In 1803, a ghost was said to haunt the lanes of Hammersmith.
By the time the truth emerged, one man was dead—and another stood trial for murder. This is the story of the Hammersmith Ghost: where fear, rumor, and justice collided in the dark.
Source Materials
Proceedings of the Old Bailey,11 January 1804 – Trial of Francis Smith for the murder of Thomas Millwood.
Burton, Paul J. “The Hammersmith Ghost and the Rule of Law.” SSRN Scholarly Paper, 2015.
Davies, Owen. The Haunted: A Social History of Ghosts. Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
Westwood, Jennifer, and Jacqueline Simpson. The Lore of the Land: A Guide to England’s Legends, from Spring-Heeled Jack to the Witches of Warboys. Penguin Books, 2005.
“The Newgate Calendar: The Trial and Execution of Francis Smith.” (Contemporary 19th-century account).
A Deadly Scare? The Hammersmith Ghost Murder Case - Historic Mysteries
The Hammersmith Ghost and a Murdered Man
The Hammersmith Ghost and the Strange Death of Thomas Millwood Crime Magazine
The Case of a Ghost Haunted England for Over Two Hundred Years | In Custodia Legis
A nobleman’s drunken murder. A trial before the Irish House of Lords. And the scandal that gave rise to Ireland’s most infamous secret society — the Hellfire Club.
Source Material
Neal Garnham, “The Trials of James Cotter and Henry, Baron Barry of Santry: Two Case Studies in the Administrationof Criminal Justice in Early Eighteenth-Century Ireland”, IrishHistorical Studies, Vol. 32, No. 128 (2001).
Neal Garnham, “The Trials of James Cotter and Henry, Baron Barry of Santry”, Irish Historical Studies, 2001.
F. Elrington Ball, The Judges in Ireland, 1221–1921 (London: John Murray, 1926).
Geoffrey Ashe, The Hell-Fire Clubs: A History of Anti-Morality (The History Press, 2000).
Evelyn Lord, TheHellfire Clubs: Sex, Satanism and Secret Societies (Yale University Press, 2008).
Hellfire Clubs (Pamphlet / Irish National Library Collection, c. 18th century).
Abarta Heritage, TheHellfire Club Archaeological Project – History and Folklore, Abarta Heritage (https://www.abartaheritage.ie/hellfire-club-archaeological-project/hellfire-club-history/hellfire-club/).
John D’Alton, Historyof the County of Dublin (Dublin, 1838).
“The Hell-Fire Club: Sex, Satanism andSecret Societies,” History Is Now Magazine, 2018.
“The Hellfire Club Murders”, Dublin Penny Journal, archival reprint.
In 1566, a widow from a quiet Essex village was accused of feeding her cat with drops of her own blood—and of using it to kill. This is the story of Agnes Waterhouse, the first woman in England whose witch trial was captured in print. A story offear, faith, and the birth of the English witch.
Source Material:
In 1900, Texas millionaire William Marsh Rice was found dead in his New York apartment. Within hours, forged checks, a suspicious will, and a hasty cremation order set off one of the most sensational murder cases of the Gilded Age. This is thestory of greed, betrayal, and the crime that nearly derailed the founding of Rice University.
Patreon - Historical True Crime | Patreon
Website - Historical True Crime | podcast
Source Materials
Rice's Attorney and Valet Face Criminal Charges, newsclipping - Rice University Digital Collections
Face the Law Murder Conspiracy and Forgery newsclipping - Rice University Digital Collections
"Confessed Murder Forgery" - Rice University Digital Collections
Evidence of Guilt newsclipping - Rice University Digital Collections
The Murder of Millionaire William Rice by Albert Patrick, 1900 - HistoricalCrimeDetective.com
William Marsh Rice: A Story of Money, Poison, and Murder – Kathy M. Slaughter
William Marsh Rice and His Legacy — The Heritage Society
Martin L. Friedland, The Death of Old Man Rice: A True Story of Criminal Justice in America (University of Toronto Press, 1996).
Thomas Duke, Celebrated Criminal Cases of America (1910), Part III: “The Murder of Millionaire William Rice by Albert Patrick.”
