My Victorian Nightmare

Host: Genevieve Manion (Daylight Media)
Episode: 81 — Madame Tussaud's MACABRE Origin Story
Date: February 9, 2026

Overview

In this captivating episode, Genevieve Manion plunges listeners into the grisly and gothic corners of Victorian history, centering on the chilling origin story of Madame Tussaud, the famed waxwork artist. The episode weaves together tales of haunted houses, fatal theater accidents, a murder in a rowboat and a furnace, dental tragedy, and the legendary loyalty of Victorian animals, all filtered through Genevieve's witty, darkly comedic lens and keen research. The show appeals to devotees of “spooky history,” offering not just facts, but the unsettling ambience of an era obsessed with death, mystery, and the macabre.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Mood & Listener Community

• Genevieve welcomes new Patreon supporters, sharing gratitude and highlighting extra Victorian and witchy content available via her Fan Coven (04:00).
• Opens with humor: “Hope your dissociative skills are sharpening…the happy places that you visit in your minds are glistening with sunlight. My happy place is my grandparents’ dank haunted basement.” (02:39)

2. Contemporary Parallels: Victorian & Modern Dangers

• Victorian Candy Poisonings vs. Modern Arsenic Scare (04:38–07:07)
  • Genevieve recalls the 19th-century Bradford Sweets arsenic poisoning and draws a modern parallel: 28 of 46 popular contemporary candies (including Nerds, Skittles, KitKats) were found to contain toxic arsenic levels.
  • “This is absolutely horrifying…You should only have two to three Snickers a year.” (05:17)
  • Provides consumption guidelines and notes which candies were deemed safe.
  • Wraps with, “The more I discuss the horrors of the Victorian era, I find time really is a flat circle.” (06:56)

3. Featured Segment: Madame Tussaud's Macabre Origins

Begins: 08:11
[Madame Marie Tussaud: A Life Through Trauma & Art]

• Born in France (1761), died in London (1850) — “an astoundingly long life considering at the time only about 50% of the population survived past 35.” (09:08)
• Apprenticed under Philippe Curtius; began with anatomical models, moving on to heads and full-body waxworks.
• Created wax heads of Voltaire, Louis XVI, Benjamin Franklin, and the Duke of Orléans.
• French Revolution's Infamous Parade:
  • “A mob broke into her studio and stole the wax head of the Duke of Orleans, then paraded it around the streets…while they paraded the wax head…they were shot at. This was the very first event where revolutionaries were shot and killed, and this event directly led to the storming of the Bastille.” (10:03–10:20)
• Tasked with casting wax models of real guillotined heads and high-profile figures—Jean-Paul Marat (“creating a non-decomposing version of him”), Maximilien Robespierre.
• Imprisoned after the monarchy criminalized models of revolutionaries (11:12); inherited Curtius’ figures (11:57).
• Emigrated to England, gaining popularity with a traveling show and her “Chamber of Horrors,” featuring not just royalty but notorious murderers (like Burke & Hare, Mary Ann Cotton, William Corder).
• Established first permanent exhibit on Baker Street; eventually expanded worldwide.
• Died peacefully at 88 in 1850 (“on my birthday, April 16th!”) and is buried in Chelsea, London.
  • “Her wax head kicked off the French Revolution.” (10:20)

4. Haunting Tales: Firsthand Victorian Accounts

Segment: “With Their Own Eyes" (13:42)

• Chilling retelling from 1859 (The Jeffersonian): A reporter, his servant, and a dog spend the night in a haunted house.

  • Vivid supernatural details: unexplained cold air, candles “violently swayed by the wind,” a watch mysteriously sliding off the table, “three slow, loud, distinct knocks…at the bedside.” (15:04)

  • Servant flees in terror—“run, run, it is after me”—leaving the narrator alone. (16:16)

  • Genevieve's take: “That other guy did exactly what I would have done—run screaming into the night…” (16:48)

  • Memorable Quote:

    Host quoting reporter: "...My servant called out, 'Is that you, sir?'...he passed by me quickly, saying in a whisper, 'Run, run. It is after me.'" (15:58–16:16)

  • Genevieve humorously recounts a personal “haunted” bacon incident—“I started scream-crying…blinded by the tears that were shooting out of my eyes like they do in cartoons. He never scared me again after that.” (17:12–18:41)

5. Spiritualism & Séance Room Oddities

Segment: “In the Séance Room” (19:04)

• Victorian Spiritualist Medium Episode:

  • Mr. J.J. Morse enters trance; spirit of Ellen Jones claims she was crushed in Bristol and seeks contact with her father. (19:10)
  • Host investigates: Finds matching name in a report of a fatal theater accident in Bristol—“Her name was only in one paper that I found...This girl died in January in Bristol.” (20:31)
    • “This is the first time where I was actually able to trace a spirit’s name given in a séance!” (22:12)

• Notable Quote:

  “Can this be death? I wish Father were here. Oh dear. Do for pity's sake, tell Father that Ellen's not dead. Do tell him.” – Spirit, via J.J. Morse (19:28)

• Mediums Forbidden Pork (Comic Relief):

  • Spirits threaten to revoke powers if mediums eat pork.

