Speaker 1: 0:00

For our weekly episode, we have a bonus episode to share with you all. If you like more content like this, for just $3 a month, become an official Wanderer. We release these as part of our listener package when you subscribe. We appreciate each and every one of you and remember to keep on wandering. Hi, I'm Hannah and I'm Courtney. Join us as we delve into true crime, paranormal encounters and all things spooky.

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Grab your flashlight and get ready to wander into the darkness with us.

Speaker 1: 0:37

This is Wicked.

Speaker 2: 0:38

Wanderings.

Speaker 1: 0:55

Hi Courtney, hi Hannah, how are you? I'm great, how are you Good. So you've got this interesting little trivia book for a little bonus episode.

Speaker 2: 1:04

Yeah, so I was thinking a lot about the Wanderers because it's spooky season and I was on a weekend outing, kind of going to the bookstore which, if you don't know me, that's kind of what I do for relaxation, for decompression, for fun, all those things and I was perusing a different Barnes Noble than where I go to. I actually don't remember where in Connecticut I was, but I was in Connecticut and I saw that they had a true crime book with all trivia questions and I was thinking it was kind of fun because Hannah and I a long, long time ago, way back when we used to go to Trivia at the 99.

Speaker 1: 1:34

Oh, my god yes.

Speaker 2: 1:37

And Rob was always way better at trivia than us Shout out. Rob. But I was like you know what kind of trivia we would nail True crime, true crime. And then, as I quickly flipped through it, I was like damn, I don't know any of this stuff. Yes. So I was like you know what the Wanderers might really enjoy this too. So I figured I'd buy it and we could go through a couple of them for some different bonus episodes.

Speaker 1: 1:56

I love that so much so we're going to start at the, just like see where it takes us. It's a long book.

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So if you really want to know all about it, I mean you can get it, but it could be more fun to do it with us.

Speaker 1: 2:07

And it's called Totally Terrifying. True Crime Trivia by Brian Boone.

Speaker 2: 2:12

We'll link that in the show notes for you too, as always. Show notes.

Speaker 1: 2:15

Show notes. So the first chapter is actually called Murder Most Foul, and underneath it says the most bizarre, horrifying and surprising tales of murder history has to offer. Ooh Up my alley. So the first one we're going to talk about is John Walsh. The creator and host of America's Most Wanted had a six-year-old son who was abducted and murdered.

Speaker 2: 2:33

Wow, and see, I wouldn't have known that the host of America's Most Wanted. I knew that you know why.

Speaker 1: 2:39

I know that Rob told me.

Speaker 2: 2:42

The king of trivia himself. Right, this is what I mean. Wanderers Rob is like a wealth of information. If you don't know Rob in real life. He's a gem, he knows things about literally everything he's going to edit this out.

Speaker 2: 2:54

He's going to edit this out. You better not edit this out If you don't know Rob. Rob is also not here. He's working. The biggie Shout out. We love a hard-working man. We do um, but he really does no trivia about all sorts of things. So I'm not surprised, though I am impressed that he already knew that.

Speaker 1: 3:10

Yeah, so me and rob like to watch the show cops. I mean, sometimes it's weird watching because it's like okay, there is police brutality even when it's being videotaped, but not always. I just want to say that for the record. But anyways, besides the point, uh, john walsh was actually on one of the episodes, really yes, and ron's like oh well, you know the reason he started was because, you know, his own child got killed and I was like really interesting. No, idea.

Speaker 2: 3:33

No, me neither, and I've definitely. I mean, I wouldn't say that I watched that a lot, but I would say that I have watched quite a few different episodes, especially like for research, for for the podcast, like if I'm looking at something then I go look it up and see if it's on there. But I did not know that at all until just now.

Speaker 1: 3:47

I know Interesting, right, even though I purchased the book.

Speaker 2: 3:49

I didn't read that one.

Speaker 1: 3:51

While his mother looked at lamps at a Sears. Oh, sears oh.

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God come back.

Speaker 1: 3:56

In July 1981, adam Walsh went to check out the Atari games games Some teens were playing, got into a fight about whose turn it was and store security threw everybody out, including Adam. After 90 minutes of fruitless searching in and around the store for Adam, revae Walsh contacted police. Two weeks later the severed head of Adam Walsh was found in a drainage canal 130 miles away. Two years later, serial killer Otis Toole, in prison for a different murder, confessed to Walsh's murder, which he later recanted. Authorities still determined Toole to be responsible and the case was closed. The tragedy inspired Adam's father, john, to create a show that could bring justice and closure to other families.

