Historium Unearthia: Unearthing History's Lost and Untold Stories

In the United States, the war against women took a particularly dark and secretive turn in the early 1900s—around the start of World War I. Under a government-sponsored “social hygiene” campaign, to protect newly recruited soldiers, tens of thousands of women were arrested on “suspicion” of having a venereal disease. Sex workers were the prime targets, but any woman who raised an eyebrow could be apprehended. The women were subjected to invasive gynecological examinations. If they tested positive for an STI, they were incarcerated in hospitals, reformatories, and prisons, without any semblance of due process. Once imprisoned, the women became test subjects—receiving painful injections of mercury and other ineffective treatments. Many were beaten and forcibly sterilized. Most were held indefinitely until they were deemed “cured” or “reformed.” The program persisted for decades, well into the 1950s, and even shades of this discriminatory practice are present today. Have you ever heard of the American Plan? Credit: It was an absolute pleasure to speak with Scott Stern, author of The Trials of Nina McCall, the first book-length history of the American Plan, and Jeana Jorgensen, a scholar and sex educator who has written extensively, from a feminist angle, on the impacts of the American Plan. Sources: The Trials of Nina McCall: Sex, Surveillance, and the Decades-Long Government Plan to Imprison "Promiscuous" Women; Stern, Scott W.; Penguin Random House; May 15, 2018. The American Plan: The U.S. Government's Forgotten Plan to Lock Up Women and Free the Country from the Scourge of Disease; Stern, Scott W.; Yale University; 2015. The U.S. Detained 'Promiscuous' Women in What One Called a 'Concentration Camp.' That Word Choice Matters; Stern, Scott W.; TIME; May 15, 2018.  The American Plan and World War I; Jorgensen, Jeana; Patheos; January 1, 2019. The Impact of the American Plan; Jorgensen, Jeana; Patheos; January 1, 2019. American Social Hygiene Association History and a Forecast; Virginia Commonwealth University, Social Welfare History Project; Retrieved May 2019. Brief History of Syphilis; Tampa, M; Journal of Medicine and Life; March 25, 2014. Sexually Transmitted Disease Control in the Armed Forces, Past and Present; Emerson, Lynn A.C.; Military Medicine; 1997.

This trailblazer became the most successful and significant black woman writer of the first half of the 20th century. In the 1970s, during the second wave of feminism, Alice Walker helped revive interest in this pioneer’s writings, bringing them back to public attention. Have you ever heard of Zora Neale Hurston? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: It was a deep honor and absolute pleasure to speak with Valerie Boyd, author of Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston, and DaMaris Hill, a professor at the University of Kentucky and author of A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing, for this episode. Sources: Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston; Boyd, Valerie; Scribner; February 3, 2004. Dust Tracks on a Road; Hurston, Zora Neale; Harpers; 1942, updated 2017. A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing: The Incarceration of African American Women from Harriet Tubman to Sandra Bland; Hill, DeMaris; Bloomsbury Publishing; January 15, 2019. Zora Neale Hurston; Official Website; Maintained by the Zora Neale Hurston Trust; Retrieved February 2019. Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Biography; Hemenway, Robert; University of Illinois Press, September 1, 1980.

In the US, doctors are held in high esteem. But that wasn’t always the case. There was time when the medical field was riddled with controversy and public scrutiny. Tensions between the world of medicine and society reached a boiling point in New York City during April of 1788, when resurrection, the common practice of grave robbing, came under scrutiny. Have you ever heard of the New York Doctors Riot? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: I want to give a special thanks to Andrea Janes, owner and founder of Boroughs of the Dead LLC, a boutique tour company dedicated to dark and unusual walking tours of New York City, and Bess Lovejoy, journalist and author of Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses. Sources: The Gory New York City Riot that Shaped American Medicine; Lovejoy, Bess; Smithsonian Magazine; June 17, 2014. Doctors' riot, New York, 1788; Bell, Whitefield J.; American Association for the History of Medicine; December 1971. Grave Robbing And The Doctors Riot of 1788; Hernandez, Miguel; The New York History Blog; December 20, 2016. The Doctors’ Riot of 1788; Ancestry.com; Retrieved February 2019. American resurrection and the 1788 New York doctors' riot’; de Costa, Caroline and Miller, Francesca; Perspectives, The Art of Medicine; January 22, 2011. Prelude and Aftermath of the Doctors' Riot of 1788: A Religious Interpretation of White and Black Reaction to Grave Robbing; Swan, Robert J.; New York History, Fenimore Art Museum; Vol. 81, No. 4 (October 2000), pp. 417-456. American Heritage Book Selection: The Body Snatchers; Gallagher, Thomas; American Heritage Magazine; June 1967.

In the days before modern medicine, the sick, injured, and expecting often relied on community healers to perform the services of doctors and midwives. Women largely fulfilled these roles. Whether their practices were rooted in scripture, nature, or common sense, there’s no denying their quintessential place in the history of medicine. Have you ever heard of the Ozarks’ Granny Women? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit Janet Allured, a professor of history and the Director of Women’s Studies at McNeese University in Louisiana, and Vincent Anderson, historian and author of multiple books on the Ozarks’ region. Sources Granny Women: Healing and Magic in Appalachia; Burns, Phyllis Doyle; RemedyGrove; March 11, 2018. Women’s Healing Art: Domestic Medicine in the Turn-of-the-Century Ozarks; Allured, Janet L.; Gateway Heritage, Spring 1992, Vol. 12, No. 4; Missouri Historical Society; Retrieved January 2019. The “Granny-Woman” in the Ozarks; Rayburn, Otto Ernest; Midwest Folklore, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Autumn, 1959), pp. 145-148, Indiana University Press; Retrieved January 2019. Last of the Ozark Granny Women; Shannon Country Coordinators; Shannon County, Missouri GenWeb; Retrieved January 2019. Mozark Moments: Tales of Granny Women and Yarb Doctors; Johns, Paul; CCHeadliner.com; March 20, 2011.

