Ominous Origins

Lavinia Fisher, The Old City Jail, and Jolly Jane, Oh My!

Yes, we're back with our second look into Mrs. Lavinia Fisher, who you may remember from such atrocities as The Six Mile Wayfarer House, and the crimes she committed there. What crimes you're asking? Well! How about highway robbery and potential murder. You may also recall she was touted as the first female serial killer in American history - a title that may come into question in this episode. Nevertheless, Lavinia was hanged after her husband, while she wore her wedding dress. And you know what happens when evil people die under dramatic circumstances? They haunt the joint! Naturally, the site in which she died plays home to her spirit... and maybe not just hers.
Turns out that the Old County Jail has quite a terrible history about it. For over a hundred years it wore many faces, from a hospital and a workhouse, to prisons where people were brutally tortured and killed for their crimes. It was also where many men from the Vesey Revolt were imprisoned and hanged. The grounds itself seem to be cursed, haunted, and just downright evil. So why not open a haunted tour?! Of course somebody did, and because of that, many have witnessed what they believe to be ghosts or spirits wandering the building, including the ghost of Lavinia Fisher. I mean, what do you expect in a place with such a history?
Lastly, we talk about maybe the first convicted female serial killer in American history? Yeah, let's go with that. While I believe that Lavinia did commit many a murder, she was never convicted. But you know who was? Jolly Jane Toppan, who was actually born Honora Kelley. Her life was less than ideal in her younger years which probably lead to her infamous future. Mom died young, dad was an abusive alcoholic, and she ended up in an orphanage, if that's not a recipe for a serial killer, I don't know what it. Regardless, she went onto kill a lot of people. But just how many? Well, you'll have to listen to find out.
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Lavinia Fisher | America's First Female Serial Killer

Back in the day, and I mean back in the day, when America was just a wee lad in the world a woman by the name of Lavinia Fisher, and her husband John broke onto the scene in Charleston, South Carolina. The had a humble hotel located in the outskirts of the major city called the Six Mile Wayfarer House, as it was located six miles outside of Charleston. However, this hotel wasn't exactly your typical Hilton, hell, it wasn't even a motel 8. It was closer to HH Holmes little piece of Hell in Chicago nearly a hundred years later. Yup, it was a murder hotel, and oddly enough, it took quite a while before people actually caught onto what Lavinia and John were doing.
After the last known whereabouts of countless men happened to be the Wayfarer House, the locals in Charleston stormed the castle and demanded answers. It was unclear if they got what they wanted out of it, but they did leave a man behind to keep watch. Poor bugger. But, I won't spoil the rest for you, as this is a two parter, despite it being a bit on the short side. It is interesting find out about Lavinia, as she pre-dates a lot of well-known male serial killers, and the fact that she was ruthless and so calculated with how she went about her business was nothing short of terrifyingly impressive.
The world has been filled with terrible people, and frankly, it still is. However, most times when we think of serial killers from history, we think of Bundy, Gacy, Dahmer, etc... But how many people think about Lavinia Fisher? Up until recently, I can't say that I had, but I will now.
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Creepy Dolls

Tell me, what's your worst nightmare? It's different for everybody, sure. But there are the common ones. Ya know, like sharks, clowns, demons, the list goes on and on. For some, maybe even a lot of people, that nightmare involves dolls, more specifically haunted or possessed dolls. Yup. Now, for those people this episode is going to suck hard. But for the rest, it could be fun an interesting.
In this first episode back in the new year I look at two instances of, well, creepy ass dolls. The first takes place in Mexico on an island close to the main metropolis of Mexico City, and it's aptly named the island of dolls. You guessed it, it's an entire island with nothing but dolls on it. No people, just dolls the previous owner, Don Julian, nailed, tied, and hung from nearly every possible spot on the island. The only other thing that's more plentiful than these dolls are the bloody spiders. Big nasty scary looking spiders. The tale about the dolls is as mysterious as it is potentially tragic, and it involves the drowning of a young girl.
In our second story, yes a second, we have the infamous Annabelle doll. Yup, that Annabelle, from the Conjuring universe of films. I think most people knew it was real, but it's story is both wild and fascinating, as well dates back the 1970's when a college age girl was gifted it by her mom (I personally think that's the weirdest part of the whole story, but maybe she collected second-hand Raggedy Ann dolls. Nevertheless, shortly after the girl got the doll, her and her roommate began experiencing some weird things with it. Originally, a medium said it was inhabited by a girl who lived on the land. Later the infamous Warren's got involved and declared it to be a vessel of sorts for a demon.
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True Crime | Wanda Beach Finale

There are twists, there are turns, and there are still no answers when it comes to the slayings of Marianne Schmidt and Christine Sharrock, also known as the Wanda Beach Murders. Granted, it would be unlikely to have any answers as the terrible event took place in 1965. However, as we'll discover, there were leads being looked at well into the mid and 2010's. The case shocked the community, and the fact that it was never solved was more or less the first in a string of unsolved crimes, mostly murders, around that time. Some believed that they were connected, some thought some were connected, and others really didn't know either way. 
This episode looks at the similarities between some of these unsolved crimes, the suspects involved, and some wonderfully botched police work that includes losing more or less the only DNA evidence they recovered and kept. Yay police! I go on a bit of a rant in the episode about it, so I'll save you having to read it too. In the end, it's no real surprise that the case has gone unsolved. From the location, to the time, to the lack of eye-witnesses (though there is one that we'll talk about), it just seemed as though this case was destined to never be solved. 
Although there were three main suspects in the case, none ever confessed, and two died before charges could ever be laid (granted one was in the 2000's). The police were banking on a confession for these murders, but sadly they never got them. Too often police theorize and stick to one version of whatever story they like as opposed to letting the evidence lead the way. I understand, when there isn't much evidence to go on, sometimes you have to pluck something out of mid-air and hope its right, because if it's wrong, well you've just landed an innocent person behind bars.
For all the details regarding this case, be sure to listen not only to this episode, but part one as well.
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True Crime | Wanda Beach

