crime – Page 2 – Good Nightmare

13. Dregs

March 28, 2019December 3, 2018 Good NightmareLeave a comment

Since August 20, 2007 there have been several detached feet washing up on the sore of the Salish Sea in British Columbia, Canada and Washington, US. Thankfully, not all at once.

To date, there have been at least 18 reported cases of bodiless feet, still in their shoes washing up on the coast. Funnily enough, foul play is not often suspected. Usually the feet come from victims of alleged suicides or accidental deaths.

This isn’t a new occurrence, either. In Vancouver, 1887, a foot washed up on the shore, leading to the place it landed to be called “Leg-In-Boot Square”. Not very original, but probably much nicer than “Dismembered-Body-Parts-Beach” or the like. In 1914 there was a report in the Vancouver Sun that a leg in a high boot had washed ashore. The leg was assumed to have belonged to a man who had drowned in the river the previous summer.

Although, given the frequency with which this occurs, it’s completely unnecessary to try to trick people into believing they’ve discovered one of these feet, there have been several hoaxes. One of these “fake feet” was discovered on June 18, 2008 and was found to be an animal paw, put into a sock and shoe and stuffed with seaweed. No arrest has been made as yet, but the perpetrator could be charged with public mischief. In 2011, there were a number of shoes apparently washing up on shore, stuffed with raw meat.

One of the reasons this washing up of single feet seems so strange, other than the obvious, is that no other body parts tend to wash up and the feet often show up one at a time. A possible explanation for this is that when people have drowned in rivers or oceans, whether by accident or other causes, their body will naturally break apart in the water – either by natural processes or with the help of sea animals. The feet tend to be found in running shoes, which help to prevent decay and also act as a flotation device, carrying the feet on waves until they reach the shore.

It’s near impossible to determine the origins of the feet, in terms of who they belonged to, or where they originated, as they may be carried as far as 1000 miles (1600 km) on the water and are also often covered in a soap-like substance that the body naturally produces when decaying, made from body fat. A human body can actually remain intact in water for up to three decades, given the right conditions, so it’s also difficult to tell when the foot’s owner met their end.

Solving the cases of washed up feet is not impossible, however. One foot has been identified as having belonged to a man who was known to be depressed. It’s assumed that he committed suicide and his body ended up in the water. Another two feet were identified as belonging to a woman who committed suicide by jumping from the Pattullo Bridge in New Westminster, British Columbia. This is a rare case. Finding two feet at once is considered an anomaly with a one in a million chance of happening. The first case of a foot washing up was strange. By four, it was curious. Now, at 18 cases? Who knows what to call it?

These cases of the two alleged suicides support the theory that most of the feel belong to victims of suicide or accidents. As far as I can tell, none of the feet have been determined as belonging to victims of crime. Though, with only one foot as evidence, how would we ever know?

These strange cases have been reported around the world, from Australia, South Africa, Canada and the USA. David Lettermen actually asked two of his Canadian audience members about the phenomenon during a show.

If you’re interested in further reading, the novel Dregs by Jorn Lier Horst is inspired by these events. Horst is a Norwegian police officer who gives a new explanation for these disowned body parts.

The Restless Dead by Simon Beckett uses the discovery of feet as a backstory when protagonist Dr David Hunter discovers a severed foot in a river.

Both sound like excellent reads for a day at the beach.

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12. Cecil Hotel

March 21, 2019December 3, 2018 Good NightmareLeave a comment

Episode 12. Cecil Hotel

Gary Leonard

The Cecil Hotel is infamous for its link to many deaths, serial killers and mysteries. In today’s episode we’re going to look at the rise and fall of the Cecil Hotel and some of its more notorious occupants.

Cecil Hotel resides on Main Street in Downtown Los Angeles and was opened in 1927. The hotel boasts 600 guest rooms, some of which are currently being renovated to be used as residential units. I’m not sure who would be inclined to stay there for a longer period of time given its history of sketchy guests.

The Cecil Hotel’s original purpose was to be a destination for business-people and tourists. It was constructed in 1924 by William Banks Hanner and was designed by Loy Lester Smith. The project cost $1M to and the hotel lobby was complete with marble floors, stained glass windows and potted plants.

Unfortunately, within five years of the hotel opening, the Great Depression hit America. This was a time of economic crisis, leading to devastating social consequences such as suicides and homelessness.

The hotel made somewhat of a comeback in the 1940s when it was considered quite a fashionable travel destination, however over time as the area known as Skid Row declined, so did the hotel.

By the 1950s the hotel was known to house transients, there were approximately 10,000 homeless people living within a four-mile radius of the hotel.

During the decline of the area and the hotel, suicides and violent deaths on the premises became frequent. The first documented suicide in the hotel took place when a man named W K Norton ingested poison pills in 1931.

Multiple suicides were recorded throughout the 1940s and 50s which led the hotel to be known locally as The Suicide.

The hotel is also known for its ties to violent crimes and murder.

It’s rumoured that aspiring actress Elizabeth Short, also known as the Black Dahlia after her brutal murder, was seen drinking at the hotel bar in 1947.

A retired telephone operator well known at the hotel named ”Pigeon Goldie” Osgood was found murdered in her room. She had been raped, stabbed and beaten. While a man had been charged with her murder, he was later cleared, leaving her murder unsolved.

If you listen to a lot of true crime podcasts, then the next two cases or residents are the ones you’re probably a little familiar with.

Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker, was rumoured to have stayed at the Cecil Hotel for a few weeks. He may have actually committed some of his crimes while he was residing at the hotel. This may have inspired serial killer Jack Unterweger to stay at the hotel in 1991 as a possible homage to Ramirez. While Unterweger was residing at the hotel, he strangled at least three prostitutes to death. He was convicted in his home country of Austria and hanged himself after his conviction.

The most recent of deaths in the hotel occurred in 2013 when Canadian student Elisa Lam was found dead in the water supply tank on the roof. Her behaviour leading up to her death was quite unusual and there is a lot of speculation as to how she ended up in the tank.

As of 2017, the Los Angeles City Council voted to deem the Cecil Hotel a historic-cultural monument as it is a representative of early 1920s American hotels and in respect to its architectures work.