On July 27, 1890, a painter sustained a single gunshot wound to the abdomen and died a few days later. This infamous event has carried through time as a suicide. After his death, the deceased became one of history’s most iconic and celebrated artists. Yet, we are only now learning the truth about his life and untimely death. Have you ever heard of the mysteries surrounding Vincent van Gogh? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: I want to give a special thanks to Dr. Irving Arenberg, a prominent (retired) ear surgeon and author of the new book Killing Vincent: The Man, The Myth, and The Murder, and Louis van Tilborgh of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Source: Killing Vincent: The Man, the Myth, and the Murder; Arenberg, Irving Kaufman; Amazon Digital Services; October 24, 2018. Van Gogh: The Life; Naifeh, Steven and Smith, Gregory White; Random House LLC; October 18, 2011. Meet Vincent; Van Gogh Museum – Amsterdam; Retrieved December 2018. Vincent Van Gogh; Historical Figures; BBC; Retrieved January 2019. Vincent Van Gogh Biography; The Van Gogh Gallery; Retrieved January 2019.NOW

Throughout history there have been countless methods for forecasting the weather. In 1818, David Young, a poet and an astronomer from Morristown, New Jersey, launched a publication that would help take the guesswork out of this tricky task...and then some. Have you ever heard of the Farmers’ Almanac? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: Peter Geiger, publisher and editor at the Farmers’ Almanac, joined me for this wonderful episode on the history of a timeless publication. I’m grateful for his insight and stories. Image Copyright: Almanac Publishing Company Sources: Farmers’ Almanac History; Farmers’ Almanac; Retrieved December 2018. Agriculture, Food, and the Environment; Brosnan, Kathleen A. and Blackwell, Jacob; Oxford Research Enclyopedias; April 2016. What is an Almanac?; Wonderopolois; Retrieved December 2018. Farmers’ Almanac Timeline; Farmers’ Almanac; Retrieved December 2018. History of American Agriculture; Bellis, Mary; ThoughtCo.; October 3, 2018. A Visit to the Past; Duncan, Sandi; Farmers’ Almanac; December 10, 2012. Time Travel Anyone?; Duncan, Sandi; Farmers’ Almanac; November 12, 2013.

Greene County, Missouri was once home to many bustling communities that slowly withered away. One town had quite an intriguing story. There it was said the springs could cure; that a bit of heaven had fallen to earth. A respected doctor even banked his future on the town’s medicinal wonders. Have you ever heard of the lost town of Bethesda? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: A huge thanks to author and local Greene County historian Shirley Gilmore who wrote a little book called Bethesda: Lost City in 1970, when she was a senior in high school and as part of a Girl Scout project. The book is in the reference section of the Springfield-Greene County Library in Springfield, Missouri. I also grateful for the historical insight of John Sellars, the Executive Director of the History Museum on the Square, dedicated to revitalizing and preserving the history of the Springfield, Missouri community. Sources: Bethesda: Lost City; Gilmore, Shirley; Girl Scout Troop #15 (Springfield, Missouri); August 12, 1970. A Directory of Towns, Villages, and Hamlets Past and Present of Greene County, Missouri; Moser, Arthur Paul; Springfield-Greene County Library; Retrieved December 2018. Robberson Township, Ebeneezer, Hackney, Bethesda, Glidewell; Greene County 1904; Missouri Publishing Co. Glen M. “Heinie” Siegel; Obituary; Newsok.com; January 10, 2001. The Lost Town of Bethesda and More on Springfield's Cryptid History; Urban Cryptids; December 14, 2012. The Mysterious Goat Man; Urban Cryptids; May 19, 2013.

In the 1920s, one aviation pioneer launched a thank-you project for the families that keep coastal ships safe. He propelled a goodwill tradition that’s lasted longer than he ever imagined. One that has lasted to this day… Have you ever heard of the Flying Santas? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: I’d like to give a huge thanks to the Friends of Flying Santa for their dedication and generosity in keeping this good-will tradition alive. If you’d like to donate to this wonderful cause, please visit their website at https://www.flyingsanta.com/Donations.html. This story first appeared on Narratively. Sources: The Origins and History of the Flying Santa; Tague, Brian, Friends of Flying Santa; Retrieved November 2018. No Reindeer Necessary; DownEast Magazine; December 2015. The Flying Santa of Coastal New England; New England Historical Society; Retrieved November 2018. History of Owls Head Light, Maine; D'Entremont, Jeremy; New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide; Retrieved November 2018.

After the Revolutionary War, at a pivotal moment when Washington and Spain were fighting for control of North America, one American war hero deflected from honor and signed a secret allegiance with Spain. President Theodore Roosevelt said, "In all our history, there is no more despicable character.” Have you ever heard of James Wilkinson? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: A huge thanks to New York Times bestselling author, Andra Watkins, whose new book I Am Number 13 pairs international aid volunteer Emmaline Cagney with the unsettled ghost of James Wilkinson—the former American general who’s stuck in an in-between world called Nowhere. I’m also grateful for the scholarly insight of James Lewis, a professor of history at Kalamazoo College. Sources: An Artist in Treason: The Extraordinary Double Life of General James Wilkinson; Linklater, Andro; Walker Books; September 8, 2010. Spaniards, Scoundrels, and Statesmen: General James Wilkinson and the Spanish Conspiracy, 1787-1790; Savage, James E; Hanover College; Retrieved November 2018. James Wilkinson: America's Greatest Scoundrel; Jewett, Tom; Varsity Tutors; Retrieved November 2018. Tarnished Warrior: Major-General James Wilkinson; Jacobs, James Ripley; Literary Licensing; May 26, 2012. James Wilkinson; Encyclopedia.com; Retrieved November 2018.

For years, on Thanksgiving, one former railroad worker from Pennsylvania told his family a chilling tale. Well, they thought it was a tale—a grandiose and macabre account almost certainly rooted in fiction. Yet, as the story traveled through generations, the family would discover that some ghosts lead to the truth; that some of our darkest secrets lie below our feet. This is a Thanksgiving ghost story…

In the heart of southeast Utah, water and gravity have sculpted one forgotten national park into a rugged landscape. Rich in human history and natural beauty, this vast and untamed terrain is also an epicenter of legend and lore. Have you ever heard of Canyonlands National Park? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Bill Bentenson, Butch Cassidy’s great nephew and author of the book Butch Cassidy, My Uncle; David Weatherly, author, explorer, and investigator of strange phenomenon; and Clyde Denis, a professor at the University of New Hampshire who has explored, researched, and written extensively on the history and terrain of Canyonlands. Sources: Canyonlands; National Park Service; Retrieved October 2018. Canyonlands National Park; Canyonlands Natural History Association; Retrieved October 2018. Closing the road to Chesler Park: Why access to Canyonlands National Park remains limited; Denis, C.L.; Utah Historical Quarterly. 84: 328-346; 2016. Canyonlands: The Story Behind the Scenery; Johnson, David; KC Publications; June 1, 1997. Park History: Canyonlands National Park; National Parks Traveler; Retrieved October 2018. Butch Cassidy, My Uncle; Bentenson, Bill; High Plains Press; May 1, 2012. Lost Landscapes: Utah's Ghosts, Mysterious Creatures, and Aliens; Dunning, Linda; Cedar Fort; June 1, 2007. Hypothesis: The pinnacles of the Chesler Park/graben region of Canyonlands National Park result from paleostream induration and inverted topographical relief; Denis, C.L.; In MacLean;  J.S., Biek, R.F., and Huntoon, J.E editors; Geology of Utah’s Far South: Utah Geological Association Publication 43, p. 25-38; 2014. The origins of Chesler Park: determining late 19th century snowfall records and occupations of inscription writers in Canyonlands N.P.; Denis, C.L.; Canyon Legacy 69, 2-9; 2010.

