Ep. 79 - Nikola Tesla’s VIOLENT & Luminous Visions

Summary

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My Victorian Nightmare – Ep. 79

Nikola Tesla’s VIOLENT & Luminous Visions

Host: Genevieve Manion | Date: January 26, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this captivating episode, Genevieve Manion explores the spectral and sensational stories of the Victorian era, weaving together the lesser-known eccentricities of Nikola Tesla, firsthand ghostly encounters, criminal news clippings, and tales of revenge and tragedy. Tesla’s violent visions serve as the launching point for a tour through the macabre, haunted, and sometimes bizarre occurrences of 19th-century society. The mood is as much oddly comforting as it is chilling, mixing love for the dead, wit, and an honest fascination with darkness.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Nikola Tesla’s Violent & Luminous Visions

[02:45–06:15]

• Tesla’s "Abnormalities" and Geniuses' Eccentricities
  • Genevieve sets the scene by affectionately terming Tesla’s quirks as "abnormalities," discussing how creative genius often comes with its own strange perspectives.
• Tesla’s Hallucinations and Visions
  • Tesla experienced involuntary, violent flashes of light and intense hallucinations:
    "He referred to them as tongues of living flame where he would see complex scientific concepts incarnate." — Genevieve [03:43]
  • His visions included concepts uncannily similar to the modern internet:
    "He described one of his visions as a huge brain for the planet’s information system, an interconnected wireless technology transmitting information and music around the world." — Genevieve [04:02]
• Mental Simulations and Universal Knowledge
  • Tesla claimed to mentally run experiments via his hallucinations before building physical prototypes. He felt like "his brain was a receiver" for universal knowledge, reminiscent of ancient mystic revelation.
  • Possible explanation: migraines, though Tesla himself believed otherwise.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Tendencies
  • Tesla suffered intense aversions to hair, jewelry, and touch, stemming from childhood cholera and resulting in lifelong germaphobia.
  • He famously said he’d only ever touch a person’s hair "except, perhaps, at the point of a revolver." [05:39]
  • Despite his aversion to people, he formed a deep bond with a pigeon and claimed to see a radiant light leave its eyes when it died — after which his own mental health declined.

Notable Quotes:

• "He believed that his brain was like a receiver, picking up knowledge from the universe. Like ancient mystics received revelations through meditation." — Genevieve [04:41]
• "When it [the pigeon] died, he claimed to see a brilliant light emanate from its eyes." — Genevieve [05:57]

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2. Victorian Ghost Stories – "With Their Own Eyes" Segment

[08:00–15:11]

• Personal Haunting from the South Burke and Mornington Journal (Nov. 1880)
  • An anonymous man’s chilling encounter with a ghost in an old Westminster lodge:
    "Even were I starving to morrow I would not again enter that room. No, not for a thousand pounds." [09:40]
  • The apparition: a "young man dressed in the habit of days gone by" with a ghastly wound, who stared, gestured in warning, prayed, and finally vanished into the floor.
• Analysis & Context
  • Genevieve highlights the recurring "piercing gaze" motif in ghost stories, drawing a clever parallel between the ghost and the mythological basilisk:
    "The ghost held me in a more painful and horrible inactivity than the basilisk is said to hold its victim in." [13:20]
• Modern Legal Context:
  • Genevieve brings a modern twist by revealing that in New York (as well as NJ, MA, MN), sellers must legally disclose if a property is haunted.
  • "If there have been documented reports...the landlord or seller can be held responsible for selling or renting the property without disclosing that information." [14:00–15:11]

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3. Victorian Spiritualism – Seance Room and Afterlife Accounts

[15:32–19:54]

• Firsthand Afterlife Testimony via Medium (1869)
  • Mary Willett’s spirit, through medium J.J. Morse, describes awakening in a beautiful garden after death:
    "I was laying on a bank by the side of a stream...Above me were flowers distributed into beds. There was a broad path of dazzling whiteness..." [16:31]
  • She is comforted by departed family; the afterlife contains images like family portraits and a strong sense of tranquility.
  • No evidence of hell, only goodness brought out in all:
    "I find that all people, no matter what they are, have good in them which will be brought out soon. And that knowledge gives me much pleasure." [18:33]
• Genevieve’s Take:
  • Expresses affection for these visions as a counterpoint to the episode’s brutal stories, musing on how afterlife imagery may have evolved with photographic technology.

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4. Victorian Crime and Oddities – “Illustrated Police News Romp”

[20:25–41:12]

• Woman Reclining in a Hearse, Smoking a Pipe (Quebec, 1872)

  • Iconic but likely apocryphal story: woman lounges in a coffin, mocking death for self-distinction.
    "This is exactly what I would do if I came into a little cash. Like for me and me alone." — Genevieve [21:35]
  • Genevieve notes the lack of corroborating articles and the tendency of reporters to invent sensational female characters.

• Corpse Flinging & Murders

  • Ghastly Corpse Flung into a New York Alley ([22:56])
    • True crime: The discovered victim, Charles Williams, is mourned by his sister; two suspects arrested from the notorious Fourth Ward.
  • San Francisco Wife Shoots Husband; Regrets Not Killing Him ([25:54])
    • After a violent altercation, wife admits she shot her husband, expressing regret he survived; background reveals a tumultuous, possibly abusive, home.

