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I'm your host, Genevieve Manion, 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 advised. Hello, friends, and welcome to this, my 63rd episode, which is a very special episode because it is a vacation episode. I took it easy on myself this week so that I can actually take like five days off. I literally haven't had a vacation vacation in over three years, I think. And I'm going to my favorite place in the entire world. My apartment. That's right. I've been all over the world and I can say without the shadow of a hesitation that my apartment is the very most exciting, luxurious, exotic place on God's green earth. Every single thing that I could need or want is right here. So I will be taking a vacation to enjoy my apartment without things to do, sleep when I want, stare. Oh, I gotta make sure I block out a whole half day for staring. I'm sorry. I'm sure I'm making you all very jealous. I will stop talking about it. Okay, so what makes this episode different than the usual format? Well, a listener gave me a great idea. They asked if I would string together all of our little trips. Like the times when I take you to different terrible places, which was such a great idea because I want to revisit all of our little trips. I love taking you guys places. In all honesty, I like to re listen to them sometimes and genuinely like to imagine that you Guys are standing next to me in, like, the lunatic asylums. So today, I am taking you guys on vacations to the cemeteries, the public hangings, the creepy seances, axe murders that we've enjoyed together on episodes of yore. So I've done that. But I have also recorded some blabber in between to give a little context. So let's begin at the very beginning, the trip to the cemetery in episode six about Victorian vampires. This trip was the very first time that I took you guys with me when I was writing the script for the show. I had already made five episodes, and up until then, I didn't even have the inclination of ever, like, doing the bringing you with me thing, creating sound design, pretending I was somewhere else. But while I was writing, when I got to that part of the script, I closed my eyes and I just saw that whole cemetery so clearly I just wanted to be there and show you guys around. And I was a little nervous about it because I remember a friend telling me that she didn't like a lot of spooky podcasts because they were, like, too theatrical. And I'm the same. So I didn't know if people would respond well to this, but folks said they liked it when I did it, so I just kept doing it. So let's make our way back to Chestnut Hill Cemetery. I want you to follow me through this creaky old New England cemetery gate here. I want to show you something. It's 1892. It's March. This whole place is bathed in frozen moonlight. The trees are cracking in the wind. And apart from these trees and the crunch of icy grass beneath our feet, the only other sound that we hear is an uneasy chatter just yonder where a few lanterns can be seen surrounding an open crypt. Let's go see what they're up to. We've happened upon one of the most truly creepy situations to ever happen in American history. Ever. This is the crypt of the Brown family, where a vampire autopsy is about to occur. Ooh, thunder. A small group of people are standing outside the crypt while a man with an open wooden box stands over what appears to be the surprisingly not so decomposed body of a woman named Mercy Lena Brown. She was just removed from her casket, in which she was found to have turned over since she was buried. This, and the fact that she was in much better shape than expected is giving the man with the box enough reason to pull out a knife, slice her chest open, and examine her heart. Come back over here to this spooky angel statue. He's looking for fresh blood in the heart. Wow. This was before I had a more professional audio recording and editing setup. I was still trying to figure it all out back then. Am still learning, but I had no idea what I was doing at this time. I was still having fun though. Okay, at this point in the episode, I gave some more info about exactly what a vampire autopsy entailed and some other fun facts about Victorian vampires. And then we made our way back to the spooky crypt. Where'd everybody go? Looks like they took both her heart and her liver before they left. Oh, I think I know what's going on. Come here. Yeah, there they are. They're burning her heart and her liver so they can take the ashes, mix them with water and make her brother drink it. And scene. This is exactly what happened, by the way. They made her brother drink his sister. But sadly, all of this did not save his life. He died two months later. So that was the trip from episode six. That's still one of my very favorite episodes. I had so much fun researching Victorian vampires. This episode is brought to you by Netflix. Everyone is telling her she dreamt it. But in the woman in cabin 10, Lo Blacklock is determined to uncover the truth in the gripping new thriller coming to Netflix October 10th. Keira Knightley plays a journalist aboard a luxury yacht who witnesses a crime she can't unsee. Adapted from Ruth Ware's best selling novel, directed by Simon Stone. Watch the woman in Cabin 10 only on Netflix on October 10th. Okay, our next trip is to Old San Diego, 1851, in episode 13, about the