A bit shorter episode this week, the perfect size for that jaunt over the river and through the woods to see grandma...or to run to the store and fight Tobey Macguire for that last dented can of jellied cranberry sauce.  This week we ask the question is Santa a cryptid?  We tell a brief tale of his origin, mention that Saint Nicholas is somehow both the patron saint of children and sex workers and every year on december 25th goes on the world's largest buisiness trip.  We discuss supposed real sightings of the big man (Does he drive a pristine red Mustang with Alaska plates that read 'BIGGUY'?  We don't know but someone claims he does.    Plus a few humorous, very not real, cryptid style reports of Santa as told by various fake people in this ho-ho-holiday episode of the Family Plot Podcast!

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We are joined this episode by Kansas City Comedian Dale Hilton to discuss the London Beer Flood of 1814 and the Gorbals Hot Whiskey Disaster of 1906.  We do cover these two strangely historical events and also discuss Beer and how it lead to both the formation of society as well as the invention of refrigeration because people wanted to keep their beer cold.  We also discuss 'Generic' Beer, trashcan punch parties, a store similar to Wal-mart and Target named Venture's , Purple Passion (available in cans and two liter-bottles) and so much more in this end of year but we're still learning in the festive episode filled with friendship and suspicious liquid cheer!

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A shorter episode this week but that makes it the perfect length to listen to on your way to Holiday Shopping.  This week we go uplifting as we dig into the life of Beatrice 'Tillie' Shilling.  The child of a master butcher and one of thre girls born and raised in the South of England, she spent her pocket money on tools and penknives, deconstructed devices to see how they fit together and worked and played with Meccano sets, early construction toys allowing children to build working models of cars and cranes.  She would even win a competition for building from these kits.  By the age of 14, she bought her first motorcycle originally to beat her sisters in bike races.  But she tuned, tinkered and replaced every single part remaking the machine and soon was speeding around on it everywhere.  She began to study practical electronics and work in the field as young as 15, even going on to become an Engineer (in the 1930's when women just didn't do such things).  We cover the life of this amazing woman and how she saved both the Spitfire and the Hurricane, earned an OBE and hit the ton at Brooklands as a motorcycle racer in this uplifting, girl powerm yes it's in Surrey but there's no fringe on top episode of the Family Plot Podcast!

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We begin with a trigger warning, this week we talk about the results of people apparently catching fire spontaneously and the gruesome remains that sometimes leaves behind.  We attempt to go easy but still if you find yourself challenged by some of these descriptions, feel free to skip the episode.  You matter.  What a week!  This week we tackle the burning subject (quite literally( of spontaneous human combustion.  We dig into historic cases both fairly mundane and incredibly strange.  We discuss cases and theories from ancient to modern, including the wick effect and how it literally demands the person sit in one place, unmoving while they burn to mostly ash.  We discuss the very strange case of Mary Reeser and so much more and we also talk to author, and friend of the show, Dan B. Fierce about his upcoming plans.  Check it out!

https://linktr.ee/danbfierce

https://a.co/d/2wRgwvc

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Boy, do we have a show for you.  It's Thanksgiving and Arthur is feeling rowdy and wants to fist fight at the back of a Denny's. plus he's hyper fixating on the new LPS!  We dig into the mysterious death of Ohio immigrant and businessman Mitchell Siegel and how that unsolved death led to the creation of the character of Superman.  We also find that Superman has a lot in common with a character named Doc Savage and how Superman, and other costumed superheroes grew out of the pulps.  We talk modern takes on the character, and all the pop culture feels and friends.

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We have so much to tell you about!  In this episode, we dig into the life of Storme DeLarverie, a man who was born to a black mother and white father.  Mom was a servant and Dad was wealthy.  Because he was a child of black and white parents he was never issued a birth certificate and chose to celebrate his birthday on December 24th.  His dad paid for his education but he was raised mostly by his grandfather.  He joined the Ringling Brothers Circus as a show rider and began to get on stage at Jazz Clubs at only 15.  He would travel Europe with a jazz ensemble before returning to the United States where he joined the Jewel Box Revue.  The Jewel Box was at the time the only interracial drag show and it toured all over the country even to military bases.  And Storme became the show's lone drag king and emcee.  He was on hand at the Stonewall when the infamous uprising began in New York City aand may have been the one to kick off violence.  He later went on to become the Guardian of Greenwich Village in this, wow this was a true American episode of the Family Plot Podcast.

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So many things in this episode.  Arthur discusses his new mask, Poppi Playtime, and hanging out with his brother who visited from college in this corner and then we dig into the tragedy that was the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, what happened, how it happened and the people who lived through it.  We cover their response and the hope for humanity when this city, founded as part of Mexico in 1776, was 80 percent destroyed and built back up just four years later.  We learn about how the American Red Cross partnered with the US Army to help create refugee camps and distrubute supplies to a needy populace.  All this and so much more in this earth-shaking episode of the Family Plot Podcast.  (Previous episodes referenced include episodes 135, 183, 188, 225 and 260.)

