Conjuring Curiosities

Grab your ouija board and broomstick (and also some cheesecloth) and join us as we discuss the bewitching tale of Scotland’s last witch! Hear about the spellbinding events that led to Helen Duncan’s infamous trial in the 1940s. And yes, you read that right. Witch trials in the 20th century! Turns out, there was a medium whose séances attracted the ire of the British government. Was she really summoning spirits or just pulling one over on her audience? Either way, the authorities weren’t having it and slapped her with a charge of witchcraft. We’ll also explore how this case led to the repeal of Britain’s witchcraft laws. About time, right?

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SOURCES:

Curious Archive - The Bizarre Exploits of Helen Duncan: Ectoplasm Producing Medium and Britain’s ‘Last Witch’

Military Times - Witches be crazy: How one WWII ship led to the UK’s last witch trial

History Extra - Conjuring up the dead: Helen Duncan and her ectoplasm spirits

Mercat Tours - Scotland's Last Witch: Helen Duncan

BBC - Scotland’s Last Witch

Wikipedia - Helen Duncan

Wikipedia - Witchcraft Act 1735

Wikipedia - Jane Rebecca Yorke

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Clara tells Sabrina about a terrible pair of Williams, who decided that robbing graves was just too much work, and opted to end their victims lives before they entered the ground in the first place. Wanting to keep those medical schools stocked with fresh cadavers, but most importantly keep their pockets stuffed with cash, Burke and Hare fast-tracked their supply by offing people themselves. So grab your chests and a bottle of whisky, and join us in Edinburgh to hear all about the gruesome twosome!

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Most of Burke & Hare’s victims names were unknown, but here is a list of everyone as best as I could find: Donald (died of dropsy), Joseph (sick lodger), Abigail Simpson, Mary Paterson, “Old Woman”, “Englishman”, Mary Haldane, Effie, “Grandmother”, “Grandson”, “Drunk Woman”, “Unamed Lodger” (Hare only), Margagret Haldane, Mrs Ostler, Ann McDougal, Jamie Wilson, Mary Dougherty

SOURCES:

Wikipedia - Burke and Hare murders

Britannica - William Burke and William Hare

Historic UK - The Story of Burke and Hare

BBC - Anatomy and crime - Burke and Hare: The body snatchers

The University of Edinburgh - 5 things you didn’t know about Burke and Hare

History - BURKE AND HARE: THE EDINBURGH KILLERS WHO SOLD THEIR VICTIM'S BODIES FOR DISSECTION

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In our most morbid episode yet, we step into the eerie shadows of Victorian graveyards, where the dead couldn’t always rest in peace. Clara tells Sabrina about the grim and ghastly practice of body snatching, an illicit trade that supplied fresh corpses to the booming field of medical science. So if you’re steadfast enough (and not eating lunch), grab a shovel and a lantern, and meet us in the cemetery at midnight to dig up some seriously disturbing history…

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ORGAN DONATION:

Canada

United States of America

United Kingdom

SOURCES:

Mcdreeamie Musings - Medical school medieval style

Smithsonian - In Need of Cadavers, 19th-Century Medical Students Raided Baltimore’s Graves

University of Cambridge - ​​The body snatchers: corpse and effect

Vancouver Police Museum - Cadavers, Corpses, and Bodysnatchers: A Brief History of Medical Dissection

Owlcation - The Resurrection Men: Body Snatching in 19th-Century Britain

Canada’s History - Anatomically Incorrect: Bodysnatching in the 19th Century

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In this episode, Clara takes Sabrina on a hometown history fieldtrip, and calls on the past to talk about the notorious AGB (Alexander Graham Bell). From beginnings in Scotland making talking machines for his elocutionist Father, to believing telegraph lines could send so much more than morse code, Alec was truly ahead of his time. So grab your landlines and dial in to find out how we almost said “Ahoy” instead of “Hello”!

SOURCES:

Reluctant Genius; The Passionate Life and Inventive Mind of Alexander Graham Bell, by Charlotte Gray (book)

Wikipedia - Alexander Graham Bell

Britannica - Alexander Graham Bell

The Canadian Encyclopedia - Alexander Graham Bell

Rag Piano - Hello, Ma Baby

Songfacts - Hello! Ma Baby

The Saturday Evening Post - World Hello Day: History of a Greeting

Wikipedia - Hello! Ma Baby

NPR - A (Shockingly) Short History Of 'Hello'

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This week, we find out why some ideas are better left on the drawing board. Thomas Edison, the inventor behind the light bulb and phonograph, thought it would be a great idea to make dolls talk. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. What was supposed to be a groundbreaking toy turned into a nightmare, with dolls spewing scratchy, eerie nursery rhymes that left children and parents terrified. And you know if it creeped the Victorians out, it was seriously creepy. So grab your phonographs and ready your ears for some serious nightmare fuel!