most haunted house in America, the Whaley House. I took you to the public hanging of Yankee Jim. This is still one of my favorite trips because I was starting to put more effort into building environments. And when I. I found the sound of horse hoofs on exactly the kind of surface that I wanted it to be on, I got so excited and I started to build out the world in more and more detail than I had before. I was also trying to get, like, space more accurate. Like, what would the volume of footsteps be if they were five feet away from the microphone? What volume would a screaming crowd be if they were 50ft away and then 50ft away, but now we've walked into a saloon. What would they sound like if they were outside? That kind of thing. So enjoy your trip back to Old San Diego. It's 1851, it's raining, and we find ourselves walking down the muddy, dusty street of Old San Diego, a somewhat miserable seaport town. There are no hotels, no schools. The once flourishing Mission mansion is old, weather worn and deserted. This is a town of only 650 people. Whiskey sells more than everything else. It's sold in kegs, casks, and barrels in second place, tobacco. It's a tough, rough western town that won't be this way for long, as the gold rush has just begun. But for now, an ugly, familiar scene in this town is beginning to unfold. In a few minutes, a very sadly deluded man named Yankee Jim is going to meet a fate he simply cannot believe. A crowd of about 30 folks is gathered around the creaky makeshift gallows where a fresh night noose has been tied and hung just yonder. And it looks like the man of the hour is coming down the road. Come over here with me into this saloon. You're not going to want to see this. Two whiskeys, please. Thank you. And I'll tell you a little bit about how Yankee Jim ended up in this bleak situation and how although he didn't escape the drop, he still hung around. The Whaley house didn't begin to experience spectral visitors after the Whaley family's tragic deaths. They began from the very start. Okay, at this point in the episode, I discussed the very creepy Whaley house hauntings of which Yankee Jim was believed to be responsible for, at least in part. And I talked a little bit more about what led him to the gallows. We made our way back to the bar just in time for the execution to. To begin. I am not going to look out that window to watch. I already know how this is going to pan out. And you, you keep your eyes facing forward. Believe me, I'll explain what's happening out there. Just keep. Believe me, keep your eyes on your dirty glass of whiskey or you'll have night terror response. Okay, here's what's happening. Jim has been placed in a wagon and rolled under two beams in the ground with a heavy bar across the top. The noose has been placed around his neck. He just shouted, oh, God, do I have to die? Don't stop. Seriously, do not turn around. They're now whipping the mules to slowly pull the wagon out from under him. God, even I want to turn around, which is terrible. Okay, I'm taking both you and this whiskey to go away from this horrifying scene where we are not tempted to turn our backs and tell you that according to the Herald, he kept his feet on the wagon bed as long as possible, but was finally pulled off. Yikes. The details I read about that execution will Stay with me for a long time. Okay. Our next trip was to P.T. barnum's dry cocktail party in 1842 for the unveiling of his newest attraction. This was the first time I used a feature in my editing program to alter my voice to sound like a man. Anytime you hear any other voice in my show, it's just me. I'm just altering my voice with effects to sound like dudes or other women. This is also the first episode where a friend listened and said I was funny and this blew my mind. I have never thought of myself as a particularly funny person. I'm always just trying to entertain myself and only myself. It was weird to hear that other people were entertained in the same way. I'm neurodivergent. We've been over this. I have no idea how I'm being perceived in general. I just say the words that my brain tells me to say to people and I just hope for the best. It's been strange and really nice to hear that you guys enjoy me entertaining myself by being a silly goose as well. Anyway, let's make our way to the cocktail party, shall we? Follow me through this very spooky, dark, cavernous hallway. Up these stairs carefully. I know everything is quite dimly lit. It's 1842, it's midnight, and we find ourselves approaching a private party in one of the great halls of P.T. barnum's American Museum of Curiosities, hosted by P.T. barnum Burnham himself. Ooh, sarsaparilla. Don't mind if I do. Oh, that is disgusting. They're all teetotalers here, so we won't find any champagne at this party. But what we are about to experience is one of the creepiest exhibitions of all time. In advance of tomorrow's grand unveiling for the public, just yonder past the elegantly dressed tea drinking gentlemen and ladies with fabulous facial hair, there's an empty, empty fish tank covered in a large sheet of red velvet. In a little while, Barnum is going to give us a little preview of what the public has been anxiously awaiting for weeks now. But first, come over here to this window. I need to pour this sarsaparilla out. While we await the unveiling, let's talk a little bit about the history of Phineas Taylor