Speaker 2: 4:32

I did not know that and it's an icon name of a show Like crazy, right, right, and I feel like that's so awesome that he went on to actually, you know, do something else with it too. Yeah, I feel like what a good way to do that. If anybody knew about that or didn't know about that, send us a text. We love getting texts. If you're not familiar with that, Text us. We definitely get texts. Again, it's totally compliant with you know, maintaining your privacy. We only see, like, the town and the city that you're from and we can't text you back. We can't text you back. We can't text you back, but we do love to read the text and read them on the air. Yep, shout out cousin mark. And come on, sarah texas, come on, sarah texas, girl texas. Okay. So the next one in this same chapter uh, murder, most foul says snuff films are an urban legend. What's a snuff?

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film. Should I look that up?

Speaker 2: 5:24

I'm gonna tell you okay, look that up because I don't want to read ahead. But yeah, snuff films are an urban legend, google. I don't really have a thought about this because I'm still wondering what a snuff film is. Um, I thought I thought it was like about people being murdered, but I'm not really.

Speaker 1: 5:41

Yeah, so it's a theoretical film that depicts a real murder, usually for financial gain. The term is based on the idea that the film snuffs out life okay, okay.

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So we're talking about, like a real crime that happened and we're videotaping it to make money off of it. Okay, I'm not the actual crime, like a recreation. Okay, I could. I could see why that would piss people off.

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Snuff films are an urban legend so snuff films, videotaped records of the murder of a human being, factor prominently into the plots of many unsettling movies, but they aren't real. No law enforcement agency in the us, europe or asia has ever discovered one. Their existence as an urban legend set off in the early 1970s when filmmaker ed sanders claimed in the charles manson documentary the family that the murder cult had used super 8 cameras to make brutality films. No such tapes ever surfaced, so it's not about the recreation.

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Snuff films are legitimate filming of of murder, but they don't exist so is it like if they pretended it was a film in order.

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I don't know Wonders. That's weird. What do you think about that? I mean, really, I know we're trying to get you guys to text us, but Hannah and I both don't know much about this. So if you know anything about snuff films or you have thoughts about snuff films, send us a text. Definitely, send us a text on that one. The next one, kathleen Peterson, may have died as the result of an owl attack.

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Oh, owls also my favorite animal I don't know if you know that really, I really actually didn't. I mean, I I knew you liked owls because when we were at the biggie I saw rob pointing at it. Um, but I didn't know they were your favorite. Do you know who kathleen peterson is? No, me neither. Okay, I do see. So. The popular true crime documentary the staircase made it seem like michael peterson had killed had killed his wife Kathleen in 2001 by pushing her down a flight of stairs.

Speaker 1: 7:39

Oh, yes, I know about this.

Speaker 2: 7:42

Yes, yes, yes. So it says Peterson was convicted but later released on a technical error by the prosecution, leading his attorney to investigate the possible real killer, a barred owl Native to the Petersons' hometown in coastal North Carolina. Barred owls are known to attack humans unprovoked. Kathleen Peterson's head bore talon marks and owl feathers were discovered on her body. What Can you imagine? He was convicted and later released for killing his wife, but it was an owl Sus, I mean pervert was an owl Sus, I mean perfect rhyme right.

Speaker 1: 8:17

So what? The owl got in the house scared her, clawed at her and she fell.

Speaker 2: 8:22

Well, it says that they they are native to the area in North Carolina and that they are known to attack humans unprovoked.

Speaker 1: 8:30

I mean, like, what are the odds of that happening?

Speaker 2: 8:33

And it well. I mean, what are the odds of that happening? And it well. So it seems like it must have been in the house, because they were saying that he was convicted for pushing her down the stairs.

Speaker 1: 8:50

I don't know about that one Might have to do a little bit more investigating If that's the same case that I'm thinking of. There is a documentary and there's also a movie that was made.

Speaker 2: 8:57

Yeah, so it sounds like there's a true crime documentary the staircase yeah, there's also a film too, I heard.

Speaker 2: 9:03

If you're interested in, in hearing more about that, um, or if you have thoughts about the owl, um, and we'll do, we'll do another one, we'll do one more for you. Um, an exonerated murderer met the real perpetrator of the crimes he didn't commit in prison. Say that one more time. An exonerated murderer, so meaning somebody who did not. He was charged but exonerated so he did not actually commit the murders. He met the real perpetrator of the crimes that he didn't commit in prison. So the faux murderer met, didn't commit in prison. So the mur, the faux murderer, met the real murderer in prison.

Speaker 2: 9:39

That's I'm interested about this one uh, kirk bloodsworth what a name, right, kirk bloodsworth. I mean that just I can understand how he got charged, because it does sound a lot like somebody looking right right.