Glamour, scandal, and an unsolved death. When torch singer Libby Holman married into the Reynolds tobacco dynasty, she stepped into a world of wealth and whispers. Whatfollowed was a mystery that would haunt her for the rest of her life.
Source Material
The Notorious Libby Holman | Vanity Fair | March 1985
Libby Holman | Jewish Women's Archive
Daily Iowan (Iowa City, Iowa), 1932-10-20
Daily Iowan (Iowa City, Iowa), 1932-10-25
Carolina watchman (Salisbury, N.C.). 1932-12-16 [p ].
Daily Iowan (Iowa City, Iowa), 1932-07-10
Daily Iowan (Iowa City, Iowa), 1932-07-14
Daily Iowan (Iowa City, Iowa), 1932-08-09
Coroner's Report in the Matter of the Death of Z. Smith Reynolds – Works – Reynolda House
In July 1908, the body of 20-year-old Hazel Drew was discovered face-down in Teal’s Pond near Sand Lake, New York. Rumors of secret lovers, missing letters, and powerful suspects turned her death into both a ghost story and, decades later, the inspiration for Twin Peaks.
Source Materials
Jerry Drake, Hazel Was a Good Girl (Clash Books, 2023).
David Bushman & Mark Givens, Murder at Teal’s Pond: Hazel Drew and the Mystery That Inspired Twin Peaks (Thomas & Mercer, 2022)
Murder mystery haunts Rensselaer County 116 years later - WNYT.com NewsChannel 13
Who Killed Hazel Drew? The 1908 Murder Case That Inspired Twin Peaks
Murder that inspired ‘Twin Peaks’ solved 100 years later: Book
A Pair Of Amateur Sleuths Believe They've Solved The Century-Old Murder That Inspired 'Twin Peaks'
Hazel’s brutal murder was all but forgotten. Until she inspired ‘Twin Peaks.’ - The Washington Post
For our 150th episode, we revisit one of history’s most infamous names: H. H. Holmes. Behind the myths of the ‘Murder Castle’ lies a story of fraud, fear, and fact stranger than legend. Step inside Chicago’s 1890s underworld—and separate truth from folklore.
Source Materials
The Enduring Mystery of H.H. Holmes, America's 'First' Serial Killer
The Toronto link to America's bloodiest serial killer - Spacing Toronto | Spacing Toronto
H.H. Holmes: Biography, Serial Killer, Murderer
Murder Castle - H.H. Holmes, Chicago World's Fair & Layout | HISTORY
H. H. Holmes: Master of Illusion — Swindler — Crime Library
Selzer, Adam. H. H. Holmes: The True History of the White City Devil. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2017.
Geyer, Frank P. The Holmes-Pitezel Case: A History of the Greatest Crime of the Century and of the Search for the Missing Pitezel Children. Philadelphia: Publishers’ Union, 1896.
On New Year’s Day, 1886, Edwin Bartlett was found dead in his Pimlico home — his stomach filled with chloroform, but with no sign of how it got there. Was it murder, suicide, or something science couldn’t yet explain? Step into thePimlico Poisoning Mystery, a case that baffled Victorian doctors, scandalized London, and left one woman forever in the shadows.
Source Materials:
Ambrose Bierce was a Civil War veteran, journalist, and master of the macabre whose razor-sharp pen made him both feared and admired. In 1913, at seventy-one yearsold, he left the United States for war-torn Mexico—and vanished. This episode traces Bierce’s journey from log cabin childhood to battlefield survivor, from satirical journalist to literary legend, before diving into one of the greatestmysteries in American history: what became of Ambrose Bierce?
Source MaterialsIntroduction to A Sole Survivor: Bits of Autobiography by Ambrose Bierce
Why did brothers fight on opposite sides of the Civil War? | HowStuffWorks
Disappearance of Ambrose Bierce - Historic Mysteries
Ambrose Bierce, Hoosier author and Civil War vet, vanished in Mexico
Carey McWilliams. Ambrose Bierce: A Biography. New York: Albert and Charles Boni, 1929.
S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz. Ambrose Bierce: The Devil’s Lexicographer. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2002.
