The Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Jackalope

"crime"

The weed of crime bears bitter fruit, or so we’ve heard. It certainly didn’t pay for any of the people featured in these episodes.

Dorothy Cadwell Taylor

The Realest Housewife of Beverly Hills

confidante of kings, movie stars, and mobsters

The Countess di Frasso was the most famous hostess in the world, who threw parties for kings; actors, athletes and aviators; Nazis and mobsters.

Categories: Arts & Culture, Biography, Eccentrics & Prophecies, Entertainment & Media, People & Places

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"Commander William B. Cushing with Ghost Image"

What Joy to the Troubled Heart!

the tale of William H. Mumler, spirit photographer

In 1862, William H. Mumler took the first known photograph of a ghost. Maybe. What unfolded next was an epic story of fraud and self-deception...

Categories: Biography, Footsteps into the Unknown, Hoaxes, Frauds & Forgeries, People & Places, Series 13

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William Dudley Pelley, National Commander of the fascist Silver Legion of America

Seven Minutes in Heaven

the misbegotten existence of William Dudley Pelley (1890-1865)

One man's horrifying journey from toilet paper salesman to famous author to spiritual guru to American Hitler to space brother.

Categories: Biography, Eccentrics & Prophecies, History, Series 12

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map of Neutral Moresnet

Independent by Accident

a brief history of Neutral Moresnet (1814-1918)

An ambitious Prince William Frederick, prince of Orange-Nassau, was an ambitious man. The House of Orange had been chased from Holland by French revolutionaries, so when the Napoleonic empire crumbled in the final months of 1813 he was determined to grab as much of the spoils as he possibly could. His ultimate ambition was to […]

Categories: History, People & Places, Series 11

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Charles Brewster Ross

Your Heart’s Sorrow

the 1874 abduction of Little Charley Ross

In 1874 four-year-old Charley Ross was kidnapped in front of his family's Philadelphia home... and became America's first case of kidnapping for ransom.

Categories: Intriguing & Unsolved Mysteries, People & Places, Series 11

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