A spontaneous practical joke, on Christmas Eve 1882, at the New York Stock Exchange, ignited a wild chain reaction of very silly shenanigans. And that wasn’t the only place of business where that…
On July 26, 1873, a man calling himself Jefferson Davis was beaten, shot, and dragged through the streets of Ragersville, Ohio, before finally being hung from a tree, by an angry mob. This is the true…
On February 9, 1844, Esther Foster and William Graham were jointly executed by hanging, in Columbus, Ohio, on the same scaffold. It was the last public execution held in the state. Foster was an…
The life and true story of “Mother” Elizabeth Barnes, the so-called “witch” of Plum Hollow, Ontario. HISTORICAL REFERENCES: The Wise Woman of Plum Hollow, Ottawa Free Press, March 16, 1891. My…
It was a very popular custom, during the 19th century, for people to make a short visit to their friends and neighbors on New Year’s day or eve. In this episode, we will discuss that tradition, and…
On a cold dark night in December of 1896, many of the richest men in New York City were enjoying themselves at a bachelor party, when it was suddenly and unexpectedly raided by the police, on the…
The story of Madame Editha Diss DeBar, a fake psychic and professional con artist, who fooled Luther Marsh, a nice old man (a retired judge!) into believing she had amazing and miraculous powers to…
This is a “true crime” episode which also opens up a unique “slice of life” from two totally different stories and two completely different locations in 1920: the nation of China and Cleveland, Ohio…
In October 1856, an angry mob in Manchester, Ohio, lynched a man named Bill Terry. He was accused of a brutal assault on a young woman, Margaret Morris. This was the first lynching to take place in…
