & Pagan Rites

The ingenuity of the criminal class has rarely been criticised for lacking in imagination. One of the finer examples of this concept was put on full display in America, on the eve of the presidential election in 1876, When a group of shady crooks, who took the American Dream of making money a little too literally, decided they needed to bust one of their own from prison. The affair that unfurled led to one of the strangest stories in criminal history, featuring a small bag of relatively useless tools, an undercover secret service informant and the remains of a dead president.SOURCES
Stahlman Speer, Bonnie (1997) The Great Abraham Lincoln Hijack. Reliance Press, USA.
Craughwell, Thomas J. (2009) Stealing Lincoln’s Body. Belknap Press, USA.
Rhodes, Karl (2012) The Counterfeiting Weapon. Econ Focus, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, vol. 16(1Q), pages 34-37.
Tarnoff, Ben (2011) Moneymakers: The Wicked Lives and Surprising Adventures of Three Notorious Counterfeiters. Penguin Press, London, UK.
Power, John Carroll (1875) Abraham Lincoln: His Life, Public Services, Death & Great Funeral Cortege… Edwin A. Wilson & Co. Springfield, USA.
Glaser, Lynn (1960) Counterfeiting In America. Clarkson N. Potter, USA
The Rock Island Argus (1875) The Counterfeit Plates Found. The Rock Island Argus, Wed 3 Nov 1875, p2. Illinois, USA.
Chicago Tribune (1876) Horrible - Dastardly Attempt To Despoil The Lincoln Monument. Chicago Tribune, Wed 8 Nov 1876, p5. Chicago, USA.
Chicago Tribune (1876) Lincoln - The Violators Of His Tomb Arrested In This City. Chicago Tribune, Sat 18 Nov 1876, p1. Chicago, USA.
Chicago Tribune (1876) Lincoln’s Remains. Chicago Tribune, Sun 19 Nov 1876, p8. Chicago, USA.



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For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com 
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories
The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: http://author.to/darkhistories
Dark Histories merch is available here: https://bit.ly/3GChjk9
Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories
& Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/
Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com
or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf
The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.

Counterfeiting, Undercover Agents & The Abduction of Abraham Lincoln

In Victorian England, the press were never shy of calling a crime the “sensation of the century” or a murder, “the most astonishing the world had ever seen.” When the body of a young woman showed up on the beach of a popular seaside resort town, no-one would have imagined it would provoke just such proclamations. As the story unravelled, and the winding, and at times, explosive court case drew on, however, it became clear that not only would it provoke such headlines, but it would also be entirely worthy of many of them.SOURCES
Majoribanks, Edward (1929) The Life of Sir Edward Marshall Hall. Victor Gollanz Ltd. London, UK.
Donovan, Kim (2024) The Mysterious Mrs Hood. Seven Dials Publishing, London, UK.
Hulme, Mike (2010) ‘Telling a different tale’ literary, historical and meteorological readings of a Norfolk heatwave. Climactic Change, UK.
Dade, Richard (2007) Photographs and information about Great Yarmouth Rows. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from http://www.ourgreatyarmouth.org.uk/page_id__54.aspx
Eastern evening News (1900) Terrible Crime At Yarmouth. Eastern Evening News, Mon 24 Sep, 1900.  P3. Norfolk, UK.
Eastern evening News (1900) Yarmouth Beach Tragedy. Eastern Evening News, Tues 25 Sep, 1900. P3. Norfolk, UK.
Eastern evening News (1900) Yarmouth Beach Tragedy. Eastern Evening News, Wed 26 Sep, 1900. P3. Norfolk, UK.
Eastern evening News (1900) Yarmouth Beach Tragedy. Eastern Evening News, Thurs 27 Sep, 1900. P3. Norfolk, UK.
Eastern evening News (1900) The Tragedy On Yarmouth Sands. Eastern Evening News, Fri 28 Sep, 1900. P3. Norfolk, UK.
East Anglian Times (1900) Funeral Of The Victim. East Anglian Times, Sat 29 Sep, 1900. P3. Norfolk, UK.
Weekly Dispatch (1900) Yarmouth Murder Mystery. Weekly Dispatch, Sun 30 Sep, 1900. P11. London, UK.
Evening Star (1900) Yarmouth Denes Murder. Evening Star, Thurs 8 Nov, 1900. P2. London, UK.
Sleaford Gazette (1900) The Yarmouth Tragedy. Sleaford Gazette, Sat 24 Nov, 1900. P7. UK.
Echo (1900) Yarmouth Mystery. Echo, Sat 10 Nov 1900, P2. London, UK.
Liverpool Echo (1901) The Yarmouth Murder. Mon 25 Feb, 1901, P3. Liverpool, UK.
Echo (1901) Bennett Trial. Echo, Tues 26 Feb 1901, P3. London, UK.
Echo (1901) Bennett On Trial. Echo, Fri 1 Mar 1901, P3. London, UK.
Echo (1901) Bennett’s Sentence. Echo, Mon 4 Mar 1901, P2. London, UK.
Norfolk News (1901) Bennett At The Old Bailey. Norfolk News, Sat 2 Mar, 1901, P6. Norfolk, UK.
Norfolk News (1901) The Convict Bennett. Norfolk News, Sat 9 Mar, 1901, P13. Norfolk, UK.



