Russel Colvin’s Return from the Dead

05/17/23 • 72 min

3 Listeners

In 1812, in the Manchester settlement of Vermont, a local man named Russell Colvin mysteriously vanished, and despite extensive searches, no trace of him was found. Years later, rumours began to circulate that Russell had been murdered and buried in a cellar on a piece of local farmland. Ghosts were seen, arrests were made, confessions witnessed and convictions completed, before Colvin strolled back into town, dashing the whole thing against the rocks and creating a case that would go on to be remembered for well over a century as “The Manchester Mystery.”
SOURCES
McFarland, Gerald (1990) The Counterfeit Man. Pantheon Books, NY, USA. Boorn, Jesse & Boorn, Stephen (1820) Trial of Stephen and Jesse Boorn, for the Murder of Russell Colvin. Fay & Burt, VT, USA. Sergeant, Leonard (1873) The Trial, Confessions and Conviction of Jesse and Stephen Boorn, for the Murder of Russell Colvin. Journal Book & Job Office, VT, USA. Manchester Historical Society (1930) Early History of Manchester. The Society, VT, USA. -------
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The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye

Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017

Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.

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For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com

Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories

The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: http://author.to/darkhistories

Dark Histories merch is available here: https://bit.ly/3GChjk9

Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast

Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories

& Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/

Or you can contact us directly via email at [email protected]

or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf

The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye

Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017

Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous Episode

Rhynwick Williams & The London Monster

19th century London saw two of the most sensational public scares in its long history when the enigmatic Spring Heeled Jack stalked the alleyways of the capital city and in 1888, when Jack the Ripper enacted his reign of the streets, bringing about an autumn of terror that has since become infamous. One hundred years earlier, however, the streets were stalked by another threat, one that many consider a precursor to both Spring Heeled Jack and Jack The Ripper, and one that remains, to this day, one of the strangest, most bizarre cases in the entire criminal history of London.
Sources
Ranger, H. (1793) Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies; or Men of Pleasure kalender for the year of 1793. H Ranger, London, UK. Swift, Theophilus (1790) The Monster at Large: Or, the Innocence of Rhynwick Williams Vindicated. J. Ridgeway, London, UK. Bondeson, Jan (2000) The London Monster: A Sanguinary Tale. Free Association Books, London, UK. Bartholomew, Robert & Evans, Hilary (2009) Outbreak! The Encyclopaedia of Extraordinary Social Behaviour. Anomalist Books, TX, USA Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette (1790) St James’s, Jan 19th. Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, Tuesday 21 Jan 1790, p.3, Bath, UK. The Public Advertiser (1790) A Reward. The Public Advertiser, Thursday 15 April 1790, p.1. London, UK. The Public Advertiser (1790) The Monster. The Public Advertiser, Wednesday 16 June 1790, p.3. London, UK. The Bath Chronicle (1790) The Monster Detected. The Bath Chronicle, Thursday 17 June 1790, p.3. Bath, UK. Jackson’s Oxford Chronicle (1790) The Monster. Jackson’s Oxford Chronicle, Saturday 19 June 1790, p.1. Oxford, UK. The Derby Mercury (1790) Trial Of The Monster. The Derby Mercury, Thursday 8 July 1790, p.2. Derby, UK -------
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For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com

Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories

The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: http://author.to/darkhistories

Dark Histories merch is available here: https://bit.ly/3GChjk9

Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast

Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories

& Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/

Or you can contact us directly via email at [email protected]

or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf

The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye

Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017

Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Next Episode

Sarah Hart: Murder on the Telegraph Cables

When a young woman was found lying on her hearth rug, foaming at the mouth on New Years Day of 1845, few would have guessed that the winding path leading up to her death would result in a mystery that would become entwined with one of the key moments in the history of communication as well as one of the earliest cases of murder by Prussic Acid. In the long catalogue of Victorian poisonings, the case of Sarah Hart remains prominent not just because of its twists and turns, but equally because of its long reaching influences on the adoption of a device that would help to shape the modern world. SOURCES Carol, Baxter (2014) The peculiar case of the electric constable: a true tale of passion, poison & pursuit. Oneworld, London, UK. South Eastern Gazette (1845) Alleged Murder At Slough. South Eastern Gazette, Tues 7 January 1845. UK The Examiner (1845) Suspected Murder. The Examiner, Sat 4 January 1845. UK. Bell's Weekly Messenger (1845) Apprehension Of A Quaker On A Charge Of Murder. Bell's Weekly Messenger, Mon 06 January 1845. UK. Bell's Weekly Messenger (1845) The Murder At Salt Hill. Bell's Weekly Messenger, Sat 11 January 1845. UK. Church & State Gazette (1845) The Supposed Murder At Slough. Church & State Gazette, Fri 10 January 1845. UK. Morning Chronicle (1845) The Salt Hill Murder trial of John Tawell. Morning Chronicle, Thurs 13 March 1845. UK Morning Chronicle (1845) The Salt Hill Murder trial of John Tawell. Morning Chronicle, Fri 14 March 1845. UK Lloyd’s Weekly Newspaper (1845) Execution of Tawell. Lloyd’s Weekly Newspaper, Sunday 30 March, 1845. UK.
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This episode is sponsored by Babbel, check out babbel.com/darkhistories to get 55% off a subscription.
This episode is also sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/darkhistories and get on your way to being your best self.
-------

For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com

Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories

The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: http://author.to/darkhistories

Dark Histories merch is available here: https://bit.ly/3GChjk9

Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast

Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories

& Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/

Or you can contact us directly via email at [email protected]

or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf

The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye

Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices