Oddity Poddity: A Paranormal Podcast

Today the Pope is seen as the holiest man in the Catholic world, and Francis seems like a good dude. But when it comes to popes, goodness wasn't always the case. Throughout history, the papacy has been riddled with scandal, murder, thievery, sexual abuse and immense hypocrisy.  In today's episode we cover 5 of the most evil Popes ever, as well as some honorable mentions.
Trigger warning: this episode contains discussion of child abuse, rape, incest and violence.

Sources:

The Bad Popes (The Mad, Bad and Ugly of Italian History) by E.R. Chamberlin
 
https://www.worlddata.info/religions/catholics.php#:~:text=The%20Catholic%20churches%20form%20a,are%20the%20largest%20Christian%20grouping.

https://www.vaticancitytours.it/blog/who-were-the-worst-popes-in-history/

https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/popes-benedict-i-x

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2005/apr/03/pope-helped-lift-iron-curtain/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/what-pope-benedict-xvi-shares-with-his-notorious-namesake/2013/02/26/5aaddbf4-8059-11e2-a671-0307392de8de_story.html

https://www.history.com/news/french-king-kidnapping-pope-philip-iv-boniface-vii#:~:text=By%20many%20accounts%2C%20he%20was,1281%20and%20pope%20in%201294.

https://dornsife.usc.edu/iacs/global-christianity/

https://historyofyesterday.com/pope-john-xii-the-youngest-and-worst-pope-in-history-b701a9949eaf

https://historycollection.com/17-popes-who-didnt-practiced-what-they-preached/9/

https://historycollection.com/10-of-historys-most-scandalous-popes/2/

Proud winner of the Nobel "I Tried" Ribbon in Literature.

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Would you eat human brains to cure yourself of a tummy ache? I didn't think so. But there was a time, centuries ago, when this was the  script for what ailed you! Venture back into the dark ages with me to a time when corpse medicine - the practice of eating human body parts and fluids - was the standard of care.

Warning:  Nauseating content 

Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires: The History of Corpse Medicine from the Middle Ages to the Falun Gong, by Richard Sugg  

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-gruesome-history-of-eating-corpses-as-medicine-82360284/

https://www.historyextra.com/period/renaissance/cannibalism-history-corpse-medicine/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19171183/#:~:text=Lichens%20growing%20on%20skulls%20were,the%20magnetic%20cure%20of%20wounds.

http://aeans.aethelmearc.org/wp-content/uploads/vasc/as-entry-2020.pdf

https://pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/opinion/using-a-mummy-as-a-medicine#:~:text=It%20is%20not%20known%20who,obtained%20from%20the%20Dead%20Sea.

Proud winner of the Nobel "I Tried" Ribbon in Literature.

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For 113 years, Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary housed some of the country's most violent criminals and claimed more than 10,000 souls. Many believe that their ghosts still linger there. In this episode we look at Brushy's deadly history, profiles of some of its most infamous inmates and evidence of the hauntings that are still happening there today.

Sources:

https://tourbrushy.com/history

https://www.sentencingproject.org/criminal-justice-facts/#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20is%20the,explain%20most%20of%20this%20increase.

https://www.leagle.com/decision/1977792556sw2d2361784

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/entertainment/2018/10/25/brushy-mountain-state-penitentiary-haunted-prison-reporter-faces-paranormal-flashlight-tour/1675065002/

https://www.probationinfo.org/the-hole/

https://www.ozy.com/true-and-stories/when-mlks-killer-escaped-from-prison/85736/#:~:text=State%20Patrol%20Col.,Mountain%20Penitentiary%20in%20Petros%2C%20Tennessee.

https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/tales-from-brushy-mountain/article_8515430f-4f97-54db-8102-acb7e787eaf8.html

Ghost Asylum, S4, E10, The Travel Channel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brushy_Mountain_State_Penitentiary#:~:text=In%20the%201980s%20Brushy%20Mountain,diagnostic%20center%20for%20East%20Tennessee.

https://energyhistory.yale.edu/coal-creek-war-erupts-tennessee-1891-1892-dozens-are-killed-both-sides-and-more-500-miners-are#:~:text=The%20Coal%20Creek%20War%20erupts,than%20500%20miners%20are%20arrested.

