Black Jack Ketchum: The Bandit Who Lost His Head
10/03/24 • 21 min
In this episode of The Wild Wild Death, we explore the unfortunate fate of Tom “Black Jack” Ketchum, an outlaw whose last heist went off the rails—literally. After being caught, Tom faced the gallows, but when the big moment came, Tom’s execution made him the most infamous—and headless—outlaw in the West. Join us for the story of how one man’s life of crime ended in a way no one saw coming.
If you're interested in the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death , check out the links below:
***Please note that this 1st link contains graphic images that may be disturbing ***
- https://www.executedtoday.com/2010/04/26/1901-black-jack-tom-ketchum-clayton-hanging/
- https://dustyoldthing.com/strange-tale-black-jack-ketchum/
- https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-blackjackketchum/
- https://site-3320323-4618-2049.mystrikingly.com/blog/tom-black-jack-ketchum-last-words#tom-black-jack-ketchum-last-words
KEYWORDS:
Tom Black Jack Ketchum execution
Wild West outlaw
Crime podcast Western history
Gallows gone wrong
Infamous Wild West criminals
Outlaw life of crime
Failed heist in the West
Gruesome execution story
Headless outlaw legend
Historical true crime stories
Tom Ketchum outlaw legend
Gallows mishap in history
In this episode of The Wild Wild Death, we explore the unfortunate fate of Tom “Black Jack” Ketchum, an outlaw whose last heist went off the rails—literally. After being caught, Tom faced the gallows, but when the big moment came, Tom’s execution made him the most infamous—and headless—outlaw in the West. Join us for the story of how one man’s life of crime ended in a way no one saw coming.
If you're interested in the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death , check out the links below:
***Please note that this 1st link contains graphic images that may be disturbing ***
- https://www.executedtoday.com/2010/04/26/1901-black-jack-tom-ketchum-clayton-hanging/
- https://dustyoldthing.com/strange-tale-black-jack-ketchum/
- https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-blackjackketchum/
- https://site-3320323-4618-2049.mystrikingly.com/blog/tom-black-jack-ketchum-last-words#tom-black-jack-ketchum-last-words
KEYWORDS:
Tom Black Jack Ketchum execution
Wild West outlaw
Crime podcast Western history
Gallows gone wrong
Infamous Wild West criminals
Outlaw life of crime
Failed heist in the West
Gruesome execution story
Headless outlaw legend
Historical true crime stories
Tom Ketchum outlaw legend
Gallows mishap in history
Previous Episode
Boom Juice
In this episode of The Wild Wild Death , we uncover the story of how an ordinary day at the Wells Fargo office took a sudden turn when a curious team of employees decided to investigate a leaky crate. What they discovered inside set off a chain of events that literally shook San Francisco. Join us as we explore how one small crate proves that sometimes, curiosity really can be explosive.
If you'd like to read more about the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death , try these links:
- https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/tcrr-nitroglycerin/
- https://railroad.lindahall.org/essays/black-powder.html
- https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna53197053
- https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1866/05/13/79805983.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/man-who-invented-nitroglycerin-was-horrified-dynamite-180965192/
- https://www.acs.org/molecule-of-the-week/archive/n/nitroglycerin.html
- http://cprr.org/Museum/Newspapers/Nitroglycerine.html
KELYWORDS:
Explosive event
San Francisco disaster
Leaky crate mystery
Office investigation
Curiosity gone wrong
Wells Fargo incident
Mysterious crate
Uncovering secrets
Historical mystery
Unexpected discovery
Chain reaction
True story unraveling
Office thriller
Shock in San Francisco
Unusual office day
Next Episode
Clowns on the Barbary Coast
In this episode of The Wild Wild Death , we dive into the twisted story how a night at the circus turned deadly. Thirteen-year-old Willie Snyder was just trying to enjoy the show when a clown named Manuel Reys took his routine to a whole new level —and things went terribly wrong. Join us as we share the story of how a clown’s over-the-top performance turned a fun night out into a tragedy, proving that sometimes, the joke really is on you.
If you'd like more information about the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death , check out these links:
- https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/big-bertha-heyman-the-confidence-queen/article_289d524f-7865-5b03-b344-8a7c6456ec99.html
- https://www.thedeadhistory.com/blog/killed-by-a-circus-clown
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64461187/william-bernard
- https://medium.com/marvels-of-history/who-was-the-man-known-as-oofty-goofty-f249e664d52d
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap_made_from_human_corpses#:~:text=Many%20bodies%20had%20incompletely%20decomposed,turned%20into%20candles%20and%20soap
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/americas-big-circus-spectacular-has-long-and-cherished-history-180962621/
KEYWORDS:
Circus gone wrong
Tragic clown performance
Willie Snyder tragedy
Manuel Reys clown accident
True crime podcast
Circus mishap
Dark circus history
Over-the-top performance tragedy
Night at the circus death
Clown routine turns deadly
Tragedy strikes circus
Circus accident true story
Unfortunate circus performance
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/the-wild-wild-death-642641/black-jack-ketchum-the-bandit-who-lost-his-head-85201726"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to black jack ketchum: the bandit who lost his head on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy