Top Shelf Murder- True Crime & Curious Stories

Dobby and I talk about the history of the plague doctor mask and suit. We also discuss The Black Death, when the bubonic plague swept away millions of lives in the 14th century.  Book recommendation is Sister Dear by Hannah Mary McKinnon Sources- https://www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-ancient-technology/secrets-behind-plague-doctor-mask-terrifying-costume-009201  https://www.livescience.com/plague-doctors.html https://medium.com/@chavpatr/plague-masks-are-sexy-118666983e8c Black Death- https://www.historytoday.com/archive/black-death-greatest-catastrophe-ever  https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/49217/anatomy-14th-century-bubonic-plague-hazmat-suits

Dobby and I tell the (believe it or not) true tale of Tarrare. Tarrare was a french dude born in the 1700's who couldn't stop eating. He did not discriminate against anything, eating non-foods as a sideshow or simply to try satisfy his never ending hunger. Book Recommendation is Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. *** Content Warning- This episode mentions death a small child and eating cats and dogs. Sources Tarrare- https://www.diabetes.co.uk/symptoms/polyphagia.html https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/66508/tarrare-greatest-glutton-all-time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarrare  https://allthatsinteresting.com/tarrare Dr. Percy- https://www.napoleon-empire.com/personalities/percy.php https://www.worldcat.org/title/journal-des-campagnes-du-baron-percy-chirurgien-en-chef-de-la-grande-armee/oclc/18497213

Dobby couldn't make it, so my Ma joined in to discuss the disappearance and murder of Lindsey Baum. Lindsey has been missing for 11 years, partial remains were located late in 2017. Her murder or murderers have not been apprehended to date. ***Content Warning- this episode contains mentions of pedophilia, child pornography, child abduction, and murder. Book recommendation is Don't Tell Daddy by Barbara Petty https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Tell-Daddy-Barbara-Petty/dp/0440120969 https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0440120969/ref=dbs_a_w_dp_0440120969 https://www.abebooks.com/9780440120964/Tell-Daddy-Barbara-Petty-0440120969/plp https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30349907525 https://www.ebay.com/p/57056609?iid=401877944676 References- https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4838704/Wife-suspected-penny-loafer-pervert-brother-disappeared.html https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/cadaver-dogs-will-join-search-of-3-brothers-shelton-home-in-sex-abuse-investigation/597578846/ https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/police-brothers-in-their-70s-80s-arrested-in-child-sex-abuse-investigation/596258669/ Naptime Nancy Podcast, Season One Episode Three https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/after-a-decade-knowing-didnt-bring-relief/

Dobby and I discuss Missing White Woman Syndrome and how it effects women and children of color. Stay tuned in as we tell the story of Tamika Huston, her disappearance, and murder. Book Recommendation Happy And You Know It, by Laura Hankin *** the authors name was said wrong in the episode, it’s Laura not Lauren 🙄 References https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1508&context=wmjowl https://www.blackburncenter.org/post/2017/03/29/missing-white-woman-syndrome https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4646085  http://www.nbcnews.com/id/9652329/ns/dateline_nbc/t/sad-answers-tamikas-disappearance/#.XyR3xChKg2w https://missingindividuals.tumblr.com/post/187285568758/truecrimecrystals-tamika-huston-vanished-from  https://www.goupstate.com/article/NC/20050816/NEWS/605175809/SJ  https://alchetron.com/Tamika-Huston

1990, Austria- Johann 'Jack' Unterweger is released from prison after serving 15 years of a life sentence for murder. Austria would soon learn that he was not the reformed, rehabilitated prisoner they believed him to be. Book recommendation- A Room of One's Own, by Virginia Woolf *** Please be advised this episode discusses sexual assault, strangulation, and suicide. Sources- Book synopsis- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18521.A_Room_of_One_s_Own https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1992-02-29-9201110375-story.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pda_olKDU1o https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-06-30-me-10223-story.html https://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/jack-unterweger-poet-of-death/crimes https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/jack-unterweger

On June 15th, 1920, three black men were taken by a mass mob made up of nearly 10,000 people from a jail cell where they were being held under arrest for the alleged rape of Irene Tusken. They were falsely accused, murdered, and no one was ever convicted for the brutal murder of the three young men. Book recommendations are What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker by Damon Young and The Lynchings in Duluth by Michael Fedo Sources- The Lynchings in Duluth by Michael Fedo https://www.mnhs.org/duluthlynchings/people.php https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/12/duluth-lynchings-mason-pardon/

In this episode we venture back to the '60s when Graham Fredrick Young was being a poisony fool, running a muck lacing teacups with a cocktail of poisons. Oh, and he was only at the ripe old age of 14 years young when his poisony habits escalated. Our book recommendation and inspiration is The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell. ***Content Warning- Mention of animal cruelty and suicide. Sources- https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/graham-young https://allthatsinteresting.com/graham-young https://murderpedia.org/male.Y/y/young-graham.htm https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/teacup-poisoner-made-hundreds-ill-20869584