“So full of artless jealousy is guilt, it spills itself in fearing to be spilt,” wrote Shakespeare in his famous play Hamlet. Perhaps, in the spectrum of human emotions, there is no deeper feeling than guilt. This strong emotional reaction manifests when we believe—or when we come to realize—that we’ve done something wrong or violated some universal moral standard. Guilt, and its handmaiden, shame, can paralyze us—or it can ruminate into mania. It is said that Micah Rood knew this kind of madness. When a farmer supposedly murders a traveling salesman in his orchard, under the original tree, the apples soon bleed with guilt—confessing to a sin their caretaker could not.

On Christmas night in 1843, a horrific crime rattled Staten Island. Within days, suspicion attached itself to one woman. Decades before Lizzie Borden gained notoriety, this young woman was accused of a horrific crime and dubbed the "Witch of Staten Island." Have you ever heard of Polly Bodine? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Patricia Salmon, a professor of history and author of the book Murder and Mayhem on Staten Island. She previously served as the history curator at the Staten Island Museum and on the Board of Directors of the Tottenville Historical Society and the Preservation League of Staten Island. I also spoke with Maxine Friedman, the chief curator at Historic Richmond Town – Staten Island’s historical society. Sources: Murder and Mayhem on Staten Island; Salmon, Patricia; The History Press; October 8, 2013. The Staten Island Mystery of 1843; Clemens; Will M.; The Era Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly; Volume 14; July 1904. The Witch of Staten Island; Undine; Strange Company; October 7, 2013. The Anti-Rent Era in New York Law and Politics, 1839-1865; McCurdy, Charles W.; The University of North Carolina Press; June 19, 2003. Staten Island’s Very Own Lizzie Borden; Matteo, Thomas; SILive.com; August 9, 2011. Edgar Allan Poe and the Witch of Staten Island; Boroughs of the Dead; Retrieved September 2018. City Lore: The Witch of Staten Island; Rasenberger, Jim; The New York Times; October 29, 2000. Poe’s Contributions to The Columbia Spy; Doings of Gotham; Poe, Edgar Allan; The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore; Retrieved October 2018.

Before Chatty Cathy made us flinch, the Wizard of Menlo Park not only perfected the lightbulb, he also gave us a creepy humanoid with a nightmarish shrill. Have you ever heard of Thomas Edison’s talking dolls? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Paul Israel, the director and general editor of the Thomas A. Edison Papers at Rutgers University and Patrick Feaster, a three-time Grammy nominee and specialist in the history, culture, and preservation of early sound media, including Edison’s recordings. Sources: Origins of Sound Recording: Edison's Path to the Phonograph; Feaster, Patrick; Thomas Edison National Historic Park; Retrieved September 2018. Edison Talking Doll Recordings, 1888-1890; National Park Service; Retrieved September 2018. Edison: A Life of Invention; Israel, Paul; John Wiley & Sons; February 11, 2000. Thomas Edison’s Greatest Inventions; Bellis, Mary; ThoughtCo.; September 24, 2018. Thomas Edison’s Creepiest Invention: The Talking Doll; Hartzman, Mark; Weird Historian; May 10, 2017. Listen to the creepy voices of Thomas Edison’s talking dolls; Starr, Michelle; C/NET; May 5, 2015. Hear Edison Talking Doll Sound Recordings; Thomas Edison National Historic Park; Retrieved September 2018.

In 1921, a white mob entered an affluent district known as Black Wall Street. They opened fire into crowds of innocent people, burned homes and businesses to the ground, and forced countless others to flee. For decades, the attack was hidden from textbooks and even oral histories. Have you ever heard of the Tulsa Race Massacre? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Hannibal Johnson, an author, attorney, consultant, and college professor who writes and lectures about the history of the Greenwood District. His books include: Black Wall Street: From Riot to Renaissance in Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District and Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District. I also spoke with Michelle Place, the Executive Director of the Tulsa Historical Society & Museum. She served on the Race Riot Commission, which was organized to review the details of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Sources: Images of America: Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District; Johnson, Hannibal B.; Arcadia Publishing; January 27, 2014. Black Wall Street: From Riot to Renaissance in Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District; Johnson, Hannibal B.; Eakin Press; September 1, 1998. Death in a Promised Land: The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921; Ellsworth, Dr. Scott and Franklin, John Hope; Louisiana State University Press; January 1, 1992. Reconstructing the Dreamland: The Tulsa Riot of 1921; Brophy, Alfred; Oxford University Press; February 14, 2003. Riot and Remembrance: The Tulsa Race War and Its Legacy; Hirsch, James S.; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; May 13, 2013. Tulsa Race Riot: A Report by the Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921; February 28, 2001. My Life and An Era: The Autobiography of Buck Colbert Franklin; Franklin, Buck Colbert; LSU Press; October 1, 1997. 1921 Tulsa Race Riot; Tulsa Historical Society and Museum; Retrieved August 2018. Tulsa Race Riot; Greenwood Cultural Center; Retrieved September 2018. The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921; Carlson, I. Marc; Retrieved September 2018. Tulsa Race Riot Overview; Oklahoma State University Library; Accessed September 2018. Tulsa Race Riot; Oklahoma Historical Society; Retrieved September 2018. Meet The Last Surviving Witness To The Tulsa Race Riot Of 1921; Gilles, Nellie; NPR; May 31, 2018. Hal Singer Short Doc; Sutherland Media; Vimeo; Accessed September 2018.

