We Would Be Dead

"Rabbit Rabbit" (Mary Toft, The Woman Who Gave Birth To Rabbits)

In the summer of 1726, In the little Village of Godalming, a 25 year old servant woman claimed to give birth to rabbits. Surgeons, nobles, and even the King believed her at first, but the truth, or a version of it that the public can embrace, always has a way of coming out.
For years, history thought they had solved the mystery of "The Rabbit Breeder", but beneath the hoax lies a darker tale of pain, power, and control.This is the true story of monstrous birth — and the woman behind it. This is the story of Mary Toft.
 
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Mary Toft, Monster and Mason By Karen Harvey
University of Glasgow Library — The Curious Case of Mary Toft A digital exhibition exploring the archival material and cultural impact of the Toft hoax.
The Public Domain Review — Mary Toft and Her Extraordinary Delivery of Rabbits
History Extra — Who Was Mary Toft & How Did Her Rabbit Hoax Capture Georgian Society?
Nathaniel St. André — A Short Narrative of an Extraordinary Delivery of Rabbets (1726)The original pamphlet published by one of the royal physicians who believed Mary Toft.📖 Available via digitized archives or referenced through secondary sources like PDR and Harvey’s article.
 
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Gone In 60 Seconds (The Mysterious Death of Tiffany Valiante)

She was smart, athletic, and full of life — until one summer night in 2015 when 18-year-old Tiffany Valiante vanished from her family’s New Jersey home. Just hours later, her body was found miles away on train tracks under suspicious circumstances. Was it suicide, as authorities claimed — or something far more sinister? In this, our second most requested episode, we dig into the tangled timeline, mysterious evidence, and the burning questions that still haunt this case. What really happened to Tiffany Valiante?
 
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Tiffany's episode of Unsolved Mysteries
Casefile
Initial medical examiners report
 
 
 
 
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Pew Pew Kaboom (Elmer McCurdy The Carnival Cadaver) [REBROADCAST EPISODE 80]

Hey fiends! This week we are rebroadcasting one of our fan favorite (and ours) episode on Elmer McCurdy. We will be back next week with an all new episode.
ENJOY!
--------------On December 8th, 1976, the crew of the hit televisions show The Six Million Dollar Man made a gruesome discovery. While shooting in a fun house in Long Beach, California, they accidentally broke the arm off an orange day glow dummy only to discover that is wasn't a dummy at all, it was the mummified remains of a human man. Through a fascinating forensic investigation, they would discover that this man was Elmer McCurdy, the worst train and bank robber in American history. Elmer's story is wild, and we guarantee that this week, there's something for everyone. This is one of Holly's favorites, so you know it's going to be super weird. 
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Where Are They Now? (Updates)

Often, case we cover continue to evolve long after we close the book on them. That's why periodically we check in and update them! This week we have updates on the Dephi Murders, Sheila Keen Warren (the clown killer), and the disappearance of Asha Degree. Special thanks to all our fiends who pass along articles so we can stay up to the minute on everything! Here's hoping 2025 gives us even more answers in its second half.
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Updates on Asha Degree
https://www.wbtv.com/2025/02/18/new-asha-degree-warrants-text-messages-revealed-possible-admission-fault-more/
Updates on the Delphi Murders (TW these are graphic, and may be disturbing to some listeners. We elected not to discuss everything in these articles in the episode because the information in them is quite upsetting and not necessary for understanding the event in question.)
https://abcnews.go.com/US/delphi-murder-trial-libbys-blood-mixed-tears-expert/story?id=115229024
https://abcnews.go.com/US/delphi-double-murder-trial-graphic-crime-scene-photos/story?id=114989103
https://fox59.com/news/former-delphi-murders-suspect-made-detailed-confession-to-killings-attorneys-say/
https://fox59.com/delphi-trial/state-says-inmate-who-claimed-ron-logan-confessed-to-delphi-killings-failed-polygraph-test/
Updates on Sheila Keen Warren
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/local/wellington/2024/11/05/killer-clown-sheila-warren-pleaded-guilty-free-from-florida-prison/76048124007/
https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/03/us/florida-killer-clown-sheila-keen-warren-release/index.html
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A Wail on the Wind (The Death of Ellen Poe Langley)

In the early morning hours of May 1st 1849 Ellen Poe Langley drew her last breath. Once a wealthy doctor's wife, she passed away alone, locked in a tiny room in a stifling attic. For years Her husband Dr. Charles Langley had gotten away with keeping her locked away, desperately ill and slowly starving, and now it seemed, he would get away with murder. Or would he?  
This year's St. Paddy's day episode shows the importance of one's truth and the miraculous way Ellen's has survived all these years. Oh, and don't forget: if mess with women, you unleash a lifetime of the banshee's cry. Sláinte fiends!
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Click to purchase The Doctor's Wife is Dead by Andrew Tierney
Irish Times Article: "Diagnosis: murder. How a Tipperary doctor disposed of his wife"
 
