The Reference Desk

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 afterwards 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 one, Hailee will talk about the history of the home, the murder of the DeFeo family and the haunting experiences of the Lutz family who moved in just a year after the murders.

Recommended titles (all available in our bookshop):

• A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow Laura Taylor Namey
• Untamed by Glennon Doyle
• The Night the DeFeo's Died by Ric Osuna
• The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson

Links

Amityville Files

Amityville Murders

Butch DeFeo's Written Statement

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In this week’s episode, Katie continues to be bewitched by the Duggar family.

Part two of our expose on one of the world’s most famous mega-families will reveal the Duggars’ long list of scandals. From transphobic tweets that result in members being removed from filming, to infidelity, corporal punishment, and misuse of charity funds, we look at the moments that shook the foundation of the Duggar fanbase.

We also devote some time to the most disappointing Duggar of all, Joshua. Josh’s long history of alarming and destructive behaviors have finally caught up to him in a way that can’t be quietly solved with a trip to a prayer-based “recovery center.” We’ll pinpoint all the red flags and utter failures along the way.

Recommended titles (all available in our bookshop):

Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

The Queen's English: The LGBTQIA+ Dictionary of Lingo and Colloquial Phrases by Chloe O. Davis

Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States by Samantha Allen

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Lumberjane series by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, and Brooke Allen

Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love

Educated by Tara Westover

Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs by Elissa Wall and Lisa Pulitzer

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer

Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as one of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lives to Take it All (Or Almost All) of it Back by Frank Schaeffer

The Patron Saint of Butterflies by Cecilia Galante

The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwon

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta

Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk

Links:

Counting On: The 10 Biggest Scandals that Have Rocked the Duggar Family

TLC Severs Ties with Derick Dillard Following More Tweets about Jazz Jennings

Timeline: Duggar Sex-Abuse Scandal

Family Values Activist Josh Duggar Had a Paid Ashely Madison Account

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In this episode of The Reference Desk, Katie is bewitched by the Duggar Family. 

To their adoring fans, the Duggar family is a close-knit, super-sized Christian family intent on raising their brood under a stringent set of beliefs and rules. But when we dig below the surface, we find so much more. From their affiliation with Bill Gothard’s predatory Institute of Basic Life Principles, to their deeply sexist rules for their daughters, to their bizarre and troubling homeschool curriculum, the Duggar family’s problems run deeper than just floor-length denim skirts and parent-supervised dates.

Join us in this first part of a two-episode look at everything you wish you didn’t know about the Duggar family.

Recommended titles (available at our bookshop):

What Riley Wore by Elana K. Arnold and Linda Davick

All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages by Saundra Mitchell

This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel

Simon Vs. The Homosapien's Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

Links: 

Can Taking the Pill Cause a Miscarriage?

A Comprehensive Guide to the Duggar Family

Bill Gothard's Lawsuit

'Counting On': How Did the Duggar Family Get on Television?

What Church Do the Duggars Go To?

Institute in Basic Life Principles (hot garbage dump)

Here's How the Duggars Really Make Their Money

The Fundamentalist Trap

Duggar Family Rules

The Fundamentally Toxic Christianity

The Cult Next Door (all about IBLP and super creep Bill Gothard)

ATI Homeschool Curriculum Preview 

Duggar Family Website/Blog

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In this episode, Hailee is bewitched with the legends and lore behind cursed films.

What is a curse? Some of the earliest curses are found in Egyptian Execration texts, which were tablets listing the enemies of the pharaoh. Essentially, a curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. Throughout history, people have promoted stories of curses for a variety of reasons. You can find curses just about anywhere, from religious superstitions to sports fans wearing a certain jersey because they think it will help their team win...to films and television! There are a number of films that hold the description of being cursed. Accidents and deaths on set, bad luck that seems to follow anyone associated with certain films, and so much more. In this episode, Hailee will discuss the real events, legends, and lore behind several cursed films and you can decide for yourself...are curses real? 

For more information and a full list of our sources, visit our website.

• Cursed Films series on Shudder
• Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis
• The Remaking by Clay Mcleod Chapman
• Plain Bad Heroines by Emily Danforth

If you're interested in purchasing the books mentioned in this episode, visit our bookshop.org affiliate shop

Antrum - Cursed Horror with Grim History

12 Cursed Movies

I Watched A Cursed Film During Quarantine

6 Famous Curses Through History

The Lee Family Curse

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In this episode of The Reference Desk, Katie is bewitched by the myths and legends of Walt Disney World.

