Curator 135
71 episodes - English - Latest episode: 23 days ago - ★★★★★ - 18 ratingsCurator #135 is a Podcast that explores mysteries, odd history, mythology, media and traditions. His favorite age is vint'age'. Dive into events and stories not always covered in school as well as the characters within those stories. Your host, Nathan Olli, is a former radio personality, aspiring author, event DJ and works in a library at a K-8 STEAM School.
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Episodes
The Wreck of the Whale-Ship Essex (Owen Chase's Diary)
March 27, 2024 02:00 - 47 minutes - 32.7 MBThe crew of the Essex left Nantucket on a whaling expedition in August of 1819. They knew that they might be at sea for as long as three years but they had no idea what they were about to encounter. Find out how 20 men survived a whale attack that sunk their ship only to be forced into three small boats in the middle of the ocean. What happens when starvation hits? When your fresh water supply is drained? Or when madness sets in? This is a reading of Owen Chase's book Narrative of the M...
Theodore Coneys: Denver Spider Man
February 21, 2024 18:00 - 22 minutes - 15.5 MBIn the early 1940s, a well-liked man was brutally murdered in his home while his wife recovered from hip surgery in a nearby hospital. There were no signs of forced entry, plenty of cash around the home, and every door and window was locked from the inside. So who did it? And more importantly, where did the assailant go after the murder? The house quickly gained the reputation of being haunted as neighbors noticed lights going on and off and the silhouette of a man being seen numerous time...
The 1904 Olympic Marathon Mess
February 04, 2024 17:00 - 28 minutes - 19.8 MBThe games of the Third Olympiad were the first Olympics to be held on American soil. After St. Louis wrestled away the chance to host the games from Chicago, they lumped the event in with the Louisiana Purchase Expo and World Fair. The Olympic Marathon, an event that everyone looked forward to, was a mess from start to finish. Full of comedy, danger, and cheating. Travel back in time with Curator 135 and learn about all of the shenanigans that took place. It got so bad that the Internati...
The Mystery of the Carroll A. Deering
January 28, 2024 19:00 - 24 minutes - 16.9 MBThe early 1920's was a time that saw numerous vessels vanish in the Atlantic Ocean. The Carroll A. Deering didn't vanish, but its crew did, and then washed up on the dangerous Diamond Shoals off the coast of North Carolina. Was it mutiny? Captain Wormell and his first mate did not get along and everyone knew it. German U-boats were a thing of the past, and so were pirates, right? Was it Russians? Or the work of the not-yet-known Bermuda Triangle? We may never know. The Carroll A. Deering ...
Gypsy Bob: Tattoos and Murder
January 15, 2024 23:00 - 25 minutes - 17.2 MBArthur "Gypsy Bob" Harper (b. 1880) was one of Michigan's most notorious criminals. Murder, theft, and assault were part of his everyday life outside of prison. Luckily he only spent 15 of his 73 years out in the world. The rest of his time was spent locked up in various prisons in New York, Missouri, Illinois, and Michigan. Even that didn't stop him from committing heinous crimes. Let's learn about the man who holds the record for the most consecutive years in solitary confinement and t...
The Attica Uprising '71
December 18, 2023 23:00 - 30 minutes - 20.8 MBWhat happened at the Attica Maximum Security Prison in September 1971 should have changed how prisons were run forever. Unfortunately, the 'tough on crime' 80's and 90's erased any of the steps that were taken. Find out what went on during the four days inside of Attica as Governor Nelson Rockefeller battled from afar to win back the prison... at any cost. Support the show
The Yule Lads, Krampus and Christmas around the World
December 03, 2023 17:00 - 23 minutes - 16.4 MBWhat are some of your Christmas-time family traditions? Elf on the Shelf? Boots on the windowsill? Hiding brooms? KFC? Curator135 looks at some of the strange but mostly meaningful Christmas traditions around the globe. Come along for a wild ride, and learn about everything from scaring children to radishes to straw goats. Support the show
Floyd Collins: Trapped in a Cold Kentucky Cave
November 06, 2023 00:00 - 27 minutes - 18.6 MBBefore iPhones and the internet, before television and radio, people went out of their way to find entertainment. If something newsworthy was happening, they wanted to be a part of it. Floyd Collins and the caves below Kentucky gave the nation just that in January 1925. Hear how one man, trapped 60 feet below the surface, brought in thousands of onlookers from across the country for a two-week period. He wanted to be a winner in the Kentucky Cave Wars but may have sealed his fate while ...
