Ep. 85 - HORRIFIC Niagara Falls History & The Avenues of Death

Summary

My Victorian Nightmare – Ep. 85:

"HORRIFIC Niagara Falls History & The Avenues of Death"

Host: Genevieve Mannion | Daylight Media
Date: March 9, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this rich and chilling episode, Genevieve Mannion delves into grisly and often overlooked tales of death, danger, and law from the Victorian era. The episode’s core theme focuses on “horrific history,” exploring Niagara Falls deaths and New York’s infamous “Avenues of Death,” alongside a tapestry of disturbing Victorian newspaper clippings involving murder, attempted escapes, dubious justice, and fleeting moments of dark humor. Genevieve masterfully weaves historical context, her own fascination with macabre history, and a touch of personal reflection, all in her uniquely warm, witty, and gothic-tinged voice.

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Main Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Deadly Legacy of Niagara Falls

[05:14 - 07:41]

• Victorian-Era Death Toll: Since 1850, over 5,000 bodies have been recovered at Niagara’s base, mostly considered suicides, but including accidental deaths.
• Danger Factors:
  • Hidden rock shelves
  • Powerful whirlpools
  • Deadly hydraulic force
  • 20–30 deaths estimated per year at the time, largely suicides but also failed stunts
• Daredevils of the Falls:
  • Annie Edson Taylor (1901): First to survive going over the falls in a barrel, aged 63, seeking fame and financial security.
    • “She did it and she survived.” – [06:43, Genevieve]
  • Bobby Leach (1911): Survived in steel barrel but broke jaw and kneecaps, died later from gangrene after slipping on an orange peel.
    • “He didn’t die going over the falls, but he did die after slipping on an orange peel…” – [06:57, Genevieve]
  • Kirk Jones (2003): Only known person to survive unaided; died in a later inflatable-ball attempt.
• Genevieve’s personal memory: Childhood visits to the Niagara museum, “looking around and being like, is this for kids? I’m seven.” – [07:59, Genevieve]

2. Grisly Victorian Newspaper Tales

[08:20 - 38:37]

• “Compelled to Marry or Become a Corpse” [08:33]
  • Farmhand forced at gunpoint to marry, threatened by bride’s mother; he immediately fled post-ceremony.
  • “For me, the funniest thing…is the staggering lack of important details.” – [09:07, Genevieve]
• “A Brutal Boston Tragedy” [09:43]
  • A woman murdered by her brother-in-law who attempted an assault.
  • Convicted of manslaughter, not murder, due to Massachusetts law requiring proof of premeditation.
  • Insight: Juries often favored lighter sentences, influenced by local religious anti-death penalty sentiment.
• Umbrella Self-Defense [15:09]
  • St. Louis woman fends off drunk attacker by thrusting and opening her umbrella in his mouth.
  • “A saturnine smile illuminating her face. Poetry.” – [15:51, Genevieve]
• “A Virginia Borgia” [16:03]
  • Emily Lloyd accused of poisoning husband, children, and aunt; acquitted despite damning evidence. Later vanished.
  • Juror confessed bias: “I would not find her guilty even if she had poisoned the whole town because she was once my sweetheart.” – [18:48, Genevieve]
  • Discussion of inheritance motives and rumor vs. fact regarding her alleged lover.
• “A Wife Murderer Wants to Be Hung Right Off” [20:41]
  • Jeremiah Collins, after murdering his wife, demands execution:
    • “I want you to hang me right off. The sooner the better. I want to get through with the whole business.” – [21:18, Collins]
  • Execution commuted to asylum; Collins protests: “I solemnly protest against it.” – [22:44, Collins]
• “Perilous Descent by a Lady” [24:50]
  • Mysterious escape by a woman down knotted bedsheets; speculation of a botched abortion or other scandal—case details lost to time.

3. Victorian Legal Quirks & Social Trends

[28:19 - 30:49]

• Temporary Insanity Defense
  • Origins discussed via the Daniel Sickles case (who killed his wife’s lover near the White House and was acquitted).
    • “His lawyer…argued that Sickles suffered from what he called temporary insanity…He was incapable of rational emotional control at that moment.” – [28:56, Genevieve]
  • Application to Fanny Hyde: A young girl kills abusive employer, acquitted due to insanity caused by PMS and trauma, but escapes before retrial.
  • Public discourse: Women feared this would excuse murder of wives for adultery, but such cases remained rare.

4. The “Avenues of Death” in New York

[31:00 - 34:46]

• Daily Dangers: Steam trains and streetcars shared 4th, 10th, and 11th Avenues with pedestrians, resulting in hundreds of deaths, especially among newsboys.
  • “There just shouldn’t be huge trains rolling through where human beings are walking around.” – [33:28, Genevieve]
• The ‘West Side Cowboys’: Riders with red flags warned of oncoming trains, but still ineffective.
• Modern Legacy:
  • Construction of the High Line in the 1930s finally elevated tracks.
  • Edward Norton’s (possibly apocryphal) ghost story: Warned by spirit not to change the railway while advocating for its transformation.
    • “He was visited by a ghost…who told him to…leave well enough alone.” – [34:31, Genevieve]

5. Further Victorian Horrors and Oddities

[35:25 - 37:16]

• “A Father Brained by His Son in Kentucky”
  • Domestic violence, small-town loathing, and unresolved murder; the son disappears, case never solved.

