My Victorian Nightmare

Host: Genevieve Manion
Episode: 70 - Blood On The Railroad Tracks
Date: November 24, 2025

Episode Overview

In this milestone 70th episode, Genevieve Manion delves into grim tales from Victorian-era railroads: the chilling first train murder in England and another murder where the railways and telegraph played a vital role in capturing the culprit. Poignant personal accounts, musings on Victorian spiritualism, and haunting stories from historical newspapers set the atmospheric tone. The episode is rich in reflection, eerie details, and moments of kindness unearthed among the horror.

Listener Messages & Emotional Opening

(Timestamps: 00:50–08:30)

• Genevieve opens by celebrating her 70th episode and sharing personal updates — daylight savings insomnia, 5am "weird baths," and odd comfort found in the eerie ambiance of the Victorian era.
• Listener Engagement: She reads a heartfelt poem from archaeologist Danielle Knights, movingly paralleling her podcast research with archaeological work:

  "I dig in the dirt and I dream of people...I want their spirits to know that they're still held onto, if only by some redheaded Nosferatu here in Brooklyn."
  (07:12, Genevieve reading Danielle Knights’s poem and reflecting)

• Appreciation for the community: She acknowledges the support from listeners, new Patreon members, and the importance of kindness in sustaining her work.
• Memorable Quote:

  "You ensure that I show up in more Spotify suggestions so more people can find the show. I am so grateful for all of you."
  (08:20, Genevieve)

With Their Own Eyes: Victorian Ghost Encounters

(Timestamps: 10:25–14:13)

• Historical Ghost Account (Cheshire Observer, 1869):
  • A skeptic at a secluded country house is regaled with chilling local ghost tales.
  • The tale of Mrs. Morris, a mistreated innkeeper’s wife, who haunts her former workplace, dusting chairs and tending bar as she did in life. Two men witness her silent apparition, which stands and stares before vanishing up the stairs.
  • Genevieve’s reflection:

    "One of the most terrifying ghost encounter situations to me is when a ghost just simply stands there and stares at you."
    (14:12, Genevieve)

The Seance Room: Victorian Spiritualism & The Philip Experiment

(Timestamps: 14:18–21:27)

• Deposition from Mr. Morse (Trance Medium, 1869):
  • Morse attends a spiritual circle as a skeptic, only to be overtaken by uncontrollable “spirit” influences and later develops into a medium himself.
  • Genevieve muses on the sincerity and intensity of Victorian belief in spiritualism and wonders about collective psychosis or paranormal energy:

    "Was there some kind of collective psychosis, some kind of telekinesis? Like not all of it could have been staged..."
    (17:30, Genevieve)

• The Philip Experiment (1972):
  • A group of scientists attempts to ‘create’ a ghost named Philip Aylesford through collective belief and seance rituals, producing physical phenomena (table tipping, knocks) only in response to invented facts about Philip’s fictional biography.
  • Genevieve’s astonishment:

    "They must have created this phenomenon by sheer collective consciousness, that the power of collective belief, imagination, focus, was able to conjure an energy..."
    (19:44, Genevieve)

  • She invites listeners to try a similar experiment, adding a playful, spooky edge.

Blood on the Tracks: The Murder of Thomas Briggs

(Timestamps: 22:20–30:45)

• Setting the Scene:
  • Pre-1864 London trains: unlit cars, no corridors, rampant crime, and little passenger safety.
• The Crime:
  • Mr. Thomas Briggs, chief clerk of a bank, boards a first-class train car on July 9, 1864.
  • Two bank clerks find a blood-soaked compartment before departure—evidence includes a black beaver hat, walking stick, and bag.
  • Briggs is found brutally beaten by the tracks, later dies. His gold watch and glasses are missing; robbery apparent.
• Investigation & Sensational Fallout:
  • Public outcry prompts immediate train safety reforms (corridors, emergency cords, lighting).
  • Clues:
    • A jeweler named John Death reports a German pawned Briggs’s gold watch chain.
    • A cab driver connects the suspect, Franz Muller, to the black hat and reports his abrupt departure to New York.
  • Police reach New York ahead of Muller, arrest him upon arrival, extradite him.
  • Muller’s trial: attempted alibi, but damning testimony and evidence lead to guilty verdict. Executed in public, his hanging leads to abolition of public executions.
• Notable Quotes:

  "Train cars...splitting in half like dry spaghetti, skewering passengers with wooden beams and splinters, being crushed to death, burning alive."
  (23:30, Genevieve) "Muller was found guilty and sentenced to hang. He was publicly executed in front of a drunk and disorderly crowd...it led to the abolition of public executions across the country."
  (29:45, Genevieve)

The Talwell Affair: Murder, Trains & Telegraphs

(Timestamps: 31:10–41:45)

• John Talwell's Life:

  • Originally sentenced to death for forgery (1814), pardoned and transported to Australia; returned, married, but family beset by tragedy in smog-choked London.

