The Tales We Tell

If you're about to take a trip involving any kind of air travel, maybe skip this episode. This week, Hannah tells Katy about the remarkable story of Juliane Koepcke: an amazing young woman who faced one of the worst things that can happen to a person (a plane crash) and survived. It's not our usual stuff, but if you're scared of flying and/or being alone in a huge rainforest facing certain death, you might find it spooky. 

So pour your drinks (even if it's just the leftovers from two opened bottles of wine) and join us for this incredible tale! 

Sources: 

https://archive.org/details/whenifellfromsky0000koep/page/50/mode/2up?view=theater
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LANSA_Flight_502
https://simpleflying.com/lansa-checkered-history/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliane_Koepcke

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Once upon a time, the trapdoor used to be a key element in many a serial killing. This week, Hannah tells Katy the story of the Benders--a family of serial killers wreaking havoc on the prairies of Kansas in the 1870's. From an old nursery rhyme that was possibly inspired by the wildest (fictional) story of would-be Sweeney Todds running a rural inn, to the very real tale of the family that lured travelers into their roadside BNB before murdering them and dropping their bodies down a trapdoor. It's a little bit backwards, but with no lack of twists and turns. The girls talk missed cannibalistic opportunities, family resemblances, why you shouldn't elaborate your lies, Newsies, bleeding Jesus statues, and why everyone just needs to leave the animals alone. 

So pour your drinks, and join us for this Unsolved Mystery!

Sources:
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/80175/who-was-old-king-cole-and-why-was-he-such-merry-old-soul
https://archive.org/details/thomasdeloneyhi00delogoog/page/n166/mode/2up?view=theater
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015484/1873-05-22/ed-1/seq-2/
https://web.archive.org/web/20111010080847/http://www.flexassistant.com/images/Benders.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Benders
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015484/1873-05-15/ed-1/seq-2/
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/03/bloody-benders-true-story-kate-bender-crimes-susan-jonusas.html
https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ks-benders/

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How far would you go under the instruction of an authority figure? Would you hurt someone? Kill them? The answer is (unfortunately) pretty surprising. This week, Hannah tells Katy about the Milgrim experiment, and its rather horrifying implications. The girls get a little in the weeds discussing the Holocaust, WW2, and horrible people (aka: Nazis), but it's all relevant, we promise! This experiment was directly inspired by the horrors of the Holocaust, and even though no one got hurt in the Yale basement in 1961, what we learned about a person's ability to be driven to harm someone is disturbing.

So pour the drinks, prepare for chaos, and join us for this uncomfortable tale of American history.

 Sources:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html
http://academic.evergreen.edu/curricular/social_dilemmas/fall/Readings/Week_06/milgram.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment
https://nature.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7article/article35.htm
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/holocaust-eichmann/
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/28/adolf-eichmann-final-message-architects-holocaust-evil
https://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Milgram
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Eichmann

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Have you ever stood on the train tracks and looked down the rails into the darkness, hoping to see the mysterious light everyone says sometimes appears? Have you seen the light yourself? This week, Hannah tells Katy about the Maco Light (a true Local Lore for these NC-based podcasters), and the other very similar stories featuring a gruesome train mishap, and a headless ghost wandering around with a lantern. The girls talk local geography (spoiler: there's a Maco and a Macon in NC, and a Chapel Hill in TN), swamp chemistry, which came first: the telegram or the taxi, the merits of sleep masks, and plenty of train puns! We're getting back to our roots (literally and figuratively), and we hope you'll come along for the (train) ride! 

So pour your drinks, and join us for this tale of Local Lore! 

Sources:
https://web.archive.org/web/20111228012923/http://www.wilmingtonrailroadmuseum.org/content/joebaldwin.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maco_light
https://www.ncpedia.org/maco-light
https://www.wkrn.com/special-reports/haunted-tennessee/ghost-light-haunts-chapel-hills-railroad-tracks/
https://lylerussell.net/2022/09/25/tn-gl-episode-2-the-headless-signalman-and-the-chapel-hill-ghost-light/
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/moonlight-white-barn-owls/
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsta.2014.0206
https://www.popsci.com/jack-o-lanterns-marsh-lights/
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/light-of-saratoga
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/big-thicket-light

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It was the Crime of the Century, and the whole world was invested in finding out who kidnapped (and murdered) the Lindbergh baby. This week, Hannah takes Katy through the rest of the story: how the police tracked down a suspect, the evidence, the witnesses, and the Trial of the Century. The girls talk about what made sense, what didn’t, and what could have been/definitely was missed. If you’re looking for closure, look somewhere else because all the questions don’t get answered just because a man was put to death.

So pour your drinks, break out your notes from last week, and join us for the conclusion to this Unsolved Mystery.

Sources:
https://alumni.duke.edu/magazine/articles/solving-crime-century
https://archive.org/details/hauptmannsladder0000cahi/page/226/mode/2up?view=theater&q=knoll
https://web.archive.org/web/20130627022056/http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/06/business_success_from_mental_illness_steve_jobs_henry_heinz_and_est_e_lauder.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh
https://archive.org/details/hauptmannsladder0000cahi/page/42/mode/2up?view=theater
https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/lindbergh-kidnapping
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Kidnapping_Act

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We're still celebrating our birth-aversary (happy 4 years to us!) so, of course, Hannah had to bring the mood down with a truly awful story. This week, the girls dive into part one of a two-parter exploring the infamous Lindbergh kidnapping. From the problems with Charles Lindbergh himself, to the disappearance of "Little Lindy", and all the ransom notes, strange clues, and horrific discoveries made along the way, the girls talk about the crime that rocked the world in 1932. Find out how being beloved by the world doesn't protect you from the evil that lurks in some people. 

