In part one of this week's show, Ben takes a look at a number of Japanese mythological creatures, and the surprising number of magical spiders that seem to plague the land of the rising sun. 

Next, we look at the life and crimes of Canadian gangster Richard "The Cat" Blass, who's violence against rival mafia painted a huge target on his back that nobody seemed to be able to hit. 

Sources:

Diogenes. The Top 10 People Who Cheated Death. Listverse. April 22, 2008. http://listverse.com/2008/04/22/top-10-amazing-people-who-cheated-death/

Hustak, Alan. Montreal Tough Guy Albert Lisacek was a Hard Boiled Cop from a Bygone Era. The Globe and Mail. November 30, 2012. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/montreal-tough-guy-albert-lisacek-was-a-hard-boiled-cop-from-a-bygone-era/article5882859/

Meyer, Matthew. Gagoze. Yokai.com. Last accessed on April 8, 2019. http://yokai.com/gagoze/

Meyer, Matthew. Ittanmomen. Yokai.com. Last accessed on April 8, 2019. http://yokai.com/ittanmomen/

Meyer, Matthew. Jorougumo. Yokai.com. Last accessed on April 8, 2019. http://yokai.com/jorougumo/

Meyer, Matthew. Kamaitachi. Yokai.com. Last accessed on April 8, 2019. http://yokai.com/kamaitachi/

Meyer, Matthew. Otoragitsune. Yokai.com. Last accessed on April 8, 2019. http://yokai.com/otoragitsune/

Meyer, Matthew. Tsuchigumo. Yokai.com. Last accessed on April 8, 2019. http://yokai.com/tsuchigumo/

Richard Blass. Mafia Wiki. Accessed on April 3, 2019. https://mafia.fandom.com/wiki/Richard_Blass

WiseguyWally. Richard “Le Chat” Blass. Oocities (Geocities archives). October 2009. http://www.oocities.org/wiseguywally/RichardBlass.html

Pt 1. Donald Crowhurst was a man on a mission, but it's not really clear what that mission was. His failed journey around the world on a poorly made sailboat leads to conversations of depression, desperation, and the desire to escape society. 

Pt 2. Most ghost stories start with a murder, but the tale of the Hammersmith Ghost ends with one that would influence criminal law in England for centuries. 

Sources:

DeLong, William. Donald Crowhurst and his Doomed Attempt to Sail Around the World. All That's Interesting. October 28, 2018. https://allthatsinteresting.com/donald-crowhurst

Hammersmith Ghost murder. Wikipedia. Last accessed on March 27, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammersmith_Ghost_murder_case

Swanser, Brent. The Strange Case of the Hammersmith Ghost. Mysterious Universe. October 27, 2018. https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2018/10/the-strange-case-of-the-hammersmith-ghost/

Top Five Hauntings in History. Historyextra. October 31, 2013. https://www.historyextra.com/period/top-five-hauntings-in-history/

Marriage is hard, but when Ruth Snyder met a man on the side, her unfulfilling marriage drove her and her lover to commit a bumbling murder. As it turns out, societies' views on the two killers turned out to be more than a little biased. 

Leo Major joined the Canadian military at the onset of World War 2 to prove a point to his father. Apparently that point was that he was an invincible bad ass who wouldn't take crap (or awards) from fools. 

Sources:

Eddy, Cheryl. A Torrid Affair, An Inept Murder, and a Historic Execution. Gizmondo. June 23, 2015. https://gizmodo.com/a-torrid-affair-an-inept-murder-and-a-historic-execut-1713398954

Harline, Jonathan and Austin Mardon. Leo Major. Encyclopedia Britannica online. Last accessed on March 21, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leo-Major

Jones, Alan. She Had to Die! American Heritage. Volume 31, Issue 6. October/November, 1980. https://www.americanheritage.com/she-had-die

Leo Major. Wikipedia. Last accessed on March 21, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9o_Major

Little, Becky. The 1927 Murder That Became a Media Circus — And a Famous Movie. History. September 24, 2018. https://www.history.com/news/double-indemnity-1920s-murder-crime-tabloids

Taylor, Troy. The "Dumb-bell" Murder. Dead Men Do Tell Tales. Last accessed on March 25, 2019. https://www.prairieghosts.com/ruth_judd.html 

Solonik might be the best name ever for a lone killer. This great or possibly terrible marksman became one of Russia's most feared contract killers.

