Old Blood

Old Blood

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. 5d ago

    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

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 07/21/2025

    Death House: The Life & Crimes of George Hassell

    Texas authorities arrested George Hassell on Christmas Day of 1926 after his wife and her eight children went missing. George cried, “I did it,” then confessed to the murder of another family ten years prior in California. This is his story. Sources: Churchill, Marlowe J. “Hassell offered detailed confession.” The Eastern New Mexico News. 3 September, 2019. https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2019/09/04/news/hassell-offered-detailed-confession/162888.html “George J Hassell’s Murderous Ways.” Texas Genealogy Trails. https://genealogytrails.com/tex/panhandle/parmer/news_crime_hassell_murders_story.htm Guy, Fiona. “Family Annihilation: The Crimes and Psychology of Familicide.” Crime Traveller. 13 May, 2019. https://www.crimetraveller.org/2019/05/family-annihilation-crimes-psychology-familicide/ Hanlon, R.E., Brook, M., Demery, J.A. and Cunningham, M.D. (2016), Domestic Homicide: Neuropsychological Profiles of Murderers Who Kill Family Members and Intimate Partners. J Forensic Sci, 61: S163-S170. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.12908 Ortlieb, Tracy Collins. “Inside the Mind of ‘Family Annihilators.’” 19 January 2023. https://www.parents.com/parenting/dynamics/inside-the-mind-of-family-annihilators/ Roth, Mitchel P. Man with the Killer Smile: The Life & Crimes of a Serial Mass Murderer (Denton: University of North Texas Press, 2022). Wight, Pam. “‘Death House’ Slayings gain attention.”24, February, 2007. https://www.whittierdailynews.com/2007/02/24/death-house-slayings-gain-attention/ Newspapers: Douglas Daily Dispatch Los Angeles Times Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston For more information, visit www.oldbloodpodcast.com

    Death House: The Life & Crimes of George Hassell

  8. 06/30/2025

    The Beautiful & The Bestial: A Courtesan, a Prince, and a Murder at the Savoy

    A deadly shooting at London’s extravagant Savoy Hotel in 1923 prompted a murder trial that pitted East against West. Was the tragedy the result of a pharaoh’s curse or merely the consequence of a lover’s quarrel? Sources: Bland, Lucy.  “Mme Fahmy’s Vindication: Orientalism, miscegenation fears, and female fantasy,” in Modern Women on Trial: Sexual Transgression in the Age of the Flapper (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2013). Pp. 132-175 Leake, Natasha. “How a beguiling French courtesan captured the heart of a young British prince, in a love affair that scandalised the Royal Family.” The Tatler. 19 February 2023. https://www.tatler.com/article/prince-harrys-memoir-love-affair-edward-viii-and-french-courtesan Rose, Andrew. The Woman Before Wallis: Prince Edward, the Parisian Courtesan, and the Perfect Murder (New York: Picador, 2013). “The Perfect Murder.” Royalty Magazine. Vol. 23/01. https://www.royalty-magazine.com/books-film/the-perfect-murder-2.html Verdict Press. Crimes of Passion (London: Verdict Press, 1975). Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston For more information, visit www.oldbloodpodcast.com

    The Beautiful & The Bestial: A Courtesan, a Prince, and a Murder at the Savoy
See All (47)

4.9
out of 5
19 Ratings

About

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
    47
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Old Blood
  • Show Website
    Old Blood

You Might Also Like