• Dark Domestic Tragedy

  • Dying Husband Witnesses Wife’s Laudanum Overdose ([29:14])
    • In Boston, Thomas Williams, helplessly dying, watches his wife fatally overdose on laudanum from stress, then dies himself within hours. Genevieve connects this heartbreak to the more comforting afterlife accounts earlier.

• Miraculous Escapes & Strangeness

  • Miraculous Escape from a Mistaken Murderer ([32:13])
    • Walter Earl survives a highway attack in Vermont due to a copper cent in his notebook; attackers flee when they realize mistaken identity.
  • Friendly Scuffle Ends in Murder ([33:49])
    • Saloon quarrel escalates when Edward Duffy shoots and kills Henry Stay, then wounds another, and disappears.

• Grim Violence

  • Pickaxe Driven through Boy’s Intestines in NYC ([35:55])
    • Disturbing account of a boy murdered with a pickaxe; murderer escapes justice. Article offensively flirts with the idea of lynching.
  • Kansas City Husband Shoots "Strange Lady" in Hotel ([37:17])
    • Man attempts to kidnap son, shoots estranged wife (who survives), expresses bizarre affection in court; hung jury leads to no conviction.

• Comedic Closure

  • Atlanta Lady Ties Up Her Husband, Searches for Love Letter ([39:51])
    • Humorous (possibly fictional) story where a wife subdues her husband to search his pockets; accident leaves him potentially bald, but doctor assures face will recover. Genevieve doubts its veracity but enjoys the image.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Tesla’s visions:
  "The guy was dreaming about the Internet. It sounds." — Guest/Co-host [04:24]

• On haunted houses and law:
  "New York does require such notification...if there have been documented reports of...seeing actual ghosts...the landlord or seller can be held responsible." — Genevieve [14:00]

• On Victorian personal ads:
  "Incidentally, that line—the ghost held me in a more painful and horrible inactivity than the basilisk is said to hold its victim in..." — Genevieve [13:20]

• On women in hearses:
  "This is exactly what I would do if I came into a little cash. Like for me and me alone." — Genevieve [21:35]

• On murderous wives:
  "I did it, and I'm only sorry I didn't kill him." — Mrs. Spruance [26:29]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Tesla’s Luminous Visions & Eccentricities: [02:45–06:15]
• "With Their Own Eyes": Spectral Encounters: [08:00–15:11]
• Seance Room: Spiritualist Afterlife Accounts: [15:32–19:54]
• Victorian Oddities – Woman in Hearse: [20:25–22:07]
• Corpse Flinging and Victorian Crime: [22:56–32:09]
• Miraculous Mistaken Murder Escape: [32:13–33:49]
• Friendly Scuffle Murder & Aftermath: [33:49–35:53]
• Pickaxe Axe-Murder & Commentary: [35:55–37:17]
• Domestic Tragedy and Courtroom Drama: [37:17–39:49]
• Humorous Domestic Hijinks in Atlanta: [39:51–41:12]

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Tone and Language

Genevieve’s delivery is wry, warm, and steeped in a love for the morbid and the peculiar. The episode is peppered with sly asides, historical tangents, and reflections that highlight both the horror and the humanity in these Victorian tales. The tone manages to balance genuine empathy for the subjects of tragedy with an irreverent wit, particularly regarding the absurdities and ironies of the period’s news reporting.

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For Further Exploration

• Illustrations/Resources: Genevieve posts related illustrations, especially the iconic woman-in-hearse image, on Instagram (see show notes).
• Fan Engagement: Encourages listeners to reach out via podcast platforms and Patreon for extra content and support.

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Summary Conclusion:
This episode is a delightful, eerie, and rapidly-paced journey through the Victorian gothic imagination—startling true crime, spectral encounters, Tesla’s visionary strangeness, and absurd newspaper tales—all held together by Genevieve’s infectious enthusiasm for the odd, the tragic, and the morbidly funny. Perfect for listeners seeking a mix of historical fact, myth, and dark amusement.

Transcript

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[Genevieve Manion]

Hello and welcome to My Victorian Nightmare. 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.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Intriguing, creepy and oddly comforting about horror.

[Genevieve Manion]

And mayhem from the 19th century. So listener discretion is advised. Hello friends, and welcome to this, my 79th episode. I hope that you had a cozy, dark and safely snowy weekend if you live here in the States today. For you, dear listener, I will have strange and unusual facts. Facts about Nikola Tesla, ghosts with deep and ghastly wounds, a woman smoking a.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Pipe in a hearse, corpse flinging pickaxe.

[Genevieve Manion]

Murders, and a woman's revenge with a rolling pin.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

All this and much, much more. I'm reorganizing things a little bit on the show today. I have so much creepy stuff to.

[Genevieve Manion]

Pack into this episode that I want to cut to the chase as quickly as I can. But first I need to say thank you to Kat, Ally, Lizzie, N. Kristi.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Tina, Erin, Nick, Bridget, and someone known only as Twisted Witch on Patreon.

