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This episode is to set the stage for a haunted tour that Jim and Katie Brewer are going to with friends and family , including Erika's little sister Erin. Kerry and Erika speak to them about their expectations on the way to Jacksonville, Missouri to the alleged haunted prison that gassed forty people in the  chamber. Meanwhile, back in Bloomington, IL, Kerry and Erika are sharing some history of the Missouri State Penitentiary  while doing a little partying.  Kerry's home is hosting a party upstairs for Erika and downstairs for her son Gus. Guess who gives it up first? Although Kerry and Erika crash and burn, they will be sharing some stories of people who where killed in the gas chamber.  Never claimed to be pro's. These stories about the Missouri State Penitentiary can be listened to independently of one another. Although they compliment each other, they are their own stories. Enjoy. Speaking of Birthdays- Happy Birthday Katie on this release date. 

This episode is recorded after Jim, Katie, and Erin's trip to the Missouri State Penitentiary. Ghosts make for a lively discussion as their experiences were different. Jim shares some EVP's so you will need to listen closely. Do you hear what we hear? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page. 

Kerry and Erika hope you loathe Richard Speck loathe as much as we do after listening to this story.  Our Illinois neighbors grew up knowing about him.  He grew up in Western Illinois and killed in Chicago and Monmouth.  We are calling him "Dick" for obvious reasons. The nurses he murdered were all young and beautiful ladies that were devoted to becoming nurses to help people. They were studying for finals, planning graduation, some were planning weddings to the love of their lives.  There was one survivor that is an inspiration. This one is brutal and disgusting at the end when we talk about his prison life. Just a warning.  It  is outweighed by the humanity that  still honors these nurses today. Most of the information is from the book The Crime of the Century, Life Magazine from July1966 and a great documentary on Reelz called Murder made Me Famous. There is a little treat at the end for my FOTC fellow fans;) And pardon the heavy breathing, its allergy season here in central illinois as fall sets in and the harvest goes out. 

June and July have been chaos, but we wanted you to know we are still here.  Go for a little ride in the BTSC time machine to a summers night on Bebe's porch filing in Daisy on all the goings on in Villisca over the summer. At first everyone was convinced that it was an intruder, an maniac from out of town who killed the Moore family, but was it? Bebe and Daisy gossip about the local suspects. We added a little blooper at the end. Oh ya! We also went out looking for escaped convicts. Don't try that at home. 

This episode is to review some of the symbolism and ponder the reasoning why some of the bizarre elements of the crime scene. The suspect was from England and came to America with his wife, Laura. He became a traveling minister. His picture looks sinister and so was his character. But could this little peeping Tom wield and axe and kill two adults and six children? If not, then how did he discuss the murder with fellow train passengers on the morning train before the bodies were discovered? 

Part One covers the background information and the night of the murder of the Moore family and two young friends in 1912 in Villisca , Iowa. On the evening of June 12, 1912  the family and two guests returned home from a church program. After they were tucked in and asleep, someone snuck into the house, or perhaps from the attic closet, and killed Josaih B. Moore, his wife Sarah, and three children, Mary Katherine, Arthur, and Paul. The guest were the Stillinger sisters, Ina and Lena. No robbery, and no clear motive. Listen to this so you can pick your suspect or suspects out of many in Part 2. This is one of the most horrific unsolved murders in Iowa and the midwest. 

True Crime shows and podcasts are flooded with the big murders like Bundy, Gacy, and Speck, but why are  the crimes that happen in our communities  less known? We are telling two stories that are local in McDonough and Fulton County, IL and has primarily relied on word of mouth. Thanks to  a 1960's detective magazine, we are able to sort truth from fiction about these murders. The killer and con man named Barger took the lives of two innocent men in order to avoid payment and steal a pension.  His dapper charm was not enough to escape justice. Two counties worked together to easily solve this case and despite his appeal, he remained in jail until he died. 

On a summer evening on June 11, 2001, EIU student and member of the Zeta Alpha chapter of Alpha Phi ,Shannon McNamara, enjoyed hanging out with friends for a few drinks.  After everyone left and she was sleeping, a stranger entered her apartment and killed her in a brutal manner.  Murder was rare in this community, yet the year prior another woman was murdered. Amy Warner was murdered in her home where her two children were present. Shannon fought the murderer and his organized method of approaching violence became disorganized when he was surprised and found himself being attacked in return.  He made mistakes that would uncover this merging serial killer and stop him in his  path . While there was not enough evidence for Amy, yet, Shannon's murder had exposed him and a long history of violent sexual assaults, battery, trespassing, and other traits of a budding serial killer.  There was also pornography of women, children, and even animals on his computer.  He was brazen and hid in plain sight and watched chaos erupt from his apartment while people searched for a malicious killer in the college town. The defense attempted to pull on the heartstrings of the public and jury by telling about his childhood of abuse and neglect.  A drug given to the military to prevent malaria, Larium, was also questioned due to a discovery that military personnel who killed others and themselves seemed to be impacted by this drug.  They also tried to use his alcoholism and black outs to explain his actions. At the end of the day he was found to be culpable of these horrific crimes.  He was purely evil. These murders brought two inspiring families who supported one another to accomplish putting the killer, Anthony Mertz, away so he could not continue his rampage of assaulting young women. 

Grab a warm drink, light some candles, and wrap in your favorite blanket. Behind the Sugar Cane invites Crystal and Will to tell you a tale so scary that the next time you hear a bell you will scream. They have a wide range of experiences from demons in the closet to a ghost who cleans their house. Enjoy these well told tales. 

The tavern across the street puts a Bloody Mar at the end of the bar in case Resurrection Mary stops by. Listen to Kerry and Erika's adventure in learning more about one of Chicago's most famous ghosts. Also, hear an interview with local ghost hunter Maggie. Grab a blanket, light a fire, and pour a Bloody Mary and learn about Resurrection Mary. 

Steven and Cary Stayner were brothers living in Merced, California. On December 4, 1972 Steven was kidnapped by Kenneth Parnell and abused by him for over seven years. Steven rescued another child, Timmy White who was Kenneth Parnell's latest victim. Steven and Timmy would remain friends for the rest of their lives. His brother was at home enduring the same abuse from a family member.  He would choose a different path to cross paths with Agent  Jeff Renick when he is arrested at a nudist resort running from the  four murders he committed while working at the Cedar Lodge park in Yosemite National Park.  He is now on death row at San Quentin. Renick would go on to write a book that became a television movie based on his book "I know my first name is Steven". Then HALLOWEEN PREVIEW

On Labor Day in 1929 Kurt Barthel had a picnic with his friends in which they took "air baths" naked. It inspired them to form the American League of Physical Culture. Now you can go on a nude cruise, go to a nude library, and experience a whole new subculture. One nudist explains that it is a sense that everyone is equal when you are humble and naked, free of status. There are a lot of myths about nudists focusing on sexuality. Therefore the practice of raising children in a naturalist/nudest community is controversial. Kerry arranged an interview with someone who went to a naturalist resorts, actually several, when he was a boy. The interview was very insightful as will as hilarious. Thanks Vern. ....and sorry Kerry's 1 pound dog growled at you like a tiger. We discuss R. Norton the nudist from Pekin. He made international news when his wishes to be buried nude became a hot topic. Find out what Dear Abby had to say about the subject. 

Scott Peterson has been in the news the past week for the amendment to his sentencing to remove him from death row. Some of our favorite networks and other podcasts are revisiting this  tragedy. The leading cause of death for pregnant women is murder! What makes a woman carrying a child so vulnerable? Laci Peterson was killed by the person she should have trusted the most. This relationship is typical for pregnant women who die at the hands of spouses and partners. Tammy Jo Thompson (1978-1998) was killed by a stranger when she was pregnant with twin girls. She may have recognized him from high school but no one knows. He fled and when captured claimed his innocence and is still using the justice system and social media to do the same today. Kerry and Erika discuss the fact that people feel that killing an unborn child should constitute murder. However with the Unborn Victims Act it contradicts  Roe vs. Wade. If a unborn fetus is not a person, then how can someone be convicted? We do not get into our views or any ugly discussions about abortion, just facts as it relates to this dilemma. 

It sparked media attention, mystery, ballads, food stands, and fear. Fay was last seen leaving his mistresses apartment after being told she was going back to her aggressive husband. She ended the relationship on the eve before his divorce. His new green Caddy had been vandalized and someone tried to run him off the road several times before disappearing that night. First deputy Virgil Ball who later became Sheriff took his oath seriously and pursued the mystery long after he held any public office. In the same year Playboy was published, this playboy went missing. Who had it out for Fay? A soon to be ex-wife, mistress, mistresses husbands, mining, or money? See what you think and share it with us. 

Kerry and her kids went glam camping near Lewiston, IL. It triggered an interest into a story I heard growing up and was curious about- The Disappearance of Fay in Summon, IL. 

A place where everyone knows your name. This throwback podcast about Ted's Warehouse in Charleston, Illinois will give you a peak into our coming of age family at Ted's. It was a place with rocking live music, flowing alcohol and great friends, Listen to former band members and patrons discuss the beauty of a place they called home for a time in their lives. Interviews with Marcy Rankin Woodard and Mike Condi are in this podcast. We had to make choices of funny stories and memories . We would love to launch a part two of short stories if the facebook fans want to participate. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here! You can listen here though to TEDS Warehouse in Charleston, IL. One friend that nearly all of us on the facebook group have in common is Tonya Durdel. We lost her in January so she and my experiences living in Charleston have been on my mind a lot the last six months. This was a friendship and sisterhood forged at Ted's. So toast one to Tonya when you listen. 

The Mad Gasser. When first hearing of this story Kerry's mind quickly went to the 14 year old boy mode. Luckily, Erika kept her grounded and remembered learning about mass hysteria in college. Listen as we dig deep into the  story of the Mad Gasser in Central Illinois. You will be aghast at what you hear. First, they ponder the actions of the neighbors and the probability they have a sex dungeon. The 1/100th is the first attempt to do the story and it just was not our time. By the way it did rain exactly then Joe said it would. LOL.

Known as the diminutive earthly being, the gnome continues to intrigue Kerry. From the renaissance era to Pink Floyd to the Gnome Liberation Front, we got the down low. Sit back, press play and laugh. Kerry and Erika are keeping it light and silly. We had a hell of a week and just need to laugh and not think about horrible things. Hope you get a break from reality thinking about little woodland creatures. 

True Crime fans have most likely had ID Discovery, or Oxygen 12 Days of Serial Killers, podcasts, and other classic cases playing in the background while you were working at home, right? Trivia questions cover some of our podcasts, but general true crime terms, killers, and the cities in which they killed. We reflect many of the documentaries that you may have seen on Netflix or know about through pop culture. Get a group together on Houseparty or some other social media forum. Let us know on our Facebook page how you scored. We want to know if they are too easy so we are challenging you. 

If you have not seen at least one episode of Tiger King you will not appreciate this episode. If Tiger King is your guilty pleasure and you have no one to discuss it with, we are here to help. I am sure that you have some of the same opinions as Kerry and I express on this hilarious commentary about the Netflix series. We acknowledge what a awful human being he and the other tiger people are, but at least Joe gives us a break from the horror with his narcissistic and ridiculous life.