Author: ARH
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DEAD PRESIDENT: ZACHARY TAYLOR AND HIS CALAMITOUS CHOW DOWN
President’s Day mostly comes and goes with little to no fanfare, a paid holiday for a chosen few and maybe a great mattress sale, but this year it got me thinking, have there been any weird or extremely interesting causes of death for any of our former leaders? We all learn about assassinations of presidents…
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DEPRAVED LOVE: THE STORY OF FRED AND ROSE WEST
This Valentine’s Day let’s take a look at Fred and Rose West, a pair of depraved lovebirds who together sadistically killed at least a dozen young girls between 1972 and 1987 in Gloucester, England at the notorious address, 25 Cromwell Street. The married serial killers and rapists turned their love nest into a veritable house…
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LICK ROAD: WHERE URBAN LEGEND AND TRUE CRIME COLLIDE
I love urban legends and I find that while most are seemingly far fetched stories, a few of them are rooted in grains of truth. I think that may be the case with one local bit of lore here in the Cincinnati area. Amy and The Legend of Lick Road. Let’s start with the legend:…
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DAWN McFARLANE’S AMPUTATION SITUATION
The story of Dawn McFarlane is a bittersweet tale. The sassy lassie from Portsmouth, England, was stricken with polio when she was just a baby and suffered immensely from the dreaded disease that plagued so many at that time. In 1952, when she was just fourteen, Dawn fell headfirst for a young private in the…
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TWO SERIAL KILLERS WALK INTO A BAR…
Even the most vile criminals and serial killers like to cut loose and throw back a few adult beverages on occasion. Many of them even had a favorite watering hole to unwind, their own little “Cheers.” For example, when Edmund Kemper wasn’t cruising around looking for his next victim, he was hanging out at his…
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THE MAN WHO IS BURIED ON THE MOON
There is only one person in the world that has the unique distinction of having their remains buried on the surface of the moon. So who claims this deep six in deep space? Eugene Merle Shoemaker. Eugene Shoemaker was a prominent American geologist who, after studying craters here on earth, took his expertise to a…
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THE SILHOUETTE OF MARGARET SCHILLING
The story of Margaret Schilling, ‘The Lost Lady’ may be one of the region’s most compelling ghost stories. In 1978 Schilling was a patient at the then century old Athens Lunatic Asylum. Margaret, who was a seemingly trusted patient, was allowed to walk freely around the grounds of the large facility but on December 1st did…
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THE SUICIDE OF JEREMY DELLE
January 8, 1991 Richardson High School in Richardson, Texas. Fifteen year old Jeremy Delle arrives late to class and is sent to the office to get an attendance slip. When he returned to his classroom he addressed his teacher directly saying, “Miss, I got what I really went for.” He then revealed a .357 Magnum, stuck…
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THE HEAD AND HANDS MURDER
On this day back in 1936 the headline of The Cincinnati Enquirer proclaimed ‘Hicks Condemned to Death.’ Justice was swift as it would take a jury less than 15 minutes to convict Heber L. “Jimmie” Hicks. So what did he do? Hicks was the mastermind behind a murder that became to be known locally as…
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1 LUNATIC, 1 ICE PICK
Luka Magnotta was born Eric Clinton Newman on July 25, 1982 in Scarborough, Ontario. A new breed of psychopath, Magnotta shared the heinous acts he perpetrated on the internet. The web was the perfect platform for him, after all, he was obsessed with his looks and referred to himself as a “plastic surgery addict.” He…
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FRIDAY THE 13TH JINX
The Jinx illustration depicted here announced the Friday the 13th wedding party of James Kral and Jenny Patton. It was published in Chicago paper ‘The Day Book’ on June 13, 1913. The devilish skeletal imp announcing the couple’s theme of embracing everything 13 for their big day. The nuptials would take place on the 13th…
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SPIRITED SPIRITS: THE GHOST OF IMOGENE REMUS
One of Cincinnati’s most popular ghost stories is the one of Imogene Remus. Legend has it her spirit has haunted the Spring House Gazebo in Eden Park for over 90 years. So how did Imogene become a ghost? You see, back in 1927 Imogene was gunned down in Eden Park by her husband, the infamous…
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SAD CLOWN: THE TRAGIC LEGACY OF WEARY WILLY
So did you know December 9th is a day sat aside to celebrate Weary Willie – wait – what? Ok, so if you didn’t know, circus clown ‘Weary Willie’ was created by Emmett Kelly Sr., who was born on this day back in 1898. While I’m happy to celebrate the art of clowning and it’s…
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ARSENIC ANNIE: CINCINNATI’S CUT-THROAT CARETAKER
Meet Anna Marie Hahn, widely known as “Arsenic Annie.” This Cincinnati area serial killer who was the first woman sentenced to die in Ohio’s electric chair after murdering at least 5 men. Anna was born into a large Bavarian family back in 1906 and was the youngest of 12 siblings. When she was 18, she…
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THE SHOW MUST GO ON: A CINCINNATI TRAGEDY
The show was sold-out with the majority of the 18, 348 tickets being general admission. That means 14,770 were first come first serve, unassigned seats. All of the doors to the venue were supposed to open simultaneously allowing ease of entry, however only two were opened when a late soundcheck from the band prompted a…
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DONATED TO SCIENCE
It’s been more than 130 years since Harriet Cole worked as a cleaning lady at Hahnemann Medical College (now Drexel University) in Philadelphia. She’s still there, although in a significantly different form. You see the lady that once disinfected the halls of this institute of higher learning now hangs in them. Harriet was just 35…
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THE REAL MAGIC MIKE
Happy Thanksgiving! While millions of Americans will be celebrating with their families today dining on turkey with all the trimmings, let us not forget a Miracle Mike, a phenomenal portent of poultry who survived a full 18 months without his head. The story begins in Fruita, Colorado back in 1945 at the farm of Lloyd…
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KILLER SEAMSTRESS: THE MURDER OF LOUISE BERGEN
The murder of Louise Bergen back in 1958 was one of the most talked about crimes of its time here in the Cincinnati area. When three young hunters came across the charred remains of a body at Cowan Lake it set into motion a chain of events that would captivate the city for years to…
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HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT: A GHOSTLY REMNANT OF THE PAST
Aside from some jungle-like overgrowth, a set of railroad tracks and the ruins of a craggy building’s foundation this is all that remains of the once bustling Torrence Road train station in Cincinnati. The now defunct depot was built in 1907 as part of the Pennsylvania Railroad. While this aged terra cotta sculpture remains mostly…
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H.H. HOLMES AND THE DAY LITTLE HOWIE MET HIS MAKER
Herman Webster Mudgett, more commonly known as H.H. Holmes was a notorious swindler, serial killer and designer of the infamous ‘Murder Castle. A three story monstrosity built to accommodate guests during the 1893 World’s Fair. It was a labyrinth-like structure which covered the entire block at 63rd & Wallace in Chicago. Over 100 legendary rooms…
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SAVAGE, BARBAROUS, MERCILESS AND CRUEL
I heard about yesterday’s discovery of convicted killer Spencer Brasure’s dead body in his prison cell at San Quentin so I took a look into the case. “Savage, barbarous, merciless and cruel” is how Judge James P. Cloninger described the 1996 murder of Anthony Guest. He went on to say that “Spencer Brasure displays a…
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BEETHOVEN’S MISSING EARS
I ran across a newspaper clipping that detailed the exhumation of Ludwig van Beethoven. I wasn’t aware he was ever exhumed, so I read on. The article from 1888 detailed the events surrounding what was his second and final exhumation, he was going to be moved to an honorary grave at Vienna’s main cemetery, Zentralfriedhof.…