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11. Lizzie Halliday

March 14, 2019December 3, 2018 Good NightmareLeave a comment

Episode 11. Lizzie Halliday

Newspaper portrait of Lizzie Halliday

Today’s episode was recommended by Kate, the host of Ignorance Was Bliss.

Eliza Margaret McNelly, commonly known as Lizzie Halliday, was the first woman to be sentenced to execution by electric chair in 1894, being found responsible for the deaths of at least four people.

Lizzie Halliday was born in 1859 in County Antrim, Ireland. She and her family emigrated to the US when she was still a child, the exact date remains unconfirmed.

At 20, Lizzie met and married her first husband, Charles Hopkins, also known as Ketspool Brown in history books. The couple had their first son who allegedly ended up being institutionalized later in life. In a stream of what seemed like bad luck, Lizzie’s husband Charles died in 1881. She remarried the same year to Artemus Brewer, but unfortunately he died less than a year on. It is said that Brewer would often be subjected to hair pulling and beating by his Lizzie before his untimely death.

Starting to form a pattern, Lizzie then married Hiram Parkinson who ended up leaving her in the first year of marriage, perhaps having some insight into who Lizzie truly was.

Not one to give up, Halliday went on to marry a war veteran by the name of George Smith. Halliday allegedly made failed attempt to poison George by adding arsenic to his tea. Following this, she stole items from his home and fled to Bellows Falls, Vermont, where she later married Charles Playstel but she would vanish two weeks later.

There was no word of Lizzie until the winter of 1888 when she showed up at a saloon, going by the name Maggie Hopkins. She set up a shop for herself but was convicted of when she later burned it down in order to collect insurance money. She was sentenced to two years in Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary.

Upon release in 1889 and now going by the name Lizzie Brown, she found employment as a housekeeper for Paul Halliday, a 70 year old man, twice widowed and living in Sullivan County, New York with his sons. Naturally, Lizzie and Halliday married shortly after, Lizzie was 30 years younger than her new husband. The relationship was troublesome from the beginning. Halliday reported to his sons that Lizzie was prone to “spells of insanity” that would come and go. Within the next two years of their marriage, their house and barn would burn down. Given Lizzie’s history, she was immediately suspected of setting the fire.

Following this, Lizzie employed a neighbour to help her sell horses that she had stolen from the property. Lizzie was acquitted of this crime on the grounds of insanity.

As mentioned, Paul and Lizzie lived with Paul’s sons. John Halliday was of these sons who is reported to have been mentally disabled. Lizzie was known for openly taking a disliking to John and when the Halliday mill and residence was burned down in 1893, killing John Halliday who was inside the building, only 4 years after the previous fires, Lizzie was arrested and sent to an asylum. Soon after, she was declared to have been cured – of what, I’m not entirely sure – and was sent home to Paul Halliday.

It may not come as a surprise to you that shortly after Lizzie’s return, Paul Halliday disappeared. Lizzie claimed that he was visiting a nearby town to take care of some masonry work. The neighbours were, naturally, suspicious and a search warrant was obtained on September 4, 1893. During the search, the bodies of two women who had been shot to death were found in the barn. The women were identified as two residents that Lizzie had stayed with previously in Philladelphia, Sarah and Margaret McQuillan. During questioning, Lizzie tore at her clothes and spoke incoherently. Lizzie was kept in custody and some believed that she was faking her behaviour to gain a reprieve.

Having discovered two bodies on the property, the search continued. Only days after the bodies of the women were found, the mutilated body of Paul Halliday was discovered under the floorboards of his own house. He had been shot at least twice.

The body of a local peddler was also found on the property – Lizzie was also the prime suspect in this murder, given her direct ties to the other three.

Lizzie was charged with the murders with trial taking place at the Sullivan County Jail in New York. In her first weeks of imprisonment, Lizzie refused to eat, attacked the Sheriff’s wife, set fire to her bed, cut her own throat with broken glass and said, “I thought I would cut myself to see if I would bleed.”

Because of her erratic and dangerous behaviours, she was chained to the floor for the remaining months of her incarceration.

While Lizzie was only convicted of four murders, it is widely speculated that she was also responsible for the deaths of her unfortunate earlier husbands.

Lizzie was convicted on June 21, 1984 and was the first woman to be sentenced to die by electrocution. Governor Roswell P Flower commuted her sentence to life in a mental institution after she was declared insane. She spent the remainder of her life in the Matteawan State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, unfortunately not peacefully. In 1906, Lizzie stabbed a nurse, Nelly Wickes, 200 times with a pair of scissors, killing her.

While Lizzie was incarcerated, the press caught wind of her story and he legend grew. She came to be known as the Wolf Woman of Sullivan Country and was also titled a Gypsy Queen, a leader of a group that roamed the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys.

There were claims that the shootings were done in a fashion of ritual, a circle shot through Paul’s body, the five shots surrounding his heart. Naturally, these claims are unfounded and can be attributed to the hysteria and imagination of the press and public. We all know how stories grow over time.

After a life of violence and torment, Lizzie Halliday passed away quietly on June 28, 1918 at 59 years old.

Be sure to let me know about your favourite female figures, be they good or bad or a little unusual.

10. Myrtles Plantation

March 7, 2019December 3, 2018 Good NightmareLeave a comment

Episode 10. Myrtle’s Plantation.

Bogdan Oporowski

Myrtles Plantation was a topic recommended to me by my dear friend Abbie. You can find her on Twitter.

Built in 1796 in Francisville, Louisiana by General David Bradford, Myrtles Plantation is known as one of America’s most haunted homes.

Bradford born in 1972 was a rebel, a lawyer and deputy attorney-general and a fugitive at different points in his life. He built the first house on South Main Street, Washington, Pennsylvania in 1788 and later went on to build Myrtles Plantation in 1794, which was then known as Laurel Cove. He was living alone at Myrtles Plantation as he had been on the run from the government for being associated with the Whiskey Rebellion. He was later pardoned and returned to his original home in Pennsylvania to live with his wife and five children.

While Bradford did move away from the plantation, he didn’t abandon it. When he passed away in 1808, the plantation was left to his wife, Elizabeth, who ran it until 1817 before passing it’s management to Clarke Woodruff, a former law student of Bradford’s and his wife, Elizabeth and Bradford’s daughter, Sarah Mathilda.