Content warning: violence to a young child (not talked about in detail, but disturbing nonetheless).

If you drink the drinks, pour a strong one, and join us for part one of this (unsolved?) case! 

Sources:
https://web.archive.org/web/20130627022056/http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/06/business_success_from_mental_illness_steve_jobs_henry_heinz_and_est_e_lauder.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh
https://archive.org/details/hauptmannsladder0000cahi/page/42/mode/2up?view=theater
https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/lindbergh-kidnapping
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Kidnapping_Act

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Happy birth-aversary to us!! To celebrate FOUR years of telling spooky stories, unsolved mysteries, and local lore, we've decided to go back to what we do best: WTF stories. This week, Hannah tells Katy the story of Alexander Pearce, a man unfairly imprisoned in Tasmania who broke out prison, and did what he had to do to survive in the Australian bush. This one is wild, and the girls had to use a felt board to keep all the characters straight, so you may want to take notes.

Pour your drinks (19 Crimes wine would be an appropriate one here), and join us for this weird AF story! 

Sources:
https://www.theage.com.au/national/a-journey-through-hells-gate-20021029-gduqih.html
https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/pearce-alexander-31474
https://the-dollop-sources.squarespace.com/eps-101-120
https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/we-ate-each-other-one-by-one-the-gruesome-story-of-alexander-pearce-the-cannibal-convict/news-story/5795fecf611d6194e3d187ce1c71ee11
https://web.archive.org/web/20111119194406/http://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/M/Macquarie%20Harbour%20penal%20settlement.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macquarie_Harbour_Penal_Station
https://www.discovertasmania.com.au/regions/west-coast/sarah-island/
https://sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/the-victorians-and-australian-penal-colonies/

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Deep in the heart of Appalachia, there's a legend of a pale race of cave-dwelling people, who only come out at night, and who may or may not have been driven to extinction. This week, Hannah tells Katy about the Moon-Eyed People of Appalachia (thank you Amanda, for the suggestion!). The girls talk problematic white history, blind Pelicans, gay whales, genetics, Welsh pronunciations, and whether or not the Moon-Eyed People actually existed (and whether they still exist today!) It's a great follow up to the Giant Skeletons episode (ep. 199) and the whacky history white settlers tried to impose to justify colonization; plus a few fun facts about Indigenous Americans and their very long, rich history. 

Pour those drinks, grab a snack, gather your kids (it's a kid-friendly one), and join us for this tale of Local Lore!

Sources:
https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/moon-children-of-san-blas-islands/
https://web.archive.org/web/20130127191203/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/01/130125-albino- albinism-tanzania-witch-doctors/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albinism_in_humans
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge- core/content/view/BB0EC319CD247F5FEA8B4A477D9C9052/S0025727300025357a.pdf/the-legend-of-a-white-native- race.pdf
https://allthatsinteresting.com/moon-eyed-people
https://northcarolinaghosts.com/mountains/moon-eyed-people/scary-truth/ https://northcarolinaghosts.com/mountains/moon-eyed-people/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1932351/pdf/ajhg00558-0085.pdf https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/20/uk/welsh-americas-history-intl-hnk/index.html https://www.thesylvaherald.com/news/article_63be7a46-193a-11eb-bcb1-9b6452791b80.html
https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-americas/moon-eyed-people-0016334 

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What's the most exotic meat you've ever tried? Gator sausage and scorpion have nothing on this episode. This week, Hannah tells Katy the legend of the Demon Butcher of Palos Park, and the horrifying (and stomach-turning) truths in it. The girls revisit a few cannibals from Ep. 24, find a great movie recommendation, and dive headfirst into how the sausage was made back when our great grandparents were buying it from the grocery store. This one is a bit of a roller coaster, both in that the "stories" vary wildly, and in that it might make you puke. 

So choose your drinks carefully, avoid food at all costs, and join us for this gross tale of Local Lore.

Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/nytnow/no-hot-dogs-do-not-contain-human-meat.html
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/10/26/report-human-dna-found-hot-dogs/74617102/
https://windycityghosts.com/the-demon-butcher-of-palos-park-il/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motel_Hell
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweeney_Todd
https://www.snopes.com/search/human%20meat/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Metheny
https://www.history.com/news/upton-sinclair-the-jungle-us-food-safety-reforms
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jungle
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5raj0ZFoeIlXyMwBUv8Man?si=8w9RepzsR1WsjVIv6k6K5Q

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Do you ever hear weird noises in your house, or get woken up by sexy demons getting their vagina goo all over you? This week, Hannah tells Katy the story of the Smurl family, and their weird-ass haunting that involved both of the aforementioned activities, as well as some bath tub flirting, small fires, and one bushy-moustached demon trying to get laid. The girls devolve into chaos while they discuss Catholic magic spells, Mary-Sue characters, the Warrens, and a conversation between a teenage daughter and he parents that absolutely did NOT happen. It's been awhile since we did a good ol' fashion haunting, and this one will not disappoint. 

So pour the drinks, grab your bucket of holy water, and join us for this Spooky Tale!

Sources:
https://archive.org/details/hauntedonefamily00curr/page/16/mode/2up?view=theater
https://the-line-up.com/smurl-family-haunting
https://web.archive.org/web/20080305004915/http://www.timesleader.com/news/20080303_03lookback_smurls_sd_ART.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smurl_haunting
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/citizensvoice/name/john-smurl-obituary?id=15953106

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