In the Late Middle Ages, the Kingdom of Hungary rose from the ashes, leaving behind a dismal episode in Hungarian history. The mid-15th century soon marked the nation’s Golden Age. At the height of its prosperity, a revered ruler, hailed the Raven King, commanded an eminent presence on the European stage. But, in the end, it wasn’t his conquests or his castles or his culture-forward mentality that made him so remarkable. His legacy may be better defined by his unorthodox relationship with Dracula and his magnificent library. Have you ever heard of Matthias Corvinus? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: It was an honor to speak with Joe Hajdu, and an urban and cultural geographer and author of the book Budapest: A History of Grandeur and Catastrophe, and Dr. Katalin Szende, an associate professor in the Department of Medieval Studies at Hungary’s Central European University. Their brilliant insight brought the Raven King back to life, even if for just a moment. Sources: Budapest: A History of Grandeur and Catastrophe; Hajdu, Joe; Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd.; July 31, 2015. The Names in the Family of King Matthias Corvinus; Pop, Ioan-Aurel; Eötvös Loránd University; Retrieved August 2018. Bloody Bibliophile Matthias Corvinus; Book Review; The Telegraph; May 25, 2008. Marcus Tanner: 'Did you know that Dracula's best friend was a warrior bookworm?'; O’Brien, Murrough; The Independent; April 20, 2008. Matthias Corvinus of Hungary; New World Encyclopedia; Retrieved August 2018. Bibliotheca Corviniana: The library of Matthias Corvinus of Hungary; Csapodi, Csaba; Irish University Press; 1969. Matthias Corvinus and His Time: Europe in Transition from the Middle Ages to Modern Times between Vienna and Constantinople; Simon, Alexandru, et al; Austrian Academy of Sciences Press; December 7, 2011. The Raven King: Matthias Corvinus and the Fate of His Lost Library; Tanner, Marcus; Yale University Press; July 1, 2008. Once the Greatest Army in Europe – The Black Army of Hungary; Gaskill, Matthew; War History Online; May 31, 2018. Will to Survive: A History of Hungary; Cartledge, Bryan; Oxford University Press; April 19, 2011.

Slow as molasses in January is a common American idiom for something that is painfully slow. The history of this expression dates to the turn of the twentieth century and to one very specific event. On an unseasonably warm winter day in 1919, only a few weeks into the new year, Boston, Massachusetts suffered one of history's strangest disasters. Have you ever heard of the Great Boston Molasses Flood? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Stephen Puleo, historian, public speaker, and author of Dark Tide, and Nicole Sharp, an aerospace engineer turned science communicator who runs a Tumblr blog on fluid dynamics. Sources: Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919; Puleo, Stephen; Beacon Press; 2004; Reprinted 100th Anniversary Edition, January 2019. Incredible physics behind the deadly 1919 Boston Molasses Flood; Ouellette, Jennifer; NewScientist; November 24, 2016. The Great Molasses Flood of 1919; Andrews, Evan; History; January 13, 2017. The Great Molasses Flood; Stanly, Robert; New England Today; January 15, 2018. Remembering Boston's Great Molasses Flood of 1919; Trex, Ethan; Mental Floss; January 15, 2018. Eric Postpischil’s Molasses Disaster Pages; Mason, John; Yankee Magazine; August 27, 2015. Great Molasses Flood of 1919: Why This Deluge of Goo Was So Deadly; Choi, Charles; LiveScience; November 21, 2016.

A series of unexpected events in 1811 and 1812 caused some strange phenomena and gave birth to countless legends. Sand volcanoes. The Mississippi running backward. Miles-long chasms opening in the earth. But only some of these weird occurrences are the truth. Have you ever heard of the New Madrid earthquakes? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Jeff Grunwald, administrator of the New Madrid Historical Museum, and Seth Stein, a seismologist and geophysicist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and author of several papers and books on the New Madrid earthquakes. Sources: The 10 Deadliest Earthquakes in US History; Mason, Betsy; Wired; November 21, 2008. Strange Happenings During the Earthquakes; City of New Madrid; Retrieved July 2018. Summary of 1811-1812 New Madrid Earthquakes Sequence; United States Geological Survey; Retrieved July 2018. Disaster Deferred: How New Science is Changing our View of Earthquake Hazards in the Midwest; Stein, Seth; Columbia University Press; 2010. Teaching about New Madrid earthquakes: science and hazards; Stein, Seth; Illinois State University; 2011. The New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-1812; Soddalter, Rod; Missouri Life; February 7, 2018. The Lost History of the New Madrid Earthquakes; Bolton Valencius, Conevery; University of Chicago Press; September 25, 2013.

In 1892, Charles C. Willoughby became the first archaeologist to excavate sites in Maine that contained powdered red ochre and artifacts in clusters that he interpreted as graves. His discovery led to an assumption that would later be proven wrong. Have you ever heard of the myth of the Red Paint People? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking Dr. Bonnie Newsom, an indigenous archaeologist and professor of anthropology at the University of Maine, and Julia Gray, owner of Riverside Museum Solutions and the former director of collections and research at the Abbe Museum. I also want to acknowledge Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko, director of Abbe Museum, who is leading the effort in the emerging practice of decolonization. Located in Bar Harbor, Maine, the Abbe Museum was founded in 1926 and first opened to the public in 1928 as a private museum at Sieur de Monts Spring in Lafayette National Park (Acadia National Park). Although most museums in the U.S. have yet to embrace decolonization, the Abbe has worked closely with indigenous peoples of Maine, specifically the Wabanaki, sharing authority for the documentation and interpretation of Native culture. Sources: Who Were the Red Paint People?; Cole-Will, Rebecca; Abbe Museum; 2002. Antiquities of the New England Indians; Willoughby, Charles C.; Cambridge University Press; July 1937. A Report on the Archaeology of Maine; Moorehead, Warren; The Andover Press; 1922. The Lost Red Paint People of Maine; Smith, Walter Brown; Lafayette National Park Museum; 1930. Ochre - The Oldest Known Natural Pigment in the World; Hirst, K. Kris; ThoughtCo.; April 15, 2017. Tools of the Archaeologist; Johnston, Grahame; Archaeology Expert; December 15, 2016. Why is ochre found in some graves?; The National Museum of Denmark; Retrieved June 2018.

