Stuff You Missed In History Class

Holly and Tracy talk about pumpkin carving traditions and techniques. They also discuss Pearl Curran's life and the writing output of Patience.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Patience Worth was a popular writer in the early 20th century. But she was a 17th-century ghost, using Pearl Curran as her conduit from spirit realm to printed page. Research: Braude, Stephen E. “Dissociation and Latent Abilities.” Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. June 2000. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233449262_Dissociation_and_Latent_Abilities Cory, Charles. “Patience Worth.” Psychological Review. 1919. pp. 397-407. https://archive.org/details/psychologicalre01pratgoog/page/396/mode/2up Denny, Diana. “Written by Pearl Curran … Or Ouija Board?” Saturday Evening Post. Sept. 16, 2010. https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2010/09/written-pearl-curranor-ouija-board/ Diliberto, Gioia. “Patience Worth: Author From the Great Beyond.” Smithsonian. Sept. 2010. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/patience-worth-author-from-the-great-beyond-54333749/ Millard, Bailey. “Will she meet her astral guide?” Los Angeles Times. Jan. 16, 1938. https://www.newspapers.com/image/380740453/?terms=pearl%20cu

Jack-o’-lanterns have become one of the most iconic symbols of Halloween. Their origin story isn’t exactly well documented, so tracing their roots involves some folklore, some agriculture, and literary influence.  Research: Bachelor, Blane. “ The twisted transatlantic tale of American jack-o’-lanterns.” National Geographic. Oct. 27, 2020. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/the-twisted-transatlantic-tale-of-american-jack-o-lanterns?rnd=1696858487928&loggedin=true Ellis, Hurcules. “The Rhyme Book.” Longman, Brown, Green & Longmans. 1851. https://books.google.com/books?id=1DxcAAAAcAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s Fox, Frances. "Waialua Children Use Papaias for Pumkins to Scare on Hallowe'en." Honolulu Advertiser. Oct. 31, 1931. https://www.newspapers.com/image/258961518/?terms=jack%20o%27lantern&match=1 Christofi, N. “BIOASSAYS | Microbial Tests.” Encyclopedia of Analytical Science (Second Edition). Elsevier. 2005. Pages 265-271. https://doi.org/10.1016/B0-12-369397-7/00044-3 “How did th

This 2018 episode covers an uninhabited Italian island that has come to be called all manner of scary things, including, "plague island," "island of ghosts," and "the Venetian island of no return."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly talk about the bummer story that didn't make it into Unearthed!, kids who discover things, and Indiana Jones.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part two of our autumn 2023 edition of Unearthed! includes potpourri, repatriations, shipwrecks, art, and a few perfect October entries. Research:  “Early humans deliberately made mysterious stone 'spheroids'.” PhysOrg. 9/10/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-early-humans-deliberately-mysterious-stone.html Alutiiq Museum. “Archaeologists Recover 3,000-year-old Weavings from Ancestral Alutiiq Settlement.” Alaska Native News. 8/26/2023. https://alaska-native-news.com/archaeologists-recover-3000-year-old-weavings-from-ancestral-alutiiq-settlement/69558/ Australian National Maritime Museum. “Exploring South Australia's oldest shipwreck.” Phys.org. 8/15/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-exploring-south-australia-oldest-shipwreck.html Barker, Christopher. “Stolen van Gogh Painting Worth Millions Returned in an Ikea Bag.” Smithsonian. 9/14/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dutch-art-detective-recovers-a-van-gogh-stolen-in-2020-180982896/ BBC News. “Man finds 8,000-year-old dolphin bones in back gar

In part one of our Autumn 2023 edition of Unearthed!, we have some oldest things, books and letters, projects specifically related to gender, edibles and potables, and animals.  Research:  “Early humans deliberately made mysterious stone 'spheroids'.” PhysOrg. 9/10/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-early-humans-deliberately-mysterious-stone.html Alutiiq Museum. “Archaeologists Recover 3,000-year-old Weavings from Ancestral Alutiiq Settlement.” Alaska Native News. 8/26/2023. https://alaska-native-news.com/archaeologists-recover-3000-year-old-weavings-from-ancestral-alutiiq-settlement/69558/ Australian National Maritime Museum. “Exploring South Australia's oldest shipwreck.” Phys.org. 8/15/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-exploring-south-australia-oldest-shipwreck.html Barker, Christopher. “Stolen van Gogh Painting Worth Millions Returned in an Ikea Bag.” Smithsonian. 9/14/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dutch-art-detective-recovers-a-van-gogh-stolen-in-2020-180982896/ BBC News. “Man finds

This 2016 episode covers the Crescent Hotel of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. A colorful part of the hotel's history involves a man who claimed that doctors couldn't be trusted, and that he had the cure for cancer.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly talk about the sloppy nature of the William Weare murder. They also discuss ghost stories that may have inspired other media, and Tracy's childhood memories of the Maco light story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

October seemed like a good time for an installment of Six Impossible Episodes all about ghosts and hauntings. A lot of these are very well-known in the places where they originated, but maybe not outside of those places.  Research: Campbelltown Visitor Information Centre. “Frederick Fisher and the Legend of Fisher’s Ghost.” https://indd.adobe.com/view/8e2d788d-56b7-43a7-bf4b-a5c3620ee345 Dictionary of Sydney staff writer, Fishers Ghost Creek, Dictionary of Sydney, 2008, http://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/fishers_ghost_creek, viewed 04 Oct 2023 TBS News. “The ghost of little girls in Japanese schools.” https://www.tbsnews.net/splash/ghost-little-girls-japanese-schools-58747 Learn Japanese. “Hanako-San is Creepy, What's the Story?” https://www.jappleng.com/education/course/study/4/japanese-culture/lesson/320/japanese-legend-hanako-san-toire Kishikawa, Molly. “The Real-Life Legend of Toilet-Bound Hanako (and Other Toilet Ghosts).” CBR. 9/27/2021. https://www.cbr.com/toilet-bound-hanako-japanese-toilet-ghosts/

