The Kitchen Table Historian

I know that you tuned in today to listen to another story, but, sadly, that isn't going to be the case. After six years, I have made the decision to end the Strange and Dreadful Things Podcast. Thank you for being with me and tuning in over the years. 

Issac Slater was a bastard. A vicious alcoholic, he beat his wife. He beat his children. That is, until the day that his daughter had enough and shot him. 

Hello all. Due to life stuff, the podcast is going to be on a brief break until mid April 2025. I've had to navigate a few things in my personal life and my job, and things are going to be busier than ever for me coming up here in March. However, the goal is to come back strong in April, so be sure to mark your calendars and be ready. 

As a raging blizzard tore across the state of North Dakota, Adolph Martel sat warm and safe inside a mental hospital. A former drifter named J.J. Murphy stood talking with him, helping the time to pass. Little did they know it, but a patient's presence nearby would result in the death of one of them and the near demise of the other.

Devil's Lake is the second largest lake in North Dakota, covering thousands of acres. For decades, people have claimed to have seen a serpent-like creature gliding through the water there. What is the Devil's Lake Monster?

Miriam Grinstead loved the swing that her brother John had built in the hayloft above their garage. There wasn't a lot to do in Devil's Lake, North Dakota, and this was something that her and her siblings could all use. One day, Miriam snuck into the hayloft to have the swing all to herself. Little did she know it, but it would be one of the most terrifying experiences of her life.   

Fifty years ago, Mary Schlais was murdered and left in a rural Wisconsin ditch. For decades, decades searched for her killer. Now, thanks to a new scientific discipline called Forensic Genealogy, her killer has finally been found. 

Peter Fabiano was woken by the sound of his front doorbell ringing. Getting out of bed, he went downstairs, took the bowl of candy, and answered the door. Smiling, he said, "It's a little late for this kinds of thing, isn't it?" What happened next would become one of the most infamous crimes of the past 67 years. 

In October 1959, a newspaper near Buffalo, Iowa, reported a bizarre story about what may have been a ghost in a local cemetery. Could the cemetery there actually be haunted, or was something else going on? 

The Pfister Hotel is one of the grandest and most historic hotels in the United States. Situated in beautiful downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Pfister has faithfully served its guests for over 130 years. However, several of those guests have reported strange noises, bizarre happenings, and even appartitions while staying there. Who are the ghosts of the Pfister Hotel? 

Built in the mid-1800's, the Renwick Mansion is probably the best example of Italianate architecture in the Quad Cities. In short, it's a really cool-looking house. But over the years, many people have claimed to have strange experiences there: footsteps, moving objects, and even apparitions. But is it true? Is the Renwick Mansion really haunted? 

When John and Ida Harris didn't answer their door in 1895, the visitor knew something was wrong. Cautiously they opened the door. The nightmare they saw inside would stay with them the rest of their lives. Come hear a tragic tale of the American West that your grandma didn't want you to hear.

A few days before Christmas 1939, Stephen Melkey was struck by a car near South Bend, Indiana, and thrown nearly 40 feet through the air before landing. When the police arrived, they found that someone had tied his hands behind his back and taped his eyes and mouth shut. Had someone meant for him to be struck by a car on the highway, or had they left him to die in the freezing temperatures?

Quarters One is the second largest government-owned private residence next to the White House. Over the past 150 years, it has hosted politicians, soldiers, and celebrities in its gilded rooms. Some say that some of them have never left. Do they still walk the halls of Quarters One? Or is it something else?

On a summer day in 2001, Donna Stabile knocked on the front door of Leticia Aguilar. She babysat Leticia's five children nearly every night but hadn't seen them for a few day. Donna had started to get worried, so she went to the house. On a whim, she opened the front door and stepped inside. Donna immediately knew something wasn't right. What she didn't know was that she had just stumbled upon one of the most brutal crimes in Iowa history.  

When its population peaked at around one-hundred people, Moonville could barely have been called a town. Regardless of its size, Moonville grew a reputation for being hard to get to and having an unusual amount of train accidents happen there. However, it is said that not everyone who lost their lives on that stretch of tracks rest easy. 

In this remastered version of an earlier episode: In 1958, a legendary flood struck western Iowa that would claim many, and would forever change the lives of all those who survived.

The Lake Hope Furnace has stood for over one-hundred years, a remnant of the former thriving iron industry in southern Ohio. But its more than a historical monument. The furnace is the home of one of Ohio's most famous urban legends: The Night Watchman of Lake Hope Furnace. 

