Skip to main content
Spooky Sconnie Podcast

Spooky Sconnie Podcast

By spookysconnie

A podcast that covers everything about Wisconsin, from true crime, from the paranormal to cryptids and wonderfully weird history. We‘ve got it all here hey, doncha know?
Available on
Apple Podcasts Logo
Castbox Logo
Google Podcasts Logo
Overcast Logo
Pocket Casts Logo
RadioPublic Logo
Spotify Logo
Currently playing episode

An Interview with Josh Armstrong

Spooky Sconnie PodcastMay 18, 2021

00:00
52:16
An Interview with Josh Armstrong
May 18, 202152:16
Lake View Sanitorium

Lake View Sanitorium

Image source

Check out This Podcast Will Kill You's TB episode

Script

Tuberculosis is a chronic bacterial infection, that passes through the air, and attacks the lungs (sometimes, it will attack other internal organs, as well). Patients with an "active" form of tuberculosis, may feel: weak, loss of appetite, fever, chest pains, night sweats, a persistent cough and may even cough up blood. It is possible to be a carrier for the bacteria without displaying symptoms (asymptomatic carrier).   TB in WI   By the late 1870s, concerns that cases of tuberculosis, often referred to as consumption, were increasing in Wisconsin were expressed.  Physicians identified the need to gather information about the number of cases, their locations, patient ages, and fatalities, in order to better understand the effects of the disease in Wisconsin.  The information could then be used to help determine how to reduce the spread of infection and to develop viable treatments.   The cause of tuberculosis was unknown until 1882, and speculation regarding the possible causes of the disease was widespread.  Reports were intermixed with discussions of supposed sources including “soil moisture,” “climate change” and “insufficient clothing.”  A large component of health professionals strongly believed the origin to be genetic. In 1882, when Robert Koch discovered that the cause of tuberculosis was a bacteria called tubercle bacillus, the medical community could finally begin to address controlling the spread of the disease based on limiting exposure to contamination.  However, not everyone was convinced by Koch’s work, and even those who endorsed it included individuals who felt it unwise to accept the bacteria as the only source of the disease.  Also, no treatment was known.  Therefore, movements to develop appropriate treatments based on the bacterial nature of the disease were not pursued in earnest immediately. The Wisconsin State Board of Health continued to support treatment through “purity of air and removal from all special causes of irritation to the lungs... and the general upbuilding of the system by nutritious diet, with relief from overwork and from depressing anxieties...”   The first statistical report on the prevalence of tuberculosis in Wisconsin was presented in 1894 stating: For the year ending September 30, 1893, according to the reports received from 593 localities in the state 622 deaths occurred from Consumption; and for the year ending September 30, 1894, from 648 localities 903 deaths are reported.  It is impossible to estimate the exact number of death that occur from this disease in the state at the present time.  Statistics in relation to these are of the most vital importance as it is now recognized that this is one of the preventable diseases with which we have to contend.   Collection of additional statistics, as well as intense advocacy efforts made by individuals and organizations, eventually led, in 1902, to the Wisconsin State Board of Health recommending the establishment of a state sanatorium for the care and treatment of patients with tuberculosis.7  In 1904, the Milwaukee county committee on tuberculosis was organized to “...address the question of the establishment of sanatoria for the treatment of consumption...” and to organize a campaign for the education of the public regarding the contagiousness of the disease and of the curability of consumption in the early stages.   Reports were
Nov 03, 202055:34
Tony Robinson

Tony Robinson

Photo source

Content note: murder, police brutality

With everything going on, I wanted to cover a murder-by-cop from 2015 that happened here in Madison. Tony Robinson was murdered by Madison PD Officer Matt Kenny - who murdered once before and is still on the force.

I lose my voice a little towards the end of this episode because it's a long one (that and I used my slightly-deeper-from-testosterone voice). Please listen with an open mind and without judgment going in.

There are resources below about racism, police brutality, and more. If you want to sign the petition to get Matt Kenny fired, you can do so here.