The couple would have three children, however Sarah and two of her babies perished due to yellow fever.

Elizabeth Bradford passed in 1831. Clarke and his only remaining daughter moved away and left a caretaker to look after the plantation. In 1834 the plantation was sold, including the slaves and land. Stirling and his wife Mary would be the new owners. They undertook a renovation of the house, doubling its size and importing European furniture to fill the new space. They changed the name to The Myrtles after the trees that grew around it. Stirling passed away in 1854 leaving the plantation to his wife, Mary.

Mary hired William Drew Winter to assist in managing the plantation. Winter married Stirling’s daughter, Sarah, and they had six children together, one of whom passed away at home from typhoid at three years old.

The family lost their fortune after the war and were forced to sell the plantation in 1868, though they bought it back two years later.

William Drew Winter was murdered on the porch of the house by alleged suspect E. S. Webber. Mary later died in 1880, leaving the plantation to her son who sold it on in 1889. From here, the home goes from hand to hand, being sold and altered, and accumulating stories of strange occurrences and possible haunting.

In what would seem like a classic horror story-line, the plantation is rumoured to have been built on an ancient Tunica Indian burial ground. It is apparently home to at least twelve ghosts and while there are reports of at least 10 murders at the house, there is only the murder of William Drew Winter on the porch that has been confirmed.

Winter, as mentioned, was shot by a stranger while on the porch. He then staggered inside the home and attempted to climb the stairs for help or safety. It was on the 17th stair that he perished. Visitors and employees at the now Bed and Breakfast claim to be able to hear his footsteps as he eternally staggers upstairs for help. Others claim that they have seen his ghost, staggering and crawling up the stairs and collapsing on the 17th step.

It is claimed that a young girl who died in 1868 in the plantation home still haunts the room in which she died, and often practices voodoo on sleeping people.

During the Civil War, the house was ransacked. This is confirmed. However the idea that three people were killed in the house during this event, is not. There is apparently a bloodstain in a doorway, the size of a human body that cannot be cleaned or removed.

And there is one very detailed story and haunting though it is one of the most contested. I’ll let you decide what you believe.

Chloe was a slave owned by Clark and Sara Woodruff during their ownership of the plantation. It is said that Clark had forced Chloe into becoming his mistress. Chloe would listen at keyholes, apparently, to learn the news of the business and family and when caught one day, either by Sara or Clark, they had one of her ears cut off as punishment. Since that day, she would wear a green turban to hide her scars.

Chloe apparently baked a cake containing an extract from extremely poisonous oleander leaves. Her motive is unconfirmed, though some believe it was to rid the home of other maids or to poison and then nurse Clark and Sara to regain their favour. Either way, her plan didn’t work. Sara and her two daughters ate the cake and subsequently died of the poisoning. It is said that Chloe was then hanged by other slaves and her body thrown into the Mississippi river.

The strangest thing about this tale is that no one knows where it came from. The Woodruffs are not recorded to have been slave owners and while there is a claim that Sara and her two daughters were killed, Mary, a supposed victim, actually lived a long life. Sara and her family actually died from yellow fever. Regardless of these unconfirmed rumours, visitors still claim to see a woman in a green turban walking the plantation. In addition, it is rumoured that Sara and her children’s spirits were trapped in a mirror in the house when it was not covered after their deaths. It’s claimed that their hand prints appear on the glass.

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8. The Axeman of New Orleans

February 21, 2019December 3, 2018 Good NightmareLeave a comment

Episode 8. The Axeman of New Orleans.

A map of the crime scenes, March 1999.

If, like me, you’re a fan of American Horror Story, then you’re likely familiar with the Axeman of New Orleans. Perhaps, like me, this is also where you first heard of this serial killer who was active from May 1918 to October 1919 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Axeman has never been identified, though there a couple of suspects who seemed to fit the bill. Two of these suspects died within 2 years of the murders, and it’s not likely we’ll ever have answers.

The Axeman’s namesake is as obvious as it sounds. His weapon of choice was usually an axe that he would find in the residents home, though he was also known to use a straight razor. He would use a chisel to break out a panel of the back door of his victim’s home and would use this door as his entry point. He would then attack one or all of the residents in the home. The majority of the crimes were committed against Italian immigrants which has led some to believe that the murders were ethnically motivated. Collin and Damon Wilson, criminologists, suggest that murders were sexually motivated and that male victims may only have been killed so the murderer could get to the women. In some cases, the men in the homes were left alive which could support this point, though there’s no way to know for sure.

New Orleans is known for it’s music and culture and the Axeman played on this in his murders. One of the most notorious facts from the case is that he threatened the people of New Orleans with brutal murder if they did not play Jazz music in their homes.

The letter he sent as warning reads:

Hell, March 13, 1919

Esteemed Mortal of New Orleans:

They have never caught me and they never will. They have never seen me, for I am invisible, even as the ether that surrounds your earth. I am not a human being, but a spirit and a demon from the hottest hell. I am what you Orleanians and your foolish police call the Axeman.

When I see fit, I shall come and claim other victims. I alone know whom they shall be. I shall leave no clue except my bloody axe, besmeared with blood and brains of he whom I have sent below to keep me company.

If you wish you may tell the police to be careful not to rile me. Of course, I am a reasonable spirit. I take no offense at the way they have conducted their investigations in the past. In fact, they have been so utterly stupid as to not only amuse me, but His Satanic Majesty, Francis Josef, etc. But tell them to beware. Let them not try to discover what I am, for it were better that they were never born than to incur the wrath of the Axeman. I don’t think there is any need of such a warning, for I feel sure the police will always dodge me, as they have in the past. They are wise and know how to keep away from all harm.

Undoubtedly, you Orleanians think of me as a most horrible murderer, which I am, but I could be much worse if I wanted to. If I wished, I could pay a visit to your city every night. At will I could slay thousands of your best citizens (and the worst), for I am in close relationship with the Angel of Death.

Now, to be exact, at 12:15 (earthly time) on next Tuesday night, I am going to pass over New Orleans. In my infinite mercy, I am going to make a little proposition to you people. Here it is:

I am very fond of jazz music, and I swear by all the devils in the nether regions that every person shall be spared in whose home a jazz band is in full swing at the time I have just mentioned. If everyone has a jazz band going, well, then, so much the better for you people. One thing is certain and that is that some of your people who do not jazz it out on that specific Tuesday night (if there be any) will get the axe.