A Reading of The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs
October 01, 2023 17:00 - 27 minutes - 19.2 MBW.W. Jacobs, was an English author best known for his short stories, particularly the classic tale "The Monkey's Paw." Jacobs' writing often delved into the realm of humor and the supernatural. "The Monkey's Paw," published in 1902, remains one of his most celebrated works. This chilling story revolves around a mysterious monkey's paw that grants its owner three wishes but comes with unintended and tragic consequences, illustrating Jacobs' skill in crafting suspenseful and thought-provoking...
The Poisonous Dr. Cream
August 27, 2023 20:00 - 28 minutes - 19.6 MBIn the late 1800's getting away with murder was a whole lot easier than it is today. Men like H.H. Holmes and Jack the Ripper made families lock their doors at night and prostitutes want to change professions. One man, who some believed could have been the infamous Jack the Ripper, managed to murder in three different countries. His reign of terror continued even after he was given life in prison. Episode 61 is about a man known as Dr. Cream, and later, the Lambeth Poisoner. Get to know ...
Abe's Avenger: Boston Corbett
August 18, 2023 02:00 - 24 minutes - 16.8 MBEveryone knows about John Wilkes Booth and his dastardly plan to weaken the government and breathe new life into the Confederacy. It didn't work and Booth was killed days later. But who killed him? Thomas "Boston" Corbett, that's who. Boston Corbett was an interesting character who lived a hard life but leaned on God to get him through everything. In some people's eyes, he was a hero, but his actions almost got him in a lot of trouble, and he lived in fear of Booth's ghost for the rest o...
The Sickle Slasher and the Reverend
August 05, 2023 18:00 - 33 minutes - 22.8 MBIn 1971, deep in the Sierra Nevada, near the tiny village of Weimar, California, 17 campers experienced an event that changed their lives. By the next morning, Sheriff Wayne Brown and his deputies found three folks seriously injured and two dead. A manhunt that took them to Mexico ensued. Clarence Otis Smith was accused of the horrific event and rightfully so. However, he had demons along with a mail-order preacher in his ear the whole time. Find out what happened and what led up to the Si...
The Val Johnson Incident
May 24, 2023 01:00 - 20 minutes - 14 MBWhether you are a believer in extraterrestrial beings or not, 1979 gave us one of the most well-documented cases of a UFO in our recent history. Val Johnson was out doing his job, patrolling the back roads of northwestern Minnesota, just minutes from the North Dakota border. When he went to turn onto Highway 220, a light appeared before him. Seconds later it was hitting his vehicle, causing damage to the patrol car and himself. Some people believe it was ball lightning and that he was lu...