Barnum's main attraction, the so called freak show. At this point in the episode, I gave some very difficult history about the circus quote, unquote, freak show in the 1800s. This was not an easy episode to do. I'm getting flashbacks. I also talked About Charles Stratton, otherwise known as General Thumb, one of Barnum's most famous performers. And the episode continued back to the cocktail party. Mr. Stratton was an employee, relative and close companion of P.T. barnum himself, who appears to be ready to do an unveiling. Let's go back over there by the tank, clad in red velvet. What do you think it's gonna be? I already know what it's gonna be. Just get ready. Ladies and gentlemen, gather around. Okay, let me explain what we're looking at. It's supposedly the mummified dead body of a mermaid. The Fiji Mermaid, to be exact. It has a terrifying hairless head with protruding sharp teeth, pointed ears. It has, like, a sickly distended rib cage. Its arms are grotesquely thin, positioned in, like, a cobra yoga pose. And it has the body of a fish, fins and all. I'd say it's about 3ft long. It looks like it's seen better days. Let's go back over there by the window. Never mind. Someone's puking. Let's get out of here. And I'll tell you exactly what we just saw and a little more about PT Barnum's contribution to freak shows and bizarre curiosities like the one we just saw. If you haven't seen the photo of the Fiji Mermaid, do yourself a favor. It is horrifying. Oh. Our next trip will be to the Haunted Baker mansion in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where we met Anna Baker in episode 16, last year's Spooky Halloween episode. This one genuinely gave me goose bumps. This was the first time I really creeped myself out, I think. Enjoy. And if you follow me up these stone steps here of this fabulous Greek Revival style home with the pillars and everything, it's really extraordinary. Now, before we open this door, just be aware that the lady of the house is not expecting us. But even if she. She sees us, I don't think she's gonna pay us much mind. It's November, 1900. It's midnight, and there has recently been a death in the family. The matron of the house. The maids have turned down all of the gas lamps in most of the rooms, but one hallway remains lit. This long hallway where we stand is about to become a stage. So we suggest you stand back here with me against the wall. And here she comes. A woman 60 years or so of age is lifting the top of a music box at the end of the hall. She is now spinning in a white flowing gown. It's not a nightgown. It almost appears to be A wedding gown. She switches from ballet spins to placing her arms about what appears to be an invisible partner. She has so much love in her eyes as she glides. And if I wasn't scared out of my wits, I'd say it was quite beautiful to watch, wouldn't you? The maids left a fire to burn out in the living room. What do you say we go over there to watch the old woman dance creepily, surrounded by nothing but flickering firelight? And I'll tell you a little bit about this place. I had a nightmare about that trip the night that I posted the episode. If I recall, Anna Baker was allegedly confined to her home after she attempted a relationship with one of her father's workers and began displaying erratic behavior. One of her dresses is believed to be haunted and moves around inside a glass case in the house. So spooky. Okay, our next trip was a very upsetting one. This was the first axe murder that I took you to, the very first murder I created, if you don't count the execution. Our trip is from episode 18 about the murder of Mary Ann Mailman. This episode kind of messed with me. I really do put myself in these places when I design them, so I can try to make them realistic. And if I want you to feel something, I have to feel it first. I was working with some really tough imagery here. It starts nice enough, though. So let's make our way to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. It's a hot day, one o', clock, Aug. 11, 1873, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Now, watch your step. There's, like, cow pies left and right. There are also raspberry bushes to look out for as we enter the woods here. I want you to pop a crouch over here behind this berry bush and wait with me a while, actually. What do I think I'm doing? I'm just gonna sit down. My knees are, like, made of fruit by the foot. It's cooler in the woods than it is out in the grass. It's quiet, serene, with a gentle breeze. The smell of sun, warm raspberries and wild pears hang in the air. There are two people entering the woods now. A woman with a lovely red striped basket. A man with a large, menacing axe. He isn't luring this woman, though. Like the article said, they're walking quite calmly together. Not talking, just walking side by side. She's picking berries all along the way. He's looking for pears. At this point in the episode, I read an article about what Peter Mailman did shortly after their pear and berry picking which was brutally murder his wife. The article had made a number of mistakes about what really happened, so we returned to the forest so I could show you what really occurred. Our couple is finished picking berries and chopping pear bushes. It seems they're now sitting on a log, talking quietly. They seem kind with one another. He places his hand on her lap and moves closer