Friday Oct 20, 2023

Grow for me (Botanical poisoners with John Rattacasa)

Leslie is still on Maternity Leave so this week we bring you an episode on Holly's favorite topic, poison, with one of her favorite people, frequent campfire guest and all around friend of WWBD; John Rattacasa! John has his very own poison garden with all of the rarest and deadliest plants in the world.

Holly and John talk all things botanical poison and then explore some cases where these rare and beautiful killers were actually used for sinister purposes. Holly tells the stories of Cangrande Della Scala Lord of Verona, who's mysterious death in 1329 was not untangled until scientists happened upon his perfectly preserved mummy in 2015, and David Wayne Sconce the world's most diabolical mortician. John brings us a tale of the world's deadliest and least talked about poison flower, Wolfsbane. This is a fun one fiends!

Click to learn more

Article on the Digitalis Mummy

casefile on David Wayne Sconce

Follow John on Tiktok

John's Etsy shop