Category Archives: mystery

Whipping Tom (or) Toms…With a Fetish for Lady’s Behinds

“Whipping Tom” was the nickname given to two sexual attackers in London and the nearby village of Hackney. Both would attack women walking alone and beat them on the buttocks. While there is some evidence an earlier attacker in around … Continue reading

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The Halifax Slasher

The Halifax Slasher was the supposed attacker in an incident of mass hysteria that occurred in the town of Halifax, England, in November 1938 following a series of reported attacks on local people, mostly women. The Incident The week-long scare … Continue reading

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“The London Monster” and Piquerism

The London Monster was the name given to an alleged attacker of women in London between 1788 and 1790. The attacker had a signature behavior of piquerism, the pricking or stabbing of victims with a knife, pin or needle. First … Continue reading

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The Devil’s Footprints, a Devon Area Victorian Mystery

The Devil’s Footprints is a name given to a phenomenon that occurred in February 1855 around the Exe Estuary in East Devon and South Devon, England. After a heavy snowfall, trails of hoof-like marks appeared overnight in the snow covering … Continue reading

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The Hammersmith Ghost: Legal Precedent in the UK Regarding Self-Defence

The Hammersmith Ghost murder case of 1804 set a legal precedent in the UK regarding self-defence: whether someone could be held liable for their actions even if they were the consequence of a mistaken belief. Near the end of 1803, … Continue reading

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UK Real Estate: The Twin Villages of Kingsand and Cawsand, Cornwall

Kingsand and Cawsand play a major role in the plot of my Regency romance, The First Wives’ Club, book one of the First Wives’ Trilogy. Kingsand (Cornish: Porthruw) and Cawsand are twin villages in southeast Cornwall, United Kingdom. The villages … Continue reading

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Georgian Era Mystery~The Cock Lane Ghost: A Format for Religious Fervor

The Cock Lane ghost was a purported haunting that attracted mass public attention in 1762. The location was an apartment in Cock Lane, a short road adjacent to London’s Smithfield market and a few minutes’ walk from St Paul’s Cathedral. … Continue reading

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The Great Thunderstorm of Widecombe-in-the-Moor, an Early Incident of Ball Lightning

The Great Thunderstorm of Widecombe-in-the-Moor in Dartmoor, Kingdom of England, took place on Sunday, 21 October 1638, when the church of St Pancras was apparently struck by ball lightning during a severe thunderstorm. An afternoon service was taking place at … Continue reading

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Regency Happenings: The Year Without Summer

The Year Without a Summer (also known as the Poverty Year, Year There Was No Summer, and Eighteen Hundred and Froze to Death) was 1816, in which severe summer climate abnormalities resulted in major food shortages. Much of the cause … Continue reading

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During the Reign of George IV: The Red Barn Murders

The Red Barn Murder was a notorious murder committed in Polstead, Suffolk, England, in 1827. A young woman, Maria Marten, was shot dead by her lover, William Corder. The two had arranged to meet at the Red Barn, a local … Continue reading

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