[Genevieve Manion]

These kind folks subscribed to the show this week. You and everyone who subscribes are the reason why my show can continue. Click the link in the Show Notes to subscribe or just go to myvictorianightmare.com to find out more.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Before we get to the meat of.

[Genevieve Manion]

Today'S episode, the pork soup dumpling, if you will.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

I wanted to talk briefly about Nikola.

[Genevieve Manion]

Tesla and his abnormalities.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

I say that with affection.

[Genevieve Manion]

Don't get me wrong, geniuses often have.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Things, strange tendencies, perspectives, quirks to their personalities. Nikola had all of these and a profoundly beautiful relationship with a pigeon. I'd say.

[Genevieve Manion]

Nikola Tesla was born in 1856. He was a Serbian American engineer, futurist and inventor. He made significant contributions to the modern alternating current electricity supply system.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

He would give wild public demonstrations of.

[Genevieve Manion]

The power of electricity using his Tesla.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Coil, or what he called his Tesla transformer. This was a high frequency, high voltage power generator that shoots lightning and sparks. It looks awesome. Bjork had one at a concert of hers that I went to a couple years ago.

[Genevieve Manion]

We know about his scientific achievements, but not many people know that he experienced violent involuntary visions. Blinding flashes of light that led to hallucinations that according to him, were so vivid that they replaced the real world. He referred to them as tongues of living flame where he would see complex scientific concepts incarnate. He described one of his visions as a huge brain for the planet's information system, an interconnected wireless technology transmitting information and music around the world.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

The guy was dreaming about the Internet. It sounds.

[Genevieve Manion]

He would claim to mentally run simulations of his inventions during these spontaneous hallucinations before building prototypes. He believed that his brain was like a receiver, picking up knowledge from the universe. Like ancient mystics received revelations through meditation. It's likely that these were kinds of.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Migraines, but Tesla believed that these were.

[Genevieve Manion]

Tied to inspiration from beyond.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

And he did indeed create astounding things.

[Genevieve Manion]

After experiencing these events.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

He also had an intense disgust towards human hair, jewelry and bodily contact in general. He couldn't even talk to women who were wearing pearls because they disgusted him.

[Genevieve Manion]

He couldn't stand earrings or loose hair around him. He associated these with decay and contamination.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

He was a serious germaphobe with obsessive.

[Genevieve Manion]

Compulsive tendencies which stemmed from a childhood cholera infection. He contracted cholera when he was young and actually survived, which is not common. This led to lifelong anxieties about germs and obsessive hygiene habits. He once said that he would never.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Touch a person's hair, but only quote, unquote, except perhaps at the point of a revolver. He was detached from human connection and again, he was repulsed by human touch. But he formed a very sweet bond with a pigeon that he cared for in New York.

[Genevieve Manion]

When it died, he claimed to see a brilliant light emanate from its eyes.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

At the moment that it died. After this event, his mental health severely declined. There is so much to his history. I may do a deeper dive into it one day, but I just wanted to share a little bit about his.

[Genevieve Manion]

Lesser known stranger history. Wouldn't it be lovely if edibles didn't.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

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[Genevieve Manion]

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[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

My very upsetting olfactory anxiety symptoms. I use the hybrid strawberry cookies for my anxiety issues, but even though I've also been using their Indica strains to.

[Genevieve Manion]

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[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Gummies, the world is just exhausting and it doesn't seem to matter how much sleep I get, I often find myself just dragging myself through my days.

[Genevieve Manion]

So to make me feel more energized.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Lately, instead of drinking five cups of coffee and giving myself a stomachache, I've.

[Genevieve Manion]

Been dipping my toe into their Sativa gummies. Those give you like a little pick me up their Orange Cream Cookies. Gummies help me stay focused, help get creative juices flowing.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

They just help me feel more present, which is difficult not just because I'm a sleepy baby. But it's winter.

[Genevieve Manion]

All I want to do is crawl.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Into my bear den and hibernate till April.

[Genevieve Manion]

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[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Okay, let us have our first segment with their own eyes.

[Genevieve Manion]

Where I share with you the personal haunting accounts of petrified Victorians.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

It still makes me laugh. And what a gem I have found for you in the South Burke and.

[Genevieve Manion]

Mornington Journal from November 1880.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

This is such a fabulously written and.

[Genevieve Manion]

Goose pimply encounter that this segment is.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Going to run a little longer than usual. I didn't want to edit any of this down. Sometimes Victorian newspapers would run fictional ghost stories within their news articles, usually around Christmas, but they would be labeled as such like a ghost story for Christmas, for example. Or it would have like an author's name attached.

[Genevieve Manion]

Usually news articles wouldn't cite the names of reporters generally within the articles, but they would cite story authors.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

But this one, like I said, was not delineated as a fictional story different from any of the other news or opinion articles of the day.

[Genevieve Manion]

It is called a haunted House in Westminster, and it reads, I was always a very strong minded man, and until the time I am about to mention ridiculed the idea of ghosts. For my part, I am now convinced of my error, though I am far from wishing anyone to adopt my opinion, unless less from conviction. You must know that about two years ago I went to a lodge at an old house in Westminster where nothing remarkable happened to me for about three months. But one night too well do I remember it, I saw such an appalling sight as I never before beheld. Even were I starving to morrow I.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Would not again enter that room.

