Notorious Narratives

Taphophobia is the fear of being buried alive, which to be honest seems like a pretty reasonable fear. But during the Victorian era a mix of sketchy science and sensationalist media led to the creation of an entire industry surrounding the fear of being buried alive. From safety coffins to smoke enemas, Jen will explain the Victorian Era's legendary buried alive tales and the most bizarre methods of ensuring that only the dead were buried.

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Off the coast of the Bronx lies a small strip of land with a big story to tell. Throughout the past two centuries this small swath of land has seen tragedy, hardship and gore. Strap in as Robin tells you the past, present and future of this unassuming landmark.

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Christmas is celebrated in a myriad of different ways, and some of them are quite bizarre. And by bizarre we mean strange, and here at Notorious Narratives, we love strange. From Krampus to mummies to pooping logs, Robin takes you on a yuletide sleigh ride through the oddest holiday traditions around the world.

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As winter sinks its teeth in, we harken back to warmer days and summer breezes. Many of us respond to warm weather by heeding the sweet siren call of the beach, but in the summer of 1916, the carefree summer would turn deadly. In this episode, Jen sinks her teeth into the story of a series of shark attacks at the Jersey Shore that inspired one of the greatest films in history.

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The Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, Marie Laveau was beautiful, charismatic; but most importantly quite powerful. At a time in history where women were not typically in positions of control, Marie held sway over the New Orleans elite. But was it magic, voodoo or something far more sinister? In this episode, Jen introduces you to one of the most legendary characters in the bayou. 

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If you are anything like us, you have always been fascinated by the unknown and unsolved mysteries. One of our favorites are the moai of Easter Island. So in this episode, Robin gets down to business and does her homework all while proving to Jen that there were no aliens involved. After this episode you will be ready for trivia night.

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The idea of leprosy may evoke feelings of fear in many of us; fear of contagion, fear of outbreak. Though for most of us this idea is far removed - the stuff of history. But on the beautiful windswept shores of the island of Molokai, this history is alive and well. It was here in this paradise that nearly 8,000 men, women and children were exiled and quarantined beginning in the 1860s. In this episode, Jen will explain the history and treatment of leprosy as well as the quarantine at Kalaupapa.

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In this special turkey day episode, Jen and Robin talk about the REAL and bloody history of the American holiday of Thanksgiving. Also, Robin shares some of her favorite fun facts about the holiday and the foods that are traditionally eaten.

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As the holidays approach we start to think of all those special favorite foods that get served up at family functions, like mom's sweet potatoes or grandma's apple pie. But what if your dad's goal was to eat every animal on earth? Well, I guess that means that you might have a more exotic palate than most. Instead of avocado toast it is mice on toast for brunch. In this episode, Robin introduces you to The Buckland Family- The Victorian Family who tried to eat every animal on earth.

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While the prospect of a flood of free beer may be appealing to some, this bizarre disaster was catastrophic to the neighborhood of St. Giles in London. The tidal wave of 135,000 gallons of porter left death and destruction in its wake. This week, Robin will tackle the infamous tale of The Beer Tsunami.

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