May Blackburn & The Divine Order of the Royal Arms of the Great Eleven

The life of Percy Harrison Fawcett was never short of adventure. An amateur explorer who obtained a gold medal for his services to the Royal Geographical Society, in a time long before planes, GPS and radio communication. He was a man with a story and a character so much larger than life, that popular fiction has drawn influence on them for years, from Arthur Conan Doyle's “The Lost World” to the Hollywood archeology of Indiana Jones, even making an appearance in TinTin & The Broken Ear as a blowpipe wielding hermit. For over twenty years his career saw him delve deep into the Amazon, until, in 1925, just months before newspapers printed their headlines that the city of Atlantis had been found, he set off into the forest in search of a lost city he had christened simply “Z”. SOURCES Grann, David (2009) The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon. Doubleday Publishing, USA. Fawcett, Percy (1953) Lost Trails, Lost Cities. Funk & Wagnalls, NY, USA. Thorpe, Vanessa (2004) Veil lifts on jungle mystery of the colonel who vanished. The Observer, Sun 21 March, 2004. UK Williams, Misha (2004) AmaZonia. Kennedy, Dane (2007) British Exploration in the Nineteenth Century: A Historiographical Survey. History Compass, 5: 1879-1900. UK The Atlanta Constitution (1925) Daring Exploration Party Sets Forth To Find Site of Cradle of Civilization. The Atlanta Constitution, p.14, 12 Jan, 1925. Atlanta, USA. The Leader post (1927) Fear for Col. Fawcett, Missing in Brazillian Jungle Nearly 2 Years. The Leader Post, p.1. 14 Feb, 1927. Canada The Spokesman Review (1927) Colonel Fawcett Thought Alive. The Spokesman Review, p.67, 24 July, 1927. USA. ---------- For extended show notes, including maps, links and scripts, head over to darkhistories.com Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories & Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/ Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com or via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072 or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017 Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

13 Kesä 20211h 27min

In 1885 a terrifying string of attacks in Austin, Texas erupted through the city, preying on the servant class. An unknown attacker, or band of attackers, broke into the residences of servants across the city, striking many of them in the head with an axe. The attacks carried on for months with police making little advancement until the night of Christmas Eve saw two of the city's gentry struck down forcing the authorities to act. Queue a flock of noseblind bloodhounds, a trio of fake Pinkertons and a mayor with far too much on his plate.   SOURCES   Galloway, J.R. (2010) The Servant Girl Murders: Austin, Texas 1885. Booklocker.com, inc. USA.   Galloway, J.R. (2021) About The Victims | The Servant Girl Murders Austin, Texas 1885. [online] Servantgirlmurders.com. Available at: [Accessed 23 May 2021].   Hollandsworth, Skip (2017) The Midnight Assassin: Panic, Scandal, and The Hunt For America’s First Serial Killer. Picador Publishing, USA.   Fort Worth Daily Gazette (1885) A Colored Woman Murdered - Birth of the Daily Sun. 01 Jan, 1885, p.5. TX, USA   Austin American Statesman (1885) Bloody Work. 01 Jan, 1885, p.4. TX, USA   Austin American Statesman (1885) Still A Mystery. 02 Jan, 1885, p.4. TX, USA   Austin American Statesman (1885) A Day And Deed. 03 March, 1885, p.4. TX, USA   Austin American Statesman (1885) At It Again. 30 April, 1885, p.4. TX, USA   Austin American Statesman (1885) More Butchery. 23 May, 1885, p.4. TX, USA   Austin American Statesman (1885) Slain Servants. 30 Sep, 1885, p.4. TX, USA   Austin American Statesman (1885) Blood! Blood! Blood! 26 Dec, 1885, p.4. TX, USA   Austin American Statesman (1885) The Assassinations. 14 Jan, 1885, p.4. TX, USA   A collection of historical Photographs and Maps were found here: https://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/AHCP/browse/?fq=untl_decade%3A1880-1889&start=24   ---------- For extended show notes, including maps, links and scripts, head over to darkhistories.com Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories & Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/ Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com or via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072 or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017 Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Touko 20211h 27min