[Genevieve Manion]

No, not for a thousand pounds. I had been to the theatre and on my way home had drank a single pint of porter, so that no doubt of my sobriety can exist for a moment. My room was on the second story of a house that I should suppose had weathered well nigh 400 years and was in former days a lovely habitation. As I said before I returned from the theatre, and the snuff of the candle which I had extinguished on getting.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Into bed had not yet stood, ceased to emit its disagreeable effluvia. I've never heard that word before when.

[Genevieve Manion]

I beheld my blood freezes even to think of it. A young man dressed in the habit of days gone by, gliding through the wainscoting on the opposite side of the apartment to where I lay. I was completely paralyzed, trembled violently in every limb, and the perspiration fell in torrents from my brows. I felt for some time as if every nerve was cut asunder and every sense benumbed. I exerted myself to speak, but in vain. My tongue clave to the roof of my mouth, and I was obliged to remain a horror struck and inactive spectator of the scene before me. The apparition remained for nearly 10 minutes, which was ample time for me to convince myself that it was no idle chimera of a diseased imagination that stood before me. Yet, although it remained so long a time, I could not command sufficient resolution to challenge it or summon any one to my aid. The expression of my countenance was strangely mild, and the rich dark locks falling about the forehead and shoulders and moustache of the same hue showed a horrid relief against the ashy, chilling and livid hue of the face. He wore a doublet of a kind of chocolate color, richly embroidered with gold lace. Full loose breeches of yellow leather ornamented uniformly with the doublet, and from each was suspended a tasselled ribbon adorned with a metal tag reaching down to the broad and drooping tops of his light russet boots. A large traveling cloak of dark blue cloth reached from the shoulders down to the heels hanging in full folds over the left arm, which was extended toward the fireplace of my apartment. While I was gazing on him in stupid astonishment and terror, he raised his right hand and lifted from his head his broad sable feathered hat, and parting his dark locks, he discovered to my astonished sight a deep and ghastly wound in the centre of his manly forehead, and with signs of gentlemen gesticulations that I could not clearly comprehend, he seemed to warn me of some impending danger. Harrowing as the sight was to my feelings, it was a mere nothing to what I suffered when I beheld him slowly and almost imperceptibly advance towards the spot where I lay and fixed his dark, piercing gaze upon me for nearly a minute held me in a more painful and horrible inactivity than the basilisk is said to hold its victim in. At length it retired towards the wainscot and, raising both its hands in the attitude of prayer, apparently was lost in the deep contemplation for nearly three minutes and then suddenly disappeared, sinking into the floor at the bottom of the wainscoting.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

End quote. Ugh. Isn't that fabulous? And again with the staring. The ghost staring with the piercing gazes with bloody gashed heads. Incidentally, that line the ghost held me.

[Genevieve Manion]

In a more painful and horrible inactivity.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Than the basilisk is said to hold its victim in. A basilisk is a mythological creature that is like a dragon, rooster, bat, snake, that is described as having the power.

[Genevieve Manion]

To kill with its gaze alone.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Funny enough, this very powerful creature's weakness is the smell of a weasel. What a fabulous comparison, though, to how the gaze of this curly, locked specter held him powerless. Okay, reading this inspired me to do a little research regarding the legality of not disclosing a property is haunted, and I thought that this would lead to a dead end. But I was shocked and very pleasantly surprised to find that renters and sellers in the great state of New York, my home state, must disclose if a house or apartment is haunted legally. Seriously? To quote philnapeelaw.com While most states have no specific regulations for notifying potential buyers that the property they're interested in buying is reportedly haunted, New York does require such notification. Now, you may be thinking, what if a landlord doesn't know the property is haunted? Well, if there have been documented reports of the following odd or un unfamiliar voices, abnormal shadows in the home, seeing actual ghosts being touched by unseen entities and feeling as if they are being watched. The landlord or seller can be held responsible for selling or renting the property without disclosing that information. Whether that means a tenant can legally break their lease, whether that means a buyer can demand that the seller pay for an exorcist is not clear. But I thought those of you who also live in New York would be.

[Genevieve Manion]

Pleased to know that the law is on your side.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

If you find yourself locked in a death stare with a phantom with a deep and ghastly wound in the center of their manly forehead like this poor gentleman.

[Genevieve Manion]

But it's not just New York.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

There's also New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Minnesota that have these laws on the books. Only four states require disclosure of paranormal activity.

[Genevieve Manion]

Now, won't you follow me into the seance room where we discuss the goings on in the spiritual society of the 1800s. And I have another description of what we may see when we die from the firsthand account of a dead person.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Speaking through a medium. This article is from the spiritualist newspaper from 1869.

