My Victorian Nightmare – Ep. 73: “In the Baleful Light of Maniacal Insanity”

Host: Genevieve Manion
Date: December 15, 2025

Episode Overview

This delightfully macabre episode plunges listeners into some of the most chilling—and bizarre—tales of madness, murder, and spiritual oddities gleaned from Victorian-era publications. Genevieve Manion delivers a mix of firsthand ghost encounters, grisly true crime, medical oddities, and the antics of social rebels—all while highlighting the era’s unique blend of morbidity and elegance. With compassionate commentary, dark humor, and penetrating research, she brings depth to these archival tabloid horrors and personal tragedies.

Main Segments & Key Discussion Points

1. Victorian Ghost Story: The Crikeith Ghost

(Starts at ~08:55)

• Manion reads a ghost story from the Cheshire Observer about a haunting in Crikeith. The “Crikeith ghost,” a ghastly white figure with clawed fingers and upturned wrists, terrorizes travelers.
• The chilling encounter: A driver hits the ghost with his whip, and immediately his harness fails, throwing him and his companion from the wagon.
• Aftereffects: The villagers remain haunted by fear.
• Personal note: Manion confesses the ghost’s description gave her actual nightmares.

  “I got, I’m gonna say, three hours of sleep last night because I couldn’t get the image of that ghost with its mouth open, wrists turned up, and fingers claw-like out of my head.” (Genevieve, 12:33)

2. Victorian Spiritualism: The Chiropractor Medium

(~15:09)

• Manion reads from an 1869 article about Dr. J.A. Newton, a “healer” and medium who claims to cure neuralgia via spirit-guided physical manipulations.
• The ritual includes head-cracking, prayer, and the patient feeling a “strong current of new life.”
• Manion humorously speculates on how many “chiropractor mediums” roamed the era, noting chiropractic wasn’t formally established until 1895.

  “I wonder how many other chiropractor mediums existed in this era, adjusting the dark spirits out of spinal columns and such.” (Genevieve, 18:42)

3. Corpse-Related Practical Jokes in Medical Colleges

(~21:26)

• The story recounts medical students in San Francisco pranking a drunken classmate by tying him to two corpses in a dissecting room as punishment for drunkenness.
• When the victim awakes, chaos ensues. He panics, drags his corpse “companions” with him, and is eventually freed after considerable alarm.
• Manion notes the progress made in educational environments (no more corpse jokes) and revels in the madcap image of 19th-century streetwalkers being recruited to respond.

  “Take solace... We don’t really need to worry about becoming the butt of a corpse-related practical joke in our lifetime.” (Genevieve, 25:25)

4. Jealousy, Suicide, and Victorian Sexism: The Case of Honora Byrne

(~27:00)

• Report of Honora Byrne, described as a “termagant,” who hanged herself after a violent marital dispute—originally presented as female hysteria.
• Manion digs deeper, uncovering the context of Byrne’s depression, her husband’s infidelity, and emotional abuse. She critiques the article’s misogyny and sympathy for the husband.

  “Women don’t hang themselves because they’re angry at their husbands.” (Genevieve, 30:38)
  “That breaks my heart. The way infidelity was and for some is still considered to be nothing but like an indiscretion and not something that tears a partner apart...” (Genevieve, 32:19)

5. The Pioneer Pistol Murderess: Mary Harris and Victorian Insanity Defenses

(~33:00)

• The story of Mary Harris, an Iowa woman abandoned by Adoniram Burrows, who then stalked and murdered him in Washington, D.C.
• Her trial is historic: her lawyers introduce the “menstrual insanity” defense, and she is acquitted.
• Harris’s subsequent mental health struggles and murky later history are detailed.

  “Her defense team tried to get her off on an insanity plea, but not just insanity, but menstrual insanity... And get this, she was found not guilty on these grounds.” (Genevieve, 35:00)

6. Tabloid Tragedy: Drunkards, Dead Infants, and Urban Horrors

(~36:43)

• The grotesque (possibly apocryphal) account of an intoxicated couple whose neglected baby dies and is then mutilated by their dog.
• Manion doubts the story’s veracity, noting its sensational placement and lack of identifying detail.

