In 1708, during the War of the Spanish Succession, the Spanish galleon San José sailed from South America carrying a vast cargo of gold and silver bound for Spain. Off the coast of present-day Colombia, British ships of war intercepted the galleon in a fierce naval clash. During the battle, the San José exploded and sank, taking its enormous treasure to the bottom of the Caribbean.

My guest this week is Julian Sancton, author of Neptune’s Fortune: The Billion-Dollar Shipwreck and the Ghosts of the Spanish Empire. He discusses the circumstances that led to the sinking of the San José and enigmatic Cuban archaeologist Roger Dooley’s determined quest to locate the wreck deep beneath the sea.

Follow Julian Sancton:
Twitter/X: https://x.com/jsancton
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jsancton/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julian.sancton

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(Orig. Pub Date: 11/10/21) In January of 1923, a 20-year-old dancer named Fritzie Mann left home to meet a mysterious man for what she told her mother was a house party. When she was discovered dead on a remote beach a few miles north of San Diego, police were puzzled by the clues. Was it an accident, suicide, or murder? The fact that she was pregnant deepened the mystery even further. Soon two men – a Hollywood actor and a doctor – became the primary suspects in the case, and one would eventually be put on trial for murder.

My guest is James Stewart, author of “Mystery at the Blue Sea Cottage: A True Story of Murder in San Diego’s Jazz Age”. He shares details about strange death of Fritzie Mann, considered by some to be San Diego’s very own Black Dahlia, and offers intriguing theories on what might really have happened to her.

More information can be found at the author’s website here: https://www.jamesstewartauthor.com/ and at his publisher’s author page: https://wildbluepress.com/mystery-at-the-blue-sea-cottage-james-stewart-true-crime/

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In 1949, a quiet neighborhood in St. Louis became the center of one of the most controversial religious cases in American history. A 13-year-old boy began exhibiting disturbing symptoms including violent outbursts, strange markings on his body, and other troubling episodes, leading Catholic priests to perform a series of secret exorcism rites. The case would later inspire The Exorcist, but the real story was far more complex than the film.

My guest is Troy Taylor, author of The Devil Came to St. Louis: The Uncensored True Story of the 1949 Exorcism, who takes a careful look at the case, its origins, and how fact, faith, and folklore became intertwined in one of America’s most enduring mysteries.

The author's website: https://www.americanhauntingsink.com/

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Growing up in Memphis, George Kelly Barnes starts dabbling in crime from a young age. First he blackmails his father, then he grows a successful bootlegging business for himself. But how did this small-time crook earn one of the most famous names in criminal history? And why don't we talk about his most famous crime?

To listen to all four episodes of 'Machine Gun Kelly' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AmericanCriminal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Told and retold in many languages, the legend of the Blood Countess has consumed cultural imaginations around the world. But despite claims that Elizabeth Báthory tortured and killed as many as 650 girls, some have wondered if the Countess was herself a victim- of one of the most successful disinformation campaigns known to history. So, was Elizabeth Báthory a monster, a victim, or a bit of both?

My guest is Shelley Puhak, author of the new book "The Blood Countess: Murder, Betrayal, and the Making of a Monster". She helps us separate fact from fiction as she reexamines the life of Elizabeth Báthory, long labeled one of history’s most notorious killers, and unpacks a complex story of power, politics, and how it all led to the making of a "monster".

The author's website: https://shelleypuhak.com/

The author's publisher page: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/blood-countess-9781639732159/

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On a beautiful fall day in September 1916, 68-year-old Hannah Spielman went on a picnic with her new husband, 71-year-old James Allen, in the woods outside Grand Rapids, Michigan. She had met him through a newspaper advertisement, and the two were married just two days earlier - only hours after stepping off a train and meeting him face-to-face for the first time.

But James Allen was not the man he claimed to be. His real name was Henry Scott Mausell, and his intentions were anything but honorable. Eleven days later, Hannah’s decomposed body was discovered and the murder investigation began.

So who was Henry Scott Mausell? A man with a deeply troubled past—and Hannah was likely not his first victim, but the last in a long line of murdered women. In "Bloodstained: Exploring Michigan’s Darkest Murders Forgotten by Time", author Allie Seibert sheds light on this largely forgotten, and very likely, serial killer.

The author's Household History website: https://www.householdhistory.com/

Allie in the Archives Podcast links: ⁠https://www.pod.link/1819388236

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allie.in.the.archives/

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My guest, William J. Mann, has spent years writing about Hollywood, and in his new book "Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood", he takes a fresh look at Los Angeles's most notorious crime - the 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short. Mann shares his impressions of Elizabeth herself, unpacks the sprawling investigation, revisits some of the most infamous suspects, and explains who he believes most likely killed her.

His new book was recently released on January 27th.

The author's website: https://williamjmann.com/

The author's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/williamjmann/

Our previous interview about William Desmond Taylor's murder: https://www.mostnotorious.com/2023/02/07/the-murder-of-william-desmond-taylor-w-william-j-mann/

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On this episode of Most Notorious, I speak with author Jack El-Hai about his book "The Nazi and the Psychiatrist: Hermann Göring, Dr. Douglas M. Kelley, and a Fatal Meeting of Minds at the End of WWII". He talks about the fascinating relationship between Dr. Douglas Kelly, who was assigned to evaluate senior Nazi leaders awaiting trial at Nuremberg, and Herman Göring, charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. His book was adapted into the film Nuremberg, which came out in November of 2025.

The author's website: https://www.el-hai.com/

My 2019 interview with the author about the 1951 disappearance of the Klein brothers: https://www.mostnotorious.com/2023/02/01/the-mysterious-1951-minneapolis-disappearance-of-the-klein-brothers-w-jack-el-hai/

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(Orig. Pub. Date 9/6/2021) On April 24th, 1891, a Bowery prostitute named Carrie Brown (known locally as "Old Shakespeare") was found murdered and mutilated in the seedy East River Hotel. With the Jack the Ripper murders unsolved and still news, many believed that the notorious killer had traveled across the Atlantic to continue his bloody work in the United States - and this was his first victim.

My guest is George R. Dekle Sr., former Florida prosecutor and author of the new book "The East River Ripper: The Mysterious 1891 Murder of Old Shakespeare". He talks about this sensational case, including the arrest and trial of the enigmatic Ameer Ben Ali, better known as "Frenchy", and offers his thoughts on who really murdered Carrie Brown.

More about the author and his work can be found here: https://www.bobdeklebooks.com/

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On October 21, 1836, crowds lined the docks of Saint John, New Brunswick, to watch the steamship Royal Tar depart for Portland, Maine - this time carrying an entire circus. Cages filled with exotic birds, snakes, lions and a tiger rolled on board, along with horses, camels and the star attraction: Mogul, a massive Asian elephant, who took his place on the upper deck. Four days later, after battling fierce storms, the ship caught fire, killing many on board. In desperation, some animals were forced into the icy waters of Penobscot Bay, while others perished in their cages.

My guest is Jane Parks Gardner, author of The Wreck of the Circus Ship Royal Tar: Tragedy in Penobscot Bay. She shares details on the disaster, and its impact on Maine’s maritime history.

The author's website: https://janepgardner.com/

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