Podcasts about that halloween

The Murder of Karen Styles (12-5) Karen Styles was a gifted and kind individual. Graduated High School in 1990. Continuing to college, where she helped create a program for disabled youth & kept 3 jobs while staying on the Dean's List Styles' college years were marked by exceptional commitment and accomplishments. 1994, she received her Bachelor of Science in therapeutic recreation from Western Carolina University. She completed a 12-week internship at a Montana wilderness camp and then part-time work at Asheville Mall. Styles' passion for wilderness programming led her to a job at a South Carolina state-run wilderness camp. Taking a role in the program's development. Twenty-two-year-old Karen Styles had a 2 p.m. shift at the mall on October 31, 1994. Before her shift, she planned to run.  That  Halloween morning, Styles disappeared into the National Forest.   When she did not return home, A search was initiated.  She would not be located alive.

That Halloween episode kinda stunk but we’re back with some heat for you this week. Josh tells us a story of deriving ultimate power from a pin and we learn the ins and outs of serving the elderly at Publix. Go watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0nDuJQYiH5s AND HIT SUBSCRIBE! Tweet

That Halloween night was beautiful! But, turns out it didn't break any records. UPDATE: the total snow accumulated during '96/97 was 117 inches. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Daniel and David continue Halloween festivities by inviting back to the show fan favorites Attack Peter and Gaby Cruz. It's Happy, Happy Halloween, from Silver Shamrock as they finally get around to discussing Season of the Witch and discuss THAT Halloween movie. Does it deserve the current reassessment that is going on? Or does this belong in the bargain bin? Find out on this episode of Shiver: A Horror Movie Podcast.   #Shiver #Horror #HorrorMovie #HorrorPodcast #HalloweenIII #Halloween3 #SeasonOfTheWitch #JohnCarpenter #DebraHill #TomAtkins #MichaelMyers #Halloween #FrightYouVeryMuch

When Cal wonders how much money Americans annually spend on Halloween, he's directed to the author of Salt Sugar Fat and Hooked: Food, Free Will, And How The Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions. Cal finds out that kids consume what amounts to 169 sugar cubes each Halloween, but Moss shocks him with a most unexpected thought. That Halloween is fine. It's the other 364 days in a year that we really have to worry about. Mandatory listening for your family's health.

Halloween season has returned... from THE GRAVE! That's right, it's the most wonderful time of the year, featuring hauntings, frights, horrors, and your two favourite thots (That Halloween-escape-room-podcaster Over There). We start with Escapist's new witchy room Tabby Lane. Can we save our cat? Is Agatha our aunt? What's that in the top right corner of the post-it note? Will we ever get more biscotti? Tabby Lane on the Escapist website Hear bonus episodes by supporting the show on Patreon Follow us on Instagram @EscapeHamilton

Welcome to our annual Spooky Season! In this first episode, we are reviewing Pixar's classic: Monster's Inc.!  Join us in our ice breaker, our thoughts and ratings on Monster's Inc.  Stick around to play a round of This or That: Halloween candy edition! Join us as we review and discuss Disney movies, shows, shorts, news, and more!!  We talk about anything and everything Disney.  We are so excited to share episodes with you all.  We post new episodes every Thursdays.  So come along with us and we'll see ya real soon! Follow us on Anchor: anchor.fm/filmtasmic Twitter: @Filmtasmic! Instagram: @filmtasmic YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBEMhKuKp1M_C4lHRXKqHeQ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/filmtasmic/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/filmtasmic/support