to her. I can't hear what they're saying, but the mood is changing. She just took his hand and threw it off her lap. She stands, pretending to walk away. Close your eyes. Almost as fast as she stood to walk away, he stood and swung and cracked the axe into her temple. Then quick in the back of her skull, at the back of the blade. She fell to the ground on the second swing, hitting her head on the log where they sat. Peter drops the axe. I don't think he understands that she's dead. He's on the ground telling her to wake up, leaning her up against a tree in a sitting position. Almost like he's just waiting for her to come to. She is bleeding profusely down her back, running down her shoulders. She will not come to. He'll wait another 20 to 30 minutes, staring at her, not knowing exactly what to do. He'll then decide to drag her body over to a hole in the roots beside a tree. He'll remove her boots and her hat. He'll cover her loosely in moss and dirt. He'll place her hat and boots in her basket and carry them home. In about two hours, he will return and light the forest on fire in hopes of covering up his crime. The fire though, will burn out before getting to the area where his wife was left. Ooh, that was a tough one. Such a heartbreaking story. When did making plans get this complicated? It's time to streamline with WhatsApp, the secure messaging app that brings the whole group together. Use polls to settle dinner plans, send event invites and pin messages so no one forgets mom 60th and never miss a meme or milestone. All protected with end to end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp message privately with everyone. Learn more@WhatsApp.com okay, our next trip will be to the Cabaret of death from episode 30. I loved this trip and it made makes me so sad because I embarrassed myself so much in this episode. This was the episode that I recorded like 15 minutes after hearing that they quote unquote unmasked Jack the Ripper. DNA was found that connected Aaron Kosminski to the murder and I was so embarrassed that I dedicated the Next two episodes to Jack the Ripper, making sure as much factual info about the case was dug into. But this episode, apart from the very embarrassing opening opening, was one of my favorites. I discussed all the ways French Victorians enjoyed the very most macabre entertainment. Let's make our way to the cabaret of death. And if you would follow me, I've reserved a table for us both. Ah, bon soir, Henri. Bon soir, Rem Pierre. Merci. Right this way. Our uncle, smiling, though very charming doorman Henri, is dressed as a pallbearer, as are all the waiters inside. They do not smile, they hold a somber and serious expression. We are being led through a short, dark lamplit corridor, through two black velvet curtains into the main room lit only with candles. Hung above us is a chandelier constructed of real human bones with thin white candles. The walls are decorated with skulls lit from the inside like lamps. Ah, this is our table right here. Have a seat which is shaped like a coffin. And we are surrounded by posters on the walls of macabre slogans like Life is a folly that death corrects. And painting paintings of battle scenes and guillotines and what looks like a car with a demon driving it. Again, another nice touch. In a few moments our MC will welcome us to the kingdom of death and address us as mortals weary wanderers. Coffin worms or Maccabees, which was a slang for corpses found floating in the Seine river. Ah, cognac, he said. Name your poison. I hope you don't mind cognac, although I can ask for the drink menu. The cocktails here are all named after diseases, which is fun, implying that there's like cholera in the martini. Once all of the guests find their ways to their coffin seats, the MC in clerical garb will emerge. He will welcome us and give a speech about the horrors of death and all the agonizing, agonizing torture and gnashing of teeth that awaits us in the afterlife. Etc. But don't worry, it's not going to be like a long, boring, depressing, drawn out speech. After a few minutes of being told that we're going to hell, he's going to point at one of the number of paintings on the wall of bloody battle scenes. And it's really cool. The painting will begin to glow and then change. All of the soldiers will then appear to be skeletons. The same will happen with that rad painting of the guillotine cutting someone's head off over there. It will illuminate and then fade to where now all of the figures in the painting are skeletons. Same with a painting of a ball where all the dancing people glow and transition to bones. Basically, the paintings are done on layers of glass. The full painting on one, the skeleton painting on the other. And depending on how the light hits it, whether from the back or front, it reveals the different layers. It's a really cool illusion. Oh, our drinks. Chin chin. After this, we can follow that man over there in the black monk robes to another room covered in photos of cholera patients. More bones and skulls and. Oh, my. Oh, my God. Are you okay? A guy just fell down and took his whole drink with him. Okay. I think he's okay. The. The MC just said, finish your beautiful drink before you kill yourself. Look how sad you've made. Pierre. You just pointed over to the bartender. He does look very sad. As I was saying, we will be led to another room full of bones and