Doctor Ruxton and the Jigsaw Murders
May 09, 2023 00:00 - 24 minutes - 16.5 MBIn the 1930's the science of forensics was still in its infancy. When Dr. Buck Ruxton's wife and nanny went missing, the police were forced to come up with new ways to identify the bodies... which had been cut up into numerous pieces. How did they do it? Learn all about Britain's 'Jigsaw Murders' in Episode 57 of the podcast. Support the show
Michigan's Last Execution
March 27, 2023 17:00 - 23 minutes - 16 MBMichigan has only 13 recorded executions in its history. They'd long ago taken the death penalty off the table. So why was Anthony Chebatoris hung within Michigan's borders in 1938? Find out what led up to Michigan's final execution. The life of Tony Chebatoris, his partner in crime, the targeted bank, and the hero dentist. Support the show
The Battle of Los Angeles
March 11, 2023 03:00 - 20 minutes - 14.3 MBIn 1942, just months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, tensions were high all along the west coast. Might the Japanese invade California? It sure seemed like a possibility. After a submarine surfaced and shot at a nearby oil well, the city of Los Angeles was on alert. In the early morning hours of February 25th, something caused numerous stations to fire anti-aircraft guns toward the sky. Was it the Japanese army? Alien Invaders? A spy balloon? We may never know. Support the show
The Legacy of Theodor Seuss Geisel
February 10, 2023 23:00 - 22 minutes - 15.7 MBWith dozens of well-known classics, beloved by children and adults everywhere, what caused so many to become upset with Dr. Seuss? Why did Seuss Enterprises pull six of his books off the shelves? Was Theodor Seuss Geisel more of a Lorax or a Grinch? Episode 54 dives into some little-known (darker) facts about one of the country's best-selling children's authors. Support the show
Every Man Jack
January 29, 2023 23:00 - 21 minutes - 14.7 MBJack be nimble... Jack Sprat... Jack and the Beanstalk... Why is the name Jack used so often in English folklore and fairytales? And then comes Jack the Ripper and finally Spring-Heeled Jack. Dive into episode 53 and learn about the terror of the 1800s who could breathe fire and jump over 10-foot walls. Spring-Heeled Jack, man, monster or myth? Support the show
The Witch is Dead
January 14, 2023 20:00 - 31 minutes - 21.4 MBIn 1929 a little-known case rocked the city of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Eugene and Pearl Burgess believed that an old neighbor and family friend, Mrs. Etta Fairchild, was a witch and would soon put hexes on their household or worse yet, murder them one by one. They did the only thing they could think to do. Murder her first. The case rocked the city and soon spread across the nation. Not since the Salem Witch Trials had a woman been put to death for being a witch. After months of research ...
Last Letters
November 19, 2022 20:00 - 32 minutes - 22 MBHear the last written letters from some important people in history. While sad, they are evidence of the power of handwritten letters over what modern technology offers today. The last written thoughts of Anne Boleyn, Marie Antoinette, Wild Bill Hickok, Sullivan Ballou, Vincent van Gogh, Virginia Woolf, and Ernest Hemingway are featured in this episode. Support the show
A Reading of The Red Room by H.G. Wells
October 31, 2022 00:00 - 28 minutes - 19.6 MBWe celebrate our 50th episode and Halloween with a reading of "The Red Room" by science fiction legend, H.G. Wells. Few people know that Wells liked to dabble in horror from time to time. Hear Curator135 read one of his spooky tales from the late 1800s. This story explains that sometimes the scariest moments in life are created in your own brain. Support the show
This is Halloween
October 10, 2022 01:00 - 28 minutes - 19.4 MBWhere did Halloween come from? Why am I so afraid of Haunted Houses when I love everything else about the holiday? And... Why do so many strange murders and deaths happen around the end of October? Join Curator 135 as he discusses Halloween-themed murder, tragedy, and events that have shaped what we know as Halloween today. From Devil's Night to a psychic vision from David Berkowitz, this episode is all over the map but all Halloween. Support the show
Based on True Events (Terror in Texarkana)
September 25, 2022 23:00 - 28 minutes - 19.5 MBTruth is often stranger than fiction. Maybe that's why so many of your favorite scary movies were inspired by actual events. From 'The Birds' to 'Scream', every great idea comes from somewhere. Find out about some of Curator 135's favorite horror films based on actual events and dive into one in particular. "The Town That Dreaded Sundown" is based on an actual series of murders carried out by a masked individual in the early months of 1946. Texarkana, Texas would never be the same again. ...
