Hometown History

By Shane WatersSociety & Culture True Crime History

Hometown History episodes

August 14, 2024 Cleveland's Mad Butcher: The Unsolved Torso Murders
Cleveland, Ohio. A fog-laden Kingsbury run, in the air thick with mystery as the city of Cleveland sleeps unknowingly. It's here, in this shadowy gully, that a gruesome discovery was made, one that would start a series of horrifying finds. Today's episode takes us to the year 1934, when Cleveland was at the center of a series of brutal killings.
TIMELINE
1934: The first discovery was made on September 5th, 1934, on the shores of Lake Erie.
1935: Even though there was a long cooling off period after this, another discovery was made a year later on September 23rd, 1935.
1936: Later, on June 5th, 1936, the severed head of an unidentified male was found wrapped in trousers in Kingsbury Run.
1938: By May 1938, the official count reached 11, when parts of an unidentified woman were pulled from the Cuyahoga River.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of Cleveland is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.
Episode 152 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters
Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

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17 min
August 08, 2024 America's Secret Societies: The Benevolent Brotherhood
New Haven, Connecticut. Secrets. Secret societies get a bad rap, and with good reason. We don't know much about them, but what we do know isn't good. Stealing bodies, manipulating the government, worshipping Satan, the creepiest and most unconventional things you can think of. Just the words, secret society, makes your imagination run wild, with the worst possible outcomes. And while it may be true in some cases, not all secret societies work like that.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of New Haven is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.
Episode 151 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters
If you liked this: Episode 190 (Hazardville, Connecticut)
Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
15 min
July 31, 2024 America's Japanese Internment After Pearl Harbor
San Francisco, California. Some chapters in history really expose the ugly impacts of war on individuals and communities. Of course, soldiers and their families suffer. But besides that, there are long-lasting impacts that carry through generations. These stories show us how a single incident or a single action can change the lives of countless people. Overnight. And one such chapter takes us back to the attack on Pearl Harbor.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of San Francisco is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.
Episode 150 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters
If you liked this: Episode 88 (Crescent City, California)
Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
17 min
July 22, 2024 America's Youngest Serial Killer: Jesse Pomeroy
Boston, Massachusetts. Childhood. It's often painted as a time of joy, simplicity, and innocence. A sacred period that should be free from the world's darker realities. Yet there are times when this very innocence becomes the mask for something deeply sinister. Today's episode is about one such case. A series of chilling events that would not only shock the community, but also capture the attention of an entire nation.
TIMELINE
1859: Born in 1859 in Charlestown, Massachusetts, Jesse Harding Pomeroy was the second child in a seemingly ordinary family.
1872: In 1872, in the neighborhood of Charlestown in Chelsea, Massachusetts, local children started to report terrifying encounters with someone who to their disbelief was just a child himself.
1876: Eventually, after two years and three votes, Jesse's sentence was changed to life in solitary confinement, and he was imprisoned in Massachusetts state prison on September 7, 1876.
1929: Later in 1929, Jesse was moved to the state prison farm in Bridgewater, Massachusetts to live out his final years.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of Boston is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.
Episode 149 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters
If you liked this: Episode 179 (Gay Head, Massachusetts)
Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
17 min
July 15, 2024 When Paradise Becomes Prison: The Rat Utopia Experiment
Bethesda, Maryland. Utopia. It's a world we dream of. Everything's peaceful and harmonious. Every single need is met. It is perfect until it isn't. Sometimes paradise isn't quite what it seems. And beneath its surface lies the darkness. A storm that's brewing. see what happens when paradise turns into chaos. When perfection gives way to disorder and harmony crumbles.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of Bethesda is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.
Episode 148 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters
Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
17 min
July 08, 2024 The USS Cyclops: America's Greatest Naval Mystery
Norfolk, Virginia. Weather fair, all well. This was the last message ever received from the largest vessel of the U.S. Navy at the time. And then, with all her crew and cargo, it disappeared without sending a single distress signal. This is the story of the USS Cyclops. A mystery that has puzzled sailors, historians, and explorers for a century now. Let's see if we can figure it out. The USS Cyclops had an elaborate career. With all the missions she participated in.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of Norfolk is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.