skulls, where it will be announced that we have arrived at the gates of death. Inside, there is a coffin, and through tricks of mirrors and looks like it's you laying in the coffin. As you walk up closer, the room is lit with that same kind of, like, ghastly green yellow light that makes you look like a dead body, which is just so cool. There's another upright coffin with a pretty lady in it that will also transition into a rotting corpse, and then nothing but skeleton bones. It does this in a similar way that the painting effects were done. There is another room where more spooky, like magic shows are performed, but they ask guests to volunteer, and it's a very small room, and there's nothing more uncomfortable to me than being pressured to be part of a magic show. So I don't want to go in there. That's like a living nightmare to me. So before we make our way to the coffin rooms, let's finish our drinks, and I will tell you more about the clubs across the street. It took me forever to find the right sounds for that one. I wanted to get the guy falling down. Just perfect. It took me. Took forever, but it was so worth it in the end. I still laugh at that silly bit. Okay, our next one was also difficult, but for different reasons. In episode 28, we made our way to the lunatic asylum to find Nellie Bly. If only you guys could hear my raw string outs, which you never will, because for episodes like this, I'm often choking on tears. I'm doing many, many takes, honestly, just trying to get through the storytelling. I'm even a little foggy right now thinking about it. I was so happy to tell Nellie's story in this episode. But like I said before I did, we made our way to the lunatic asylum where she was helmed. If you would follow me down this dimly lamplit, putrid smelling, freezing empty hallway, there's something else that I want to show you. This hallway is empty only of people. It is otherwise filled with restraints and ropes chained to the walls. It is late fall, 1887, 6am it is still dark outside the few barred windows. This is a terrifying place. But I am taking you to meet a very powerful and inspiring woman. Although she is currently in a very compromising position at the moment. We are walking past the room where rotational therapy is often used on the patients of this Blackwell's asylum. And we are now coming to a room on your right where if you look through through the barred window on the door, you'll see a row of straight back chairs, women restrained to them silent, some sit above puddles of urine. As these women aren't allowed to leave these chairs until 8pm every evening. And just there in front of us through the door sits a woman named Nellie Bly, the 23 year old investigative reporter who feigned insanity to be admitted into this asylum, who will write a damning expose once her bosses at the New York World newspaper get her released in a few days that will shock the nation and beyond about the horrors experienced by the women here. Step back with me over here for a minute and I will tell you a little bit about Nellie Bly and her impossible to imagine level of courage. Oh, God bless Nellie Bly. I really hope to visit her grave one day. Okay, let's take a little trip back to the Victorian cemetery. In episode 24, we took a little midnight walk to catch H.H. holmes. Holmes in the act of body snatching. This was my first attempt at a jump scare. I don't know how well it worked considering you can hear the the echo of my bedroom where I was recording this when I screamed. It kind of takes you out of the cemetery a bit, but I still had fun with it. Let's make our way to the cemetery. Come over here with me through this creepy 1800s cemetery gate. This is not the same cemetery that we built. Visited in episode six to visit Mercy Brown's vampire autopsy. That was in New England. This one is in Michigan. I'm going to tell you a little bit more about Holmes's young adult is years. And I think this is the perfect place to do it because he'll be showing up in a couple of minutes. Walk with me through this lovely Cemetery trellis. I've never seen one of these in a cemetery before. It's really. Look out. The bats. Bats are his best. Believe it just happened. It's about 2am April 1884, and it is now starting to rain. But don't worry, I brought an umbrella big enough for two. Let's snuggle up here beside this tomb. Isn't it wild how everything looks new? Because it is. I always think it's so funny when in historically set movie cemeteries are old. Like they wouldn't be. Like this place just opened for business maybe 10 years ago. All the stones are fresh as a baby's bottom. Wait, that doesn't sound right. Is that the saying? Oh, it's soft. Soft as a baby's bottom. Oh, wait. Shh. Those two approaching lanterns belong to a man named William James Herdman. And the other belongs to Mr. Henry Holmes. They're looking for something. And it appears that they've found what they're looking for. The freshest grave in the place whose owner died just three days ago. William and Henry are now digging up this grave with the intention of selling the body of this recently deceased person to the University of Michigan's anatomy lab. Let's step back over here. They're going to be digging for some time. And I'll tell you a little bit about the start of his murderous career. That was a hell of an episode. I think it was my longest one so far. HH Holmes was a complete