Disease on the High Seas
September 05, 2022 17:00 - 27 minutes - 18.9 MBNowadays, epidemics and pandemics can travel the globe in days. But how did things like the Plague travel from continent to continent in the late 1800s? Learn about the S.S. Nippon Maru and how it carried the Bubonic plague from China to Japan to Hawaii before finally reaching the port of San Francisco. When you think of the plague, you think of medieval times and the Black Death, but the Bubonic plague was here (and is still here) as recently as 1900. Support the show
Dedicated Follower of Fashion
August 21, 2022 19:00 - 26 minutes - 18.1 MBFrom codpieces to leeches, poison facial cream to crocodile poo, the fashion and beauty worlds have seen it all. Travel through the ages and find out what some of the strangest and most dangerous fashion and beauty trends were. If you want to be like Queen Elizabeth, shave your eyebrows. If you want to be like Marie Antoinette, where thin, skin-tight dresses in the winter. Be careful, this one gets gross. Support the show
Sally, Shane and the Satanic Panic
August 08, 2022 00:00 - 25 minutes - 17.7 MBThe 1980's were fun for some. Not so much for others. Hear how the Satanic Panic took over a nation and potentially took the lives of a young boyfriend and girlfriend in Texas. A story that grabbed the attention of a nation thanks to Unsolved Mysteries. A story that has still never been solved. Part 3 of the 1980's Series. Support the show
The Chicago Tylenol Murders
July 19, 2022 19:00 - 22 minutes - 15.5 MBIn 1982 a madman brought the nation's economy to its knees. By pulling apart Tylenol capsules and placing a substance inside that killed seven people without warning, Johnson & Johnson lost million dollars and began a nationwide recall of a product that nearly every household owned. Learn about the con-man they thought was responsible and the nearly 40-year investigation of seven murders in and around Chicago, Illinois that remains unsolved. Part 2 of the 1980's Series Support the show
Ken McElroy: The Scourge of Skidmore
June 21, 2022 18:00 - 21 minutes - 14.8 MBWhat happens when a town bully pushes residents past their breaking point? Find out what became of Ken Rex McElroy after thirty-some years of feeling invincible in the tiny town of Skidmore, Missouri. When a town or city has no law enforcement of its own, is it safe to leave the citizens in charge of handing out justice? Part one of a series of bizarre stories from the 1980s. Do you remember your school or city's bully? Support the show
Musical Maledictions - Part 2
May 23, 2022 23:00 - 26 minutes - 17.9 MBIn our last episode we touched on the first half of our top ten music related curses. Episode 42 delivers the top 5 curses in music history. Buddy Holly, Fleetwood Mac, the Glass Armonica, Robert Johnson and the 27 Club. Do you believe? Or is it all just a series of coincidences? Can songs be haunted? Can one death cause countless more? Can an instrument created by Ben Franklin drive you insane? Support the show
Musical Maledictions - Part 1
May 03, 2022 22:00 - 21 minutes - 15 MBIn part one of the Musical Maledictions episode, we will learn about John Lennon's history with the number 9. How Jan and Dean created a song that jinxed one of the members so bad they nearly died. We'll discuss the Devil's Trill, Sonata No. 6, and a whole lot more. Curses in music, real or really made up? Apologies for my voice in this one, I'm on my eighth day of Covid. Support the show
Off With His Head: The Benny Evangelist Story
April 16, 2022 02:00 - 25 minutes - 17.2 MBIn the early 1900s alternative healing practices and occult beliefs were all the rage. Voodoo and Satanism washed over the United States as people began to look outside of the church for answers. Benny Evangelist and Aurelius Angelino were two Italian immigrants looking for a fresh start in America. Both became interested in the occult and both of their families suffered for it. Learn all about the horrific tragedies that struck their households and the roles they have played in them. Au...
The Rise and Fall of Chuck E Cheese
March 31, 2022 00:00 - 25 minutes - 17.3 MBChuck E. Cheese. Where a kid can be a kid and adults can be absolute animals. Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari, had another money making idea. Bring arcades out of pool halls and bars and place them inside family restaurants. When Disney wouldn't hire him, he decided to bring Disney style animatronics to his restaurants. Chuck E. Cheese, Mr. Munch, Pasqually and the rest of the crew were soon putting on shows for countless kids across the country. Somewhere along the way, Chuck E. Chee...
Scary Schools and Haunted Hallways
March 15, 2022 01:00 - 28 minutes - 19.3 MBWhen you're a ghost, nowhere is off limits not even schools. While Curator 135 uses an old American Girl doll to scare his students, schools around the world have experienced the wrath of much scarier spirits, specters and phantoms. Travel to schools from Japan to New Jersey as we discuss some of the creepiest school haunting stories of the past few decades. Headless ghosts who render you unable to move, long dead football players looking for a little competition, a school built on a ce...
