Three deaths. No obvious violence. No immediate suspicion.
An 1886 poisoning case that unfolded quietly inside the home — until it didn’t.

Source Materials:

Berry,James. My Experiences as an Executioner.Berry, James. The Hangman’s Thoughts Above the Gallows.Shannon, Issy. Infamous Lancashire Women.Stratmann, Linda. The Secret Poisoner: A Century of MurderWatson, Katherine. Poisoned Lives: English Poisoners and Their Victims.Contemporary newspaper reports relating to the Britland case (1886).

In February 1567, an explosion destroyed a house in Edinburgh but the body of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley was found outside the ruins, untouched by the blast. His murder was never solved. This episode examines Darnley’s death within thepolitical world of sixteenth-century Scotland and the pressures facing Mary, Queen of Scots. A story of power, perception, and suspicion without proof.

Source Materials

 Darnley: A Life of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley — Caroline Bingham. Constable & Robinson, 1995.

 Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley — Alison Weir. Vintage Books, 2008.

Criminal Trials in Scotland, Volumes I–III — edited by Robert Pitcairn. Bannatyne Club, 1833.

My Heart Is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots — John Guy. Fourth Estate, 2004.

 “10 February 1567 – The Murder of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley” — Claire Ridgway, The Tudor Society.

“Murder of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley of Scotland” — Historic Mysteries.

Calendar of State Papers, Scotland, Volume 2 (1563–1569) — edited by Joseph Bain. London, 1900.

In 1924, bones emerging from the River Leine exposed the crimes of Fritz Haarmann—the “Butcher of Hanover”—who had been operating in plain sight. This episode traces the missing boys, the fractured systems that failed them, and how one city finally uncovered a killer hidden in its midst.

Source Materials

Alexander Gilbert — The Hanover Vampire: Fritz Haarmann

Mark Pulham — “The Monster of Hanover,” Crime Magazine

Maria Tatar — Lustmord: Sexual Murder in Weimar Germany

Crime Stories, Criminalistic Fantasy, and the Culture of Crisis in Weimar Germany

Sexual Murder: Catathymic and Compulsive Homicide, Annals of Forensic Research

Morgan Dunn — “Fritz Haarmann Was a Popular Butcher…” (All That’s Interesting)

Hannover Police Records (as cited through secondary sources)

Hannoverscher Kurier reporting (as cited through secondary sources)

A quiet border town, a sudden illness, and a solicitor accused of poisoning both his wife and a rival. This episode examines the Armstrong case and why, even 100 years later, it remains one of Britain’s most debated convictions.

Sources & Further Reading

Stephen Bates, The Poisonous Solicitor (2022)

Martin Beales, The Hay Poisoner: Herbert Rowse Armstrong (2001)

Robin Odell, Exhumation of a Murder (1975)

“Herbert Rowse Armstrong,” The History Room (history-room.co.uk)

Polly Botsford, “The incredible true story of the only solicitor ever to hang for murder,” Legal Cheek (legalcheek.com)

Stephanie Almazan, “Herbert Armstrong,” The Line-Up (the-line-up.com)

Nicola Bryan, “Fresh doubt cast on solicitor’s murder conviction 100 years on,” BBC News (bbc.com)

A 1932 Stockholm murder becomes one of Sweden’s strangest cold cases. When 32-year-old Lilly Lindeström is found dead in her apartment, unusual details spark rumorsof a “vampire” killer. What’s fact, what’s myth, and why was the case never solved?

Source Materials
https://gizmodo.com/swedens-most-bizarre-unsolved-murder-was-maybe-commit-1706115395
https://londonpress.wordpress.com/2016/08/24/the-disturbing-unsolved-case-of-the-atlas-vampire

https://medium.com/@marvelinemerab/she-was-killed-in-broad-daylight-and-drained-like-a-horror-story-de41701dd6bf

https://www.ranker.com/list/atlas-vampire-murder/april-a-taylor
https://strangeremains.com/2019/10/24/stockholms-unsolved-vampire-murder
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/shadow-boxing/201211/vampire-personality-disorder

https://polismuseet.se

https://stockholmskallan.stockholm.se

A woman posing as Andrew Carnegie’s secret daughter scammed banks out of today’s equivalent of $20 million—armed with nothing but forged notes and absolute confidence. This is the rise and unraveling of Cassie Chadwick, one of the boldest fraudsters of the Gilded Age.

Source Materials

Crosbie, John. The Incredible Mrs. Chadwick. 1975.

Hazelgrove, William Elliott. Greed in the Gilded Age: TheBrilliant Con of Cassie Chadwick. Lyons Press, 2021.

Wade, Carlson. Great Hoaxes & Famous Impostors. 1976.

Hayek, Caroline C.; Gates, Sandra; Rankin, Robert J. “TheSocial Construction of Fraudulent Identity.”

“Cassie Chadwick: The Female Wizard of Finance.” Ohio History Connection, June 22, 2022.