In 1928, a Wineville chicken farm became the center of aharrowing investigation into missing boys. Gordon Stewart Northcott and his mother, Sarah Louise, were tied to the disappearances of Walter Collins, the Winslow brothers, and others. This episode follows the crimes, the investigation, and the trials that exposed what really happened on the ranch.
Source Materials:
During the 1920s, Boys Became the Prey of a Brutal Killer - Los Angeles Times
The Wineville Chicken Coop Murders — Boomtown — Crime Library
Child Killer: Gordon Northcott and the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders
What Really Happened When Walter Collins Disappeared In 1928
Nothing Is Strange with You: The Life and Crimes of Gordon Stewart Northcott
In 1935, the seaside calm of Bournemouth was shattered by scandal, betrayal, and murder. Alma Rattenbury — a once-celebrated musician — and her teenage lover GeorgeStoner stood accused in a case that gripped Britain with its mix of passion, tragedy, and sensational headlines. In this episode, we trace Alma’s extraordinary life, her ill-fated marriage to architect Francis Rattenbury, and the events that led to one of the most infamous trials of the 20th century.
Source Materials
The Architect & the Lady - Canada's History
2015.173615.Trial-Of-Alma-Victoria--Rattenbury-And George-Percy-Soner.pdf
The British Newspaper Archive Blog Murder of Francis Rattenbury | The British Newspaper Archive Blog
Adultery, jealousy and murder: How the Rattenbury case gripped the nation | Bournemouth Echo
Jack Knox: Out of tragedy, Francis Rattenbury's son became a fine dad - Victoria Times Colonist
The Sensational High-Society Murder of Francis M. Rattenbury | The Canadian Encyclopedia
Murder, suicide and the pain of a surviving son
The Fatal Passion of Alma Rattenbury - Sean O'Connor - Google Books
In 1660, the quiet Cotswold town of Chipping Campden was shaken by the disappearance of its elderly steward, William Harrison. Within months, three members of the Perry family were convicted and hanged for his murder — without a body ever being found. Two years later, Harrison returned alive, with a tale of pirates, slavery, and improbable escape. Was it truth, invention, or something stranger still?
Source Materials
The Story - The Campden Wonder
The Curious Case of the Campden Wonder
The Campden Wonder | Chipping Campden Online
The Campden Wonder - abduction and witchcraft in 17th century Cotswolds | Great British Life
The Campden Wonder; or, The Supposed Murder of William Harrison — Historical Blindness
In 1892 Memphis, a secret romance between two young women unraveled in tragedy. This episode traces the story of Alice Mitchell and Freda Ward — from their plannedelopement to a public murder and a sensational trial — and examines how their case shaped early conversations about same-sex love, gender norms, and mental health in America.
Source Materials:
The Trials of Alice Mitchell: Sensationalism, Sexology, and the Lesbian Subject in Turn-of the-Century America Author(s): Lisa Duggan. Source: Signs, Vol. 18, No. 4, Theorizing Lesbian Experience (Summer, 1993), pp. 791-814 Published by: TheUniversity of Chicago Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3174907 .
Images of Alice: Gender, Deviancy, and a Love Murder in Memphis
Erotomania and Murder in Memphis | by Alexis Coe | The Awl | Medium
Girl Slays Girl: An Excerpt From Alice + Freda Forever
A Love Gone South in 'Alice + Freda Forever' - Deep South Magazine
Murder by Gaslight: "Girl Slays Girl."
Alice Mitchell: Passion, Murder, and a Scandal That Shook America – True Crime Archives
When a young English aristocrat vanished at sea in 1854, his family mourned—except for his mother, who refused to believe he was dead. More than a decade later, a butcher from Australia claimed to be the long-lost heir. What followed was one of the most sensational legal battles of the Victorian era. This week on Historical True Crime, we unravel the strange and sprawling saga of the Tichborne Claimant.