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28390374/the-tennessean/

https://apnews.com/article/7b5dc5b9c4617ac5e9ab637a52cc0f12

https://casetext.com/case/state-v-reid-224

When Nashville Bled: The Untold Stories of Serial Killer Dennis Reid, by Judith A. Yates

Proud winner of the Nobel "I Tried" Ribbon in Literature.

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Hey guys! I'm sick and I messed up. The two are not related. Just wanted to address both quickly.

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It's hot as a murphistopholes today, but we shouldn't complain! Not when there are hundreds of unfortunate souls who've gone up in smoke due to a phenomenon known as spontaneous human combustion. For centuries there have been countless reports of people who've caught fire without warning and without explanation. All of them share eerie similarities: nothing is left of the victim, save for a pile of ashes and a pair of feet or legs (and sometimes a skull).  And despite the intense heat, nothing else is burned except for the victim and the chair or floor they rested upon. How? What makes this happen?  How can we protect ourselves? Or should we just carry a fire extinguisher in our pockets at all times? Listen and learn!

Sources:

Ablaze! The Mysterious Fires of Spontaneous Human Combustion, by Larry E. Arnold

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/spontaneous-human-combustion-woman-who-suffered-burns-in-germany-spurs-debate-about-controversial-phenomenon-a6722166.html

https://www.britannica.com/story/is-spontaneous-human-combustion-real#:~:text=Late%20at%20night%20on%20Christmas,entire%20body%20except%20her%20feet.

https://www.thedeadhistory.com/blog/the-mysterious-death-of-mary-hardy-reeser

https://www.bowdoin.edu/news/2019/01/spontaneous-human-combustion-and-the-enlightenment.html

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/woman-appears-to-spontaneously-burst-into-flames-on-park-bench-a6721941.html

https://www.cremationassociation.org/page/CremationProcess

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/chilling-stories-behind-people-spontaneously-24189841

http://www.strangehistory.net/2011/11/27/spontaneous-human-combustion-and-witchcraft/

http://winsham.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-end-of-witch-or-spontaneous.html

https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/08/22/doctors-investigate-indian-baby-for-spontaneous-combustion

Proud winner of the Nobel "I Tried" Ribbon in Literature.

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If you love the great outdoors, you might change your mind after you hear these 5 tales of haunted hiking trails that you can explore in the South. In this episode we cover Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana and Tennessee!
There's nothing spooky in the woods, right? RIGHT???

Sources:

Haunted Hikes: Real Life Stories of Paranormal Activity in the Woods, by Maren Horjus

Secrets of Tallulah: Histories, Mysteries & Colorful Tales from Georgia's Nineteenth Century Mountain Resort,  by Brian A. Boyd

www.arkansasstateparks.com

www.seerandolphcounty.com

https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/tennessee/haunted-tn-hike/

https://woodlandsandwaters.wordpress.com/2018/07/11/scary-nice-ghost-house-trail-big-ridge-state-park/

https://acadianahistorical.org/items/show/59

www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net

http://www.southpoint.com/states/ga/tallulah.htm

www.gastateparks.org

http://lakeburtonrabun.com/category/tallulah-river/

http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/cher/motc/motc125.htm

Proud winner of the Nobel "I Tried" Ribbon in Literature.

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It's Memorial Day, so let's remember those who gave their lives for our freedom. Today we place flowers on the graves of those who fought for our country. Memorials are not exclusive to the United States, though. Today we take a look at some morbidly curious memorials that I visited on my tour of Italy: The Capuchin crypts with its chapels made of bones and miraculous incorruptible corpses , the Roman catacombs, where thousands of bodies rested beneath the cities, the Campo de Fiore where criminals were publicly executed and the ill-fated city of Pompeii. 

Proud winner of the Nobel "I Tried" Ribbon in Literature.

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If Indiana Jones taught us anything, it's that you should never steal anything from a sacred temple! Too bad Indy wasn't around to school Jean-Baptist Tavernier on that, otherwise a beautiful blue terror might not have been unleashed into the world. Some believe that the curse of the Hope Diamond is just hooey, but after you hear all its been through over the last 350+ years, I think you'll disagree!