Known around the globe as “the happiest place on Earth,” Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida is a vacation destination like no other. This sprawling property is home to four unique theme parks, a host of themed accommodations, hundreds of restaurants, and a world of carefully-curated experiences. But are there secrets lurking beneath the surface?

Was Walt Disney cryogenically frozen and kept in suspended animation beneath one of his most beloved attractions?

Is an uncontainable flesh-eating bacteria the real reason for the sudden, quiet closure of a wildly popular water park? And is it true that no one dies on Disney property? We explore these myths and more in this magical episode.

Recommended Titles available at our bookshop

Manacled by SenLinYu

Disney War by James B. Stewart

It’s Kind of a Cute Story by Rolly Crump and Jeff Heimbuch

The Disney Story: Chronicling the Man, the Mouse, and the Parks  by Aaron H. Goldberg

The Art of Disney Costuming: Heroes, Villains, and Spaces Between by Jeff Kurtti

Maps of the Disney Parks: Charting 60 Years from California to Shanghaiby Kevin and Susan Neary

Cleaning the Kingdom: Insider Tales of Keeping Walt’s Dream Spotless by Ken Pellman and Lynn Barron

Ink and Paint: The Women of Walt Disney’s Animation by Mindy Johnson

Secret Stories of Walt Disney World series by Jim Korkis

The Kingdom Keeper series by Ridley Pearson.

Dream Factory by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow

Links: 

Abandoned: The Rise, Fall and Decay of Disney's River Country

Is Walt Disney's Body Frozen?

List of Incidents at Walt Disney World

The Inside Story Of Walt Disney’s Secret Tunnels Beneath The Magic Kingdom

Park Secrets Disney Doesn't Want You to Know

Fact Check: Does No One Ever Die at Disney Parks?

Fact Check: Was Walt Disney Frozen?

25 Secrets About Disney World The Execs Would Never Tell Us

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In this episode, Hailee is bewitched with the Culper Ring, George Washington's secret spy ring credited with turning the course of the war and enabling an American victory. 

The Culper Spy Ring operated successfully in and around New York City for five years and the informants were never discovered. Even George Washington himself was unaware of their identities. Along with spies like Hercules Mulligan and James Armistead, the Culper Ring was responsible for preventing the plan of one of history’s most notorious traitors and saving George Washington’s life more than once. And yes, there will be Hamilton quotes.

For more information and a full list of our sources, visit our website.

Recommended Media

• TURN, AMC
• Decoded - History Channel
• George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution by Brian Kilmeade and David Yeager
• Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring by Alexander Rose
• Agent 355 by Marie Benedict (Audible original)
• George Washington, Spymaster by Thomas B. Allen
• Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales by Nathan Hale
• Rebel Spy by Veronica Rossi
  

If you're interested in purchasing the books mentioned in this episode, visit our bookshop.org affiliate shop

https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/culper-spy-ring/

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/culper-spy-ring

https://explorethearchive.com/the-culper-ring

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/american-revolution-history

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Culper-Spy-Ring

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This week, Katie is bewitched with the polio epidemic and vaccines.

As the U.S. takes its first tentative steps toward post-COVID life with the massive roll-out of vaccines, Katie takes time to reflect on another virus that changed our world: polio. For decades, parents lived in fear of summer- time polio outbreaks. Children went from happy and healthy to iron lungs in a matter of days. As a result, public pools closed. Adolescents were banned from movie theaters, and parents everywhere hoped and prayed for a vaccine that would keep their children safe. The Polio vaccines continue to provide relief from this debilitating virus all over the world. Will we allow the COVID vaccines to do their work, too?