In 1937, Howard Long had a good life - a good wife, his own business, and a stable income during the Great Depression. All of that came to sudden halt when he was arrested and thrown in a jail cell with three other men. Right away he wanted to know why he was there. When he was told, he couldn't hardly speak. Several young girls had accused him doing the unthinkable. 

In this remastered edition of an earlier podcast: In 1907, henry Warren walked into a local newspaper and placed an ad for a wife. He became a sensation, and was dubbed 'Loving Henry.' But under his charming good looks he was harboring a dark secret that would take decades to reveal itself. 

Strawberry Point is known for being home to the world's largest strawberry. But what many people don't know is that it's also home to the Franklin Hotel, a 150-year-old hotel and event venue that has the spirit of a 1920's prostitute still wandering the halls. 

In February 1883, dozens of men and boys descended into the depths of the Illinois prairie to mine coal. By noon, the pump man saw water rising in the mine tunnels. Little did he know that something was horribly wrong. In a matter of minutes, a third of the men in the mine that day would meet a terrible end in what would become one of the worst coal mining accidents in Illinois history. 

Mabel Moore had just gone to St. Louis with her new husband, Arthur. After just a few days and one bad argument, he left her stranded there. Abandoned in a strange city, Mabel turned to the unthinkable. When police investigated later, what seemed like a straightforward story became unbelievably bizarre. 

Carol Eberle was getting married, and she was overjoyed. But no one else really was. Something had happened just a few weeks before that had soured several people toward Carol in their small North Dakota town. She didn't care one bit what they thought, but sometimes karma has a way of catching up with people. 

Swift Runner and his family journeyed into the Canadian wilderness in 1878 for the winter. Only Swift Runner emerged the following spring. He said that his entire family starved to death, but there was something off about his story. When police investigated, one of the most infamous tales of murder and cannibalism in Canadian history was revealed.

Henry Kuehl was just trying to do his job. On a warm January night, he rode out to a rural Iowa farm to help settle a dispute between the farmer and his landlord. The night started off normal enough, but soon degeneratedinto an evening that Kuehl would never forget.

Sam Smith was a desperate man. He couldn't find a job, and he had a family to feed. Out of desperation he turned to stealing. But when he died suddenly, did his ghost return to watch over his family?

Imagine driving near Chicago's Mount Carmel Cemetery and seeing a woman wearing a white wedding dress walking along the road. It's rainy and muddy, and yet she seems untouched by all of it. You would be seeing the Italian Bride, one of Chicago's most famous ghosts. But who was she, and why does her ghost still haunt the area?This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4092315/advertisement

William Nelson was a private pilot who had just married the beautiful Onaima Nelson, a woman 23 years younger than himself. Then, just after Thanksgiving 1991, he disapeared. He was found in early December, murdered and dismembered by his new bride. But had she killed him out of self-defense, or had she murdered him in cold blood?This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4092315/advertisement

In late 1990, the body of Mary Lou Pratt was found in a quiet Dallas, Texas neighborhood. She had been severely beaten and then shot to death. If that wasn't bad enough, it was soon discovered that her killer had expertly removed both her eyes. Mary Lou had just become the unwitting victim of one of the strangest and brutal serial killers in Texas history.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4092315/advertisement

Every Halloween, every village, town, and city dredge up their favorite spooky stories. Where I live is no different. Come and hear some of the legends and stories that I grew up with as I tell you about cursed statues, wailing spirits, and haunted houses.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4092315/advertisement

When Johann Whynack married his Marie, he hoped that they would spend the rest of their lives happily ever after. But Marie loved another man, and saw no reason to stop seeing him even after she was married. As the marriage continued, the love triangle quickly took a toll on their lives as it spiraled into physical abuse and murder.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4092315/advertisement

In 1965, two police officers knocked on the door of a small house in Houston, Texas. They were there to check on Fred and Edwina Rogers, an elderly couple who hadn't contacted their family for a week. Going inside the house, they found no one. On an impulse, they opened the refriderator and discovered one of the most gruesome crimes to ever occur in Texas history.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4092315/advertisement

In 1996, Bobie and Marilyn Blewer, professional food vendors from Missouri, set up their trailer at the Iowa State Fair. It was - and is - one of the biggest fairs in the country, and had been a regular stop for the Blewers for twenty years. Then, one sunny afternoon, as thousands of people enjoyed the rides and entertainment, word began travelling amongst the other vendors that something had happened to the Blewers. The word was that they had been murdered. What had happened, and who had done it?This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4092315/advertisement