Source Materials:
The Tichborne Trials Archive | Hampshire Cultural Trust Online Collections
The Tichborne case: a Victorian melodrama | State Library of New South Wales
The Mysterious Case of Tichborne and His Stolen Identity - Historic Mysteries
The Man Who Lost Himself: The Unbelievable Story of the Tichborne Claimant
The Tichborne Case - a Case of Identity Fraud? - Brighton & Hove Museums
A charming jazz musician with a philosophical streak. A series of brutal, seemingly unrelated murders. In this episode, we uncover the disturbing double life of Melvin Rees—known to the press as "The Sex Beast"—and the investigation that nearly let him slip away.
Source Materials
Melvin Rees -- a little known but deadly sadist and rapist — Without a Trace — Crime Library
To Live and Die in Chicago: 7 Prohibition Era Gangsters Who Met a Violent End in the Windy City
Serial Killer Diaries | Psychology Today
In 1928, deep in Pennsylvania’s Hex Hollow, three men believed they were cursed by a local powwow doctor – a folk healer named Nelson Rehmeyer. What followed blurred the line between old-world magic and modern crime, ending in murder, a sensational trial, and a legacy that still haunts the region today. This is the story of superstition, fear, and the killing that made Hex Hollow infamous.
Source Materials:
Dark Magic: The 1928 Hex Hollow Murder of Nelson Rehmeyer
THE "HEX HOUSE" MURDER — American Hauntings
Witchcraft and Murder in Hex Hollow – Uncharted Lancaster
The Hex Murder Case: Witchcraft in Pennsylvania
Rehmeyer's Hollow - Atlas Obscura
A Victorian cult of love, prophecy, and scandal. When Henry James Prince declared himself divine, he founded a religious sect that promised salvation—but delivered something far stranger. Decades later, a new messiah would rise. Thisis the story of the Agapemonites, from spiritual awakening to final collapse.
SourceMaterials
Henry Prince and John Smyth-Pigott, Agapemonite Messiahs - HeadStuff
Henry James Prince and the Agapemonites
The Agapemonites: Victorian Britain's premiere sex cult
The mid-1800s sex cult in the heart of Spaxton | Bridgwater Mercury
Agapemonites Vicar's sex cult excites buyers' interest in rustic Abode of Love | The Independent | The Independent
When William Morgan vanished in 1826, he left behind a manuscript—and a firestorm. This episode explores the man who took on the Freemasons, the mystery of his disappearance, and how his fate sparked America’s first third party.
Source Materials:
The Masonic Murder That Inspired the First Third Party in American Politics
One Man Exposed the Secrets of the Freemasons. His Disappearance Led to Their Downfall | HISTORY
Murder by Gaslight: William Morgan - Revenge of the Freemasons
Killed by the Freemasons? The Secrets of William Morgan - Historic Mysteries
In 1887, journalist Nellie Bly faked insanity to go undercover inside a New York asylum. What she witnessed—neglect, cruelty, and systemic abuse—became one of the most powerful exposés of the 19th century. This week, we dive into her daring investigation and the real conditions behind the walls of Blackwell’s Island.
Source Materials:
How Nellie Bly became a Victorian sensation and changed journalism forever | Vox
Nellie Bly: The Journalist Who Pretended To Be Insane To Get Into A Mental Asylum
Remembering Nellie Bly, Rabblerouser and Pioneer of Investigative Journalism
Ten Days in a Madhouse: The Woman Who Got Herself Committed
Nellie Bly: The Journalist Who Traveled Around the World in 72 Days | TheCollector
Nellie Bly - Story, Timeline & Facts
Biography of Nellie Bly, Investigative Journalist
Nellie Bly: Scourge of the Asylums and Globetrotter Extraordinaire - Historic Mysteries
George Chapman was a serial poisoner who murdered three of his wives — but some believe his crimes began years earlier as the infamous Jack the Ripper. In this episode, we explore Chapman's life, his shocking crimes, and the lingeringtheory that links him to the Ripper murders.
Source Materials:Casebook: Jack the Ripper - George ChapmanWho Was Jack The Ripper? Meet Seven Possible SuspectsCould Victorian Serial Killer George Chapman Have Been Jack the Ripper?Severin Klosowski aka George Chapman, Victorian Murderer - HeadStuffGeorge Chapman — Jack the Ripper, the most famous serial killer of all time — Crime Library