6. Darkness, Comfort & Poetry

[37:09 - 41:20]

• Genevieve’s Reflections on Comfort in Historical Darkness:
  • “I find it strangely comforting to hear about terror from long ago. I don’t know if it’s a reminder that not all terror lasts forever.” – [37:23, Genevieve]
• The Tragedy of Life (Victorian Poem):
  • “Life is a monstrous disappointment, and death the only portal to peace there is...” – [39:49, Article]
• A Modern Counterpoint: Derek Mahan’s “Everything is going to be all right”
  • “The sun rises in spite of everything…Everything is going to be alright.” – [41:20, Poem read by Genevieve]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote / Moment | |-----------|---------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 06:43 | Genevieve | “She did it and she survived.” (on Annie Edson Taylor’s barrel trip over Niagara Falls) | | 06:57 | Genevieve | “He didn’t die going over the falls, but he did die after slipping on an orange peel…” (on Bobby Leach) | | 09:07 | Genevieve | “For me, the funniest thing…is the staggering lack of important details.” (on forced marriage article) | | 15:51 | Genevieve | “A saturnine smile illuminating her face. Poetry.” (on umbrella self-defense incident) | | 18:48 | Juror | “I would not find her guilty even if she had poisoned the whole town because she was once my sweetheart.” | | 21:18 | Collins | “I want you to hang me right off. The sooner the better. I want to get through with the whole business.” | | 22:44 | Collins | “Judge, haven’t I anything to say about this? I protest against it. I solemnly protest against it.” | | 28:56 | Genevieve | “His lawyer…argued that Sickles suffered from what he called temporary insanity…He was incapable of rational emotional control at that moment.” | | 33:28 | Genevieve | “There just shouldn’t be huge trains rolling through where human beings are walking around.” | | 34:31 | Genevieve | “[Edward Norton] was visited by a ghost…who told him to…leave well enough alone.” | | 39:49 | Article | “Life is a monstrous disappointment, and death the only portal to peace there is...” | | 41:20 | Genevieve | “The sun rises in spite of everything…Everything is going to be alright.” (reading Derek Mahan’s poem) |

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [05:14] Niagara Falls death history
• [06:43] Annie Edson Taylor's survival over Niagara Falls
• [07:56] Childhood memories at Niagara museum
• [08:33] Forced marriage at gunpoint
• [09:43] Brutal Boston tragedy (manslaughter conviction)
• [15:09] Umbrella self-defense in St. Louis
• [16:03] “A Virginia Borgia” poisoning case
• [20:41] Insane wife murderer demanding execution
• [24:50] Woman’s perilous descent in New Orleans
• [28:19] Temporary insanity as legal defense (Sickles, Fanny Hyde cases)
• [31:00] Rescue on Fourth Avenue and New York’s deadly train era
• [33:21] The West Side Cowboys and eventual urban safety reforms
• [34:31] Edward Norton’s ghost story about the High Line
• [35:25] Parricide in Kentucky
• [37:09] Genevieve’s personal reflections on darkness
• [39:49] “Tragedy of Life” poem
• [41:20] “Everything is going to be all right” (poetic counterpoint)

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Tone & Takeaways

Genevieve’s narration marries pitch-black history with sardonic wit, a touch of modern gallows humor, and a deep empathy for the often-voiceless victims of Victorian crime and calamity. Listeners will be shocked, fascinated, and often moved by the deeply human (and inhuman) stories, as well as by Genevieve’s closing reflections that, amid darkness, “many things can also be true.”
A must-listen (or -read) for those who find comfort in the macabre, the historical, and the hauntingly poetic.

Transcript

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[Genevieve Mannion]

Hello and welcome to my Victorian Nightmare. I'm your host Genevieve Mannion 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

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

intriguing, creepy and oddly comforting about horror

[Genevieve Mannion]

and mayhem from the 19th century. So listener discretion is advised. Hello friends and welcome to this, my 85th episode. I hope that you haven't burst into flames this week. I am trying my very best to stay intact during these dark, dark times and not burst into flames with fantastic rage due to world events. Suffice it to say, I hope that

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

you yourself have yet to burst into

[Genevieve Mannion]

anything due to your fantastic rage.

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This is how I'm signing all of my emails for the foreseeable future.

[Genevieve Mannion]

For you today, dear listener, I will have temporary insanity in the Victorian era.

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Men demanding to be executed, the horrifying

[Genevieve Mannion]

history of Niagara Falls, shocking murders, women falling out of windows.

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Don't worry, they're okay.

[Genevieve Mannion]

New York's west side, cowboys on the avenues of death, and much, much more. But first, thank you to Pam, Vicki, Nina, Angela, Katie, Alessia, Elizabeth, Darby, Annie, Sean, Stephanie, Rachel and Jackie for joining the Patreon this past week. You and everyone who has joined are the reason why the show can continue.

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I am not just saying that. By the way, I am not.

[Genevieve Mannion]

Big show.

