Tag: Urban Legend

We all know that Lizzie Borden took an axe. We know she gave her father forty whacks; her mother forty-one; and that she got away with murder. Or do we? Her father received under twenty axe wounds, her STEPmother under ten. The murder weapon was probably a hatchet; not an axe, but nothing rhymes with ‘hatchet’ in the same catchy way. If we are honest about the number of whacks we lose that attractive assonance with ‘Borden’ and ‘forty’. Do these poetic elements justify Lizzie’s bad wrap? What really happened on  August 4, 1892 in Fall River, Massachusetts? Join us this week as we take a look at the famous unsolved murders of Abby and Andrew Borden, and the things about their daughter Lizzie that made people believe she was just dangerous enough to be suspected. We will take a look at the cultural ideas of spinsters, and the rise of the independent women in America; as we try to separate fact from fiction.

For more on this week’s episode, and every episode: justastorypod.com

Twitter: @justastorypod 

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Leave a voicemail on the Urban Legend Hotline 1-(512)-222-3375      

Help support the show: https://www.patreon.com/justastorypod

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We all know that Lizzie Borden took an axe. We know she gave her father forty whacks; her mother forty-one; and that she got away with murder. Or do we? Her father received under twenty axe wounds, her STEPmother under ten. The murder weapon was probab… Read More …

We all know that Lizzie Borden took an axe. We know she gave her father forty whacks; her mother forty-one; and that she got away with murder. Or do we? Her father received under twenty axe wounds, her STEPmother under ten. The murder weapon was probab… Read More …

Cemetery memorials are synonymous with gothic horror. Dark, haunting and beautiful they capture the imagination of those who wander in their midst. Chances are, though, if you are wandering through a cemetery, you’re likely to ponder the kinds of thoug… Read More …

Cemetery memorials are synonymous with gothic horror. Dark, haunting and beautiful they capture the imagination of those who wander in their midst. Chances are, though, if you are wandering through a cemetery, you’re likely to ponder the kinds of thoughts that belong there: life, death, and the things that slip in between. One particularly notorious memorial statue was the Agnus Memorial. This sculpture was so imposing that the locals in Baltimore took to making up dark tales of its metaphysical misdeeds and gave ‘her’ the nickname ‘Black Aggie’. What inspired these stories? More importantly, what inspired her creation? Join us this week for a tale of intrigue, artistry, love and grief; as we explore the tragic history of Henry and Clover Adams, and the monument that went on to have a life all of its own. Read More …

Cemetery memorials are synonymous with gothic horror. Dark, haunting and beautiful they capture the imagination of those who wander in their midst. Chances are, though, if you are wandering through a cemetery, you’re likely to ponder the kinds of thoug… Read More …

You may have noticed the irony that can be attached to the phrase, ‘what do we have to lose?’ So often things can go horribly wrong just after someone asks that fateful, seemingly rhetorical question. That’s sort of what happened once people decided to stop just confining people with mental illness, and started trying to ‘cure’ them. Join us this week as we explore medical treatments for mental illness from shock therapy to lobotomy; and meet those whose voices sounded alarm from Kesey to Kennedy.

For more on this week’s episode, and every episode: justastorypod.com

Twitter: @justastorypod 

Instagram: justastorypod 

Leave a voicemail on the Urban Legend Hotline 1-(512)-222-3375      

Help support the show: https://www.patreon.com/justastorypod

  Read More …

You may have noticed the irony that can be attached to the phrase, ‘what do we have to lose?’ So often things can go horribly wrong just after someone asks that fateful, seemingly rhetorical question. That’s sort of what happened once people decided to… Read More …

You may have noticed the irony that can be attached to the phrase, ‘what do we have to lose?’ So often things can go horribly wrong just after someone asks that fateful, seemingly rhetorical question. That’s sort of what happened once people decided to… Read More …

The Lunatic Asylum has loomed large in the public imagination since its very establishment as an institution. We have never been sure what to do with the mad, to use the vernacular of a bygone era. Despite our admitted ineptitude, we have been more than willing to try and do something with them for ages. Most of the things we did for most of recorded history have been horrifying, barbaric and ineffective. Join us this week as we explore the history of asylums and treatments for the mentally ill. We will discuss Nellie Bly’s breakthrough account of her experiences in the Blackwell’s Asylum, and the documentary that recorded World War II veterans’ experience PTSD, ‘Let There Be Light’. We will even spend a little time discussing the death of George Washington, and being glad that medicine has made a few advances since then.

Guest Story Teller: Not Alone Podcast Check out this great new podcast: http://www.notalonepodcast.com

For more on this week’s episode, and every episode: justastorypod.com

Twitter: @justastorypod 

Instagram: justastorypod 

Leave a voicemail on the Urban Legend Hotline 1-(512)-222-3375      

Help support the show: https://www.patreon.com/justastorypod Read More …

The Lunatic Asylum has loomed large in the public imagination since its very establishment as an institution. We have never been sure what to do with the mad, to use the vernacular of a bygone era. Despite our admitted ineptitude, we have been mor… Read More …

The Lunatic Asylum has loomed large in the public imagination since its very establishment as an institution. We have never been sure what to do with the mad, to use the vernacular of a bygone era. Despite our admitted ineptitude, we have been mor… Read More …

We, as humans, enjoy our place atop the food chain. Whether it’s true or not, we’ve done a great job convincing ourselves we are basically invincible when it comes to predators. Lions, tigers, and bears, oh, balderdash. However, what if it wasn’t an an… Read More …