Dean's Book - Map of Hollows is available at Amazon.com!

https://a.co/d/gJzsv7C

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This week we look into the life of Norah Emily Editha Fornario, better known as Netta.  Her body was discovered wearing no more than a black cloak and a blackened silver cross lying atop a mound with a dagger shape carved into it.  The mound was what locals called a fairy hill and to this day, no one knows how her death came about.  We study her life, her fascination with psychic research and how she eventually became a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.  We dig into what little is known about her life and what strange circumstances surround her death, in this wow so weird episode of the Family Plot Podcast.  (Thanks to the Darkcast Network for taking us onboard).
Link to Dean's Book on Amazon: https://a.co/d/1yW8wDg

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In this, the last spooky season episode for the year, we go into the mind of HP Lovecraft and the shared universe he created.  A man touched by his family's brushes with both greatness and madness, he was never a huge success in his lifetime and held horrible, racist views that he supported with pseudoscience like eugenics.  But as troubled and troubling as he was and is, the Mythos is one of the larger shared universes in fiction.  A place where humanity is just a short sad blip on existence and the universe at large just does not care and will wipe us out with relative ease.  This universe has provided ideas and fodder for so many writers who have added their own thoughts and ideas to the mix.  We cover his Great Old Ones, his deities, his races he created, villains, the more or less human element in his stories and so much more.  So come with us, take a stroll across the Plateau of Leng, visit the campus Library at Miskatonic University in Arkham Massachussets and visit Shadow-haunted Innsmouth in this oh so strange episode of the Family Plot Podcast.

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Man this was a fun and intense spooky season episode.  First, we are joined by CJ from the Rainbow Crimes podcast and then Arthur covers a few things ranging from recent mental health struggles and to his gaming addiction to Dandy's World.  All four of us dig into the case of Herb Baumeister.  Herb is a possibly (and likely) gay man himself who hunted other gay men whom he brought back to his home to murder.  In addition, authorities in Indiana and Ohio believe him to also be the I-70 Strangler and victims of both series of murders were found on his farm.  To date over 1pppp bone fragments have been discovered there.  We cover Herb's family, his somewhat creepy early life, his eventual marriage to Juliana Saiter and their relationship and so very much more.  We talk about the murders, the victims we know about and we talk about the hauntings that seem to go on to this very day in this special spooky season episode of the Family Plot Podcast.

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Well, this episode is a doozy, we cover the history of the Whaley House Haunted Museum, covering it's time as a public gallows for San Diego, to it's purchase by Thomas Whaley and how it became part theater, part courthouse, part general store and part home.  The family suffered fires, deaths and public humiliations among other setbacks as they continued to live in this home.  We cover it's delapidation and it's rebuilding into an exact replica of the home it was and it's place in San Diego that showcases the past in an up close and personal way, but also the spirits who continue to linger in the place.  So come on along, but don't touch anything on this ghostly spooky season episode of the Family Plot Podcast.

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This episode is a doozy.  For spooky season we dig into the life and crimes of the infamous duo, William Burke and William Hare.  During a time when resurrectionists ran rampant, Burke and Hare cchanged the game.  Instead of digging up fresh corpses for the medical establishment to practice upon, they killed people (through a method called burking) and sold their bodies as fresh corpses.  We cover the history of medical science at the time and why fresh cadavers were necessary.  
We discuss the lifes of Burke and Hare, what led to selling their first body and how they made so many others.  In modern terms, they made close to 20 grand selling bodies of people they killed.  So let's learn something.  Come sit a spell underneath the moonlight and learn the chilling tale of Burke and Hare!

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Well, we cram a whole lotta information into not so much time this epsiode.  This episode takes us to New York City to visit The Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral and to Boston to visit the Old North Church.  We cover the history of these Crypts, find out when they were built, why they were built and what led to their underground storage spaces for the dearly departed.  We cover their hauntings and appearances in popular culture as well so join us for this special spooky season episode as we dive deep into the spectral shenanigans and living history of both of these beautiful buildings in another spooky season episode of the Family Plot Podcast!!

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TW:  We do at one point briefly discuss suicide, so if this is a problem for you, feel free to skip the part about the spooklight's origins, which is where the discussion happens.  This week, Arthur talks school ande grandma, Laura talks her recent birthday (other Virgos holla!) and then we talk the Hornet Spooklight.  Seen over E 50 Road better known as spooklight road to the locals.  The area is also called the Devil's Promenade and the Spooklight is often seen over this cursed stretch of ground.  It lets viewers chase it, often dodging out of the way or going behind them.  Skeptics say it's reflections from the road.  Non-skeptics say it's been reported by indigenous Americans in the area for hundreds of years.  We talk it's origins, it's histories and so much more in this first episode of Spooky Season specials in the Family Plot Podcast!