Sources:

The French Blue, by Richard Wise

The Mammoth Encyclopedia of the Unsolved, by Colin Wilson and Damon Wilson

https://www.documentarytube.com/articles/five-lesser-known-victims-of-the-hope-diamond-curse

https://www.si.edu/spotlight/hope-diamond/history

https://www.capetowndiamondmuseum.org/blog/2019/09/5988/#:~:text=After%20King%20Louis%20XIV's%20death,of%20the%20Hope%20Diamond's%20curse.

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/hope-diamond-curse/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/black-mass

https://www.regencyhistory.net/2020/09/

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Thomas_Hope_(banker,_born_1769)

https://prabook.com/web/francis.francis_hope_pelham-clinton-hope/2343464#:~:text=One%20journal%20wrote%3A%20%22Pecuniary%20troubles,to%20England%20with%20Lord%20Francis%22.

Proud winner of the Nobel "I Tried" Ribbon in Literature.

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Y'all know we're all obsessed with what happens after we die, no matter what your faith. Followers of New Orleans Voodoo are in for a special treat, because when they die, they must pass through the 7 Gates of Guinee. There's a guard at each gate, and you better make them happy if you want to get through all 7 and onward to heaven! In this episode we discuss the personalities of each these guards and what loot you need to bring with you to get the job done, as well as some history around the Voodoo religion and how you might find the 7 gates.

Sources:

New Orleans Voodoo: A Cultural History, by Rory O’Neill Schmitt, PhD and Rosary Hartel O’Neill, PhD

Riding with Death: Vodou Art and Urban Ecology in the Streets of Port-au-Prince, by Jana Evans Braziel

Haiti: Possessed by Voodoo, by Sharon Guynup for National Geographic, July 6, 2004

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/haiti-ancient-traditions-voodoo#:~:text=Ancient%20Traditions&text=Some%20anthropologists%20estimate%20that%20voodoo's,million%20people%20practice%20voodoo%20worldwide.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-gates-of-guinee-new-orleans-louisiana

https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/54119

www.occult-world.com

https://www.npr.org/2010/01/20/122770590/voodoo-brings-solace-to-grieving-haitians

https://www.frenchquarter.com/true-history-faith-behind-voodoo/#:~:text=Voodoo%20came%20to%20New%20Orleans,to%20as%20New%20Orleans%20Voodoo.

Proud winner of the Nobel "I Tried" Ribbon in Literature.

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On April 10, 1834, a fire broke out at the lavish French Quarter mansion of Delphine and Dr. Louis LaLaurie. What rescuers found behind the locked doors of the upstairs servant's wing shocked and enraged the people of New Orleans. What drove a spoiled socialite and a mild-mannered physician to such depravity? In this episode, we cover the background of the two, the events leading up to the tragedy, and what became of them and their victims in the aftermath, as well as hauntings at the LaLaurie mansion.  
 
Madame Lalaurie: Mistress of the Haunted House, by Carolyn Morrow Long, University Press of Florida,  2012.

www.ghostcitytours.com

Journey Into Darkness: Ghosts & Vampires of New Orleans, by Kalila Katherina Smith

https://www.southernhomemagazine.com/2018/02/13/a-home-in-the-big-easy-with-a-breezy-attitude/

https://64parishes.org/mistress-haunted-house

https://www.neworleans.com/things-to-do/history/history-of-new-orleans-by-period/

https://journals.openedition.org/miranda/10597

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphine_LaLaurie

https://www.hancockcountyhistoricalsociety.com/history/new-evidence---jean-blanque

https://www.academia.edu/35351957/THE_MACARTY_PLANTATION_IN_NEW_ORLEANS_BYWATER_NEIGHBORHOOD

The McCarty Plantation in New Orleans’ Bywater Neighborhood, by Carolyn Morrow Long

Mad Madame LaLaurie, by Victoria Cosner Love & Lorelei Shannon

Proud winner of the Nobel "I Tried" Ribbon in Literature.

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