Well, as I am cold and crave the warmth of my native Tartarus, and it is about time I leave your earthly home, I will cease my discourse. Hoping that thou wilt publish this, that it may go well with thee, I have been, am and will be the worst spirit that ever existed either in fact or realm of fancy.

–The Axeman

While many did adhere to the rules or attempt to keep themselves safe, there were others that invited the Axeman into their home, armed against him, telling him they would leave a window open so he wouldn’t damage the door to get in.

By the end of the killing spree, there would be 12 victims.

On May 22, 1918, Joseph Maggio and his wife Catherine were murdered in their homes with the use of a straight razor and an axe.

June 27, 1918 would see Louis Besumer and Harriet Lowe attacked with a hatchet belonging to Besumer.

Mrs. Schneider was 8-months pregnant when she was killed on August 5, 1918. Her husband discovered her when he arrived home late from work. Mrs. Schneider survived, remembering nothing of the attack, and gave birth to a healthy baby girl two days later.

Joseph Romano was attacked on August 10, 1918, but the attacker fled the scene upon being discovered by Mr. Romano’s nieces who he was living with at the time. The young women described the intruder as a heavy-set, dark skinned man.

Charles Cortimilglia was attacked on March 10, 1919, in the home he shared with his wife and daughter who had also been attacked. Unfortunately their daughter did not survive.

Steve Boca was attacked while he slept on August 10, 1919. He was attacked after the Axeman letter was released. He survived but had no recollection of the attack.

Sarah Laumann was attacked on September 13, 1919. She was 19 years old. Her neighbours came to investigate when they heard her screams and she was found missing several teeth and with a severe head injury. She survived but like other victims, couldn’t remember any details.

The last known murder by the Axeman of New Orleans was of Mike Pepitone on October 27, 1919. His wife awoke during the attack to see the axe wielding intruder fleeing the scene. Her husband had been hit in the head and blood was spattered over the walls and a painting of the Virgin Mary. He left six children behind.

Overall, there were to be six murders and no convictions.

Though one description of a heavy-set man was given, it is likely that the killer may have been quite slight as he was able to fit through a door panel to gain entry into the homes. This may also explain why he attacked his victims when they were at their most vulnerable.

The tragic events have been referenced in pop culture many times, including in songs, film and television.

Let me know if you have a favourite representation or theory based on the Axe Man of New Orleans.

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7. The Exorcist

February 14, 2019December 3, 2018 Good NightmareLeave a comment

Episode 7. The Exorcist.

Movie still from The Exorcist, 1973

I’m sure we’re all familiar with the novel or the film The Exorcist but if you’re like me, you probably weren’t aware of the case it was based on. I had always assumed that the story came from somewhere but I never really looked into it until recently and so I wanted to share it with you.

The victim of these ongoing exorcisms was an anonymous 14-year-old boy who was given the name Roland Doe or Robbie Mannheim. He was allegedly possessed by demons. Events of the exorcisms were recorded by the priest in attendance, Raymond Bishop, and it is some of these events which inspired the 1971 novel and it’s later film adaption, The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. I’m yet to see the film, I know, shocking, but I highly recommend the novel.

Roland was born into a German Lutheran family and had only adults for friend. It was his Aunt Harriet who would play with him the most and it was she who introduced Roland to the Ouija board.

It was after Aunt Harriet’s death that the family started to experience tell-tale signs of a haunting. According to Thomas B. Allen, they would experience furniture moving on its own, objects flying or levitating whenever the young Roland was nearby. The family spoke to their pastor for help, Luther Miles Schulze, and he arranged for Roland to spend a night at his own house so he could be witness to any strange occurrences. He claimed to have witnessed the same things that the family had reported. When J. B. Rhine, a parapsychologist, heard of these claims he thought that perhaps Schulze had ‘unconsciously exaggerated’ some of the facts. Relying on their pastor for help, the family agreed when they were advised by Schulze to see a Catholic priest.

Roland underwent several exorcisms to free him from his alleged demonic possession. During one exorcism it is reported that Roland slipped his hands out of his restrains, pulled a bed spring from the mattress he was on and used to as a weapon, managing to cut the priest’s arm.

The young boy’s witnesses claimed to have seen a shaking bed, flying objects, Roland speaking in a deep, guttural voice, and having an aversion to anything sacred.

During a second exorcism, witnesses claimed that the words “evil” and “hell” along with other markings appeared on Roland’s body. Roland managed to break on of the people present’s nose during the exorcism. After this event, it was claimed that the boy went on to lead ‘a rather ordinary life’. I’m unsure what normal was for Robbie in this case, given his early experience of such severe abuse.

There is speculation of course over whether these events took place as they were said to. Some question whether the exorcisms ever took place at all as there were no written records.

The claims of the possession and related exorcisms can be traced back to 1949 when newspapers printed anonymous articles of a possession and exorcism. One article claimed that there were 48 witnesses to one of the events.

An author, Thomas B. Allen, who has researched the case says that there is no definitive proof that the boy was ever possessed. He suggests that the boy may have suffered from mental illness, physical or sexual abuse or that the entire story may have been fabricated. Of course, mental illness or trauma is the belief held by most psychologists today.

From a religious perspective, not to be dismissed, academics Terry D. Cooper and Cindy K. Epperson state that exorcisms are few and far between but are indeed very real and that ‘genuine possession cannot be explained by psychiatry.’

The novel, The Exorcist, as I mentioned earlier is based off this case.

It follows the possession of twelve-year-old Regan MacNeil and her subsequent exorcisms. Regan is first suspected to be suffering from trauma related to her parents’ divorce, but as her behaviour becomes stranger and more destructive, a priest is called in to rid her of her apparent demons. If you’re open to a good scare, and read The Exorcist with a suspension of disbelief, I think you’ll find it both creepy and enjoyable.

I’m going to have to put watching the film down on my to-do list. I think it would make a perfect date-night movie, so long has no one has pea soup for dinner.

I would love for you to let me know what exorcism stories spark your interest especially!

