On Easter morning, 1994, 40-year-old Ruben Borchardt was murdered in his own home by 2 intruders. Ruben was a life-long resident of Jefferson County, well-known, liked and respected in his community.

Ruben was a loving father and also a widower, losing his wife and mother of two of his children in a tragic car accident in front of the home that he built by himself for their family.

The investigation into Ruben's murder would shatter sercrets of a seemingly happy family, ripping open old wounds clearly still unhealed, and would become storyline material for scripted TV series, docu-dramas and Hollywood talk shows gracing televisions in homes across America.

Scott and Mickey discuss this case and the pattern of behaviors seen in countless relationships, throughout time, of manipulation, gaslighting, domestic violence, abuse, and worse.

In the opening banter we discuss several ongoing high-profile true crime cases in our state, and just where in our world was Carmen San...er..no... Al Capone?

Only here, on Episode 38 of Badger Bizarre, "The Ballad of Ruben Borchardt."

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Opening Trailer:

Ed Gein Sound Byte : "Hard Copy" - Paramount Domestic/CBS Televsion

Frank Lloyd Wright and Jeffery Dahmer Sound Byte - WISN 12 News - Milwaukee, WI

Jeffery Dahmer Quotes: "Inside Edition" - King World/CBS Television/CBS Media

Attribution for Music:

Trailer: Composer: Adam Phillip Zwirchmayr https://www.pond5.com/

Intro: https://pixabay.com/

Outro: Composer: Viacheslav Sarancha https://www.pond5.com/

Attribution for logo design:

Red Claw Scratch Photo

Sources:

"American Justice; S13, Ep 15, Diane Borchardt" - A & E Network

Bartlette , DeLani - "Diane Borchardt; The Murderous Mrs. B."

Court TV - Nicolae Mui

Daily Jefferson County Union - Archives

Fond du Lac Reporter - Archives

Kirtscher, Tom - "Fact or fiction: Al Capone's Wisconsin Stomping Grounds"

"Snapped" Oxygen Network - Diane Borchardt

USA Today - Sade Robinson

Wisconsin State Journal - Archives

The land on which Devil's Lake State Park sits on displays some of the oldest illustrations of human occupation in all of North America. The landscape still bares the work of hands of over a thousand years ago, and the legends and rich mythology of the Native Americans have lasted the test of time.

Is it posssible that some of what modern civilization has attributed to native mythology is actually very real, and affecting our world today?

Scott and Mickey discuss these legends of Devil's Lake, and stories passed down through centuries, along with some of the more recent sightings, hauntings, and bizarre ocurrances that have happened in the area over the decades, culminating in a poignant discussion about the tangible world that was left us from those who came before, and how too much of it has been misused.

The opening banter updates a few stories we've been following, including the case of missing 3-year-old Elijah Vue and the anniversary of the murder of Father Kunz.

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Opening Trailer:

Ed Gein Sound Byte : "Hard Copy" - Paramount Domestic/CBS Televsion

Frank Lloyd Wright and Jeffery Dahmer Sound Byte - WISN 12 News - Milwaukee, WI

Jeffery Dahmer Quotes: "Inside Edition" - King World/CBS Television/CBS Media

Attribution for Music:

Trailer: Composer: Adam Phillip Zwirchmayr https://www.pond5.com/

Intro: https://pixabay.com/

Outro: Composer: Viacheslav Sarancha https://www.pond5.com/

Attribution for logo design:

Red Claw Scratch Photo

Sources:

HIstory Channel - Ancient Aliens

Baraboo News-Republic - Archives

Birmingham, Robert A; "Spirits of Earth: The Effigy Mound Landscape of Madison and the Four Lakes"

Devils Lake Wisconsin

Dewel, Bob; "Some Legends of Devil's Lake"

Herrewig/Mordidni; "Haunted Baraboo"

H.P. Lovecraft Wiki

Kenosha News - Archives

Legends and Archaeology of Devil's Lake

Paulides, David; "Missing 411"

Sasquatch Chronicles

Travel Channel - Hometown Horror; "Three Ring Terror"

Wisconsin DNR

Wisconsin Legends Podast; "Legendary Creatures and Cthulhu Power Zones, The Mysteries of Devil's Lake"

Wisconsin State Journal - Archives

In the summer months of 1789, during the public uprisings that would eventually turn into the French Revolution, the backlash against the French Royal family turned bloody as the family is captured and imprisoned in the medieval tower known as The Temple.