Recommended books (all can be found in our bookshop):

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

Growing Things by Paul Tremblay

The Royal We series by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

Polio: An American Story by David M. Oshinsky

The Cutter Incident: How America’s First Polio Vaccine Led to the Growing Vaccine Crisis by Paul A. Offit

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Three Minutes for a Dog: My Life in an Iron Lung by Paul R. Alexander

Nemesis by Philip Roth

The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain

Severance by Ling Ma

Links: 

History Does Repeat Itself: Lessons from the Polio Vaccine

Parents PACK Personal Stories-Polio

Why 'New' COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects Are Totally Expected

The Cutter Incident: How America's First Polio Vaccine Led to a Growing Vaccine Crisis

History of Polio

Polio Timeline

How We Know the COVID Vaccine Won't Have Long Term Side Effects

Our Progress Against Polio

Polio Survivor Stories

Polio Survivor Stories II

Polio through History

The Man in the Iron Lung

Race and the Politics of Polio: Warm Springs, Tuskegee, and the March of Dimes

Vaccine Types

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The victorian period is named after for reign of Queen Victoria encompassing the span of history between 1837-1901. During this time, Brittain and the United States were experiencing the first Industrial Revolution. Also during this time, Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone, Florence Nightingale revolutionizes the nursing field with her sanitary practices, Charles Dickens is the shit - the most popular author of the time, Charles Darwin writes the Origin of the species, Jack the Ripper is stalking the streets of London.

And there is an incredibly high mortality rate which is why much of what the Victorians did for entertainment focuses on death. From disgustingly elaborate breakfasts to seances and anthropomorphic taxidermy and hair jewelry, the Victorians were certainly a strange bunch. 

• The Boy in the Red Dress by Kristin Lambert 
• The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
• Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon
• Victorian Farm - BBC show
• Floriography by Jessica Roux
• How to Be a Victorian: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Victorian Life by Ruth Goodman
• Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
• The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry 
• The Silent Companions by Lucy Parcell

If you're interested in purchasing the books mentioned in this episode, visit our bookshop.org affiliate shop

Brief history of the Victorian Era

How People in the Victorian Era Spent Their Free Time - Weird History, YouTube

Archive of primary texts about all manner of Victorian topics

Victorian Farm - BBC show

Callisthenics for Ladies

Death Photography

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In this week's episode, Katie is bewitched by the incredible survival story of Jose Salvador Alvarenga. In November 2012, Alvarenga headed out on a fishing trip despite warnings of a storm brewing. The routine trip soon turned life-threatening when engine failure and rough seas dragged Alvarenga and his mate, 22-year-old Ezequiel Cordoba, deep into the Pacific Ocean. For 438 days, Alvarenga survived at sea before washing ashore on the Marshall Islands. Alvarenga's survival is a story of incredible skill, intelligence, and sheer luck. In this episode we examine the psychological and physical obstacles Alvarenga overcame to become the first man to survive for over a year alone in the Pacific Ocean. 

Recommended books (all can be found in our bookshop):

 We are Not Free by Traci Chee 

Healthier Together by Liz Moody

 At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson

 438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea by Jonathan Franklin

 Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by John Krakauer

 Into the Wild by John Krakauer

 In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick

 A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson 

SAS Survival Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Anywhere by John “Lofty” Williams 

The Martian by Andy Weir 

The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin

 Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

 My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

 Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell 

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This week, Hailee is bewitched with the strange, funny, sometimes deadly behaviors of people who sleepwalk. 

Sleepwalking is a behavior disorder that originates during deep sleep and results in walking or performing other complex behaviors while still mostly asleep. Listen this week as Hailee discusses some funny sleepwalking stories, including some sleep talking stories from her husband, as well as the science behind what goes on in our brains during sleep. And of course, she discusses some sleepwalking murders, as well. 

Titles recommended in this episode:

• The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Candace Fleming
• Sloth Wasn't Sleepy by Kate Messner, illustrated by Valentina Toro
• Dreamland: adventures in the strange science of sleep by David Randall.
• I have struck Mrs. Cochran with a stake: sleepwalking, insanity, and the trial of Abraham Prescott by Leslie Rounds

If you’re interested in purchasing the books mentioned in this episode, visit our bookshop.org affiliate shop

Celinaspookyboo

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-superhuman-mind/201212/sleep-driving-and-sleep-killing

https://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/sleep/articles/2009/05/08/7-criminal-cases-that-invoked-the-sleepwalking-defense

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-case-of-the-sleepwalking-killer-77584095/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sleepwalking/symptoms-causes/syc-20353506

https://www.buzzfeed.com/alivelez/weird-sleepwalking-stories

https://www.sleepcycle.com/how-sleep-cycle-works/

CAWPILE Book Rating System with reading log

Bookriot Reading Log

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