[Genevieve Manion]

It is called Scenery in the Spirit World, and it reads, last Friday evening at 8 o' clock a seance was held at The Spiritual Library, 15 Southampton Row, Holborn. And the following communication was received through Mr. J.J. morse, the Trance medium. The first spirit who spoke through the medium said the My friends, it is very seldom that I come to use a medium, but perhaps I shall be able to do a little good this evening. I feel strange, almost awed, until I get calm again. It is now a little over five. No, let me see, A little over six years since I gave up the natural body in a little village a few miles out of London. When I recovered consciousness after the change, I found myself in what you would call a beautiful garden. I was laying on a bank by the side of a stream. The stream gave forth a little gentle musical sound, and I think it was that which brought me to consciousness again. I recovered and felt as if I had awoke from a deep sleep and had been dreaming very heavily and was dreaming still. It was a gentle, sloping bank. On the top of the bank was a broad plain, and above me were flowers distributed into beds. There was a broad path of dazzling whiteness that went right across the greensward to a house beyond. This house was enshrouded with trees. There was a terrace in front of the house with creeping vines giving forth a blue and white flower about half as large as your hand, with fine leaves, blue at the edges and white at the center. I had never seen a House like it before, it was pure white and I could see dimly through it shapes and forms moving on the other side. Before I saw all this, two persons came down and assisted me to rise. A peculiar scent from which invigorated my me, made me strong.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

One of them began fanning me and.

[Genevieve Manion]

Down my chest to the extremities. A warm glow seemed to run through me. The two friends then I recognized to be an aunt and cousin who had passed over to the other side some few years before I did. They took me into a house and into a beautiful apartment where I saw many more that I knew. There were pictures round the room which seemed to be painted upon upon the walls of the house. Some appeared to be portraits of people that I knew, and among them was my own. I did not find the throne of God, or the Lamb, or angels singing. And yet, had anyone said anything against that belief in the flesh, I should have thought them very wicked. I find that there is no hell, and I am very glad that there is none. I find that all people, no matter what they are, have good in them which will be brought out soon. And that knowledge gives me much pleasure. Ah, wasn't that just lovely?

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

This spirit eventually said that her name was Mary Willett and she lived in Kent, England. And you better believe I searched between 1830 and 1869 to see if a Mary Willett lived and died in Kent. And indeed there were quite a few so in, it's difficult to tell for certain if they were this very spirit. A lot of Merry Willets also committed heinous crimes. Knife, murders, arson. I don't think they would have ended up in as nice a place as this. Although maybe it sounds like there is no hell according to the spirit, even though I truly wish that there was for some folks. I actually don't believe there's a hell either. I think we're already there, honestly, if it exists at all. I kinda think that we're in this terrible place to find the sweetness and the gentleness that's also here. I think our spirits grow when we learn how to do this. That's my $0.02. This is the second time that I've heard that photographs appear in the afterlife according to these dead people. I wonder if they were black and white since it was the 1860s, and if they changed as color, technology and photography changed. I'll have to ask when I get there.

[Genevieve Manion]

This is your fix.

[Stassi Schroeder]

I am your host, Stassi Schroeder. Welcome to Tell Me Lies, the official podcast. What's the most unhinged thing of season three.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Steven because he's so evil. I do think he is misunderstood. You see everyone face consequences. It's intoxicating.

[Stassi Schroeder]

The writers just know how to trick. Yeah, there's always a twist in this show. Tell Me Lies, the official podcast January 6th and stream the new season of Tell Me Lies January 13th on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Okay, we will begin our illustrated police news romp with one of the very most famous articles to ever appear in the paper. I cannot believe that I actually came across it in the wild while doing my weekly article hunt. You've likely seen the majestic illustration of a woman in a fancy hearse lounging and smoking a pipe somewhere because it's astounding. It is the most Victorian goth thing you've ever seen and I might put it on a tote bag because I found the high res of it. Of course I put this illustration on Instagram.

[Genevieve Manion]

You can find the link in the.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Show Notes this article is called A Quebec woman creator creates a Sensation Riding through St. John street in a hearse, reclining in the coffin bed and smoking a pipe. And it reads, what will women do next to distinguish themselves? We wonder? A female in Quebec the other day perpetrated a ghastly joke mocking death in his own domain by laying down in a hearse and smoking a pipe as the funeral chariot was driven through the street. If this exhibition had been made in.

[Genevieve Manion]

The United States, our neighbors at the.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

North would have made it the subject of very strong animadversions. That's it. That's the article itself, but the illustration speaks 1,000 more words. This guy why do men always think that women do cool things just to distinguish themselves with other people? This is exactly what I would do if I came into a little cash. Like for me and me alone. I don't know too many women that wouldn't agree. Pack of yellow spirits, fancy horse drawn hearse, satin lining.

[Genevieve Manion]

A gorgeous day. Sounds divine.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Now I hate to tell you this, but there are no other articles anywhere about this happening from the time. Nothing in the Canadian press of the day. No names in the article. This probably did not happen, although there is so much commentary all over the Internet about this story as if it were true. There is positively no evidence for this ever happening and it's framed as what will women do to distinguish themselves? What did half baked male reporters have to make up to distinguish themselves in 1872 stories about cool women? To be fair, this was a rather distinguishing article, but a little projection there. I'd Say on behalf of the quote unquote reporter, this next one is tough. It is called A Ghastly Corpse Flung into a New York Alley.

[Genevieve Manion]

And it reads, on Wednesday morning, the 31st, at half past 5 o', clock, Officer pike found the body of a man lying, lying in the alleyway off Roosevelt street about 100 yards back from the street leading into Cherry Street. It lay on the flagging with the feet upward. The head was tied up in an alpaca coat.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

The head was also bathed in blood.