  • Explains the backdrop: Health reformers in Victorian Spiritualism promoted vegetarianism, cautioning against “unclean” foods for spiritual receptivity (23:06).

  • “What kind of spirit would want to possess a salty old pork chop medium?” (23:39)

6. Victorian True Crime Snapshots

• Murder in a Rowboat:

  • German immigrant woman fatally shoots ex-lover Edward Waltz after he refuses marriage (and after losing a breach-of-promise suit). Called simply “German girl”; her fate unknown.
  • “There never was a truer adage that hell knows no fury like a woman scorned.” (25:10)

• Death by Laughing Gas (Dental Horror):

  • Miss Anna O’Shaughnessy dies at dentist’s office after nitrous oxide administration (27:26).
  • Host notes fear of anesthesia in the period; stories of surgeons and patients dying or being injured under ether, chloroform, and nitrous oxide abounded. Most preferred alcohol as anesthesia.

7. Offbeat & Tragic Human Interest

• Well-off Wife Begging in NYC:

  • Mary Matthews, in rags but with a well-dressed 5-year-old, begs in a New York saloon; turns out her mentally unwell, affluent husband didn’t report her missing out of shame (29:55–31:10).

• “Made Her Own Shroud”:

  • Family tragedy in Iowa: Father buys a shroud for dying daughter, but wife dies suddenly instead. (31:34)
  • “Heavens. Now, I couldn’t find any more info here. There are no names in that article. This could often mean it wasn’t true.” (32:44)

8. True Crime: Family Loyalty & Cover Ups

• Mother-in-law Takes the Fall:
  • Mrs. Julia Ortmann confesses to murder to save her son-in-law from hanging, but on closer cross-examination, her story falls apart and the real killer, Charles Marlow, is sentenced. The crime: Marlow poisons and kills a lodger for cash, with wife’s involvement strongly suspected. (34:02–38:52)
  • “The order of one who has saved another would be deemed remarkable and heroic by any human being—done by a mother-in-law on behalf of a daughter's husband, it is phenomenal, if not sublime.” (34:19)

9. Animals: Loyalty, Rescue, and Intoxicated Humans

• Heroic Dog:

  • Newfoundland dog drags shipwrecked woman and child over a mile across stormy water to Sable Island (40:50). Only the dog and woman survive.

  • Quote:

    “That sweet dog somehow had had the strength to help the lady and her child all the way to shore for a mile. Oh, I wish I found more information about the sweet dog, but it seems like he was okay...” (42:36)

• Comedic Horse Story:

  • Mare repeatedly grabs her drunk master's collar to keep him upright, even sets him on his feet, and tries to “kick” another drunk who bumps him over (43:00).
  • “No more info here on this particular article other than we don’t deserve horses or dogs.” (44:14)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the Victorian Era’s Parallels: "The more I discuss the horrors of the Victorian era, I find time really is a flat circle." (06:56)
• On Facing Fear: “I talk a big game about liking spooky stuff, but you couldn’t pay me to step foot in a haunted house, much less investigate one.” (16:54)
• On Mediumship Diets: "What kind of spirit would want to possess a salty old pork chop medium?" (23:39)
• On Tragic Coincidence: “Heaven’s now, I couldn’t find any more info here. There are no names in that article. This could often mean it wasn’t true. But honestly, it could have been. Illnesses like cholera...came on fast and killed faster.” (32:44)
• Animal Loyalty: “No more info here on this particular article other than we don’t deserve horses or dogs.” (44:14)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [08:11] — Madame Tussaud's Origin Story
• [13:42] — With Their Own Eyes: Haunted House Account
• [19:04] — Séance Room: Ellen Jones’ Spirit & Porkless Mediums
• [24:38] — Illustrated Police News: Murder in a Rowboat
• [26:35] — “Death Laughs at the Laughing Gas” – Dental Anesthetic Dangers
• [29:56] — Well-To-Do Wife Begging in NYC
• [31:34] — “Made Her Own Shroud” – Sudden Family Tragedy
• [34:02] — Mother-in-law’s False Confession for Son-in-law’s Murder
• [40:50] — Extraordinary Shipwreck & Dog Rescue
• [43:00] — Intoxicated Man Rescued by His Mare

Closing

Genevieve wraps with her signature warmth, encouraging listeners to rate, review, join her Fan Coven, and “be kind to yourselves—see you in your nightmares.” The episode blends humor, empathy, and the undeniably eerie, affirming this show as a haven for lovers of morbid Victorian history.