My Victorian Nightmare – Ep. 69: “The Woman Was Unknown”

Host: Genevieve Manion
Date: November 17, 2025

Episode Overview

In this chilling episode of My Victorian Nightmare, host Genevieve Manion delves into a medley of true, macabre tales from the Victorian era. The stories range from ghastly deaths and unsolved mysteries to horrifying accidents and social phenomena. Genevieve’s signature blend of historical research, empathetic storytelling, and dark humor adds intrigue to each account. A through-line is the empathy and humanity she brings to the dead and forgotten, especially women whose stories ended in mystery or violence.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Victorian Ghost Lore

Timestamps: 10:55–15:42

• Segment: "With Their Own Eyes"
  • Genevieve reads excerpts from an 1863 article about Christmas ghost stories, featuring eccentric descriptions of ghosts and their habits:
    • Human-like, transparent forms, often seen in white, following people or returning to resolve unfinished business.
    • The "royal we" in Victorian journalism leads to odd narrative voice.
  • Ghost stories cited: the soldier haunting a staircase, an anxious mother seeing her drowned son's apparition, an accountant ghost who demanded a missing penny be found.
  • Notable quote:

    "It has been asked, why should ghosts rise merely to make our hair rise? But hear the answer. They keep on appearing until something is found out." (15:17)

2. Seance Rooms and Victorian Spiritualism

Timestamps: 17:32–20:51

• Genevieve shares an 1869 article from Spiritualist Magazine describing Mr. Woolnow’s skeptical introduction to spiritualism.
  • Seances featured levitating tables, social coffee circles, and the transformative experiences of mediums.
  • Contrasts between slow, blissful entrancement and rapid, disturbing spirit contact.
  • Notable quote:

    "If death resembled entrancement, death would have no terrors to speak of." (20:16)

  • Genevieve links historical accounts to contemporary experiences, urging listeners with mediumistic abilities to share their opinions.

3. Grisly Victorian True Crime

a) Unpleasant Stabbing Affray in New York

Timestamps: 22:39–28:10

• Michael Rosa, an Italian immigrant, is fatally stabbed multiple times by John Petrell after a trivial quarrel.
  • Rosa, with intestines protruding, identifies Petrell before dying.
  • Witnesses lie on the stand, are charged for perjury due to the coroner’s skepticism.
  • Genevieve notes the dark irony:

    "How in God’s name a man with his bowels protruding was able to go down to the station and ID the guy who did this to his bowels is next level." (24:44)

  • The murder location: today's 37 Mulberry Street is now a fancy public restroom.

b) Poisoned Candy and the Chocolate Cream Killer

Timestamps: 28:12–35:37

• Suspicion of a poisoner in Turner, Maine after children fall ill and one dies from candy.
  • Background on Christina Edmonds, the "Chocolate Cream Killer," who poisoned candies in shops for years with no clear motive.
  • Analysis of widespread use of toxic substances in Victorian food, such as plaster of Paris, arsenic, lead, and copper, due to lack of regulation.
    • Vivid, disturbing examples of food adulteration before the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.

4. Horrific Accidents and Unsolved Mysteries

a) Canal Street Decapitation: The Unknown Woman

Timestamps: 36:01–42:41

• On February 20th, an unidentified woman attempting to cross Canal and Hudson is killed by a train—her head and left hand severed.
  • The graphic detail of her remains, possessions, and clothing underscores her anonymity.
  • Notable quote:

    “There’s just always something about when they give details about what they were wearing, what they were found with, that just breaks my heart... Like, she was just going to buy a gray mixed over skirt that day.” (39:44)

  • Genevieve reflects on the randomness and abruptness of tragedy, connecting it to her own life.

b) Anna Roys—Mysterious Disappearance

Timestamps: 43:11–47:31

• Anna Roys, a well-regarded young woman, vanishes and is later returned home dead in a coffin with no explanation or perpetrator found.
  • The article speculates involvement similar to the notorious abortionist Rosenzweig.
  • Genevieve provides context:
    • Rosenzweig, convicted for a deadly abortion, only received seven years—public outcry ensued.
  • The persistent heartbreak of unresolved crimes against Victorian women.

