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Genevieve Mannion
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart Choice. Make another smart choice with Auto Quote Explorer to compare rates from multiple car insurance companies all at once. Try it at progressive.com, progressive Casualty Insurance and affiliates not available in all states and situations. Prices may vary on how you buy. This episode is brought to you by ebay. We all have that piece, the one that's so you. You've basically become known for it. And if you don't yet fashionistas, you'll find it on ebay. That Miu Miu red leather bo, the cousteau Barcelona cowboy top or that Patagonia fleece in the 2017 colorway. All these finds are all on ebay, along with millions of more main character pieces backed by Authenticity Guarantee. Ebay is the place for pre loved and vintage fashion ebay Things People love Hello and welcome to My Victorian Nightmare. I'm your host Genevieve Mannion, and I'm here to talk about mysterious deaths, morbid fascinations, disturbing stories, and otherwise spooky events from the Victorian era. Because to me there's just something especially intriguing, creepy and oddly comforting about horror and mayhem from the 19th century. So listener discretion is adv foreign s and welcome to this, my 52nd episode, which is a very special episode because today I have officially dropped the Fan Coven, something that I have been working on for like two months. Now available on Patreon and next week it will be available on Apple Podcasts. You know when you get so excited about something that you feel sick? Maybe I'm like dry heaving over here because I am simply so excited. Okay, as stated dryly, the Fan Coven subscription is now officially available@myvictoriannightmare.com youm'll find the links to different tiers there. With the subscription, you shall receive this podcast right here ad free. You will receive monthly witchy affirmations, motivations, as well as an entire audiobook on eclectic witchcraft called where to Begin. I often talk about witchcraft on this show because without it there would be no show. This practice helps me to cultivate the courage, creativity, excitement and tremendous amount of focus to create the show. Creating it actually takes a hell of a lot of emotional and spiritual fortitude. So if you are interested in this incredibly transformative art, I have poured my whole soul into the audiobook where to Begin and I have begun to create the monthly content that you will be receiving. If you already get the show ad free through Patreon and you want to upgrade to the Fan Coven, I'm pretty sure it's really easy. I think you just go to your membership page. As mentioned, I will be posting affirmations and inspirations, ritual guides and meditations. There are about eight or so notable celestial moves and shakes each month as well as a full and new moon. So I will be creating little witchy snacks for you and posting them on those dates. You can listen to them while you drink your morning coffee. Maybe for a little witchy pick me up. You can listen before rituals or use meditations as part of your rituals or just to help you fall asleep. If you find my podcast voice relaxing, you should try my guided meditation voice. P.S. i would also love suggestions if there is anything like non witchy that you would like me to include. I am open to including more zaz. I can run my mouth about all kinds of things. Suggestions welcome. Incidentally, if you aren't in a place where you can easily subscribe to the show, add free or monthly content, but you are curious about where to begin with a witchcraft practice. I made where to Begin available for a one time purchase on the website as well. Now, if you join the Fen Coven for a limited time until August 18, I will be sending you a personal present in the mail which I have been blabbering on about now for the last couple of weeks. When you sign up through Patreon, it will ask you for your address. That is just so I can send you your present. If you don't want to add an address, just wait until after August 18th and I will switch that off. I also hope that if enough folks join at some point we can start doing meetups. If you're a part of the coven, you will be the first to know about those if and when they occur. So thank you everyone in advance for joining the Fan Coven. I cannot wait to grow this with you guys. Subtle results still you, but with fewer lines Botox Cosmetic Outobotulinum Toxinae is a prescription medicine used to temporarily make moderate to severe frown lines, crow's feet and forehead lines look better in adults. Effects of Botox Cosmetic may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. Alert your doctor right away as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems or muscle weakness may be a sign of a life threatening condition. Patients with these conditions before injection are at highest risk. Don't receive Botox Cosmetic if you have a skin infection. Side effects may include allergic reactions, injection site pain, headache, eyebrow and eyelid drooping and eyelid swelling. Allergic reactions can include rash, welts, asthma symptoms and dizziness. Tell your doctor about medical history