“The High Priestess of Fraudulent Finance.” SmithsonianMagazine.

Newspaper coverage quoted from: Cleveland Plain Dealer;Clinton Republican; Oberlin Review.

A young woman in rural Tipperary falls suddenly ill in 1895—and within days, fear, folklore, and family pressure spiral into one of Ireland’s most disturbing murder cases. This episode unravels the death of Bridget Cleary, the beliefs that shaped it, and the legacy she never asked for.

Source Materials

 Bourke, Angela. The Burning of Bridget Cleary: A True Story. Penguin, 2000.

The Tipperary Witch Case (1895 court and newspaper reporting).

McGrath, Thomas. “Fairy Faith and Changelings: The Burning of Bridget Cleary in 1895.”

 Ruxton, Dean. “The Story of the Last ‘Witch’ Burned Alive in Ireland.” The Irish Times, 2016.

“The Charred Remains of Bridget Cleary Were Found in a Bog…” History Collection.

“The Murder of Bridget Cleary: Ireland’s Last Witch and the Fire of Superstition.” Secret Ireland.

National Archives of Ireland images and records related to the Cleary case.

In 1920s Los Angeles, prophecy, greed, and death collided in the hills of California. This episode unravels the story of the Blackburn Cult—a mother-daughter prophecy, a girl kept on ice, and a courtroom that tried to make sense of itall.

Historical True Crime was named one of Feedspot’s Best 1920s Podcasts, coming in at #4. Feedspot highlights top podcasts across history, true crime, and culture — you can find their full 1920s list on their site. https://podcast.feedspot.com/1920s_podcastsSource Materials

Blackburn, May Otis. The Origin of God. Los Angeles: DeVross & Co., 1936.

Young, Paul. L.A. Exposed: Strange Myths and Curious Legends in the City of Angels. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2002.

Introvigne, Massimo. “Beth Sarim: Princes, Slander, and the Millennium.” The Journal of CESNUR 6, no. 6 (2022): 12–17.

 “Believe Child Sacrificed in Ritual of Cult.” Associated Press, October 7, 1929.

“Los Angeles Authorities Probe Deaths of Cult Members.” Associated Press, October 9, 1929.

“Mary Otis Blackburn Convicted in Grand Theft Case.” Associated Press, March 3, 1930.

“Cult Leader Sentenced to San Quentin.” Associated Press, March 14, 1930.

Divine Order's Tale Smacks of Cult Fiction - Los Angeles Times

Take It On Faith: A Press Photo of Members of the Divine Order of the Royal Arms of the Great Eleven, Los Angeles, 7 October 1929 -The Homestead Blog

Female Justice Recap: “Persons Believing They Have Divine Power are Entitled to Assert It”: Religious Freedom in the May Otis Blackburn Theft Trial -The Homestead Blog

The Blackburn Cult - HistoricalCrimeDetective.com

Between 1894 and 1897, a scarred drifter named Joseph Vacher wandered the French countryside, leaving a trail of murdered shepherds and farmhands in his wake. Dubbed “The French Ripper,” his crimes terrified rural France—and helped give birth to modern forensic science. This episode traces his life, his trial, and the work of Dr. Alexandre Lacassagne, the scientist who proved that evidence could speak louder than fear.

Source Materials

Starr, Douglas. The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science. (Alfred A. Knopf, 2010).

Tracking a 19th-Century Serial Killer | BU Today | Boston University

Joseph Vacher: Serial Killer Known as "The French Ripper" - geriwalton.com

The 'French Ripper' Killed Dozens — So Why Don’t You Know His Name?

Joseph Vacher: The French Ripper’s Brutal Killing Spree – True Crime Archives

Joseph Vacher: The Killer of Little Shepherds

Joseph Vacher, the “French Ripper” - HeadStuff

In 1803, a ghost was said to haunt the lanes of Hammersmith.
By the time the truth emerged, one man was dead—and another stood trial for murder. This is the story of the Hammersmith Ghost: where fear, rumor, and justice collided in the dark.

Source Materials

Proceedings of the Old Bailey,11 January 1804 – Trial of Francis Smith for the murder of Thomas Millwood.

Burton, Paul J. “The Hammersmith Ghost and the Rule of Law.” SSRN Scholarly Paper, 2015.

Davies, Owen. The Haunted: A Social History of Ghosts. Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

Westwood, Jennifer, and Jacqueline Simpson. The Lore of the Land: A Guide to England’s Legends, from Spring-Heeled Jack to the Witches of Warboys. Penguin Books, 2005.

“The Newgate Calendar: The Trial and Execution of Francis Smith.” (Contemporary 19th-century account).

A Deadly Scare? The Hammersmith Ghost Murder Case - Historic Mysteries

The Hammersmith Ghost and a Murdered Man

The Hammersmith Ghost and the Strange Death of Thomas Millwood Crime Magazine

The Case of a Ghost Haunted England for Over Two Hundred Years | In Custodia Legis