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Leprechaun (30 Minute Horror Movie)

Ok fiends, it's almost St. Patrick's day so this month we're recapping the 1993 classic (and this one really is a classic) Leprechaun! This Episode is one that our patrons have had access to since 2021 and we are now very excited to make it available to everyone. We did record a new 30 Minute Horror Movie on Leprechaun 4: In Space and you can find it over on our Patreon! 
Back to this episode on the very first Leprechaun - The film features a very young Jennifer Anniston, the guy that played Francis in Pee Wee's Big Adventure, and Warwick Davis (the hardest working little person in show business) in a horrible mask. Leprechaun takes us on an insane journey that asks the question "what would happen if we made leprechauns awful?" quite a lot, as it turns out. This film was surprisingly funny, whether it meant to be so or not is up for interpretation. Either way, it's great, crazy, seasonal fun and we recommend you give it a watch after listening to us yell about it in a real hurry. Enjoy fiends! 
 
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A Tragedy of Errors (The Murder of Abraham Shakespeare)

This is the story of Abraham Shakespeare, the man who won the lottery then disappeared. This case is a rags to riches story, a mysterious disappearance, an episode of Catfish and a murder mystery all rolled up into one. This case case has so many twists and turns that we cab't even summarize it, you just have to hear it to believe it.
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Hulu Documentary: Web of Death, Jackpot Murder
ABC News article
Probable Cause Affidavit
 
Florida Woman Marries Ferris Wheel
Florida woman accused of attacking man with garden hoe after plans to 'hang out' fell through
Florida man breaks into woman's home to pet family cat
Florida man dressed in Dalmatian onesie outruns troopers, shakes off tasers before he’s caught at girlfriend’s home
Murder suspect confesses to decades-old Florida cold case after DNA leads to arrest, sheriff's office says
 
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Ravenous (Swift Runner & The Wendigo) [REBROADCAST EPISODE 91]

Hey fiends! This week's rebroadcast goes out to all our Yellowjackets fans! If you're knee deep in fan theories but you're unfamiliar with the Wendigo, you need to give this episode a listen! If you have no idea what I'm talking about...listen anyway, this episode is one of our best! Be prepared to sleep with the lights on for a while though, because this is a scary one!
_________________________
"The Wendigo lives in the most frightening of places, a place from which there is no escape. Once the Wendigo awakens, it tears through this place with unimaginable patience and force, creating a path of nightmares, and consuming everything it sees. It is a place so close and familiar, yet so mysterious and difficult to explore that only a fraction of it is known to humankind. "
This week we explore North America's most famous folkloric monster, The Wendigo. We discuss it's human origins and the kind of world that created it. This episode is a deep dive into a monster with surprisingly real and deep roots, culminating in the true story of an horrific event. The wendigo is an extremely fascinating and blurry line between fantasy and reality and we're still not sure what to think of it. Perhaps the scariest thing about a Wendigo is that it is impossible to tell whether it is real, or just a figment of the imagination. Either way, this monster leaves a trail of destruction unlike any other cryptid. 
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One Sneaker (The Disappearance of Mark Himebaugh, Part 2)

It's our 200th episode (part 2) , so today we will be covering our number one most requested case, The Disappearance of Mark Himebaugh. On November 25th 1991, Mark disappeared from the Sunray Beach neighborhood in Del Haven NJ. The only evidence search teams ever found was his left sneaker. He has been missing ever since.
Anyone with Information regarding the disappearance of Mark Himebaugh is urged to contact the Middle Township Police Department at 609-465-8700, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678, the Cape May County Crime Stoppers at 609-463-2800 or the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-465-1135. You can also leave an anonymous tip by text 888777 and put “tips mtpdtips” in the text field.
"In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state."
In other words, one little thing can change everything.
 
 
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/convicted-sex-offender-person-of-interest-mark-himebaugh-thomas-butcavage-video-sex-abuse/60570/
https://people.com/people-magazine-investigates-where-is-mark-himebaugh-7563991
https://www.max.com/shows/people-magazine-investigates-2016/87d7ccf9-ab08-4d22-b216-4ea000fa2eb4
Many of sources used this week are located behind archival news outlet paywalls. We will happily share them upon request. 
 
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One Sneaker (The Disappearance of Mark Himebaugh, Part 1)

It's our 200th episode, so today we will be covering our number one most requested case, The Disappearance of Mark Himebaugh. On November 25th 1991, Mark disappeared from the Sunray Beach neighborhood in Del Haven NJ. The only evidence search teams ever found was his left sneaker. He has been missing ever since.
"In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state."
In other words, one little thing can change everything.
 
Click To Learn More
https://london-overlooked.com/charles-bravo/
https://paulineconolly.com/2013/the-buscot-bride-sydney-born-florence-campbell/
https://www.sueyounghistories.com/2008-07-18-james-manby-gully-and-homeopathy/
https://www.britannica.com/technology/pharmaceutical
 
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