Today's episode we'll be talking about…murder creek.  Yes, you heard that correctly.  That is the official name of this place and it got its name from…you guessed it…murder.  There are two stories that surround this creek: The Legend of Murder Creek which gave it its name, and the curious case of child murderess Sadie McMullen.   Episode Transcript: https://crimesandwitchdemeanors.com/2020/11/23/episode-003-murder-creek/  Submit your feedback or personal stories to crimesandwitchdemeanors@gmail.com  Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crimesandwitchdemeanors Podcast artwork by GiAnna Ligammari: https://gialigammari.wixsite.com/portfolio  Sources: A Girl's Trial for Murder: Seventeen-Year-Old Sadie McMullen Before a Jury in Buffalo. (1891, March 6). The Evening Star, 8.   Akron Falls County Park. (n.d.). Upstate NY Photography, Waterfalls, Nature. Retrieved November 14, 2020, from https://nyfalls.com/waterfalls/akron-falls/   Ellen May “Nellie” Connor (1880-1890)—Find A... (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2020, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/117793906/ellen-may-connor   Estephe, S. (2015, November 15). Unknown Gender History: Sadie McMullen, 17-Year-Old Murderess – Akron, New York, 1890. Unknown Gender History. http://unknownmisandry.blogspot.com/2015/11/sadie-mcmullen-17-year-old-murderess.html   Her Love: The Secret of Sadie McMullen's Hideous Crime. (1890, November 4). The Buffalo Daily Times, 1.   John Dolph (1781-1834)—Find A Grave Memorial. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2020, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/179636329/john-dolph   Legend of Murder Creek in Akron, New York—The Tragedy of Ah-weh-hah. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2020, from https://www.zeph1.com/2016/09/legend-murder-creek-akron-ny.html   Moses, J. (2016, October 27). Murder Creek: The Sorry Case of Sadie McMullen. Artvoice. https://artvoice.com/2016/10/27/murder-creek-sorry-case-sadie-mcmullen/   On Trial For Her Life. - Is Sadie M'Mullen Guilty Of Child Murder? - So Young and So Pretty—Could She Have Done Such a Deed? – What Promises to Be a Notable Case Now Before the Supreme Court at Buffalo – A Great Field Open to Insanity Experts – Meanwhile, Sadie's Indifference is Hard to Understand. (1891, March 6). The World, 3.   Parker, A. C. (1919). The life of General Ely S. Parker: Last grand sachem of the Iroquois and General Grant's military secretary. Buffalo, N.Y. : Buffalo Historical Society. http://archive.org/details/lifeofgeneralely00parkrich   Sarah Dilley Dolph (1783-1861)—Find A Grave... (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2020, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/127942807/sarah-dolph   Schrock, F. (2014, October 31). The Legend of Murder Creek. Low Bridges: Upstate History. https://fredschrock.com/2014/10/31/the-legend-of-murder-creek/   She Killed Two Children: Was Committed to a Hospital as Insane and is Now Liberated and Cured. (1893, August 22). Portland Daily Press, 1.   The Legend Of Murder Creek | Erie County Parks, Recreation and Forestry. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2020, from https://www2.erie.gov/parks/index.php?q=legend-murder-creek   TRANSCRIPT: Hello and welcome to Crimes and Witch Demeanors; I am your host Joshua Spellman.  Join me today for a spooky tale of murder, mystery, and of course…ghosts.  Today's location is Akron, New York.  A small village outside of Buffalo, New York and specifically we'll be talking about…murder creek.  Yes, you heard that correctly.  That is the official name of this place and it got its name from…you guessed it…murder.  There are two stories that surround this creek: The Legend of Murder Creek which gave it its name, and the curious case of murderess Sadie McMullen.  So without further ado let's discuss the tragic history of Angola's Murder Creek. An old map of Akron (formerly known as Fallkirk) The sources of our first story vary, but I have acquired most of the information from The life of General Ely S. Parker : last grand sachem of the Iroquois and General Grant's military secretary written in 1919 by Arthur Caswell Parker and published by the Buffalo Historical Society.  This book is accessible in its entirety from the Internet Archive at archive.org.  However it should be noted that Arthur Caswell Parker lifted the story from a 1906 book written by Uriah Cummings called The Haunted Corners.  However, the Parker version follows the original source nearly word-for-word.  Uriah Cumming's book was written to explain the ghosts that he claimed lived on his property.  There is only one remaining copy of the Haunted Corners in existence housed at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society's research library.  The Legend of Murder Creek appears to be an actual historical account of events, or at least a version of them.  In the newspapers for the murder case we'll discuss next the story seems to be a bit different, only mentioning a robbery.  However, Cummings purports that he possessed the diary and personal papers of John Dolph, as the Dolph home once stood on his land, and that was the source of this legend.  The Dolph family was indeed real, and are buried in Ledge Lawn Cemetery.  You can find photographs of their graves on findagrave.com.  Other sources used for this story include Erie.Gov, the official county website, and NYFalls.com. Before Murder Creek obtained its haunting name, it was known to the Native Seneca tribes as De-on-go-te Gah-hun-da, or “the place of hearing”  Other sources claim the original name as See-un-gut, or “the roar of distant waters”.  Colonizers knew it as Sulphur Creek as indicated on maps at the time.  As with most early settlements by colonizers, water was an important resource to live by.  In the spring of 1820, a white settler known as John Dolph built his cabin on the shores of the creek, with eventual plans to erect a sawmill with his business partner Peter Van Deventer, using the creek's water as a power source. One chilly October evening, while Dolph was pouring over his plans with his wife, they heard a blood curdling scream emanate from the woods outside.  Concerned, John and Sarah lept to their feet and threw open their door.  Running towards them was a Native woman, wildly out of breath, shouting “Save me!  Please save me!” and begging for refuge. The Dolphs quickly obliged and without hesitation, ushered the woman inside, promptly barring their front door.  Within moments of securing the latch, the door shook violently on it's hinges  “Let me in!” a man bellowed, throwing his weight against the door. John stalled the unknown assailant by asking him questions while motioning for his wife to hide the young woman.  And he reached for his musket.  Sarah opened a trap door, escaping into the night and leading her to the mouth of a nearby cavern. The man impatiently responded to John's inquiries, explaining that his name was Sanders and that the girl was his prisoner.  Her father, an Indian chief, placed her in his care because she wished to marry a “bad Indian”.  He asked once more, albeit more politely, for entrance into the Dolph's home.  With the girl safely concealed from view, John Dolph's obliged. Unbarring the door, John let Sanders inside.  Sanders, panting and full of rage, surveyed the home.  He saw no signs of his prey.  He glanced upward, spying the attic opening and a ladder leading up into the darkness.  John lit a candle, and handed it to Sanders.  I imagine he did so quite smugly, “Please, feel free to look”.  Sanders ascended the ladder and soon came back down, in even more of a rage.  “That girl is here!” he hissed, “I saw her come in!  Where is your cellar?” he snarled, scanning the floorboards.  John moved aside his carpet to reveal the trap door and bade Sanders down to investigate.  Again, Sanders discovered nothing.  No trace of the girl and no visible means of escaping, aside from the ladder he just descended. Murder Creek today Making his way back up, Sanders swore and muttered under his breath that he would have the girl if it was the last of his deeds. In exasperation Sanders said he was headed to Canfield Tavern for a drink and he quickly retreated into the night.  After some time, John Dolph reunited with his wife and they cautiously made their way down the side of the gorge to the cave that sheltered the young girl, located a little ways north of the falls.  With the autumn moon shining brightly overhead, The Dolphs surveyed their surroundings.  They looked up and down the dirt path, into the forest, and along the banks of the stream and saw no one.  Satisfied they were not being followed, they entered the cave.  However, though the moon illuminated the night, it could not penetrate the dense canopy of trees, and the Dolphs failed to notice the figure of a large man crouched beneath the shadows of a large pine. The Dolph's entered the chamber and found the girl asleep, passed out from exhaustion.  Upon hearing their approaching footsteps, the girl shot up in fright “Where is he?!” she cried.  Sarah calmed the young girl, assuring her that she was safe.  It was then that she recounted her tale of horror. Her account of events was recorded by John Dolph in his diary and was reproduced by Cummings in full in his text.  Though, I will be paraphrasing.  Cummings notes his surprise of the young girl's fluency in English and attributes it to the fact she was most likely a student at the mission school in Tonawanda.  