Episode 147 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters
Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
15 min
June 25, 2024 The Fox Sisters and the Birth of Spiritualism
Hydesville, New York. It is the mid-19th century, and the world is buzzing with the Industrial Revolution. Factories are being built all around us. Railway networks are expanding, and innovations like the steam engine are forever changing how goods are made and moved. And during all this growth in a small, seemingly unremarkable cabin in Hydesville, New York, something insane and extraordinary is about to happen.
TIMELINE
1847: On December 11, 1847, John and Margaret Fox moved into a new house, along with their daughters, Margarita, Maggie Fox, and Catherine, Kate Fox.
1848: By the end of March 1848, around four months after they started living there, the family began hearing sounds that were just plain weird.
1888: In 1888 at the New York Academy of Music Maggie exposed the mechanics of their raps denouncing spiritualism and implicating Leah and the deceit and with that came a rather complex fallout.
1904: One such debate started in 1904 and some bones were found in the cellar of the Fox family home in Hydesville, New York just as Kate and Maggie had claimed during their very first acts.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of Hydesville is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.
Episode 146 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters
Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
17 min
June 13, 2024 Three Forgotten Wholesome Stories from America
Various, USA. We've discussed many stories on this show, some of them gory, some horrifying, some scandalous and some sad. But I want to remind you that our past is not all bad. We've got some wholesome moments too. And today I want to tell you some stories that really reflect that. , where today we're doing something a little different.
TIMELINE
1774: Born in Massachusetts in 1774, Johnny didn't stay put for long.
1865: The concept of the statue emerged in 1865 when French historian and abolitionist Edward de Labulee suggested creating a monument.
1885: On June 17, 1885, a French ship, the Isère, arrived in New York Harbor.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of Various is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.
Episode 145 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters
Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
17 min
June 03, 2024 The Night Doctors: American Medical Terror
Tuskegee, Alabama. As history enthusiasts, we've all explored folklore at some point or another, and among these stories are some that seem so bizarre, they couldn't possibly be true. But as we've seen on this podcast, the wildest stories have an uncomfortable amount of truth in them. In today's episode, we're going to learn about what sounds like a scary bedtime story, but was a real and true horror in American history. This is the legend of the Night Doctors.
TIMELINE
1880: Back in 1880, over 40 bodies were snatched from Oakwood Cemetery and shipped up north to various medical schools.
1910: Around 6 million African-Americans migrated from the rural southern United States to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West between 1910 and 1970.
1932: One significant event that contributed to the contribution of this fear was the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, which ran from 1932 to 1972.
1989: For example, in 1989, workers were excavating the old Medical College of Georgia, and they found over 9,000 bones, 80% of which belonged to African-Americans.
2017: In 2017, protests started over a statue honoring Dr. J. Marion Sims, who is a controversial figure in American medical history.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of Tuskegee is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.
Episode 144 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters
Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
17 min
May 27, 2024 The Hollywood Blacklist: When Fear Silenced the Stars
Hollywood, California. Paranoia. That's the theme of today's episode. It's just like wildfire, spreading instantly and consuming everything in its path. You might have experienced how even the smallest doubt in your mind can make you question everyone and everything. And it never stays to just one person. It spreads, and suddenly everyone has that doubt, that nagging thought. Like I said, it's just like wildfire. And speaking of flames, let's see the one that turned Hollywood upside down. Welcome back, friend.
TIMELINE
1952: The peak of this mess would now come with the start of 1952.
1954: After that, Elia Kazan and Bug Schulberg collaborated with On the Waterfront in 1954, a film often seen as justifying their decision to cooperate with authorities.
1966: Lillian Hellman, a playwright who worked on many movies, was on their list, and she couldn't find work in Hollywood until 1966.
2011: For example, in 2011, Trumbo finally received full credit for his screenplay for Roman Holiday, nearly 60 years after it was made.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of Hollywood is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.
Episode 143 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters
If you liked this: Episode 88 (Crescent City, California)
Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
25 min

About Hometown History

From the publisher's feed

Discover forgotten stories from small-town America that never made it into history books. Hometown History is the podcast uncovering hidden American history—overlooked events, local mysteries, and…