You might know Salem for the witch trials in 1692, but Salem has a major haunted history as well - that all kind of centers around the House of the Seven Gables. Built in 1668 for a man called John Turner, the house has seen centuries of history: some good, some bad, and some in between. The name we use today for the house was popularized due to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1851 novel (The House of the Seven Gables). But that’s not all that the Hawthorne family was involved in; their ties to the Salem Witch Trials run deep. So, as you can imagine, with its past and its connection to the witch trials, the house is pretty prominent in ghost stories and paranormal activity. Join us today as we talk about the history of the House of the Seven Gables and the ghosts that currently call the place home.

Stay safe out there.

With love,

Saaniya and Maddie x

Sources:

https://salemghosts.com/house-of-the-seven-gables/

https://ghostcitytours.com/salem/haunted-places/house-seven-gables/

https://7gables.org/history/the-house-of-the-seven-gables/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_the_Seven_Gables

https://amyscrypt.com/ghosts-of-house-of-the-seven-gables-haunted-salem/

If you haven’t heard of the Affair of Poisons, look no further than this episode. This was this major murder scandal in France between 1677 and 1682, when King Louis XIV was in power. During this time there were many members of the aristocracy who were accused and charged with poisoning and witchcraft. The Affair of Poisons ended with 442 implicated suspects, 367 issued orders of arrests were issued, where 218 of which were carried out. Of those 218 condemned, 36 were executed; 5 were sentenced to the galleys, and 23 to exile. What do all of these people have in common? Well, if not for Marie-Madeleine d’Aubray, the Marquise de Brinvillers, they wouldn’t be dead, for her death was the catalyst of the Affair of Poisons. But what exactly did she do and how did she do it? This episode has most of the answers and maybe a few questions…

Stay safe out there.

With love,

Saaniya and Maddie x

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_de_Brinvilliers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affair_of_the_Poisons

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lettres_de_cachet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_de_Brinvilliers

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marie-Madeleine-Marguerite-dAubray-marquise-de-Brinvilliers

https://bonjourparis.com/history/mystery-and-murder-in-paris-the-infamous-madame-de-brinvilliers/

https://historycollection.com/the-life-and-crimes-of-the-marquise-de-brinvilliers/3/

So this week Maddie and I are going back to our roots I guess - because we’re talking about a notoriously haunted house in our home state of Massachusetts. If you know the popular jump rope song: 

“Lizzie Borden took an axe

She gave her mother forty whacks.

When she saw what she had done

She gave her father forty-one.

Lizzie Borden got away

For her crime she did not pay.” 

You probably can guess that we’re talking about the Lizzie Borden House. There are a lot of details in the actual case of the murder and the trial and everything so if you want to hear more about that let us know and maybe we can do an episode just on the case sometime in the future. But for now, let’s talk about the ghosts in this apparently very haunted bed and breakfast...

Stay safe out there.

With love,

Saaniya and Maddie x

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lizzie_Borden_House

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/16/us/lizzie-borden-house-for-sale/index.html

https://www.reference.com/world-view/lizzie-borden-nursery-rhyme-8a0d85f4d638a051

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lizzie-borden-took-an-axe#:~:text=Her%20story%20is%20still%20remembered,gave%20her%20father%20forty%2Done.

https://thegenealogycorner.com/2012/01/30/the-legend-and-family-of-lizzie-borden/

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g41564-d115165-Reviews-Lizzie_Borden_Bed_and_Breakfast-Fall_River_Massachusetts.html#REVIEWS

https://www.novelsuspects.com/excerpts/the-lizzie-borden-house/

https://www.countryliving.com/life/travel/a45140/what-its-like-to-stay-lizzie-borden-house/

https://bostonghosts.com/the-lizzie-borden-house/

http://hauntedhouses.com/massachusetts/lizzie-borden-house/

https://www.penbaypilot.com/article/midcoast-painter-has-unnerving-encounter-lizzie-borden-house/66037

"DISCLAIMER: None of this information has been released to the public. What I’m about to share with you is highly confidential. My superiors at the bureau are trying their best to keep these killings a secret to avoid panic, but I can’t keep my mouth shut any longer. You all deserve to know the danger that lurks out there. You deserve to know that no one is safe from this family. They are deranged, twisted, psychopathic killers. The following is my recounting of an interview with one of the Noir family sons and the events that transpired thereafter." 