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VIDEO:

ItWorks - How does a record player work with sound…

RECORDINGS:

Wikipedia - Edison’s Phonograph Doll

SOURCES: 

Wikipedia - Phonograph

Smithsonian - Edison Talking Doll

npca.org - The World’s First Talking Dolls

Smithsonian Magazine - The Epic Failure of Thomas Edison’s Talking Doll

The Henry Ford - Edison Talking Doll, 1889-1890

Smithsonian Magazine - How Porcelain Dolls Became the Ultimate Victorian Status Symbol

Reddit - "Victorian Mourning Dolls"- Where's The Evidence?

Burials and Beyond - The World of Victorian Grave Dolls

The Order of the Good Death - Cabinet of Curiosities: Victorian Death Dolls

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Get ready to sink your teeth into a bizarre and blood curdling story, because this week we’re discussing the New England Vampire Panic! A time when fear, superstition, and a dash of hysteria convinced a rural community in Rhode Island that the dead were rising from their graves to prey on the living. Clara tells Sabrina about Mercy Brown, the so-called "last American vampire," whose exhumation in 1892 marked the peak of this macabre panic. So grab your pitchforks and head to the cemetery with us to learn about Victorian vampires!

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SOURCES:

History.com - When New Englanders Blamed Vampires for Tuberculosis Deaths

Wikipedia - Mercy Brown vampire incident

Wikipedia - New England vampire panic

Newengland.com - Vampire Mercy Brown | When Rhode Island Was “The Vampire Capital of America”

History.com - The Last American Vampire

Smithsonian Magazine - The Great New England Vampire Panic

All That’s Interesting - Why The Mercy Brown Case Remains One Of History’s Craziest “Vampire” Incidents

My Macabre Roadtrip - Why Are There Cages Over Graves? It’s Not For Vampires!

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Consumption wasn't just a disease - it was a lifestyle. Afflicting millions with its debilitating symptoms, consumption became synonymous with romance and tragedy in the popular imagination. Join Clara and Sabrina as they explore the morbid fascination with illness, and the macabre allure of looking sickly and dying. So grab your handkerchiefs to cough dramatically into, and prepare to confront the dark allure of consumption in the 1800s.

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SOURCES:

Science Museum - Tuberculosis : A Fashionable Disease?

Lockport Journal - ABANDONED HISTORY: Sanitariums and sanatoriums of Niagara County

Wikipedia - Sanatorium

Welcome Collection - The history of sanatoriums and surveillance

Medical Records at the Archives of Ontario - Tuberculosis Records 

CDC - History of World TB Day

Wikipedia - Tuberculosis

VL McBeath - Victorian Era Consumption

Taconic Biosciences - Mountain Cottages, Fresh Air, and TB Research

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Grab your largest hats and your pointiest umbrellas, this episode we’re exploring the badass world of hatpin and umbrella self-defense! The long forgotten hatpin wasn't just for securing hats; it was also the secret weapon of Victorian ladies looking to jab back at the patriarchy. Women also took chaperoning into their own hands with their trusty parasols, ready to rain down justice on anyone foolish enough to cross their path. Sharpen your style and arm yourself with the knowledge of how fashion accessories became tools of empowerment by tuning in!

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SOURCES:

Racing Nellie Bly - Victorian Umbrella Defense Surpassed Perilous Hatpins

Smithsonian Magazine - “The Hatpin Peril” Terrorized Men Who Couldn’t Handle the 20th-Century Woman

History.com - Early 1900s Women Had an Ingenious Method for Fending Off Gropers

Wikipedia - Hatpin

The Pragmatic Costumer - Call the Fashion Police! I’m Wearing an Illegal Hatpin

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Be warned, fair listeners, this episode gets a bit raunchier than usual! Clara tells Sabrina about the Shakespearian fashion trend that she has become very well acquainted with as of late, codpieces! The Elizabethan gentleman's particular protrusion that showed off his...virility. During the peak of Shakespeares popularity, men decided that actual size doesn't have to matter if you choose to purposefully "pitch a tent" for the world to see. So dust off your ruffs and grab your quill—it's time to journey back even further in time than usual, and explore the ridiculous world of codpieces!

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SOURCES:

Victoria & Albert Museum - Doublet and Trunk Hose

History Extra - How big was Henry VIII’s codpiece?

University of Cambridge - What goes up must come down: a brief history of the codpiece

BBC - How the codpiece flopped

Sad and Useless - Codpiece Was a Weird Renaissance Fashion Trend

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We’re stepping through the looking glass this week to learn why exactly Victorian hatters happened to be so mad! In the heyday of hatmaking, mercury played a starring role in the production of felt hats, including the iconic top hats favoured by Victorian gentlemen. But behind the glamour and sophistication lay a hidden danger - mercury poisoning. From trembling hands to erratic behavior, the symptoms of mercury poisoning exacted a heavy toll on the health of hatters. Tune in to hear all about the origins of Wonderlands favourite Hatter, and how mercury is still affecting us to this day!

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SOURCES

History.com - Where did the phrase “mad as a hatter” come from?

Interesting Literature - The Curious Meaning and Origin of the Phrase ‘Mad as a Hatter’

Medium - The Original Mad Hatter From ‘Alice in Wonderland’

Wikipedia - Hatter (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)

Vanderbilt - Mad as a Hatter: Global efforts to reduce mercury emissions

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