Stuff You Missed in History Class

Crowley was a truly prolific and deliberately transgressive occultist whose practices included sex and drug use, and he went on to influence modern Satanism, as well as some other new religious movements.

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This 2016 episode tells the story of a small theater in Paris which was open from 1897 to 1962, and became famous for its grisly, terrifying plays.

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Holly and Tracy discuss the career of Tod Browning and how difficult it is to know the true nature of certain aspects of the filmmaker's life.

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Tod Browning’s contributions to the horror film genre are massive. And the films that are most responsible for that reputation are covered in this episode, among other projects and the latter portion of Browning’s life. 

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Browning’s story is both fascinating and difficult; he was a golden boy of Hollywood for a time, but also plagued with personal problems. He has a cult following today, and was legitimately groundbreaking, but he was also problematic. 

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This 2017 episode covers an early 18th century engraver-turned-artist who made his mark on the art world by producing satirical prints in series that commented on morality and society. And some of his work is used today as a teaching tool.

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Holly and Tracy discuss the Lincoln's relationship with the spiritual, and whether they can themselves juggle. Tracy shares a fun story of collectible genever bottles and there's discussion of favorite gin drinks.

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Like many spirits, gin was originally meant for medicinal or alchemical use. But eventually, people started combining juniper with alcohol to make a beverage rather than a medicine. And that's the just the start of gin's history, which gets rather dark at times.

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Colchester claimed to be psychic and probably did warn President Abraham Lincoln that he was going to be assassinated. He became an icon for Spiritualism in the U.S. in the 19th century, only to be rejected by that same movement. 

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This 2010 episode from past hosts Sarah and Deblina covers Arthur Conan Doyle's brilliant protagonist Sherlock Holmes, who became world-famous. But was Sherlock Holmes based on a real person?

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