Episode sources

PS: right after I posted this, our mayor

Jun 10, 202001:48:09
Florence Peters

Florence Peters

Check out the following pods and spooky series
  • Buzzfeed Unsolved (find on YouTube, Buzzfeed app, Amazon Prime)
  • Mirths and Monsters
  • Nothing Rhymes with Murder
  • Straight-Up Enigmas
  • Octoberpod
  • Haunted Happenstance
  • 3 Spooked Girls
  • Unsolved, Unexplained
  • Horrifying History
  • Two Scared Siblings
Florence Peters  
Photo source   So, today's episode is close to home for me - literally. While I've spent nearly all my lockdown time at my partner's apartment in Middleton, our story is set in Westport - a tiny town between the north side of Madison and Waunakee. The apartment I'm in the middle of moving out of just so happens to be there on Westport Road.    Florence Peters and her husband John farmed together in the late 1930s. Their marriage wasn't in great shape. While John hadn't cheated, Florence had engaged in multiple affairs. So, when 23-year-old farmhand Edward Harvey came along in 1938, it didn't take long for the 38-year-old Florence to fall for him.    By July of that year, Florence had also grown tired of John. He was oblivious to the affair, but was cramping the couple's style. She sent Harvey out to the barn to grab some arsenic, something they had around for pest control. He was excited and ready to have Florence all to himself, and picked up the poison without saying a word.   While John was out milking the cows, Florence mixed him a drink. He fell ill that night and was confined to the bed. Meanwhile, Florence tried to play concerned wife. She was there to nurse him back to health, helping him with whatever he needed. One day, he asked her to fix him up a drink to help him feel better. She couldn't help but mix some more arsenic into milk. He got sicker and there were concerns from the townsfolk, especially the police.   See, as much as John hadn't noticed the affair, neither Florence nor Harvey were being discrete at all about their feelings for each other. Police brought Henry in for questioning, but he wasn't cooperative at all. He was released, despite being charged with resisting arrest, if he left the state.   Meanwhile, John had gotten so sick that he was moved to a hospital in Madison. Florence and her children moved to an apartment at 1335 Rutledge Street in Madison to be closer to John. That's only two blocks in from Lake Monona in what is now a pretty on-demand neighborhood. Harvey moved in with them secretly... or not so secretly.   By the end of September, the home was raided and both Florence & Harvey were arrested for committing 'lewd and lascivious' behavior for living together. Harvey explained that the two were engaged to be married once Florence divorced John. Nonetheless, the two were being held in jail.   In the meantime, John's family recalled a similar illness of someone in the community just a few years before. Henry Kessenich fell ill in 1930 in a similar manner. John's family asked the police to revisit the investigation and they performed an exhumation. The state toxicologist at the time, Dr. F.L. Kozelka, indeed found arsenic in the victim's hair roots and tissues.   Henry's wife had apparently wanted a divorce as she had fallen in love with a younger farmhand, but Henry had refused. As fall came on, the wife had gotten poison from the barn and put a small amount in Henry's tea. Within two days, he fell incredibly ill and began vomiting. Henry died quickly thereafter, and his death was attributed to pneumonia. Doctors were interested in doing an autopsy, but the widow didn't want it so they passed. While people in the community clearly were suspicious, there was no further investigation. The wife collected $1000 in life insurance, which would be just over $15k today.   In case you hadn't guessed, this was clearly Florence. Three years after his death, she married John Peters. Betw
May 03, 202033:26
Peter Kurten

Peter Kurten

Content note: abuse, incest, animal torture, bestiality, sexual assault, murder

Photo source

Rough transcript (will upload full one later this week)

Hello spooky friends!

I apologize for the long delay in new episodes. Life has been intense between moving, divorce stuff, and hockey. That's right - ya boy started playing hockey! I've continued the strong Wisconsin tradition of learning how to do a tough sport on a slippery surface.

Today's episode

The subject for this episode is one Peter Kurten. To those of you who think you recognize this name, you may be wondering why I'm covering him here. After all, this guy is a German serial killer. I won't spoil this yet, but there is a major Wisconsin connection at the end of the story.

Peter's Life

Peter Kurten was born in Mülheim am Rhein in Germany on May 26, 1883. He was the third of 13 children, although two of his siblings would die early on. His family lived in a one-bedroom apartment and his father routinely beat everyone in the family. Even worse, Peter's dad would often force the children to watch him and his wife have sex when he was drunk. In 1894, the father would be found guilty of committing incest with his oldest daughter, aged 13 at the time. Peter's mother was able to use this as a basis for separation and moved to Düsseldorf.

Throughout his childhood, Kurten would endure a number of hardships - and begin on the path to becoming a serial killer.

Because of his fathers' abuse, Peter's academic performance suffered. Additionally, he would run away frequently or try to stay at school as long as possible, avoiding returning home. He learned how to commit some petty crimes in order to keep himself fed while living on the streets.

At the age of 9, Peter claims to have committed his first murder. He pushed a school friend into the water, knowing this kid couldn't swim. Another kid jumped in to try to save the first and Peter claims he held both of their heads underwater, drowning them. Police wrote these off as accidental. 