When it was built in 1903, the Claypool Hotel was designed to be the best and brightest of Indianapolis' hotels. And, for forty years, it was. Then, starting in 1943, a serious of tragic events that included two murders and a fire led to the Claypool's dramatic destruction in the 1960's. But does something of the grand old hotel still linger on the site it formerly occupied in downtown Indianapolis?This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4092315/advertisement

In 1954, two maids found a horrible odor coming from a dresser in one of the rooms at the Claypool Hotel. When the dresser was searched, hotel staff found the badly decomposed body of a woman in the bottom drawer. Her name was Dorothy Poore, an 18-year-old trying to build a future in Indianapolis. What had happened to her, and who had put her body in the drawer?This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4092315/advertisement

Maoma Ridings had joined the United States Army during World War II to aid the war effort. A professional nurse turned physiotherapist; she was a young woman who enjoyed a good time. On August 30, 1943, she was found murdered in an Indianapolis hotel room. Who had ended the life of the well-liked nurse from Georgia?This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4092315/advertisement

In 1990, a highway patrolman in Arizona stopped to check on a semi pulled off to the side of the road. Inside he found a woman who was naked, handcuffed, and wearing a horse bridle. While the driver, Robert Ben Rhodes, said that everything was consensual. The patrolman suspected otherwise. The investigation would turn into a nationwide investigation leading to one of the most evil killers to ever prowl America's roadways.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4092315/advertisement

In January of 1926, Ed Rinebold was driving his normal newspaper deliver route in western Illinois when he had a strange feeling. The car at the railroad crossing had just been in an accident. He hadn't heard or seen anything, but just knew that's what happened. When he went back, the flaming ruins of the car and the bodies on the ground told him he was right. What had happened, and how did Ed know?

On the night of October 9, 1896, the town of Corning, Iowa was awakened by an alarm bell. A fire had broken out near the railroad tracks on the south side of town. As firemen and citizens fought the blaze, little did they know that an even bigger disaster was about to happen right behind them.

No one had seen Percy Smith since he had gone to buy cattle from a man near Council Bluffs, Iowa.When police were called, their search led to Corliss Bruntlett, a man with a hidden past. They soon discovered that he was concealing an even darker secret that would shock their community.

Christine Leidel thought the fortune teller seemed nice enough, but you couldn't be too careful in 1808 Bavaria. When he offered to look into her future, she decided to trust him. Christine Leidel had just made an appointment with one of the most infamous murderers in European history.

In 2007, a woman contacted the press with a startling revelation: her father, Donald Studey, was a serial killer responsible for the deaths of as many as 70 young women at his home in Green Hollow, Iowa. As the story began to make headlines across the nation, the case began to make many twists and turns that made people question what was true and what wasn't.

Swede and Fay Lewis had always been a stormy one, and Fay was finally tired of it. When she finally decided to end it and filed for divorce, Swede was enraged. To what depths would he descend when he didn't get his way?

In this, the second part of the tragic story of the St. Elizabeth's Mental Hospital Fire of 1950, people across America were shocked by the disaster that had claimed the lives of 41 people. Fire and police investigators were eager to find out what had caused the blaze. When they did, the truth was almost too shocking and bizarre to believe.

in the early hours of January 7, 1950, flames illuminated the night sky around Mercy Hosptial. An orderly was one of the first to see a mental hospital on the grounds engulfed in fire, but he would be far from the last. By the next morning, it would become one of the worst hospital fires in United States History.

Earl Albert Nead was born on November 13, 1937. By Christmas Day, he was dead, the victim of a horrible accident. But as police looked into things, the more it appeared that Earl's death was deliberate. What had happened in that small Wisconsin apartment that Christmas?

Line shaft technology may have revolutionized industry, but they posed a very real danger to the workers who toiled around them. In 1922, nine-year-old Frank Nead found that out in a tragic and horrific accident.

Jesse Stanbridge was just another railroad cop doing his job in 1909 when he had an argument with a local farmer. That disagreement set into motion a chain of events that would change both their lives forever.

Mary Stewart had died too young, and her husband, William, couldn't stand the grief. Buying a gun, he set into motion plans of murder and suicide. But after telling a neighbor, nothing went the way he expected, resulting in an unbelievable conclusion.

Happy Halloween, everyone! For our Halloween episode this year, I'll be telling you some personal stories of the paranormal, as well as some from my family and friends. Come with me as we finish out the spooky season and experience the beyond.