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6. Bloody Mary

February 7, 2019December 3, 2018 Good NightmareLeave a comment

Episode 6. Bloody Mary.

Portrait by François Clouet, c. 1558–1560

I’m sure we’re all familiar with the childhood game Bloody Mary. You stand in front of a mirror and call for Bloody Mary three times and she is said to appear, either as a malevolent spirit, a vision, or to tell you your future love. I’ve personally never played because I’m disturbed enough by violent nightmares and waking hallucinations without calling a tormented spirit into my home, though Bloody Mary has always been a favourite legend of mine.

If you’ve ever had a sleep over or been on a school camp trip, it’s likely that either you or someone you know has attempted to call Bloody Mary forth from the mirror but after hearing the story of the woman who inspired the legend, you may find yourself less inclined to play.

Bloody Mary was a name given to Mary, Queen of England. A woman known for her violent, bloody reign, and her tragic life.

Mary was born to Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon and was the only child of Henry’s to survive to adulthood. With Henry as her father and also being born female, you would be right to assume she may have been doomed to tragedy from the very beginning. She was not exactly “wanted” by her father who required a male child to be his heir. A female child was not worthy of his throne.

Henry would get his wish much later in life, with his son, Mary’s half brother, Edward VI who would succeed their father at 9 years old in 1547, preventing Mary from taking the throne.

At least for a while.

As a child, Mary was precocious, or gifted. At age four and a half, she entertained a visiting French delegation with a performance on the virginals. By nine years old, she was able to read and write Latin. She would study French, Spanish, music and dance. Most would have considered her an ideal child. Well behaved, kind, smart, but that wouldn’t be enough to save her from or fate or to save others from her reign.

In the beginning of her life, her father, Henry, loved her greatly. Though he was bitterly disappointed that his marriage had not resulted in the birth of any sons. He attempted to annul his marriage to Catherine but his request was refused, so instead, Catherine was sent to live away from court and away from her daughter.

Mary was prohibited from seeing her mother which affected her greatly. Mary was often sick, suffering depression and irregular menstruation though the cause of either was unclear, some put the depression at least down to a strained relationship with her father and having no contact with the mother she loved so dearly.

King Henry would go on to marry Anne, his previous marriage to Catherine would then be void, making Mary illegitimate and dissolving her household. Because of this affront, Mary refused to acknowledge Anne as the Queen of England or her daughter Elizabeth as the princess. Henry was enraged by this disobedience. He and his daughter would not speak for three years and in this time, she would be told of her mother’s death. Mary was inconsolable.

Mary eventually reconciled with her father, though not on her own terms, and resumed her place in court. During this time, historical records show that she was privy to spending on beautiful clothing and gambling at cards. She was intensely religious and involved in the Catholic faith. This would only further complicate her life and the life of those she would rule over.

King Henry VIII, upon his deathbed in 1553 attempted to remove Mary from the line of succession. He was opposed to her strict and intense Catholicism. No matter how he tried, he would be unsuccessful and upon his own and later his son Edward’s death, Mary took the throne. Mary would come to be the first queen regnant of England. She would reign for five years.

Her first act upon becoming queen was to release the Roman Catholic Duke of Norfolk and Stephen Gardiner from their imprisonment in the Tower of London. They were both backers of her severe Catholicism. During her short term, she would have over 280 religious dissenters burned at the stake, which led Protestants to denounce her as “Bloody Mary”.

Now that most of the violence in her life is spoken for, let’s focus in on her personal life. Something that also plays into the folklore or the game of Bloody Mary.

Mary would marry at 37 and would experience a false pregnancy. A false pregnancy is the term used when a person experiences all the clinical or sub clinical signs of pregnancy without actually being pregnant. This false pregnancy was apparently likely to be due to her strong desire to have a child of her own. Later, in 1557, Mary thought she may be pregnant again with a baby due in March 1558 but when the time came, there was no child to be born.

In 1558, weak and ill and in pain, possibly from uterine cancer and ovarian cysts, Mary passed away at the age of 42. Mary’s final wish was to be buried by her mother but she was denied this reunion even in death. She was instead buried in a tomb that she would come to share with Elizabeth. The woman she had refused to acknowledge during her life. The inscription on their shared tomb translates from Latin to read, “Consorts in realm and tomb, we, sisters Elizabeth and Mary, here lie down to sleep in hope of resurrection.”

The folklore or game of Bloody Mary stems from the tragic and violent life of this Queen.

The ritual originally consisted of young women walking backwards up a flight of stairs, holding a candle and mirror in a dark house. While looking into the mirror, they were supposed to be able to see their future husband’s face. However, if they were to see the face of a skull, they were doomed to die before they could marry.

The ritual today consists of individuals or groups chanting Mary’s name in a mirror placed in a dim or candle-lit room. Bloody Mary would then appear as a corpse or a ghost, she can be kind or malevolent, clean or bloody. There is a modern addition of taunting Mary about her lost babies.

Lore states that people have endured being screamed at, strangled or having their eyes scratched out by the bloody apparition.

If you’re a skeptic, or a non-believer, you may prefer the scientific explanation for the phenomenon. Staring into a mirror in dim lighting can cause hallucinations. You may see faces shifting shapes, melting or appearing. Giovanni-Caputo calls this the “Strange-Face” illusion, which may be caused by a kind of dissociative identity effect. I’ve experienced this before, because what’s more fun at night than freaking yourself out by staring into a mirror in a dark room trying to see ghosts? It’s not like I’m getting any sleep anyway.

Let me know if you’ve ever played Bloody Mary or perhaps a similar game such as Candy Man.

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4. Marie Laveau

January 24, 2019December 3, 2018 Good NightmareLeave a comment

Episode 4. Marie Laveau.

Portrait by Frank Schneider, based on a painting by George Catlin (Louisiana State Museum)

New Orleans, known for its Louisiana Voodoo, was the home to Marie Laveau and her daughter, Marie Laveau II.

Voodoo is a religion originating in Africa. It’s believed that in the Americas and the Carribean is is a combination of African, Native American and Catholic traditions. Like many religions, it varies among regions and among Voodooists. It relies on the individuals experience, intention and knowledge and is not a dark magic as it often is portrayed to be. There is a lot of misunderstanding about Voodoo – it’s often portrayed as evil, black magic or associated purely with evil curses and of course Voodoo dolls used for torture, this kind of framing is heavily affected by the blatant racism of the time of its introduction to the Americas.

