Crime Capsule

One of the most popular poems in the English language, Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" has thrilled generations of readers. In 1882, the Anglo-American artist James Carling decided to produce the definitive series of illustrations for the poem. Carling's bizarre images explore the darkest recesses of Poe's masterpiece, its hidden symbolism and its strange beauty. Although the series remained unpublished at the time of the artist's early death in 1887, the drawings reemerged fifty years later, when they entered the collection of the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond. There they lined the blood-red walls of a Raven Room dedicated to their display. For the first time, author and Poe historian Christopher P. Semtner reproduces the entire series and tells the story behind these haunting works.

The curator of the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia, Christopher Semtner has served as author, co-author or editor of several books including the History Press title Edgar Allan Poe's Richmond: The Raven in the River City." He has created museum exhibits on Poe in the Comics, Poe's Mysterious Death and Poe in the Movies. The New York Times called the exhibit he curated for the Library of Virginia, Poe: Man, Myth, or Monster, "provocative" and "a playful, robust exhibit."

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The intimate task of caring for the dead had long fallen under women's sphere of responsibilities. But after the Civil War, the sudden popularity of embalming offered new financial opportunities to men who set up as undertakers, pushing women out of their traditional role. In Texas, from the 1880s to the 1930s, women slowly regained their place by the bier. Many worked while pregnant or raising children. Most shouldered the additional weight of personal tragedies and persistent sexism. All brought comfort to the bereaved in the isolation of the Texas frontier, kept its cities free of deadly disease and revolutionized an industry that was coming into its own.

Kathy Benjamin is a writer, editor and humorist whose work has appeared on sites including MentalFloss.com, Cracked.com and Grunge.com. She is the author of Funerals to Die For: The Craziest, Creepiest, and Most Bizarre Funeral Traditions and Practices Ever (Adams Media, 2013), It's Your Funeral!: Plan the Celebration of a Lifetime--Before It's Too Late (Quirk, 2021) and Texas Mass Graves: Burial Grounds of Atrocity, Massacre and Battle (The History Press, 2022). She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, Simon, and dog, Briscoe.

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The intimate task of caring for the dead had long fallen under women's sphere of responsibilities. But after the Civil War, the sudden popularity of embalming offered new financial opportunities to men who set up as undertakers, pushing women out of their traditional role. In Texas, from the 1880s to the 1930s, women slowly regained their place by the bier. Many worked while pregnant or raising children. Most shouldered the additional weight of personal tragedies and persistent sexism. All brought comfort to the bereaved in the isolation of the Texas frontier, kept its cities free of deadly disease and revolutionized an industry that was coming into its own.

Kathy Benjamin is a writer, editor and humorist whose work has appeared on sites including MentalFloss.com, Cracked.com and Grunge.com. She is the author of Funerals to Die For: The Craziest, Creepiest, and Most Bizarre Funeral Traditions and Practices Ever (Adams Media, 2013), It's Your Funeral!: Plan the Celebration of a Lifetime--Before It's Too Late (Quirk, 2021) and Texas Mass Graves: Burial Grounds of Atrocity, Massacre and Battle (The History Press, 2022). She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, Simon, and dog, Briscoe.

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Join us next week for a new episode of Crime Capsule as we kick off Spooky Season. We will continue bringing you captivating stories as we enter season 3. Check us out wherever you get your podcasts or on Evergreenpodcasts.com; all the books we cover are available from the History Press.

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In 1717, the Council of Trade and Plantations received "agreeable news" from New England. "Bellamy with his ship and Company" had perished on the shoals of Cape Cod. Who was this Bellamy and why did his demise please the government?

Born Samuel Bellamy circa 1689, he was a pirate who operated off the coast of New England and throughout the Caribbean. Later known as "Black Sam," or the "Prince of Pirates," Bellamy became one of the wealthiest pirates in the Atlantic world before his untimely death. For the next two centuries, Bellamy faded into obscurity until, in 1984, he became newsworthy again with the discovery of his wrecked pirate ship.

Historian Jamie L.H. Goodall unveils the tragic life of Bellamy and the complex relationship between piracy and the colonial New England coast.