King Louis XVI, Queen Marie-Antoinette, and their adolescent children, daughter Marie-Therese and son (and heir to the throne, or "the dauphin") Louis-Charles were kept mostly separated and fearing for their lives.

Eventually, the King and Queen are executed by guillotine, leaving Louis-Charles the new king of France, at 8 years-old. Remaining held in captivity, beaten, raped, and tortured for years, the boy dies in captivity of "prison fever," ravaged by disease and mistreatment at only 10 years old.

But in time, rumors flew, floating the idea that the boy-king was actually secretly rescued and whisked away to the New World, a different dying boy kept in his stead.

After the rumors and innuendo had seemingly died off, 44 years later, an Indian Missionary in Green Bay, 50 year-old Eleazer Williams, claims that HE is the "Lost Dauphin" and rightful heir to the French Throne.

Williams becomes an international celebrity, vouched for by artists, doctors, and even several members of the former royal staff that swore Williams was actually the former boy-king, thought to have died in captivity decades before.

Hear this fantastical tale of Wisconsin's brush with European Royalty, and find out of we really did have a King among us.

In the opening banter, Scott and Mickey discuss a high-profile missing child case currently in Two Rivers, and discuss the Top 10 "Magical and Mystical" places in our state.

All on Episode 36 of Badger Bizarre, "The Lost Dauphin"

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Opening Trailer:

Ed Gein Sound Byte : "Hard Copy" - Paramount Domestic/CBS Televsion

Frank Lloyd Wright and Jeffery Dahmer Sound Byte - WISN 12 News - Milwaukee, WI

Jeffery Dahmer Quotes: "Inside Edition" - King World/CBS Television/CBS Media

Attribution for Music:

Trailer: Composer: Adam Phillip Zwirchmayr https://www.pond5.com/

Intro: https://pixabay.com/

Outro: Composer: Viacheslav Sarancha https://www.pond5.com/

Attribution for logo design:

Red Claw Scratch Photo

Sources:

Bonaparte, Darren: Eleazer Williams "The Lost Mohawk"

Cadbury, Deborah; "The Lost King of France: How DNA Solved the Mystery of the Murdered Son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette "

Green Bay Press Gazette - Archives

Hanson, John H; The Lost Prince (1854)

History.net/Eleazer Williams

Legends from History

Oberg, Michael Leroy; "Professional Indian: The American Odyssey of Eleazer Williams"

Wisconsin Historical Society/Eleazer Williams

Opening Sources:

Elijah Vue

Rickey Jean Bryant

Up North News - Top 10

The Exorcism of Anna Ecklund is known today as the most documented case of supposed demon possession and exorcism in American history. Although occurring over several months in the small town of Earling, IA, the main players in the story - Anna Ecklund and the exorcist priest - were both Wisconsinites.

The exorcism is famous today for its grueling and brutal sessions, which resulted in Anna becoming emaciated from refusing to take in food, and seemingly supernatural occurrances of her body withstanding contortions and disfigurement, vomiting impossible amounts of fluids, and scaling room walls. Actual conversations had between the exorcist, Appleton priest Theophulis Riesinger, and numerous demons speaking through Anna, including Satan himself, were also documented.

Much of the surviving documentation became the source material for the 1973 American horror classic, "The Exorcist."

Scott and Mickey discuss this case, filling in the backrounds of Theophilus Riesinger of St. Joseph's Parish in Appleton, and Anna Ecklund, which is a psudenym for a woman believed to be from Marathon, WI named Emma Schmidt.

