Don't Look Now

Stockholm syndrome is a phrase that gets used when people discuss traumatic situations like kidnappings or hostage situations.  What is Stockholm Syndrome?  Where did the name come from?  Does it have an opposite?  Discuss all of the above on this week's episode.

Mary Mallon was an Irish born cook in early 20th century New York.  She was the first know case of a healthy, non-symptomatic carrier of Typhoid in the United States and has since become known far and wide as Typhoid Mary.  What hides behind the trope is a story that begs the question of just how much authority should public health officials have when it comes to forcible quarantine and detention.  A topic very timely in today's pandemic backdrop. 

We discuss a couple of interesting animals, the cupacabra, famed goatsucker of Puerto Rico and Texas.  Is it an alien creature that sucks the blood of farm animals... or ugly coyotes.  I bet you can guess which is more likely.  We also discuss animals of the feline variety, the Ray Cat, genetically created to keep us safe from stored radioactive waste tens of thousands of years in the future.

The Winchester Mansion, built more or less continuously by Sarah Winchester from 1886-1922 is a huge sprawling complex with with 40 bedrooms, 47 fire places, and quite a bit of surrounding mystery.  With no master plan the house has strange dead ends, doors that open onto nothing, and stairways that go nowhere.  It also is rumored to be filled with the spirits of those killed by the Winchester family's most famous product, the Winchester Rifle.

We discuss Marie Laveau, the famed voodoo queen of New Orleans.  From her beginnings as devoutly catholic hairdresser she rose to become an renowned herbalist, nurse, and of course practitioner of Voodoo.  How much of the talk about her status of Voodoo queen is true, and why is her grave even more visited today than that of Elvis Presley?  Tune in and find out.

The Chinchorro culture of South America created the world's first man made mummies roughly 7000 years ago, or 2000 years before the Egyptians.  Listen in and find out about these ancient mummies, how and why they were made, and what is threatening their continued existence today.

We discuss traditions and lore concerning ghosts from cultures around the world.  Listen in and find out about similarities shared in common (like "The Lady in White" and bad things happening at crossroads) and fascinating differences.

Often called America's first family of serial killers, the Bender family lived on the prairie of  Kansas, not far from the famed site of "The Little House on the Prairie".  However, their story is a bit more macabre than that of Laura Ingalls Wilder.  Were the Benders indeed the blood thirsty band of depraved killers that they have been made out to be, or were they just scapegoated German immigrants who's spiritualist bent was unpopular with their neighbors?  

Henry Plummer was an erstwhile Baker/Sheriff/Outlaw/US Marshall that ranged throughout the western US in the 1860s committing felonies or preventing them (depending on who's account you listen to).  His treasure trove of ill-gotten gains is said to still be hidden somewhere in the American west with people still searching for it today.

We discuss the origins and meaning behind Br'er Rabbit and the Tar Baby and other tales passed down from enslaved peoples in the Americas and collected (and altered) in the Uncle Remus tales by Joel Chandler Harris.