In 1953, a strange story crept out of the Philippines, when newspapers began reporting on the Dracula Girl, a young, Filipino vagrant, who had been arrested for prostitution and who now appeared to be facing even darker powers, as she battled with a pair of tormentors, collectively known as The Thing. For over two weeks, doctors, reporters, prison guards and inmates watched over the strange behaviour of the young girl, completely at a loss for what to do, until eventually, in stepped a Protestant Pastor with a penchant for evangelism and a conviction that he knew exactly what to do in the situation. SOURCES Sumrall, Lester (1987) Bitten By Devils: The Supernatural Account of a Young Girl Bitten by Unseen Demons, Documented by Medical Doctors & Her Miraculous Deliverance That Would Bring Revival to a Nation. Sumrall Publishing, USA. Sumrall, Lester (1987) The Deliverance of Clarita Villanueva: Bitten by Demons. Sumrall Publishing, USA. The Yuma Daily Sun (1953) Evil Spirits Attack Girl Even When Mayor Near. The Yuma Daily Sun, Tuesday 19 May, 1953. P.1. Yuma, USA. Guzman, Leonoro S. de (1964) The Philippines' social welfare administration: A historical account of its formation, 1946-1956. University of Southern California, USA. The Barrier Miner (1953) Dracula Girl. Thursday 28 May, 1953, p.1. NSW, Australia. Singleton Argus (1953) Playful Ghost Has A Familiar Face. Friday 22 May, 1953, p.1. Sydney, Australia. The Argus (1953) Dracula Victim Can Be Cured. Thursday 21 May, 1953, p.5. Melbourne, Australia.  The Argus (1953) Prelate May Fight Dracula. Wednesday 20 May, 1953, p.7. Melbourne, Australia.  The Truth (1953) Vampire! Sunday 24 May, 1953, p.13. Sydney, Australia. Beaver Valley Times (1953) Wednesday 20 May, 1953, p.8. PA, USA. The Sydney Morning Herald (1953) Wednesday 20 May, 1953, p.3, Sydney, Australia. ---------- For extended show notes, including maps, links and scripts, head over to darkhistories.com Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories & Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/ Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com or via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072 or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017 Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Touko 20211h 6min

Hey everyone, just a quick message and to let you all know that all the recent technical difficulties the podcast has been having that has been stopping the feed from distributing the podcast should be all fixed! Huzzah! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

26 Huhti 20213min

The end of the 18th Century saw the birth of a long line of religious movements focused on the end of days and the biblical second coming. Central to this string of beliefs was an unimposing domestic servant who began to have visions in her mid-life, which she claimed were divine in nature, eventually leading to her insistence that she was a prophetess and at the young age of 64, was pregnant with the new messiah. Far from fading away after the holy childs due date came and went, the movement continued under several different guises for hundreds of years, culminating with the belief in a holy book of dinner etiquette and a mysterious wooden box, the contents of which were lying in wait until called upon to rescue Britain from its catastrophic end.   SOURCES   The TImes (1815) The TImes, Monday 2 Jan, 1815, London, UK   The Stamford Mercury (1815) Dissection of Joanna Southcott. Monday 2 Jan, 1815, UK.   Madden, Deborah (2016) Prophecy in the Age of Revolution. Prophecy and Eschatology in the Transatlantic World, 1550 - 1800 (pp.259-281), University of Brighton, UK.   Cross, George (1915) Millenarianism in Christian History. The Biblical World, Jul., 1915, Vol. 46, No. 1 (Jul., 1915), pp. 3-8. The University of Chicago Press, USA.   Lockley, Philip (2012) Visionary Religion and Radicalism in Early Industrial England: From Southcott to Socialism. Oxford University Press, UK   Southcott, Joanna (1792) The Strange Effects of Faith: With Remarkable Prophecies. T. Brice, Exeter, UK.   Southcott, Joanna (1814) The Third Book of Wonders: Announcing the Coming of Shiloh. Exeter, UK.   Shaw, Jane (2012) Octavia, Daughter of God. Vintage Books, UK.   Price, Harry (1933) Leaves From a Psychist’s Case-Book. Victor Gollancz Ltd, UK   ---------- For extended show notes, including maps, links and scripts, head over to darkhistories.com Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories & Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/ Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com or via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072 or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017 Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

26 Huhti 20211h 8min

In the late Spring of 1937, the murder of a young Italian immigrant stormed the Paris headlines. The first murder to have taken place on the Metro, it was a baffling affair with no witnesses and a murder of unusual precision. As the country mired in political turmoil, newspapers filled their columns with rumours of the victims life, quickly filling the information void with sensational stories of divey music halls, gangsters and allusions to sordid affairs. The truth, however, would turn out to be far more bombastic than even the most spurious rumours, leading to the slow unravelling of a story of clandestine intelligence, assassinations and a plot to overthrow the government.   SOURCES   Tuohy, Ferdinand (1937) Mystery In The Metro. The Sphere, Sat 12 June, 1937, p.18. UK   Nottingham Evening Post (1937) The 60 second Murder. Fri 21 May, 1937, p.5. UK   Brunelle, Gayle K. & Finnley-Crosswhite, Anette (2012) Murder in the Metro: Laetitia Toureaux and the Cagoule in 1930s France. LSU Press, USA.   Furlough, Ellen (1998) Making Mass Vacations: Tourism and Consumer Culture in France, 1930s to 1970s, Comparative Studies in Society and History Vol. 40, No. 2 (Apr., 1998), pp. 247-286, Cambridge University Press, UK   ---------- For extended show notes, including maps, links and scripts, head over to darkhistories.com Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories & Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/ Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com or via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072 or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017 Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 Huhti 20211h 9min