So this episode was a lot... but we hope you enjoy my reactions to this story as Maddie and I blind react to a creepypasta that honestly could have just been the wattpad fanfic that was open in another tab on Maddie's computer. With characters such as Lucas Noir and Marcus Haze there's honestly no difference between this creepypasta and a fanfic we could find on wattpad. So sit back and enjoy the many questions we had through this story, and we'll see you next week for a fun lil paranormal story!

Stay safe out there.

With love,

Saaniya and Maddie x

Sources:

https://www.creepypasta.com/the-noir-family/

https://www.facebook.com/rlrogersauthor

In 1913, the Franciscan order built the Waldniel Hoster School - this was a Christian religious order within the catholic church that was founded in 1209 by Saint Francis of Assisi. It was this huge space that consisted of a church, a school and several administrative buildings. However, with Hitler’s rise to power in the 1930s and the Euthanasia decree coming into effect in 1939, the school became more or less a place of death and pain. It is estimated that 97 children lost their lives in the building, and their cries can still be heard to this day. The 97 children who had death certificates at the facility had causes of death such as emaciation, pneumonia, and cardiovascular weakness, but it is more than likely that the actual cause of death was due to the sleeping medication that was continuously administered. We hope that these souls eventually find peace, and hope you enjoy this eerie story…

Stay safe out there.

With love,

Saaniya and Maddie x

Sources:

https://paranormalteams.com/directory/haunted-locations/international/germany/157-waldniel-hoster-school

https://aminoapps.com/c/paranormal/page/blog/the-waldniel-hoster-school/j05g_lKWIKug2dwBlJZ21dQRjMeonYEmngj

https://www.allaboutparanormal.co/2015/01/the-waldniel-hoster-school.html?m=1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_School,_Hostert

https://steemit.com/story/@extreemer162/waldniel-hoster

https://www.facebook.com/historyhaunted/posts/history-haunting-of-waldniel-hoster-kent-school-schwalmtal-germany-said-to-be-ha/846541968705218/

In September of 2020, 38 year old Holly Courtier and her daughter Kailey Chambers went to Zion National Park to go hiking. She was apparently looking to go on a brief spiritual pilgrimage, and was looking to disconnect from everything for a while. On October 6th, she left her phone, didn’t tell anyone where exactly she was going to hike, parked her car in Springdale, and then took a 1:30 pm private shuttle to the Grotto area. This was the last time she was seen for almost 2 weeks. 12 days later, she was rescued from a site near the Virgin River - but this is where the story gets weird and we’re left asking questions like “how did she even survive this?”

Stay safe out there.

With love,

Saaniya and Maddie x

Sources:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/10/28/holly-courtier-rescue-zion-national-park-led-online-rumors-theories/6055999002/

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/10/30/police-investigating/#:~:text=Holly%20Courtier%2C%2038%2C%20disappeared%20Oct,alerted%20by%20a%20park%20visitor

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/10/18/holly-courtier-found/

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/19/us/missing-zion-hiker-holly-courtier/index.html

https://www.insider.com/zion-hiker-holly-courtier-official-questions-story-discrepancies-2020-10

https://www.yourtango.com/2020338110/holly-suzanne-courtier-conspiracy-theories

The Spandau Citadel is a fortress in Berlin, and it is one of the best preserved Renaissance military structures in Europe. It was built in 1559 on this medieval fort located on an island, and it was designed to protect the town of Spandau - the town is now a part of Berlin. And also the inner courtyard is used as a concert venue in summer and has been once since 2005!

But this is a story of love and loss; of children who do the wrong thing; and of women who come back with a vengeance. While the ghost of the Spandau Citadel hasn’t been reported to be violent, she has appeared to the descendants of the Hohenzollern family. And lastly, we should mention here that there is still a bit of mystery surrounding her death - and if the skeleton they found in the citadel during renovations actually belongs to her…

Stay safe out there.

