Horrifying History

There is a type of female killer that has become so infamous that they have their own nickname - the black widow. This name comes from the Black Widow spider that are found all over the world. They are considered to be the most venomous type of spiders found in the United States, so people are naturally not big fans of them even though people rarely die from their bites.

But it wasn’t due to their venom that these spiders are compared to deadly female killers. It is actually because of a a widely circulated myth that the females of the species eat their mates after sexual contact. While this actually does happen sometimes; this isn’t regular behaviour. This didn’t stop this falsehood persisting today, and now being attached to women who decide to murder their lovers.

These women are a lot more dangerous than their spider counterparts, and are known to act out their anger, sociopathic tendencies, or desire for financial gains by killing their husbands, boyfriends, or both. One of the most famous was a woman who immigrated to the United States in 1881. It is said she killed over forty people, but the murderess herself disappeared without a trace.

So get comfortable my spooky friends…you are about to hear the tale Belle Gunness, the black widow of the American midwest. But before we get started, I do need to give you all a heads up. Today we will be speaking about the murders of both adults and children, along with graphic crime scenes. Listener discretion is advised.

Our website is the one stop spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media links, read our spooky blog, get yourself some great creepy merch, and to join our fan club! If you are a member of our fan club - you will receive a permanent discount in our store while you are a fan club member.  

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There are many types of of sweetener that a person can choose from. Some come in granular form like sugar, while others come in a syrup form like corn syrup. Another is molasses which is considered to be a liquid sugar that contains sucrose, and small amounts of fructose and glucose. It isn’t sweet like refined sugar, and is usually thicker and stickier than other liquid based sweeteners.

Molasses is the ingredient that makes brown sugar brown, and gives its flavour and moisture. It is also used to give moisture and consistency to many different bakery items like cookies, gingerbread, and pies. It gives thickness to baked beans, and sauces, and it is also used in distilling rum. It used to be the primary sweetener used until refined sugar pushed it towards the back of people’s cupboards. In the year 1919; molasses was everywhere.

But in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States; saying that molasses was everywhere is an understatement. It is because of molasses that twenty one individuals died, and an additional one hundred and fifty were injured in a disaster that is still spoken about today.

So get comfortable my spooky friends…you are about to hear the tale of the Great Molasses Flood.

Our website is the one stop spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media links, read our spooky blog, get yourself some great creepy merch, and to join our fan club! If you are a member of our fan club - you will receive a permanent discount in our store while you are a fan club member.  

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In 2009; a psychological horror film was released that changed this horror subgenera forever. The movie called “The Orphan” tells the tale of a couple who’s marriage became strained after the stillbirth of their third child. This loss was very hard on the family, and as a way to move forward the couple decided to adopt a nine year old Russian girl named Esther from a local orphanage. The couple’s oldest son Daniel resents the family’s new addition, while their five year old daughter Max embraces having a new sister.

This is where things start to get strange. Esther starts exhibiting hostile behaviour towards animals and school mates, and she seems to have knowledge of someone older than her. When Sister Abigail from the orphanage decides to come to the house to check in on Esther, this is when the couple finds out that tragic events and incidents always occur around her. One of these was the deaths of Esther’s previous adoptive parents.

After a whole lot of bad happens, the family learns that Esther is not a nine year old girl after all, but actually is a thirty three year old woman who suffers from proportional dwarfism. She had spent her life posing as a child, and she was actually a violent serial killer who has murdered at least seven people.

Now…I am not going to ruin the movie for those who did not see it, but this one is a definite must see. The plot was very different for its time, but what most people don’t know is that this terrifying tale is actually based on a true story.

So get comfortable my spooky friends…you are about to hear the real story behind the horror film: The Orphan. But before we get started; just a little heads up…in this episode we will be speaking about child abuse, cannibalism, and sexual abuse. Listener discretion is advised.

Our website is the one stop spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media links, read our spooky blog, get yourself some great creepy merch, and to join our fan club! If you are a member of our fan club - you will receive a permanent discount in our store while you are a fan club member.  

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The invention of social media has brought countless people together. It has become a staple in most people’s lives. That is its good side, but social media also has a bad one. I think that most people have had a time or two that social media has brought them drama, or maybe that they have experienced bullying. But today’s case goes beyond that. In our tale today, a Facebook friendship became so nasty that it resulted in death.

So settle in my spooky friends…you are about to hear a tale of the dark side of social media.

Our website is the one stop spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media links, read our spooky blog, get yourself some great creepy merch, and to join our fan club! If you are a member of our fan club - you will receive a permanent discount in our store while you are a fan club member.  

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The original movie “Scream” from the Scream horror movie series is considered to be a classic. It is a slasher film directed by Wes Craven that stars some big names like Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Drew Barrymore, Rose McGowan, and more. It is set in a small American town named Woodsboro, and the movie starts with our heroine, Sidney Prescott, played by Neve Campbell. It is the anniversary of her mother’s murder, and it’s that day that Sidney and her friends become the targets of a masked serial killer known as Ghostface.