More than a century before the United States was even formed, some African slaves escaped forced servitude and formed the first free black community in the nation. The enclave was founded and led by an extraordinary military commander who has never received proper acknowledgment in history books. He gave the lost hope, the fledgling refuge, and the enemy a run for their money. Have you ever heard of Francisco Menendez? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Jane Landers, a historian of Colonial Latin America and the Atlantic World specializing in the history of Africans and their descendants in those worlds, and Diana Reigelsperger, a professor of history at Seminole State College and member of the Speaker’s Series at the Florida Humanities Council. Sources: Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose: A Free Black Town in Spanish Colonial Florida; Landers, Jane; The American Historical Review; Vol. 95, No. 1 (Feb., 1990), pp. 9-30. Leadership and Authority in Maroon Settlements in Spanish America and Brazil; Landers, Jane; 2005. Africa and the Americas: Interconnections During the Slave Trade; Curto, José C. and Soulodre-LaFrance, Renée; Africa World Press, Inc.; 2005. Fort Mose: America's First Community of Free Blacks; Schwarb, Amy Wimmer; Visit Florida; Retrieved June 2018. Fort Mose Site Florida; American Latino Heritage; National Parks Service; Retrieved June 2018.

At the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the number of skilled and unskilled sailors needed to staff sea-going vessels fell short. Innocent men were forced to serve as seamen under conditions that were little better than serfdom. This cunning practice happened through a secret underground in one part of the Pacific northwest. Have you ever heard of Port Townsend’s history of shanghaiing? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Mark Strecker, author of Shanghaiing Sailors: A Maritime History of Forced Labor, and Norm Stevens, a retired member of the United States Coast Guard, former merchant marine, and community college professor from Port Townsend, Washington. Sources: Shanghaiing Sailors: A Maritime History of Forced Labor, 1849-1915; Strecker, Mark; McFarland; May 27, 2014. Shanghaied!; Neal Keller, David; American Heritage; September 1995; Volume 46; Issue 5. Levy, Maxwell (d. 1931), Port Townsend's Crimper King; Gibson, Elizabeth; HistoryLink.org; December 5, 2006. Shanghaiing Days; Dillon, Richard H.; The Write Thought, Inc.; August 1, 2012. Shanghaiing: How Trickery and Deception Turned Thousands of Unwilling Men Into Sailors; Kaushik; Amusing Planet; April 2018. Shanghaiing; Smith, Georgia; FoundSF; Retrieved June 2018. Shipbuilders, Sea Captains, and Fishermen: The Story of the Schooner Wawona; Follansbee, Joe; iUniverse, Inc.; November 16, 2006. National Registry of Historic Places Inventory - - Nomination Form; National Park Service; United States Department of the Interior; Port Townsend Historic District; 1977. Also Visit: Jefferson County Historical Society The Port Townsend Main Street Program Washington Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation

On June 9, 1909, as rained poured down on New York City, a young, poncho-cloaked woman got behind the wheel of a touring car that was a bit tricky to maneuver. Back then, paved roads were far and few between, and there was no air conditioning or roadside service to save the day. But these minor technicalities didn’t stop this fearless adventurer from making history. Before Amelia Earhart made her legendary flight across the Atlantic, before Naomi James sailed single-handedly around the world, at a time when society was still very much “driven” by men, one road-trippin’ housewife paved the way for women to hit the open road. Her trip would make her the first woman to drive across the United States from coast to coast. Have you ever heard of Alice Ramsey? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Tara Hitzig of the Automobile Driving Museum in California, and Emily Anderson who reenacted Ramsey’s trip 100 years after her trailblazing journey. Sources: Who invented the automobile?; Everyday Mysteries; Library of Congress; Science References Services; October 27, 2017. Alice's Drive: Republishing Veil, Duster, and Tire Iron; Alice Ramsey; Patrice Press; 2005. Alice Huyler Ramsey, The 22-year-old housewife who became the first woman to drive across the country; Anna Hider; Chronicles; March 14, 2018. The story of the first cross-country road trip by a woman; Megan Turchi; Boston Globe; June 9, 2015. A Reliable Car and a Woman Who Knows It: The First Coast-To-Coast Auto Trips by Women, 1899-1916; Curt McConnell; McFarland; September 1, 2000. Quote from Alice Ramsey; Ms. Magazine; Matilda Publications; 1975.

Centuries before the devil reached mainstream popularity, at a time when he was eternally feared and considered a looming threat on humanity, he made a strange appearance in a remarkable book. Have you ever heard of the Devil’s Bible? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Hugh Houghton, a professor of New Testament textual scholarship at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, and author and theologian Robin Nettelhorst, who currently serves as the president of Quartz Hill School of Theology where he teaches about the Bible and Biblical Languages. Sources: Copycat: The Life of a Medieval Scribe; Danièle Cybulskie; Medievalists.net; June 19, 2014. Satanic Figures Across Multiple Religions; Catherine Beyer; ThoughtCo.; June 21, 2017. Life in a Medieval Monastery; Mount Angel Abbey; Saint Benedict, Oregon; Retrieved May 2018. Monks in the Middle Ages; Simon Newman; The Finer Times; Retrieved May 2018. Codex Gigas; National Library of Sweden; Retrieved April/May 2018.

There’s a hidden world running rampant under the streets of St. Louis. Buried deep within the earth, it’s so secret even residents of the Gateway City have no idea it exists. Carved by Mother Nature, this majestic limestone wonderland has provided shelter to Native Americans and Civil War soldiers, helped the brewing industry prosper, and allowed more than one local to escape and have a good time. Have you ever heard of the caves of St. Louis? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Donnie Keck, a resident of St. Louis, Andrew Wanko, a public historian at the Missouri Historical Society, and Jeff Crews, a geologist at the Missouri Geological Survey. I’m deeply thankful for their wonderful insight and generosity of time. Sources: Lost Caves of St. Louis; Rother, Charlotte; Rother, Hubert; Virginia Publishing; October 1996. Missouri Caves in History and Legend; Weaver, H. Dwight; University of Missouri; February 1, 2008. The Cherokee Cave & Museum of Natural History; Chatillon- DeMenil Mansion; Retrieved April 2018. Past meets present in hidden world under St. Louis streets; Lippman, Rachel; St. Louis Public Radio; April 20, 2012. What was “Lemp’s Cave” really like?; Naffziger, Chris; St. Louis Magazine; August 23, 2017. St. Louis Beer History: Underground Beginnings; Lisa Grimm; Serious Eats; February 2012. The Geologic Column of Missouri; Missouri Department of Natural Resources; Volume 2, Issue 2; Winter 2008. Bones in the Brewery: A Paleontologist's Rendezvous with History and Prehistory in St. Louis; Simpson, George Gaylord; Natural History; Vol. 55, No. 6; June 1946. Missouri at the World’s Fair: An Official Catalogue; Cox, James; Missouri World’s Fair Commission; 1904. Images Courtesy of the Missouri Historical Society: Cliff Cave Picnic Party at Entrance http://mohistory.org/collections/item/resource:144464 Cliff Cave http://mohistory.org/collections/item/resource:144466 Uhrig's Cave Beer Garden http://mohistory.org/collections/item/resource:141090 English’s Cave http://mohistory.org/collections/item/resource:84590 Cherokee Cave http://mohistory.org/collections/item/resource:155135 The Lemp Brewery http://mohistory.org/collections/item/resource:141725 …and a bunch of guys standing around a giant nasty sinkhole, which is basically a cave that collapsed. http://mohistory.org/collections/item/resource:152111

