My Favorite Murder Minisode 452 (September 8, 2025)
Hosts: Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark
Podcast: My Favorite Murder (Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts)
Episode Overview
This lively Minisode delivers listener "hometown" stories with Karen and Georgia's trademark wit and warmth. The duo gives updates on previous episodes, reads fresh tales from fans—covering cult recruitment, meth-fueled horse camps, ghostly encounters, trash sibling mischief, and small-town squirrel obsessions—and revels in the messiness of family folklore and small-town weirdness. The episode blends unsettling true crime with the hosts’ irreverent humor, making both creepy and mundane stories delightful.
Key Segments, Stories & Insights
1. Story Updates: Animated Baboons and Baboon-Gate
[02:08–05:16]
- Update on YouTube’s Animated Hometown Story:
- A recent animated story about a little girl being told to retrieve a car mirror from a baboon enclosure sparks debate in the comments.
- The debate escalates when the daughter of "Diane" (the woman in the story) corrects the record, clarifying:
- Diane's own daughter (not someone else’s kid) was asked to get the mirror, which was just beside the car.
- Emily (not Diane's daughter) volunteered, didn’t get the mirror, and a ranger eventually retrieved it.
- Hosts’ Take:
- They highlight the peak “90s parenting” energy and enjoy the saga’s twists.
- “Diane, if you could send a video in, we would love to be able to throw to you...” – Karen, [04:51]
- Notable Quote:
- Georgia: “She kicked someone else's kid out of the car to square off with baboons.” [03:09]
- Karen: “Who’s side are you on?” [04:34]
2. Hometown Story: “God the Mother Almost Got Me”
[05:18–08:52]
- Listener Debbie’s Cult Encounter:
- As a college senior, Debbie is approached by another student inviting her to join a group discussing “God the Mother,” which turns out to be a cult front.
- Feeling unsafe as the recruiter follows her, Debbie fakes familiarity with a passing male student, who protects her until campus police can help.
- The next day, news circulates about the cult’s ties to human trafficking.
- Hosts’ Reaction:
- They praise Debbie’s quick thinking and riff on using this tactic to meet cute guys.
- “That is how you hit on someone. It doesn’t matter if there’s no one following you. Hey, sir.” – Georgia, [07:51]
- Notable Quote:
- Debbie (via email): “Stay sexy. And if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. X.O.X.O. – Debbie” [08:45]
3. Medical Mayhem: “The Animal Botox Doctor”
[08:52–11:11]
- Listener Hannah’s Medical Mystery:
- Hannah’s grandmother finally finds a doctor who listens to her arthritis complaints—until he disappears.
- Family discovers the doctor lost his license for experimenting on his own face (and his mother’s) with animal-grade Botox intended for dogs with arthritis.
- Hosts’ Comments:
- Explosions of disbelief and jokes about animal Botox, their own love of Botox, and the absurd standards for trustworthy doctors.
- “Who are you mad at in this story? ... They did it to themselves anyway.” – Karen, [10:21]
- Memorable Moment:
- Family’s lost trust in medicine now rivals the story of grandpa’s McDonald’s brawl with a thrown chair.
4. Horse Camp Run by Drug Dealers
[12:48–16:48]
- Listener ‘C’s Story:
- City kid spends summers at a “ranch” that’s actually a bar with horses out back.
- At “horse camp,” kids are largely unsupervised, learn to mistrust horses (“Horses are dicks”), survive feuds between horses, and realize the camp is a front for the owners’ meth dealing.
- Camp is ultimately shut down after the owners are arrested for selling drugs out of the bar.
- Hosts’ Impressions:
- Recollections about their own horse camp experiences, fear of horses, and small-town logic—plus advice to always check your saddle and your camp directors’ criminal records.
- Georgia: “I’ll never get on a horse. I have a healthy fear of horses and people should for their children, too.” [16:55]
5. Summer Ghost Story on Cape Cod
[17:34–21:33]
- Listener Ilona’s Tale:
- Family rents a converted 1826 Methodist church turned artist’s studio in Cape Cod.
