13 Feb / 2018

There’s Something in the Air at Hanford

Hello Squeamers!

The home state of Horrific History Podcast’s co-hosts got into the news today, and the reasons are terrible. Our Hanford Nuclear Reservation made headlines with the on-going drama of radiation leaks of plutonium particles not only detected in 45 workers (so far) but also found outside the safety zone. Is it a case of profits over people at this key facility for the development of the first nuclear weapons? To learn more about the new developments in this compelling situation, read this article. Just remember, no squeam allowed!

Slideshow photo credit: Andras, Fulop Radiation Area 9606_814 via photopin (license)

Blog photo credit: NagasakiOsada civildefenseradiationmeter via photopin (license)

31 Jan / 2018

Once in a Super Blue Blood Moon….

VLADIVOSTOK, RUSSIA – JANUARY 31, 2018: A red supermoon rises over hills in the city of Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East. Yuri Smityuk/TASS (Photo by Yuri SmityukTASS via Getty Images)

Welcome back Squeamers!

This morning marked the occasion of the super blue blood moon, an occurrence last seen about 152 years ago! Did you miss it? We’ve not seen any catastrophic events in our social media news feeds, so we’re betting it’s safe to say there are no celestial prophesies we need to worry about foretelling doom on the world. Although, humanity is funny when it comes to historical accounts and remembering the difference between causation vs. correlation. There’s a rich history of humans retroactively attributing credit to unrelated celestial events when horrible or unexpected things happen. Nonetheless, there are still those which assign apocalyptic meaning to the entirely predictable clockwork of the universe; for an example, read this article.

If you missed the lunar event, you can find some fantastic images online; here are some of the sources we found:

23 Jan / 2018

Super Blue Blood Moon… of doom?

Hello Squeamers!

Are you expecting the end times to arrive at the end of the month? As you may remember from our Harbingers of Doom episode, even stranger superstitions have developed around celestial events and we’re expecting a rare one on January 31st, 2018! The super blue blood moon, which last appeared in March 1886, seems to be an exception to this trend however. We weren’t able to find any record of associated panic or concern. Apparently a red blue moon isn’t noteworthy enough… or maybe it the masses don’t care if the name implies that it will only impact “blue-bloods?”

To learn more about this rare event (it won’t come around again for 150 years!), you can read this article from ScienceAlert.com.

Photo credit: JDB Sound Photography Lunar Eclipse With Stars – 2010 December 20 2:58am via photopin (license)

16 Jan / 2018

Apricots & Cyanide

Welcome back Squeamers!

We’re sure you remember our episode about how too much of a good thing can be dangerous. Perhaps you might recall that everyday foods or plants can be toxic in high concentrations from another of our episodes. Of course, we also talked about some of the dangers of “miracle cures” in another episode… Well, we found an article about an unfortunate Australian man who did not listen to our episodes on those subjects and self-medicated with supplements to prevent his cancer from returning… only to create new problems for himself. You can find that article here. Just remember, no squeam allowed!

Slideshow photo credit: what’s_the_frequency take your vitamins via photopin (license)
Blog post photo credit: keepps DSCN5130 via photopin (license)

9 Jan / 2018

Gonorrhea be Gone?

Hello Squeamers!

It seems whenever we check our news feed or Facebook we always find contemporary articles which relate to the horrible things from history we cover in our episodes; often those articles talk about still awful things can be… but today we found a recent one which talks about hope for the future! If you liked our debut episodes, One Night with Venus, Part. 1 & Part 2, then you might like this article from the BBC about new developments in finding a gonorrhea vaccine!

Slideshow photo credit: Government of Prince Edward Island Administering Flu Vaccine via photopin (license)

Blog post photo credit: Government of Prince Edward Island Administering Flu Vaccine via photopin (license)

4 Jan / 2018

It’s Aliiiiive!

Hello Squeamers!

Around the conclusion of “Season 1” of our Horrific History Podcast your hardworking co-hosts were forced to take some time off from recording. Thankfully, in the world of squeam and horror, things that first appear dead sometimes come back better than ever (or maybe equally good but different?), like Eric’s beloved Star Wars franchise. He’s taken the time to record a brief teaser to announce our upcoming “Season 2” of your favorite Horrific History Podcast with a familiar blast to the past and some new changes for the future… just remember, no squeam allowed!

(And if you disagree with Eric’s take on Star Wars, take it up with him on Twitter @nosqueamallowed!)

Blog post photo credit: Thomas Hawk His Pal Frank via photopin (license)

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2 Jan / 2018

A Squeam-Filled New Year

A Belated Squeam-Filled New Year for the Squeamers!