monster. I could not stop falling down rabbit holes with that one. Okay, quick mental health break. Taking a nice deep breath and let it go. In with new, fresh energy, out with the stale old energy. Ah. This moment of mental health was brought to you by rula, the easiest, most stress free way to find a perfect fit therapist that actually takes your health insurance. RULA is a mental health care provider group that simplifies the single worst part about finding quality mental health care. The finding part. When I first started looking for a therapist in my 20s, it was a disaster. I had to make dozens of phone calls repeatedly tell a secretary over the phone the reason why I wanted to see the therapist. And most of the time, I would be told they weren't even taking new patients. RULA partners with a network of over 15,000 therapists and psychiatrists nationwide. They support you every step of the way, even after you've been paired with a therapist. They make sure you're getting the care that you need, help you with medication management, scheduling appointments and monitoring your progress. And the average copay for a rula.com therapist is is $15. Thousands have already trusted Rula to support them in their journey toward improved mental health and overall well being. Head on over to rula.com forward/victorian to get started today. After you sign up they will ask you where you heard about them. Please support my show and tell them that I sent you. Go to rula.com forward/victorian and take the first step toward mental health today. You deserve quality care from someone who cares. Okay, as mentioned, to make up for my terribly embarrassing mistake of believing the news that they caught Jack the Ripper, I did my best to make up for it by producing the most in depth episodes I could on the facts about Jack the Ripper, more specifically about his victims. I did two episodes on the Ripper 3, 31 and 32. And apart from the research that I did about his victims lives, I did a lot of research about just the world that they lived in. What was it like to be a woman in Whitechapel in this time? What did their streets look like, sound like, feel like, smell like? And I brought you with me down those very frightening streets. So let's make our way back to the streets of Whitechapel and if you would follow me down this very dark, very fragrant cobblestone street. Take my arm. Stay close. It's 2:30am August 1888. Although it is summer, the weather has been so frightfully cold and wet that homes close to the River Thames have been flooded and many of the residents are now homeless. This street is lit only by a single gas lamp fixed to the outside of a dressmaker's shop and a few dim lamp lights shining through a few thick windows. It's located on one of the most dangerous streets to be in, a very dangerous part of town. In fact, a number of these nearby streets police don't even walk down unless they're in a patrol of four. We are in Whitechapel, an area of London, walking down a street called Buck's Row. Many of the residents of this neighborhood are homeless or unemployed. Many are immigrants with little education. Irish, Jewish and Eastern European migrants. The Jewish population coming primarily from Russia, Poland and Germany, fleeing persecution there. This place is overcrowded. There's virtually no sanitation system. Oh, watch your step there. Sheep and cattle are often herded down these streets, so they leave piles here and there. Residents also pour their raw sewage out the windows, so that's what's also contributing to the fragrance as well as diseases like cholera in this area. Area. Only half of the children here will survive past Five. Okay, quick, stand back here with me. Oh, okay. Although it is very, very dark, there is someone behind us, but you can see it is just a woman by herself. A woman in a black bonnet. Oh, she just stumbled a bit. She's okay, though. She's having a seat beside the building. She's been drinking. It appears that she is settling into that spot where she fell for the night. We'll stay close by. Those brick buildings over there are lodgings, quote unquote, not apartments. There's spaces where up to 80 people are crammed into a single room. Every night they pay about 4 pence for a bed. For those who don't have that much money, they can lean over ropes for a tuppence. That is 2 pence. I only just found that out myself. For those who come to the ropes after a night of drinking and don't wake so easily in the morning as others, they just unhook the ropes and let them fall to the ground, which rouses them more quickly. For some, at least, it's a roof over their head. Men in this neighborhood, if they're lucky, they can find work at the docks or factories. But. But pay everywhere is low and almost always dangerous or grueling. It's much harder for women to find work, so they're often forced into sex work to help them survive. Life for these women is so difficult that they often just work for food. A loaf of bread or as little as three pee, which won't even get them a bed for the night. It may get them a space on a rope, but instead they may prefer to use it to buy a drink at one of the many pubs. To help numb the pain of the brutality of life in a place like this. Many women simply spend the night sleeping on the streets, vulnerable to the many dangerous gangs and predators who beat, rob and rape them. Often women like Emma Elizabeth Smith. Come over here with me to this ominous alleyway. I'd like to tell you a little bit about Emma, who will be the very first victim included in what will later become known as the Whitechapel murders file. From here, I went on to talk about the life of Mary Ann Nichols, the Ripper's first official known victim. And then we returned to the street where he found her. The episode continued. Now come back with me into the alley. Do not look out. And I'm afraid there is nothing that we can do to stop what is about to occur. A man is talking to Mary. She sounds panicked. He is now grabbing her tightly by the face. He releases and slices her neck. She falls to the ground and he manifests stabs her in the abdomen. The wound in her neck will measure 8 inches and another will measure 4 inches, both reaching the back of her spine. She will be stabbed twice in the vagina. Her abdomen will be more deeply mutilated with one deep jagged slice on the left side. More slices inflicted across her abdomen will cause her blood bowels to spill through the wounds. Another group of cuts will be inflicted with another weapon with what is likely a cork cutter or shoemaker's knife. All of this will take four to five minutes, which we will not stay for. That was a very painful episode to create. So was the next one where I told the stories of a number more of his victims. But rather than bring you to another murder in the second episode, instead in episode 32, I brought you to a Jack the Ripper seance. That was historically accurate. That seance did occur. Only I did give the medium a different name. If I recall, the name of the medium that was written about in the papers wasn't named. I also added a guest at the seance who was not real. His name was Jimmy. As I was writing the script, I just thought it would be funny to pretend that I knew someone there. So I added him in and I decided to bring Jimmy back in a number of episodes. He's become my safe guy. At this time. When I was recording the Ripper episodes, I was still very sad and very hurt after a 10 year relationship had ended. And I didn't do this consciously, but I created Jimmy to be a man that I felt perfectly safe with. He's a therapeutic character for me. And in this trip to the seance, we hear him say hello for the first time. Would you follow me up these stairs here, up to this modest home in Bolton, Manchester. We're quite a ways away from Whitechapel at the moment. It is October 8, 1888, close to midnight. Catherine and Elizabeth were both found 10 days ago. And apart from police who are still desperately trying to find their killer, there are some other folks who have been trying as well. And we've been invited to this home to help. This is the home of Madame Stravinsky and her cult is preparing to perform a seance in the hopes of engaging the spirits to help them find the killer. Hello, darling. Oh, madam, thank you for having us. Come on in. We're just about ready to start. Right this way. We are being led to the dining room where there are four folks seated at the table. Excuse me. Oh, hello, Jimmy. Madam will join them as the fifth. There are about 20 folks packed in around the room. We'll stay back here and watch from the shadows. Gas lamps are now being extinguished. Candles are being lit around the table. The group around the table are taking hands and it is quiet as the grave here. Step back with me further into these curtains and I will tell you about one of the women that they are hoping to contact at this point. I covered the life and the death of Catherine Eddowes, Jack's fourth known victim, before we made our way back to Madame Stravinsky's seance. Come back with me to Madame Stravinsky's seance. Madame has since excreted some ectoplasm onto her chest. It seems her head is drooped back, her mouth is wide open, and that's her making that terrifying sound. Everyone in the room is humming. She's taking a pen in her hand and is now quickly writing onto a large piece of paper something. Okay, let's step back again into the shadows here it appears Madam Stravinsky has made contact with Elizabeth Stride. And tomorrow we'll deliver her message to the Star newspaper about the identity of the killer. I scared my little dog Toby so much when I was doing Madame Stravinsky's spooky voice. He was very concerned that I had finally gotten myself possessed. I'll do more of these episodes, I think, when I need to take a break. We've been on many more trips together. There are plenty that I would love to revisit with you. It's honestly so strange to hear my voice change. I've become more confident, I think, over time doing this show thanks to your incredibly sweet encouragement. I have simply loved bringing you on this journey with me on these journeys with me. I will be back next week with Halloween episodes all through the rest of the month. Be kind to yourselves and I will see you in your nightmares. Limu Game. OO and Doug Limu and I always tell you to customize your car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. But now we want you to feel it. Cue the emu music. Limu. Save yourself the money today. Increase your wealth. Customize and save. We say that may have been too much feeling. Only pay for what you need@libertymutual.com Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty Savings Very underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates. Excludes Massachusetts.