Jamie L.H. Goodall, PhD, is staff historian with the U.S. Army Center of Military History in Washington, D.C. She has a PhD in history from The Ohio State University, with specializations in the Atlantic world and early American and military histories. Goodall is an expert on Golden Age piracy and has published with The History Press/Arcadia Publishing, the Washington Post, and National Geographic. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband, Kyle, and her Boxers, Thomas Jefferson and John Tyler.

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In 1717, the Council of Trade and Plantations received "agreeable news" from New England. "Bellamy with his ship and Company" had perished on the shoals of Cape Cod. Who was this Bellamy and why did his demise please the government?

Born Samuel Bellamy circa 1689, he was a pirate who operated off the coast of New England and throughout the Caribbean. Later known as "Black Sam," or the "Prince of Pirates," Bellamy became one of the wealthiest pirates in the Atlantic world before his untimely death. For the next two centuries, Bellamy faded into obscurity until, in 1984, he became newsworthy again with the discovery of his wrecked pirate ship.

Historian Jamie L.H. Goodall unveils the tragic life of Bellamy and the complex relationship between piracy and the colonial New England coast.

Jamie L.H. Goodall, PhD, is staff historian with the U.S. Army Center of Military History in Washington, D.C. She has a PhD in history from The Ohio State University, with specializations in the Atlantic world and early American and military histories. Goodall is an expert on Golden Age piracy and has published with The History Press/Arcadia Publishing, the Washington Post, and National Geographic. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband, Kyle, and her Boxers, Thomas Jefferson and John Tyler.

Purchase: HERE

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The rich history of the Wolverine State has a serious dark side. In the Detroit area, the Black Legion outdid the Ku Klux Klan in hate but remained secret until one of its leaders was implicated in a murder. John Harvey Kellogg of Battle Creek was equal parts physician and quack. Then there were the state's two self-proclaimed kings--James Jesse Strang, the leader of a Mormon group on Beaver Island, and Albert Molitor, the reputed illegitimate son of German royalty who established his own kingdom on Presque Isle. Michigan author and historian Norma Lewis present a gallery of the state's most despicable criminals, crooks, conmen and more.

Author and historian Norma Lewis lives in Grand Haven, Michigan. Michigan Scoundrels is her tenth book for Arcadia Publishing/The History Press.

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The rich history of the Wolverine State has a serious dark side. In the Detroit area, the Black Legion outdid the Ku Klux Klan in hate but remained secret until one of its leaders was implicated in a murder. John Harvey Kellogg of Battle Creek was equal parts physician and quack. Then there were the state's two self-proclaimed kings--James Jesse Strang, the leader of a Mormon group on Beaver Island, and Albert Molitor, the reputed illegitimate son of German royalty who established his own kingdom on Presque Isle. Michigan author and historian Norma Lewis present a gallery of the state's most despicable criminals, crooks, conmen and more.

Author and historian Norma Lewis lives in Grand Haven, Michigan. Michigan Scoundrels is her tenth book for Arcadia Publishing/The History Press.

Purchase HERE

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She Goes by Jane tells the stories of America's missing and unidentified women through episodes that honor women and their lives without focusing on gratuitous violence or perpetrators. Each episode features an original poem by Aimée Baker read by a special guest.

Aimée Baker is an award-winning poet, author, and the subject of the true crime documentary, SHE.

Vanessa Cicarelli is a photographer, filmmaker, and co-creator of the award-winning documentary, SHE.

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In this episode of Crime Capsule, host Benjamin Morris continues his conversation with Philip Andrew Gibbs, author of "Murder and Mountain Justice in the Moonshine Capital of the World." The episode explores the violent year of 1978, where numerous murders occurred in Western Franklin County. Gibbs, who was 21 at the time, shares his personal connection to the events and how it inspired him to write a book about the murders, feuding, and vigilanteism in the area. After years of pursuing an academic career, Gibbs returned to his book project and shares the journey of researching and writing about these crimes. Tune in to learn more about the dark history of this region and the impact it had on the author.

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