Speaker 2: 9:55

So kirk bloodsworth was found guilty for the 1984 murder of a nine-year-old maryland girl despite a lack of compelling physical evidence and a solid alibi. So it sounds like there was some type of case here that um might be worth researching more into. But the conviction was overturned. But bloodsworth was convicted once more in 1992. He was exonerated by dna evidence and finally cleared and released in 2002. The real murderer in the case was found kimberly shea rougher, in prison for another crime. Bloodsworth knew the man. They'd been friends in prison, their sentences overlapping. They traded library books. What they traded, library books. I kind of love that fact. Yeah, I mean they. And you know what's funny is it makes me wonder like who was in prison first. Right, because if think about it, if kimberly, who really murdered, really murdered the nine-year-old Maryland girl, she was unnamed.

Speaker 1: 10:58

And.

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Kimberly is a man. Kimberly is a man. If Kimberly really murdered the little girl and he went to jail for something sooner, then he might not know that Kirk was in jail for the crime that he committed. Wow, that's crazy.

Speaker 1: 11:16

That's actually pretty cool.

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That's crazy and I feel like I need a follow-up story on this because I'm like when did he realize that he was in? Was it like after he was exonerated he realized Was it? Did they talk about these things when they were in there? I have a lot of questions about that one. Actually, this book is addicting. I can see how people could keep reading this book like many, many times. Do you want to tab? I kind of think we should do. What do you think, wanderer? Should we do one more today? Should we do? Should we do just five?

Speaker 1: 11:41

can I do? Can I do?

Speaker 2: 11:42

one can I do four seems kind of weird, so I'm gonna let hannah do the fifth one. So, um, it's the first one on this page. We're passing the book. Oh, oh amethville horror damn, how'd you get the best one? Ah, I do three in a row and then that's the things I get. Okay, yeah, I'm fine. Do you want to do it? No, it's your book it's our book, okay.

Speaker 1: 12:07

The amityville horror was inspired by a real life murder house which I knew did you know?

Speaker 2: 12:12

yeah, I think anyone a fan of anything spooky probably knows that well, I would also say that, if you're a new england horror fan, yes, because I'm thinking like people who are across the country. We have listeners in different countries right they might not. I mean, the amityville horror house is kind of a big deal, but they might not be as familiar, true, weren't they doing tours of it too Kind of recently?

Speaker 1: 12:33

Oh, you're thinking of the Conjuring House. I am thinking we have so much good spooky shit in New England.

Speaker 2: 12:39

We do, we really do. Yeah, we're blessed. We are Hashtag blessed, blessed with spookiness, blessed with spooky things. Like. Who says that we?

Speaker 1: 12:52

do, we do.

Speaker 2: 12:53

Sorry about the people who were not blessed by this movie.

Speaker 1: 12:56

Anyways back to the amityville the horror movie franchise. The amityville horror is based on a book that recounts the allegedly true story of george and kathy lutz, who moved into a house in amityville, new york, where ronald defoe defio defoe, I think it's defoe defoe murdered his parents and four siblings while they slept in 1974. They moved out a month, claiming to be tormented by evil spirits the same ones that must have directed Defoe to kill his family. After the release of the Amityville horror book, Defoe's attorney, William Weber Weber Weber, I don't know sued the Lutzes for breach of contract after cutting him out of the publishing deal. Weber revealed that he and the Lutzes had gotten drunk one night and invented the entire haunted house story.

Speaker 2: 13:39

What, what Did that just tell us?

Speaker 1: 13:43

that Amityville is a fraud. There's a moment of pause here, people.

Speaker 2: 13:48

We are Excuse me.

Speaker 1: 13:53

So wait, I'm kind of still stuck on the fact that the weber and the lutz's got drunk together.

Speaker 2: 14:01

That seems odd, yeah huh, I'm gonna look that up.

Speaker 1: 14:11

Okay, I'm gonna look that up, right now, If this guy is the attorney for Ronald Defoe who did the murders, right? Why would they get drunk with the lawyer? The attorney Doesn't make sense, let's see. Okay, Even if it's not real, right, they made it all up Like there has to be evil in that house, right? Like wouldn't there just be like that residual? There has to be evil in that house, right, Like wouldn't there just be like that, residual Maybe I don't know.

Speaker 2: 14:42

So I'm going to where all the real information in the world comes from Reddit, and I'm reading a paranormal story branch post. It says Amityville Horror House true terror or clever hoax. So the first post says my dad's old partner was the forensic investigator on this case. When I was in high school and got into weird paranormal stuff, I asked him at a barbecue once about this case. This guy was a no-nonsense Vietnam veteran who kind of scared the crap out of me. He said the strangest thing about the case was that all the family members were found in their beds with no signs of struggle.

Speaker 2: 15:12

The caliber of rifle used would have been loud and should have woken everyone up. I could tell when he was telling me the story he was really thinking how odd it was. As for the Warrens, he said he never had any contact with them but that it was all BS. And people are really getting into some like really political type stuff. And again, we're not saying these are our thoughts or opinions, we're just reading a thread. Um, but one person said the family was heavily drugged of arbitruits.