I find it important to mention that these schools often forcibly took young children from their parents to enroll in these schools, forced to assimilate to American culture under harsh conditions of abuse.  These schools played a major role in the cultural genocide, erasure, and decimation of many Native Nations with painful echoes and generational trauma that reach to the modern day. Back to our story. The girl's name was Ah-weh-hah or, as she said in “the language of the pale face” Wild Rose.  She explained that she lived near Spirit Lake, under the cliff, about a mile from the Tonawanda Falls.  Her mother had died several years ago and she lived with her elderly father, Go-wah-na (The Great Fire) who was a chief of the Seneca Nation.  Moments before Ah-weh-hah happened upon the Dolphs, her father had been brutally murdered by Sanders. Sanders had been stalking Ah-weh-hah for over than a year, asking for her hand in marriage.  However, she already had a love, Tah-yoh-ne, Grey Wolf, who she was to marry.  Enraged by this, Sanders vowed that instead of seeing Ah-weh-hah marry a Seneca, he would murder all those who stood in his path. Ah-weh-hah took it upon herself to prevent her love, Tah-yoh-ne, from crossing paths with Sanders, for she knew if he were to harm Sanders in self-defense, that the authorities would not listen to his story and would punish him regardless of his innocence. So, Go-wah-na, in an attempt to protect his daughter, decided to send her away to the Cattaraugus Nation.  There she could safely be joined by fiancé Tah-yoh-ne away from the bloodthirsty clutches of Sanders. That morning Ah-weh-hah and her father set out to Te-os-ah-wah, known as the city of Buffalo.  When they reached the bank of the De-on-go-te Gah-hun-da, or modern day Murder Creek, they sat down to listen to the waterfall and rest. It was then that they saw Sanders approaching.  However, he approached them with his hand extended, apologizing for his past actions.  He smiled as he explained to them that he made up his mind to let go of Ah-weh-hah and that he hoped she would be happy with Tah-yoh-ne.  He explained he was currently making his way to the Wild West to start his life anew and has not expected to ever see Ah-weh-hah or her father again.  However, as fortune had it, they appeared to be headed in the same direction and Sanders offered to help on their journey to atone for his sins. They agreed to travel together.  They walked for some time and set up camp for the night.  Here, Ah-weh-hah stared into the east and saw a light in the valley not far away and at that very moment was startled by a loud sound followed by a groan.  She turned to see her father lying on the ground, face-down in the dirt, and looming over him was Sanders with an uplifted club in his hands. With a devilish grin, Sanders moved to attack Ah-weh-hah, but she was swift.  Quickly, she made her way to the light in the distance, which happened to be the Dolph's residence. After hearing her story, the Dolphs resolved to protect Ah-weh-hah.  John made his way to the camp she had described.  Here he found the smoldering coals of the campfire and the lifeless body of Go-wah-na.  This is the spot that later became known as the Haunted Corners.  When dawn broke, John and his business partner Peter Van Deventer buried his remains and learned that Sanders had taken the Buffalo stage at midnight.  Word of the tragedy spread quickly to the Seneca Nation and when John returned home, Tah-yoh-ne had already arrived to reunite with his love.  Ah-weh-hah was elated to see her lover and begged to visit the grave of her father.  Together they made their way to the newly dug grave of her father.  Once there, Ah-weh-hah and Tah-yoh-ne chanted a traditional death song, ignited a grave fire, and burned tobacco. While enveloped in their grief and distracted by their funeral rites, something leaped from the underbrush.  Brandishing an ax, with a demonic glint in his eye, Sanders bore down on the couple but Tah-yoh-ne reached for his tomahawk and a brawl ensued.  Both men lost handle on their axes and reached for their hunting knives and furiously ripped at one another's flesh.  The blood flowed like a stream until suddenly…it was quiet.  Sanders stopped motionless and fell to the ground. Frozen in fear, Ah-weh-hah could not move.  Tah-yoh-ne went to comfort her but he could not speak.  He was too weak from the loss of blood.  He swayed from side to side, staggered, and fell.  Dying on the grave of her father.  Ah-weh-hah let out a scream of pain which echoed through the woods to the Dolph's home.  Upon hearing this cry, Mr. Dolph ran the quarter mile to the camp.  Ah-weh-hah was sobbing, and between the heavy heaves of her cries she uttered the traditional death chant.  John once again, dug two more graves. Sarah Dolph's Grave Ah-weh-hah often visited graves of her father and her love to sing her grief.  One day, many moons later, the Dolphs did not hear from her.  They searched and came across Ah-weh-hah's lifeless body lying upon the grave of her love, seemingly having died of heartbreak.  Here she was buried between the graves of her father and her lover. As Legend has it, if you walk the trails of Murder Creek at night you may hear the voices of two the lovers as they wander the trails.  They were forsaken marriage in life, but have been united in death by an unbreakable bond. While it was these events that successfully changed the name of Sulphur Creek to Murder Creek, sadly these were not the last murders to occur there.  For our next story, we're fast forwarding 70 years to the year of 1890.  It was October 31, 1890 a spoooooky Halloween just like any other when 17 year-old Sarah Sadie McMullen made a trip to the local store to buy some butter.  That Halloween day had been spent at the Brown home, engaging in songs and parlor games that were popular among girls at the time.  A Happy Halloween indeed.  Sadie was accompanied on her trip to the Johnson's store by 6 year-old Delia Brown, the daughter of her widower boss, Simon Brown, and her friend, 10-year old Nellie May Connor.  Nellie was reported as being four years old eight years old, and nine years old depending on the article.  However, I looked up her grave and she was actually 10 years old.  Sadie had worked as a servant in the Brown's household and helped care for the Mrs. Brown during a time of illness.  She bonded with little Delia, and was kept on as a housekeeper after Mrs. Brown's passing.  Once at the Johnson's store, Sadie began acting very strangely.  She took out a quarter and slammed it on the counter.  She walked away before the store clerk could get her butter from the ice box or give her change.  A quarter in 1890 is the equivalent of $7.15 and you know something's up if you literally just throw away money.  And it only gets creepier from here. The bridge where the murder took place After leaving the store, Sadie, with the children in tow, walked to the New York Central Railroad Bridge that stood over 50ft above the Murder Creek gorge.  She coaxed the children to the center of the bridge before hurling little Nellie May Connor into the rushing waters below.  Then Sadie turned on Delia, the girl who she supposedly loved like a daughter, and after a short struggle, managed to heave her off the trestle as well.  “Hello Sadie” After committing these treacherous acts, Sadie made her way back to the Brown's house, walking through the front door without the children.  Simon was not home, he was barkeeping at his saloon.  Sadie was greeted instead by Hannah, Simon's sister. Sadie just stared back at Hannah and held out her hand. “Goodbye Hannah” “Where are you going?” asked Hannah, confused. “WELL FINE!  If you don't want to shake hands with me, well then alright” Sadie exclaimed, turned on her heels and stormed out of the house.  It was then that Hannah realized the children were not with her. Concerned, Hannah went to tell her father of her apprehensions.  In the midst of her explanation, Simon happened to stop by and Hannah relayed her worries once more.  Simon simply laughed and assured Hannah that the children were in good hands. Meanwhile, Sadie made her way through the dark to a bridge behind the saloon owned by Mr. Brown.  This bridge was much smaller than the trestle bridge, a mere 10 feet from the water.  Sadie looked down at the stream below her, took a deep breath, and dove into the water. Now drowning Sadie screamed in the night.  Sadie was eventually rescued from the waters by the father of Delia, Simon Brown and his friend George Jones.  Hannah claims she was there to extend her hand and help pull Sadie safely to shore.  Sadie screamed and shrieked that they put her back into the water immediately, but against her wishes they carried the hysterical girl back to the Brown's family home where a doctor was called to tend to her. “Where are the children?” the family demanded. “What children?” Sadie replied, confused. “Delia!  Where is Delia!” “Was she with me?” “Yes!” “Last I remember she was at the Johnson's store” Sadie replied, running her fingers through her hair “Why is my hair wet?” A search party was set out for the girls.  Nellie May Connor was soon discovered, her body twisted in a horrible manner, her lifeless eyes staring up at the bridge some 50 feet above her.  Hours later, around 3 am, the search party heard a moan and followed it to find that Delia Brown had survived.  