top of page
Search
Deadshot Mary: The NYPD Detective Who Took Down Criminals with Grit and a Gun
On June 20th, 1938, pedestrians near bustling Herald Square in Midtown Manhattan were treated to a scene right out of a dime store novel....
699 views
The Mirage Tavern: Chicago’s Undercover Sting That Exposed Rampant Corruption
If you found yourself in Chicago in 1977 and wandered into a small drinking establishment at 731 N. Wells Street, you might have thought...
129 views
Girl Gangs of Old New York: Marm Mandelbaum and the Underworld Women of the Gilded Age
In mid-19th century Manhattan, the Five Points neighborhood had gained international infamy as a crowded, disease-ridden, crime-infested...
319 views
Archduke Ludwig Viktor: A Habsburg Rebel in a Conservative Era
In the heart of the 19th-century Habsburg Empire, Archduke Ludwig Viktor Joseph Anton of Austria stood out as a nonconformist in one of...
1,009 views
Hans Schmidt: The Only Catholic Priest Executed in the United States
On the morning of February 18, 1916, Hans Schmidt entered the death chamber at Sing Sing Prison. Moments before being seated in the...
4,120 views
Mickey Cohen: From Newsboy to Kingpin of Los Angeles
Meyer Harris "Mickey" Cohen is one of the most infamous figures in American organised crime, a man whose journey from a Brooklyn newsboy...
545 views
The Girl in the Box: The Harrowing Kidnapping of Colleen Stan
On a warm May afternoon in 1977, Colleen Stan felt confident in her ability to hitchhike safely. At 20 years old, she had already turned...
103,589 views
Mary Jane Rathbun AKA Brownie Mary: The Grandmother of Medical Cannabis
In the heart of San Francisco, where activism and counterculture have long thrived, an elderly woman in polyester pantsuits became one of...
1,620 views
That Time The NRA Fought For Tougher Gun Control (When The Black Panthers Had Guns)
The debate surrounding gun control continues to be one of the most contentious and polarising issues in the United States. Today, the...
17 views
James Van Der Zee: Capturing the Spirit of Harlem and Beyond
Photography is often described as a way to freeze time, but for James Van Der Zee, it was much more than that. His images didn’t just...
722 views
Dame Edith Sitwell: The Grand Eccentric of English Letters
There are eccentrics, and then there is Dame Edith Sitwell—an aristocratic poet, critic, and all-around formidable presence in...
525 views
The Hidden Cousins of Queen Elizabeth II: The Tragic Story of Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon
Royal families have long been known for carefully controlling their public image, often keeping anything deemed unseemly out of sight....
4,515 views
Diogo Alves: The Aqueduct Murderer and His Preserved Head
In the dimly lit corridors of the University of Lisbon’s Faculty of Medicine, a peculiar relic sits preserved in a glass jar—a severed...
8,431 views
When the U.S. Government Poisoned Over 10,000 Americans (On Purpose)
The federal government sometimes proved willing to go to unethical lengths to prevent alcohol consumption. While the government never...
74 views
The Mitford Sisters: Scandal, Wit, and Unwavering Eccentricity
The Mitford sisters were an aristocratic anomaly: six daughters of Lord and Lady Redesdale ( Farve  and Muv  to their children), raised...
2,291 views
The Secret Burial of JFK’s First Casket
Watched by widowed First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, JFK's casket is carried aboard Air Force One for its flight from Dallas to Washington...
8,261 views
The Making of The Warriors: A Gritty, Nocturnal Odyssey Through 1970s New York
It’s June 26, 1978, and a film crew is preparing for the first night of what will be a gruelling two-month shoot. They aren’t on a...
2,577 views
The Golden State Killer: A Life of Crime Unmasked
For more than four decades, the man who came to be known as the Golden State Killer terrorised communities across California, committing...
4,474 views
Huey P. Newton: The Revolutionary Mind Behind the Black Panther Party
In the turbulent 1960s, Oakland became the backdrop for one of the most significant political movements of the era. Huey P. Newton was at...
402 views
The Vanishing Billionaire: The Mysterious Disappearance of Alfred Loewenstein
Loewenstein on board a ship for a party. (right) boarding the plane he would disappear from On the evening of 4 July 1928, Alfred...
11,221 views
Robert Hansen: The Butcher Baker of Alaska
In 1924, Richard Connell’s short story The Most Dangerous Game  introduced the idea of human beings being hunted for sport. The tale...
1,999 views
The Texas ChainSaw Massacre (1974): A Nightmare Behind the Scenes
Few films have had as enduring an impact on horror cinema as The Texas ChainSaw Massacre  (1974). Directed and co-written by Tobe Hooper,...
3,713 views
The Crimes of Mick Philpott: A Tragic Tale of Manipulation, Arson and Murder
On the morning of 11 May 2012, a fire tore through a house at 18 Victory Road in Osmaston, Derby, claiming the lives of six children. In...
4,607 views
The Dark Side of Love: Macabre and Creepy Valentine’s Day Cards from Yesteryear
Valentine’s Day is usually a time for sweet nothings, heart-shaped confections, and declarations of undying love. But if you think the...
435 views
bottom of page