muscle or nerve conditions, including ALS or losing Gehrig's disease, myasthenia gravis or Lambert Eden syndrome, and medications including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. For full safety information, visit botoxcosmetic.com or call 877-351-0300. See for yourself@botoxcosmetic.com okay, let's begin. Before we get to the complete and utter mayhem that is this week's episode, it is time for our weekly segment With Their Own Eyes, where I share with you the personal haunting accounts of petrified Victorians. Today we are returning to the boarding house of Horrors at 131 West 14th Street, New York, where two spectral lodgers have been scaring the bloomers and pantaloons off the inhabitants therein. The following is an account of the chambermaid of the house, which reads reads as follows. The chambermaid retired at about 10 o'. Clock. She sleeps in a room on the top floor of the house. Just before midnight she awoke experiencing a cold feeling. A feeble light from the hall stole into her room so that she could just distinguish large objects, but nothing more. As she awoke, she saw a man standing, afraid, a few feet from her bed, with his back toward her. She knew nothing about the ghost at this time, and her heart stood still. The man turned and faced her. He was tall and slightly stooping, with side whiskers, mustache, and large black eyes. It was the male ghost of number 131West 14th Street. His hand was raised and rested on his breast. The girl gave one scream and fainted. When she recovered, the figure was still in the room, but it had moved to a corner and stood there eyeing her. She fainted again and again recovered. The ghost was now at the foot of the bed, but he seemed to have diminished in height about one half. He gradually grew small, smaller and smaller, until finally he disappeared altogether. The girl jumped from the bed and ran screaming down the stairs to her mistress, to whom she told her story. The whole house was aroused, and people in the streets, attracted by the girl's cries, congregated around the door. Officer Chapman was on post at the time, and Mrs. Carr, the landlady, called him into the house. He says that the excitement was tremendous. The chambermaid stayed in the basement, trembling with fright and rocking herself to and fro. The cook, who is a Catholic, was sprinkling holy water on the floor and every article of furniture in the room. Accompanied by Mrs. Carr, who was a woman of extraordinary nerve, the policeman searched the house from the top floor to the basement, but found no man answering to the description given of the ghost. Officer Kling came on post and relieved Chapman, and he too went over the house. He says that no man could have entered except through the door, unless by breaking into the house. And there was no sign of anything of the kind. This is but one of many instances in which case the ghost is alleged to have appeared. But the commotion made in this case was the first intimation that most of the boarders heard that they were living in the company of departed spirits. I've never heard of ghosts getting smaller, only getting more transparent. That's what happened to me. A ghost slowly faded with the rising sunlight. I looked this shrinking ghost phenomena up and it doesn't seem to be a common experience from people who believe to have experienced ghost encounters. But I did read an interesting theory that as long as any energy exists in this third dimension where we live, it is still bound by the second law of thermodynamics, that being all energy as it is transformed or transferred, weakens over time. The first law is that it can't be created or destroyed. But the second law law is that energy can only be transferred or transformed. And when it is, it deteriorates but is not destroyed. It just gets returned to the universe. That is my interpretation, which I'm sure is full of holes in terms of ghosts and how this theory applies to them. Every time they manifest, every time they appear, they get weaker and weaker over time. I read a number of theories that state ghosts can only, quote, unquote, live for up to 400 years. Eventually all of their energy will have been used up. Essentially death for the dead. It's why no one sees caveman ghosts, for example. Now, how this figure of 400 years was come to, I could not tell you. But the shrinking of that spirit made me want to dig deeper into how spiritual energy sustains itself without, like a living host in this dimension. Anyway, spooky food for thought. Quick side note, I went went with a friend to a funeral this week, and when we were on the train, things were like a little raw as they are on the way to any funeral. And I was like, chrissy, do you want to hear how the second law of thermodynamics affects the lifespans of ghosts? She really heard me out. These are the ways in which I navigate difficult emotional situations. Later she texted me a meme that said, I can hold a conversation, it will just be strange and confusing. I put that on the Instagram. My friends are Worth their weight in gold. Now, won't you follow me into the seance room where I share with you the goings on in the Spiritualist society of the 1800s. Oh, boy, do I have