As they carried little Delia up the gorge they heard her mutter weakly “Sarah was smart to throw us off the bridge” Sadie was soon brought to trial and if convicted, was to become the first woman to be put to death by the electric chair.  Many of the articles of the time oddly focus on her appearance: Pale and slender as she is, and dressed in exquisite though simple taste, her long brown hair falling in thick waves around her face and shoulders, she looks more like a child of ten than a girl of seventeen, who is barged with a most awful crime, and whose life depends on the ability of her lawyers and the mercy of the jury. But she either does not mind or does not realize her position, for every once in a while she turns her face to the sunlit windows and smiles as though she were happy and contented. And then she scans the women who throng the court-room, only to sit back in her chair with a weary air as though the whole affair and her presence in court were bore. Her face, while not particularly intelligent, is pretty. It bears a chic expression which is taking and she has a naive way of pursing up her lips which at times is, quite fascinating. There is nothing in her manners or her features which would indicate insanity or any other spirit than that of peace and girlish love. Sadie's past was full of trauma and she was plagued by mental and physical illness.  An Irish American, Sadie was raised in poverty with an absentee father and a mother described as “an irritable, quick-tempered, troublesome woman, with suicidal and homicidal tendencies.” Sadie appeared to have suffered from epileptic seizures and lost time beginning very early in her childhood, presumably something inherited from her mother.  When Sadie was only three her mother came across a bear while in the woods of Wisconsin and after running to a nearby house for help, she died soon thereafter, seemingly from shock.  At the age of 12 Sadie travelled with her alcoholic father, half-brother, and younger sister by foot from Wisconsin to Akron, New York.  Which is very far. Upon their arrival in Akron, Sadie's strange behaviors did not stop.  Once Sadie had found herself atop a ladder picking cherries, miles and miles from home, and another time she found herself at her front door wearing nothing but her underwear, her clothes were tucked underneath her arm and were soaking wet and she could not remember why. All of these stories of her losing time were never brought up until the trial.  So, it's debtable whether she was insane.  But let us give her the benefit of the doubt.  Despite this history of mental illness Sadie showed many signs that her murders were premediated. Two days prior to the murder, she sent a letter to her aunt in Buffalo, on October 29, which reads, in part: “I don't care if I never hear from him. I won't look at him when I come back. He will find that I ain't as soft as I look.” Clearly a strange letter about a liaison with a lover. On Halloween, the day of the murders, Sadie received a letter while in the company of Simon Brown's sister, Hannah.  While Hannah did not know the letters' contents, she could tell it upset Sadie.  It was from a servant at one of Sadie's former employers in Buffalo, accusing her of stealing diamonds and valuables from the mansion she used to work at.  Barely hiding her emotions, Sadie ran home and penned the following letter to her aunt: DEAR AUNTY: When you get this I will be far from earth, I am sick and tired of living and as I told you my last hope is come at last—I am thankful to die, people rebuke me for things that I am not guilty of and as I have no one to love me, I can go in peace, as my heart I leave in Akron with the one I always spoke to you of, as he seems to not care for me. I know it is a sin to put an end to myself, but I am not the only one, my brain is longing for the end, now if I only had my little brother to take with me I would be happy. If I had died when I was young how thankful I would have been, but as it is, I must die as it is, so tell my sister that I love her as much as ever, but could not stay with her. I hope you will see to them as I know you will and when I am dead I will come to you and explain, but do not fear me I will not hurt you and the man I loved will know me as a frequent visitor. Oh dear, if it was only over how thankful I would be. I think I will take some one with me so I will close my last letter on earth, hoping God will do justice with me, as he does with everybody, so when you get this you will know that I am no more, you will find my body in the basin in Buffalo, please bury me in Akron as I will be near my loved one so good bye—from Sadie, your no more niece. The letter was written in a haphazard scrawl that did not resemble Sadie's handwriting, and Sadie herself could not remember writing it.  SoI believe that either someone else wrote it for the newspapers or she really had written it in an epileptoid state. Later, it was also discovered that the stolen valuables from her former employer were recovered, seemingly misplaced in one of Sadie's blackouts. So who was this man that Sadie was obsessed with?  Rumor has it that Sadie was in love with Simon Brown, jealous of Mrs. Eliza Connors, a widow and Nellie May's mother, whom was said to be involved with Simon.  It was believed that Sadie and Simon were once engaged but he had put an end to it because of Eliza or because it was inappropriate, or even because he may have realized Sadie was a little off her rocker.  Others purport that Sadie was in love with Simon Brown's brother, and this was the man mentioned in her letters. Regardless, people believed the murders were to exact revenge on her former lover and his new betrothed, but these claims were unfounded and mainly based on the sensationalist headlines.   Which, I just want to mention that while now, it being 2020 these newspaper articles are considered primary sources because they are reporting of the time.  But at the time they were not primary sources.  They were secondary and even tertiary sources.  So, whenever you're reading historic newspapers, while they seem like primary sources, they also have a lot of their own biases.  One of those is that they're written to sell newspapers.  A lot of these stories that come up there's no basis in fact.  For example, Hannah said a lot of things like “She was possessed by the devil, I saw it in her eyes!” but in another article she said that Sadie would never harm a child.  So while these sources are historic, they are also very much tabloid-ish.  But that's also the fun of Victorian news stories.  The way that they write headlines is just  so insane.  But this was essentially their Keeping Up With the Kardashians.  That being said: Sadie's trial was extraordinarily short, lasting only two days.  In fact, she was acquitted of the crimes due to insanity.  Even though all the newspapers said she didn't seem insane, all the witnesses said she didn't seem insane, the medical community of Buffalo believed that she had carried these acts out in an epileptoid state and that she was not at fault.  And so, the medical community decided that she should be institutionalized and treated. Sadie was sent to the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane.  Which, by the way is very famous for its architecture, it has served as inspiration for horror movies and video games and is very haunted.  It is still an active asylum…and I attended undergrad only hundreds of feet from it. After only a year and a half, the Asylum Superintendent, (J.B.) Andrews, said, “that she is now perfectly sane” and they just released her.  That's it.  I thought there might be some outrage in newspapers at the time but I was reading them and they were more or less apathetic.  “Oh, yeah, Sadie got out.  She's cured now.”  Which a) I think is rare for them to be like “Oh someone is cured of mental illness!” instead of just torturing them but also b) it's also weird that they just didn't report on it.  So this begs the question…was she just faking it?  Since all these stories of her history of mental illness didn't arise until the trial and then she was miraculously cured and let go?  Was she faking being insane to avoid the electric chair, and once she was in treatment in the asylum was just like, “Oh, wow!  I'm better now!”  It's weird to me. One of her descendants has talked in YouTube videos and stuff and has tried to spin it as “This is the tragic story about Sadie and mental illness” and all this stuff.  And yes, mental illness is very important to discuss—I'm not trying to crap on that—but we also cannot forget that this woman's story wasn't that tragic: she went to the asylum for a year and a half and was let go and she fell into obscurity.  No one knows what happened to her.  Some say she went out west to Kansas, others claim she travelled to California.  But ultimately no one knows what happened to Sadie McMullen.  In the end Sadie lived,  a child died, and another was permanently injured because of her actions.  So yes, it's important to focus on the mental illness part of the story it's also important to focus on the fact that a child's life was taken for no reason and this woman didn't even spend much time in the asylum; they just let her go.  What's to stop her from doing it again?  It's a complicated issue, but I don't know if I buy that Sadie was insane.  It seems just all too convenient that she got out after only a year: that's unheard of.  But maybe I'm just being problematic. So, I used a number of sources for this story.  As usual they are in the show notes.  Stay spooky, my friends.

