Though he was born George Edward, he was always really Rube. This week, Steve tells the story of one of the strangest Hall of Famers ever to play the sport. What can we say; the man was as entertaining as he was talented. Check it out.

Sources:

Rube Waddell Was The Strangest Man In Baseball (factinate.com)

Rube Waddell - Wikipedia

Rube Waddell: Literally One of the WEIRDEST Guys in History - YouTube

This week, Ben takes a lil' gander at the whitest Black Panther: Donald Nielson. The man earned his nickname because he was good at crime, but mostly, because he wore a lot of black. But after a robbery went a little off the rails, his whole gameplan changed for the worse. Or, if you host a podcast about terrible people doing terrible things, for he changed for the better. 

Sources:

Donald Neilson Biography, Life, Interesting Facts (sunsigns.org)

The Black Panther — Robber, Kidnapper and Serial Killer | by Sam H Arnold | CrimeBeat | Medium

This week Steve takes a look at a small Irishman with a big nose. But with great sniffer comes rampant, violent anger. And with rampant, violent anger comes an episode about murder-killing. Check it out!

Sources:

The terrifying London Underground 'serial killer' who pushed his 30 victims under trains (msn.com)

Serial Killer Kieran Kelly (murderuk.com)

Kieran Patrick Kelly - Wikipedia

In celebration of the 200th Nonessential episode—and also as a result of the first story being shorter than anticipated, but shut up—Ben reads two different creepypastas this week! 

First up is HumboldtLycanthrope's The Long List, which is a surprisingly good story about a detective haunted by a victim's trauma and her need for revenge. Or maybe he's haunted by himself?

Then there's the anonymously-written Disabled, a Pokémon creepypasta about wiggly-tough puffs or something. 

Check it out! 

Sources:

Disabled | Creepypasta Wiki | Fandom

The Long List | Creepypasta Wiki | Fandom

In the Olde West, justice was relative. This week, we take a look at serial killer Charles Kennedy, and the (probably worse) man who captured him, Clay Allison. 

Sources:

10 Horrifying Stories Of Life In The Wild West - Listverse

New Mexico Bad Boy – Clay Allison – Legends of America

Charles Kennedy – Old West Serial Killer – Legends of America

Colfax County War - Wikipedia

This week, Ben takes a look at serial killer Joel Rifkin. His straight-forward approach to getting away with murder might not be the most unique, or complex, but it was pretty effective. That is, until he made that one classic blunder that brought it all to an unfortunately over-due end. 

One morning in 1828, a young man showed up in the town of Nuremberg, Germany. He couldn't speak, and could barely walk. But as the townsfolk came to know the sixteen year old, the mystery surrounding his past only seemed to deepen. 

This week we look at the story of Kaspar Hauser. 

Source:

Who Was Kaspar Hauser? Inside The 200-Year-Old Mystery (allthatsinteresting.com)

Kaspar Hauser - Wikipedia

This week, Ben checks out Empyrealinvective's Doppledater. When our lovelorne protagonist stumbles across a secretive ritual that promises to bring him the romantic relationship he's always desired, he figures he might as well give it a try. But if you've ever read horror of any kind, you won't be suprised to learn he might have ended up with a bit more than he had bargained for. 

Source: 

Doppeldater | Creepypasta Wiki | Fandom

This week, Steve reads the ambitious Bishop Selby, a tale about a kid, a friend, and a camera. Also a monster and some time travel or something? We'd say you'll understand more once you've listened to it, but we're not so sure about that. 

Source: 

Bishop Selby | Creepypasta Wiki | Fandom

This week, the Nonessential crew continues it's now two-week run of Ambrose Bierce content with Ben's reading of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. 

This was one of Ben's favorite Bierce pieces growing up, but does it hold up lo' these couple of years later? Probably.