5. Darkly Comic and Eccentric Victorian Moments

a) The Swallowed Wedding Ring

Timestamps: 48:03–49:15

• In a bout of nerves during a Cleveland wedding, a groom accidentally swallows the ring he’d hidden in his mouth.
  • Guests attempt to retrieve it by standing him on his head.
  • Genevieve’s relief:

    “I’m just glad it sounds like he got it out and not through a more inelegant end.” (49:06)

b) Professor Pepper’s Dancing Skeleton

Timestamps: 49:44–51:58

• Professor Pepper debuts a giant skeleton “ghost” for a stage show, resulting in audience outrage.
  • Genevieve offers an explainer on the “Pepper’s Ghost” illusion, its Victorian theatrical roots, and its cultural afterlife in concerts and film:

    “This same effect has been used to display Tupac and Michael Jackson in posthumous concerts. Often incorrectly described as holograms, the effect still widely used today is just Pepper’s ghost illusion.” (51:43)

6. Murder, Fire, and Opium Mania

a) The Indiana Horror

Timestamps: 52:39–54:34

• The Bandle family in Clark County is killed in a house fire suspected to be murder, tied to a supposed theft.
  • The crime remains unsolved.

b) Opium Addiction in New York

Timestamps: 54:44–57:36

• Focus on the rise, especially among women, of opium use in 19th-century New York.
  • Opium prescribed for "female troubles," easily available, often hidden in cosmetics and tonics.
  • Double standard in the social stigma of addiction, with upper-class women viewed more sympathetically.
  • Notable quote:

    “The Victorians were so drug and poison addled, it is astounding to me that our species survived beyond it.” (57:26)

7. Sexism and Counterpoints: Women in Victorian Medicine

Timestamps: 57:43–1:03:27

• Article mocking men eager for vaccination from a female doctor, calling her a “smallpox preventer” who causes more fevers than she cures.

  • Genevieve calls out the sexism:

    “Ugh, shut up. Okay, this is obviously a terribly sexist dumb article written by a sexist dumb man. And you may think to yourself, God, men were simply the worst in this time. And sure, a lot of them were. But just like today... there are plenty of awesome dudes today doing just the opposite.” (58:00, paraphrased)

• Contrasts this with a progressive 1869 Spiritualist article advocating for women’s educational and professional equality:

  “Why should women be in a worse condition upon earth than men and be cut off so much from freedom of action as well as from facilities to earn an independent livelihood?” (1:01:37)

• Emphasizes the importance of voices from within privileged groups speaking up for equity.

  • Memorable moment: Heartfelt thanks to male allies, both past and present.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “How in God’s name a man with his bowels protruding was able to go down to the station and ID the guy who did this to his bowels is next level.” — Genevieve (24:44)
• “If death resembled entrancement, death would have no terrors to speak of.” — Mr. Woolnow (20:16)
• “There’s just always something about when they give details about what they were wearing, what they were found with, that just breaks my heart so much.” — Genevieve (39:44)
• “The Victorians were so drug and poison addled, it is astounding to me that our species survived beyond it.” — Genevieve (57:26)
• “Why should women be in a worse condition upon earth than men...” — Spiritualist Magazine, quoted by Genevieve (1:01:37)
• “It’s important for men to counter the oppressive language of other men. It’s important for all people to counter the oppressive language of any group with power at all times.” — Genevieve’s closing reflection (1:02:30)

Notable Timestamps

• 10:55 – Victorian ghost stories and “With Their Own Eyes”
• 17:32 – Firsthand Victorian seance experience and spiritualism
• 22:39 – Mulberry Street stabbing murder
• 28:12 – Victorian poisoners and toxic candy
• 36:01 – The unknown decapitated woman of Canal Street
• 43:11 – Mystery of Anna Roys’ disappearance and the abortionist Rosenzweig
• 48:03 – The swallowed wedding ring incident
• 49:44 – Professor Pepper’s scandalous skeleton ghost
• 52:39 – The Indiana horror: murder and fire
• 54:44 – Opium addiction in Victorian New York
• 57:43 – Sexism in Victorian medicine; the progressive spiritualist rebuttal
• 1:01:37 – Quoting The Spiritualist Magazine on women’s equality

Overall Tone and Style

Genevieve’s narration is witty, compassionate, and historically sharp. She balances a love for Victorian oddities with a fierce empathy for the victims, frequently drawing sly parallels to the present. There is a thread of dark humor, especially when discussing the frequently nonchalant tone of Victorian journalism and its grotesque subject matter. The episode also contains moments of genuine outrage and sadness—particularly for nameless dead women and the systemic injustices of the era.

Useful For:
Anyone interested in true crime, Victorian history, gender, social justice, or simply a masterful retelling of dark, forgotten stories, rich with detail and atmosphere. This summary highlights the episode’s structure, key stories, historical context, memorable moments, and Genevieve’s signature narrative style.