Interview with Mike Hickey, the mastermind behind Terror Nova and That Halloween!Originally broadcast on February 03, 2020 on CHMR 93.5 FM in St. John's, and on other great stations across the country. Listen online at http://www.chmr.ca/​​.This program, and others like it, are helped by support from viewers and fans on Patreon. Consider helping support Engen Books on Patreon for as little as $1.00 a month for excellent rewards, including books! https://www.patreon.com/engenbooks​​Checkout Engen titles at http://www.engenbooks.com/​​Write Project Newsletter signup for FREE book: http://eepurl.com/c8W9OTEngen Horror Society Signup for FREE book: http://eepurl.com/c8YemrFantasy Files signup for FREE book: http://eepurl.com/c8X4zLThis recording Copyright © 2020 Matthew LeDrew

I discuss 1920s slang and history. We have links to share. Im also worried about Audacity. That Halloween image was in power last week , because half my podcast got chopped off and missing!! I know you haerd about Myra already, but I had more to say. Can I bother you to listen to the rest?? I must start over on that podcast. More talking, this will take time. THE LENGTH OF FREE TALK SHOULD BE 29 MINUTES. Maybe, it works this time?

Leslie Mazzara, Adriane Insogna and Lauren Meanza were roommates living in a small house near downtown Napa when a killer broke in and attacked two of the women.On October 31st 2004, the friends were celebrating Halloween, drinking wine, watching scary movies and passing out candy to neighborhood children... unaware that a man they knew, was stalking them, armed with a knife and waiting for them to go to bed.That Halloween night, the killer entered through a window and brutally stabbed two of the women while the third roommate ran out of the house and called police.Almost a year later the killer would be identified by DNA and confess to the crime.Who the killer is... and what he did after the murders.... shocked everyone.PODCAST WEBSITE: (case photos, clips) http://www.truecrimedeadline.com/SOCIAL MEDIA:https://twitter.com/CrimeDeadlinehttps://www.facebook.com/TrueCrimeDEADLINE/https://www.instagram.com/truecrimedeadline/Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/true-crime-lets-26942079?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=postshare)

That Halloween story is a doozy, Clark. Gnarly Melissa holds it down. Send in your stories to powermoveswithmikeburns@gmail.com Merch: powermoveswithmikeburns.com Support for exclusives: patreon.com/powermoveswithmikeburns Twitter: @pizzanachos69 Insta: powermovespodcast  

Episode 143 could have been about something terrible, but Will saved the day! Instead of a bad sequel, your hosts will instead be talking about “Only Lovers Left Alive”. This is a 2013 film by Jim Jarmusch, a favorite director of all three of your hosts! If nothing else, this film will help you pass the time until the new Nic Cage horror film, “Mandy” comes out. The featured attraction is wandering and dark, cool and disaffected, and you might say that “nothing happens”. You might also say that “the characters just go somewhere else”. Jolyon points out that this is basically the plot of Jarmusch films…which is not a complaint. You know what IS a complaint, though? That “Halloween 5” wasn’t good. So, get all dressed up like Iggy Pop would do and get ready to do nothing and then go somewhere else. Find us on Instagram, where we are @chewingthescenery or easily find us on Facebook. Chewing the Scenery can be found on Soundcloud, iTunes and Stitcher. Please rate, review and subscribe- it really does help listeners find us! #horror #horrormovies #horrornerd #horroraddict #horrorjunkie #monsterkid #bmovie #scarymovies #monstermovie #podcast #chewingthescenery #zombies #zombie #VHS #moviemonsters #freepodcast #denver #colorado #everydayishalloween #onlyloversleftalive #tomhiddleston #tildaswinton #miawasikowska #johnhurt #antonyelchin #jeffreywright #jimjarmusch #jarmusch #squrl #vampires #vampire

What, you thought that was it for this week? No way! That Halloween stuff was a bonus type deal. This weeks episode is about the dumbest conspiracies that are floating around in the minds of the disturbed, the desperate and the stupid. NASA trying to blow up Jupiter, horrific monsters on Mars, and prep your ears while Mike destroys the flat earth caca doodoo. We hope you had a great and safe Halloween. Thanks for listening you guys! www.TheWhatCasters.com T Shirts and Stickers

All Aboard, Killers! We have a fun Jamie Lee Curtis Halloween classic. Well, not THAT Halloween classic, but the 1980’s Terror Train with our special guest, Kira Gowan (Fun Dip and Cherry Coke podcast). This movie has got your ticket to sex-prank-aggedons, the Mansplaination Express and David Copperfield in more make-up than anyone thought possible! Which two characters are embroiled in a secret love affair? Which character appears to be addicted to peanuts? Not only will we tell, we will try to shout it above a very convenient train whistle. All that and a new Canuxploitation version Choose Your Own Death-venture and you have yourself a larger than fun-size level Halloween treat. Never fear - new episodes of Kill By Kill are made available every other Friday! Have something to say? Reach out on Twitter @killbykillpod or email us: killbykillpod@gmail.com. Follow on IG @killbykillpodcast Artwork by Josh Hollis: joshhollis.com

