Category: RABBIT HOLE
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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.…
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAM
On this day in 1847 legendary Dracula author Bram Stoker was born in Ireland. While he wrote a total of 12 novels in his lifetime, his most famous work by far was Dracula. Published in 1897, the book garnered critical success initially but did not achieve peak popularity until well after Stoker’s death. The story…
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THE IMPECCABLE GUNNAR HANSEN
Today marks four years since the passing of iconic horror actor Gunnar Hansen. The ONE & ONLY Leatherface (as far as I’m concerned) passed away in this day back in 2015 from pancreatic cancer. He was just 68 years old. I had the privilege of meeting him back in the 90’s and he signed a…
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CINCINNATI MUSHROOM HOUSE
Back in 1992 architecture professor Terry Brown had an idea; To transform his basic bungalow into something straight out of a fairy tale. After about 14 years of work The Cincinnati Mushroom House was complete. This one of a kind toadstool inspired charmer is located on the corner of Erie Avenue and Tardis Avenue in…
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THE ONE AND ONLY DRACULA, BELA LUGOSI
Happy Birthday to Bela Lugosi (the one and only Dracula as far as I’m concerned) who was born on this day back in 1882.He was from the Lugos region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and named Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó. As a young man he worked in various stage productions in his home country as well…
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JACK UNTERWEGER: THE SILVER TONGUED DEVIL
Serial killers who utilize the art of persuasion are nothing new, but there is one killer in the annals of history whom I believe took this art to a whole new level. His name was Johann “Jack” Unterweger. Jack was born in 1951 to a Viennese barmaid mother and an American GI father he never…
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THE MINISTER’S TREEHOUSE
Horace Burgess’s Treehouse located in the rural Cumberland County, Tennessee is the largest treehouse in the world. It is sometimes called the Minister’s Treehouse based on the divine inspiration Mr. Burgess channeled in order to build this nearly 100 foot tall spectacle which spans across 7 large trees with the main anchor being an 80…
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THE HANGING COFFINS OF SAGADA
The mysterious Hanging Coffins of Sagada located on Luzon Island in the Phillipines demonstrate the unique funerary traditions of the Igorot, an indigenous tribe from the area. The coffins, which are hung with ropes and wires, are suspended along limestone cliffs and have fascinated visitors for centuries. There are some interesting guidelines surrounding eligibility for…
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VENT HAVEN MUSEUM
Vent Haven Museum located just 4 miles south of downtown Cincinnati is truly something to behold. Driving down the idyllic neighborhood street one would never know what lies inside the unassuming buildings. What’s inside? A mind- blowing, massive collection of ventriloquial figures and memorabilia!!! The world’s only ventriloquism figures museum, actually. The collection contains more…
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THE LABIANCA MURDERS
August 9th 1969, the city of Los Angeles and surrounding areas were gripped by fear as news agencies reported the gruesome murders of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four others in the elite area of Benedict Canyon. Citizens never imagined that it would be just a matter of time before two more brutal murders would…
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SLAUGHTER IN BENEDICT CANYON
Tonight marks the tragic anniversary of one of the most brutal crines in American history, when members of the Manson family arrived at the Benedict Canyon rental home of actress Sharon Tate and husband, film director Roman Polanski. Sharon was 8 1/2 months pregnant and had several guests in her home that night while Polanski…
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THE HEINOUS CRIMES OF DR. OLIVER C. HAUGH
Dayton, Ohio physician Oliver C. Haugh was quite an item back in the day. In the early 1900’s he made international news for all the wrong reasons. He was accused of murdering his father, mother and brother and then burning down the family home to conceal the crime. Apparently that was just the tip of…
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THE CRYING BOY
One of my favorite pages on Facebook is a group where people post pictures of their unique and often weird second hand and vintage finds. Scanning through the posts I came across three photos that featured what the original buyer thought was just a frame that she planned on re-using. When she removed the paper…