Curator 135

In the early 1940s, a well-liked man was brutally murdered in his home while his wife recovered from hip surgery in a nearby hospital. There were no signs of forced entry, plenty of cash around the home, and every door and window was locked from the inside. So who did it? And more importantly, where did the assailant go after the murder? 

The house quickly gained the reputation of being haunted as neighbors noticed lights going on and off and the silhouette of a man being seen numerous times. 

It would take Denver, Colorado detectives nearly 10 months to get to the bottom of it and when they did, they wished they hadn't. 

The games of the Third Olympiad were the first Olympics to be held on American soil. After St. Louis wrestled away the chance to host the games from Chicago, they lumped the event in with the Louisiana Purchase Expo and World Fair. 

The Olympic Marathon, an event that everyone looked forward to, was a mess from start to finish. Full of comedy, danger, and cheating. Travel back in time with Curator 135 and learn about all of the shenanigans that took place. 

It got so bad that the International Olympic Committee tried to have marathons removed from further Olympic games. 

The early 1920's was a time that saw numerous vessels vanish in the Atlantic Ocean. The Carroll A. Deering didn't vanish, but its crew did, and then washed up on the dangerous Diamond Shoals off the coast of North Carolina.

Was it mutiny? Captain Wormell and his first mate did not get along and everyone knew it. German U-boats were a thing of the past, and so were pirates, right? Was it Russians? Or the work of the not-yet-known Bermuda Triangle? 

We may never know. The Carroll A. Deering (along with the nearby disappearance of the S.S. Hewitt) may go down as one of the greatest unsolved mysteries ever. 

Arthur "Gypsy Bob" Harper (b. 1880) was one of Michigan's most notorious criminals. Murder, theft, and assault were part of his everyday life outside of prison. Luckily he only spent 15 of his 73 years out in the world. The rest of his time was spent locked up in various prisons in New York, Missouri, Illinois, and Michigan. 

Even that didn't stop him from committing heinous crimes. 

Let's learn about the man who holds the record for the most consecutive years in solitary confinement and the most tattoos.

What happened at the Attica Maximum Security Prison in September 1971 should have changed how prisons were run forever.  Unfortunately, the 'tough on crime' 80's and 90's erased any of the steps that were taken. Find out what went on during the four days inside of Attica as Governor Nelson Rockefeller battled from afar to win back the prison... at any cost. 

What are some of your Christmas-time family traditions? Elf on the Shelf? Boots on the windowsill? Hiding brooms? KFC?

Curator135 looks at some of the strange but mostly meaningful Christmas traditions around the globe. Come along for a wild ride, and learn about everything from scaring children to radishes to straw goats. 

Before iPhones and the internet, before television and radio, people went out of their way to find entertainment. If something newsworthy was happening, they wanted to be a part of it. 

Floyd Collins and the caves below Kentucky gave the nation just that in January 1925.  Hear how one man, trapped 60 feet below the surface, brought in thousands of onlookers from across the country for a two-week period. 

He wanted to be a winner in the Kentucky Cave Wars but may have sealed his fate while exploring one day. 

W.W. Jacobs, was an English author best known for his short stories, particularly the classic tale "The Monkey's Paw."

Jacobs' writing often delved into the realm of humor and the supernatural. "The Monkey's Paw," published in 1902, remains one of his most celebrated works. This chilling story revolves around a mysterious monkey's paw that grants its owner three wishes but comes with unintended and tragic consequences, illustrating Jacobs' skill in crafting suspenseful and thought-provoking narratives.

Listen to it in its entirety, read by Curator135.

In the late 1800's getting away with murder was a whole lot easier than it is today. Men like H.H. Holmes and Jack the Ripper made families lock their doors at night and prostitutes want to change professions. 

One man, who some believed could have been the infamous Jack the Ripper, managed to murder in three different countries. His reign of terror continued even after he was given life in prison. 

Episode 61 is about a man known as Dr. Cream, and later, the Lambeth Poisoner. Get to know Thomas Neill Cream. 

Everyone knows about John Wilkes Booth and his dastardly plan to weaken the government and breathe new life into the Confederacy. It didn't work and Booth was killed days later. But who killed him? Thomas "Boston" Corbett, that's who. 