a very eerie little deposition from the Spiritualist newspaper. Another endorsement of a medium named Mr. Holm, who we learned could fly and shove his head into the fire in our last episode. This one is offered by the Honorable Mrs. Egerton, and she says the most remarkable manifestations I have seen were those of last Sunday evening at my house. We were seated in a room which would have been dark but for the light outside. We first heard raps. Then we saw a figure at the window. It entered and then figures came trooping in by dozens. One waved its hand and passed through us. The atmosphere became fearfully cold. A figure, that of a relative, passed behind my chair, leaned over and brushed my hair lightly with its hand. It was 8ft high and approaching my son. Lindsay passed through him. He sobbed hysterically from the intense cold. But the most extraordinary thing of all was the laughter. One of us said something and all the spirits laughed with joy. The sound was indescribably strange, and it appeared to us as if it came from the ground. We were seven in number. Five of the seven saw just what I have described, and the others saw something, but not so distinctly. Mr. Holmes said there were 19 spirits in the room at one time, and I could see their eyes, brilliant eyes, looking at us. Mr. Holmes said to me, don't be frightened. There is a spirit coming by you. And in a few moments I saw the bright eyes of the spirit looking at me. The figure was defined. There were no clothes, but there was a particular rustle like that of silk. The faces were not defined to my view, but Mr. Holmes said he could see them to me. They had bare faces. Mr. Holme was in the trance state, walking about the room. I did not sleep much that night, for the spirits followed me to my room. Mr. Holm had no previous access to the room where the seance took place beyond having dined there. Oh, how marvelous. I did a little more digging into theories about why ghost manifestations make rooms cold. And it is actually related to the second law of thermodynamics theory a bit. Because their energy is limited in this dimension, and every time they use it, it diminishes their energy lifespan. Over time they draw energy from the space around them, specifically heat, so they suck it out of the room and concentrate it toward themselves to help them manifest. I love that theory, but it also sounds like this Hon. Mrs. Egerton also experienced a height. That thing like the chambermaid. This relative she mentioned appeared to be 8ft tall. This reminds me of a character in the Haunting of Hill House. One of the ghosts in the house, who was like 8 or 9ft tall, floated a foot off the ground and used a cane to slowly scoot around the place. So spooky. Regardless of whether or not we believe these experiences are ghosts per se, I. I just find it so fascinating how this imagery and these experiences are so similarly shared by people all over the world, all throughout time. Maybe this is just how prone we are to magical thinking. And it only takes a small amount of information about other people's experiences to mold our own. Or maybe even like mass consciousness or these experiences are spirits. I'm open to all of it personally, especially because I love being scared. The bejesus. Out of most of all, I love how Mr. Hong was like, don't be frightened. There's a spirit coming to you. Yeah, right. I can't wait to be frightened by what spirit's coming to me. Fabulous. Okay, today for you, dear listener, I have murderously presumed witchcraft, a deadly lesbian love affair, love cracked, raving lunatics, collapsing floors, revolting decapitations, and a lady who dressed up as a ghost nearly scared someone else and herself to death. All this and much, much more, all courtesy of the Illustrated Police News Law Court Sent Record, our favorite horrifying publication from the 1800s. And we are coming in hot with this first article entitled the Cold Right Hand. And it reads, jerry Vaughn murdered Charlie Francis for alleged practice of witchcraft on him after arrest. Jerry made this singular statement to a reporter. I shot Francis about 8 o' clock this morning with a Colt's revolver. Was about five feet from him. Did it because he poisoned my hand. It is always cold and he is the cause. He has a way of working. He was often throwing Lucy Scott into spasms. He was all the time charming her and other women. He wanted to charm me. He made Lucy Scott drop her iron on Saturday last. He was always deviling her and other women. I shot him for trying to throw men into spells and deviling with the women. He never did me any harm except to make my arm cold. Don't feel sorry for shooting him. Didn't want him deviling round. Don't know what will be done with me or when I'll die. But he ought to have been killed long ago. Whenever he wanted to put a spell on Lucy, I'd hear him rap. And she'd have to go to him, he was deviling Lucy, Scott and Lawson and my sister and myself. He had me arrested some time ago. Have been back from California about 14 months. The same man tried to run me crazy there. He threw me into a spell last Sunday week. He used to have little girls come to him and charm them and make news carriers out of them. Don't