The Morbid Museum

By Katie Meade and Luke Boyd

Join two museum professionals as they take you on a wild and often lighthearted tour through a virtual cabinet of curiosities, including the strangest artifacts and tales from historic sites and museu... more

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FAQs about The Morbid Museum:

How many episodes does The Morbid Museum have?

The podcast currently has 71 episodes available.

The Morbid Museum episodes:

August 22, 2022Dead Horse Bay
Deep in the outer boroughs of New York City, the secrets of a growing city lie buried on Barren Island. Today, the legacy of urban renewal is dredged up with the tides at Dead Horse Bay.
Dead Horse Bay contamination not ‘significant health risk’
Good Work of School on Barren Island | Brooklyn Eagle 18 Aug 1901
Dead Horse Bay Environmental Cleanup Project - Gateway National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)
Hylan Makes Issue of Richmond Garbage | New York Times
Jamaica Bay: A History | National Park Service
Dead Horse Bay closed because of radioactive contamination
Dead Horse Bay: The Brooklyn bottle beach covered in cool vintage trash
Dead Horse Bay Brooklyn, New York | Atlas Obscura
Dead Horse Bay: New York's Hidden Treasure Trove of Trash

Follow us on IG: @themorbidmuseum Email us at [email protected]
Artwork: Brittany Schall Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod
2022 All Rights Reserved
...more
1h 1min
August 15, 2022Rasputin
This week, Katie parses fact and fiction surrounding the life and death of one of the most morbid, mythical, and mysterious human beings of all time - Grigori Rasputin
"Rasputin Was Poisoned, Shot, Beaten, and Drowned. But Did His Penis Survive? Answering the big question about Gregori Rasputin’s penis." By Kristin Winet, June 24, 2015
"Rasputin myths busted: Murder, height, and where is his penis?" By Evelyn Richards, 28 Oct 2021
Юсуповский дворец на мойке (Yusupov Palace on the Moika River)
How was Russian mystic Rasputin murdered? 31 December 2016
"Fact Or Fiction? Even When It Comes To Food, It's Hard To Tell With Rasputin" By Nina Martyris, January 31, 2017
"The Murder of Rasputin, 100 Years Later How does the killing of the so-called Mad Monk fit into the larger picture of the Russian Revolution?" By Carolyn Harris, December 27, 2016
The Romanovs: 1613-1918 by Simon Sebag Montefiore
Rasputin: Faith, Power, and the Twilight of the Romanovs By Douglas Smith

Follow us on IG: @themorbidmuseum
Email us at [email protected]
Artwork: Brittany Schall
Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod

2022 All Rights Reserved
...more
1h 38min
August 08, 2022The Collyer Brothers
Luke covers the famed story of New York recluses Homer and Langley Collyer, whose hoarding transformed their family brownstone in 1930s Harlem into an impenetrable fortress of rubbish and found objects.
"Harlem House Mystery Ends: Tale of Love" | Aug 7 1942, Gettysburg Times | Google News Archive
Collyer Brothers Park - New York City Department of Parks & Recreation
The Dazzle review | Theatre | The Guardian
"Booby Traps Kill Hermit" San Jose Evening News
Inside the Collyer brownstone: The story of Harlem's hermits and their hoarding – New York Daily News
Homer and Langley by EL Doctorow | Fiction | The Guardian
The Legendary Collyer Brothers Harlem NY 1881-1947 – Harlem World Magazine

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Artwork: Brittany Schall Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod
2022 All Rights Reserved
...more
58min
July 18, 2022The Dance of Death
For centuries artists have depicted our dance with death. Whether paintings or prose they all arrive at the same conclusion - death comes for us all.
Saint-Saëns: Facts, pronuncation, works and more about the great composer - Classic FM
Saint-Saëns: unfashionable, underrated – and overdue for reappraisal | Classical music | The Guardian
Dance of Death | Allegorical Concept | Britannica
The Fantastic in Art and Fiction, Sponsored by Cornell University's Institute for Digital Collections
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Dance of Death
'Danse Macabre' by Camille Saint-Saëns Is the Scariest Halloween Song Ever Written - The Atlantic
The Medieval Dance of Death

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Artwork: Brittany Schall Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod
2022 All Rights Reserved
...more
46min
July 11, 2022London Stinks Part II: The Great Smog
In Part II of our series “London Stinks” we look into the history of air pollution in this world city, which began more than 500 years ago, and culminated in the deadliest smog in recorded memory, killing as many as 12,000 people in 1952.
Medium: The Great Smog
Breathing in London's history: from the Great Stink to the Great Smog
YouTube: London’s Great Smog of 1952, The London Museum
Battersea Power Station | Our Story
Monet's obsession with London fog | Claude Monet | The Guardian
BBC NEWS | UK | England | Pollution call on smog anniversary
The Killer Fog of '52 : NPR
The Reason London is Renowned for Being Foggy - TheCultureTrip
Fumifugium, John Evelyn, 1661