What Voodoo is, from my research, and please correct me if I’m wrong, is an understanding that there are two worlds. The world we live in and an invisible world where spirits of people who have passed on exist. Death is simply a passage to the next world and contact is able to be made with those who reside in the spiritual plane. They are close and they are accessible and are able to provide guidance in our world when called upon.

It’s not surprising to anyone, or shouldn’t be, that Voodoo’s bad reputation is clouded with racism, having been introduced to the Americas by Carribean peoples who were taken as slaves. They were feared and ridiculed for their practices. That idea has carried on to this day. It’s important to deconstruct where these ideas come from and to educate ourselves on unspoken or hidden histories.

Today, we’re going to look at Marie Laveau and her daughter, often represented in popular culture and one of the first names many people think of when they hear the word Voodoo.

According to historical documents, Marie Laveau was born free in the French Quarter of New Orleans in 1801. There’s not much known or confirmed about her personal life as there is little to no documentation. We do know that she married a man named Jaques in 1819, a French immigrant who fled the Haitian massacre as a refugee. Jaques’ death was recorded in 1820. They had two daughters together, Felicite and Angele, who both disappeared from historical records in 1820. Marie went on to have two more daughters who were recorded to have lived into adulthood. One of these daughters was Marie Euchariste Eloise Laveau who could come to be known as Queen Marie II.

Though Marie Laveau I was renowned for her Voodoo among her community, it was Marie Laveau II who was said to draw crowds and practice publicly.

Marie Laveau I had quite a positive reputation. She was said to do good for the sake of doing good. She would nurse others through illness, and counsel men condemned to death before their execution. She was known as a matchmaker for wealthy white men and was a hairdresser to the “white elite”. It is rumoured that her accurate divination and readings may have come from a network of informants that she had built among the servants of the elite. According to people’s accounts at the time, she is said to have instilled fear in the servants or taken information as payment for curing their ailments with her Voodoo. She would then use the information she learned to provide her services to the elite.

It is difficult to separate the histories of Marie Laveau and her daughter of the same name, but it is considered that Marie I would practice in private and was strongly dedicated to Voodoo, whereas her daughter would hold public events, performing for crowds. She was said to have walked the streets as though she owned them, and judging by her popularity, she may as well have.

According to the text In Motion: African American Migration Experience, “In 1874 as many as twelve thousand spectators, both black and white, swarmed to the shores … to catch a glimpse of Marie Laveau II performing her legendary rites …”.

Marie Laveau I lived into her late 70s and was said to have passed away at home with a smile on her face of natural causes. Members of the community claim to have seen her walking the streets after her death. Though it has been considered that this may have been her daughter that they saw, it would make sense that her spirit could be seen given the proximity of the invisible or spiritual world to our own.

The legend of Marie Laveau did not die with her.

Many people visit her grave, or where she is believed to be buried. Her tomb is covered in Xs in accordance with a rumour that if you wanted her to grant you a wish, you would have to draw an X, turn around three times, knock on the tomb, and yell out the wish. If you were lucky enough to have it granted, you would have to return with an offering and draw another X.

People also claim to see Marie Laveau wandering through the cemetery where she is buried, whispering curses to herself.

Her tomb is no longer accessible by the public and entry to the cemetery can only be made with a tour guide because of the amount of vandalism and destruction that has occurred over the years. There is a rumour that in 1982, New Jersey punk band The Misfits were arrested and accused of trying to exhume Marie Laveau from her grave after a concert.

Lastly, and importantly, though popular culture often references Marie Laveau as a witch, she is in fact a Voodoo Queen. Witchcraft and Voodoo do share some similarities in terms of practices, but are not the same. And as with Voodoo, witchcraft is not an evil practice. That might be something worth revisiting.

Marie, and her daughter, was not a person of darkness, or evil, but a woman who provided for those around her and practiced her religion freely, as should be.

Be sure to let me know your favourite stories or representations of the Marie Laveaus.

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3. Martha Haney

January 17, 2019December 3, 2018 Good NightmareLeave a comment

Episode 3. Martha Haney.

In episode one of Good Nightmare, we talked about Lizzie Borden and the question of her guilt. In today’s case, again featuring a female axe murderer, there is no doubt that the woman accused committed the crime. This case, however, is no less complicated as you will come to see. While the woman we’re going to talk about committed this crime with no doubt, she was not held criminally responsible.

Today we’re going back to 1897, Michigan, to a humble and unassuming home to a family of three.

Here, Martha Haney lives with her husband Alfred, affectionately known as Alfie, and Alfie’s mother, Mariah. Alfie and his family were considered peasants in their time. They had enough money to cover their basic needs of food and shelter, but luxuries were scarce.

Alfie would work odd jobs as often as he could to bring home a much needed pay check for his family. His mother and wife would take care of the home, together, though more often than not they would find themselves butting heads.

Martha was mentally ill. This was no secret. People around town were aware of her odd behaviour: talking to herself and wandering aimlessly about town. As you can imagine in the 1800s there was little understanding of appropriate treatment for mental illness, and to a family such as hers, not many resources.

Alfie’s mother, Mariah, was a widow. She spent most of her days at home with Martha. Mariah never took a liking to Martha. In fact, when Aflie first introduced the two, Mariah took an instant disliking to the younger woman but she couldn’t quite explain what it was that put her off.

The two women would often bicker and fight, sometimes go as far as giving each other a little push or a shove. The construction workers nearby were used to hearing this kind of commotion and would often ignore it. It had become something of background noise, not worth tuning in for.

If only they had listened this day.

It was spring and Martha’s odd behaviour was only getting worse. She would mumble to herself and bicker constantly with Alfie’s mother. Alfie knew his wife needed support. He wanted to take her to see a doctor to get help for her ailments. He broached the subject to his wife but soon backed down as she instantly became agitated at the idea. Perhaps, he thought, he would try again tomorrow or another day when she was calmer.