drink or belong to the church. When put in jail, Vaughan's pockets were found to contain a miscellaneous lot of bags of pepper, sulphur and other materials, bits of nails, rags, and $59 in money. End quote. Hmm. I was not able to find any more information about this story in regard to a trial. I wanted to know if witchcraft was brought up in the trial. But I was able to find the same story was run in a lot of papers, so it was at least not made up by the Illustrated Police News. I. I did find an article that gave the extra detail that Mr. Vaughn, quote, shot Charles Francis through the head, the ball entering the back of the head and came out near the right temple. Francis died about three hours after the shooting. End quote. God, that's a long time to die. I also found that he did go to jail. But in an article not about him, but about the terrible conditions of the prison that he was sent to, it's noted that a, quote, Jerry Vaughn, who killed a man in Arkansas named Charles Francis, was playing a game with buttons with another man, end quote. He and these men were playing in an area. For those with good behavior, it's surprising that he wasn't sent to an asylum. It sounds like he was dealing with some serious mental health issues or disorders. Sad story all around. It's Wednesday. Adams. I see her. Trying to distract yourself from your own banal thoughts that may help. Here's a recording thing made of my latest root canal. Wednesday season two begins August 6th, only on Netflix. Okay, on to the next. This one is called has no use for men. Ms. Alice Mitchell's perverted love for Ms. Freda Ward. And it reads, the former on trial for murdering the latter at Memphis, Tennessee. The insanity of the mother brought up. The trial of Ms. Alice Mitchell for the murder of Ms. Freda Ward, her girl lover, commenced in the criminal court at Memphis, Tennessee on July 28th. There is no need to recount the circumstances of that crime, which occurred in the street near the Memphis custom house on 25th January last. The case is the common one. Woman in love with woman perverted sexually. Alice had, quote, no use for men, but she loved Ms. Frida Ward. She claims from the first time that she saw her. The first witness who testified was Mr. George Mitchell, Father of the accused. The jury selected is undoubtedly one of the most intelligent ever gathered in Tennessee. Mitchell on the stand said the defendant was 19 years old. He testified as to the insanity of the mother of Alice years ago. He said that Alice has manifested noticeable peculiarities. She would want to stay by herself all the time. She would go to her room and remain there for hours. Quick side note. Like me, I continue. When there were young men around the house, Ms. Alice would not stay near them. Them she did not seem to have any use for men and would never stay around them. She had always been more like a boy than a girl and often played marbles. She would shoot a target rifle and adopted other boyish habits. I like marbles. I continue. He knew there was an affectionate feeling between Alice and Frida Ward, too. She signed the name of Frida Ward to receipts last September. September. And when asked about it, she said she was thinking about Frida Ward so much that she signed her name to it. Her father had lost his razor in November, and after the killing of Frida Ward, Alice told him that she had taken it. He had said that Alice told him that she had thrown the razor away after the killing. He did not know that Alice had killed Frida until an hour and a half after the occurrence. She told him that she had killed Frida because she loved her. Frida, she said, had gone back on her. They engaged to be married. She is very fond of talking about killing Frida. She has her picture in the case of the watch she wears. She never talks now as if Frida were dead. She does not seem to even know she is dead. The day after the killing, she was told that Frida would be buried. When she said she wanted to see her, and when told that she could not, she cried. It was the first time her father had seen her cry. It is in evidence that in 1891 Alice proposed marriage to Frida and repeated the offer three times. And to each Frieda replied, agreeing to marry her. Then Alice threatened to kill her if she broke her word. Shortly after June 1891, she visited Frida and presented her with an engagement ring. Then and there was the love of man and woman in all its passionate intensity. Frida's sister remarked that they were disgusting in their demonstration demonstrations of affection. Alice was ashamed to play the lover in public, but Frieda chided her for not bestowing kisses on any and all occasions. Soon after this, Ashley Roselle began to pay court to Ms. Ward, who gave him her photograph. Alice heard of this and she threatened to kill Frieda for infidelity. End quote. So a little more detail about these ladies. Alice was 19, Frida was 17, and they met at the Higby School for Girls in Memphis. On the afternoon of January 25, 1882, Alice met Frida on Front street and Alice cut her throat with a straight razor. The two had already tried to elope the year before, but Frida was caught by her sister trying to pack her bags and leave. She