Old Blood

Old Blood
  • 5.0 (20)
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The historical true-crime podcast that uncovers old blood with each new episode. Join us as a historian investigates history's most fascinating cases of true crime.

  1. 2d ago

    Death at the Stroke of Twelve: Nora May French & the Cavalcade of Death

    After poet Nora May French committed suicide in the artist’s colony of Carmel-by-the-Sea, a “cavalcade of death” followed. But how responsible was Nora for the bizarre deaths of her Bohemian friends, and was her death truly a suicide? Sources:  Denouden, Jeremy. “‘Great Nature, Refuge of the Weary Heart:’ A Regional and Literary Exploration of the Early Grove Plays of the Bohemian Club.” Master’s Theses. San Jose State University, Fall 2015. French, Nora May. Poems (San Francisco: The Strange Company, 1910). Lanzendorfer, Joy. “Bohemian Tragedy: The rise, fall, and afterlife of George Sterling’s California Arts Colony.” Poetry Foundation. February 25, 2018. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/146051/bohemian-tragedy Prendergast, Catherine. The Gilded Edge: Two Audacious Women and the Cyanide Love Triangle that Shook America (New York: Dutton, 2021). Starr, Kevin. Inventing the Dream: California through the Progressive Era (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985). Stewart, George R. Footloose in Arcadia: A Personal Record of Jack London, George Sterling, Ambrose Bierce.by Joseph Noel. American Literature, vol. 12, no. 3, 1940, pp. 380–81.  Articles from the San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Call, Los Angeles Times, Oakland Post Enquirer, and Sunset Magazine. Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston

    Death at the Stroke of Twelve: Nora May French & the Cavalcade of Death

  2. Aug 10

    A Tell-Tale Murder: 1830 Salem & the Murder of Captain White

    Salem, Massachusetts, is famous for its witch trials, but did you know that it also hosted a murder mystery so twisted that it inspired literary legends like Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne? The mystery began with an old ship captain murdered in his bed and ended with the deaths of three more prominent citizens. Was the motive love, greed, or something more sinister? Sources:  Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. “The Murder of Captain Joseph White.” History of Massachusetts Blog. July 25, 2025. https://historyofmassachusetts.org/captain-joseph-white-murder/ “Captain Joseph White.” Salem Public Library. https://salempl.org/captain-joseph-white/ Curtis, Charles P. “The Young Devils and Dan’l Webster.” American Heritage, Vol. II, Issue 4. June, 1960. Duke, Thomas. Celebrated Criminal Cases of America (San Francisco: The James H. Barry Company, 1910).  Second trial of John Francis Knapp by a new jury: Recommenced at Salem, August 14, 1830, for the murder of Capt. Joseph White, before the Supreme Judicial Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, at a special session, commenced at Salem, July 20, 1830… (Boston: Dutton and Wentworth, 1830).  Trial of George Crowninshield, J.J. Knapp, Jun. and John Francis Knapp. reported by John W. Whitman. (Boston: Beals and Homer, and Frances Ingraham, 1830.) Lewis, Walker. “The Murder of Captain Joseph White: Salem, Massachusetts, 1830.” American Bar Association Journal. Vol. 54. May, 1968. Pp. 460-466. Wagner, E. J., “A Murder in Salem.” Smithsonian Magazine. November 2010. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-murder-in-salem-64885035/ Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston

    A Tell-Tale Murder: 1830 Salem & the Murder of Captain White

  3. Jul 27

    Fighting Irish: The Murder of Madge Oberholtzer and Death to the Klan

    The Ku Klux Klan controlled the state of Indiana in 1924. They believed themselves invincible and were moving to expand their organization when they encountered resistance from Irish Catholic Notre Dame students. Notre Dame students halted the Klan’s advances in South Bend, Indiana, but it was Madge Oberholtzer who killed the Klan for good. Sources:  “A Clash Over Catholicism.” University of Notre Dame. August, 2018. https://stories.nd.edu/stories/a-clash-over-catholicism/ “The Dying Declaration of Madge Oberholtzer.” Famous Trials by Professor Douglas O. Linder. https://www.famous-trials.com/stephenson/86-dyingdeclaration Egan, Timothy. Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them (New York: Viking, 2023). Kahler, Abbott. “‘Murder Wasn’t Very Pretty’: The Rise and Fall of D. C. Stephenson” Smithsonian Magazine. August 30, 2012. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/murder-wasnt-very-pretty-the-rise-and-fall-of-dc-stephenson-18935042/ Milz, Mary. “How Notre Dame Students Battled the Klan 100 Years Ago.” Indianapolis Monthly. May 16, 2024. https://www.indianapolismonthly.com/arts-and-culture/how-notre-dame-students-battled-the-klan-100-years-ago/ Tucker, Todd. Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan (Chicago: Loyola Press, 2004). Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston

    Fighting Irish: The Murder of Madge Oberholtzer and Death to the Klan

  4. Jul 13

    Lizzie Did It!: A Conclusion to the Borden Murders

    Historian Alyse takes the Borden murders very seriously. Join her as she investigates primary sources from 1892 and concludes the Lizzie Borden mystery once and for all. ​ Shoutout to the bird who decided to be a special guest on this episode. ​ Sources: For this episode, I read only primary sources. These include witness statements, preliminary hearing and inquest documents, and trial transcripts. ​ Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston

    Lizzie Did It!: A Conclusion to the Borden Murders

  5. 10/13/2025

    The Raymond Ripper: The Brutal 1906 Murder of James Logan

    In 1906, the mutilated body of young sales clerk James Logan was discovered on Southern California’s grandest resort hotel, The Raymond. When an African American tailor was accused of the crime, the city’s allegiances split. Half of the city of Pasadena wanted the man condemned to death, but the other half fought to save him, believing he had been framed. Sources: Biery, Bryan. “The Princes: Pasadena’s Regal Family.” Colorado Boulevard Newspaper. 12 March, 2024. https://www.coloradoboulevard.net/the-princes-pasadenas-regal-family/ Lindquist, Heather. “‘Exploring Pasadena’s Past’- The Heart of Pasadena’s Communities of Color.” Pasadena Museum of History. 18 June, 2022. https://pasadenahistory.org/exploring-pasadenas-past-the-heart-of-pasadenas-communities-of-color/ Liu, Yan. “A full moon in another land: The Moon Bridge in the Japanese garden of the Huntington Library.” Frontiers of Architectural Research Vol. 9 Iss. 3, September 2020. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095263520300182#abs0010 Most of this episode consists of original research, drawn from the newspapers listed below. Newspapers:  California Eagle Liberator (Los Angeles) Long Beach Tribune Los Angeles Evening Express Los Angeles Evening Post Record Los Angeles Herald Los Angeles Times Pasadena Star News Pasadena Post Sacramento Daily Union San Francisco Daily Call South Pasadenan South Pasadena Record Music: Edvard Grieg's 1906 'Butterfly' is this episode's background music. Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston.  For more information, visit www.oldbloodpodcast.com

    The Raymond Ripper: The Brutal 1906 Murder of James Logan

  6. 09/22/2025

    Sexy Death Mystery: The Death of Starr Faithfull

    A sexy death mystery unfolded in 1931 New York City, when a socialite washed up on the shores of Long Island. Was her death an accident, a suicide, or foul play at the hands of the many prominent men she knew? Sources: Allhoff, Fred. “The Starr Faithfull Enigma.” Liberty. June 12, 1939. Pp. 20-23. “Five Starr Faithfull.” TIME. June 29, 1931. https://time.com/archive/6747467/the-press-five-starr-faithfull/ Goodman, Jonathan. The Passing of Starr Faithfull (Kent: The Kent State University Press, 1996). Kennedy, Helen. “Dangerous Game: Starr Faithfull, 1931” New York Daily News, 1999. Markey, Morris. “The Mysterious Death of Starr Faithfull” in The Aspirin Age: 1919-1941. Ed. Isabel Leighton (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1949). Nash, Jay Robert. Open Files: A narrative encyclopedia of the world’s greatest unsolved crimes (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1983). “Starr Crossed.” Strange Company. March 14, 2016. https://strangeco.blogspot.com/2016/03/starr-crossed.html Verdict Press. Crimes of Passion (London: Verdict Press, 1975). Newspapers:  Brooklyn Standard-Union Evening Star (Washington, D.C.) Indianapolis Times Nassau Daily Review New York Times Washington Times Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston For more information, visit www.oldbloodpodcast.com

    Sexy Death Mystery: The Death of Starr Faithfull

  7. 09/01/2025

    Whiskey & Arsenic: The First Murder By Mail

    The first ‘Murder by Mail’ was sent to Mrs. Josephine Barnaby in 1891 in the form of an arsenic-laced whiskey bottle. When she and a friend drank the whiskey, both fell violently ill. The resulting murder trial would tear families apart for decades to come. Sources: Conrad, Barnaby. A Revolting Transaction (New York: Arbor House, 1983). Day, Martin C. Death in the Mail (Providence: The Journal Print, 1892). Galpern, Jennifer L. “Happy New Year…in April?” The Rhode Island Historical Society. 13 April, 2017. https://www.rihs.org/happy-new-year-in-april/ Newspapers:  Evening Star (Washington, D.C.) Fort Worth Gazette Morning Journal and Courier (New Haven) Narragansett Herald New York Times Pawtucket Tribune Providence News Portland Daily Press Rock Island Daily Argus Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston For more information, visit www.oldbloodpodcast.com

    Whiskey & Arsenic: The First Murder By Mail

  8. 08/11/2025

    Murder Pure & Simple: Love and Violence in 1869 New York

    A fatal 1869 shooting at the New York Tribune led to a contentious debate about love, divorce, and women’s rights in America.  Sources: Cazauran, A. R. The Trial of Daniel McFarland for the Shooting of Albert D. Richardson (New York: W. E. Hilton, 1870). Cooper, George. Lost Love: A True Story of Passion, Murder, and Justice in Old New York (Pantheon Books: New York, 1994).  Ganz, Melissa J. “Wicked Women and Veiled Ladies: Gendered Narratives of the McFarland-Richardson Tragedy.” Yale Journal of Law and Feminism. Vol. 9. 1997. McAvey, Marion. “Abby Sage Richardson.” EBSCO. 2023. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/abby-sage-richardson Richardson, Abby Sage. Old Love Letters (Boston: James R. Osgood & Co., 1883). The Richardson-McFarland Tragedy: Containing all the letters and other interesting facts and documents not before published. (Barclay & Co. Publishers: Philadelphia, 1870). Stanton, Elizabeth Cady. “Speech on the McFarland Trial, Apollo Hall,” Speeches & Writings File. May 17, 1870 Wilhelm, Robert. “The Richardson-McFarland Tragedy.” Murder By Gaslight. 10 July, 2010. https://www.murderbygaslight.com/2010/07/richardson-mcfarland-tragedy.html Newspapers: Buffalo Express New York Times New York Tribune Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston For more information, visit www.oldbloodpodcast.com

    Murder Pure & Simple: Love and Violence in 1869 New York
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The historical true-crime podcast that uncovers old blood with each new episode. Join us as a historian investigates history's most fascinating cases of true crime.

Information

  • Creator
    Old Blood
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    49
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Old Blood
  • Show Website
    Old Blood