The following morning, Martha greeted Alfie with a smile. She reassured him that she was just fine and the doctor could wait. He hadn’t seen his wife in such high spirits in a long time. They decided that he would use that day to go to work and earn a wage, the doctor could wait. So that’s exactly what he did.

A little background about Martha that lead to the trigger for the crime:

Martha had had children in a previous relationship, well before she met Aflie, and that she never talked about. No one had ever seen, let alone met, her children and due to her seemingly odd behaviour, people around town often spread or believed in rumours that she had killed them before marrying Alfie. They were wrong, of course. The children had been adopted out to another family.

On this particular morning, doctor’s appointment cancelled and Alfie away at work, Martha removed a photo of Mariah’s deceased husband from a frame and replaced it with a photo of her own children. Children she hadn’t spoken of in years.

Upon discovering the change, Mariah became upset. She confronted Martha and the women began to argue. The commotion would have been no different to the men outside than what they were already so used to.

During the argument, Martha was forced out of the home. Finding herself stranded outside and irate, she began moving around the garden, when she came across an axe. She returned to the house and used it to break in the door. The events that took place next where unspeakable.

Alfie, after working half the day, was coming home for a cooked lunch with his family. He entered the house but was soon seen coming out in quite a state. This alerted the construction workers nearby as this was unusual for the usually upbeat young man. They saw smoke billowing from the kitchen window and believed this to be the cause of Alfie’s alarm. They moved quickly, thinking that if the fire was small enough they may be able to put it out or contain it to avoid any further damage. They were not expecting to see what was behind the smoke.

You see, when Alfie had entered the house he was first confronted by a horrible smell, and an even more disturbing sight followed. It was his mother’s head, set at his place on the table, adorned with a knife and fork. His mother’s body lay on the floor, her dress in flames.

Martha was not in sight.

After gaining access to the house again by force, Martha had brutally murdered and decapitated the older woman with an axe. It was said that there were chunks of the old woman’s hair embedded in the floorboards where the axe had come down on her. It was an absolute bloodbath. Not satisfied with simply killing the woman, Martha set her head at the table the way she would Alfie’s meal. The body was laying nearby, soaked in kerosene from a lamp, and set alight with the coals from the stove that she had been using to cook her husband’s lunch.

Martha was found in only her underwear as she exited her bedroom when the law and her husband returned. She sat in the lounge at first, stripping wall paper from the walls, completely detached from the scene around her.

Later, while the crime scene was still being investigated, she moved to the backyard and started digging frantically in the dirt with her bare hands. Witnesses suggested that it looked as though she was trying to dig a hole in which to bury her mother-in-law’s body.

When the deputy came to take her away, she was speaking of her own dead mother, saying that she had been told by her mother’s ghost to kill Mariah.

‘Kill Mariah or she will kill you.’

Martha said that she had to kill the woman. That she ‘did not do it to be mean.’

She was held in a men’s jail for a time as her fate was being determined. She was kept separate from the men, of course. She was treated kindly by another woman who tended to her, though Martha had difficulty understanding her situation.

Martha’s mental state had to be evaluated to determine her responsibility in committing the murder. Three separate doctors ruled her insane and she was not prosecuted for her crimes. However, she didn’t go free. She was sentenced to the Home for the Dangerous and Criminally Insane. This is where she lived out the rest of her life.

What about Alfie?

He went on to live as normal a life as possible. He even remarried. Though of course they didn’t remain in that home.

And what happened to the house?

Years later, it was used as a test site for firemen to train. It was burnt down, in a way, completing the job that Martha had started.

If you’re interested in reading more about Martha Haney, I recommend the novel To Hell I Must Go by Rod Sadler. Sadler is a 30 year police veteren and a direct relation of the deputy involved in the case.

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1. Lizzie Borden

January 3, 2019December 3, 2018 Good NightmareLeave a comment

Episode 1. Lizzie Borden.

Image: Unknown

This is one of my favourite and most influential true crime stories.

Lizzie Borden, and the brutal murder of both of her parents is infamous. It’s likely that you have either heard the case itself or you have seen the Netflix series, or perhaps read a novel about it.

While the case is considered unsolved, Lizzie borden has been condemned for years by the general public, many of whom believe wholly in her guilt. Though, she was actually acquitted at trial in record time by a jury of her peers, which leads me to believe that there is much more to the story than simply an angry woman with an axe.

Lizzie’s father, Andrew, grew up with modest livings. He struggled with money as a young man, though he was born to wealth. He believed in making a name for himself and building his own empire. Which he did. He made his fortune making furniture and caskets, ironically, and ended up owning several textile mills.

By the time he died his estate was valued at US$300,000, which is approximately US$18 million as of 2016. Despite his fortunes, Andrew was known for being frugal. There was no indoor plumbing in the Borden home on either the first or second storey, and he chose to live near his businesses in an industrial area.

As in modern society, industrial areas are not considered particularly desirable. For example, I live on the west side of the city of Melbourne. Our roads and landscapes are poorly kept and are incredibly congested, and we are surrounded by farms and factories, that come with some unpleasant scents on warm summer days. On the east side, houses are mansion-like, roads well kept, and even the air smells cleaner.

Most affluent people in Andrew Borden’s time were living further from the industrial area in a place considered much more fashionable.

Andrew’s frugality didn’t win him any friends. He was disliked by many people in town and I can’t imagine that living with him was any better.

Lizzie Andrew Borden was born 19 July, 1860. She was the younger of Andrew’s two daughters with his first wife.

Lizzie and her older sister Emma Lenora Borden were brought up under religious conditions, though nothing out of the ordinary for the time. In fact, Lizzie was involved with her church, and taught at the Sunday school for local children who had immigrated to America.

Lizzie was active in her community and well known and liked, though, sometimes considered a little bit strange.

Lizzie and Emma’s mother, Andrew’s first wife, died in 1863 when Lizzie was barely 3 years old. Lizzie would not remember her mother but shew would come to know her step-mother well enough: Abby Durfee Borden (nee Gray). Lizzie was recorded as saying that she believed Abby was only after her father’s money, and she would only call her “Step Mother”, not mother, and definitely not by name.

This later indicated to investigators, and the public, that their relationship was civil at best.

Lizzie was known for faking illness in order to avoid family dinners and her step-mother especially. I can’t imagine this behaviour is unusual, even for an adult, who might dislike a person living under their roof. I’ve avoided a few conversations this way, myself.