Then, when up to twelve men conspired to kill Michael Malloy in a life insurance scheme, the homeless, elderly alcoholic proved to be a much tougher mark than anyone had guessed. 

Sources: 

Abbot, Karen. The Man Who Wouldn't Die. The Smithsonian. February 7, 2012. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-man-who-wouldnt-die-89417903/ 

Belous, Egor. The Life and Death of Russian Killer Number One. Pravda. January 24, 2001. http://www.pravdareport.com/news/russia/20886-n/ 

DeLong, William. Alexander Solonik: The Cold-blooded Russian Hitman Known as the "Superkiller". All That's Interesting. September 18, 2018. https://allthatsinteresting.com/alexander-solonik 

Koh, Michael. 27 Incredibly Badass People In History Revealed. Thought Catalog. July 21, 2014. https://thoughtcatalog.com/hok-leahcim/2014/07/27-incredibly-badass-people-in-history-revealed/ 

Shevchenko, Nikolay. Nowhere To Hide: The Secret History of Russia's 3 Deadliest Hitmen in 'The Wild 90s'. Russia Beyond. December 13, 2017. https://www.rbth.com/history/327012-secret-history-russia-deadliest-hitmen 

Giles Corey was a murderer, but he was not a witch. The courts of Salem, Massachusetts sentenced him to death for one of those two things. Hint: It wasn't for murder. 

In 1579, Francis Drake landed somewhere near present-day San Francisco Bay, and left a brass plate to mark the occasion. This would become the basis for one of the dorkiest, history-book altering pranks in recent history. 

Sources:

Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. The Curse of Giles Corey. The History of Massachusetts Blog. October 12, 2011. https://historyofmassachusetts.org/the-curse-of-giles-corey/ 

Chen, Alan. Drake’s Plate—The End of the Mystery? Science Beat. April 4, 2003. https://www2.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/NSD-Drakes-plate.html 

DeLong, William. The Curse of Giles Cory: The Man Slowly Crushed To Death for Being a "Witch" in Salem. All That's Interesting. February 24, 2019. https://allthatsinteresting.com/giles-corey-martha-corey 

Drake’s Plate of Brass. Wikipedia. Last accessed on March 7, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake%27s_Plate_of_Brass#The_found_plate:_description_and_text 

Von der Porten, E., Aker, R., Allen, R., & Spitze, J. (2002). Who Made Drake's Plate of Brass? Hint: It Wasn't Francis Drake. California History, 81(2), 116-133. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25177677 

Part One: Ben brings you some of Africa's most fantastic beasts. From grass goblins and horny penis bats, to a primordial serpent, there are plenty of myths to make you afraid of the dark...est continent.  

Part Two: In the 1860's, New York City became one of the first metropolises in the world to have a working subway; a feat they only accomplished because inventor Alfred Beach was able to trick the government into letting him build it. 

Sources:

Beach’s Pneumatic Transit System. Wikipedia. Accessed on February 18, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_Pneumatic_Transit

Claassens, Carina. Eerie Places in Africa With Most Spine-Chilling Urban Legends. Culture Trip. October 20, 2017. https://theculturetrip.com/africa/south-africa/articles/eerie-places-in-africa-with-most-spine-chilling-urban-legends/ 

Eloko. Wikipedia. Last accessed on March 4, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eloko 

Frater, Jamie. 10 Unforgettable Stories History Forgot. Listverse. December 28, 2010. http://listverse.com/2010/12/28/10-unforgettable-stories-history-forgot/

Grootslang. Wikipedia. Last accessed on March 4, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grootslang 

Henderson, Iris. The Secret Pneumatic Subway: Beach vs Tweed. St Mary’s University History Media. April 17, 2018. https://www.stmuhistorymedia.org/the-secret-pneumatic-subway-beach-vs-tweed/

Lennon, Jen. Creepy African Legends and Myths. Ranker. Last accessed on March 4, 2019. https://www.ranker.com/list/creepy-african-myths/jenniferlennon 

Lightning Bird. Wikipedia. Last accessed on March 4, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_bird 

Popobawa. Wikipedia. Last accessed on March 4, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popobawa 

In the midst of WWII, the United States Navy was working on a number of top-secret projects. Was a disappearing, teleporting battleship one of them? Guest Kelly Bristol explores the weird, enduring legend known as the Philadelphia Experiment.