confessed to why she was packing and her family put a stop to it. They disallowed Frida to have any contact at all with Alice and now, and it's unclear if the reason was given that her family forbade it, or if Alice was simply told that Frida didn't want to speak to her anymore. Because after this incident, Alice became enraged at Frida. Alice essentially stalked Frida on the evening that she was killed. She jumped out of a buggy when she saw her and sliced her face first with the straight razor. Afraid friend who was with Frida at the time smacked Alice with an umbrella and knocked her over. They both ran away, but Frida caught up and slashed her face again. She then grabbed her by her hair and slit her throat from ear to ear. Alice tried to make a break for it in the buggy, but she was arrested later that night at her parents home. On the witness stand, Frida was interviewed and she said, quote, I wanted to cut her because I knew I could not have her and I did not want anyone else to have her. My intention was to cut Frida's throat and then my own, but Joe's interference made me cut Frida again. Jo was the friend who smacked her with the umbrella. Alice was ruled insane and was committed to the Tennessee State Insane Asylum. She was never released and was reported to have died there of tuberculosis. However, her lawyer says she actually died by suicide by jumping into a water tower. Jesus, there's just so much going on in that story. Incidentally, being gay was more than enough reason to commit someone to an asylum or even just prison. Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for, quote, unquote, gross indecency. He was imprisoned for two years from 1895 to 1897. He spent most of his time in solitary confinement, which he claimed breaks one's heart, shatters one's intellectual too. I will probably do an entire episode on Oscar Wilde, but this history is just a reminder to me that we can never stop fighting for and supporting our gay brothers and sisters, ever. There are far too Many forces that want to turn back time. Okay, this next one has a very dramatic illustration. I've put put all of the illustrations for this week's episode on Instagram and Blue Sky. By the way, you have got to see this. It's like my worst nightmare in a single image. And the article is called the floor of a millinery establishment at Hornellsville, New York falls through during an auction sale and precipitates a dense crowd of women into the cellar. And it reads, while an auction sale was proceeding in a millinery store at Hornellsville, New York, York one evening last week, the room became densely crowded with women. The floor gave way and the entire company together with the fixtures of the store and a stove in which a hot fire was burning fell into the cellar. The burning coals from the stove set fire to the clothing of those near it and at one time it seemed that the whole building would burn with all entombed beneath it. The flames were quickly extinguished however and the occupants cellar rescued from their perilous situation. Some women were quite seriously injured, one woman having both legs broken. Many were burned, many were bruised and all were thoroughly frightened. Oh, these poor ladies. I couldn't find more info on this specific story, but I did find what a millinery establishment was. I had no idea specifically what was on sale at that auction. At this particular event I actually found an advertisement for says quote, the entire contents of a first class millinery establishment consisting in part of feathers, flowers, ribbons, laces, bonnets, trimmings and goods generally kept and used in the millinery business. End quote. The millinery business was and is the business of designing, making and and selling hats. Thank goodness they were able to extinguish most of the fire. Imagine being trapped in a basement full of burning feathers and bonnets. Oh, what a way to go. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. With the price of just about everything going up, we thought we'd bring our prices down. So to help us we brought in a reverse auctioneer which is apparently a thing Mint Mobile Unlimited Premium Wireless get 3030 better get 30. Better get 2020 20. Better get 20, 20 better get 1515 15, 15. Just 15 bucks a month. Sold. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment of $45 for three month plan equivalent to 15 per month required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of network's busy taxes and fees extra. See mint mobile.com okay, onto a love cracked lunatic story we go and it is called Lovecracked Solomon Waring. He wanders through Rockland York 30 years, cared for at last. And the article reads, Solomon Waring, who has been for years to Rockland County, New York, what the lime kiln man was to New York City, has been adjudged a lunatic in New City and has been sent to one of the state lunatic asylums. For years he has been a raving lunatic known to every man, woman and child in the county. The history of of his life strongly illustrated the truism. The fact is stranger than fiction. Thirty years ago, Solomon Waring was a very fine looking young man and more than ordinary intelligence. His parents were well to do farmers