Follow us on IG: @themorbidmuseum
Email us at [email protected]
Artwork: Brittany Schall
Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod
"A Foggy Day" by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong
2022 All Rights Reserved.
...more
1h 1min
July 04, 2022London Stinks Part I: The Broad Street Pump
In Part I of our series "London Stinks,", we will be exploring the immensely tragic, completely disgusting, but incredibly important story of the Broad Street Pump and how it changed science forever.
"The Lesson of John Snow and the Broad Street Pump" Mitali Banerjee Ruths, MD
"Once Deemed ‘Biologically Dead,’ a New Report Shows London’s River Thames Recovering" Rasha Aridi November 12, 2021 -
Sunderland and the Public Health Act
Cholera - Vibrio cholerae infection | Cholera | CDC
WHO: Cholera
Laing, W. B. “Removing The Pump Handle.” The British Medical Journal, vol. 2, no. 5046, 1957, pp. 712–712. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25383945. Accessed 29 Jun. 2022.
The Mode of Propagation of Cholera Author(s): John Snow Source: Association Medical Journal , Feb. 16, 1856, Vol. 4, No. 163 (Feb. 16, 1856), p. 135 Published by: BMJ Stable
Smeele, Wietske. “Grounding Miasma, or Anticipating the Germ Theory of Disease in Victorian Cholera Satire.” The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association, vol. 49, no. 2, 2016, pp. 15–27. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44164803. Accessed 29 Jun. 2022.
"The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--And How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World" by Steven Johnson

Videos:
Pumphandle Lecture 2021: Dr Anthony Fauci "Covid 19: Lessons Learned and Remaining Challanges.
Ukraine war leaves Mariupol at risk of major cholera outbreak - BBC News Jun 11, 2022
Follow us on IG: @themorbidmuseum Email us at [email protected]
Artwork: Brittany Schall Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod
2022 All Rights Reserved
...more
1h 3min
June 27, 2022Lincoln's Body
In April 1865, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in Washington D.C. The body of the fallen President endured a series of morbid misadventures before being finally laid to rest in 1901. This is the true story of Lincoln's body.
Sources:
My Daguerreotype Boyfriend, Lewis Powell
Wok & Roll Restaurant (Mary Surratt's Boarding House)
National Museum of Health and Medicine (NMHM): Medical Care During President Lincoln's Final Hours Commemorated in New Exhibit
Mütter Minute: John Wilkes Booth (Mütter Museum)
The Lost Lincoln Photo Documentary - Discovery Plus
The Last Hours of Abraham Lincoln - Chicago History Museum
Lincoln Rocker - Curating & Preserving - The Henry Ford Museum
Ford's Theatre
Lincoln Home National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Lincoln's Tomb Virtual Tour
Lincoln’s corpse and its grand yet ghoulish odyssey - Washington Post
When You Die, You’ll Probably Be Embalmed. Thank Abraham Lincoln For That - Smithsonian Mag
The Ballad of Booth (from "Assassins") - Patrick Cassidy & Victor Garber
This Dust Was Once The Man - Walt Whitman
Abraham Lincoln's Long Goodbye - CBS Sunday Morning
The Lincoln Catafalque | Architect of the Capitol
Daniel Day Lewis - Lincoln (2012) Excerpt
Raymond Massey - Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940) excerpt
Lincoln's Body: A Cultural History - Richard Wightman Fox
New DNA study on Melungeons Attempts to Separate Truth from Fiction - Newsleader.com
Abraham Lincoln's Marfanoid Mother: Clinical Dysmorphology
Lincoln in the Bardo: A Novel - George Saunders
Stealing Lincoln's Body - Thomas J. Craughwell
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln - Doris Kearns Goodwin
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase to Catch Lincoln's Killer - James L. Swanson
Inside Lincoln's White House: The Complete Civil War Diary of John Hay