The United States conducted its last nuclear test on September 23, 1992 at the Nevada Test Site, just 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. By official count, more than one thousand tests were performed between 1945 and 1992. History depicts these tests as having taken place in the center of a vast, uninhabited plain. But as explosions filled the skyline and ashen fallout settled over the land like a dusting of snow, people who lived downwind were often exposed to radiation and radioactive debris. We’ve since heard about the scientists, government employees, homesteaders, and ranchers. In the shadows, there's another pocket of victims… Have you ever heard of the forgotten downwinders? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: This episode would not have been possible without the relentless dedication and advocacy of Ian Zabarte, Principal Man for the Western Bands of the Shoshone Nation, secretary of the Native American Action Council, and a member of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Yucca Mountain Licensing Support Network, Advisory Review Panel. I also want to give a special thanks to author and historian Sarah Alisabeth Fox. Sources: Downwind: A People’s History of the Nuclear West; Sarah Alisabeth Fox; Bison Books, November 2014. The Tainted Desert: Environmental and Social Ruin in the American West; Valerie L. Kuletz; Routledge; April 29, 2016. The Light of Trinity; Wellerstein, Alex; The New Yorker; July 16, 2015. Nuclear Testing and Natives People; Patricia George and Abel Russ; Reimagine; Retrieved April 2018. History; Atomic Heritage Foundation; Retrieved April 2018. The Sale of Yucca Mountain Was an Attack; Ian Zabarte; Indian Country Today; October 2, 2015. Native Americans Bear the Nuclear Burden; Andreas Knudsen; Republic of Lakotah; April 20, 2010. Nuclear Risk Management for Native Communities; George Perkins Marsh Institute; Clark University; Retrieved March 2018. Downwinders: Survivors losing hope of compensation; Hubble Ray Smith; DailyMiner; January 17, 2018. US nuclear tests killed far more civilians than we knew; Tim Fernholz; Quartz; December 21, 2017. Survivors of America’s first atomic bomb test want their place in history; Kelsey D. Atherton; Popular Science; May 1, 2017. American Indians accuse NRC of ‘environmental racism’; Keith Rogers; Las Vegas Review-Journal; September 26, 2015. A Soil Contamination Survey of Timbisha Shoshone Tribal Lands Within Close Proximity to the Nevada Test Site; Bobb, Bonnie Dr.; Clark University; Retrieved March 2018. In the Shadow of the Mushroom Cloud: Nuclear Testing, Radioactive Fallout and Damage to U.S. Agriculture; Meyers, Keith; September 1, 2017.

Death is a topic that makes most of us uncomfortable. But back in ancient times, some civilizations not only embraced death, they honored the recently deceased with athletic competitions and contests. Have you ever heard of the funeral games? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: I’d like to give a special thanks to Dave Lunt, a history professor at Southern Utah University who specializes in ancient sports and politics, and Todd Hara, a mortician and co-author of the critically acclaimed books Mortuary Confidential: Undertakers Spill the Dirt and Over Our Dead Bodies: Undertakers Lift the Lid. Sources: Athletics in the Ancient World; E. Norman Gardiner; Dover Publications; 2002. Iliad book 23; Homer. Gladiators: Violence and Spectacle in Ancient Rome; Roger Dunkle; Amazon Digital Services LLC; September 13, 2013. Aeneid book 5; Publius Vergilius Maro. The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion, The Dying God; Sir James George Frazer; Macmillan; 1912. The Flaming Arrow of Classical Education: Funeral Games in the Aeneid as Symbol and Hope; David Wright; Circe Institute; August 12, 2013. Comet of 44 B.C. and Caesar’s Funeral Games; A. Lewis Licht and John T. Ramsey; Scholars Press; February 1, 1997.

Outside of the home, Colonial America was a man’s world. Women were mostly excluded from power in the church and could not take part in town meetings, which meant they could not vote. But one woman defied the norms. Have you ever heard of Margaret Brent? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: A huge thanks to Dr. Henry Miller, historical archaeologist and Director of Research at Historic St. Mary’s in Maryland, Julie Dolan, professor of political science specializing in women and politics at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Lily Read, a Member of the Watertown School Committee in Massachusetts. Parts of this episode first appeared on Narratively. Sources: Margaret Brent; Exploring Maryland’s Roots: Library; Maryland Public Television; Retrieved February 2018. Women in Early America: Struggle, Survival and Freedom in a New World; Dorothy A. Mays; ABC-CLIO; November 23, 2004. Margaret Brent; Maryland History Leaflet No. 1; State of Maryland; Retrieved February 2018. History; Visit St. Mary’s; St. Mary's County Division of Tourism; Retrieved March 2018. 5 Margaret Brent honorees helped level the playing field for women lawyers; Terry Carter; American Bar Association; August 7, 2016. Profiles in Colonial History; Aleck Loker; Solitude Press, July 10, 2009. Margaret Brent – A Brief History; Lois Green Carr; State of Maryland; February 7, 2002. Proceedings and Acts of the General Assembly January 1637/8-September 1664 Volume 1, Page 215; Maryland State Archives; October 31, 2014.