[Genevieve Manion]

Which gushed from a broad gash behind the left ear. The body was removed to Oak street police station and there placed on view. It was the body of a man about 5ft 7 inches tall with a little round face of the putty style, dark eyes and dark brown hair and light mustache. He was supposed to be 35 years of age. He was dressed in a drab striped shirt, dark coat and light woolen pants of a coarse pattern. One man thought his name might be McClerney and that he had been seen by telegraph poles in New York. And the mud on the shoes of the murdered man seemed resembling Jersey clay. The only thing that was found on him was an imitation diamond pin worth probably 25 cents. At 5pm the body was taken to the morgue where it was afterward identified by the sister of the murdered man as Charles Williams, who lived at 66 Cherry Street. On Wednesday night, detectives Mahoney and Kleps arrested two notorious 4th Ward ruffians on suspicion. End quote. I tried to search about the aftermath here, but sadly, Charles Williams was a.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Very common name for both murder victims and murderers in 1872. I had to abandon the search reading all of the horror that Charlie Williams.

[Genevieve Manion]

Wreaked on the good citizens of New York City that year.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

But I can say that this was a true story. It was found in a number of other papers.

[Genevieve Manion]

I do hope the event led to an arrest.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Oh, that poor sister who came to identify honey.

[Genevieve Manion]

Incidentally, the 4th Ward of New York City was the district by the east river waterfront in Lower Manhattan.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

It was known as a dangerous poverty stricken area, but not the very worst. That was the 6th Ward was where the notorious Five Points neighborhood was made famous by the film Gangs of New York.

[Genevieve Manion]

I spoke about that area in episode 27.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Incidentally, the east river waterfront is gorgeous. Now there's the East River Esplanade. And if you ever visit the city, you have to ride the sea glass.

[Genevieve Manion]

Carousel in this area.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

It's a beautiful glowing fish carousel housed inside like an aquarium themed glass nautilus. Shell. I cried the first time that I rode it. It's that lovely. This is where ghastly corpses were flung back in the day. Very different vibe nowadays. Okay, this article goes in a direction that I did not expect. It is called, a San Francisco wife shoots her husband and is sorry she didn't kill him. And it reads, About two o' clock.

[Genevieve Manion]

Yesterday morning, says the San Francisco Chronicle of the 22nd, a man named James, James Spruance was shot by his wife.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

During a little family squabble at their residence, number 349 Clara street, between Fifth and Sixth.

[Genevieve Manion]

Officer Otto Boy, while patrolling his beat on Fifth street, heard the shot and forthwith entered the premises.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

He found the loving couple enveloped in a cloud of smoke, the man bleeding freely from a wound in his chest and the woman standing behind her battery like a veteran artillerist.

[Genevieve Manion]

Christ.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Simply a matter of form. The officer inquired who had fired the shot. And the loving wife responded, I did it, and I'm only sorry I didn't kill him. End quote. The parties were both taken to the station house where the woman was locked up. And soon after, the man was sent to the county hospital.

[Genevieve Manion]

On examination, it was found that the ball had entered the upper side of.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

The left breast, striking the collarbone and ring plunging downward. His wound is not considered dangerous.

[Genevieve Manion]

He is very reticent about the cause.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Of the difficulty, but remarked that it served him right. Our reporter was informed that some three.

[Genevieve Manion]

Or four weeks ago, one of the Spruances daughters ran off with a man to Sacramento. While there, this man met with an.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Accident on the railroad in which he lost both legs. The daughter afterward returned home and Spruance.

[Genevieve Manion]

Blamed his wife for the daughter's conduct.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

End quote. This was a true story, by the way, written about in dozens of papers, man. Some of these articles in the Illustrated Police News open and unfold like pomegranates. Just when I think I've found like the juiciest gems of horror, I just find more and more. A random man losing both of his legs in a railroad accident was just like a side note there, just one sentence. Moving on. And did I read that correctly that the husband also agreed that getting shot served him right? The sentence was his wound is not considered dangerous. He's very reticent about the cause of the difficulty, but remarked that it served him right. Now, I dug into this story, of course, and the way that it's told here, it just sounds like his wife was mad at him and that that's.

[Genevieve Manion]

Why she shot him.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

But in other papers she claimed that.

[Genevieve Manion]

He came home drunk and threatened to.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Kill her with a bayonet and also.

[Genevieve Manion]

Threatened to kill his daughter.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

According to the wife, she was in.

[Genevieve Manion]

Be dead when he arrived home and.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Grabbed the gun when she heard him.

[Genevieve Manion]

Screaming and yelling for her and her.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Daughter when he entered the front door. It sounds like she was expecting violence from him and he delivered. He did not press charges against her, so she was released.

[Genevieve Manion]

But she did press charges against him for attempting to attack her with the bayonet. But eventually she dropped those charges herself.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

It just sounds like it was a terribly violent home. Perhaps after he sobered up. That's what made him claim that getting shot served him right night. Let's hope that he stayed sober after that. Okay, this next one is rough and.

[Genevieve Manion]

It has a hell of an illustration. This article is called A Dying Husband Witnesses the Death Struggles of His Wife.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

And Dies from an Overdose of Laudanum in Boston, Massachusetts.