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For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com 
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories
The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: http://author.to/darkhistories
Dark Histories merch is available here: https://bit.ly/3GChjk9
Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories
& Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/
Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com
or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf
The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.

The Mysterious Murder of Mary Jane Bennett

“As to the divination which takes place in sleep, and is said to be based on dreams, we cannot lightly either dismiss it with contempt or give it implicit confidence.” These were the words of Aristotle, written in 350 BCE, and taken very much to heart by a British psychiatrist in the 1960’s, when he took on the monumental task of collecting and collating hundreds of premonitions from across the country, with the ultimate goal of not only researching the phenomena, but then also using the data to avert disaster and perhaps even to save the world.SOURCES
Knight, Sam (2022) The Premonitions Bureau: A True Account of Death Foretold. Penguin Press, NY, USA.
Ulanowski, Krzysztof (2014) Mesopotamian Divination. Some Historical, Religious and Anthropological Remarks. Miscellanea Anthropologica et Sociologica 2014, 15 (4): 13–28. 
Martin, Martin (1719) A description of the Western Islands of Scotland. A. Bell, London, UK.
Dunne, J. W. (1927) An Experiment With Time. A & C Black, London, UK.
Barker, John (1968) Scared To Death. Dell Publishing, London, UK.
Psychic News (1968) Doctor Who Studied Premonitions Dies. Psychic News, Thurs 31 Aug 1968, p1. London, UK.
Fairley, Peter (1966) Did Anyone Have A Genuine Premonition OF Aberfan Disaster? Evening Standard, Fri 28 Oct 1966, p13. London, UK.
Fairley, Peter (1967) If You Dream Of Disaster… . Evening Standard, Wed 4 Jan 1967, p19. London, UK.
Barnes, Michael (1966) Learning To Hate Your Bad Habits. The Daily Telegraph, Fri 30 Dec 1966, p5. London, UK.
Birmingham Evening Mail (1967) 124 Killed In Holiday Air Crash. Birmingham Evening Mail. Thurs 20 April 1967, p1. Birmingham, UK.
The Guardian (1967) As Torrey Canyon Breaks Up Oil Battle Is Extended To Strait Of Dover. Tues 28 March 1967, p1. Manchester, UK.
Evening Standard (1967) Giant Tanker On Reef. Evening Standard, Sat 18 March 1967, p9. London, UK.
Birmingham Daily Post (1968) A Bureau To Avert Disasters? Birmingham Daily Post, Fri 23 Feb 1968, p34. Birmingham, UK.
Fairley, Peter (1968) The Londoners Who Believe They Saw Disaster In Advance. Evening Standard, Mon 11 March 1968, p8. London, UK.
Fairley, Peter (1968) Did Mr Hencher Forecast The Hither Green Rail Disaster? Evening Standard, Tues 12 March 1968, p7. London, UK.
Psychic News (1968) Doctor Who Studied Premontions Dies. Psychic News, Aug 31 1968, p1. London, UK.
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This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, check out betterhelp.com/darkhistories to get 10% off your first month.

 
-------



For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com 
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories
The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: http://author.to/darkhistories
Dark Histories merch is available here: https://bit.ly/3GChjk9
Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories
& Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/
Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com
or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf
The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.

Introducing: The Last Resort

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