With love,

Saaniya and Maddie x

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spandau_Citadel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Berlin_(1806)

https://berlinguidesassociation.com/possibly-the-most-haunted-place-in-berlin

https://www.thelocal.de/galleries/travel/germanys-10-most-haunted-spots

https://www.thelocal.de/20191023/what-are-germanys-most-haunted-castles

https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/serie-die-schoene-und-das-biest/7311768.html

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/german/german-ghost-stories/

Scott Lee Kimball was born on September 21st, 1966 in Boulder County, Colorado, and he was convicted of check fraud after he stole $50,000 from this optometrist. In light of this criminal act, he was sentenced to prison for fraud. When he was in prison, he apparently bragged to his fellow inmates that he was a hit man, and adopted this a tough-guy persona, probably to increase his relevance in the inmate hierarchy. For some reason, he also liked to call himself "Hannibal.” But he was released in 2003. And he murdered four people between January of 2003 and August of 2004. This story is a lot, but we hope you enjoy the ride…

Stay safe out there.

With love,

Saaniya and Maddie x

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Lee_Kimball

https://murderpedia.org/male.K/k/kimball-scott-lee.htm

https://www.serialkillercalendar.com/Scott%20Lee%20KIMBALL.php

https://www.truecrimeauctionhouse.com/artwork/scott-kimball-signed-handmade-card-letter-envelope

https://www.westword.com/news/denver-pro-trump-rally-and-washington-dc-riot-comparisons-11877646

https://wikivisually.com/wiki/Scott_Lee_Kimball

The White Horse Tavern is located in Newport, Rhode Island. And it is the oldest tavern still in operation in America. And not only is it the oldest tavern still operating in America, it is also listed on the National Historic Register of Historic Places. And I mean as you can probably tell from the content of our podcast, it is said to be home to a couple of resident ghosts… so join us for this lil history lesson - this one is kinda fun, we promise :)

Stay safe out there.

With love,

Saaniya and Maddie x

Sources:

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/white-horse-tavern-rhode-island/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Horse_Tavern_(Newport,_Rhode_Island)

https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/rhode-island/white-horse-tavern-haunted-ri/

http://hauntedhouses.com/rhode-island/white-horse-tavern/

https://www.werewoofs.com/underrated-ghost-stories-and-mythical-creatures-all-over-the-world/underrated-ghost-stories-and-mythical-creatures-all-over-the-world-one-hundred-and-twenty-first-stop-rhode-island/

https://www.hauntedjourneys.com/haunted-eateries/4361-the-white-horse-tavern

https://www.quahog.org/factsfolklore/index.php?id=39

So today I thought we could talk about two different cases cause I found one I wanted to talk about but then it ended up being a story from Egypt and I wanted to keep with the Europe and America theme so I thought we could talk about Kaisa Vornanen-Karaduman and then do a little bonus story. Unfortunately neither of these stories are fun but we don’t think any murders are fun…

The first case is better known as the Oulu child murders, and it is a Finnish murder case referring to June 3rd, 2014, when the bodies of five infants were found in the basement of an apartment in Oulu after the police received a complaint from neighbors about really bad-smelling packages and parcels in the basement of an apartment complex.

The second case we’re covering is the case of Raya and Sakina. And they're household names (like mothers would tell their daughters to behave to Raya and Sakina would come for them ). These two women were known as Egypt’s most infamous serial killers. They were sisters, and they teamed up with their husbands and two other men to kill women in a neighborhood called Labban in Alexandria, Egypt. They killed 17 women between December 20th, 1919 and November 12th 1920.

Stay safe out there.

With love, 

Saaniya and Maddie x

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulu_child_murders

https://rhod4nthe.tumblr.com/post/161514156655/the-baby-murders-in-oulu-finland

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raya_and_Sakina

https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-sisters-without-mercy-1.5352259

https://face2faceafrica.com/article/sex-drugs-and-murder-the-chilling-story-of-egypts-most-famous-female-killers