All in Murder History 101
In 1994, few outside New Zealand knew the name Peter Jackson and even fewer knew about the 1954 murder that inspired his breakout movie "Heavenly Creatures." The perpetrators of the infamous Kiwi crime were Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, teenagers who clubbed Pauline's mother, Honora, to death with a brick. Their motive? Honora, they believed, wanted to separate them.
It's often said that the most disturbing horror stories are the ones based on real life, and that's absolutely true of American Horror Story as well. For all its absurdity, Ryan Murphy's flagship show has actually been inspired by more real events than you might think, including the Black Dahlia case in season one and season five's Hotel Cortez AKA the Cecil Hotel.
At a glance, season 10 seems stranger than most chapters of this show, but that doesn't mean Double Feature isn't also rooted in something real.
Gainesville, 1990 -- On this week in true crime history, the Gainesville Ripper terrorized a college town in Florida, targeting students just as the new school year was getting started. As the killer's murderous spree kicked off, students made a mass exodus back home to be with their families.
PEOPLE - Seventeen-year-old Carla Walker's 1974 abduction and murder went unsolved until an arrest last year connected the suspect to the crime through advances in genealogy and DNA testing.
Built in 1885, the Kreischer Mansion has a gruesome past connected to it.
It was originally built by a rich German brick manufacturer called Balthasar Kreischer on Arthur Kill Road in the Charleston neighborhood.
Many tenants of the home have experienced paranormal activity, unsurprisingly considering the home’s deadly past.
The disappearance of the Sodder children right before Christmas in 1945 has shocked the nation for the past 74 years. All those years later and the question still remains: What happened to the Sodder children?
Kathy Kleiner was just 20 years old when the infamous Ted Bundy entered through the back door of her sorority house at FSU armed with a piece of firewood he had found outside. Bundy had just escaped from jail for the second time when he committed the brutal attack on the Chi Omega house. Though Kathy and her roommate survived, their lives were forever changed, and this assault went down in history as the one with the bite mark evidence that helped convict Ted Bundy.
The Winchester Mystery House has captured the attention of true-crime and horror buffs for decades. The house is even the inspiration behind the 2018 film, “Winchester”. The movie tells a fictionalized version of the story behind the mysterious mansion.
The truth behind the Winchester Mystery House is far more interesting than any film or T.V. show will lead you to believe.
Located in Villisca, Iowa, this quaint piece of real estate is home to a grisly family annihilation. Reports state that on June 10th of 1912, the subject broke into the home sometime after midnight and bludgeoned the family to death with an axe.
The aftermath of the murders spurred a years long investigation along with a hefty amount of litigations and trials.
Madame Marie Delphine LaLaurie used to live in the New Orleans mansion as a Louisiana socialite. Located in the French Quarters, LaLaurie threw lavish parties during the early 19th century.
Why is the mansion known for fancy parties haunted? In 1834, police were responding to a kitchen fire when they found several bodies, terribly mutilated, in the attic.
Serving as an informational database of over 1,000 true crime cases (and counting), CrimeDoor is the must-have app for true crime fans and cyber sleuths everywhere. To learn more about the ins and the outs of the app and the company as a whole, I spoke with Zig Gauthier, CrimeDoor’s Executive Vice President of Operations, Strategy and Development; Evan Fisk, the company’s Senior Vice President of Marketing; and Erika Glass, CrimeDoor’s Content Coordinator (and social media extraordinaire).
Although poison itself has been used as an effective mode of killing for thousands of years, toxic substances have played a unique role in the lives of women throughout history as easily accessible and highly effective murder weapons. Cordelia Botkin is no exception— she killed her ex-lover's wife with a box of poisoned candy.
What started as a simple, happy life turned sour when Amy became greedy. Over the course of eight years, Amy poisoned five known victims from 1908-1916. However, the estimated total is near 100. Authorities eventually arrested her in 1916, but the damage was already done. She had collected the money from her victims and used it not only for personal gain, but to continue a deadly business.
Most people only know her by the phenomenon that sprouted from her murder. They know her as simply, "Kitty Genovese, the girl who got stabbed and no one did anything to help her." Her case launched the famous psychology study known today as "The Bystander Effect." But what really happened to Kitty all those years ago?
Jane Toppan, also known as "Jolly Jane," was well liked among her peers. She was always cheerful, caring and easy to talk to. Her colleagues loved listening to the stories she told about her life, and never doubted the grand nature of them. At the time, in the late 19th Century, doctors worked to develop medicine and medicinal practices. No one questioned when a patient died, because it happened all the time. It was almost a natural occurrence. No one questioned Jane when her patients started dying either.
After watching American Horror Story: Hotel, you start to wonder how many hotels have actually been haunted by paranormal entities. While doing some research, I stumbled upon some interesting, yet terrifying hotels that you can stay at.
Roger Kibbe, the I-5 Strangler, met his end in prison just last week on February 28th. But his crimes date back to at least the 70s.
Hunter Chenoweth murdered 3 relatives in their family home in Arkansas, and then fled the scene, abducting his infant nephew to join him in a statewide road trip. But they were intercepted by state troopers.
On Feb. 27, 2012, Thomas M. "T.J" Lane III took a .22 handgun to Chardon High School and shot six kids. Three of them died, two were in critical condition and one was paralyzed. Within a few hours, the entire community of Chardon, Ohio, was rocked to its core. Chardon was a place you took your kids to raise them. People waved to each other on the street and everyone knew each other. No one imagined that such a violent event could happen.
Perhaps the most-known apparition at The Ridges is Margaret Schilling. Not because of how she roams the halls or waits in the window of the room where she died. No, Margaret is known for the stain her body left on the floor that has remained for the past four decades.
After nearly one year in quarantine, the Zoom fatigue is really starting to set in— so why not spice up your virtual hang-outs with some challenging true crime trivia! Do you know all about the most infamous serial killers in history? What about the whacky headlines we see on the news today? Regardless of your knowledge base, this 20-question trivia set has everything a die-hard true crime fan could ask for.
