The Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Jackalope

"criminal law"

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by three separate yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime; the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders; and the podcasters, who endlessly muse about everything later.

medium Helen Duncan "manifests ectoplasm"

Deeply Impressed

Helen Duncan goes on trial

Helen Duncan was the last person persecuted in Britain for being a witch. Except she wasn't the last, she wasn't a witch, and she wasn't exactly persecuted either...

Categories: Footsteps into the Unknown, Hoaxes, Frauds & Forgeries, People & Places, Series 14

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a woodcut depicting the Confederate raid on St. Albans, VT

Rapscallions!

"surprised and excited"

A grab bag of Confederate plots: Fake peace conferences! Robbing banks! Burning down cities! Kidnapping the vice president!

Categories: History, Series 14

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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 (1890-1965)

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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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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