The Reference Desk

This week, Hailee is bewitched with something she stumbled upon during a recent trip to Florida: Houses of Refuge and the United States Life Saving Services. According to Martin County Historical Society, the Houses of Refuge were designated as havens for shipwrecked sailors and travelers along the sparsely populated Atlantic coastline of Florida. Run by the United States Lifesaving Service, the Houses played a critical role in a time when sailing ships dominated world commerce. Over their years of operation, the Lifesaving Service saved over 100,000 people and was the start of the Coast Guard.

Links:

House of Refuge Museum

US Life-Saving Service Heritage Association

Books Mentioned:

• A History of the World in Sixteen Shipwrecks by Stewart Gordon
• Sinking the Sultana: A Civil War Story of Imprisonment, Greed, and a Doomed Journey Home by Sally M. Walker
• The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea by Sebastian Junger
• Ghosts of the Treasure Coast by Patrick and Patricia Mesmer
• In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick
• Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
• The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon 
• Small Town Monsters by Diana Rodriguez Wallach 

If you are interested in purchasing any of these titles, please use our affiliate link through bookshop.org!  

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In this episode of The Reference Desk, Katie is bewitched by the saloon-smashing, hatchet-wielding, temperance leader Carry A. Nation. 

In the fight for prohibition, no one waged war like Carry Nation. After a hard childhood that ended in a brief marriage to an alcoholic, Carry became involved in the Women's Christian Temperance Union. Finding no success in the usual campaigns of letter-writing and prayer circles, Carry took it upon herself to deliver the message in a more direct way. She became famous for smashing saloons with her trademark hatchet while preaching about the sins of alcohol to anyone unfortunate enough to be within earshot. Carry Nation was largely written off by historians as a religious hysteric, but by examining her actions in the context of the woman's suffrage movement, we can see Carry played an integral role in our nation's progress. 

Recommended titles (available in our bookshop): 

The Haunting of Leigh Harker by Darcy Coates

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Carry A. Nation: Retelling the Life by Fran Grace

Smashing the Liquor Machine: A Global History of Prohibition by Mark Lawrence Schrad

The Gilded Years by Karin Tanabe

The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee

Links: 

Roots of Prohibition

Carry Nation biography

Historic Missourians: Carry A. Nation

Carry Nation on History.com

Another Carry bio

Smithsonian mag on Carry nation

Hatchet Nation-Slate

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In our last mini spookysode, Hailee tells us about the origins and celebrations of Halloween! How we celebrate Halloween is pretty different than how it was originally celebrated over 2000 years ago, but there are still some traces of the ancient festivals that inspired the holiday.

Soul Cake Recipe

Creepy vintage Halloween costumes

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In this week's mini spookysode, Katie is bewitched by the soap-maker of Correggio. 

When fortune-teller Leonarda Cianciulli set up shop in the tiny Italian town of Correggio, luck for the local women seemed to change. Leonarda helped them find new jobs, new loves, and new adventures. But their families never heard from then again, save a couple of letters telling them they'd left town for good. When one missing woman's sister-in-law began poking around, she discovered a vat of secrets in Leonarda's bubbling cauldron. 

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This week, Hailee is bewitched with the legend of the Bell Witch.

The Bell Witch is a menacing spirit that haunted the Bell family in Addams, Tennessee for years. Beginning with unexplained noises and sightings of strange creatures, the haunting soon escalated to physical torments and is said to be one of the only cases in which a spirit has caused the death of a person.

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This week, Katie is bewitched with what happens to your body after you die. 

From the time you take your last breath to the time your placed in the ground or an urn, the process and care your human form receives is something of a mystery. Mortuary science is a secretive field, and few people know what goes on behind the scenes in a funeral home. The air of mystery surrounding the very natural end of life only adds to the general fear of death. In this episode, we take you through the process your earthly remains will go through from their transport to the morgue to their final resting place, be that a cemetery or deepest space. 

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We are back! Join us as we chat about what we have been doing, what we have been reading and what we have been watching during our short break. Plus, find out what we will be up to next and when to look forward to new episodes of The Reference Desk! 

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This week Katie and Hailee continue to be bewitched by the Titanic. 

In the second half of this two-part series, we go minute-by-minute through the timeline of the sinking and bemoan all the mistakes that led to the massive loss of life. We also discuss the aftermath of the tragedy, including its influence on pop culture and the completely bizarre salvage plans that were cooked up through the decades to drag the wreck out of the depths of the ocean...before it was even discovered in 1985! We also talk about some myths associated with Titanic, and explore some shipwreck-related ghost stories. 

This will be the concluding episode for our first season. We cannot thank you enough for your support and listenership. We're already hard to work researching for season 2! 

Books mentioned in this episode (all can be purchased in our bookshop):

Fear Street Series by R.L. Stine

The Loss of the SS Titanic by Lawrence Beesley

The Truth About the Titanic by Archibald Gracie

Titanic and Other Ships by Charles Lightoller

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord

The Discovery of the Titanic by Robert Ballard

The Wreck of the Titan: Futility by Morgan Robertson

The Midnight Watch by David Dyer

Women and Children First by Gill Paul

The Watch That Ends the Night by Allan Wolf

The Deep by Alma Katsu

882 1/2 Amazing Answers to Your Questions About the Titanic by Hugh Brewster and Laurie Coulter

History Smashers: The Titanic by Kate Messner

Titanic: A Journey Through Time by John P. Eaton and Charles A. Haas

Links: 

British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry

US Senate Titanic Disaster Hearings

Titanic Conspiracy Theories

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This week Hailee and Katie are bewitched by the Titanic.

Is it just us, or does EVERY kid go through a Titanic phase? An adolescent infatuation spurred on by Kate Winslet and Leonardo Dicaprio leaving handprints on a steamy car window has morphed into an adult obsession with the story and impact of the Titanic. In our first ever collaborative episode (and part one of our season 1 finale), we explore the history of transatlantic travel, the construction of the “ship of dreams,” life onboard the ship, and the crew and passengers who made the doomed vessel an integral part of Western history and culture.

Before this ill-fated beauty slips below the freezing waters of the Atlantic, let’s revel in her grandeur and innovation.

Books mentioned on this episode (all linked in our bookshop):

The Comfort Book by Matt Haig

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Links: 

History of shipbuilding

Overview of Transatlantic travel

The Monster Ships that Changed the Way We Travel

First Class Facilities

Second and Third Class Facilities

Here's What the Most Expensive Ticket on the Titanic Would Have Bought You

Titanic-Food For All Classes

Molly Brown

RMS Titanic and Passenger Lists

Captain Edward J. Smith Biography

UK National Archives for the Titanic

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In this two-part episode, Hailee is bewitched with the Amityville Horror.

Since the 1970s, the beautiful dutch colonial house on 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, NY has been full of tragedy and speculation. Starting with the brutal slaying of the DeFeo family in 1974 to the shocking tales of demonic activity in the home afterward to the numerous books, movies, and TV shows made in the aftermath, this house has become one of, if not the most infamous house in America. 

In part two, Hailee breaks down the paranormal investigations that took place in the home, gives a brief career overview of investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, and talks about some of the coincidences and legends associated with the home. 

Recommended titles (all available in our bookshop):

• Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
• Amity by Micol Ostow
• The Haunted House Diaries: The True Story of a Quiet Connecticut Town in the Center of a Paranormal Mystery by William Hall
• Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey
• The Night the Defeo's Died by Ric Osuna

Amityville Files

https://filmdaily.co/news/ed-and-lorraine-warren/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ulg65p84JwU&ab_channel=WarnerBros.Entertainment

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