“In war, one of our great protections against the dangers of air attack after nightfall will be the "blackout". On the outbreak of hostilities all external lights and street lighting would be totally extinguished so as to give hostile aircraft no indication as to their whereabouts. But this will not be fully effective unless you do your part, and see to it that no lighting in the house where you live is visible from the outside. The motto for safety will be 'Keep it dark!'” So read the opening paragraph from Public Information Leaflet No.2, published in England on the eve of war, 1939. What may have kept people safe from German bombs, however, had its own disadvantages. Criminality thrived in the gloomy, empty streets. In 1942, as the German bombs began to fall less frequently, a new threat opened up on the streets of London, altogether more silent, emerging from the shadows with a rye smile and unrelenting charm. SOURCES The Daily Herald (1942) Waiting Woman is Murdered. Feb 10, 1942. p.3. London, UK The Daily Mirror (1942) Three Women Murdered In Two Days. Feb 11, 1942. P.8. London, UK. The Daily Mirror (1942) Razorblade Killed Ex-Soho Actress. Feb 12, 1942. P.8. London, UK. The Daily Mirror (1942) Fifth Woman Murder In Week. Feb 14, 1942. P.8. London, UK. Civil Defense (1939) Public Information Leaflet No.2. Lord Privy Seal’s Office, UK Read, Simon (2006) In The Dark. Berkeley Publishing Group, USA. Thomas, Donald (2003) An Underworld at War: Spivs, Deserters, Racketeers and Civilians in the Second World War. John Murray, UK. ---------- For extended show notes, including maps, links and scripts, head over to darkhistories.com Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories & Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/ Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com or via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072 or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017 Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

21 Maalis 20211h 27min

In the winter of 1896, a spate of airship sightings spread out from California, stampeding across the United States until, in the Spring of 1897, they hit a wall in the midwest, after a brief flirtation on the East Coast. The sightings totalled in their tens of thousands and many included fantastical descriptions of both the ship and the people riding it. As the ships flew from state to state, the stories often grew bolder in their claims until they were heavily dovetailing with the science fiction of the day. With airships still incapable of sustained flight in 1896, were any of the sightings true? Or were the witnesses seeing something else in the sky? Are some of the more outrageous stories, actually far closer to the truth than they may at first seem, or was the whole affair just one big medley of lies, hoax and misidentifications? SOURCES   Evans, Hillary & Bartholomew, Robert (2009) The Encyclopedia of Extraordinary Social Behaviour. Anomalist Books, Texas, USA   Cohen, Daniel (1981) The Great Airship Mystery: A UFO of the 1890s. Dodd, Mead & Co. New York, USA.   The San Francisco Examiner (1896) Nations May Yet Fight In The Air. 16th Feb 1896, p.32. San Francisco, USA.   The Record Union (1896) What Was It? 18 Nov 1896, p.4. Sacramento, USA.   The San Francisco Call (1896) Claim They Saw A Flying Airship. 18 Nov 1896, p.3. San Francisco, USA.   The San Francisco Call (1896) Strange Craft Of The Sky. 19 Nov 1896, p.3. San Francisco, USA.   Sacramento Bee (1896) Air Ship Or What? 19 Nov 1896, p.1. Sacramento, USA.   The San Francisco Call (1896) A Winged Ship In The Sky. 23 Nov 1896, p.1. San Francisco, USA.   The San Francisco Examiner (1896) Airships Now Fly In Flocks. 25 Nov 1896, p.5. San Francisco, USA.   The Evening Mail (1896) Three Strange Visitors. 27 Nov 1896, p.1. Stockton, USA.   The Nebraska State Journal (1897) An Airship or Ill Omen. 23 Feb 18977, p.5. Nebraska, USA.   The Leavenworth TImes (1897) Like The Sea Serpent. 28 Feb 1897, p.1. Kansas, USA.   The Times Herald (1897) Not An Airship. 10 Apr 1897, p.1. Michigan, USA.   The Times Herald (1897) Airship In Michigan. 13 Apr 1897, p.8. Michigan, USA.   The Evening Times (1897) The Airship Coming Here. 13 Apr 1897, p.5. Washington, USA.   The Boston Globe (1897) Airship Was A Hoax. 15 Apr 1897, p.6. Boston, USA.   San Francisco Chronicle (1897) How The Airship Drops Letters. 19 Apr 1897, San Francisco, USA.   The Dallas Morning News (1897) A Windmill Demolishes It. 19 Apr 1897, Texas, USA.   ---------- For extended show notes, including maps, links and scripts, head over to darkhistories.com Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories & Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/ Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com or via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072 or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017 Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Maalis 20211h 16min