Macabre Traveler

Join Kristin and Jen as we crack open a road soda and visit New Orleans for a second time. This time we head to the Bourbon New Orleans Hotel, right down the street from Madame LaLaurie’s house. The Bourbon New Orleans Hotel offers beautiful rooms, a cool bar, and a saltwater pool, which Jen will never swim in.

We talk about the construction of the theater and ballroom (where Jen caught a ghost on camera!), the infamous quadroon balls, and how every creepy place had to have once been a convent and/or a girl’s school. There are over 20 known ghosts in the hotel, and we talk about them as well as the difference between residual and intelligent hauntings.

Sources

Bourbon Orleans Hotel page on Haunted Journeys

https://www.hauntedjourneys.com/haunted-inns/1631-bourbon-orleans-hotel

Past Touches Bourbon Orleans Hotel in Spirited Ways from the PCMA website

https://www.pcma.org/bourbon-orleans-hotel-former-convent-ghosts/

The Haunted Bourbon Orleans Hotel from the Ghost City Tours website.

https://ghostcitytours.com/new-orleans/haunted-places/haunted-hotels/bourbon-orleans-hotel/

In this episode of the Macabre Traveler, Jen and Kristin cover the infamous LaLaurie Mansion and the notorious Madame Delphine LaLaurie (as well as her numerous, confusingly named children — for real, don’t name your children the same names. It’s weird).

Suspicious deaths. Enslaved people locked away and possibly… experimented upon? Crab people? A human caterpillar? Brain spoons?

This story is cloaked in mystery and legend and all kinds of delicious weirdness… but what’s truth, and what’s good old-fashioned scary stories?

Listen and find out.

Sources

Madame LaLaurie’s Most Sickening Acts Of Torture And Murder from All That’s Interesting

https://allthatsinteresting.com/madame-lalaurie

The LaLaurie Mansion from New Orleans Historical

https://neworleanshistorical.org/items/show/1492

A torture chamber is uncovered by arson from History.com

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/a-torture-chamber-is-uncovered-by-arson

The LaLaurie Mansion listing from Atlas Obscura

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lalaurie-mansion

The Haunted LaLaurie Mansion from Ghost City Tours

https://ghostcitytours.com/new-orleans/haunted-places/lalaurie-mansion/

Join Jen and Kristin for our special VALENTINE’S DAY episode!

Since Valentine’s Day is GROSS, we’re celebrating in true macabre fashion… with MURDER.

We talk about the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, how to dress like a snorky mobster, and why you should always run a little bit late.

Sources

History.com, St. Valentine’s Day Massacre

https://www.history.com/topics/crime/saint-valentines-day-massacre

The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre from the Chicago Tribune

https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/chi-chicagodays-valentinesmassacre-story-story.html

8 Things You Should Know About Al Capone from history.com

https://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-should-know-about-al-capone

The Parkview Chicago Virtual Tour of Bugs Moran’s Penthouse

https://www.parkviewchicago.com/parkviewpenthouse.aspx

The Mob Museum St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Wall Exhibit

https://themobmuseum.org/exhibits/massacre-wall/

In January's bonus episode, Jen and Kristin talk to three listeners who describe their experiences with haunted houses and hotels.

Do you have a haunting, scary, or macabre experience? Get in touch with us on social media or write to us at [email protected]!

Many thanks to our interviewees!

The Borden murders are one of the most famous unsolved murders in America, over 100 years later. Today, Jen and Kristin head to the Lizzie Borden house, which, if you haven’t heard much of the case itself, you’re definitely aware of the DOPE nursery rhyme the case inspired:

Lizzie Borden took an axe

And gave her mother forty whacks.

When she saw what she had done,

She gave her father forty-one.

Andrew Borden now is dead,

Lizzie hit him on the head.

Up in heaven he will sing,

On the gallows she will swing.

We take a dive into the Borden fam dynamic and the events leading up to the murders of Lizzie’s father and stepmother, Andrew and Abby Borden.

We touch on how the cops really f*cked up the investigation, Lizzie’s arrest and trial, and how she spent the rest of her life. We discuss the numerous theories around the murders and around Lizzie herself. And, of course, our personal theories on whodunnit. And, did you know, this case involves a DEATHBED CONFESSION?

We also talk about staying at the Lizzie Borden house and Jen’s AWESOME experiences there! HINT: It was GHOSTS.

Sources

Lizzie Borden took an axe from History.com

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lizzie-borden-took-an-axe

Did Lizzie Borden Really Take an Ax? The True Story Behind the Movie Lizzie from Time Magazine

https://time.com/5395515/lizzie-borden-history-chloe-sevigny-kristen-stewart/

What Made Lizzie Borden Kill?

https://www.americanheritage.com/what-made-lizzie-borden-kill

In this episode, Kristin and Jen head to one of the darkest places and times in the world’s history: the Killing Fields in Cambodia. We’re starting the show notes and the episode with a trigger warning: We discuss extreme violence, including genocide and torture, including against women and children. Please listen at your own discretion.

Just a generation ago, between 1975-1979, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge systematically killed over a quarter of Cambodia’s population. No one in Cambodia was unaffected and the people and country are still affected to this day.

People considered threats to the regime — intellectuals, ethnic minorities, and, as time went on, anyone who was vaguely “suspicious” — were sent for re-education at one of nearly 200 prison camps throughout Cambodia. We focus on two sites in Phnom Penh, S-21 and Choeung Ek.