residing near Mayak and left at their death a goodly estate for their children. At 23 years of age, Solomon engaged himself in marriage to a beautiful girl living in Spring Valley, and the celebration of the wedding was set down for a day away just three months after the making of the engagement. During the interim, Solomon could think of nothing else but the approaching union, and his whole business was to make preparations for the life after the wedding. He was thus engaged. One day, when tidings of the illness of his betrothed reached him, he repaired to her bedside and for a month watched her and waited upon her with the tenderness and patience of a fond mother. She died, however, and solemnly. Solomon, though hoping against hope while life lasted, yielded to despair. His mortal powers were completely wrecked. He did not attend the funeral, but confined himself to his room in his father's house and refused to leave it until the day on which the wedding ceremony was to have been performed. Then he left the house, never to return again. He was attired in his wedding suit and carried in his hand a heavy stick. In answer to their inquiries, he told his parents that he was going to look for his wife and had provided himself with the club for the purpose of killing the scamp who had taken her from him. From that time forward, Solomon journeyed repeatedly through the country. In furtherance of his mission he has steadily refused to change his clothing and to the day of his confinement in the asylum he wore the same suit, or what was left of it, which he had worn when he left home on his wedding day. His shoes ran out. He wore them until they would stay on his feet no longer. Someone stole his coat and hat, and for several years back he has been traveling without either. Shoeless, hatless and coatless, he travels with nothing but his undershirt and ragged wedding pantaloons upon his limbs, and still carrying the stick with which he frowned first started out from house to house begging for food during the warm weather and lodging in the county house in the cold season. During his court appearance he appeared in the attire in the court room. He said that he was awaiting to redress the wrong done him in the carrying away of his fiance. He has always been considered harmless. But the other day a woman in Nyack refused him some little favourite favor and he attacked her with the ferocity of an enraged tiger. He was arrested and lodged in the county house. An inquiry was made into his sanity and as a result was sent to the asylum where his board is paid out of his estate. Very sad story. But the good news may be that this might might be a made up story. I couldn't find anything about this man anywhere. No one with his name, no court documents. That doesn't mean for sure that it was untrue. Sometimes the Illustrated Police News would do these stories that certainly wouldn't necessarily make the major papers, but were of interest to regular people. Human interest stories. But it is tough to tell. And such a sad story though regardless. Poor Solomon. Oh God. Get ready to shove your head in the freezer or something. Or whatever you do when you want to erase everything you just heard from your mind. In as one fell a swoop. As you can swoop. This article is called Sickening scene on a scaffold at Desau Dessau, Dessau, Germany. Two female murderers decapitated. Piteous appeals for the condemned ones for mercy. And it reads. On 11 July, Anna Priester, age 32 and Frederica Rupert, 27 were beheaded at Dessau. The jury German Duchy Duki Duchy of Anhalt I'm so sorry. Germans. Please correct me. I continue. Both were married and conspicuous among the vast crowds that witnessed their last moments were their husbands. Anna Priester and Frederica Rupert had paid a visit to the aged Widow Garnig on 12 April. The old lady had showed them a large casket filled with precious stones. Stones. And after they had left her, they determined to return and appropriate her valuables. They found the widow in bed and smothered her to death by pressing a pillow upon her head. They obtained the precious stones and other valuables, but were caught by officials, found guilty and led to the gallows. The wretched woman threw herself upon her knees and cried in a piercing tone, Mercy. Mercy. She had to be dragged up to the block where her head head was quickly fastened. The headsman took his axe from a leather case. He tried the edge of the blade and then rapidly stepped up the left side of the block. He looked a moment at the white neck of the woman whose body was moving convulsively all the time. Then he lifted the axe and struck. The blow had done its work well, for the head of Anna Pryster rolled down while her trunk was rose up, a thick stream of blood spouting into the air. God, what an image. I continue. Meanwhile, Frederica, upon witnessing this horrible spectacle, had fainted away, and the doctor had to hold Hartshorn under her nose before she reawoke to consciousness. She was already more dead than alive when her head was fastened to the block. A second or two afterward, her head too had been severed from the trunk. And then ensued a still more revolt, revolting scene. Large numbers of the