Listen to this one with the lights on!

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Opening Trailer:

Ed Gein Sound Byte : "Hard Copy" - Paramount Domestic/CBS Televsion

Frank Lloyd Wright and Jeffery Dahmer Sound Byte - WISN 12 News - Milwaukee, WI

Jeffery Dahmer Quotes: "Inside Edition" - King World/CBS Television/CBS Media

Attribution for logo design:

Red Claw Scratch Photo

Attribution for Music:

Trailer: Composer: Adam Phillip Zwirchmayr https://www.pond5.com/

Intro: https://pixabay.com/

Outro: Composer: Viacheslav Sarancha https://www.pond5.com/

Sources:

Appleton Post-Crescent - Archives

"Begone Satan!"

Capuchin.org - Theophilus Riesinger

Des Moines Register - Archives

"The Exorcist"

Fox 6 Milwaukee - Morgan Geyser

Laycock, Joseph - "The Secret History of the Earling Exorcism."

St. Clair, David; "The Devil Rocked Her Cradle"

Time Magazine - February 17, 1936

WISN - Lawrence McFarland

On Chirstmas Day, 1977, 31-year-old Jerry Davies walked into the Madison Police Department and reported information that culminated in the most highy publicized trial in Wisconsin's history to that point.

Just hours prior, Jerry participated in burying a human body in a frozen snowbank on the outskirts of Madison, and initiated an investigation that blew the lid off of Madison's secret underground Red Light District, hiding for years under the guise of massage parlors, 'health spas,' and burlesque clubs.

Trafficking in sex, drugs, and an antidote for lonliness, the scene provided the backdrop of one of the most sensational murder cases ever in our state, providing a study in human manipulation and a lesson that you may never quite know someone as well as you think you do.

Scott and Mickey kick off 2024 discussing this case as well as more true crime stories featuring your favorite state in the opening banter, including that of Gypsy Rose Blanchard.

Sources:

"The Act" - Hulu Miniseries

Capitol Times - Archives

Harter, Karl - "Winter of Frozen Dreams"

"Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose" - Lifetime Docu-series

State vs Hoffman

"Winter of Frozen Dreams" - 2009 Movie

Wisconsin State Journal - Archives

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Opening Trailer:

Ed Gein Sound Byte : "Hard Copy" - Paramount Domestic/CBS Televsion

Frank Lloyd Wright and Jeffery Dahmer Sound Byte - WISN 12 News - Milwaukee, WI

Jeffery Dahmer Quotes: "Inside Edition" - King World/CBS Television/CBS Media

Attribution for Music:

Trailer: Composer: Adam Phillip Zwirchmayr https://www.pond5.com/

Intro: https://pixabay.com/

Outro: Composer: Viacheslav Sarancha https://www.pond5.com/

Attribution for logo design:

Red Claw Scratch Photo

In January of 1927, a large crowd of onlookers was gathering in a secluded woods outside of Platteville in an area where a search party had recently ensued for a missing person.

Something had indeed been found, but just what was it that the crowd was hoping to see?

The story of how authorities were led to this place, and the macabre scene in the woods, would again put Wisconsin on the front page of newspapers throughout the nation for reasons of the bizarre and the unbelieveable.

Mickey and Scott discuss this case, which has since become known as the "Rubber Stamp Murder," and delve into the broader issues which became discussion points around the country at the time, due to this very situation.

In our opening banter, we touch on the recent Ed Gein documentary, "Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein," and talk about some of the most popular ghost walks throughout the state.

So, join us as you head into your Christmas weekend with a little true crime holiday cheer, with a side of Badger Bizarre!