  At the age of 13, Peter had a girlfriend. They were sexually active but she would not allow them to have PiV sex. Instead of just jerking it like the rest of us would do, Peter resorted to bestiality. Soon, he found he could not orgasm without stabbing these animals during the act. He swore that he stopped this after being discovered doing this with a pig. Of course, this followed a time when he befriended a local dog catcher who let him sidekick it up during work. Together, they would abuse the animals they caught. Around this time, he also tried to rape the sister who had already suffered sexual abuse at the hands of their father.   An FBI profile of Kürten's criminal behavior later concluded his compulsion to abuse and torture animals and to commit arson were a manifestation of his need to feel a sense of control in response to his chronically abusive upbringing.   The arrests begin   In total, Kürten would serve 17 separate sentences of imprisonment between 1899 and his arrest, the combined total of which equals 27 years of his life. Let's dig into why...   He was arrested in 1899 after stealing money from his boss and skipping town, serving a month. In November of that year, he claims to have committed his first adult murder. He stated that he picked up an 18-year-old girl and persuaded her to accompany him. He claimed to have engaged in sex with the her before strangling her to death with his bare hands. In 1900, he would be arrested again for fraud and attempted murder by gun of a young girl. He served four years in Derendorf, a borough of Düsseldorf.   Upon being released, he was drafted into the 98th Infantry Regiment of the German army. He quickly defected and began committing acts of arson. He was arrested on New Year's Eve, admitting to 24 counts of arson. He also stated t
Apr 13, 202052:08
The Disappearance of Georgia Jean Weckler

The Disappearance of Georgia Jean Weckler

Content note: murder, sexual assault

Photo source

Everyone and their BFFs confessed to the abduction and murder of Georgia Jean, but her disappearance remains unsolved over 70 years later. If that wasn't enough to bring out the feels, I'm in the middle of a surprise divorce!

Also! The True Crime Podcast festival is this Saturday, July 13, at the Marriott Downtown, right on the magnificent mile. There are over 80 true crime podcasters coming - including True Crime Obsessed and even me!

This is a full-day event, and gives you a chance to meet your favourite podcasters in a large-scale meet-and-greet, with several panel discussions and live episodes too. Come hang out! To find out more and join the almost 400 people who have bought tickets, head to tcpf2019.com or look for it on social media. I can't wait to see you there!!

Resources

Transcript

Please note this is a rough transcript due to time limitations. I'll come back and fix it!

Welcome to the most belated episode of the Spooky Sconnie podcast thus far. This is the podcast that seeks to dive into everything from Wisconsin, from the true crime and paranormal stuff to cryptids and just wonderfully weird Wisconsin history. And I'm your host, Kirsten Schultz.

----more----

It's been a minute, a couple minutes, several weeks. Um, I owe y'all an explanation. If you don't already follow the social media channels for the podcast, then you probably haven't heard because I'm shit at posting on the Pod Bean, a app on its own, like updates. Um, but I am in the middle of getting a divorce and it's not necessarily a hundred percent amicable on my side, but it's kind of a surprise divorce for me at least. So it's been a rough couple of weeks and I needed to take some space, stepped back from a couple of things to take care of myself and, um, you know, dive in with all of my energy to finding a new place, which I have found one. Um, I signed the lease today and I move in, um, in about two weeks, a little less. Um, and my goal is hopefully by the beginning of August to be fully moved into that new place and, um, hopefully be putting out some more regular episodes, between now and then. It might be a little funky. Yeah. Not sure schedule wise, what's going to work. so far I've gotten basically almost everything that I own in our apartment up into our loft space, which was like my office anyway. Um, and I'm sleeping on a Futon, which is not great for my chronic illnesses and my back and so many things. Um, but you know, have to do what we can do till we can do better I guess.

Um, yeah, so like I said, episodes will probably be infrequent until, mm, Probably middle of August or something like that. Um, so this will be the kind of the last episode for a couple of weeks again, but, uh, I'm hoping to kind of like plunge into late summer slash fall, um, deeply and really be able to have more time set aside to doing research too. Um, you know, finding new things to talk about and

Jul 09, 201945:08
The Beast of Bray Road

The Beast of Bray Road

Content note: animal mutilations with details   Pic source   This week, I'm covering the Beast of Bray Road - just like Em from And That's Why We Drink did during one of their live shows here in Madison this week. I'd totally planned it already, so the coincidences are the best. What do you expect from the two coolest theybes?   Resources Transcript  

Welcome to episode nine of the Spooky Sconnie podcast, the podcast that covers everything fun from Wisconsin, from the criminal and the paranormal to the just plain weird. I'm your host, Kirsten Schultz. And on this edition we're covering a story I got to see live this week actually, um, this week, the wonderful podcast And That's Why We Drink was here in town. And I went and saw them both nights. They were performing at comedy on state, on state street here in Madison, and it was a really great time. Um, I love Em and Christine, the two of them are just hilarious, and it's always fun when I get to see them and say hi. So I really enjoyed that and they covered some cool stuff that I'll be bringing up soon. Um, although I guess, you know, really they covered two stories I've already done too, which is kind of cool.