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Believe it or not, not everyone wants to hear stories about creepy at times

[Genevieve Mannion]

gross and gory Victorian history. It is quite a niche, one that I love and without the Patreon I would not be able to continue. So once again, thank you everyone who has joined. If you too would like to listen to the show ad free Victorian true crime extras or witchy content, go to myvictorianightmare.com to find out more. Now, despite the fact that I have been dead for a few hundred years, that does not mean that I do not have a fantastic self care routine. In fact, being dead makes this all the more important.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

And one thing that used to feel

[Genevieve Mannion]

more like a chore than self care was shaving. But that was until I found Flamingo. Most women's razors feel cheap, even if they're expensive. That's because regular razors weren't Designed with women's bodies in mind, Flamingo products were created by women who noticed that other companies were just shrinking, breaking down men's razors, making them pink and slapping a pink tacks on them. Their original razor has five sharp blades with a 360 comfort system to protect your skin from irritation, but it's also got a flexible hinge that runs smoothly over curves, not just straight across them, causing chaos. They also have a facial dermaplane razor that ever so gently sweeps away peach Fuzz, a foaming shave gel that smells and feels like heaven. And they also have a lovely shower holder so you don't have to throw your fancy razor behind the shampoo like I you used to do. And by the way, everything I just mentioned is available in a kit for just $7, which includes shipping. And if you don't love your shave, Flamingo has a 100% money back guarantee. For a limited time, our listeners can get the Flamingos starter set for only $7 at shopflamingo.com Victorian this set includes the Flamingo Original Razor 1.5 blade cartridge, a 1 ounce foaming shave gel and a shower holder. Just head to shaflam flamingo.com Victorian to claim this offer and after you purchase they'll ask where you heard about them. Please support my show and tell them that I sent you okay, let us begin with this short and horrifying article from the Illustrated police news from 1872 about Niagara Falls. And then we will discuss some history. This article is called Three Men Swept over Niagara Falls and it reads, yesterday afternoon three unknown men were seen struggling in the rapids between the American Shore and Goat Island. No help could be given them and they all went over the falls. It is supposed that they were from Chippewa, Ontario and were on a fishing excursion. That they were carried down by the current and in attempting to land at Goat island, the boat struck a rock and was dashed to pieces. End quote. Horrifying.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

Ugh, so sad.

[Genevieve Mannion]

Let's have a little horrifying Niagara falls history. Since 1850, 5000 bodies have been recovered from the base of Niagara Falls. It is believed that most have gone over the falls intentionally as suicides, but situations like the one in that article

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

did happen as well.

[Genevieve Mannion]

The reason Niagara Falls is so deadly isn't just because of its massive size. There are rock shelves hidden under the water and powerful whirlpools that can hold you down no matter how hard you try to swim upward. If the rocks don't get you first, or just the massive hydraulic force at the base it's estimated that 20 to 30 deaths happen every single year. Virtually all suicides, but also a few failed stunts. 15 people have intentionally gone over the falls in barrels and kayaks as stunts, and of those 15, six have died.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

But the first person to do one of these stunts and survive was a woman named Annie Edson Taylor. She was a 63 year old widow and schoolteacher who hoped going over the falls would make her famous and gain

[Genevieve Mannion]

her some financial stability. On her birthday in 1901, she went over the falls in a custom oak

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

barrel padded with a mattress. It was pressurized with a bicycle pump

[Genevieve Mannion]

to prevent it from collapsing.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

She did it and she survived. The next guy to survive was a

[Genevieve Mannion]

man named Bobby Leach. In 1911, he went over in a steel barrel. He ended up breaking his jaw and his kneecaps though. And this is the craziest detail.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

He didn't d going over the falls,

[Genevieve Mannion]

but he did die after slipping on

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

an orange peel, often incorrectly reported as a banana peel.

[Genevieve Mannion]

He got an infection after breaking his leg, which didn't heal. Gangrene set in and his leg needed to be amputated. And he died from complications from that terrible. There is only one known person to survive going over the falls with no protection at all, no barrel.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

His name is Kirk Jones.

[Genevieve Mannion]

In 2003, he went over the falls and survived with only minor injuries. But sadly, he tried again, this time with a large inflatable ball, and he did not survive the second attempt. Goodness, that's just a little horrifying. Niagara Falls history for you.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

That was my family's favorite vacation spot for us when we were kids. For some reason apart from Hersheypark in Pennsylvania, I remember walking through the little museum that they have there and they have all of the horrifying stories of these stunt attempts on the walls.

[Genevieve Mannion]

Or at least they did. I haven't been there since the 80s,

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

but I distinctly remember list listening to a tour guide telling us all about the death and harrowing history of the falls, looking around and being like, is this for kids? I'm seven. Not that I'm not fascinated. I am. But I am a 7 year old and we're talking about bodies being dredged

[Genevieve Mannion]

up on the shore of Niagara Falls.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

I have had no choice but to become the particular woman I have become. Okay, this one is great for a number of reasons. It is called Compelled to marry or become a corpse.

[Genevieve Mannion]

And it reads, a singular divorce case is on trial at St. Louis, being brought by William Towbell, a farmhand who

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

alleges that last Monday week he was

[Genevieve Mannion]

aroused from bed at 2 in the morning by William Ferry and William Obouson

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

and compelled under threat of death to go to the house of the latter and there wait the arrival of Parson Shumate, and then and there, against his will and under threat to marry Mary A. Blouson, Mary's mother, Susanna, declared that if he did not marry her, he would leave the house a corpse.