Follow us on IG: @themorbidmuseum
Email us at [email protected]
Artwork: Brittany Schall
Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod
2022 All Rights Reserved
...more
1h 10min
June 20, 2022The Grand Guignol
Prepare yourself as we embark on a sordid and macabre tour through the story of Le Theatre du Grand-Guignol, the theatre of horror that entertained and terrified Parisian audiences for 65 years, leaving behind an incredible legacy that continues to inspire film and theater makers to this very day. Content warning - this one isn't for the squeamish or prudish!
Sources:
The Grand Guignol : Theatre of Fear and Terror by Mel Gordon
Grand-Guignol: The French Theatre of Horror (Exeter Performance Studies) by Richard J. Hand and Michael Wilson
Deák, František. “Théâtre Du Grand Guignol.” The Drama Review: TDR, vol. 18, no. 1, 1974, pp. 34–43. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1144859. Accessed 15 Jun. 2022.
Gerould, Daniel, and Oscar Méténier. “Oscar Méténier and ‘Comédie Rosse’: From the Théâtre Libre to the Grand Guignol.” The Drama Review: TDR, vol. 28, no. 1, 1984, pp. 15–28. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1145558. Accessed 15 Jun. 2022.
"Why the Grand Guignol was so shocking" BBC Culture
The Grand Guignol: A Dramaturgical Guide
Grand Guignol Online
La Naissance de Guignol

Video Mentioned in this Episode:
CLIVE BARKER'S A-Z OF HORROR - Grand Guignol (BBC2, 1997)
Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe to get new episodes every Monday!
Follow us on IG: themorbidmuseum
Email us: [email protected]
Artwork: Brittany Schall
Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod
2022 All Rights Reserved
...more
1h 30min
June 13, 2022Cropseyland
This week, Luke takes us on an epic journey parsing the tall tale of the "Cropsey Maniac," the true crime stories of missing children and murders on Staten Island that echoed the Cropsey myth, and the haunting landscape of abandoned institutions that inspire urban legends and urban exploration today.
Sources:
The Cropsey Maniac by Lee Haring and Mark Breslerman
Artifacts Journal Blog The Cropsey Maniac
Jasper Cropsey Biography for the Catalogue Raisonne
'The Burning' Pre-Production via Hysteria Lives
NYC Farm Colony and Seaview Hospital History at Sometimes Interesting
Cropsey: The Terrifying Urban Legend of Cropsey Brought to Life at The Lineup
History of Willowbrook at the Terrifying Legend of Cropsey Classic New York History.com
Jennifer Schweiger’s Body Found AP Aug 1987
The Charley Project: Missing Children Case information
Willowbrook Mile
Willowbrook State School Documentation Project at College of Staten Island
Beatings, Burns, & Betrayal: The Willowbrook Scandal’s Legacy New York Times
What’s Left of Abandoned Willowbrook State School Now on Staten Island via Untapped New York
Forgotten New York: Hospital of the Damned
New York City Farm Colony via Opacity.us

Videos:
The Burning (1981) (Tubi, Roku Amazon)
Cropsey Documentary (2009) (Tubi)
Willowbrook, The Last Great Disgrace (1972) Geraldo Rivera, W-ABC (ABC7NY)
Unforgotten: 25 Years After Willowbrook
WIllowbrook Memorial Lecture, symposia preserved on Willowbrook YouTube Channel
TikTok Alice Austen biography (Kendragaylord)
Jason Alexander 1980s McDonald’s McDLT Commercial

Places to Visit:
College of Staten Island
Greenbelt Recreation Center at NYC Farm Colony
Jasper Cropsey Home, Ever Rest

Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe to get new episodes every Monday!
Follow us on IG: @themordbidmuseum
Email us: [email protected]
Artwork: Brittany Schall
Music: “Danse Macabre” by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod
2022 All Rights Reserved
...more
1h 25min
June 06, 2022Death Masks
It's our first full episode! This week, Katie tours us through the totally creepy, centuries-old practice of creating death masks. Yep. It's as weird as it sounds.
Sources:
Death Mask Radiolab Episode
Edward III and Philippa of Hainault | Westminster Abbey
The curious and gruesome art of human death masks
LCP Art & Artifacts - Death Masks
Resusci Anne and L'Inconnue: The Mona Lisa of the Seine
New-York Historical Society - Aaron Burr Death Mask
Recreating Roman Wax Masks Vol 6 Iss 3, Expedition Magazine in 2014
Masks - Funerary and Commemorative Uses

Videos Mentioned in this Episode:
Orange County Registry - Making a Death Mask https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LyPx2x7ZJs&t=78s
New York Magazine - Death Mask Museum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOrk41H7WDY
Death Masks, BBC London News Article https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yCe51xHmec
Nick Reynolds, Death Masks https://vimeo.com/111618823
Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe to get new episodes every Monday!
Follow us on IG: @themorbidmuseum
Email us at [email protected]

Artwork: Brittany Schall
Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod

2022 All Rights Reserved
...more
1h 2min

FAQs about The Morbid Museum:

How many episodes does The Morbid Museum have?

The podcast currently has 71 episodes available.