Lady Be Good
March 01, 2022 03:00 - 31 minutes - 21.5 MBAs World War II raged on, a crew of nine strangers were assigned to an Army Air Corp bomber called "Lady Be Good". The bombing mission in Naples, Italy would be the first and last for both the crew and aircraft. What happened during the return trip? How did the plane end up almost 400 miles away from the Libyan air base? If they survived the crash, how long would they survive the harsh desert climate of the Sahara when no one knows where they are? The true story of an unanswerable S.O.S. ...
Writing from the Grave
February 20, 2022 00:00 - 29 minutes - 20 MBIn the early 1900s, Pearl Lenore Curran began experimenting with a Ouija board. Shortly after a woman named Patience Worth started communicating with her. They would go on to publish novels, plays, poems and essays together. Nearly a million of Patience's words were transcribed. Pearl claimed to be nothing more than a vessel for Patience Worth. Scientists, psychics and skeptics had a hard time disproving the existence of the spirit who lived in the 17th century. Support the show
The Phantom Barber
February 02, 2022 03:00 - 23 minutes - 16 MBFor a few months in 1942 the city of Pascagoula, Mississippi faced a new fear. As World War II raged on for its third year; what kept these folks up at night was not the threat of bombs but the possibility of losing their hair... to the Phantom Barber. Hair for cash? Hair for religion? Hair for pleasure? Why was a man sneaking into people's homes at night and cutting off locks of hair? Support the show
Along the Appalachian Trail
January 19, 2022 01:00 - 33 minutes - 23.2 MBWest Virginia, wow. From Mothman to Bat Boy and everything in between. Take a trip along the Appalachian Mountains and get a taste of some of the bizarre and curious stories that haunt the state. Aliens, ghosts, monsters and a Swiss village. Curator 135 has never been to West Virginia but it's certainly on his bucket-list now. Learn about Screaming Jenny, Dangerfield Newby, The Snarly Yow, The Braxton County Monster, The Grafton Monster, Lost World Caverns, Lake Shawnee Abandoned Amuseme...
The Emperor of New Mexico
January 08, 2022 19:00 - 27 minutes - 18.6 MBIn 1883 a man named Arthur Manby left his home in Lancashire, England and sailed to the United States with a few of his eight siblings. He'd read stories about the untapped resources and wide open spaces that the western frontier had to offer. He had big ideas and needed people to buy into them. Unpaid loans and undelivered promises left him a hated man in his hometown of Taos, New Mexico... a city he practically owned. How did he end up losing his head? Was it even his head? Find out all ...
Blood Bath
December 31, 2021 03:00 - 28 minutes - 19.6 MBIn light of the recent school shooting in Oxford, Michigan. A listener suggested I take a look at the horrific Bath, Michigan bombing massacre of 1927. It was the first and largest school-related rampage killing ever in the United States. Learn about Andrew Kehoe, his life, and what led him to murder 44 people on that May morning. A series of three blasts forever changed the tiny town just north of Lansing. Our 1 Year Anniversary Episode! Support the show
The Nain Rouge
December 18, 2021 05:00 - 29 minutes - 20 MBIn Detroit, there is a mythological creature known as 'Le Nain Rouge'. Some consider him to be the harbinger of doom and gloom while others believe he is a great protector, warning residents when trouble is on the horizon. Whichever side you stand on, the Nain Rouge has been a part of Michigan folklore dating back to the early 1700's and possibly before. Let's learn more about the infamous red dwarf together. Support the show
The 1913 Christmas Eve Massacre
December 06, 2021 21:00 - 31 minutes - 21.4 MBCalumet, Michigan. Copper Country. The land of my ancestors. The home of numerous family reunions that took nine hours to drive to. With Christmas approaching, I thought it would be a good time to take a look back at the tragic events that ended a months long strike by the immigrant miners working for the Calumet & Hecla Mining Company. Support the show
Stranger Sounds
November 28, 2021 04:00 - 27 minutes - 19.1 MBI love sound. It's my favorite of the senses. Well placed sound effects, spoken words, music, things that go bump in the night. How do our ears work? Why do some work differently or not at all? Curator 135 explores some of the strangest sounds that man, animals, nature, underwater, outer space and the unexplained have to offer. From a squeaky toad to icebergs running aground to the sound a star makes. Support the show
The Dance Plague
November 14, 2021 05:00 - 22 minutes - 15.7 MBBack in 1518 the French city of Strasbourg experienced one of the worst recorded outbreaks of Dance Mania ever witnessed. The Dance Plague or Dance Epidemic struck almost 400 people and may have killed as many as 15 people a day. It lasted well over two months and left everyone puzzled. Demonic possession? Mold? Mass Hysteria? What caused this to happen and what did Saint Vitus have to do with it? We still don't know even 500 years later. But maybe a batch of sixth graders studying patho...
