While the Candyman movies involve a mysterious paranormal murderer that can be summoned thought the bathroom mirror stalking the projects of Chicago, they are based on a true story. Today's podcast discusses the bizarre details surrounding the murder of Ruthie Mae McCoy who was killed in her apartment in the ABLA housing project of Chicago's Near-West Side. McCoy's killer/killers entered her apartment though her bathroom medicine cabinet, crawling through from the vacant apartment next door by taking advantage of a hole created to access piping between apartments.

This week's episode tells the story of Elmer McCurdy, a not too successful bandit of the old west who was eventually killed in Oklahoma in 1911. However, McCurdy's story didn't end then. After being embalmed, no one wanted to pay for his burial, and he went on display at the funeral home. Elmer's desiccated eventually toured the United States in various ways until it was forgotten that he was actually a real person and not a wax figure. The truth of his identity wasn't discovered until the 1970's when he was discovered while filming a TV episode in an amusement park dark ride. Take a listen and find out all about Elmer, who's like only got more interesting after he was dead.

We're back after a one week hiatus with stories of the bizarre area where the law and ghosts overlap. We have two stories this week: the first where the testimony of a ghost is officially admitted as evidence in a trial, and the second where a house is declared legally haunted. Take a listen and see just how ghosts and our legal system have intermingled.

Have you ever wondered where the tradition of the pumpkin patch came from? Today, every Halloween season, we have active pumpkin patches on farms that have not just the obligatory pumpkins for sale, but giant slides, corn mazes, hay rack rides, and hundreds of other random activities to attract families to spend their time and money. On today's podcast we look at the history of the pumpkin patch and how it changed from small patches grown by the native peoples of North America into the large industry it is today.

Today's episode is dedicated to the debate about who the childhood scare game "Blood Mary" takes its inspiration from. Is it Queen Mary of England, a legendary witch, or a Balkan Countess. Since we are talking about Bloody Marys it's only fitting we spend some time talking about the origin of the drink as well, which is also shrouded in mystery.

This week we have multiple stories of cryptids from around the US. There's always a fun story of the local creepy monster or legend to make kids out camping rethink their decisions when they wake up in the middle of the night. This week we have everything from Sink Hold Sam to the Pope Lick Monster. Take a listen and learn about some of the more strange local legends both whimsical and sinister.

My apologies for the late podcast this week... the blue screen of death reared its ugly head, but the computer issues are now fixed and the podcast is finally posted.

Our topic this week is Amelia Elizabeth Hobley-Dyer, the Ogress of Reading. A woman who made money "caring" for children of unwed mothers in Victorian England. Unfortunately, this often meant her killing the children and pocketing the money from the poor women who paid her to take them in.

Where did the people of Scotland come from? The Picts were living in Scotland when the Romans arrived but where did they come from and who did they descend from? Theorys abound: from home grown stories of them descending from an Egyptian queen to more conventional crossings of the Irish Sea by Gaelic peoples. Take a listen and see what you think.