[Genevieve Mannion]

After the ceremony, he fled the house

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

and his bride and has never returned. End quote. For me, the funniest thing about this article is the staggering lack of important details, like why this poor guy, was there a reason?

[Genevieve Mannion]

Did he have relations with his young

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

lady or did he not even know this gal? And I love that he was just like later days and off he scampered. I'm very glad he escaped the ordeal with his life. I have a feeling it was for the best for all parties involved. Okay, this next one is horrible and

[Genevieve Mannion]

literally turned me white. I will read it and then we will dig into it. It is called a Brutal Boston Tragedy, and It reads, About 8 o' clock on the evening of the 18th, William Mains, who resides at House Number 559 Harrison Avenue, Boston, returned from his daily LA neighbor, and instead of entering his own apartments, which are on the second story of the house, went up one flight higher for the purpose of seeing one of the tenants. When, as he was about to step into the room, he was met by his brother, James Mainnes, who has only resided in Boston about two weeks, with the remark, you are now a happy man. The strange manner in which he uttered the words caused William to stop and inquire what was the matter. But not receiving an answer, and seeing the fellow tremble, the man rushed downstairs into his own room, where a dreadful scene met his gaze. With her head resting in a large tin pan full of water, which was on the floor, and near the bed lay the body of his unfortunate wife, her feet just touching the bed and her hands tightly clenched as if just closed in a terrible death struggle. Her neck bore the marks of some person's fingers, one of her eyes was lacerated and bleeding, while her arms and legs clearly showed that her struggle with the murderer was a long and hard one. As soon as the now almost paralyzed husband could recover from his fright, he gave an alarm, and soon Doctors Sumner and Morrell were in attendance, but their skill was of no avail, as the unfortunate woman was dead when discovered by her husband. Information of the murder was sent to Police Station Number five, and shortly after Officer Hutchins succeeded in arresting James Maines at a house near where the tragedy took place on charge of being the murderer. The fellow did not object to his arrest, but upon arrival at the station house, nervously looked at his fingers, which were covered with blood and bore evidence of violence. It is supposed that the wretch endeavored to commit an outrage upon his sister in law, and upon being repulsed and thwarted his hellish designs, became enraged and choked her to death. And then to cover up his deed, placed her head a pan full of water for the purpose of making it appear that she committed suicide. The deceased was about 30 years of age and is said to have been a good wife and an industrious woman. Her two little children, who she had put to bed shortly before the murder, were found asleep and undisturbed in the bed, one of them tightly clasping the foot of its dead mother. The murderer arrived from New York about two weeks since in quest of employment, and has been living with his brother William, whose kindness and charity had been repaid by this unnatural ruffian in taking the life of his dearest friend on earth. Coroner Hastings will hold an inquest at the fifth station this afternoon. End quote. God Almighty. Horrifying. Oh, God. That poor woman whose name was Mary. I had some trouble tracking that down. In almost every article that I found about this case, she was only named Mrs. William Maines. Her name was Mary James Mains. The devil was, as the article mentioned, arrested and tried for murder. He was found guilty, but not of murder, but manslaughter.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

This was a quirk of 19th century

[Genevieve Mannion]

Massachusetts domestic murder cases.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

And it will infuriate you if someone

[Genevieve Mannion]

died during a domestic struggle. In other words, if two people got into a fight in a house and one person died as a result of the fight, manslaughter, not murder, would be the likely verdict, because you had to prove premeditation to get a murder conviction.

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But in this case, this wasn't a fight.

[Genevieve Mannion]

He attacked her, she fought back, and he murdered her. So because the prosecution couldn't prove that it wasn't a spontaneous murdering that he had a premeditation to kill, he only got a manslaughter conviction of 10 years. This wasn't just in cases of men murdering their wives. This was across the board for all domestic killings in Massachusetts at this time. Now, it wasn't just juries not wanting to appropriately charge men for their crimes. That was the cause of this. I dug far into this stuff this week. In Boston, in the mid-1800s, religious sects were very against the death penalty in general, jurors were personally concerned about being responsible for anyone's death. The religious sects in Boston at this time were some of the most diverse in the entire country. But most were deeply abolitionist, reformist, spiritualist, and many were against the death penalty. So that was the primary factor in why a death sentence in Boston at this time was harder to come by for any murder cases. It wasn't until the late 1800s that murder charges began to be given in domestic murder charges at higher rates. Moods changed in regard to the death penalty.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

It was now seen by many as

[Genevieve Mannion]

immoral not to give cold blooded murderers death sentences.

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So, oh, goodness gracious.

[Genevieve Mannion]

Okay, this next one will give us

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a little palette cleanser and it has a fantastic illustration.

[Genevieve Mannion]

Find the link in the Instagram. This article is.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

A St. Louis woman checks the insults of a drunken ruffian with an umbrella.

[Genevieve Mannion]

And it reads, a few days since, a woman in St. Louis being assaulted by a drunken man with a great

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presence of mind, shut her umbrella and

[Genevieve Mannion]

making a feint to strike him with

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it, suddenly thrust it into his mouth and. And spread it. A frightful yell broke the quiet of the night, and a tight gentleman with a torn and bloody mouth was observed reeling swiftly up the avenue while a

[Genevieve Mannion]

lady holding an umbrella with a crimson nozzle calmly tripped after him, a saturnine smile illuminating her face.