- Every night, Ilona and her sister hear footsteps and creaks from the attic (artist’s abandoned workspace); parents don’t believe them.
- Later, Ilona’s research reveals two artists died in the house—the second died right before their first summer stay.
- “Stay sexy and don’t vacation in super haunted abandoned churches turned deceased artist studios.” – Ilona (via email) [21:33]
- Hosts’ Take:
- They riff on the horror of houses with half-walls and the creepiness of only kids hearing the ghostly activity.
- Karen: “It’s really creepy that only the kids heard it... Now we know we’re dealing with ghosts.” [21:44]
6. Squirrel Town, USA
[23:48–26:39]
- Listener Taylor’s Small Town Weirdness:
- Olean, New York claims “most squirrels in the world" and commissions 28 concrete squirrel statues, each themed for location (Ronald McDonald squirrel, Starry Night squirrel, etc).
- The project spawns T-shirts, maps, some vandalism and theft (including a concrete money sack from the banker squirrel).
- Hosts’ Joy:
- Delighted by artists blitzing small towns with weird public art, they compare it to Circleville’s Pumpkin Festival or the cocaine bear.
- “Can we get artist blitz emails in your small town where artists just ... do a thing overnight?” – Georgia, [25:38]
- “Stay sexy and don’t steal concrete money from a squirrel.” – Taylor (via email) [26:39]
7. Trash Siblings & Bat Vindication
[26:54–30:50]
- Listener Emily from Germany:
- Youngest of five, perpetually doubted by her siblings (“trash siblings”).
- After weeks of being gaslit about a bat terrorizing her at night, a bat finally materializes in the family room, vindicating her.
- Family never acknowledges she was right; years later, her trash siblings still deny it.
- Hosts’ Reflections:
- Both reminisce about sibling pranks and being the baby, with Karen recounting her luck with cigarette machines as a child.
- Emily ends with a casual reveal: the snake in her bathroom as a kid was a water moccasin, caught by a drunken friend—another near-miss for family disaster.
Notable Quotes & Moments
| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote / Moment | |-----------|--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:09 | Georgia | “She kicked someone else's kid out of the car to square off with baboons.” | | 07:51 | Georgia | “That is how you hit on someone. It doesn’t matter if there’s no one following you. Hey, sir.” | | 10:21 | Karen | “Who are you mad at in this story? ... They did it to themselves anyway.” | | 16:55 | Georgia | “I’ll never get on a horse. I have a healthy fear of horses and people should for their children, too.” | | 21:33 | Ilona (listener) | “Stay sexy and don’t vacation in super haunted abandoned churches turned deceased artist studios.” | | 25:38 | Georgia | “Can we get artist blitz emails in your small town where artists just ... do a thing overnight?” | | 26:39 | Taylor (listener) | “Stay sexy and don’t steal concrete money from a squirrel.” |
Episode Tone & Style
- Warm, irreverent, conversational, and always comedic—balancing the grim with banter and nostalgia.
- Karen and Georgia openly riff, tease, and encourage listeners to send more increasingly wild stories.
- Running jokes about “trash siblings,” elaborate hometowns, and “glam” recording days (complete with fake eyelashes).
Recurring Themes
- Hometown chaos: Family misadventures, being gaslit by siblings, strange small-town traditions.
- The thin line between weird and dangerous: cults in disguise, sketchy horse camps, wild animal encounters.
- Vindication: Listeners finally proven right about bats, cult recruiters, and bizarre family legends.
- Hosts’ delight in local oddities and listener email creativity.
Calls to Action
- Send in your own “trash sibling” stories or hometown corrections and updates.
- Check out the podcast’s animated stories and video episodes on YouTube.
- “Stay sexy and don’t get murdered.”
For fans and new listeners alike, Minisode 452 is a warm, funny, and occasionally chilling collection of true stories that celebrate the weird, the wild, and the wonderfully mundane—all with Karen and Georgia’s unique comedic touch.