Boston Corbett was an interesting character who lived a hard life but leaned on God to get him through everything. 

In some people's eyes, he was a hero, but his actions almost got him in a lot of trouble, and he lived in fear of Booth's ghost for the rest of his days. Learn more in episode 60! 

In 1971, deep in the Sierra Nevada, near the tiny village of Weimar, California, 17 campers experienced an event that changed their lives. By the next morning, Sheriff Wayne Brown and his deputies found three folks seriously injured and two dead. A manhunt that took them to Mexico ensued.

Clarence Otis Smith was accused of the horrific event and rightfully so. However, he had demons along with a mail-order preacher in his ear the whole time.  Find out what happened and what led up to the Sickle Slayings at the Bear River Campground.

Who was Reverend Everett T Richardson? Where did he come from? And could he of possibly been the Zodiac Killer? 

Whether you are a believer in extraterrestrial beings or not, 1979 gave us one of the most well-documented cases of a UFO in our recent history.

Val Johnson was out doing his job, patrolling the back roads of northwestern Minnesota, just minutes from the North Dakota border. When he went to turn onto Highway 220, a light appeared before him. Seconds later it was hitting his vehicle, causing damage to the patrol car and himself.  

Some people believe it was ball lightning and that he was lucky to be alive. Others know that lightning would have done a different kind of damage. Johnson lost 39 minutes that night. What happened? We may never know. 

In the 1930's the science of forensics was still in its infancy.  When Dr. Buck Ruxton's wife and nanny went missing, the police were forced to come up with new ways to identify the bodies... which had been cut up into numerous pieces. 

How did they do it? Learn all about Britain's 'Jigsaw Murders' in Episode 57 of the podcast. 

Michigan has only 13 recorded executions in its history. They'd long ago taken the death penalty off the table. So why was Anthony Chebatoris hung within Michigan's borders in 1938?

Find out what led up to Michigan's final execution. The life of Tony Chebatoris, his partner in crime, the targeted bank, and the hero dentist. 

In 1942, just months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, tensions were high all along the west coast. Might the Japanese invade California? It sure seemed like a possibility. After a submarine surfaced and shot at a nearby oil well, the city of Los Angeles was on alert. In the early morning hours of February 25th, something caused numerous stations to fire anti-aircraft guns toward the sky. Was it the Japanese army? Alien Invaders? A spy balloon? We may never know. 

With dozens of well-known classics, beloved by children and adults everywhere, what caused so many to become upset with Dr. Seuss? Why did Seuss Enterprises pull six of his books off the shelves?

Was Theodor Seuss Geisel more of a Lorax or a Grinch? 

Episode 54 dives into some little-known (darker) facts about one of the country's best-selling children's authors.  

Jack be nimble... Jack Sprat... Jack and the Beanstalk... Why is the name Jack used so often in English folklore and fairytales? And then comes Jack the Ripper and finally Spring-Heeled Jack. 

Dive into episode 53 and learn about the terror of the 1800s who could breathe fire and jump over 10-foot walls.  Spring-Heeled Jack, man, monster or myth?

In 1929 a little-known case rocked the city of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Eugene and Pearl Burgess believed that an old neighbor and family friend, Mrs. Etta Fairchild, was a witch and would soon put hexes on their household or worse yet, murder them one by one. 

They did the only thing they could think to do. Murder her first. 

The case rocked the city and soon spread across the nation. Not since the Salem Witch Trials had a woman been put to death for being a witch. 

After months of research into the case, Curator 135 has turned the tale into a non-fiction short story.  

Hear the last written letters from some important people in history. While sad, they are evidence of the power of handwritten letters over what modern technology offers today. 

The last written thoughts of Anne Boleyn, Marie Antoinette, Wild Bill Hickok, Sullivan Ballou, Vincent van Gogh, Virginia Woolf, and Ernest Hemingway are featured in this episode. 

We celebrate our 50th episode and Halloween with a reading of "The Red Room" by science fiction legend, H.G. Wells. Few people know that Wells liked to dabble in horror from time to time. 

Hear Curator135 read one of his spooky tales from the late 1800s. 

This story explains that sometimes the scariest moments in life are created in your own brain.