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End quote.

[Genevieve Mannion]

A saturnine smile illuminating her face. Poetry.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

I have no more details here.

[Genevieve Mannion]

I just thought you might appreciate that one. Okay.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

I dug deep into this next one

[Genevieve Mannion]

and the outcome will shock you. This article is called A Virginia Borgia, and it reads, the coroner's jury in the case of Ms. Emily Lloyd, charged with poisoning her husband and four children, have returned a verdict of guilty of murder. Professor Tony of Baltimore, the chemist who was engaged in the Wharton case, made an analysis of the contents of the stomachs and discovered the presence of. Of arsenic in quantities sufficient to have produced death. It appears from facts elicited that Mr. Charles E. Lloyd, who was an intemperate man and cruel husband and father, died suddenly in the spring of 1871 of pneumonia. The following summer, the two boys, aged six and eight years, died suddenly of what the physicians supposed was congestion of the stomach. In February of this year, the third child, a girl of some five years, died, as was supposed, of the same same disease. On the 23rd of March last, the fourth and last child died suddenly of apparently the same disease. No suspicion attached to the mother or any of the household, as she had evinced a devotion for her children and a pride in their appearance that excluded such an Apprehension, their nurse had seemed even as kind and loving as the mother. After the death of the last child, it was remembered that all the children had died of the same disease and that just prior to the death of each, purchases of arsenic had been made by the mother. Thereupon, Mayor Bentley determined to hold an inquest. The investigation was begun on 25th March. The mother could give no plausible account of what she did with the arsenic that she had purchased. As soon as the results of analysis was ascertained, she was locked up. When arrested, she wept bitterly and protested her innocence. The opinion is that she committed the murders on account of a man who has been courting her and who, it is said, induced her to get rid of. Rid of her children. End quote. Okay, I was wondering how I never heard of this case before or this woman.

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Like there are some female poisoners who did not poison as many as four

[Genevieve Mannion]

of their children and their husband, who are notorious. So, like I said, I dug in. The reason why this case might not be as famous as others is because she was actually found not guilty. Despite the fact that the coroner's jury believed it was murder, she was not found guilty by the court jury.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

But check this out. Not because they didn't believe that she killed her entire family. Not because the stomach contents of the children did not contain massive amounts of arsenic. They did. But because one of the jurors said, quote, I would not find her guilty

[Genevieve Mannion]

even if she had poisoned the whole

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town because she was once dead.

[Genevieve Mannion]

My sweetheart.

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He didn't think to tell the court

[Genevieve Mannion]

that he and Emily had been childhood

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sweethearts before the case.

[Genevieve Mannion]

He waited till the end and prevented her from being found guilty.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

And this guy has nothing to do with that speculation that some man convinced

[Genevieve Mannion]

her to kill her family. That little detail there at the end of the article.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

There was no other man, no suitor. That was nothing but an assumption by

[Genevieve Mannion]

the public based on a rumor around town that there was some other man that she was having an affair with. This was never proven, but check this out. It gets even more insane. Shortly after the trial, Emily disappeared, never to be seen from or heard from again. And it came to light that her husband had just received a massive inheritance literally within days of his death. And the stipulations of the inheritance were

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

that if he were to die, it was to be split up among only his children, and only in the event of their deaths would she inherit the money.

[Genevieve Mannion]

That money had already been distributed. It was $60,000, which in today's currency was about $2 million. But to make the story even crazier, it also came to light that they weren't the only family members around her to mysteriously die. An aunt who came to stay with the family only a year year earlier

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

died of the same symptoms as all

[Genevieve Mannion]

the other family members who had been likely poisoned.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

This woman appears to have been a family annihilator that got off based on being some guy's childhood sweetheart. Maybe she and that juror ran off together after all. Maybe the public was onto something but

[Genevieve Mannion]

didn't have the details entirely correct. Who can say?

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

Okay, this next article is a bit intense. It is called, a Wife Murderer Wants to Be Hung Right off, and it

[Genevieve Mannion]

reads, In St. Louis, Jeremiah Collins, an aged wife murderer, was sentenced on the 15th in the criminal Court. He had killed his wife on the 9th of October last by striking her

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

on the head with a hoe.

[Genevieve Mannion]

When brought before the coroner's jury, he made a confession of his crime. The plea of insanity was the main defense. Urged by his counsel, Judge Primm inquired of the prisoner if he had anything to say why sentence should not be passed on him.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

The prisoner replied with some energy, I

[Genevieve Mannion]

want you to hang me right off. The sooner the better. I want to get through with the whole business. The court inquired, what was his hurry? Did he not want time to appear before the great judge?

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

The prisoner replied that he would have

[Genevieve Mannion]

a better judge than he was. Judge Primm passed sentence on the unfortunate culprit in the usual form to the next effect, that he be hung by the neck until he was dead on the 16th day of May next, between the hours of 10 and 3 o', clock, end quote. Okay, I dug into this story.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

This was true.