7. Family Annihilation Under Religious Mania: Leonard Marquart

(~38:18)

• The harrowing tale of Leonard Marquart (misnamed Margart in the Illustrated Police News) who, under religious delusions, murders his wife and multiple children in Ohio.
• Vivid, terrifying details are read directly from the article, followed by Manion’s investigative follow-up revealing the story’s tragic accuracy and survivor testimony.

  “A strife more terrible than that of Cain and Abel, for it was between man and wife, and both of them naked maniacs... the eyes of her husband glaring down upon her with the baleful light of maniacal insanity.” (Article, 41:10) “That is the most heartbreaking detail to me, that they thought that she died simply from falling out of bed. Heaven knows, the reality... must have been too difficult to face.” (Genevieve, 46:25)

8. Rabies and Folk Medicine: Men Bitten by a Mad Dog in Kansas

(~48:20)

• Two men bitten by a rabid dog choose to shackle themselves in their farmhouse, fearing they may develop hydrophobia and pose danger to loved ones.
• Use of the “madstone”—a traditional but useless folk remedy—is described.
• Manion provides a medical reality check and PSA about current rabies treatment.

  “It was essentially a hairball and mineral buildup from the stomach or intestines of deer primarily, but sometimes also cattle and buffalo. This had been used since the 13th century in Europe, China and India.” (Genevieve, 50:55)

9. Madcap Widow’s Cross-dressing Adventure in 1870s New York

(~53:10)

• Mrs. Elizabeth Ross, a Fifth Avenue socialite widow, dons men’s attire and attends a show at Wood’s Museum, causing a scene and getting arrested for disorderly conduct.
• She is bailed out after invoking her friendship with Police Commissioner Smith, who ensures her swift release.

  “Here’s to you, Comrade Smith. I like to imagine this fabulous woman in her suit with a cigar in her teeth...” (Genevieve, 56:02)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On The Crikeith Ghost:
  “The image—the mouth open, wrists turned up, and fingers claw-like—I couldn’t get it out of my head. I do this to myself. I have no one else to blame.” (Genevieve, 12:33)

• Victorian Chiropractic Mediums:
  “Oh darling. I wonder how many other chiropractor mediums existed in this era, adjusting the dark spirits out of spinal columns and such.” (Genevieve, 18:42)

• On Progress:
  “I’ll say this—students tying their classmates to dead bodies as practical jokes... I’m fairly certain is a thing of the past.” (Genevieve, 25:25)

• On Honora Byrne’s Suicide:
  “Women don’t hang themselves because they’re angry at their husbands.” (Genevieve, 30:38)

• On the Mary Harris insanity defense:
  “They claimed she had an intensely painful menstrual disorder ... causing her to have temporary insanity. And get this, she was found not guilty on these grounds.” (Genevieve, 35:00)

• Describing Marquart’s Murderous Mania:
  “A strife more terrible than that of Cain and Abel, for it was between man and wife, and both of them naked maniacs.” (Victorian article, 41:10)

Timestamps for Key Stories

• Crikeith Ghost: 08:55–14:09
• Spiritualist “Chiropractor” Story: 15:09–18:54
• Corpse Practical Joke: 21:26–27:00
• Honora Byrne’s Suicide: 27:00–33:00
• Mary Harris/Pistol Murderess: 33:00–36:43
• Drunkard’s Baby & the Dog: 36:43–38:18
• Leonard Marquart Family Annihilation: 38:18–48:20
• Rabies & Madstone: 48:20–53:10
• Cross-dressing Widow, Mrs. Ross: 53:10–End

Tone & Final Thoughts

Genevieve Manion strikes a balance between respectful empathy for the victims and wry humor about the era’s absurdities and tabloid excesses. She emphasizes the importance of historical context, challenges misogynist or moralizing narratives, and isn’t afraid to highlight what still resonates about Victorian anxieties.

For fans of true crime, social history, or the darker side of the 19th century, this episode is a masterwork of both entertainment and scholarship—illustrating just how strange, tragic, and sometimes strangely progressive the Victorian world could be.

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