----more----

Um, and that's probably my husband's fault, but I won't get into that. But, uh, no, I, I love And That's Why We Drink. I love Em and Christine and, and it was great fun to be able to see them this week. Um, and one of the stories that Em covered actually was the beast of Bray Road. So I was already planning on doing it for this week's episode and it just pushed me to do it even more. Em did a really great job and I'm not going to be able to live up to the amazing, amazing humor that they injected into the story. But I'll try.

Before I get started, just another reminder that the um, true crime podcast festival in Chicago is coming up on July 13th. That is a Saturday. It is a one day deal and yours truly, we'll be there. I will have some goodies for sale, and you might even just be able to win some of them. So, you know, come the tickets aren't that pricey. Come hang out. There's a lot of other great podcasts that will be there too. Um, and it'll be a great time. I know, I'm really excited to see True Crime Obsessed the night before - they have a show which the tickets are already sold out. I'm so sorry for bringing it up, but, um, I'm really excited to be able to go listen to them, cover a story and enjoy them in person to the true crime and paranormal podca

May 11, 201901:14:11
The Witches of Whitewater and the Morris Pratt Institute

The Witches of Whitewater and the Morris Pratt Institute

Content note: mention of suicide, anti-semitism

In this week's belated episode, I talk about the witches of Whitewater, the Morris Pratt Institute, and how traditional views of what's 'weird' shift throughout time. Don't forget to check out the True Crime Podcast Festival in Chicago. Look, I know it's not until July, but it was SNOWING today and I need something to look forward to in my new older age.

Photo of the Morris Pratt Institute from Wisconsin Historical Images

Resources

Transcript

Welcome to another edition of the Spooky Sconnie Podcast, the podcast that talks about everything, wonderfully creepy, spooky, criminal, and weird in the state of Wisconsin. I'm your host, Kirsten Schultz. And before we dive in to today's very interesting topic, I do just want to remind everybody that I will be at the true crime podcast festival in Chicago that's coming up in July on the 13th. It's a Saturday, it's just the one day, but it's like all day. We did get some more details that um, there's going to be a meet and greet portion of the event with a kind of a relaxed atmosphere and that podcasters are going to be around in the main hall, um, so that you can come meet with us and hang out. So you know, come hang out. The website for that is tcpf2019.com and you can get your tickets and see all the cool stuff going on. I apologize for this episode being late. Um, yesterday was my birthday and I chose to go get drunk and eat a hamburger instead of recording my podcast. But also I have just started a new full time job and my schedule's been a lot busier because of that and because of some of the other volunteer stuff I'm doing. So I just didn't have time to record. I mean I probably did, let's be honest, but I didn't really.

----more----

So, um, for today's episode we're going to be talking abo

Apr 28, 201944:29
Gaylord Nelson, Earth Day, and A Racism

Gaylord Nelson, Earth Day, and A Racism

This week, let's talk about the father of Earth Day! He did a lot of great stuff - like pushing for side effects to be listed with medications - and preached some racisms. Why do people suck so much?

Resources

Featured image from NASA

Transcript

Welcome to another edition of the Spooky Sconnie Podcast, the podcast that talks about everything, spooky paranormal, and weird in the state of Wisconsin. Since it's April, I thought that it would be remiss of me to not discuss the founder of Earth Day and the actual founding. And it was created by a Wisconsinite naturally. His name was Gaylord Nelson and he was born on June 4th, 1916 in a city called Clear Lake. Um, it's located up in Polk county which is kind of the upper north western corner of the state and it's about an hour away from Minneapolis. Nelson's father's parents - so his parental grandparents - were immigrants from Norway who moved to the area in 1878 and I couldn't find much about his maternal grandparents, but his mother was a nurse. Um, at least she completed the training to do that, but she spent most of the time kind of at home, spending time with the kids, that kind of stuff.

----more----

She taught Nelson a lot about the natural landscape and the world around him - while Nelson's father who was a doctor and very politically active, taught him about political life. And this reminded me a lot actually of college in an interesting way. Um, one of my history professors in college who I love, uh, we had a course on feminism in history and we talked a lot about the two spheres of the world in about the same time period. You had the domestic sphere, which was the realm of the woman who, you know, cleaned house and all of that. And then you had the public sphere, which was the realm of the man who did all of the outward things and voted and all that crap. So I had, this was a really clear cut example of that, which was interesting. In the time period we're talking about Clear Lake was not a great space to be in. There was a lot of pollution. Um, there was a lot of poverty. Of course, we're talking leading up to the Great Depression, which was not great anywhere, but especially in kind of tiny towns and rural areas. The Great Depression, you know, brought a lot of itinerant workers to the area. Um, a lot of people got grumpy about itineran

Apr 13, 201954:30
Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison

Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison

In this episode, I give an update in the Jayme Closs case before going on to cover the history of one of the coooooolest cemeteries in Wisconsin - Forest Hill in Madison. Come learn about the northernmost Confederate cemetery, effigy mounds, and some willllddd history - oh, and make sure to visit the FB page for pics!

