Dark History Today

The Murder of Clayton Dale Elkins

Lawton, Oklahoma
February 12, 1950

Two old friends from Seminole — Clayton Dale Elkins and James Albert Collier Jr. — reconnect over bootleg whiskey at the Big 6 bar on a Saturday afternoon. That night, with their wives in tow, the drinking continues through two half-pints of illegal liquor, a stop at Ruth's Drive-In, and a long evening that splits the couples into separate rooms. When Elkins tells Collier's wife something that suggests her husband has been unfaithful, the night unravels fast. Tears, accusations, and a demand to leave escalate into a confrontation that ends with Collier retrieving a shotgun. At 1:15 a.m. on February 12th, the gun discharges into Elkins' abdomen. He dies four hours later. Collier claims accidental discharge during a scuffle. The jury disagrees, convicting him of first-degree manslaughter and sentencing him to thirty years in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

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King Ben and the Curse of the House of David

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In Episode 53 we explore portions of a five-part investigative expose the Detroit Free Press published on the cult House of David, which operated a commune near Benton Harbor Michigan in the 1920s. The leader of the cult was Benjamin Franklin Purnell, in these articles confronted with allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct among young members of his flock. Much of the expose, the parts that we’ll be examining, are based on a sworn deposition by one of these young ladies. 

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Prescott, Arizona Territory
February 10, 1886

In 1881, the Arizona Territory was rocked by the chilling crimes of Dennis Dilda, a man whose outward appearance as a hardworking settler masked a predatory nature. Settling near Prescott with his wife and children, Dilda’s descent into infamy began with the disappearance of several travelers. Suspicion peaked when Deputy Sheriff James Bozarth went missing after visiting Dilda’s ranch to investigate a theft.A subsequent search of the property revealed a gruesome scene: Bozarth's body was discovered buried beneath the floor of Dilda's cabin. Further investigation unearthed more victims on the grounds, cementing Dilda’s reputation as one of the frontier’s most cold-blooded killers. His capture led to a swift trial and a public execution in 1886. Dilda’s story remains a haunting chapter of Wild West history, serving as a grim reminder that the most dangerous outlaws weren't always found on the open trail—sometimes, they were your neighbors.

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The Chicago Wynekoop Scandal

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In November 1933, Chicago undertaker Thomas Ahern was summoned to the basement surgery of Dr. Alice Lindsay Wynekoop, a respected 62-year-old physician. There he discovered her daughter-in-law Rheta, 22, face-down on the operating table with a bullet in her back—and immediately called police instead.

Dr. Wynekoop initially blamed an intruder, but investigators uncovered a damning picture: a family fortune reduced to twenty-six dollars, insurance policies taken out on Rheta just ten days before her death, and a ne'er-do-well son whose philandering his mother had enabled.

After sixty hours of interrogation, Dr. Wynekoop confessed—then recanted, claiming she was protecting Earle.Convicted and sentenced to twenty-five years, the feminist pioneer who once championed women's suffrage maintained her innocence until her death in 1955.

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Fotheringhay Castle. Northamptonshire, England.
February 8, 1587.

The Great Hall has been transformed into a theater of death. A scaffold, two feet high and covered in black cloth, stands in the center. A fire crackles in the hearth, fighting the winter chill, but it does little to warm the blood of the three hundred spectators crowded into the room.

They are waiting for a woman who has been a prisoner for nineteen years. A woman who was Queen of France at sixteen, Queen of Scotland at birth, and who—according to the government of Elizabeth I—is now a condemned traitor.

When she enters the hall, she doesn't look like a criminal. She walks with a limp, yes, ravaged by rheumatism, but her head is high. She wears black satin over velvet, a long white veil flowing to the ground, and a rosary hangs from her waist. She looks every inch the anointed sovereign.

But in less than an hour, the illusion of majesty will be shattered by the clumsy swing of an axe. This isn’t just a political execution; it is the first time in history a crowned monarch will be legally tried and put to death by another. And it will go horribly, famously wrong.

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If disaster is more your jam, check out CATASTROPHIC CALAMITIES, telling the stories of famous and forgotten tragedies of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything!

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This episode includes AI-generated content.

The Murder Of Joseph Smith

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Episode 466 is the story of John C. Elliott, the Ohio woodcutter turned political assassin who rode 500 miles to execute a prophet. Hiding as a schoolmaster, Elliott was arrested and set free by Joseph Smith himself. Discover the man history forgot.

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If disaster is more your jam, check out CATASTROPHIC CALAMITIES, telling the stories of famous and forgotten tragedies of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything!

For brand-new tales in the old clothes from the golden era of popular literature, give your ears a treat with PULP MAGAZINES with two new stories every week.

Madge Oberholtzer Kills The Klan

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Episode 461 takes us to 1925, when Indiana Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon D.C. Stevenson kidnapped and assaulted Madge Oberholtzer, who died from poison she took to escape him. Her "dying declaration" was the key evidence. His murder conviction, based on "proximate cause," shattered the Klan’s immense political power in Indiana and ended the careers of prominent politicians, including a governor.

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If disaster is more your jam, check out CATASTROPHIC CALAMITIES, telling the stories of famous and forgotten tragedies of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything!

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This episode includes AI-generated content.

The Condemnation Of Mary Ann Cotton

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Episode 462 is the tale of the wicked Mary Ann Cotton, one of Victorian Britain's most prolific serial killers, exploiting the era's poverty and the new industrial life insurance market for financial gain. Using arsenic, her crimes were camouflaged by high mortality rates, as symptoms mimicked "gastric fever."

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If disaster is more your jam, check out CATASTROPHIC CALAMITIES, telling the stories of famous and forgotten tragedies of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything!

For brand-new tales in the old clothes from the golden era of popular literature, give your ears a treat with PULP MAGAZINES with two new stories every week.

This episode includes AI-generated content.

The Barrow Gang’s Bloody Rampage

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Episode 460 tells the brutal story of two young lovers and their gang as they escalate from small-time robbery to a bloody, two-year crime spree across the Southwest. With an arsenal of machine guns and other deadly weapons, they left a trail of dead lawmen and merchants in a desperate flight that ended in a deadly ambush.

Hear More Stories About PRISON BREAKS

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If disaster is more your jam, check out CATASTROPHIC CALAMITIES, telling the stories of famous and forgotten tragedies of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything!

For brand-new tales in the old clothes from the golden era of popular literature, give your ears a treat with PULP MAGAZINES with two new stories every week.

This episode includes AI-generated content.

Kahahawai Shot In The Heart 

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Episode 93 takes you to the island paradise of Hawaii, not yet a state in 1932 when the wife of a naval officer stationed there is allegedly raped and beaten by four natives. A few months later, her mother, her husband and two of his enlisted men face a jury under the counsel of the famed defense attorney Clarence Darrow in a case that both sides claim puts the territory of Hawaii itself on trial. 

Hear More Stories About MURDER CONSPIRACIES!!!

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You can pay more if you want to, but rent at the Safe House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House Exclusives, direct access to the Boss, and whatever personal services you require.

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If disaster is more your jam, check out CATASTROPHIC CALAMITIES, telling the stories of famous and forgotten tragedies of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything!

For brand-new tales in the old clothes from the golden era of popular literature, give your ears a treat with PULP MAGAZINES with two new stories every week.