Tonight’s story is about a Victorian con artist. A female con artist, at that! She was known as the “Confidence Queen” and was considered by the New York City police department to be - quote "the boldest and most expert of the many female adventuresses who infest the country.” Let’s get to know her, shall we?

This is the story of Bertha Heyman.

This is a bonus content episode available exclusively for our Housekeeper and Butler tier Patrons. To accompany episode 38 about Dr. Thomas Neill Cream, I have the story of another bad Victorian doctor.

This is the story of Dr. William Palmer.

A favorite holiday and winter pastime for Victorians, was telling ghost stories. Many Victorians wholeheartedly believed our deceased loved ones remained around us in spirit, just as much as when they were alive. Many were also skeptical, but those who believed, made it their mission to find proof. In tonight’s story, we’re going to talk about one man who, to some, provided concrete proof that our loved ones remained with us just beyond veil.

This is the story of spirit photographer, William Mumler.

Tonight we’re actually covering a Victorian-era adjacent story, of one of the most famous con men in history. And I bet a lot of you are familiar with this story, as I was myself when I first set out planning this episode. But through out my research, I was surprised to learn that I made a lot of assumptions about this person that turned out to be not true. I assumed this person was some criminal mastermind, who evaded authorities while hiding in plain sight… But no… they were just a common thief, who had no end game in sight, who was wheeling and dealing at breakneck speed, solely relying on their persuasive and charismatic personality to succeed and fool many, many people - and that is frankly even more fascinating to me. This is the story of Charles Ponzi.

This episode was initially created only for Housekeeper and Butler tier Patreon subscribers as the bonus content for the Cassie Chadwick episode. I am adding it to the regular feed as a preview of the type of content posted for Patreon subscribers.

ave you ever heard someone say: if you believe that, I have a bridge in brooklyn to sell you? It’s an expression used to imply someone is very gullible and easy to trick. Because we all know you can’t, in fact, buy the Brooklyn Bridge, right? …Right…? Well, tonight’s story is about the man who “sold” the Brooklyn Bridge over and over for years. True story. This is the story of George C. Parker.

As is often the case with true crime, the facts of a case can turn out stranger than fiction. But in tonight’s story, much of what came to be accepted as fact, did wind up to actually be fiction. Luckily, I am here for you, to separate the fact from the fiction of a very notorious case. This is the true story of HH Holmes.

One of my favorite things about the Victorian era is that you could just up and decide to change your name, make up a new story for yourself, and you could be who ever you wanted. This is the story of Cassie Chadwick.