Resources

Transcript

Welcome back to the Spooky Sconnie Podcast - the podcast that talks about everything, spooky, funky, criminal and weird in the state of Wisconsin. Before I dive into this week's topic, I wanted to give an update because I'm recording this right now on Wednesday the 27th and that means Jake Patterson who abducted Jayme Closs and killed her parents in October of 2018 was just arraigned and pled guilty to charges. So I wanted to talk a little bit about that before I dive into today's topic. Upon entering the court, he was crying and sniffling as he answered the judge's questions. He pled guilty to the three charges against him, which was killing Jayme's father, killing Jayme's mother, and then kidnapping Jayme. Um, the murders bring with them a life sentence while the kidnapping charge could be up to 40 years. So he's basically facing, um, two life sentences and an extra 40 years.

----more----

It seems as though from what I've read, that he struck a plea deal in this case, which means that, um, no other charges during the time that he had Jayme in his possession will be brought up as well as he won't be charged with armed burglary, which was part of this as well. So, um, for people wondering if Jayme had undergone any sexual violence with him, we still don't know. My guess is, again probably, but at this point they don't want to put her through talking about that. And I would say rightly so. Um, he, as I said, pled guilty to all those three counts and will be sentenced on May 24th. As he was being led out of the court, he said "bye, Jayme." She was not in the courtroom. I, I'm sure that he wants to think that she's watching, but her family has been shielding her from basically all of the coverage around this case.

Over the weekend of the 16th here, um, he had a call with WCCO, which is, um, uh, a local news station, I believe out of Minneapolis with one of their reporters that also made the Today Show. And I wanted to give a little bit of an update about that. Um, he said that he knew he wasn't supposed to talk to the reporters but he didn't care. Um, and that he doesn't want to cause any more harm, which to be frank, I think talking to the reporters and basically coming into people's living rooms is causing more harm. But that's just me. He talked about that he wants to talk to her [Jayme] but knows he can't.

Mar 30, 201901:05:22
Jeffrey Dahmer, Part 2

Jeffrey Dahmer, Part 2

Content note: animal abuse, murder, rape, sexual violence, torture, necrophilia, child molestation, drug use and misuse, cannibalism, gross details of so many things, sanism, and ableism.

Photo: Dahmer's sketch of his body altar, courtesy of Oxygen.

Even thought part one wasn't even an hour, I wanted to be rid of Dahmer as quickly as humanly fucking possible, y'all. So, part 2 is almost two hours long... but we don't have to talk about it anymore.

This episode starts right as he moves into the notorious apartment on North 25th Street. For the early stuff, make sure to listen to the first episode.

Resources

All the other links I said I'd include

Transcription

Welcome back to the Spooky Sconine podcast. This is the podcast that

Mar 16, 201901:45:36
Jeffrey Dahmer, Part 1

Jeffrey Dahmer, Part 1

Content note: animal abuse, murder, rape, sexual violence, torture, necrophilia, child molestation, drug use and misuse, cannibalism, and ableism.

Photo: Mug shot of Dahmer taken by the Milwaukee Police Department, July 1991

The Jeffrey Dahmer case is a wild ride, so it's time for the first 2-parter. Find out how Dahmer got his start. This episode goes right up until he moves into the notorious apartment on North 25th Street.

Resources

Transcription

Welcome to this first 2 part episode of the Spooky Sconnie podcast. This is the podcast that talks about everything that is interesting, funky, spooky, criminal, and just plain weird from the state of Wisconsin. For this episode & the next episode, we will be talking about Jeffrey Dahmer who is probably the most well known serial killer from the State of Wisconsin. And being on top of that, he is relatively recent. Um, he was still killing people when I was like four. So a lot of older millennials are very aware and, um, I think probably have memories of, um, you know, seeing information about this case on the news depending on if they were allowed to watch the news a young age. I didn't have any barriers on what I could watch, so I watched a lot. Um, a couple of content notes for these two episodes. Uh, because this is a wild case. We're going to be talking about [animal abuse], murder, rape, sexual violence, torture, necrophilia, child molestation, drug use, and misuse, cannibalism and ableism. So Woo, prepare yourself. Let's just start right in. Just do it.

----more----

Jeffery Lionel Dahmer was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on May 21st, 1960. He was the first of two sons to be born to Joyce, Annette Flint and Lionel Herbert Dahmer. Joyce worked as a teletype machine instructor and his father was studying at Marquette University working towards a degree in chemistry. There are conflicting reports on whether or not, uh, Dahmer had a lot of attention as a child. Some accounts say he was very doted upon, others say he was not. Um, it's really difficult to say, I think. He was described as an energetic and happy child until age four when he had to have surgery to correct a double hernia. And he seemed to go through a lot of changes after that.