Jesse James was, perhaps, the most well known of the Old West outlaws. But after his death, a surprising number of people popped up claiming to be the real gunslinger. Ben tells the weird history of Jesse James impostors. 

Sources:

Carlos Miguel Allende Or Carl Meredith Allen Or... The Philadelphia Experiment From A-Z. Last accessed on February 25, 2019. https://www.de173.com/carlos-miguel-allende-carl-allen/

Harvey, Steve. A Jesse James Impostor Took Truth for a Ride. LA Times. January 16, 2011. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/16/local/la-me-0116-then-20110116

Jessup, K. The Case for the UFO. [Vero Edition, Introduction]. http://windmill-slayer.tripod.com/aliascarlosallende/id2.html

Lovejoy, B. (2013). Rest in pieces. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, pp.99-103

Philadelphia Experiment. Wikipedia. Last accessed on February 25, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_Experiment

Philadelphia Experiment, The. Navy Historical Center. Last accessed on February 25, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20070220130747/http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq21-1.htm

Robert Ford (Outlaw). Wikipedia. Last accessed on February 25, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ford_(outlaw)

Vallee, Jacques. Anatomy of a Hoax: The Philadelphia Experiment 50 Years Later. Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol 8, No 1. pp 47-71. 1994.

It's not uncommon for someone to love their work so much that they take it home with them. But for historian and self-proclaimed cemetery expert Anatoly Moskvin, his obsession with his work went just a little too far.

When Dr Ignaz Semmelweis noticed a pattern in the number of "childbed fever" deaths, he devised a cunning plan to correct the problem. Though it worked, it was apparently just too far ahead of its time.

Sources:

10 Interesting Stories That Will Surprise Even The History Buffs. All That’s Interesting. November 22, 2017. https://allthatsinteresting.com/interesting-stories/9

DeLong, William. Anatoly Moskvin's Parents Thought He Collected Vintage Dolls — They Were Really Young Mummified Girls. All That's Interesting. February 11, 2019. https://allthatsinteresting.com/anatoly-moskvin 

Nemtsova, Anna. Russian Historian Anatoly Moskvin Collected Dead Girls at Home. Daily Beast. November 28, 2011. https://www.thedailybeast.com/russian-historian-anatoly-moskvin-collected-dead-girls-at-home?ref=scroll 

Russian Grave Robber Made Dolls From Girls' Corpses. BBC News. March 6, 2012. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-15653074 

Sudakov, Dmitry. Man Accused of Making 26 Life-sized Dolls From Dead Girls' Bodies. Pravda. October 25, 2018. http://www.pravdareport.com/society/141872-dead_dolls/ 

Zoltan, Imre. Ignaz Semmelweis. Encyclopedia Brittanica. Last accessed on February 2, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ignaz-Semmelweis

Gather 'round, kiddos, and make sure you get an accurate headcount. We've got more creepypasta this week, as Ben reads the not-at-all confusing tale, Anansi's Goatman Story. 

Next, we explore the creepy, possibly real, story of the ghost ship SS Ourang Medan. What killed the crew, and left them frozen in a state of utter terror? And why did the ship suddenly explode? 

Sources: 

Anansi's Goatman Story. Creepypasta Wiki. Accessed on February 2, 2019. http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/Anansi%27s_Goatman_Story

Hewitt, Les. Tragedy on the SS Ourang Medan — Fact or Legend? Historic Mysteries. December 5, 2015. https://www.historicmysteries.com/ourang-medan/

Ourang Medan. Wikipedia. Last accessed on Feb 7, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ourang_Medan

This week, Ben tells the story of Johnny Ringo; and Old West outlaw who was as likely to sling lines from Shakespeare as he was his guns. But that's not to say he was a saint.

Then Steve shares the very odd—and very gross—story of Terrare, the French man who could, and would, eat anything he could sink his teeth into.

Sources:

Gunfighter John Ringo Found Dead. History. November 16, 2009. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/gunfighter-john-ringo-found-dead

Leschhorn, Emily. 15 Creepy Unsolved Mysteries That Will Have You Shook. The Things. May 6, 2017. https://www.thethings.com/15-creepy-unsolved-mysteries-that-will-have-you-shook/

Rennie, Daniel. Why Johnny Ringo is the Most Interesting Outlaw You've Never Heard Of. All That's Interesting. January 24, 2019. https://allthatsinteresting.com/johnny-ringo

Tarrare. Wikipedia. Accessed on Jan 31, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarrare