Podcast Summary:

My Victorian Nightmare – Ep. 67:
"Haunted by Gloomy & Terrible Thoughts"
Host: Genevieve Manion
Date: November 3, 2025

Overview

In this densely packed and hauntingly charming episode, Genevieve takes listeners through an assortment of oddities, tragedies, morbid tales, and little-known facts from the Victorian Era — all lovingly sourced from the sensational Illustrated Police News and related period sources. From potato-chip-throwing ghosts to grisly murders and opulent all-women gambling parlors, Genevieve weaves storytelling, research tangents, and dark humor into a tapestry that both chills and entertains.

Tone: Wry, gothic, darkly whimsical, and emotionally candid, Genevieve delivers commentary and personal reactions interwoven with historical journalism and Victorian psychology.

Key Discussions & Insights

🍂 Halloween & Listener Engagement [02:12–04:32]

• Genevieve recounts her “Samhain cocktail party” and shares her enjoyment of hosting, creating an atmosphere of historical eeriness and camaraderie.
• She thanks listeners for their support and asks for suggestions of "fantastic weirdos, eccentrics, creeps" from any era for upcoming content.
  • Quote:

    "Can you name for me some people in history... who were fantastic weirdos, eccentrics, creeps... extra points if there was a darkness to them." [04:19, Genevieve]

📚 "With Their Own Eyes": Modern Ghost Story [05:18–08:31]

• Listener Email Highlight: Diane from Australia shares a chilling modern ghost story involving her husband, Ross, who encountered the ghost of a girl looking at her phone in the early morning at a high school—a possible “phone ghost.”
  • Key spooky details: She glided silently on gravel, was unseen by others entering the area, and may have been a student who died while texting.
  • Quote:

    "He said he felt eerie… there were no footfalls. It was silent, too silent. No sound at all." [07:00, Diane via Genevieve]

  • Genevieve’s Take:

    "So I guess that’s the answer to my question. Phone ghosts are already here." [08:12]

👻 Victorian Haunted House Story & Potato Chips Tangent [10:11–13:51]

• Virginian Ghosts: Recitation of a contemporary account of ghostly mischief: a spirit moving furniture, scattering chips, and otherwise terrorizing a household of a Rev. C.G. Thrasher.
• Wild Potato Chip Origin Tangent:
  • Genevieve explores the etymology/history of 'potato chips,' tracing it to Moon's Lake House, Saratoga Springs, NY (1853)—which burned down multiple times.
    • Quote:

      "I try so hard to find these haunted corn cribs for you guys, but sometimes I come up with nothing but crumbs, and my heart breaks." [13:45]

• No trace of Rev. Thrasher found in census records.

✨ Seance Room: Spiritualist Conversion [14:08–16:18]

• Mr. J. Davis’s Testimony (1869):
  • Description of skeptical guest at a spiritualist table-moving event who becomes perplexed when a table (and another, unmanned table) moves on its own.
  • Genevieve explains common fraudulent techniques (e.g., knives in shirt sleeves) and wonders about authentic unexplained events.
    • Quote:

      "I see that little table in my mind in like an old black and white cartoon, tiptoeing up to the guys." [15:54]

🍽️ Crime Reports from the Illustrated Police News

Female Poisoners & True Crime Trends [16:58–21:16]

• "A Woman Poisons Her Husband's Food":
  • Story of a woman who poisons her husband; Genevieve’s research suggests the article is likely fiction, a product of 19th-century public paranoia about women as poisoners.
    • Genevieve contextualizes with real cases:
      • Mary Ann Cotton: Poisoned husbands and children, executed 1873 (up to 21 victims).
      • Lydia Sherman: Poisoned husbands and her own children; convicted in 1872, died in prison.
    • Forensic Sidebar:
      • Arsenic, known as “the King of poisons,” was common, virtually undetectable until the Marsh test (1836).
      • Often confused with regular 19th-century illnesses.

The Public Display of a Murderer’s Body [21:22–23:27]

• "A Murderer's Body on Exhibition":
  • Body of “Wilson” (Wilson Taylor/Taylor Wilson?) displayed after execution, attracting the morbid curiosity of townspeople — after a gruesome, botched hanging.
    • Genevieve’s reaction:

      "The detail I found about his execution is chilling… slowly strangled for approximately five minutes..." [22:26]

Daring Prison Escape [23:27–24:27]

• "A prisoner leaps from a courtroom window in Kansas City":
  • John Weaver escapes out a 20-ft window; possibly recaptured months later on unrelated charges. Described with dry, almost comic detachment.

Grisly Uxoricide in Kentucky [24:43–29:13]

• "Horrible Uxoricide":
  • Leonard Stow murders wife Mary McCracken Stow in a fit of rage. Graphic violence described in period-accurate, lurid detail.
  • After arrest, Stow attempts suicide thrice in jail, the third time successfully, leaving a note but no remorse.
    • Quote:

      "Those poor, poor children. His poor wife. Oh, what a tragedy." [29:13]

Fatal Negligence: The Frostbitten Boy [29:13–31:36]

• "An Inconsiderate Parent":
  • A man’s neglect leads to his son freezing to death in a wagon while he drinks. The law on child endangerment of the period (and now) is discussed.
    • Genevieve’s reaction:

      "Oh God. That is chilling imagery. Literally. Oh God." [30:53]

Disputed Burial for a Killer [31:36–33:10]

• "Wrangle over the remains of Botts the murderer":
  • Villagers refuse to allow George Charcoal Botts to be buried locally; struggle over rites and plot.
    • Quote:

      "New Jersey is a wonderful land. And the latest sensation there..." [31:55, reading period article]

Attempted Suicide: The Case of Eva G. Valli [34:14–37:49]

• Headline: "Ms. Eva G. Valli, The Pretty Female Prisoner Simulates a Fit and Attempts Suicide..."
  • During arrest for swindling, Eva Valli dramatically attempts suicide in jail and is hospitalized.
  • Through intrepid research and the uncovering of multiple aliases (Eva S. Valli, Madame St. Valerie, Eustace Stellario), Genevieve determines both Eva and her associate Libby Davis are eventually identified, convicted, and sentenced to several years in Sing Sing prison.
    • Quote:

      "I really impressed myself when I got to that final article with the outcome. It felt like I was fighting the final boss in a video game." [37:45]

A Gothic Tragedy: Romance and Suffering [37:53–41:52]

• "A Sad Story. A Life of Romance and Suffering":
  • Fictional or semi-fictional tale of a woman whose life is burst with loss: shipwreck, widowhood, the death of a child, and betrayal by a second husband. Genevieve admires the "vivid and black" gothic prose, hoping the story is not real.
    • Quote:

      "Lines like 'the wife looked back and saw that loved husband for the last time, clinging to the mast of the vessel as it sunk into the pitiless sea.' This is a precious art to me." [41:52]

Opulent Female Gambling Parlors [42:12–45:18]

• "The She Gamblers of San Francisco":
  • Describes extravagant, women-only gambling houses with velvet, satin, and pearl.
  • Genevieve contextualizes with historic fact: gambling dens for women were discreet clubs, often run for those outside male-dominated society, frequented by working women and upper-class ladies alike.
    • Quote:

      "These were women wanting to make their own money… Not necessarily only married women looking to spend their husband's money." [44:04]

    • Genevieve’s personal note:

      "You’d find me with the backroom girls in a seedy corner of Brooklyn laughing at potty jokes. You still can." [45:07]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On research dead ends:

  "I try so hard to find these haunted corn cribs for you guys, but sometimes I come up with nothing but crumbs, and my heart breaks." [13:45]

• On tracking aliases:

  "I got her. It felt like I was fighting the final boss in a video game." [37:45]

• On Victorian prose style:

  "This is a precious art to me. I do hope it wasn't true though." [41:52]

• On grim true crime:

  "Those poor, poor children. His poor wife. Oh, what a tragedy." [29:13]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:12] — Victorian & Halloween banter, fan “coven” call-outs
• [05:18] — Listener email: modern “phone ghost”
• [10:11] — "With Their Own Eyes": Virginian Ghosts & potato chips tangent
• [14:08] — Spiritualist seance account, fraudulent medium tricks
• [16:58] — Poisoning story, women as serial killers, arsenic forensic history
• [21:22] — Display of murderer’s corpse
• [23:27] — Courtroom window escape
• [24:43] — Grisly uxoricide in Kentucky & aftermath
• [29:13] — Negligence leads to child’s death
• [31:36] — Struggle over murderer’s burial
• [34:14] — Eva Valli’s prison suicide attempt & research rabbit hole
• [37:53] — Tragic romance, possible fiction
• [42:12] — Opulent women-only gambling parlors

Final Takeaway

Genevieve blends reverence for 19th-century gothic drama with a modern eye for empathy, context, and debunking. The episode is a deliciously dark tour of Victorian anxieties—crime, death, social change—all delivered with flair and a dash of black humor. If you crave both the grotesque and the glittering curiosities of yesteryear, this episode is a must-listen.