He recalled his early years of family life being of extreme tension, which he noted between his parents who were constantly arguing with each other. At elementary school, he was regarded as quiet and timid. And on his first grade or report card, one teacher described him as a reserved child whom she sensed felt neglected, and she thought that this neglect stemmed from his mother's chronic health issues. And we can talk all about that on my other podcast, it's called the chronic sex podcast where I talk about a lot of things that have to do with chronic illness, disability and sexuality. So while that is not, uh - while parenting with a chronic illness is not something I've covered yet, that is definitely on the docket for that one. But needless to say, somebody can be chronically ill or disabled and still be a great parent, so let's not resort to ableism with that. Cool.

During this time, Joyce had been spending a lot of time in bed recovering from probably a flare up of a condition. Um, it's unknown or un-noted from the information I found. A lot of it seemed to suggest she was just hysterical and wanted attention and that is clearly not true. Lionel was studying so much that he was away a lot. And when h

Mar 01, 201936:39
Minisode 2: Jayme Closs updates

Minisode 2: Jayme Closs updates

Content note: discussion of ableism/sanism at the end, mentions of sexual violence and murder throughout (no details), general dudely creepitude

Photo of creepy letter courtesy of Radar Online (link below)

In this minisode, I discuss the updates on the Closs case that have happened in the last month. Dude sent a creepy ass letter this week, too, and now I feel like I need to shower.

Further Reading & Sources

Transcript

Welcome to the second minisode in the Jayme Closs case coverage. Please go back and listen to the first one if you are not familiar with the case because it gives a lot of background and everything that has happened up until the end of January, 2019. As of February 6th, Patterson was arraigned. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing and his next arraignment date is set for March 27th that is when he is expected to formally enter a plea. He has of course already confessed to the crimes, but

Feb 23, 201920:60
The Taliesin Murders

The Taliesin Murders

Content note: discussion murder throughout, mentions of racism

Featured photo: An early photograph of Taliesin, taken during its first winter, 1911–12 by Henry Fuermann and Sons | Wisconsin Historical Society http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/whi/fullimage.asp?id=83133| Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28958581 It's time to talk about one of the most outrageous figures in Wisconsin history and the murder spree at his Spring Green home that changed his life. That's right - it's Taliesin murder time, baby!

Further Reading

Transcript

Welcome to a new episode of the Spooky Sconnie podcast, the podcast that talks about the paranormal, the criminal, and the just plain weird about the state of Wisconsin. Um, if you are already following the podcast, you may have noticed that I skipped our last episode, which means it's been about a month since I put out an episode. The week I was going to record this episode was just really, really hectic and lots of stuff happened. And then I got laryngitis and literally like sounded like a kid going through puberty and really just couldn't, um, couldn't record. I didn't want to put anyone through that. So now my voice's 90% better and uh, it's time for a new episode.

----more----

Before I get into today's topic, um, I just did want to mention that I do have an event coming up in July. It's, - look, it's really cold and very snowy here, so I'm just thinking happy thoughts. July in Chicago is the happy thought for me right now. Um, there is a podcast festival, the true crime podcast festival, happening on July 13th. And, um, you can learn more about it if you go to their site, which is t c p f like true crime podcast festival tcpf2019.com. I am officially a registered podcast for that festival. I'm very excited to be going there. I have not quite entirely sure what that all entails. All I know is that I get to be recognized at the festival with 'designated podcaster gear.' So I dunno if that means like a table or booth or something. I Dunno. Um, I will let you know if slash when I find out, but that will again be happening in Chicago on July 13th. It's just a one day thing. Um, and you know, if you're going, let me know. Let's hang out. Uh, I may be getting some gear, like some cool, uh, bottle openers and magnets and buttons and Shit and give that away while I'm there.

If you find me, we'll have to work something fun out. Um, and I'm really excited about that. I'm really excited about that. I love Chicago. It's one of my favorite places. And honestly, if I had the money, I would just move to there. I want to move to there. Um, I'll be honest, like a large part of why wouldn't mind living there is I love the subway. I, I don't know. I don't know what's wrong with me. Um, I love like a lot of local businesses to Chicago. Like Do Rite Donuts. They make bomb gluten free donuts and like, it's like heaven. It's like heaven. I actually really even like driving in downtown

Feb 16, 201942:21
The Hodag of Rhinelander

The Hodag of Rhinelander

Hodag photo by Gourami Watcher - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28838534

In this short episode, I discuss the hodag. It's a cryptid that's put Rhinelander, Wisconsin, on the map. Sadly, it's not real, but the city has embraced it in a wild way.