Although the origin of witchcraft remains unknown, from a colonial perspective it was carried to the New World from England. The colony's English settlers brought with them a strong belief in Satan’s power and a deep hostility toward those who did not strictly conform to the community’s harsh social and personal norms. While Salem, Massachusetts often stands out as ground zero, the witch purge began decades earlier in 1647. Women, of course, were disproportionately targeted. Nearly fifty years before the famous Salem witch trials, a young Connecticut woman was accused of witchcraft and hanged. She was the first of many, but her story has been forgotten. Have you ever heard of Alice Young? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: A huge thanks to authors Beth Caruso and Katherine Spada who helped resurrect both Alice’s story and the broader history of Connecticut’s witch trials. Their tireless work is helping to clear the name of Alice Young and the other victims. I’d also like to thank Morgan Kelsey, a 10th generation granddaughter of Young, and Peg Aloi, a media scholar, a practicing witch, and an author dedicated to exploring and discussing all things witchy and pagan in contemporary media. Please visit the Connecticut Witch Memorial Facebook page to learn more about the efforts to erect a memorial in the honor of those who were wrongfully accused and convicted of witchcraft in Connecticut. You can also mail a donation to: CT. Witch Memorial, PO Box 185001, Hamden, CT. 06518. Sources: One of Windsor; Beth Caruso; Lady Slipper Press; October 29, 2015. Days to the Gallows; Katherine Spada Basto; Amazon Digital Services LLC; December 19, 2016. Colonial America; American’s Library; Retrieved February 2018. Witchcraft in Connecticut; Andy Piascik; Connecticut Humanities; Retrieved February 2018. The Witchcraft Delusion in Colonial Connecticut, 1647-1697; John M. Taylor; Grafton Press; 1908. Witchcraft Prosecution: Chasing the Devil in Connecticut; R.G. Tomlinson; Picton Press; 2012. New England’s Other Witch-Hunt: The Hartford Witch-Hunt of the 1660s and Changing Patterns in Witchcraft Prosecution; Walter William Woodward; OAH Magazine of History; 2003. Matthew Grant Diary; Connecticut State Library; Digital Archive; Retrieved March 2018. Witchcraft in Salem; USHistory.org; Independence Hall Association; Retrieved February 2018. Why Are Women Really Accused of Witchcraft?; Ruth Mace, Professor of Anthropology, University College London; LiveScience; January 11, 2018. In Frightening Times, Witchcraft Rediscovers Its Political Roots; Peg Aloi; The Establishment; May 21, 2017.

Lake Okeechobee, also known as Florida's Inland Sea, or as the locals like to call it, Lake O, is the largest freshwater lake in the state of Florida and the third largest freshwater lake wholly within the country. Resting at the northern edge of the Everglades and rimming the western edge of Palm Beach County, the lake is a remnant of the prehistoric Pamlico Sea and appropriately carries the Seminole word for “big water.” Although it’s a major tourist destination and a favorite among those who live in the area, most people have no idea what lingers below the surface of this majestic lake. Have you ever heard of the mysteries surrounding Lake Okeechobee? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: This episode would not have been complete without the brilliant insight of Chris Davenport, Palm Beach County’s Historic Preservation Officer and Archaeologist. I also spoke with Victor Thompson, a Professor of Archaeology and the Director of the Center for Archaeological Sciences at the University of Georgia, and Matt Colvin, an anthropologist and doctoral candidate at the University of Georgia. Both have worked extensively at Fort Center, an archaeological site in Glades County, Florida, just a few miles northwest of Lake Okeechobee. Sources: Lake Okeechobee; Fodors; Retrieved February 2018. Lake Okeechobee; The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica; Encyclopedia Britannica; Retrieved February 2018. Most People Have No Idea There’s An Underwater Ghost Town Hiding In Florida; Marisa Roman; Only In Your State; January 11, 2018. Florida's Water: A Fragile Resource in a Vulnerable State; Tom Swihart; RFF Press, 2011. Archaic; Illinois State Museum; Retrieved February 2018. Seminoles and Miccosukees; Palm Beach County History Online; Retrieved February 2018. Lake Okeechobee Watery Graves; Weird U.S.; Retrieved February 2018. Florida Drought Exposes Old Debris in Lake Okeechobee; Associated Press; June 5, 2007. The Native American History of Florida’s Lake Okeechobee Basin; Dennis N. Partridge; Access Geneaology; September 21, 2016. PHOTO: Representation, not an actual depiction of Florida, Lake Okeechobee, or the human remains found at the bottom of the lake

Just 30 miles south of Boston lies the mysterious "Bridgewater Triangle," a 200-square mile "vortex" that has been rumored to be both haunted and cursed. Although skeptics shrug off the unexplainable, the bloody and disturbing history of this part of Massachusetts might make you question what’s real and what’s false. Have you ever heard of the Bridgewater Triangle? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: This episode would not have been complete without the brilliant insight of Jeff Belanger one of the most visible paranormal researchers today. He’s also the Emmy-nominated host, writer, and producer of the New England Legends series which debuted on PBS in October of 2013, and the weekly New England Legends Podcast. I also spoke with Christopher Balzano, a writer, researcher, folklorist, and host of the podcast Tripping on Legends. He also appeared in the The Bridgewater Triangle documentary alongside Loren Coleman and Jeff Belanger. Watch it free (with Prime) on Amazon. Sources: Ghosts of the Bridgewater Triangle; Christopher Balzano; Schiffer Pub Ltd; September 28, 2008. UFO FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Roswell, Aliens, Whirling Discs, and Flying Saucers; David J. Hogan; Backbeat Books; September 1, 2016. The History of King Philip’s War; Rebecca Beatrice Brooks; The History of Massachusetts Blog; May 31, 2017. The Reader’s Companion to American History; Eric Foner and John A. Garraty; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company; October 21, 1991. Weird New England; Joseph A. Citro; Sterling; September 25, 2005. Hockomock Swamp ACEC; Commonwealth of Massachusetts; Retrieved January 2018. The Bridgewater Triangle; Christopher W. Pittman; Cellar Walls; 2008. The Bridgewater Triangle; Paranormal Encyclopedia; Retrieved January 2018. UFOs Spotted in Bridgewater NJ and Bridgewater MA; Paul Seaburn; Mysterious Universe; December 8, 2015. ‘Bridgewater Triangle’ film cites litany of mysteries; Taryn Plumb; Boston Globe; May 4, 2014. The Bridgewater Triangle: Massachusetts' paranormal vortex; Destination Strange; Roadtrippers; September 19, 2016. PHOTO: Representation, not an actual depiction of the Bridgewater Triangle or Massachusetts