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In this episode, we jump to our second campaign, a Call of Cthulhu based campaign called Lore for the Pages.  In this episode, our heroes inherit both a bookstore and a home from KH Hillman, a bookseller who for years has been selling Cthulhu Mythos and occult books and objets d'arts by mail to unscrupulous buyers.  Now, our heroes have to reclaim these lost objects before they are used to cause more problems.  The first adventure is set in the fictional town of Sargasso Springs Alabama, a coastal town that is suffering from a strange infestation of bugs and some unusually cold weather.  Our heroes get notified of their inheritance and begin the investigation of their new home while realizing neither the weather or the bugs are natural. As they dig deeper they begin to realize their new home maybe won't last long.  Check it out!

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This week, we head back to the 1800's to meet the man who would become known as 
Billy the Kid!  Born Henry McCarty in New York City, he eventually went west with his Mother and brother with stops in Indiana and Wichita before landing in Silver City New Mexico.  His mom died when he was just 14 and his stepdad abandoned him to head to California to start mining.  Henry's first criminal act was to steal food for which he served ten days in jail.  Later he went on to become a horse thief and a Regulator and fought in a conflict called the Lincoln County War.  He killed a corrupt Sheriff and his deputy and became fodder for tales of the Wild West and Newspapers, building a legend as a killer that it's possible he didn't earn.  We talk about his life, his death and the mysteries and surprises he left behind, including a possible survival under the name 'Brushy' Bill Cody!  All this and Arthur talks school and the Finch App and Laura and Dean discuss whether or not Jon Bon Jovi qualifies as butt rock in this special Young Guns episode of the Family Plot Podcast!

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We have such an episode for you today!  We are staying true to both our Missouri and nerdy roots to bring you the life of Samuel Langhorne Clemens better known as Mark Twain, America's Favorite Humorist.  We learn of his many jobs including Riverboat Pilot, Prospector, Newspaper man, journalist, printer's devil, and of course, writer extraordinaire!  We talk his rivalry with Bret Harte and the flop that was Ah Sin.  We discuss his similarities to Ambrose Bierce and other modern writers that loved him or were influenced by his work.  We reference a lot of past episodes including:  
Ambrose Bierce - Episode 199
Ernest Hemingway - Episode 233 with Brenda from Horrifying History
Episode 251 - Sharon Kinne
Episode 264 - Matilda Joslyn Gage
And Season 1 - Episode 1 of the Family Role Podcast - A Kiln in Cobblepot.

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This is an episode of our new TTRPG podcast Family Role. Each week we will alternate between D&D adventures and Call of Cthulhu adventures.  Hopefully, we will be joined by cool guests along the way.  This week features 8 year old Alexandria 'Lexi' Boese as Grelda the Mighty, a Fey Hexblade Warlock; Arthur Williams portraying Albion Bonze a Tiefling Monk and Laura Williams as Noelle 'Dutch' Bunny, a Harengon Sharp Shooter.  Music is provided by Music by Ievgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay.  All ad intro/outros are performed by Dean Boese as is Riordan Rourke, a luckless NPC Bard and the other characters in the world of Thrae!  Onwards and Upwards!

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There is so much going on in this episode, I almost don't know where to begin.  In his corner, Arthur discusses his new school year, art and Undertales.  Then we settle in to learn about Matilda Joslyn Gage.  Raised in a home that was a stop for the Underground Railroad, she learned lessons early about equality and doing the right thing and translated those messages into a voice for the right of women to vote, to invent, to live on their own terms and not just women.  She beilieved in the sovereignty of indiginous people and the abolishment of slavery.  We need a little of her spirit even now.  We also talk about how she affected Frank L. Baum her son-in-law and how she became the pattern for Glinda the Good Witch in the Wizard of Oz.  All this and sooooo much more in our latest episode of the Family Plot Podcast!!

We also reference:  Clara Barton from Episode 260
The Salem Witch Trials from Episode 80 and 81.
And Sharon Kinne from Episode 251.

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Man what an episode!! In Arthur's Corner, he discusses his online school and the tragedy of needing a new kitten.  Then we dig into the murders in Keddie California.  We study the history of the area, what made it popular and what made it begin to fail.  We talk about it's engineering marvel, the Keddie Wye.  We also look into Glenna 'Sue' Sharp's past, what led to her moving from Massachussetts to California with her five children.  We talk about how she moved to Keddie and her murder, the murder of her oldest son and his best friend as well as the kidnapping and murder of her youngest daughter.  Then we get into the shoddy investigation, the suspects and so much more in this still unsolved but boy I may have a few ideas about who did it episode of the Family Plot Podcast!

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