[Genevieve Mannion]

But apparently a petition to prevent his execution was sent to the governor. It's unclear by whom or which organization, but whichever entity did this, they were concerned that he was not of sound mind and should be given a life sentence in an asylum, not execution.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

The man was very upset about a

[Genevieve Mannion]

delay in his execution. In another article it says that, quote, collins is, to a certain extent a monomaniac and insists that he prefers to be executed without delay. He considers himself prepared for eternity and exhibited little to no disappointment when he found that through the action of Governor

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

Brown, he was not, as he expressed it, to have the job over with at once, end quote. And indeed, despite the fact that gallows were being constructed for the singular purpose

[Genevieve Mannion]

of hanging this man, his sentence was

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

commuted to life in an asylum.

[Genevieve Mannion]

Asylum.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

In court, Collins said, quote, judge, haven't I anything to say about this? I protest against it I solemnly protest against it.

[Genevieve Mannion]

End quote.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

He began to get out of hand and started screaming at the judge and

[Genevieve Mannion]

got so out of hand that he had to be carried out of the courtroom. Public opinion was that he was not insane and deserved to die as he wished, but it appears that he did spend the rest of his life in an asylum. Wild Story I have honestly found myself daydreaming about my Blissey pillowcase numerous times a day.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

Sleeping is my favorite pastime and Blissey has somehow made it even better.

[Genevieve Mannion]

Well, I know how their 100% silk pillowcases are cooler than my old pore clogging cotton pillowcases. And if I don't have a cool pillow, complete darkness, white noise and my little stuffed bear in a pumpkin suit, I cannot sleep. It's also really great great that their pillowcases reduce hair frizz. They're anti aging and hydrating for your skin. I know, I know. I had to try it myself to believe it. But you should really believe the hype. Again. These are 100% silk, not satin which is gross. Silk is breathable, naturally cooling, hydrating and hyperallergenic. Dermatologists love these and they recommend them to help prevent breakouts. They are machine washable so don't worry, you are not going to be hand washing these. And you don't have to use like a special setting either. You could just throw them in there with your T shirts. Blissey has sold over 3 million of these pillowcases along with their luxurious sleep masks, bonnets and crease preventing scrunchies. I swear even though I have blackout curtains, I still need their sleep mask

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

to prevent the light from my clock from waking me up. I'm the world's lightest sleeper.

[Genevieve Mannion]

Thank goodness Blissey has me covered. Because you're a listener, Blissey is offering 60 nights risk free plus an additional 30% off when you shop at bellissi.com MVNPod that's B L-I-S-S-Y.com MVNPod and use code MVNPod to get an additional 30% off. Your skin and hair will thank you.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

Okay, Speaking of people terrifyingly falling. But she's okay, don't worry.

[Genevieve Mannion]

Our next article is called Perilous Descent by a Lady from a third story Window in New Orleans Scenes and It reads about 10 o' clock in the morning of April 18, a young lady was seen in her nightdress lowering herself from a three story window of a house on Rampart street between Canal and Common streets, New Orleans. By means of pieces of sheets tied together when near the gallery of the second story, the means by which she descended thus far broke, causing her to fall some three or four feet upon the guests gallery. She then crossed on the gallery to the next house. Persons who saw the escapade waited some time for the lady to make her appearance for the purpose of claiming protection if required, but she remained in the house. Upon the door of the house from which the lady escaped was a door plate with the name of a well known physician engraved upon it. The mystery connected with the affair has not yet been unraveled, but the fact that the house from which the lady escaped was that of a physician gives rise to graves suspicions. End quote.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

I sadly could not find more info here. I wanted to know what those exact suspicions were.

[Genevieve Mannion]

Perhaps that she was there for an

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

abortion and if any of them were

[Genevieve Mannion]

found to be true.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

But there weren't any names.

[Genevieve Mannion]

I tried to search by the name

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

of the street thinking there couldn't possibly be that much news in one month in 1872 on Rampart street in New Orleans. But I was wrong. There were female only lunatic asylums crumbling, rambling on that street and making big news. A few murders and an advertisement repeated in every single paper with the headline Know Thy Destiny.

[Genevieve Mannion]

The London wizard, clairvoyant and astrologist excels all others versed in the secrets of the Hindu Magi and Persian philosophy, Names of lovers given and date of marriage.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

This wizard offered their services on Rampart Street. So like I said, it was impossible to filter out all of the this to get to any details about this story I just read.

[Genevieve Mannion]

I'm sorry. Darn it. Okay, this next one is interesting and there's a lot to discuss afterward. It is called Murder Made Easy and it reads, the testimony of Drs. Byrne and Corey in the Fanny Hyde case is decidedly amusing as well as significant. These two physicians swear that to the best of their knowledge and belief, Ms. Hyde was laboring under incipient homicidal mania when the killing occurred. Heretofore those who attempted what is now known as the insanity dodge did not hesitate to insist that the lunacy was well developed and in successful operation when the murder transpired. But as this plea is sometimes hard to establish, the same end is to be accomplished by slightly different means. The man or woman who indulges in the amusement of taking life need not now prove himself or herself actually crazy at the time the crime was committed, but may gracefully cheat the gallows by establishing the fact of laboring under incipient homicidal mania. This gives them a chance to be perfectly sane up until the moment of the murder. Perfectly sane on every subject except murder. The moment the deed is done and only incipiently insane, then here's an immense advantage which criminals and criminal lawyers should hasten to improve. And if Ms. Hyde is acquitted on this ground, the murdering business becomes much safer than horse stealing.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

End quote.

