6 | The Mystery of Mary Rogers

04/21/20 • 54 min

What do we really know about the poignant death of the girl who inspired one of Edgar Allan Poe’s novels, The Mystery of Marie Roget? Join me in New York in 1838 to investigate the unsolved murder of the enigmatic Mary Rogers, loved by all and remembered as the Beautiful Cigar Girl.
“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.” – Poe’s ‘The Raven’
Thanks for listening! Here’s how you can get in touch with comments and suggestions:
Twitter: @PrashsMurderMap
Email: [email protected]
Credits:
Research, writing, original Mary Rogers poem(“The Beautiful Cigar Girl”), narration and audio arrangement by Prash
Character Voices: Ben(Daniel Payne, LaForge), Steve (Edgar Allan Poe)
Sources:
“Edgar Allen Poe: Was Mary Rogers his muse or his victim?”, 8 October 2015
https://www.ancient-origins.net/unexplained-phenomena-history-famous-people/edgar-allan-poe-was-mary-rogers-his-muse-or-his-murder-020557
Duke, Thomas; “The Mysterious Murder of Cigar Girl Mary Rogers”, 1910, Celebrated Criminal Cases of America Part III Cases East of the Pacific Coast
http://www.historicalcrimedetective.com/ccca/the-mysterious-murder-of-cigar-girl-mary-rogers-1841/
Geary, Rick; “A Treasury of Victorian Murder Compendium II”, 2015, NBM Publishing Inc. New York
Mabbott, Thomas Ollive, “The Mystery of Marie Roget,” 1978
https://www.eapoe.org/works/mabbott/tom3t001.htm
“Murder of Mary C. Rogers”, New York Tribune 12 August 1841, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19483347/murder_of_mary_c_rogers/
Nickell, Joe; “Historical Whodunnit – Spiritualists, Poe, and the real Marie Roget”, Skeptical Inquirer July/August 2010
Poe, Edgar Allen; “The Mystery of Marie Roget”, 1842 (Audible version)
Semtner, Chris; The Poe Blog, November 16 2016
http://www.thepoeblog.org/poe-museum-announces-loser-of-its-latest-poll/
Stashower, Daniel; “The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allen Poe, and the Invention of Murder,” 2006, Dutton Books
Steiner, Henry John; “The Ghosts and Mr Anderson,” October 15 2014, Headless Horseman Blog
http://headlesshorsemanblog.com/ghosts-edgar-allen-poe-john-anderson/
Various articles from archived New York newspapers
https://stupit.github.io/text/Mystery_of_Mary_Rogers/The_Mystery_of_Mary_Rogers_in_newspapers.htm#1837-09-18

Previous Episode

5 | The Bloody Benders and Their Murderous Ways

The American frontier could be a perilous place, but most stout-hearted travellers were expecting nothing worse than tumbleweed, rattlesnakes and boredom on their long ride. When people started to go missing in the Osage area, suspicion fell on a family who were not all that they seemed. A local legend says red corn grows on the prairie to this day as the very land is saturated with the blood of their innocent victims, so join me as we investigate one of the greatest puzzles of the Old West.
Thanks for listening! Here’s how you can get in touch with comments and suggestions:
Twitter: @PrashsMurderMap
Email: [email protected]
Credits:
Research, writing, original Benders Song, narration and audio arrangement by Prash
Character Voices: Natasha and Ben
Sources:
Cappello, Nile; “The Bloody Benders: America’s First Family of Serial Killers”, August 2019
https://crimereads.com/the-bloody-benders-americas-first-family-of-serial-killers/
Geary, Rick; “A Treasury of Victorian Murder Compendium II”, 2015, NBM Publishing Inc, New York
Kansas Historical Society; “The Bender Knife”, December 2006, Kansapedia
https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/bender-knife/10106
Martin, Michelle M; “Dinner with Death: Kate Bender, Murder and Mayhem on the Kansas Prairie”, August 2019
https://nursingclio.org/2019/08/15/dinner-with-death-kate-bender-murder-and-mayhem-on-the-kansas-prairie/
Rivenes, Erik; “The Bloody Benders”, June 2016, Most Notorious Podcast
“The Bloody Benders, America’s First Serial Killer Family”, January 2018
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/53672/bloody-benders-americas-first-serial-killers

Next Episode

7 | The Frankston Serial Killer

He said he hated women...but then he became one. In this episode, we delve deep into psychology, profiling and gender dysphoria in the case of the Frankston Killer, who terrorised a quiet suburb of Australia in the early 90s but could be released in 2023. We’ll look at nature versus nurture and what could have turned Paul Denyer into a serial murderer.
Thanks for listening! Here’s how you can get in touch with comments and suggestions:
Twitter: @PrashsMurderMap
Email: [email protected]
Visit www.prashganendran.com
Credits:
Research, writing, narration and audio arrangement by Prash
Character Voices: Simon, Jack Timothy, Tanya O’Sullivan
Music:
https://www.dl-sounds.com/
Sources:
Booker, Chloe, 2015, “Someone must know: cold case murder probe into disappearance of Sarah MacDiarmid”, The Age, https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/someone-must-know-cold-case-murder-probe-into-disappearance-of-sarah-macdiarmid-20150711-gia1rg.html
Catter, 2008, “Paul Denyer Police Interviews”, Crimblog
http://wwwcrimblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/paul-denyer-police-interviews.html
Deery, Shannon, 2011, “Family of Paul Denyer tell of killer’s death threat”, Daily Telegraph
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/killers-family-dont-let-him-out/news-story/59e38892e8170309ccd633d1da3ffca4
Denyer, Julie, “True Story of Serial Killer Paul Denyer”, Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/True-Story-of-serial-killer-Paul-Denyer-195830497244618/?hc_ref=ART1CQmM_dfTjuZvIXUTT9BierabnDWenYn-rtwks7kzJA1Zx0khkVQS7-m8fdnAHT4&fref=nf&__tn__=kC-R
Denyer, Paul, 2003 – 2004, letters from prison
http://media.heraldsun.com.au/multimedia/2013/april/denyerletters/index03.html
Evil Clown TV, 2014, “Serial Killer Paul Denyer – Australian Killer – Documentary”, YouTube video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFGqBApTjWk
Hull, Megan, 2019, “Gender Dysphoria Statistics,” The Recovery Village
https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/gender-dysphoria/related/gender-dysphoria-statistics/#gref [medically reviewed by Paula Cookson LCSW]
Kennard, Julia, 2010, “Carshalton couple haunted by their serial killer relative”, Sutton and Croydon Guardian
https://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/5015765.carshalton-couple-haunted-by-their-serial-killer-relative/
Pelly, Julia, 2019, “What is disorganized attachment?”, Healthline Parenthood
https://www.healthline.com/health/parenting/disorganized-attachment [medically reviewed by Karen Richardson Gill, MD, FAAP]

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