Who doesn't love a little true crime now and again? I know I sure do, which is why every so often I like to toss on into the circuit of episodes, and this one will be a two parter, so that's even better, right? Today we look at in incident that took place in the 1960's in Australia, and it focuses on a pair of teenage girls who would often frequent a beach known as Wanda beach. It was a bit of a trek from their home, a couple of train rides away, so whenever they went, they were sure to make a day of it. One fateful day in January of 1965 Marianne Schmidt and her four younger siblings, accompanied by Marianne's friend, Christine Sharrock left for Wanda beach. When they arrived around 11am, the weather was so bad that the beach was closed to the public.
They weren't going to let the day go to waste however, and made their way to some rock bluffs to get the most out of their time. They swam and picnicked, and hiked to their hearts content. They then made their way to some sand hills before the younger children wanted to head home. Marianne and Christine left the kids there to go fetch their belongings at the rock bluff. That was the last time the girls were seen alive. The case is heart wrenching, as any case involving kids are, and it's only made more upsetting by the complete mystery shrouding the case. In this episode we look at the beginnings up to the investigation, which I'll save for you until next week. It one we may never get answers to... or will we? You'll just have to listen and see, and keep an eye out for next week's episode as well which will have the final outcome of the case.
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Werewolves | Peter Stumpf

We're back with some more werewolf stuff! I have an interesting real life case today, and a little tidbit about a potential werewolf skull. The skull in question was found in a box, wrapped in chains, in Macedonia, which apparently has a rich and very long history of werewolves in their culture. It was an interesting find, but certainly not the main topic of today's episode. The main event comes to us in the form of a German man by the name of Peter Strumpf, who in the 16th century, believed himself to be a werewolf of sorts causing him to go into homicidal rages.
Stumpf was a respected and known member of the community in Bedburg, Germany - not far from Cologne. He was fairly wealthy, and owned a farm where he lived with his kids - his wife had died sometime earlier. Of course, nobody is going to suspect him of the terrible crimes that were committed, in fact, nobody was. It was believed everything that happened was caused by wolves - ironic. But what were the crimes? They ranged from cattle mutilations to human mutilations, and everything in between. Now, why did people think this was the doings of a wolf, or wolves? Well, locals would find bits of bodies: legs, arms, organs, in the countryside. Never did they think it was a human's doing.
It wasn't until a hunting party got fed up with the wolves ravaging their livestock that they went in search of said wolves. It wasn't long until they thought they had their culprit, but when their dogs cornered something, that something turned out to be Peter Strumpf. His story was incredible and near unbelievable, and his trial, and ultimate execution were the things of nightmares. For all the details you'll have to listen to the episode!
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Werewolves | King Lycaon

So here we are, I can't believe it's taken me this long to cover this all too familiar topic: Werewolves. But I fought with the best place to start, so I figured why not right at the beginning? In Greek Mythology there was a figure who went by the name King Lycaon - and the name should be a dead giveaway as to what he became. The king was the ruler of Arcadia before it was called as such, and he did a very bad thing. One day, he decided to do something that would royally anger Zeus, which is never a smart move. For his punishment, he had lightning bolts (naturally) thrown by Zeus to demolish his home, among other things. But that wasn't enough, and he was eventually cursed to be a wolf that resembled his human appearance. 
That's if you belief Ovid's recollection of the story. Some say it was actually some of Lycaon's 50 sons that did the deed, damning their father. In the end though, the result was the same and Lycaon was transformed into a wolf, at least for nine years. Should he not consume human flesh within that time, he could have his humanity restored. The question is, could he fight his primal urges, or succumb to them. It's an interesting story, and one that has a ton of backstory, but thankfully I was able to narrow it down, and condense a lot of it down for you. 
There were stories around the same time, if not a little before of Ishtar turning one of her lovers into a wolf in the Epic of Gilgamesh, but that's a topic for another day. Ultimately, the werewolf legend is one that transcends time, and has carried on through the ages. 
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Aliens of Old | The Astronaut of Casar Stele

Aliens! They're fun, right? I do love talking about aliens, both sightings and encounters. From theories to conspiracies, I don't think there is anything as fascinating as a good UFO sighting or alien encounter. But what about where it all started? Have we been visited by aliens in the past? How about in ancient times? Are there legitimately ancient aliens out there? Some would have you believe that's the case, other's poo-poo the idea. Regardless of your feelings on the topic, there are some interesting cases and artifacts out there that might suggest we have been visited long ago.
Enter the Astronaut of Casar Stele. This stone etching exists in the southern part of Spain in a place called Casar, clearly. The depiction on the stele shows a humanoid type drawing, with a large misshapen head as well as bulbous shoulders. Many write it off as nothing too crazy, however there is a bit of text on the stele, which has yet to be deciphered today, which has many scratching their heads. With that there are some little known and under-documented languages from that region, during that time that may hold hints. Despite having an idea of what language the text is written in, nobody has been able to translate it.
Does this lead to definitive proof that this is indeed an alien artifact? Did a local at the time create this based of an extra-terrestrial that they had seen? Maybe. That's all I can really say. The chances of it depicting an alien are slim, but not zero. Personally, I do sorta hope it is an alien - that would just be plain cool. For more info, you'll just have to listen to the episode!
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