[Genevieve Mannion]

Okay, they are talking about what we now know as temporary insanity. The very first case where this defense was used and successful in acquitting a defendant was about 14 years earlier. Before this, it was the Daniel Sickles case. A man was having an affair with

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

Mr. Sickles wife, Teresa.

[Genevieve Mannion]

After she confessed in a written letter to having an affair. Daniel Sickles confronted the man she was cheating with directly in front of the

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

White House and in broad daylight.

[Genevieve Mannion]

Sickles shot him multiple times in front of numerous witnesses.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

His lawyer was Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of

[Genevieve Mannion]

War, Edwin M. Stanton. And he argued that Sickles suffered from what he called temporary insanity brought about by the shock of the adultery coming to light. And he was incapable of rational emotional control, control at that moment, though he was otherwise not insane and so could not be held responsible for the murder. This man was acquitted on the grounds of temporary insanity.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

And the public was not super cool with this, especially women. This case actually had less to do

[Genevieve Mannion]

with a notion of insanity, as it did on the Victorian male sense of

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

honor and outrage over female adultery.

[Genevieve Mannion]

His lawyer leaned heavily into that angle

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

for the all male jury.

[Genevieve Mannion]

Women were very concerned that this would pave the way for men to kill if they simply believed that their wives were having affairs, which was a reasonable assumption. But luckily this kind of outcome in murder trials didn't become as common as predicted. But the case mentioned in that article, the Fanny Hyde case, where that temporary insanity plea was also entered, was regarding a murder case where a young 15 year old year old girl found work at a hairnet factory and her boss got her pregnant. It was not consensual. She shot him in the head after he tried to abuse her again, according to her and witnesses that testified at her trial. And she was found not guilty due to temporary insanity brought on by his abuse.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

This was a very rare outcome in her case.

[Genevieve Mannion]

They called it transitoria mania and tied it to pms.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

It's a very upsetting case all around.

[Genevieve Mannion]

Again, she was found not guilty, but the verdict was appealed, though just before the new trial was planned, she skipped town and was never heard from or seen again.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

Okay, here's another palate cleanser, sort of with some horror on the periphery of the story with a fantastic illustration. It is called A young lady rescued

[Genevieve Mannion]

from imminent peril upon fourth Avenue, New York. And it reached reads. Since the establishment of the Grand Central depot upon fourth Avenue, New York, accidents to life and limb have been of almost daily occurrence. A few days since, a young lady living upon Madison Avenue was crossing fourth Avenue and saw a car approaching, Although at a distance of nearly a block. She was paralyzed with terror, unable to move, and would undoubtedly have been run over had not a gentleman, gentlemen seen her danger, rushed to her rescue and carried her safely to the sidewalk. Fourth Avenue has been privately and appropriately rechristened the Avenue of death.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

End quote. Okay, let's talk a little bit about

[Genevieve Mannion]

the avenues of death. In the 1800s in New York, 4th

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

Avenue wasn't actually the most Dudley Street.

[Genevieve Mannion]

In the 1870s, 10th and 11th Avenues were officially called the avenue news of death. Due to constant steam train accidents, the trains shared the road with pedestrians, wagons and horses. There were virtually no barriers or signals. Pedestrians were often struck while crossing. Horses were terrified of the loud steam trains. They would bolt and all manner of accidents would happen. In those cases, wagons would be smashed by trains. These trains traveled not just during the day, but also at night when visibility was low. The article mentioned that a streetcar was what the woman was almost struck by.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

And there were streetcars as well as

[Genevieve Mannion]

steam trains, but they caused relatively less accidents. They were slower than the steam trains. 10th and 11th Avenues, though, were complete nightmares. All through the mid to late 1800s, the New York Central Railroad's freight lines ran right down the center of the

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

of the streets, which were also busy pedestrian streets.

[Genevieve Mannion]

From the mid-1800s to 1900, 436 people had been killed by these trains, Many of whom were newsboys who would often try to beat the trains and run between the cars to help manage the danger of these trains. You may have heard of the west side cowboys. These were men, sometimes teenage boys, who would ride horses in front of the train trains, waving red flags and calling out loudly to warn people of the trains incoming.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

But it was still just far too hazardous. Nothing was really helping. There just shouldn't be huge trains rolling

[Genevieve Mannion]

through where human beings are walking around. So they lifted the trains and the high lines were created in the 1930s to remove the tracks from the street level and things were much safer. The construction of the subway, though, eventually did away with the need for elevated train tracks. So the trains stopped running above ground and the tracks became abandoned and overgrown. Then in 2009, the old overgrown tracks were turned into a lovely walkable structure with gardens and art known simply as the High Line. And here is a random ghostly story about that. Now, I've heard this story from different sources who all tell it differently.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

Not exactly sure which source is correct, but the actor Edward Norton was a

[Genevieve Mannion]

strong supporter and early board member of the Friends of the High Line Project and helped advocate for turning the railway into a public garden park.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

Some sources say that while advocating for

[Genevieve Mannion]

the High Line, he was visited by a ghost of one of the west

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

side cowboys who told him to, quote,

[Genevieve Mannion]

unquote, leave well enough alone and not help change the old railway. Of course, theories abounded about who that