William Weare's murder was brutal, gruesome, and a source of complete fascination for the public, and it set the stage for illustrated crime reporting. Research: Cunningham, Alice. “Radlett: The horrifying 19th century murder that put Hertfordshire's most affluent town on the map.” Hertfordshire Mercury. 11/18/2020. https://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/news/hertfordshire-news/radlett-horrifying-19th-century-murder-4708130 Smith, Daniel. “'Murder jug' from 19th Century sells for big money.” Leicester Mercury. 8/20/2022. https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/murder-jug-19th-century-sells-7487222 Muir, John. “Seven Men Sentenced to Die.” From Rare Books Collections, National Library of Scotland.” https://digital.nls.uk/broadsides/view/?id=14718 “A narrative of the mysterious and dreadful murder of Mr. W. Weare : containing the examination before the magistrates, the Coroner's Inquest, the confession of Hunt, and other particulars previous to the trial, collected from the best sources of intell

This 2012 episode from previous hosts Sarah and Deblina covers the unusual circumstances surrounding Edgar Allan Poe's disappearance, reappearance, and death. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy talk about college experiences with Gothic literature, and modern analysis of Ann Radcliffe's work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Once Ann Radcliffe retired from publishing, all kinds of rumors started to spread about her, including some that distressed her greatly. After she died, there was even more speculation. Research: Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Ann Radcliffe". Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Jul. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ann-Radcliffe-English-author Radcliffe, Ann. “The Romance of the Forest, interspersed with some pieces of poetry.” London. 1824. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/64701/pg64701-images.html Radcliffe, Ann. “Gaston de Blondeville: Or The Court of Henry III. Keeping Festival in Ardenne, a Romance. St. Alban's Abbey, a Metrical Tale: with Some Poetical Pieces, Volume 1.” H. Colburn. 1826. Accessed online: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=vi03AAAAIAAJ&rdid=book-vi03AAAAIAAJ&rdot=1 Radcliffe, Ann. “A Journey Made in the Summer of 1794, Through Holland and the Western Frontier of Germany, With a Return Down the Rhine: To Which Are Added Observations

In the space of a decade, Ann Radcliffe married, started writing, and had an incredibly successful career as an author. But after her 1797 novel, she retired, much to the confusion of her readers.  Research:  Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Ann Radcliffe". Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Jul. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ann-Radcliffe-English-author Radcliffe, Ann. “The Romance of the Forest, interspersed with some pieces of poetry.” London. 1824. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/64701/pg64701-images.html Radcliffe, Ann. “Gaston de Blondeville: Or The Court of Henry III. Keeping Festival in Ardenne, a Romance. St. Alban's Abbey, a Metrical Tale: with Some Poetical Pieces, Volume 1.” H. Colburn. 1826. Accessed online: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=vi03AAAAIAAJ&rdid=book-vi03AAAAIAAJ&rdot=1 Radcliffe, Ann. “A Journey Made in the Summer of 1794, Through Holland and the Western Frontier of Germany, With a Return Down the Rhine: To Which Are Added

This 2020 episode covers Mother Shipton, who may or may not have been a real person. She's described as everything from an oracle to a witch to the daughter of the devil, depending on which of the many sources you’re reading.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy talks about how Grimaldi's memoirs read more like a Dickens novel than a source of biographical information. Then, Holly and Tracy talk about plant diseases. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The eponymous Bramley and McIntosh apples are both lucky accidents, and both of them have stories which stretch from the early 19th century into present day.  Research: Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Ann Radcliffe". Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Jul. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ann-Radcliffe-English-author Radcliffe, Ann. “The Romance of the Forest, interspersed with some pieces of poetry.” London. 1824. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/64701/pg64701-images.html Facer, Ruth. “Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823).” Chawton House Library. 2012. http://www.chawtonhouse.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Ann-Radcliffe.pdf Dugdale, John. “Happy 250th, Ann Radcliffe.” The Guardian. Oct. 31, 2014. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/31/ann-radcliffe-gothic-pioneer-snubbed-horace-walpole-the-castle-of-oronto-250-years-celebrations#:~:text=Another%20250th%20anniversary%2C%20of%20Ann,sent%20up%20in%20Northanger%20Abbey. Flood, Allison. “Gothic fiction pioneer Ann Radcliffe may have

Joseph Grimaldi was one of England’s most famous Regency-era entertainers. Sometimes he’s described as the first modern clown, because he established a lot of the hallmarks of clowning that still exist today.  Research: Boyle, Laura. “Joseph Grimaldi, King of Clowns.” Jane Austen Centre. 4/14/2014. https://janeausten.co.uk/blogs/uncategorized/joseph-grimaldi-king-clowns Grimaldi, Joseph. “Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi.” Edited by Charles Dickens (“Boz”), illustrated by George Cruikshank. London, George Routledge and Sons. 1838. Kaplan, Charles. “The Only Native British Art Form.” The Antioch Review , Summer, 1984, Vol. 42, No. 3, "Divine Goalie" Sport and Religion (Summer, 1984). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/461136 Moody, Jane. "Grimaldi, Joseph [Joe] (1778–1837), actor and pantomimist." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. May 29, 2014. Oxford University Press. Date of access 7 Sep. 2023, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-11630 Read, Lesl

This 2019 episode covers Frieda Belinfante who broke gender barriers in becoming a conductor. She was also a member of the Dutch resistance, who risked her life during WWII in defiance of the German occupation of the Netherlands.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.