Speaker 2: 15:38

somebody else said the warren family is that they're scam artists, plain and simple, um, I don't think that like I like the warrens, but someone else said they definitely had a long career of making stuff up, but at the very least they did investigate 966 Lindley Street, bridgeport, connecticut, case and that was legitimate. I lived, and still live, about one mile from the house.

Speaker 2: 15:58

Oh, that Bridgeport one, If it's the one I'm thinking of, like that, one's freaking crazy Well this person said I lived and still live about one mile from the house and the stories from the cops and firemen never went away that something strange happened in the house and the stories from the cops and firemen never went away that something strange happened in the house. I think there were. The warrens with whom I share a neighborhood in the city of bridgeport can at least be credited with actually traveling to a lot of the big cases of the time from way back. It's at least a redeeming quality that over that long stretch they investigated their lives and populating the community that currently exists today. I think they meant invested, but yeah, um, like and some of the things that are said here.

Speaker 2: 16:32

I think they meant invested. But yeah, and some of the things that are said here are wild. Like the next person says, the funeral director was into necromancy. He did things to the bodies. A boy disappeared during a seance. That was all true, but a lot of stuff with the family all made up. Ed Warren told the author they were friends to make it scary and the family was crazy. The book was to make the Warrens look good. The movie Haunting in Connecticut didn't mention the Warrens.

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As to Amityville, the Lutzes said things happened, but not what the book said. They denounced the book. George was to write his own version but died before he could. Jay Anson died soon after a heart attack. Now I've been to the house several times. Lovely, and there are still looky-loos that stare at it. Um, I live an hour away now. If I had the money I'd buy it in a heartbeat. People buy it and live there for a while and end up reselling it, not because of ghosts, because it's a famous house or infamous and it still attracts people. Before the lutzes were, there were the defios.

Speaker 1: 17:24

Let's not forget that's why I don't know if it was defoe or defao.

Speaker 2: 17:27

Defao maybe um or defoe the defoes? Let's not forget about the tragedy that occurred. Ronnie was messed up. His father was abusive towards his family Back then they called it being hard or rough and that drove him to murder his father but don't understand why the rest of the family. The mystery of why no one heard the shots still can't be explained. Even the neighbors didn't hear anything. Some say drugs, but that was never proven. I believe the Lutzes had a poltergeist. The resentment the kids had towards George, the prepubescent kids, george worrying about his mortgage and making Kathy happy, his failing business all added to it. Great atmosphere for a poltergeist. So when the Lutzes left with the dog, the activity ceased.

Speaker 1: 18:08

I liked the first movie as a horror movie, not so much the remake. Have you seen the?

Speaker 2: 18:14

Haunting kentucky, by the way. Yes, I don't know how I feel about it.

Speaker 1: 18:17

I think I saw it a long time ago the one where the hit find the bodies in the wall.

Speaker 2: 18:20

Yeah, yeah yeah, I feel like a lot of these are really hard because I feel like a lot of people, anytime a story is retold many times, yeah loses a little bit of its truth. Right, it's like that game in elementary school telephone game every person who hears the story disseminates a different story.

Speaker 1: 18:38

So let's say this way, thinking about it without knowing that and all right, let's pretend that it, that whole haunting was not real, that they didn't experience any of that I feel like there would still be something residual in the house when something that traumatic happens. There would still be something residual in the house.

Speaker 2: 18:52

When something that traumatic happens, there has to be 100%.

Speaker 1: 18:54

And especially if people, even without a real hunting people, are going there with negative thoughts negative energy. Yeah, there's something to be said for that.

Speaker 2: 19:05

Yeah, I mean it's even visiting places where you know horrible things happened. You can feel a little bit of that in place. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely did you.

Speaker 1: 19:17

You can do another one if you want. I feel bad that you no, we have.

Speaker 2: 19:21

We can't read the whole book today. Courtney would love to read the whole book today, but uh, we will save some for next time. Well, thank Wanderers for listening to another one of our bonus episodes and ranting, and stay tuned for more shenanigans. Thank you for the shit show.

Speaker 1: 19:38

Bye, bye, thanks for listening today. Wicked Wanderings is hosted by me Hannah and co-hosted by me Courtney, and it's produced by Rob Fitzpatrick.

Speaker 1: 19:49

Music by Sasha M. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to leave a rating and review and be sure to follow on all socials. You can find the links down in the show notes. If you're looking for some really cozy t-shirts or hoodies, head over to the merch store. Thank you for being a part of the Wicked Wanderings community. We appreciate every one of you. Stay curious, keep exploring and always remember to keep on wandering. Thank you.