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

ghost could have been if this even happened at all. I have also read that he was joking when he allegedly told this story,

[Genevieve Mannion]

but it's still a fun little spooky detail that I like to share anytime I stroll down the High Line.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

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[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

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[Genevieve Mannion]

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[Genevieve Mannion]

rated PG13 okay, this next one is pretty awful.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

It is called A father brained by

[Genevieve Mannion]

his son in Kentucky and it rained, reads a letter from Elizabethtown, Kentucky of the 10th relates the subjoined about three miles east of this has resided for some years a wretched family named Hazlewood. The father, Frank Hazlewood, was a saucy, impudent old beggar who went about the country with a pair of old saddlebags over his shoulders and frequently an unnecessary pair of crutches under his arms. When alms were refused, he was insolent and profane. Profane. The family squatted about and in several cases suits had been entered to give them to leave. It is said that the old man was forced to leave another town to save himself from lynch, but deserved treatment. One son named Quentin Hazelwood is said to have served a term in the penitentiary. He is a young man and has been for some time at home with his parents. During a domestic broil yesterday, the old man is said to have drawn a pistol and swore that he would kill

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

the quote unquote son of a bitch.

[Genevieve Mannion]

The son seized a gun and making

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

a blow at the father, dashed out his brains.

[Genevieve Mannion]

The mother and sister of the murderer ran to the house of a neighbor for help. Some other person raised up the old man and placed him on a bed, but in a few minutes he expired the parricide, got on his horse and saying that he was going for a doctor, rode off and has not since been seen. An inquest is now being held by Squire Duncan Duncan of this place. End quote. Ugh. Okay, I looked into this one and it appears that the son was never found. Or at least there are no articles after this one within the next decade to show that he was caught and tried for this murder.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

I read a few articles and each one had different details about why townsfolk hated these people.

[Genevieve Mannion]

Pretty awful all around. Oh, that poor wife. But again, sadly, no more details if the son was ever caught and tried okay, Dear listener, there is a lot happening right now. A lot of darkness is happening, sickening and scary, destabilizing, grief inducing. And nobody knows what our lives will look like in just a few months, maybe weeks, days. And perhaps you, like me, for whatever reason, find comfort in the darkness of the past. As I've mentioned in the opening of the show, I find it strangely comforting to hear about terror from long ago. I don't know if it's a reminder that not all terror lasts forever. The terror is long past that I talk about on this show. I don't know if it's the comfort in thinking that if I tell the stories of people who have been lost that it means that they haven't been. And maybe that means I won't be either one day. It might just be the comfort Victorians took in darkness itself. I'm trying to learn from them by studying the era. I find other people's comfort with darkness comforting. But while looking through the old papers

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

this week, I found the single most depressing article that I have ever seen in the Illustrated Police News. And even I was knocked over by it. It seems all too true. It was such a punch in the face that I actually had to stop reading and I opened up Instagram like that was a good idea. I needed to distract myself. But instead of seeing videos of the endless bombing and chaos, the first video

[Genevieve Mannion]

that I saw was the actor Andrew Scott reading a poem I had not heard before. And it brought a counterpoint that was so precious and all equally true. So if you would bear with me,

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

I'm going to read that first article and you very well may enjoy just the poetry of is peak dramatic Victorian black poetry of despair.

[Genevieve Mannion]

And then I'm going to read that

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

counterpoint, because I think there is truth in both of these, and we would all do best to remember. This first article is called the Tragedy

[Genevieve Mannion]

of life and it reads. Everyone who mixes with the world can be convinced by facts that come within his knowledge that life is a monstrous disappointment, and death the only portal to peace there is. Not a day passes in which virtue does not sell itself for bread, in which the good are not prosecuted and the weak trampled upon. Tragedies as real as any history of crime ever painted are being played every day, and faces you admire mask with smiles and inward torture worse than the agony of the rack who has realized the fulfillment of his early hopes, whose life has not its mortifications, its bitter concealments, its studied evasion, poignant humiliations, its wild uneasiness, its wrestlings and defeat. Beneath us is the great mass of humanity, and they writhe and moan and weep, they toil and starve and curse and fight and die. The world goes rolling on as heedless of those who fall, as the gale of autumn is heedless of the leaves stripped from the trees, the branches it wrenches away, or the flowers which perish by its breath.

[Genevieve Mannion (continued/narration)]

There is no sunshine to come in that article. Crumbs and carrots. He's not wrong in many ways, but

[Genevieve Mannion]

as promised, a counterpoint by Irish poet Derek Mahan called Everything is going to be all right. How should I not be glad to contemplate the clouds clearing beyond the dormer window and a high tide reflected on the ceiling? There will be dying, there will be dying, but there's no need to go into that. The poems flow from the hand unbidden and the hidden source is the watchful heart. The sun rises in spite of everything, and the far cities are beautiful and bright. I lie here in a riot of sunlight, watching the day break into the clouds flying. Everything is going to be alright. I just thought that I would share that with you. May we be reminded that at all times the darkest ones too many things can also be true. If you enjoyed this podcast and would like to hear more, more, please rate the show on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Leave me comments because you know I love them so much and join the fan coven to listen ad free and for even more creepy and witchy content. Until next time, be kind to yourselves and I will see you in your nightmares.