bystanders hastened on the scaffold and tried to gather some of the blood of the victims in teacups or tin vessels. The superstitious in certain parts of Germany believing that the blood of executed females is a certain remedy for diseases otherwise incurable. End quote. I discussed a bit about blood drinking at the gallows in episode 444 on corpse medicine. Give that a listen if you want to hear more about that topic. Quick refresher. It wasn't just Germans, but plenty of folks who believed fresh blood could cure diseases. At this time, the mid ish 1800s, and certainly for hundreds of years before then, it was specifically believed in this part of Europe that the blood of the young, like these two young ladies, had especially potent healing qualities. And the fact that the women died quickly and brutally even enhanced its powers further. But again, I talk at length about this topic in episode 44. Help yourself. I did a little research on capital punishment in Germany, specifically beheading. And in East Germany, the death penalty, including death by beheading, persisted until 1987, though the last execution by guillotine in East Germany took place in 1966. West Germany had different laws. They actually abolished the death penalty entirely in 1949. In 1987, that's when the death penalty in all of its forms was abolished nationwide. Okay, two more. This next one is awful, but our last one is simply charming. This article is called A Complete Companion of the Murdered Professor Panormo Commits suicide in Brooklyn, New York. And it reads, Alfred east, an Englishman, 25 years old, who boarded at the same house and lodged in the same room in Brooklyn with Professor Panormo, who was murdered two weeks ago. Blew his brains out. On Sunday morning the 28th, east left a letter asserting his innocence of any connection with Panormo's murderer. It is Said east was unfortunately fortunate. In recent speculations, east has exhibited great signs of fear since the Panormo assassination and seemed to imagine the detectives were after him. But a lady in the house was sure he was in on the night of the murder. The letter left by the suicide says, it's God's will I shall appear before him. He knows I am innocent with regard to the foul murder of poor departed Panormo. May he in time bring justice to the perpetrator of this misfortune. I have contemplated this for some time. I have dreaded the threats and derisions of my enemies. I have done some wrongs in this world, but, thank God, have never spilled a drop of a man's blood. Oh, God, how sad. I dug a little deeper and sadly, this remains a cold case. Who actually killed Mr. Ponormo? He was killed in the street on January 27, 1872. The man mentioned in that article, Alfred east, also lived in Mr. Panormo's home. The police were dragged in the press for not being able to solve this crime. In the New York Herald, January 1872, it is written, the Rogers and Nathan murders are as much wrapped in mystery now as the time time of their committal. And the murder of the unfortunate Professor Panormo a couple of nights ago seems as if about to be sent to keep company with the other two mockeries of our system of detection of crime as they all three shake our belief in the police as a protective or preventive force. There must be no effort spared to bring the assassins of Panormo to justice. But the ignorance, sloth and blundering of the bright Brooklyn police give us little hope of the result. End quote. This article was called Recent the Murder Mania, about how the city was doing a terrible job of catching killers at the time. And murder mania appears to be almost like a term for what they believe afflicted serial killers. I've mentioned before that the term serial killer wasn't actually used until the 1982 to describe Wayne Williams, the Atlanta child killer. Horrible story. So again, sadly, Mr. Panormo's killer was never found. And this poor man, Mr. Alfred east, didn't even appear to be a suspect as far as the police were concerned. So very sad. Okay, our final article will make you smile. It is called, a Female makes up in ghostly apparel, Frightens another Woman almost to death and collapses in a swoon at Davenport, Iowa. And it reads, one of those senseless female noodles who have such singular ideas of fun, quote unquote, put on ghostly apparel at Davenport Iowa the other day and went groaning into the room of a friend. The scared woman shrieked and fell on the floor in spasms. The scarer then became the scared and she collapsed in a swoon and their friends had a lively time for a while to keep their souls and bodies together. End quote. Bros sure have been calling women females for quite some time it appears. I do appreciate female noodle though. God that's insulting. Do we really need to be so judgmental guys? Anyway, it just sounds like she was having a good time and things got a little out of hand and a little out of body. If you enjoyed this podcast and would like to hear more, please rate the show on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Leave me comments and join the fan coven@myvictoriannightmare.com I get I cannot wait for you to join this circle. Be kind to yourselves and I will see you in your nightmares.