Further reading

Transcript

Welcome to another episode of the Spooky Sconnie Podcast. This week we'll be talking about a cryptid from northern Wisconsin, known as the Hodag. It is probably one of the most well known Wisconsin cryptids, but it's probably not a real thing, which is kind of sad. To understand the Hodag, we have to understand the man named Eugene shepherd who supposedly discovered this monster. He was born in 1854 in Green Bay and later moved to Rhinelander. Rhinelander is two and a half hours east and slightly north of Green Bay, so it was a fairly large move at the time. He held a ton of jobs, including a few at a logging camp. Um, Rhinelander is a pretty prime area for logging, being kind of up in the north woodsy area.

----more----

Shepherd was a man who loved exploring and he actually named a ton of the lakes up in the area and made maps that we still use today, which is really fascinating. He also claims to have invented Paul Bunyan, but he's also well known jokester and kind of an exaggerator. So who knows? His claim to fame is the Hodag, which is a ferocious mythical beast that's a cross between a wild boar and a hungry alligator. So, supposedly in the early 1890s, Shepherd was walking in the woods just after sunset. You can just see it - picturesque it's beautiful. You just want to like take a walk with someone you love, but then he starts smelling something. There's a foul smell. There's noises in the bushes, and suddenly he comes face to face with this monstrosity with glowing eyes and terrible breath. Apparently what he saw according to the authors of Wisconsin Lore is “The animal’s back resembled that of a dinosaur, and his tail, which extended to an enormous length, had a spear-like end….The legs were short and massive and the claws were thick and curved denoting great strength…From the broad muscular mouth, sharp, glistening white teeth protruded.”

Shepherd later gathered a group of locals and they all formed a search party that allegedly killed a Hodag using dynamite, which feels like the most Wisconsin thing.

There's actually a photo of the men surrounding a hodag's charred remains in a local newspaper. A couple of years later, Shepherd apparently catches a live Hodag. He takes out on tour with him to various county fairs. Visitors would run screaming from the tent after seeing the animal suddenly move inside its cage. It's interesting how he set it up. It's very similar to how he set it up with the 1896 Oneida County Fair where the Hodag was basically the centerpiece. He would charge a dime for a peek, which, like, you were at the very far end of a dimly lit tent and then suddenly the Hodag would move and you would freak out. After that fair, Shepherd quit his job as a timber cruiser and took up one as real estate broker. He then spent his whole life promoting Rhinelander and the Hodag that made it famous. He died in 1923.

Before that, you know, people started hearing about the hodag and the Smithsonian even announced that it wanted to investigate. And that's when Shepherd finally cam

Jan 19, 201914:08
Minisode 1: Jayme Closs Recovered!

Minisode 1: Jayme Closs Recovered!

Content note: discussion of murder and kidnapping, mention of sexual violence (no details), general dudely creepitude

Welcome to the Spooky Sconnie podcast, the show that talks about the spooky, paranormal, criminal, and just plain odd Badger State. While we're known for sportsball and food, there's a lot more to learn about Wisconsin if you know where to look.

In this first minisode on the subject, I discuss the Jayme Closs case. Three months after her parents double murder and her kidnapping, Jayme was recently found. Details are still coming out about her captivity and, yesterday, her captor - Jake Thomas Patterson - was officially charged.

Further reading

 

Transcript

Welcome to the first minisode of the Spooky Sconnie Podcast, the podcast that talks about all things creepy, weird, spooky, and more in the state of Wisconsin. One of the things that I think it's very interesting about true crime is when you get the opportunity to cover a case as it unfolds when you are a podcaster or a writer or what have you, and I wanted to take time today to talk about a fairly well known kidnapping. The recently occurred here in Wisconsin and is actually reaching the trial stage and I'll talk about all the details and get you all caught up if you haven't heard about what's going on, um, since this case is going to start going to trial potentially in February. This will be, um, you know, I would imagine a longer minisode series, um,and we'll just see where it takes us. Some of the episodes might be really short, some of them may be fairly long and this one will probably be a longer one just because of, uh, getting everyone up to speed on the kidnapping of Jayme Closs and her recovery.

----more----

At the center of this case are two, uh, locations in Wisconsin. The first is Barron, Wisconsin, which is located in the northwest of the state. Um, it's a city, so there's a town of Barron and surrounding that town is the city of Barron and is located in Barron county. This happens so much in Wisconsin specifically as wild. Uh, let's be more imaginative with names. I don't know. Anyway, there's an estimated 3,300 people in the area and it's actually closer to Lake Superior, one of the Great Lakes than it is to Madison. In fact, it's roughly 220 miles or about three and a half hours away by car from Madison versus being about an hour and 45 minutes in slightly different directions from both Minneapolis or Lake Superior.