Part Four Clowns & Circus Tragedies & Stories- In today's episode, Dobby and I tell the story of Boris Korneev, a serial killer from the Soviet Union. Before he began his crimes he was a traveling circus performer, the strongman. Book recommendation is Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire, the fourth and final book in The Wicked Years. ****Content Warning- Please take note that this episode includes strangulation, death of fetus, and sexual assault/slavery thank you. References https://peoplepill.com/people/boris-korneev-1/ https://www.mzk1.ru/2015/12/silach-ubijca/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Korneev_(serial_killer) https://topblognews.ru/kriminal/silach-ubijtsa/

Part Three of Clowns Circus Stories & Tragedies- On a hot summer day in Connecticut, The Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus set up their big top tent that would soon be filled with children and adults, ready for the show. Except the only show that would be put on that day was the fire that consumed the tent, killing 167 people. Book recommendation is A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire, book three in The Wicked Years.  References- http://www.circusfire1944.com (http://www.circusfire1944.com/the-victims.html) https://www.hartfordhistory.net/circusfire.html

Part Two of the Clowns & Circus Tragedies & Stories takes us to the Clown Motel in Tonopah, NV. Learn about the creepy clown motel and its town's ghostly hauntings. Book inspiration is the Wicked Years, year two, Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire. References- https://living-las-vegas.com/2016/09/haunting-mizpah-hotel/ https://lasvegasweekly.com/news/2015/oct/29/a-night-in-the-haunted-clown-motel/ https://theface.com/culture/the-people-who-stay-at-nevadas-clown-motel https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/old-tonopah-cemetery

Join Dobby and I as we tell the tale of the Toronto Circus Riot of 1855. An epic brawl between clowns and raucous firemen. The book recommendation this week is A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena.  References- http://spacing.ca/toronto/2012/10/02/the-toronto-circus-riot-of-1855-the-day-the-clowns-picked-the-wrong-toronto-brothel/ http://www.cdgallantking.ca/2016/09/the-toronto-circus-riot-of-1855.html https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/8/20/1870769/-Hidden-History-The-Toronto-Circus-Riot

Circus Stories & Tragedies Part One- Phineas Taylor Barnum otherwise known as P.T. Barnum is one of the most well-known showman in America. He co-founded Burnam & Bailey Circus among other attractions he came up with. But the man behind the curtain isn't the shining, generous showman that is portrayed in the film "The Greatest Showman." Join Dobby and I as we take a look at Burnam and his circus. Book Recommendation is Wicked- The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, the first book in The Wicked Years. References- https://www.britannica.com/biography/P-T-Barnum https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-pt-barnum-greatest-humbug-them-all-180967634/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._T._Barnum

The story of the Happy Land Night Club Massacre, a fire set to the club in 1990 killing 87 people trapped inside. Book inspiration for the episode is Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng.  References- https://www.leagle.com/decision/19951113163misc2d9501961 https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Julio_Gonz%C3%A1lez https://www.amny.com/news/happy-land-social-club-arsonist-who-julio-gonzalez-was-and-what-he-did-1-12321416/ https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/26/nyregion/fire-bronx-87-die-blaze-illegal-club-police-arrest-ejected-patron-worst-new-york.html?pagewanted=all

Join Dobby and I as we tell the tale of the Toronto Circus Riot of 1855. An epic brawl between clowns and raucous firemen. The book recommendation this week is A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena. Stick around after this week's case for the first segment of Mental Health Shelf!References-http://www.cdgallantking.ca/2016/09/the-toronto-circus-riot-of-1855.htmlhttps://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/8/20/1870769/-Hidden-History-The-Toronto-Circus-Riot

The case of the Atlantic City Four, women who were cruelly murdered and dumped behind one of the many seedy, crime-ridden motels on the Black Horse Pike in Atlantic City. Their murders are still unsolved. Book inspiration is The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James. References- https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/the-end-of-the-infamous-golden-key-motel/article_1da8366a-2740-11e5-bd45-a375260933b1.html https://www.inquirer.com/philly/hp/news_update/20100619_Conditions_harsh_at_South_Jersey_s_Golden_Key_Motel.html https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/14/nyregion/14slay.html

The story of the peculiar-ish Jerry Brudos, the foot fetish killer. Book inspo comes from A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs!

Some of the dark history of Valentines Day, its morbid AF.

This week's book recommendation and inspiration come from The Bookish Life of Nina Hill alongside the telling of some bookish ghosts stories! References- https://www.hauntedjourneys.com/haunted-locations/1403-haunted-new-jersey-bernardsville-public-library https://anomalien.com/the-haunted-bernardsville-library/ https://visitcryptoville.com/2013/11/27/the-ghost-of-bernardsville-library/ https://www.anothermag.com/design-living/7815/the-worlds-most-beautiful-bookshops

Our Poison Garden episode gets a re-boot with a little splash of some new-new but still inspired by Ruth Ware's Turn of the Key. References- https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/england/articles/beware-the-deadly-beauty-of-the-poison-garden-in-north-englands-alnwick-garden/ https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Practical-Magic-Inspires-Real-Murder-Plot-43463671

Give a listen to an episode of my other podcast hosted with my creepo sister and occasional hilarious guest host & good friend Kirby! If you enjoy this episode head over to Sisters of the Corn for more episodes & don't forget to subscribe! XOXO, M & Dobby This week Alyse tells the tale of Fred and Rosemary West, a horrid serial killer couple with some fucked up preferences along with an update on Doomsday mom and her missing children.