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Email us: [email protected]

Opening Trailer:

Ed Gein Sound Byte : "Hard Copy" - Paramount Domestic/CBS Televsion

Frank Lloyd Wright and Jeffery Dahmer Sound Byte - WISN 12 News - Milwaukee, WI

Jeffery Dahmer Quotes: "Inside Edition" - King World/CBS Television/CBS Media

Attribution for Music:

Trailer: Composer: Adam Phillip Zwirchmayr https://www.pond5.com/

Intro: https://pixabay.com/

Outro: Composer: Viacheslav Sarancha https://www.pond5.com/

Attribution for logo design:

Red Claw Scratch Photo

Sources:

Baraboo News Republic - Archives

Capitol Times - Archives

Edward Coffey Project

Eau Claire Leader-Telegram - Archives

History and Politics Blog

Kenosha News - Archives

OnMilwaukee.com

Platteville Witness - Archives

Sheboygan Press - Archives

Wisconsin State Journal - Archives

Media discussed:

Eaton, Marc: Sensing Spirits: Paranormal Investigation and the Social Construction of Ghosts

Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein

In May of 2014, two young girls lured a third girl into the woods in a park in Waukesha and proceeded to set in motion one of the world's most talked about true crime stories of the last 2 decades.

Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier's attempted murder of their friend Peyton Leutner sent shockwaves through Wisconsin, and shed light on the dark side of internet culture, "Creepypastas," and one icon in particular named, Slenderman.

Although sensationalistic media focused on Slenderman's influence in the crime, the more important aspects of the story were mainly missed, such as teen and adolescent mental illness, parental control, and the grand scheme issues of criminal justice and mental health care of juveniles.

Scott and Mickey discuss the case, how it happened, and hit those deeper issues which continue to be talked about and debated today, almost 10 years after the crime.

The opening banter covers a few current WI true crime cases, and 10 of the creepiest roads in the U.S, in which the Badger State is, of course, represented!

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Opening Trailer:

Ed Gein Sound Byte : "Hard Copy" - Paramount Domestic/CBS Televsion

Frank Lloyd Wright and Jeffery Dahmer Sound Byte - WISN 12 News - Milwaukee, WI

Jeffery Dahmer Quotes: "Inside Edition" - King World/CBS Television/CBS Media

Attribution for Music:

Trailer: Composer: Adam Phillip Zwirchmayr https://www.pond5.com/

Intro: https://pixabay.com/

Outro: Composer: Viacheslav Sarancha https://www.pond5.com/

Attribution for logo design:

Red Claw Scratch Photo

Sources:

ABC News: 20/20 "Slenderman Episode"

"Beware the Slenderman" - Documentary

Creepypasta Wiki/Slenderman

Dunlap, Bridget: "Slenderman Trial: Why Trying These GIrls as Adults is Absurd" - Rolling Stone

Hale, Kathleen "Slenderman: Online Obsession, Mental Illness, and the Violent Crime of Two Midwestern Girls"

Juvenile Law Center: State vs Geyser

MIller, Lisa - "Slenderman is Watching" New York Magazine

Milwaukee Journal Sentinal Archives

New York Post Archives

"Slenderman" The Untold Story" - Documentary

State vs Anissa E. Weier

State vs Morgan E. Geyser

We celebrate Halloween this year by sharing your stories told to us at the Great Lakes Paranormal Conference this past September. Many of you shared with Scott and Mickey your personal paranormal experiences, and we share them here, in your own words.

Wisconsin has often been referred to as the most haunted state in America, and this episode will demonstrate exactly why that is.

Enjoy, and Happy Halloween. Sleep with one eye open!

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Email us: [email protected]

Opening Trailer:

Ed Gein Sound Byte : "Hard Copy" - Paramount Domestic/CBS Televsion

Frank Lloyd Wright and Jeffery Dahmer Sound Byte - WISN 12 News - Milwaukee, WI

Jeffery Dahmer Quotes: "Inside Edition" - King World/CBS Television/CBS Media

Attribution for Music:

Trailer: Composer: Adam Phillip Zwirchmayr https://www.pond5.com/

Intro: https://pixabay.com/

Outro: Composer: Viacheslav Sarancha https://www.pond5.com/

Attribution for logo design:

Red Claw Scratch Photo

Special Thanks to the following:

Boyd House

Fox Valley Ghost Hunters

Great Lakes Paranormal Conference

National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion

Reiki Magic, Duluth, MN

St Croix Paranormal Youtube

The institution of slavery is the darkest stain on our nation.