This movie is considered to be one of the best horror and slasher movies ever made, and it is credited for bringing back the horror genre when it started to decline in the 1990s. It made it acceptable for A list actors to take roles in horror films, which pushed these types of movies to the top of the box office today. But did you know that this movie was inspired by real life events?

Get comfortable my spooky friends…you are about to hear about the serial killer who inspired the famous Ghostface. But before we get started, you do need a heads up here. Today we will be talking about animal and child abuse, domestic abuse, sexually deviant behaviour, suicidal ideation, sexual assault, and graphic murders.

Listener discretion is advised.

Our website is the one stop spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media links, read our spooky blog, get yourself some great creepy merch, and to join our fan club! If you are a member of our fan club - you will receive a permanent discount in our store while you are a fan club member.  

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Everyone has heard of the Tower of London. This fortress was built in the 1070’s by William the Conqueror, and he likely couldn’t have imagined what would happen at this building or what it would come to represent.

Today; the Tower holds the world’s most famous jewel collection, The Crown Jewels, which have been guarded by the Yeoman Wardens since the Tudor times. It is also a place of rich and complex history that is said to still affect this location today.

So snuggle in my spooky friends…you are about to hear about the terrifying ghosts that haunt the Tower of London. But before we get started; I want to give you a heads up. Today we will be talking about graphic deaths, murder, and animal abuse. Listener discretion is advised.

Our website is the one stop spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media links, read our spooky blog, get yourself some great creepy merch, and to join our fan club! If you are a member of our fan club - you will receive a permanent discount in our store while you are a fan club member.  

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The holiday season is almost here, and everyone seems to be filled with with yuletide joy. But fear not my spooky friends…Christmas has its creepy side too! What better way to release your pent up seasonal frustrations than listening to some dark and ghoulish stories of some Christmas ghosts.

So get comfortable my spooky friends…you are about to hear some ghostly legends of the Christmas season.

Our website is the one stop spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media links, read our spooky blog, get yourself some great creepy merch, and to join our fan club! If you are a member of our fan club - you will receive a permanent discount in our store while you are a fan club member.  

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Jean Laffite was a privateer and smuggler who is best known for taking a little break from pillaging, to fight for the United States in defence of New Orleans in the War of 1812. But Jean was a pirate at heart. Right after this he went back to his pirating ways, and he made quite a bit of money. Local lore tells that Jean did not put his treasure in a bank, or spend it all before he died. It is believed that Jean buried a large treasure trove somewhere in the Bayous of Louisiana, or along the United States Gulf Coast.

So get ready my spooky friends…you are about to hear the story of Jean Laffite and his buried treasure.

Our website is the one stop spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media links, read our spooky blog, get yourself some great creepy merch, and to join our fan club! If you are a member of our fan club - you will receive a permanent discount in our store while you are a fan club member.  

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Universities strive to be known for their strong academics, impressive athletic programs, and outstanding educators. With that said; it is hard to find a school that doesn’t have stories about hauntings, but the University of Toronto is in a league of its own. The strange sounds that students hear when walking down this school’s halls often is a literal ghost from its past.

So get comfortable my spooky friends…you are about to hear of the legendary hauntings of the University of Toronto. But before we get started today, I want to give you a little heads up. In this episode, we talk about graphic murder and suicide. Listener discretion is advised.

Our website is the one stop spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media links, read our spooky blog, get yourself some great creepy merch, and to join our fan club! If you are a member of our fan club - you will receive a permanent discount in our store while you are a fan club member.  

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In the old section of Edinburgh, Scotland is a place now known as the Royal Mile. This is a succession of streets that form the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city. It runs between two important locations concerning the royal history of Scotland: Edinburgh Castle, and the Holyrood Palace. This used to be the original main street, and off this are small alleyways and courtyards to the north and south.

These alleyways are called a close, which is an old Scottish term for entry, court, or alleyway. A close is considered to be private property versus wind’s which are an open thoroughfare. Because of fear of English attacks from previous wars; the closes in Edinburgh had very dense housing. They are narrow with tall buildings on each side with the poorer living at the bottom, and the rich living up top.

Mary King Close is located underneath the Edinburgh City Chambers on the Royal Mile, and is currently is being used as a tourist attraction. This is due in part to its reputation for hauntings since at least the 17th century, and it is said to be quite the paranormal hot spot.

So snuggle in my spooky friends…you are about to hear the story of Mary King’s Close: The Original House of Horrors. But before we get started today, we wanted to give you a bit of a warning. In today’s episode, there are descriptions of graphic deaths and illnesses. Listener discretion is advised.

Our website is the one stop spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media links, read our spooky blog, get yourself some great creepy merch, and to join our fan club! If you are a member of our fan club - you will receive a permanent discount in our store while you are a fan club member.  

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