• The Affair and Motive:

  • After wife’s death, Talwell’s affair with Sarah Hart yields two children. Facing financial ruin and unwilling to support his mistress, he plots murder.

• The Murder (1845):

  • Talwell poisons Sarah Hart with prussic acid (a deadly toxin sold as "medicine"), then flees.
  • Mrs. Ashley, the neighbor, hears the commotion, finds Sarah dying, and sees Talwell running away.

• Forensic Techniques & Capture:

  • The local reverend leverages the new telegraph to alert Paddington Station with Talwell’s description.
  • Sgt. Williams apprehends Talwell following a dramatic chase across railways and city streets.

• Trial & Aftermath:

  • Defense’s desperate “apple pips” strategy (apple seeds contain prussic acid) is derided; Talwell is convicted and executed before a large crowd.
  • The case’s notoriety accelerates rail telegraph adoption and temporarily depresses apple sales.

• Haunting Human Details:

  • Sarah and John’s children, aged four and five, were saved from a workhouse by Mrs. Ashley until their grandmother took them in.
  • Sara’s watch is returned to her child by a sympathetic officer.
  • Talwell’s wife, shielded from court trauma, offers financial support to Sarah’s mother.

• Notable Quotes:

  "This reverend was as sharp as a tack. He never saw Talwell, but he quickly got a good description of him and ran to the train station, assuming that the killer would most likely try to get away by the nearby train. He was right."
  (34:00, Genevieve) "With all of the horror in that story, I was so glad I kept digging in those papers. Often. Not always, but often. I find that if I just dig a little deeper, I can usually find the kindness somewhere."
  (41:15, Genevieve)

Closing Thoughts & Listener Invitation

(Timestamp: 41:45–42:45)

• Genevieve expresses gratitude to listeners, encourages ratings, and invites people to join her Patreon for extras.
• Signs off with her characteristic blend of warmth and macabre humor:

  "Be kind to yourselves and I will see you in your nightmares."
  (42:40, Genevieve)

Notable Quotes Recap

• “I dig in the dirt and I dream of people...I want their spirits to know that they're still held onto...” (07:12, Daniel Knights via Genevieve)
• "One of the most terrifying ghost encounter situations to me is when a ghost just simply stands there and stares at you." (14:12, Genevieve)
• "Was there some kind of collective psychosis, some kind of telekinesis? Like not all of it could have been staged..." (17:30, Genevieve)
• "Train cars...splitting in half like dry spaghetti, skewering passengers with wooden beams and splinters, being crushed to death, burning alive." (23:30, Genevieve)
• “With all of the horror in that story, I was so glad I kept digging in those papers. ...I can usually find the kindness somewhere.” (41:15, Genevieve)

Key Segment Timestamps Overview

| Segment & Topic | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------------------|--------------| | Listener messages, intro, poem | 00:50–08:30 | | Ghost stories & personal haunting account | 10:25–14:13 | | Spiritualism & The Philip Experiment | 14:18–21:27 | | The Briggs Train Murder | 22:20–30:45 | | The Talwell Affair: Trains, Telegraph, Murder | 31:10–41:45 | | Reflections, kindness, sign-off | 41:45–42:45 |

Tone

Genevieve’s signature tone blends macabre fascination, empathy for the long-dead, scholarly curiosity, and subtly comforting wit. She marries the eerie and the humane, always searching for a glimmer of warmth in the darkness.

Summary Takeaway

Episode 70 embodies “My Victorian Nightmare’s” uncanny charm—melding ghastly Victorian true crime, ghostly lore, and the voices of both the dead and the listeners the show continues to enchant. Genevieve’s deep research and emotional engagement, anchored by haunting quotes, notable historical revelations, and moments of compassion, make this an essential listen for lovers of macabre history.