Wisconsin's role, in both its implentation and end, is not usually thought of as significant, though history tells a different story.

As early as the 1830's, abolitionists in Wisconsin were building a network of resources to aid in shielding freedom-seekers from those who sought to steal their God-given right to life and self-determination. By 1854, The Badger State, by then only 6 years in the Union, was leading the charge in defying federal slave laws, creating a domino effect followed by other states, and stoking the fires of Civil War.

Places like the Milton House, outside of Janesville, continued the secrecy of the Underground Railroad in the north to aid those fleeing from bondage, leaving a legacy of compassion for others, and the resiliancy of the Human Spirit.

In the beginning banter, Scott and Mickey discuss our time at the Great Lakes Paranormal Conference, and give a heartfelt sendoff to our friend, Jim Cooper.

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Opening Trailer:

Ed Gein Sound Byte : "Hard Copy" - Paramount Domestic/CBS Televsion

Frank Lloyd Wright and Jeffery Dahmer Sound Byte - WISN 12 News - Milwaukee, WI

Jeffery Dahmer Quotes: "Inside Edition" - King World/CBS Television/CBS Media

Attribution for Music:

Trailer: Composer: Adam Phillip Zwirchmayr https://www.pond5.com/

Intro: https://pixabay.com/

Outro: Composer: Viacheslav Sarancha https://www.pond5.com/

Attribution for logo design:

Red Claw Scratch Photo

Sources:

Davidson, John Nelson: "Negreo Slavery in WI and the Underground Railroad"

Janesville Daily Gazette Archives

LaCrosse Tribune Archives

Milton House

National Park Service

Pferdehirt, Julia: "Freedom Train North: Stories from the Underground Railroad in WI"

Waukesha County Museum

Welch, Doug: "The Milton House and the Underground Railroad"

Wisconsin Court System

On a cold, unseasonably snowy November night in Madison in 1947, two unsuspecting co-eds found themselves thrown into what has since become known as one of the most heinous crime sprees in our state's history.

25-year-old Carl Carlson and his 19-year-old sister-in-law, Janet Ann Rosenblatt, had met in Madison to attend the Badger vs Michigan football game the next day, as Rosenblatt was a student at UM, while Carlson was a pre-med student at Madison.

What transpired that night has gone down in the annals of Wisconsin True Crime and the resulting abductions, rape, and murder are remembered still today as being what nightmares are made of.

In the opening banter, Scott and Mickey discuss a new documentary in the Steven Avery saga, and kick off the Halloween season with 12 places in the Badger State where the "Ghost Hunting Game is High."

Hear all this and more on Episode 29 of Badger Bizarre: "Sennett & Winslow."

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Opening Trailer:

Ed Gein Sound Byte : "Hard Copy" - Paramount Domestic/CBS Televsion

Frank Lloyd Wright and Jeffery Dahmer Sound Byte - WISN 12 News - Milwaukee, WI

Jeffery Dahmer Quotes: "Inside Edition" - King World/CBS Television/CBS Media

Attribution for logo design:

Red Claw Scratch Photo

Attribution for Music:

Trailer: Composer: Adam Phillip Zwirchmayr https://www.pond5.com/

Intro: https://pixabay.com/

Outro: Composer: Viacheslav Sarancha https://www.pond5.com/

Sources:

Balousek, Marv: "50 Wisconsin Crimes of the Century."

Baraboo News Republic Archives

Capitol Times Archives

Chippewa Herald-Telegram Archives

Janesville Gazette Archives

WBAY - Green Bay

Wisconsin State Journal Archives

WLUK - Green Bay

For more informatio on the upcoming Great Lakes Paracon:

https://www.greatlakesparanormalconference.com/