[Genevieve Manion]

And it reads, on the 29th, at one of the prominent boarding houses in Boston, two lives were closed. In a scene which rivals fiction, the history of the parties may be briefly stated as Thomas Williams, one of the principals in our narrative, was a Mechanic, a man 49 years of age at the time of his death, of good appearance and with many acquaintances. Years ago, when the buoyant hopes of youth anticipated the brightest future, he met the one whom we call Anne of Newport. This lady, the second of our characters, was educated, attractive, and about seven years younger than Mr. William Williams. The old story of love at first sight needs no further introduction, but trials in the marriage were growing apace. Mr. Williams, who thought misfortune had returned to his trade as a journeyman, found his health failing and could not give that constant application to his work which was required, and finally, about two months ago, was confined to his bed with a growing tumor. Anne became a dressmaker, and the necessities of life were not one wanting. Three weeks ago, however, he being pronounced incurable and rapidly becoming helpless, she was forced to devote her entire attention to him. It was only a few days he might survive, and then she would be alone. This thought, with the constant watching at the bedside, seems to have rendered her so nervous that she sought relief by opiates. Friday at 10 o', clock, the lady who occupied adjoining apartments heard strange noises in the rooms of Mr. Williams. Williams and circumstances warranted an entrance. The sight that there presented itself cannot be described. Mrs. Williams lay on the floor in convulsions, and the symptoms of suffering were unmistakably those of an overdose of laudanum. The husband but with little less of life was witness to that which he was powerless to prevent, remedy or relate. A physician was called and everything was done that could be done to save the unfortunate lady who lived but a few hours and those in the greatest of agon. At half past seven Friday night she expired. The husband lingered for but a few hours longer, dying at half past seven Saturday morning. End quote.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Oh, God. I think I love those descriptions of the afterlife from the spiritualist so much because of stories like these. I want to imagine these folks finding each other in a beautiful place only hours apart. This was a true story, by the way, or at least it was reported in different papers, more. More reputable. And I found their dates of death in records that they are buried somewhere in Newport. But I was not able to find.

[Genevieve Manion]

The photos of their graves.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

I often like to find the photos of graves that belong to folks in these stories so I can visit them in a way, if only using the Internet.

[Genevieve Manion]

Such a sad story.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Okay, this next one is a nail.

[Genevieve Manion]

Biter, but it has a happy ending. It is called Miraculous Escape from a Mistaken Murderer.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

And it reads, one of the most.

[Genevieve Manion]

Singular events we have ever seen recorded in the annals of crime occurred on Saturday evening the 18th, near Wallingford, Vermont. In this extraordinary affair was involved a determined attempt at murder, a case of mistaken identity, and luckily, a miraculous escape from injury by the intended victim. It seems that Walter Earl, a young man about 23 years of age, was driving home from the village and when, within about 60 yards of his father's house, he was attacked by three highwaymen, one of whom grasped the horse's bridle and stopped its further progress. Another then aimed a violent thrust with a knife at Earl's breast, but it fortunately struck a thick memorandum book cutting.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Through it, and was arrested by coming in contact with a copper cent. In the book, the third villain at.

[Genevieve Manion]

The same time fired two shots at the young man, but both of which missed their object. The man with the knife then prepared to make a second lunge, but happened.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

To catch a glimpse of Earle's face when he shouted, hold on, boys, it's the wrong man. The trio then departed in haste, and the bewildered Earl prosecuted his journey. It is needless to say, without any unnecessary delay. All the highwaymen were masked, but Earl.

[Genevieve Manion]

Is able to give a gentleman general description of their appearance, and the authorities are confident that they are on the track of the guilty parties. The greatest excitement prevails in the vicinity of Wallingford.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Okay, folks, this was a true story, or at least it was Reported to have happened in dozens of other papers. Although it does not sadly appear that these men were caught. Or perhaps their capture was just not reported on. But I'm so glad they decided to stop what they were doing when they realized it wasn't the right guy. That was nice of them. Okay, let's have a friendly scuffle that ends in a murder. This article is called Two Railroad Firemen have a Friendly Scuffle which Ends in a Murder. And it reads, last night, Henry Stay.

[Genevieve Manion]

Was shot and killed by Edward Duffy.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Stay and Duffy were in a saloon and got into a good natured scuffle in which Duffy was thrown rather violently. He pulled out a revolver and after a few words with Stay, fired upon and instantly killed him. He then turned to the proprietor of.

[Genevieve Manion]

The saloon, Edward Slater, and fired upon him, inflicting a severe flesh wound. Duffy again pointed his revolver at Slater.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Who cried out, for God's sake, don't shoot again. I am already crippled.

[Genevieve Manion]

Duffy then put his revolver in his pocket, walked up to the dead body of young Stay, straightened it out and left the saloon.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Straightened it out.

[Genevieve Manion]

No trace of the murderer has yet been obtained. Both Stay and Duffy were firemen in the Toledo and Wabash Railroad. End quote.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Okay. Looks like Mr. Duffy stayed on the lam for at least three months.

[Genevieve Manion]

I found him nestled into a tiny.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Little article in the Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette, having been arrested in In Albany in July, three months after the murder. He was going by the name E. Davis, but they suspected him to be Edward Duffy.