Traditionally, the time entering a new calendar year is spent reflecting on the year past and goals for the new year beginning. In February 2017 we were proud to bring the Horrific History Podcast, a passion project of two of our non-profit’s most valued and esteemed volunteers, Eric Slyter and Curtis Bender, to the public. It was a year for gory, disgusting fun while learning about historical subjects. We laughed, we squeamed… and so much of our enjoyment came from sharing our love of history with you. Thanks to you, our loyal listeners, we broke into 50 countries and 47 of the United States without a penny spent on promotion! We also got our first two Patreon supporters!

In 2018 we’re bringing to you “Season 2” of our Horrific History Podcast. As with any new program we’re growing, we’re morphing and adapting to our circumstances. Our growing pains may be inconvenient, but we’ll continue to publish the gooey, putrid squeam-filled content you love and stay true to our morbid roots until (hopefully) our stinking corpses rot into the earth. Stay tuned for our upcoming Season 2 trailer… but in the meantime, thank you for helping us grow! Here’s what you’ve helped give us to celebrate….

2017 Reach Milestones (as categorized by our hosting provider and in order of listenership in each category):

Countries: United States, Japan, United Kingdom, Canada, […]

7 Nov / 2017

Child’s Play, Part 2: Children Who Kill

What do you see when you look into the face of a child? Do you see innocence or the devil incarnate? Love, or murderous intent? Join Horrific History Podcast as our co-hosts, Eric Slyter and Curtis Bender, examine three cases from history when children have murdered for supernatural reasons.

Learn about the 12 year-old goth girl (and her werewolf boyfriend) convicted of the murders of her family members in Canada. It’s a tragic love story or a horror story depending upon one’s perspective, but in one child’s mind sometimes the killing of a little brother can be justified as a compassionate end.

A young man who developed an affinity for Dungeons and Dragons, satanism and the occult takes our kindred spirits from the last episode and ups the stakes when he finds his own spiritual doppelgänger. Demon possession or mental illness, this case will have you questioning what distances you’d travel to avoid getting caught up in these circumstances.

And finally, learn about the two 12-year old girls who planned a murder for 5 months, and the lucky girl who survived that attack by a literal hair’s breadth after being stabbed 19 times. All of this to appease the mythical “Slender Man,” so they could run away and live in his mansion in the forest.

Werewolves, demon possession and the Slender Man, this episode has it all! Whether you like children or consider them evil minions to be avoided, you’ll find something to make your cringe in edition of Horrific History Podcast! So sit back in your forest mansion while listening to this new Horrific History episode and join us again in two weeks when we cover hairy history.

If you’d like to hear the commercial-free version of this episode and receive other great perks, become a patron of our podcast on Patreon!
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Some of our favorite resources from this week’s episode:

Commercial break music by Dead but Dreaming.

Slideshow photo credit: Silverflame Pictures SAM_2071 b3 via photopin (license)

Blog photo credit: FoxDirectorFR Sortie Cosplay Halloween_0026 V2 via photopin (license)

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31 Oct / 2017

Halloween Special: Spring-Heeled Jack

Ad for Spring Heeled Jack, a penny dreadful (1886)

After a month of horror-themed fun for another of our non-profit’s programs, Haunting Ellensburg, Horrific History Podcast’s co-hosts Eric Slyter and Curtis Bender were in the mood for a change in pace and a spooky story to share with our favorite listeners (all of you)! Thank you for your patience during our frazzled month of October; we hope you will enjoy this Halloween special episode on Spring-Heeled Jack while you get in the mood for all your holiday festivities.

This historical character from Victorian England was known for assaults, attacks and pranks. Was he an imp, devil, demon or gremlin? Some thought so, but perhaps they were just primed to believe it. Jumping by leaps and bounds, he might remind you of John Carter of Mars, though some thought he was an alien. This story is full of conspiracy theories, from the “mad Marquis” to extraterrestrials and the occult. But don’t give in to mass hysteria or panic, we’ll give you enough details about this boogeyman to pique your interest, just like the “penny dreadfuls” he inspired.

So lock the door, sit down in a dark corner, and grab that bowl of Halloween treats while you join us for this episode; it just might put a spring in your step… just remember, no squeam allowed.

Join us again on Tuesday when we get back to our usual schedule and release Part Two of Child’s Play!

If you’d like to hear the commercial-free version of this episode and receive other great perks, become a patron of our podcast on Patreon!
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Some of our favorite resources from this week’s episode:

Commercial break music by Dead but Dreaming.

Blog post photo credit: Public Domain, Link

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12 Oct / 2017

Child’s Play, Part 1: Children Who Kill

What do you think of when you look into a child’s eyes? Do you think of innocence and a world of potential? Or, do you think of torture, murder and evil intent? Join your Horrific History Podcast co-hosts, Eric Slyter and Curtis Bender, as they look at children in history who have tortured or killed in gruesome ways.

Learn about the case of a child laborer from Boston, Massachusetts with a love of dime novels who tortured his victims in awful ways and may have had an interest in taking trophies. After a period in reform school, mutilation and murder […]

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