When Barbara Felix started her business, Felix the Cook, over ten years ago, she was looking for a way to provide for her family, while doing something she loved. Finding her sweet spot with custom-made sugar cookies, Barbara has attracted big name clients like Google Ventures, UPS, and The Four Seasons. How can your business do the same? Listen as Barbara shares her best secrets for attracting and delighting clients. Find us on Stitcher You can also read the transcript below: Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. You can be a marketer, all it takes is Constant Contact. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. Barbara: I've spent plenty of time working in offices thinking, “How can I get out of here?” I am not a paper person. I don't care what industry it's in, I cannot stand sitting behind a desk. So with cookies, I just love being the boss and being the creative person. I get physically ill if I cannot create something. Dave: Meet Barbara Felix, owner of Felix the Cook. Like so many businesses owners, Barbara became her own boss to avoid a boring, cookie-cutter career. Starting a business of her own, Barbara has the freedom to spend her days as she likes — which in her case means delighting customers with custom-made sugar cookies. If you've ever wondered if you have what it takes to start a business — or if you've already started and you're wondering how to take things to the next level, listen up. Today, Barbara shares her secrets for how a one-woman operation can use customer relationships to land big-name clients like Google Ventures, UPS, and The Four Seasons.More than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first five years. These are the stories of those who beat the odds. My name is Dave Charest and I'll be your host as we share the stories of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet, small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Dave: Many small businesses start with a combination of passion and necessity. When Barbara started her business over ten years ago, she was looking for a way to provide for her family, while doing something she loved. Listen as she describes her early attempts at finding the right fit and how an early mentor helped point her in the right direction. Barbara: Well, my dad was a cook. My dad always cooked at home. And I loved to play in the kitchen. I loved making things and my mother let me do whatever I want with butter, sugar and flour. So I have absolutely no fear of sweet stuff. And I grew up, got married, got divorced and decided I needed a career because I've been to high school, of course, but not much college. So there I was, a single mother with two children looking for something to do and I thought well, maybe I can take a cooking class and instead I decided to take the full program at the California Culinary Academy and do 16 months and come out as a chef. So I worked at a really fine restaurant for a couple years and then found it was just too difficult as a single mother to keep the hours of a kitchen, which were pretty brutal, and mind my kids. So I quit that and got into private chefing after a stint of making desserts for restaurants. There were a couple of small restaurants I worked for that didn't have the time or the space to do their own pastry. So I'd do that for them. Again, pastry was always my favorite. And with the kids, I would make cookies with them every holiday like Halloween. I can't get over it. That Halloween, I made black icing, my son was in heaven with black icing everywhere. So we'd do that and then one year one of my instructors was at the house for Christmas and she saw my cookies and she said, “Oh my God, Barbra, you have to sell these.” I said, “Really?” So because I trusted her, I pursued the cookies. I was private chefing at the time and I asked one of my clients what she thought. She suggested I get a year of cookies. So that was a great idea. So I designed 12 collections with 6 designs each to make up a dozen cookies for every month of the year, and got connected with a web designer, who started with that page, our cookies of the month. And from there it just grew. It was very word of mouth, very word of mouth. Dave: So, just talk us through kind of that inspiration for doing the cookies? Barbara: Oh! The inspiration was I can do this, and it's fun and people pay me! That's what it was. And that having someone whose opinion that I trusted told me they were wonderful. That's what I needed because I get in my own little bubble where I can't see outside. And if you go on cookies websites, it's amazing what people are doing. They're total artworks. And if you look at that, and then look at what I do and it's like, well I'd never measure up. The funny thing is, is that they're doing the same thing. Everybody is comparing, which is silly. But I wanted a way to make some money that wasn't as difficult, as private chefing can be. I wanted to do something that I was entirely comfortable with, which is pastry. And it's a fun job and it's a happy job. People are so happy when they can get on my schedule. They are happy to order their cookies they're anticipating, and they're happy when they get them. So I like happy uplifting things. That's why, I'm not curing cancer but I'm making people happy, nothing wrong with that. Dave: With cookie-making, Barbara found the sweet spot she was looking for. Now, she had to find something just as important — a loyal customer base.  Luckily, this wasn't Barbara's first business. Through her past endeavors, Barbara already had some ideas about her target market, what they wanted, and how best to reach them. Barbara: Now, I spent some time in Texas for 10 years and I had my own business there as well, making curtains and drapery and shades. And my first customer was a junior-league lady and I had learned very well. You tell a junior league lady, you're set because they all tell each other, they all call each other. So with that experience, with the cookies I thought, I got to donate to the junior league. And I did the same thing. I picked a couple different charities and I'd make a significant donation and people started calling. And that's how it started, with donations, because I had to get the word out. Dave: Did you set any goals for your business when you were first getting started? Barbara: Oh, I wish I could say yes! I wish I could say I followed my business plan to the T. I did not. My goal was to make some extra money. I'm a single mother with two kids, money was the ticket. So, with the help of friends, I thought it was important to get a website together and that was my first goal to get all those 12 months of designs made. Then to set up a photography booth or some way to get…I bought my first camera to do the photographs, my first little instant camera. And, to set up a business account, I set up a checkbook. The goals were very small and then to find charities where I could donate because I knew that's where my market was. See, I knew, from my experience of having my business in Texas, I knew what these ladies wanted. I knew what they were looking for and knew where they were. I knew my market. And I knew what they needed. And that's how I did it. Going for the upscale charity events and contacting people I knew in that area. Dave: What would you say makes your business different from others out there? Barbara: I would say the service. I mean, they love the taste of the cookies, there's that. They love the cookies, they love what I do. But I've had people tell me, “Oh, you're so flexible, and thank you” And it's personable, you know, people get excited when they can talk to the person who's actually making their product. It's not going through several layers. In fact, a few years ago, well in 2004, Gwyneth Paltrow put me on her Goop website for Christmas. And that's because I knew her driver. A friend of mine drove for her. I didn't even know he was driving for her but that was my connection. And I got a lot of orders and one person called to check on her order and it was so funny the way she spoke. It's like, “Can you go down on the factory floor and find the order?” and I said, “Ma'am I'm making your cookies.” And they're so excited. They're very excited to talk to the person. So I think that's it. There's no filter between me and the client. They call or they email or they talk to me. And that's the way I like it. And even as I grow, I don't know that I'll give away that part of the business. I think I'll still be the contact person. Dave: Barbara's success comes from giving her customers an experience they can't get anywhere else. By listening to her customers' advice, Barbara creates relationships that make other people feel invested in her success. It's no surprise that many of Barbara's best new customers have come directly from her existing customer base. Dave: Yeah. Is there, is there some place that you go for advice or guidance? Barbara: Oh gosh, yes! Gosh, yes! I guess I'm just a friendly person. But I know so many people who seem to be more successful than I am and their always eager to help me. I have one friend I met when I was doing cookies for a charity function and it was being held at Pixar. It was a very big deal and I got to see the Pixar office. I got to look at an Oscar, like two feet from my face, a real Oscar. That woman moved on to another company and another company and she's taken me with her every step of the way. So I've made cookies for her at every company and she's very into computers and marketing. And she helps me and she gives me ideas. Another friend of mine, again, it's a friend of a friend. He asked me if I could deliver cookies to his friend who manages a very big jewelry store downtown. And because of the timing, I thought, “Oh I'll just take him in myself.” And that was like a perfect thing to do. The fellow loved meeting me, he loved the cookies and he has sent me business and he has sent me a wonderful event planner that I work with constantly. And he's my buddy. He brings me to different events, he suggests things to do. He's got me working on a chocolate cookie now. He's determined to have a chocolate cookie place card with gold lettering. So I have ordered. I have been through the web top to bottom looking for a specific edible gold luster, which I've acquired. It's in the mail to me now. So they guide me, they tell me what you can do. Another friend of mine works at LinkedIn and he's helping me use that to meet other marketing people in different companies because that's where the cookie orders from companies come from. So, yes, I don't know, people like me and they talk to me and I talk to them and we chit chat. And yes, I have plenty of advisors. I've made cookies for Google Ventures and they're still customers. I did cookies for UPS. I did cookies for Tyler Florence a couple of times. And when he had his shop, my cookies were in his shop. Because one day, I walked in, and I happened to have my portfolio with me. And there was some sugar cookies for sale and I thought, “Oh my goodness! I can do better than that.” So I showed the sales girl. She got the marketing person to come down and we started a relationship and I had my cookies in there every holiday. Because I walked in and said, “Hey look at me.” Dave: Barbara's confidence in her product and dedication to her customer relationships have served her well in growing her business and reaching big-name clients. But that doesn't mean she's always as busy as she'd like. Dave: Was there ever a time that you felt like potentially the business wasn't gonna work? Barbara: Oh yeah! Oh gosh yes! Dave: Tell us about that. Barbara: Because I didn't have a budget for marketing. My budget was, “Can I pay my mortgage this month?” And some people would tell me, “Oh! You need to get better pictures. They don't do you justice.” And I didn't have the money to go up a notch. Packaging, when you start pricing packaging, you have to buy a lot for custom packaging. It's a huge investment for a small business. And there were times where I would get discouraged. And then the phone would ring and somebody would say so and so told me about you. And I would get all happy again. I really feed off my customer's happiness because it tells me I'm doing a good job. Dave: What have you found has been your most effective way to get or reaching customers? Barbara: Oh, really, Constant Contact because my email list consists of people who have already done business with me. They've already emailed me and bought purchased cookies so they're on my list. They're familiar with the product and the emails are just a reminder that I'm here, which is, as I said, for people that don't order cookies regularly. They need to be reminded, whether it's a birthday or an anniversary or something… Dave: Yeah. Tell me a little bit about your approach with email, like what do you? What do you send out? Like what do you do, how often? Barbara: I want to do it once a month. I try to do it once a month and I like to put up pictures of cookies they haven't seen, something new. Like I believe I did an email about painted cookies now, there's a big demand now for watercolor. You use the food coloring as the paint. So I did that. Mostly it's seasonal, you know. It's like, “Oh this is August, I'll send out a picture of my watermelon cookies” or whatever. Trying to think of what they might be doing and what they might need them for. We're very seasonal. I don't ever have sales, so there's nothing like that to do. I made a decision very early on that I wasn't going to discount my work, at all. And I don't. I don't care if you're buying two dozen or two thousand. The price is the price and that's it. So, there's no sales to advertise. It's mostly a reminder. Get on the books now because September's full. So, think about me now. Mostly to remind people to, order ahead. That's what I use it for. The email marketing is entirely affordable, entirely affordable, $20 a month? I mean, come on. It's a bargain. It's a tremendous bargain. And what sold it for me is the online help because I'm of a certain age. I need to speak to someone. I don't want to just tap on the computer. And every time I call, I get someone who is willing to stay there and help me and I've never gone away unsatisfied from a phone call. And I need that because I'm not computer savvy. I am not going to invest time in learning how to run a computer because I run a cookie business. I'm not a computer person. Dave: Rather than focusing on finding new customers, Barbara stays in touch with her existing customers — the people she already has established relationships with. By reaching out and reminding her customers what she has to offer, she sparks new interest and gets the phone ringing again. Dave: What is it that you would say that really keeps you going and your business successful? Barbara: Pride in what I do, that I do it myself, that I don't have to answer to anyone except my customers. Like I've mentioned, this is not my first business. My first business was making curtains, draperies and shades and it was the similar thing. I worked alone, I made a beautiful product, everybody was happy at every stage. And I loved being my own boss. I've spent plenty of time working in offices thinking, “How can I get out of here?” I am not a paper person. I don't care what industry it's in, I cannot stand sitting behind a desk. So with cookies, I just love being the boss and being the creative person. I get physically ill if I cannot create something, if I can't be refinishing furniture, or making a curtain or doing something creative. And the cookies give me all that. All my art, all my color, theory, everything I do is in there. And I love making people happy. I love making little kids smile when they get a cookie. I have pictures on my wall of the little kids holding my cookies, being happy. That's a nice thing. Dave: You'll notice Barbara's success is rooted in her own satisfaction, as well as her customers'. As she said earlier, she really feeds off her customers' happiness. While many small businesses are started by fiercely independent people — hungry to call the shots, make their own hours, and put their stamp on things — the successful ones never lose sight of the people they're trying to help. I'll leave you with Barbara's best advice for someone interested in starting their own business. Barbara: Oh, golly. Know your market. If you don't know where your market is and what they want, you have no chance. You need to know what people want. And once you figure that out, make what they need. It's the same classic advice, find a need and fill it. And because of my exposure to a certain crowd of people years ago, I knew what they were looking for. I knew what they liked to have and that's why I can still serve those people by making my product. You have to know your market, you can't just have a good idea that nobody wants to buy, if you're gonna do it for a living. I mean believe me, I love what I do, I love the art but make no mistake, and this is how I put gas in the car. I have to make money. Dave: We appreciate you listening and would love to hear what you think of the show. Please go to iTunes or Stitcher right now and leave us a review. Small Biz Stories is produced by myself and Miranda Paquet with editing by TwentyFourSound. You can contact us at podcast@constantcontact.com Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. You can be a marketer, all it takes is Constant Contact. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. The post Felix the Cook — Small Biz Stories, Episode 14 appeared first on Constant Contact.