[Genevieve Manion]

He was charged with murder and arrested.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

There, but the story goes cold. After that, I couldn't find if he was found guilty. Maybe they got the wrong guy in Albany. Maybe he did get away. Or maybe the outcome just wasn't documented in the papers. All this is possible.

[Genevieve Manion]

Poor Mr. Stay.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Okay, let's have an axe murder, shall we?

[Genevieve Manion]

With an illustration, by the way.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Have yourselves a gander on the instruction. This article is called A Pickaxe Driven through a Boy's Intestines in New York City. And it reads, frederick Pope, a deserter from the army, had a quarrel with.

[Genevieve Manion]

A boy named Jacob Hauser in New.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

York on the first, in the course.

[Genevieve Manion]

Of which he knocked him down and.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Drove a pickaxe through his intestines and fled.

[Genevieve Manion]

The boy died shortly after and the murderer escaped and has not been captured.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Lynch law is rebellious, repugnant to every man of intelligence and feeling. But if ever a city needed an application of that summary mode of disposing of criminals, it is New York, which well deserves the title of the modern Sodom. Sadly, I do not think that this man was found. This article was in a few other papers, each of them saying that the.

[Genevieve Manion]

Man had yet to be found.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

And then the story went cold. But interesting wording there in that article. That lynching sure is bad. But this man who has not been tried for this murder and found guilty should maybe be killed by random people. Maybe that happened and that's why we didn't hear what happened to the guy who can say, okay, we'll have one more terrible one. And then we will have a pretty funny one with a very funny illustration. This one is called a Kansas City.

[Genevieve Manion]

A strange lady shot and killed in a hotel. And it reads, a horrible tragedy occurred at the Little Broadway Hotel, Kansas City, March 26th 7th, about a week previous, A strange lady with a child came to the hotel and took rooms. On the morning before the murder, John Broadbent, a mechanic of West Kansas, inquired for the lady at the hotel. And while the clerk proceeded to her room, he attempted to carry off the child which was downstairs at the time, but was prevented. He went up to the lady's room and in a few minutes screams and pistol shots were heard. And Broadbent came out of the room saying that he had shot her. He delivered himself up to the police. It seems they began to quarrel when.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

He put his arm around her neck and fired four shots, all of which missed her.

[Genevieve Manion]

He then threw her down, put his.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Knee on her breast and shot her through the neck.

[Genevieve Manion]

She died in two hours. End quote.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Christ. Okay, this was not a strange lady. This was his wife. I found this story everywhere. This woman left her husband two months earlier.

[Genevieve Manion]

She had made an application for divorce.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

The man said, now this is a quote in the paper that claims to have gotten his confession. That, quote, he would have granted her half a dozen divorces as long as.

[Genevieve Manion]

He could keep their son, end quote. Who was about 4 years old. She left and didn't tell the father.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Where she was going, going.

[Genevieve Manion]

But he somehow was able to find out where she went with the boy. He came, saw the boy in the lobby and ran to grab him. The proprietor of the hotel blew a.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Whistle to bring security or anyone to grab this man who appeared to be kidnapping a child. And a man ran out of the woman's room. Someone who worked there, the husband, saw her run out. After this man ran out. And again, this is what the paper is saying was his conviction. He thought that that man must be having an affair with his wife. So he ran into her room, locked.

[Genevieve Manion]

The door and shot her, but despite what the first article said, she did not die. The wound was not fatal, even though it sounded like it should have been. She did press charges of attempted murder. He went to trial and such crazy details. Here in the Kansas City Times it says that when the wife came into.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

The courtroom during the trial, the he.

[Genevieve Manion]

Manifested the greatest joy and affection for his wife.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

It appears that the case somehow resulted in a hung jury.

[Genevieve Manion]

He was not found guilty.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

Infuriating. Okay, let's have one more that has a hilarious illustration that I think you will very much enjoy. This article is called A lady of Atlanta, Georgia ties her husband's hands and feet and searches his pocket pockets for a love letter. And it reads, a lady in Atlanta tied her husband's hands and feet together the other day just for fun, and then went through his pockets for a certain love letter and found it. His physician tells him that his face won't be badly scarred, though he may remain permanently bald. If there is one thing which more than another is calculated to change gentlewomen into a fiend and arouse all the dormant passions in her bosom, it is the knowledge that her husband is paying to another the attentions which are her exclusive right. She calls into service all domestic utensils over which she presides, and flatirons, rolling pins and stove covers fly about with perfect looseness. The only excuse of the Atlanta lady is that her husband richly deserved what he got. Now, no names in that article. We have a location, Atlanta, Georgia, but believe it or not, I could not.

[Genevieve Manion]

Find more information here.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

I was hoping hoping to discover if things worked out between these two lovebirds, if this story is in fact true. Although I don't think it is, I do hope it didn't work out.

[Genevieve Manion]

If you enjoyed this podcast and would like to hear more, please rate the show on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Leave me comments because I love them so much and join the fan coven to directly support my show. Listen ad free and for even more creepy and witchy content. Until next time, be kind to yourselves.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly a researcher or storyteller)]

And I will see you in your nightmares.