"Michigan"

Strange stories from our 26th state, from Detroit to the Upper Peninsula.

a (historically inaccurate) woodblock print of the flaming steamship CAROLINE being carried over Niagara Falls

Dangerous Excitement

good times never felt so good

The Canadian revolution seemed over... and then the Redcoats seized an American ship, set it on fire, and sent it plunging over Niagara Falls.

Categories: History, Series 13

Tags: Amherstburg ON Buffalo, NY Canada Cleveland, OH Detroit, MI Michigan Montreal, QC New York State Niagara Falls, NY Niagara Falls, ON Ohio Presented by #13 Quebec Toronto, ON United Kingdom United States Vermont War of 1812 Windsor, ON

Published: January 1, 2024

A Warning To Future Man

either the most astonishing revelation in history... or its greatest hoax

"I myself cannot explain it. I know only that I remember Lemuria! Remember it with the absolute conviction of a fanatic..."

Categories: Entertainment & Media, Hoaxes, Frauds & Forgeries, Most Popular, Series 11

Tags: Atlantis Dungeons & Dragons hollow Earth Hugo Gernsback Illinois Michigan Pennsylvania powwow Presented by #13 pseudo-science racial memory Raymond Arthur Palmer Richard Sharpe Shaver science fiction Wisconsin

Published: August 8, 2022

Holy Ghost Babies

ten times worse than Brigham Young (or so they say)

George Jacob Schweinfurth was a charlatan who mocked religion, stole money, and despoiled women with his hypnotic powers. Then he did something unexpected.

Categories: Eccentrics & Prophecies, People & Places, Series 11

Tags: "Doctor" John Alexander Dowie, "First Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ" Chicago, IL Christianity cult Dr. Cyrus Reed Teed "Koresh" Illinois Koreshan Unity Messiah Michigan Presented by #13 religion

Published: July 25, 2022

Burchianti Gang is sought in dynamating, robbery of pay armored auto at Coverdale

The Terror of Gillikin Country

they terrorized the rust belt for years, and the cops were none the wiser

For years the Torso Burchianti Gang terrorized the Monongahela Valley. It turned out the gang wasn't quite as fearsome as the cops thought...

Categories: People & Places, Series 6

Tags: Chicago, IL Cleveland, OH crime Detroit, MI Michigan Pennsylvania Pittsburgh, PA Presented by #13

Published: December 28, 2020

Exceeding Great

that's Ezekiel 9:9 for those of you reading along at home

How many times will folks fall for the same old tricks? You might be surprised. The story of Prince Mike, King Ben, and the Houses of Israel and David.

Categories: Eccentrics & Prophecies, Least Popular, People & Places, Series 5

Tags: "King" Benjamin Franklin Purnell "Prince" Michael Keyfor Mills 1904 St. Louis World's Fair and Louisiana Purchase Centennial Exposition Ann O'Delia Diss Debar baseball Canada communism crime cult David Livingston Mackay Detroit, MI Messiah Michigan Presented by #13 Protestantism religion United Kingdom Windsor, ON

Published: November 23, 2020

He Whooped to See Them Burn

Simon Girty (1741-1818) -- renegade and traitor, or man of principle?

Was "white savage" Simon Girty (1741-1818) a renegade and traitor, or a man of principle? We reexamine his history and try to figure out what made him tick.

Categories: Biography, History, Most Popular, Series 4

Tags: American Revolutionary War Amherstburg ON Battle of Point Pleasant Canada Chief Logan Detroit, MI French and Indian War Kentucky Lord Dunmore's War Michigan Mohawk Nation Moravian Church Native Americans Northwest Indian War Ohio Pennsylvania Pittsburgh, PA Presented by #13 Seneca Nation The Devil and Daniel Webster United Kingdom United States of America Virginia War of 1812 West Virginia

Published: July 13, 2020

Spirit Princess

one woman, thirty aliases, forty years and too many crimes to count

The greatest and most notorious Spiritualist swindler of all time was a woman from Kentucky who looked a bit like Lola Montez (if you squinted).

Categories: Biography, Hoaxes, Frauds & Forgeries, Series 3

Tags: "General" Joseph Hubert Diss Debar "Prince" Michael Keyfor Mills Ann O'Delia Diss Debar Baltimore, MD Boston, MA Canada Catholicism Chicago, IL crime cult David Livingston Mackay Detroit, MI dime museum Dr. Cyrus Reed Teed "Koresh" Florida Fort Myers, FL Freeman Bernstein Harmony Society Illinois Joseph D. Townsend Koreshan Unity London, England Massachusetts Michigan New York, NY Presented by #13 religion Spiritualism Theosophical Society Theosophy United Kingdom Windsor, ON

Published: March 23, 2020

The Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Jackalope