Gordon, Wisconsin, the other city that is really being focused on in this case, is up in Douglas County. This is, at least in my eyes, the most northwestern county in the state of Wisconsin. In 2000, there were only 645 people living there permanently and that really hasn't changed 19 years later, which is weird. Anyway, um, as, as par for the course for Wisconsin, there are a lot of cabins where people come up and stay throughout the year, use for hunting, use for snow sports, use to be close to the lake because it is only about 35

Jan 15, 201933:15
The Pfister Hotel

The Pfister Hotel

Welcome to the Spooky Sconnie podcast, the show that talks about the spooky, paranormal, criminal, and just plain odd Badger State. While we're known for sportsball and food, there's a lot more to learn about Wisconsin if you know where to look.

In this episode, I cover the Pfister - a Milwaukee hotel spooky enough to scare off professional atheletes... and fancy enough to keep the pleebs like me away. We'll cover fun history, baseball, and portly gents.

Also, does this look like it's seemlessly integrated? I don't think so.

Further reading

The next episode should be out by January 19th.

Transcript

Hey! In case you haven't listened to the first episode, I'm Kirsten Schultz and I'm your host. We talk about everything weird and creepy and spooky and random in Wisconsin. I really love true crime and I was really kind of getting bummed that the only few things being covered in Wisconsin constantly are Ed Gein and Jeffrey Dahmer. And while both of their stories are interesting, there's so much more to Wisconsin. So thanks for tuning in. Thanks for wanting to learn more about Wisconsin and random creepy shit.

This week I wanted to do one of the coolest places. I have never been in the state. The Pfister hotel in Milwaukee is expensive enough to scare off the average person (i.e., me) and haunted enough to scare off even professional athletes.

----more----

Located at 424 East Wisconsin Avenue, the Pfister Hotel ope

Jan 05, 201931:09
St. Coletta's and Rosemary Kennedy

St. Coletta's and Rosemary Kennedy

Content note: discussion of ableism/sanism, forced medical procedures, the fucking patriarchy

Welcome to the Spooky Sconnie podcast, the show that talks about the spooky, paranormal, criminal, and just plain odd Badger State. While we're known for sportsball and food, there's a lot more to learn about Wisconsin if you know where to look.

In this first episode, I cover St. Coletta's School in Jefferson, Wisconsin, lobotomies, and the Kennedy family.

Further reading

Transcript

You're listening to the Spooky Sconnie Podcast. I'm your host Kirsten Schultz. I have lived in Wisconsin for 12 years now and one of the things that always surprises me and that has pushed me to create this podcast is when we talk about odd things, creepy things, paranormal things, there are only a few things that people think about when they think about Wisconsin and usually quite frankly it's Ed Gein and Jeffrey Dahmer, and as creepy as those two motherfuckers are, there is so much more to this state then either have them or beer or cheese or the packers. And that's really what I want to talk about on this podcast. We'll touch on things from aliens to cryptids to plain odd facts to haunted towns, to serial killers and true crime. It will be a really fun journey and I'm really excited that you're listening. I hope this is something that you'll wind up liking and subscribing to, to kind of break with the traditional podcast thing.

----more----

Um, I do just want to list kind of my social media at the top of the show in case you want to peek around. The twitter is at SpookySconnie - that's s-p-o-o-k-y-s-c-o-n-n-i-e and our instagram is SpookySconniePodcast, so just pop the name of the podcast in there and the facebook page is also SpookySconniePodcast. So, hopefully that makes it easy for you to find. I think that's all the social media I've got set up right now. If you have creepy Sconnie stories you want to send in, you can send them in at SpookySconniePodcast@gmail.com. And I will eventually work on doing some listeners episodes, um, with this being the first episode of the podcast and want to do something like super creepy or super terrifying. But I wanted to do something I was really interested in.

And um, as someone who lives with a number of chronic illnesses and deals with mental health issues, something that I was surprised to learn recently was that Rosemary Kennedy, lived in Wisconsin for the bulk of her life and that has to do with a place called St Coletta's in Jefferson. Jefferson is a city that's about halfway between Madison and Milwaukee. Madison is our capital, uh, and where the Wisconsin badgers reside and where I reside, and Milwaukee is probably the most well known Wisconsin city. It sits on the West Bank of Lake Michigan and um, that's where Jeffrey Dahmer played around. So... Some very different spaces as well, geographically, Milwaukee's very flat. Um, the, the glaciers back in the glacier moving era of the world, um, moved through that area pretty quickly. So there's a lot of flat land, whereas the further west you move in Wisconsin, you actually get to what is known as the driftless area where the glaciers didn't move through.

And so I'm in Madison and, west of here, we have a lot of rolling hills and things like that. Jefferson is, I would say it where it starts to get a little hilly, um, but not enough to where you're like, whew, rollercoaster on

Dec 31, 201855:04