Jill the Ripper

03/15/25 • 77 min

Today's True Weird Stuff - Jill the Ripper

In 1888, the people of the Whitechapel district of London were terrorized by someone on a ruthless killing spree. Over 100 suspects were named, including a woman named Mary Pearcey. In 1890, Mary was convicted of brutally murdering her lover's partner and child, and Mary was sentenced to death. The brutal nature of the killings would lead to a theory decades later that claimed Mary Pearcey was the was the infamous Jack the Ripper.

Today's True Weird Stuff - Jill the Ripper

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Mirror, Mirror

Today's True Weird Stuff - Mirror, Mirror

Margaretha von Waldeck was the real-life inspiration for Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Born to a noble family during the Holy Roman Empire, Margaretha's mother passed away when she was 4 years old. Her father, Count Philip IV, would go on to remarry a woman named Katherina von Hatzfeld. Katherina despised her stepdaughter, and had Margaretha sent away. Though beautiful and poised to make a name for herself in the history books, Margaretha's short life would play out like a fairy tale...minus the happy ending.

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The Last Duel

Today's True Weird Stuff - The Last Duel

The most famous duel in American history was between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr in 1804. The premiere way of settling disputes and upholding unwritten codes of honor, the act of dueling would gradually fall out of favor over the 19th Century. However, dueling was still commonplace in Southern states like South Carolina. That is, until a duel in 1880 between Colonel E.B. Cash and Colonel William Shannon forced the state to ban the practice.