Approximately 20 THOUSAND prisoners entered S-21 — and only seven left alive. From there, most prisoners were sent to the Killing Fields. There were hundreds of sites of killing, but the most famous of those is known as Choeung Ek and is approximately 10 miles away.

We discuss visiting S-21, meeting a survivor there, and visiting Choeung Ek — but we also discuss what prisoners of the regime went through, conscripted child soldiers, and more.

There are many lessons to be learned through the story of the Killing Fields, but we are reminded through retelling these stories that they are a stark lesson about the recent, bitter past and to ensure the lives lost are never forgotten. But they also serve to remind us to stay vigilant against the darkness: the darkness that works in the world, and the darkness that lies within each one of us.

Sources

The History of Cambodia’s Killing Fields; The Culture Trip

https://theculturetrip.com/asia/cambodia/articles/a-guide-to-cambodias-killing-fields/

Khmer Rouge: Cambodia's years of brutality; BBC News

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-10684399

Visiting The Killing Fields In Cambodia; Pommie Travels

https://www.pommietravels.com/visiting-the-killing-fields-in-cambodia/

The Killing Fields, Cambodia; Responsible Travel

https://www.responsiblevacation.com/vacations/cambodia/travel-guide/the-killing-fields

The Killing Fields – Cambodia’s Dark Past; Free Two Roam

https://www.freetworoam.com/2019/02/04/cambodian-killing-fields/

For the holidays, Jen and Kristin couldn’t go somewhere or do something normal… Obviously. Normal is not macabre! Normal doesn’t scare us… actually… wait… Normal totally scares us. But not in a fun way. *shudders*

So we checked out the legend of Krampus, the bad cop of Christmas. Local to Central Europe, Krampus punishes the bad children on December 5 that St. Nick rewards on December 6. He’s demonic-looking, has pre-Christian origins, carries branches to beat bad kids with, and has a long pointed, lolling tongue.

Join us as we chat about Krampus and his friends, Krampusnacht, Krampuslauf, Krampuskarten, and other Krampus (Krampi?)-themed events throughout Central Europe.

Remember to always offer a Krampus schnapps should you be (un)fortunate enough to encounter one… And if you’re a krampi, a satyr, other woodland god, or a normal human man who has had a permanent, exaggerated erection for more than four hours, please see a healthcare professional.

In episode 4, we visit tiny hamlet Lily Dale in New York. Lily Dale is home to less than 300 people year round—and over FIFTY are registered mediums. Is there such a thing as a town occupation?

Every summer, over 20 THOUSAND people visit Lily Dale for spiritualism-related workshops, events, readings, and more.

Jen and Kristin discuss the foundations of Lily Dale and spiritualism itself, as well as how both have evolved to present day. Where do we go when we die? What happens? Is it the same for all of us?

Will there be chocolate, and warm socks, and good sex?

(Note from the hosts: If not, we are not going.)

Join us as we discuss old-timey seances, modern-day mystics, and what makes Lily Dale special.

Sources

https://www.lilydaleassembly.org/ 

https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/953

Meet the Mediums of Lily Dale by Penelope Green https://www.nytimes.com/by/penelope-green

Exploring Lily Dale, NY: A town of spiritualist mediums https://www.pinatravels.org/discoveries/exploring-lilydale

Inside the small New York town filled with psychic mediums, where thousands of people flock annually to talk to the dead Mark Abadi, Jim Fields, and Dylan Barth

https://www.businessinsider.com/psychic-mediums-lily-dale-new-york-2020-2

"No One Dies in Lily Dale" on Amazon Prime

In this episode, we interview Adam Selzer and Leyla Royale of Effing Chicago Tours and MANY other awesome creative endeavors. For real, check out their Tweeters and webs below.

We chat with Leyla and Adam about their favorite tour moments, what goes into creating a great tour experience — and why it's important to do tours like these —, and how businesses like theirs have pivoted with the COVID-19 pandemic. 

We also ask about their favorite unsolved mysteries and, of course, their favorite macabre travel destinations. 

Effing Chicago Tours 

http://effingchicago.com/ 

@leylairoyale 

leylairoyale.com

@adamselzer

adamchicago.com

In this episode, Jen and Kristin drag along our friend and patron of the podcast Lauren Ocello to the Paris Catacombs. Did you know how and why the catacombs were first created? Because the bodies were PILING up in the streets of Paris so much the wine was turning bad. Solution? Create the biggest Poltergeist nightmare EVER by moving between six to seven million bones from their resting places to some smelly old Roman mines. GREAT IDEA, EVERYONE.

Luckily for creeps like us (and all the spoiled milk and wine and, you know, general sanitation of Paris), it was, and now we have the amazing gift of the catacombs. We talk about how people have been exploring the catacombs (and throwing secret parties) for over a hundred years, how to explore them (legally) now, and people who have gotten lost… sometimes forever. Of course, we talk about what else you can do in Paris — like eat lots of amazing unpasteurized cheese and charcuterie, drink beautiful wine, and spoil yourself with pastries. We also talk about where to find the COOLEST curiosity and oddity shop in Paris, museums and bars we loved, and other can’t miss spots in Paris for the tres creepy chic in all of us.

Check out our friend and incredible chef Lauren Ocello

Francis Freedland Paris Catacombs

Sources