When Barbara Felix started her business, Felix the Cook, over ten years ago, she was looking for a way to provide for her family, while doing something she loved. Finding her sweet spot with custom-made sugar cookies, Barbara has attracted big name clients like Google Ventures, UPS, and The Four Seasons. How can your business do the same? Listen as Barbara shares her best secrets for attracting and delighting clients. Find us on Stitcher You can also read the transcript below: Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. You can be a marketer, all it takes is Constant Contact. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. Barbara: I've spent plenty of time working in offices thinking, “How can I get out of here?” I am not a paper person. I don't care what industry it's in, I cannot stand sitting behind a desk. So with cookies, I just love being the boss and being the creative person. I get physically ill if I cannot create something. Dave: Meet Barbara Felix, owner of Felix the Cook. Like so many businesses owners, Barbara became her own boss to avoid a boring, cookie-cutter career. Starting a business of her own, Barbara has the freedom to spend her days as she likes — which in her case means delighting customers with custom-made sugar cookies. If you've ever wondered if you have what it takes to start a business — or if you've already started and you're wondering how to take things to the next level, listen up. Today, Barbara shares her secrets for how a one-woman operation can use customer relationships to land big-name clients like Google Ventures, UPS, and The Four Seasons.More than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first five years. These are the stories of those who beat the odds. My name is Dave Charest and I'll be your host as we share the stories of some of the bravest people you'll ever meet, small business owners. You'll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Dave: Many small businesses start with a combination of passion and necessity. When Barbara started her business over ten years ago, she was looking for a way to provide for her family, while doing something she loved. Listen as she describes her early attempts at finding the right fit and how an early mentor helped point her in the right direction. Barbara: Well, my dad was a cook. My dad always cooked at home. And I loved to play in the kitchen. I loved making things and my mother let me do whatever I want with butter, sugar and flour. So I have absolutely no fear of sweet stuff. And I grew up, got married, got divorced and decided I needed a career because I've been to high school, of course, but not much college. So there I was, a single mother with two children looking for something to do and I thought well, maybe I can take a cooking class and instead I decided to take the full program at the California Culinary Academy and do 16 months and come out as a chef. So I worked at a really fine restaurant for a couple years and then found it was just too difficult as a single mother to keep the hours of a kitchen, which were pretty brutal, and mind my kids. So I quit that and got into private chefing after a stint of making desserts for restaurants. There were a couple of small restaurants I worked for that didn't have the time or the space to do their own pastry. So I'd do that for them. Again, pastry was always my favorite. And with the kids, I would make cookies with them every holiday like Halloween. I can't get over it. That Halloween, I made black icing, my son was in heaven with black icing everywhere. So we'd do that and then one year one of my instructors was at the house for Christmas and she saw my cookies and she said, “Oh my God, Barbra, you have to sell these.” I said, “Really?” So because I trusted her, I pursued the cookies. I was private chefing at the time and I asked one of my clients what she thought. She suggested I get a year of cookies. So that was a great idea. So I designed 12 collections with 6 designs each to make up a dozen cookies for every month of the year, and got connected with a web designer, who started with that page, our cookies of the month. And from there it just grew. It was very word of mouth, very word of mouth. Dave: So, just talk us through kind of that inspiration for doing the cookies? Barbara: Oh! The inspiration was I can do this, and it's fun and people pay me! That's what it was. And that having someone whose opinion that I trusted told me they were wonderful. That's what I needed because I get in my own little bubble where I can't see outside. And if you go on cookies websites, it's amazing what people are doing. They're total artworks. And if you look at that, and then look at what I do and it's like, well I'd never measure up. The funny thing is, is that they're doing the same thing. Everybody is comparing, which is silly. But I wanted a way to make some money that wasn't as difficult, as private chefing can be. I wanted to do something that I was entirely comfortable with, which is pastry. And it's a fun job and it's a happy job. People are so happy when they can get on my schedule. They are happy to order their cookies they're anticipating, and they're happy when they get them. So I like happy uplifting things. That's why, I'm not curing cancer but I'm making people happy, nothing wrong with that. Dave: With cookie-making, Barbara found the sweet spot she was looking for. Now, she had to find something just as important — a loyal customer base.  Luckily, this wasn't Barbara's first business. Through her past endeavors, Barbara already had some ideas about her target market, what they wanted, and how best to reach them. Barbara: Now, I spent some time in Texas for 10 years and I had my own business there as well, making curtains and drapery and shades. And my first customer was a junior-league lady and I had learned very well. You tell a junior league lady, you're set because they all tell each other, they all call each other. So with that experience, with the cookies I thought, I got to donate to the junior league. And I did the same thing. I picked a couple different charities and I'd make a significant donation and people started calling. And that's how it started, with donations, because I had to get the word out. Dave: Did you set any goals for your business when you were first getting started? Barbara: Oh, I wish I could say yes! I wish I could say I followed my business plan to the T. I did not. My goal was to make some extra money. I'm a single mother with two kids, money was the ticket. So, with the help of friends, I thought it was important to get a website together and that was my first goal to get all those 12 months of designs made. Then to set up a photography booth or some way to get…I bought my first camera to do the photographs, my first little instant camera. And, to set up a business account, I set up a checkbook. The goals were very small and then to find charities where I could donate because I knew that's where my market was. See, I knew, from my experience of having my business in Texas, I knew what these ladies wanted. I knew what they were looking for and knew where they were. I knew my market. And I knew what they needed. And that's how I did it. Going for the upscale charity events and contacting people I knew in that area. Dave: What would you say makes your business different from others out there? Barbara: I would say the service. I mean, they love the taste of the cookies, there's that. They love the cookies, they love what I do. But I've had people tell me, “Oh, you're so flexible, and thank you” And it's personable, you know, people get excited when they can talk to the person who's actually making their product. It's not going through several layers. In fact, a few years ago, well in 2004, Gwyneth Paltrow put me on her Goop website for Christmas. And that's because I knew her driver. A friend of mine drove for her. I didn't even know he was driving for her but that was my connection. And I got a lot of orders and one person called to check on her order and it was so funny the way she spoke. It's like, “Can you go down on the factory floor and find the order?” and I said, “Ma'am I'm making your cookies.” And they're so excited. They're very excited to talk to the person. So I think that's it. There's no filter between me and the client. They call or they email or they talk to me. And that's the way I like it. And even as I grow, I don't know that I'll give away that part of the business. I think I'll still be the contact person. Dave: Barbara's success comes from giving her customers an experience they can't get anywhere else. By listening to her customers' advice, Barbara creates relationships that make other people feel invested in her success. It's no surprise that many of Barbara's best new customers have come directly from her existing customer base. Dave: Yeah. Is there, is there some place that you go for advice or guidance? Barbara: Oh gosh, yes! Gosh, yes! I guess I'm just a friendly person. But I know so many people who seem to be more successful than I am and their always eager to help me. I have one friend I met when I was doing cookies for a charity function and it was being held at Pixar. It was a very big deal and I got to see the Pixar office. I got to look at an Oscar, like two feet from my face, a real Oscar. That woman moved on to another company and another company and she's taken me with her every step of the way. So I've made cookies for her at every company and she's very into computers and marketing. And she helps me and she gives me ideas. Another friend of mine, again, it's a friend of a friend. He asked me if I could deliver cookies to his friend who manages a very big jewelry store downtown. And because of the timing, I thought, “Oh I'll just take him in myself.” And that was like a perfect thing to do. The fellow loved meeting me, he loved the cookies and he has sent me business and he has sent me a wonderful event planner that I work with constantly. And he's my buddy. He brings me to different events, he suggests things to do. He's got me working on a chocolate cookie now. He's determined to have a chocolate cookie place card with gold lettering. So I have ordered. I have been through the web top to bottom looking for a specific edible gold luster, which I've acquired. It's in the mail to me now. So they guide me, they tell me what you can do. Another friend of mine works at LinkedIn and he's helping me use that to meet other marketing people in different companies because that's where the cookie orders from companies come from. So, yes, I don't know, people like me and they talk to me and I talk to them and we chit chat. And yes, I have plenty of advisors. I've made cookies for Google Ventures and they're still customers. I did cookies for UPS. I did cookies for Tyler Florence a couple of times. And when he had his shop, my cookies were in his shop. Because one day, I walked in, and I happened to have my portfolio with me. And there was some sugar cookies for sale and I thought, “Oh my goodness! I can do better than that.” So I showed the sales girl. She got the marketing person to come down and we started a relationship and I had my cookies in there every holiday. Because I walked in and said, “Hey look at me.” Dave: Barbara's confidence in her product and dedication to her customer relationships have served her well in growing her business and reaching big-name clients. But that doesn't mean she's always as busy as she'd like. Dave: Was there ever a time that you felt like potentially the business wasn't gonna work? Barbara: Oh yeah! Oh gosh yes! Dave: Tell us about that. Barbara: Because I didn't have a budget for marketing. My budget was, “Can I pay my mortgage this month?” And some people would tell me, “Oh! You need to get better pictures. They don't do you justice.” And I didn't have the money to go up a notch. Packaging, when you start pricing packaging, you have to buy a lot for custom packaging. It's a huge investment for a small business. And there were times where I would get discouraged. And then the phone would ring and somebody would say so and so told me about you. And I would get all happy again. I really feed off my customer's happiness because it tells me I'm doing a good job. Dave: What have you found has been your most effective way to get or reaching customers? Barbara: Oh, really, Constant Contact because my email list consists of people who have already done business with me. They've already emailed me and bought purchased cookies so they're on my list. They're familiar with the product and the emails are just a reminder that I'm here, which is, as I said, for people that don't order cookies regularly. They need to be reminded, whether it's a birthday or an anniversary or something… Dave: Yeah. Tell me a little bit about your approach with email, like what do you? What do you send out? Like what do you do, how often? Barbara: I want to do it once a month. I try to do it once a month and I like to put up pictures of cookies they haven't seen, something new. Like I believe I did an email about painted cookies now, there's a big demand now for watercolor. You use the food coloring as the paint. So I did that. Mostly it's seasonal, you know. It's like, “Oh this is August, I'll send out a picture of my watermelon cookies” or whatever. Trying to think of what they might be doing and what they might need them for. We're very seasonal. I don't ever have sales, so there's nothing like that to do. I made a decision very early on that I wasn't going to discount my work, at all. And I don't. I don't care if you're buying two dozen or two thousand. The price is the price and that's it. So, there's no sales to advertise. It's mostly a reminder. Get on the books now because September's full. So, think about me now. Mostly to remind people to, order ahead. That's what I use it for. The email marketing is entirely affordable, entirely affordable, $20 a month? I mean, come on. It's a bargain. It's a tremendous bargain. And what sold it for me is the online help because I'm of a certain age. I need to speak to someone. I don't want to just tap on the computer. And every time I call, I get someone who is willing to stay there and help me and I've never gone away unsatisfied from a phone call. And I need that because I'm not computer savvy. I am not going to invest time in learning how to run a computer because I run a cookie business. I'm not a computer person. Dave: Rather than focusing on finding new customers, Barbara stays in touch with her existing customers — the people she already has established relationships with. By reaching out and reminding her customers what she has to offer, she sparks new interest and gets the phone ringing again. Dave: What is it that you would say that really keeps you going and your business successful? Barbara: Pride in what I do, that I do it myself, that I don't have to answer to anyone except my customers. Like I've mentioned, this is not my first business. My first business was making curtains, draperies and shades and it was the similar thing. I worked alone, I made a beautiful product, everybody was happy at every stage. And I loved being my own boss. I've spent plenty of time working in offices thinking, “How can I get out of here?” I am not a paper person. I don't care what industry it's in, I cannot stand sitting behind a desk. So with cookies, I just love being the boss and being the creative person. I get physically ill if I cannot create something, if I can't be refinishing furniture, or making a curtain or doing something creative. And the cookies give me all that. All my art, all my color, theory, everything I do is in there. And I love making people happy. I love making little kids smile when they get a cookie. I have pictures on my wall of the little kids holding my cookies, being happy. That's a nice thing. Dave: You'll notice Barbara's success is rooted in her own satisfaction, as well as her customers'. As she said earlier, she really feeds off her customers' happiness. While many small businesses are started by fiercely independent people — hungry to call the shots, make their own hours, and put their stamp on things — the successful ones never lose sight of the people they're trying to help. I'll leave you with Barbara's best advice for someone interested in starting their own business. Barbara: Oh, golly. Know your market. If you don't know where your market is and what they want, you have no chance. You need to know what people want. And once you figure that out, make what they need. It's the same classic advice, find a need and fill it. And because of my exposure to a certain crowd of people years ago, I knew what they were looking for. I knew what they liked to have and that's why I can still serve those people by making my product. You have to know your market, you can't just have a good idea that nobody wants to buy, if you're gonna do it for a living. I mean believe me, I love what I do, I love the art but make no mistake, and this is how I put gas in the car. I have to make money. Dave: We appreciate you listening and would love to hear what you think of the show. Please go to iTunes or Stitcher right now and leave us a review. Small Biz Stories is produced by myself and Miranda Paquet with editing by TwentyFourSound. You can contact us at podcast@constantcontact.com Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. You can be a marketer, all it takes is Constant Contact. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. The post Felix the Cook — Small Biz Stories, Episode 14 appeared first on Constant Contact.