Sisters Reincarnated
November 10, 2021 03:00 - 21 minutes - 14.7 MBWhat happens when we die? A question that's been discussed for centuries with no real answers to speak of. Heaven, hell, nothing? Well what about reincarnation? For a family in England, reincarnation became a serious subject after the loss of 11-year-old Joanna Pollock and her 6-year-old sister Jacqueline. Killed on their way to Sunday school after being hit by a car in 1957, the sisters reportedly came back as twins a year later. The family says they have more proof than they know what to...
To Eloise, with Love
October 31, 2021 01:00 - 25 minutes - 17.3 MBAs October comes to an end, we thought it would be the perfect time to discuss psychiatric hospitals and asylums. The look and feel of a spooky asylum has been the inspiration for some of our favorite horror movies, television shows and books. Curator 135 has been curious about what happens behind the walls of a mental institution since he was a little kid. Let's learn about two places close to his home outside of Detroit... Eloise in Westland and the Northville Psychiatric Hospital. S...
Afterlife of the Party
October 12, 2021 22:00 - 21 minutes - 14.6 MBI've always wanted a Viking funeral. Set me in a longboat with a few of my favorite things, give it a good shove and then fire a flaming arrow at me. It turns out that a Viking funeral like that is almost 99% Hollywood. Join Curator135 as he discusses some of the more unique death rituals from around the globe. Sky burials, jazz festivals, bone turning and more. Support the show
The Legacy of Alice Lee
September 25, 2021 19:00 - 22 minutes - 15.8 MBAlthough many presidential children have left a mark in one way or another, no one comes close to leaving behind the legacy (good and bad) that Alice Roosevelt Longworth left behind. Learn all about Theodore Roosevelt's sassy, smart and spunky first child, Alice. She was adored by many, treated like royalty and knew she could get away with doing and saying whatever she wanted. She had a color named after her, smoked on the Whitehouse roof and had a pet snake that she carried around in her po...
Black Edison
September 12, 2021 21:00 - 21 minutes - 15 MBEveryone knows Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell... Tesla, Ford and the Wright Brothers, but there are some amazing inventors and human beings in history who go relatively unmentioned and we need to fix that. In this episode, Curator135 seeks to find out as much as he can about the great Garrett Morgan, the African American inventor behind more efficient sewing machines, the precursor to the gas mask and the traffic light. His inventions saved countless lives and on at least one occa...
A Taste of Your Own Medicine
August 29, 2021 14:00 - 21 minutes - 14.7 MBTravel back in time once again with Curator 135 as he takes his trusty Dodge Shadow time machine back to 1887 in search of the Kickapoo Traveling Medicine Show. Find out who liked to hang out in Connecticut around that time as well as the what and why of traveling medicine shows. Support the show
Spooky Skookum and Carved Kachina
August 17, 2021 02:00 - 22 minutes - 15.3 MBThe second part of the 'Arizona Series' takes a look at two different southwestern things my mother and father collected. One was made by a white lady, the other crafted from the hands of Native Americans. Join Curator 135 as he discusses both Skookum and Kachina dolls. Support the show