Lizzie was a little strange, and childlike, as an adult.

In 1892, at 32 years, old she built a pigeon coop to keep pigeons as pets. A little bit odd but nothing to indicate that anything was wrong with her, especially not that she would have violent tendencies.

Her father, Andrew, howver, wasn’t exactly a fan of the pigeons. He was violent. He believed the pigeons were attracting local kids who wanted to hunt them and considered the children pests. And so decided the best remedy was to kill all the pigeons with a hatchet. A little extreme, if you ask me.

Naturally, Liz was upset. She had been caring for these pigeons and rather than releasing the birds and dismantling the coop, her father had destroyed everything in one big, bloody mess. A possible motive for Lizzie, or just a tragedy?

Lizzie and her sister, who were considered spinsters, being in their 30s and unmarried, decided to take a short vacation together after a family argument. It has been suggested that this vacation may have been part of the murderous plan, given it took place shortly before the murders.

The sisters returned home just a week before the killings. During the time they were away, Andrew had been gifting various amounts of real-estate to his wife’s family which may solidify the idea that she was just in it for the money. Though many marriages were made to secure finances, as we know, so would it really have been that scandalous?

The borden house was a busy one leading up to the murders.

Enter second suspect: John Vinnicum Morse. Andrew’s brother.

John visited the Borden home to discuss business with Andrew and was to stay for a short time. You can imagine that there may have been some tension between the two with Andrew selling off property that John may have felt some entitlement to. There is not much information about their relationship, otherwise, though we all know how mixing money and family can cause tension. And worse.

This is where things start to get weird. Or, weirder.

Only days before the murders, the entire Borden family had taken ill. Including Lizzie. It was suggested that this was due to food poisoning from old mutton but Abby was paranoid, and perhaps rightly so. She believed the family had been deliberately poisoned. This sparks the idea that the family may have had known enemies, outside or within their home.

Suspect/s three: The maids.

The maids of the Borden family were said to be disgruntled by the way they were treated by the Borden’s. Abby and Andrew were not the kindest of employers.

On Thursday 4 August, 1892, Abby and Andrew were murdered.

Abby was said to have been facing her killer when she was struck with a weapon. This caused her to fall face down on the floor where she was struck another 19 times in the back of her head, taking place between 9.00 – 10.30am.

Andrew was murdered between 10.30 – 11.10am. He was chatting with his brother in the sitting room for about an hour prior to his murder. Morse then went for an hour or so walk at 9am. When he returned (conveniently after both murders had taken place) he claimed his house key wouldn’t work in the lock, so he called for assistance. It was the housemaid who came to the door and discovered the body, saying that when she swore aloud, she believed she heard Lizzie laughing upstairs. This itself is questionable due to Lizzie’s alibi which I will come to in a moment.

What makes John suspicious is not only that he had motive, time and a convenient alibi, but also that we know from cases such as that of Jon Benet Ramsey, that people involved in a murder will often bring a “witness” to discover the body with or for them.

As for Lizzie’s alibi: Lizzie claimed that she was in the loft in the barn eating peas while this took place, police didn’t believe her though there were witnesses who confirmed that Lizzie was not in the house at the time of the murder. You would think if the alibi was fabricated, she would have come up with something that kept her further from the house.

There are multiple contradictory testimonies from witnesses about what happened and when. Not exactly unusual as we all know that eye-witness testimonies are notoriously unreliable.

Lizzie was not thoroughly investigated or checked for blood stains during the investigation as she was unwell and was confined to her room. The police were criticised for not being thorough in their investigation when they first came to the home, which may have allowed the killer time to dispose of any damning evidence.

Following the crime, and after the initial investigation, Lizzie burned a dress she owned in the fireplace that was “covered in paint”. Eating peas in a loft makes burning a dress seem less out of character. So does owning pigeons, and back then, I guess, being unmarried and over thirty. Though, it doesn’t make it any less suspicious. It wasn’t determined whether this was the dress she was wearing the day of the murders, as no one thought to inspect it when they had the chance.

Lizzie was officially a suspect.

On August 11, 1892, Lizzie was arrested and jailed.

On June 5, 1893, trial began. All evidence appeared to be nothing more than circumstantial. At trial on June 20, after only 90 minutes, Lizzie was acquitted of her charges.

The skulls of her parents were used as evidence in the trial. The autopsy had taken place in the kitchen of the family home, and the heads had been removed. It was not until after the trial concluded that they were buried at the foot of their respective graves.

Lizzie chose to live her remaining days in the same town she grew up in, facing rumours and ridicule and even a kind of cute, if not disturbing, nursery rhyme about the murders.

Lizzie Borden took an axe
She gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done
She gave her father forty-one
Lizzie Borden got away
For her crime she did not pay

Lizzie remains the prime suspect regardless of being acquitted, but there were multiple people in that town and in that house that could have committed the crime.

Some suggest that the maid killed the parents out of frustration at her working conditions.

Morse had a convenient alibi and at the time was also considered a suspect. He remains a suspect today as the case is still unsolved and he was never ruled out.

Morse had stayed with the Borden’s weeks before and would have known their routine. He also mentioned that he didn’t see Lizzie during his trip to the family home, she seems to be a recluse which I think is reinstated by the fact that she tended to avoid her own family, spends a lot of time alone or only at the church.

As for motive?

Andrew Borden was originally married to Morse’s sister, his first wife.

Perhaps he felt entitled to her share of the land and money which instead was now going to the new wife and her extended family. This might have been an affront to him, him being more closely related and especially related by blood to Borden’s daughters. I’ve seen people fight over less, and kill over much less.

There was the equivalent of millions at stake and Morse wasn’t getting a dime. Lizzie and Emma would have been much easier to dupe out of their inheritance or to scam money from. There’s something about all the convenient excuses he was able to make that I just don’t trust.

Call me biased, because I am, but I have a bit of a soft spot for Lizzie and something tells me that she was the scapegoat for a crime she didn’t commit. I feel her innocence is confirmed by her alibi and her acquittal by a jury of her peers who knew her best.

But I want to know – what do you think? And what is your favourite portrayal of Lizzie in pop-culture?

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