Tales From the Underworld — Authentic True Crime

Tales From the Underworld — Authentic True Crime

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19th Century

Buried Treasure or Tall Tale?: The "Lost Cabin" of the Siskiyou Mountains
Does Oregon hide another El Dorado, a buried cache of untold wealth or is it all a fabled myth? From Indian attacks to treasure maps and "accidental…
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Donna Patton
Dangerous Passage: The Strange and Controversial Death of Adventurer and Explorer Thomas Simpson
In June 1840, the bodies of renowned British explorer Thomas Simpson and two travel companions were shot dead on the plains of North Dakota. Nearly 200…
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Timothy Reynolds
The Sand Creek Massacre: A Legacy of Betrayal and Injustice
In November 1864, hundreds of Native American men, women, and children were brutally slaughtered by members of the U.S. military after they were lured…
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Donna Patton
Escaping Injustice: Sarah Chandler's Defiant Jailbreak
In 1814, Sarah Chandler, a struggling mother from Wales was convicted of using counterfeit notes to buy shoes for her children. When an overzealous…
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Kirsten Ford
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Escaping "The Rock?": Five Men Who Challenged Alactraz's Reputation As Escape Proof
Two separate escapes in 1937 and 1962 captured the public's imagination, as these men had seemingly done the impossible: Escape from Alcatraz
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Timothy Reynolds
"The King of Aspromonte": The Remarkable Tale of Giuseppe Musolino's Bloody Vendetta
In 1898, Calabrian peasant Giuseppe Musolino was convicted and sentenced to 21 years in prison in what he believed was a sham trial. Later, he would…
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Kates Lara
Billy the Kid's Great Escape: The Legendary Shootout in Lincoln County
In 1881, Billy the Kid made a daring escape from the Lincoln County Courthouse in Lincoln, New Mexico. This jailbreak cemented the Kid as one of the…
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Donna Patton
No Quarter Given: The Brutal Tale of "Champ" Ferguson's Confederate Guerillas
Historians have wondered what caused Samuel "Champ" Ferguson to despise the Union army and their sympathizers to the point where he inflicted savage and…
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Donna Patton
Bloody Bushwhacker: The Brutal Crimes and Violent Death of Confederate Guerilla "Bloody Bill" Anderson
During the American Civil War, Confederate Guerilla William T. "Bloody Bill" Anderson's life and legacy would be defined by the brutal atrocities…
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Donna Patton
Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show Thrilled Audiences with Scenes of a Bygone Era
From Pony Express rider to buffalo hunter, Buffalo Bill Cody took his life of adventure and created a drama-filled with outlaws, sharp shooters and…
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Donna Patton
Outlaws, Veterans, Villains, and Folk Heroes: The Legacy of Jesse James and the James-Younger Gang
Heroes to some, cold-blooded killers to others, the James-Younger Gang emerged from the ashes of the Civil War and became some of the most famous and…
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Donna Patton
The Twisted Tale of Black Widow Serial Killer Mary Cowan: “The Borgia of Maine”
Labeled by the press as “The Borgia of Maine,” for her murderous ways, the tale of Mary Cowan is particularly heinous due to the extreme cruelty…
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Kirsten Ford
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