Noooonan! Welcome back to Episode 101 of Devour the Podcast. This episode the crew is back after the debachery that was the 100th episode spectacular. We catch up on what we’ve been up to in the time between recordings, discuss what we’ve watched and have a few laughs. News: -Leprechaun: Origins director taking on the Dead Rising film that sounds nothing like Dead Rising -The asshole who brought us Batman Forever, Batman & Robin and I Am Legend is looking to take a stab at The Ring 3D. -New Amityville film has a title. -That Halloween rumor that floated around for a few hours is bullshit apparently. File this one under WHO GIVES A FUCK -Director of teen cancer weepfest The Fault in our Stars to direct The Vampire Lestat? It Came From the Instant Queue: Manhunnter (1986) Bo: 4/5 David: 5/5 Jamie: 4.5/5 Our Feature Presentation: Below (2002) Bo: A- David: B Jamie: B Coming Soon: Shit is about to get real as the DTP crew is about to tackle their longest retrospective to date with Friday the 13th. Also we’re watching From Dusk Till Dawn for It Came from the Instant Queue because it’s on netflix and that [...] The post Devour the Podcast, Episode 101 appeared first on Legion.

I haven't ever had a reason to visit a podiatrist (which is what we call a foot doctor), until recently. I don't have any problem with my feet, thankfully. I suppose, over the years, the shoes that I have worn have been good enough to keep me out of the clinics. My feet rarely complain, so I ignore them most of the time. However, my son Cass, who is twelve, has been complaining for a while of heel, ankle, and arch pain. I reasoned that he is growing fast at this stage, and that growing pains of all sorts are quite common. He does play a lot of sports, and so, any problem or tenderness* can get worse. As he practices basketball twice a week, and has to do lots of running, I researched a little on the internet the ways I could ease his pains. You know I love to Google; well, I also love to find tutorials on You-tube. It's a wealth of information! In an instant, I found a video clip that demonstrates how to wrap your feet before you take part in any sporting activity. It was surprisingly simple, and really made sense. It started by showing a 3-D image of the inside of a foot. I thought it looked freaky!* The visual* made it very clear how the foot works, and why a person might experience pain. So, I wrapped Cass's feet, and he told me after practice that it had really helped. I also made an appointment for him to see a podiatrist. It was just a few days later that we went to see Dr. Hoover, a softly spoken, straightforward man. After looking at Cass' feet and his shoes, he came to the conclusion that stress from sports, and the wrong shoes, have brought about the problem. Cass normally wears Adidas shoes. They are fine for walking, but they don't provide a lot of arch support, and the basketball shoes bend in the wrong place. Apparently, a good sports shoe bends where your foot does, basically at the toe area. If it bends in the middle, it puts stress on the joint that we have in the middle of our foot, because this joint is very limited, and is not supposed to move much at all. So, after he gave us a brief lesson on how the foot works, and a list of recommended* shoes and shoe inserts*, Cass had an xray. It turns out that he has normal feet, and just needs some good support during sports. That was a relief for me; I didn't have to worry about anything serious. The next day I bought him two kinds of inserts, and different basketball shoes. These things have made all the difference. He's much happier now after practice, and no longer has stiff, tender feet in the morning. How wonderful that we have such quick access to information that can educate us, and help us avoid making mistakes with our health. Related vocabulary:tenderness, freaky, a visual, recommended: 1. When a part of your body is injured, the area around the injury can feel tender, sensitive to pain. 2. That Halloween costume is freaky! It's one of the wierdest and scariest I've seen. 3. It's much easier to study if you have a visual, because, as Shakespeare said, "A picture paints a thousand words." 4. That hotel is recommended; it has everything we need. However, the one next door isn't recommended at all. *JOIN ME ON FACEBOOK, AT   Anna from A cup of English. // // //

[Digital Gonzo 2012] To celebrate Halloween I'm reviewing Monster House, one of the few movies ever put out by ImageMovers Digital. It uses an identical performance capture technique to the Uncharted series, Heavenly Sword, Enslaved and The Last of Us. This is a technique that usually freaks people out because of the Uncanny Valley, less so in games because we're used to seeing CG modeling but in the cinema people wonder why they're not just looking at real people. This is the most stylised of IMD's catalog. They wisely make the character models more cartoonish and slightly claymation-looking which is easier to accept in the brainpan. Joining me for this review are Neil Taylor of GameBurst and Jerome McIntosh of the Gonzo Planet community. The plot runs thus: DJ, a young lad in an American suburb, watches the house across the street, the only occupant being a creepy, angry old man. There's something funny going on inside and DJ is determined to find out what.  It's Halloween and his parents are going away, leaving him with a babysitter, which is embarrassing because he is on the cusp of growing up. His tubby, exuberant and scaredy-cat friend Chowder wants to go trick or treating one last time which DJ considers them now a bit too old for. And a smug, preppy swot of a girl named Jenny comes calling, selling cookies like a pro. All of them end up fixated on this house and what could be inside. That Halloween night they find out.  If you like The Goonies, Stand By Me or other 80′s adventures that don't patronise the kids and have them talking like real people (Super 8 is another one even though it's made in 2011 and set in 1979), you will love this. It's a little bit too scary for young kids if you have them so watch it first. There are some great moments of comedy and a fantastic atmosphere of exploration. Also it's got a solid emotional core. Ultimately it's a story about growing up and what you have to leave behind. Guests: Neil Taylor of TheKiddDogg Jerome McIntosh of GameBurst