While the ballads of gun-slinging outlaws like Jesse James and Billy the Kid play on, there’s another Old West gang that has been largely forgotten. This group of young boys – black, Native American, or of mixed-race – emerged from the shadows in a politically charged, yet severely flawed, rebellion. Have you ever heard of the Rufus Buck Gang? DOWNLOAD NOW Credits: Thank you to novelist Leonce Gaiter for bringing the Rufus Buck story to light. I’d also like to thank Stephen Aron, a professor at UCLA and specialist in frontier, borderland, and western American history, and Arthur Lurigio, a professor of psychology and criminal justice at Loyola University Chicago. Sources: Indian Outlaws Taken, San Francisco Call, August 12, 1895. The Rampage of the Rufus Buck Gang, Craig Lambert, Harvard Magazine, March-April 2012. I Dreamt I Was in Heaven - The Rampage of the Rufus Buck Gang, Leonce Gaiter, Legba Books, August 5, 2011. Violence and Innocence Love and Betrayal Butchery and Grace, Leonce Gaiter, 2011. Forgotten Outlaw Rufus Buck Had a Dream, ICMN Staff, Indian Country Today, July 27, 2017. Rufus Buck Gang: A Time to Die, Juliet Galonska, National Park Service, February 1995. Rufus Buck Gang, Robert W. Boyle, Old West Daily Reader, Retrieved December 2017. The Rampage of the Rufus Buck Gang of 1895, Jae Jones, Black Then, July 16, 2017. Rufus Buck Gang, The Spell of the West, Retrieved December 2017. Buck Gang, The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, Linda D. Wilson, Oklahoma Historical Society, Retrieved December 2017. PHOTO: Rufus Buck Gang, Artist/Photographer unknown, Public Domain

Long before Fats Domino found his thrill on Blueberry Hill or making out in the backseat of a station wagon on Lover’s Lane was hip, young couples took to the water. But they weren’t out there for a midnight swim. They didn’t make a splash or even get wet. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, canoes provided a private escape. Canoodling went on for years in the Boston area. Then, someone let the cat out of the bag, and the innocence of love turned into the scandal of the century. Have you ever heard about the time Boston banned kissing in canoes? DOWNLOAD NOW Credits: For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Cathy Hurst, a writer and professor who transcribed and annotated a 1905 family diary set in the Boston area, and Clara Silverstein, the Community Engagement Manager for Historic Newton. I’m also grateful to Marcel Danesi, a professor of Linguistic Anthropology at the University of Toronto and author of the book The History of the Kiss, who spoke to the past, present, and, hopefully, future of the kiss. Sources: Love Boats: The Delightfully Sinful History of Canoes, Hunter Oatman-Stanford, Collector’s Weekly, July 5, 2012. The Charles River: in the Right Place at the Right Time, Historic Newton, City of Newton, retrieved January 2018. Kissing in Canoes, Catherine Hurst, Dateline: Boston 1905, July 29, 2008. The Charles River Canoe Craze and Massachusetts’ ‘War on Osculation’, New England Historical Society, August 2014. Revolt at Riverside: Victorian Virtue and the Charles River Canoeing Controversy, 1903-1905, Thomas A. McMullin, The New England Quarterly, September 2000. Boston: A Guide Book, Edwin Monroe Bacon, Ginn & Company Publishers, 1903. "Down by the Riverside" in Historic Auburndale, Robert F. Pollock, a booklet published by the Auburndale Community Association, revised edition 1996.

Deep in the Green Mountains of Vermont, history runs as rich as the pristine waters that ebb and flow between the rocky peaks. Many stories have originated from within this lush countryside. Some accounts are true. Others came to life in the imaginations of restless souls. Long before Bigfoot and Yeti became well-known in Western popular culture, another legendary creature was said to roam the hilly woods of the Green Mountain state. Have you ever heard of the wampahoofus?

Rumors, like most forms of gossip, are usually rooted in half-truths and outright falsities. Yet, during World War II, these insatiable tidbits of hearsay threatened to undermine civilian morale and even cause unrest within the military community when they nearly spiraled out of control. A network of “morale wardens” tracked down the latest scuttlebutt, and helped refute these tall tales. Have you ever heard of the World War II rumor clinics?

There was once a stretch of land so wicked and rowdy, it became known as the Devil’s Half Acre of Bangor, Maine. Historians affectionately refer to this legendary destination of merriment and mayhem as Satan’s playground – a place where loggers, sailors, and other workingmen gathered to spend their hard-earned cash on whiskey and women. When Maine became the first state to pass Prohibition in 1851, supporters dreamed of a pine-strewn moral haven. But one freethinking former seamstress had other ideas. Have you ever heard of Fan Jones? DOWNLOAD NOW Credits: This story was originally published on Narratively, a site where human stories are boldly told. Again, I must give a huge round of applause to my editors Brendan Spiegel and Mike Stahl who helped bring Fan back to life – in a well-deserved positive light. A special thanks to Monique Bouchard who spent countless hours researching Fan Jones and leading Bangor, Maine’s walking tour of Devil’s Half Acre for several summers. She spent days in the scorching heat dressed as the infamous madam, teaching tourists not only of Jone’s business affairs, but also of her humanity. Also, a huge thanks to Bella Arsenic who is working hard to help destigmatize an industry plagued by misconceptions and myths. Sources: Alcohol and Temperance in Modern History, Jack S. Blocker and David M. Fahey, December 17, 2003. Throwback Thursday: Maine Becomes the First State to Outlaw Alcohol, Madeline Bilis, Boston Magazine, June 2, 2016. The Maine Liquor Law: Origin, History, and Results, Henry Stephen Clubb, 1856. Fan Jones, The Madame Who Reigned Over the Devil’s Half Acre in Bangor, New England Historical Society, updated 2017. Where was the Devil’s Half Acre?, Wayne E. Reilly, Bangor Daily News, September 16, 2012. Penobscot Marine Museum, Nineteenth Century Industries: Lumber, 2012. Tall Trees, Tough Men, Robert E. Pike, 1967. Rivers of Fortune, Bill Caldwell, October 28, 2014. Rogues, Rascals, and Other Villainous Mainers, Trudy Irene Scee, November 7, 2014. Maine’s Golden Road: A Memoir, John Gould, August 17, 1995. Tour the Devil’s Half Acre with Bangor’s infamous madam, Judy Harrison, Bangor Daily News, August 2, 2015.

Death is a part of life that makes most of us… uncomfortable. But there are many faces of death – some more troubling than others. Take, for example, executions. Imagine being the individual tasked with the job of death. Right or wrong, however moral or unjust, the history of execution dates to the earliest footprints of time. One of the most unusual, yet forgotten accounts, is of a former slave who became an executioner. Have you ever heard of Louis Congo?  

Freelance journalist and lifelong history sleuth, Crystal Ponti, introduces Historium Unearthia - a podcast celebrating history's lost and untold stories… the ones overshadowed by the more memorable and talked about events, people, and "things" from our past. But these are no ordinary stories. These are the weird, the macabre, the unbelievable. The stories that make your heart race and your mind spin. They’re the kind of stories that leave you stunned and amazed and questioning everything you thought you knew about our history. Join her next month as she unveils the very first episode of Historium Unearthia. In the meantime, please subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts and visit the website at historiumunearthia.com to receive notifications of new episodes. DOWNLOAD NOW