The World of Lore: Wicked MortalsA chilling, lavishly illustrated who’s who of the most despicable people ever to walk the earth, featuring stories from the Lore podcast—now a streaming television series—including “Black Stockings,” “Half-Hanged,” and “The Castle,” as well as rare material. Some monsters are figments of our imagination. Others are as real as flesh and blood: humans who may look like us, who may walk among us, often unnoticed, occasionally even admired—but whose evil deeds and secret lives, once revealed, mark them as something utterly wicked. In this illustrated volume from the host of the hit podcast Lore, you’ll find tales of infamous characters whose veins ran with ice water and whose crimes remind us that truth can be more terrifying than fiction. Aaron Mahnke introduces us to William Brodie, a renowned Scottish cabinetmaker who used his professional expertise to prey on the citizens of Edinburgh and whose rampant criminality behind a veneer of social respectability inspired Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Then there’s H. H. Holmes, a relentless and elusive con artist who became best known as the terror of Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair when unwitting guests were welcomed into his “hotel” of horrors . . . never to be seen again. And no rogues’ gallery could leave out Bela Kiss, the Hungarian tinsmith with a taste for the occult and a collection of gasoline drums with women’s bodies inside. Brimming with accounts of history’s most heinous real-life fiends, this riveting best-of-the-worst roundup will haunt your thoughts, chill your bones, and leave you wondering if there are mortal monsters lurking even closer than you think. The World of Lore series includes: MONSTROUS CREATURES • WICKED MORTALS • DREADFUL PLACES |
Contents
Black Stockings | |
Contents | |
Covered Mirrors | |
On the Farm 29 | |
Supply and Demand 38 | |
That Axman Jazz 51 | |
Drained 58 | |
Homecoming 64 | |
163 | |
A LITTLE PECULIAR | |
First Impressions 195 | |
Seeing Double 207 | |
Labor Pains 217 | |
Sideshow 228 | |
MAGIC TRICKS | |
Teachers Pet 248 | |
All the Lovely Ladies 77 | |
Lost and Found 88 | |
Negative Consequences 99 | |
The Sweet Embrace 110 | |
Where Theres Smoke 259 | |
Half Hanged 127 | |
Acknowledgments 321 | |
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Aaron Mahnke accused arrested arrived asked began believe Belle Belle Gunness body Bridget Bridget Cleary Brodie brought Burke and Hare burned called castle century changeling child claimed corpse crime curse dead death died door doppelgänger dream Elizabeth England Esther fairy farm father fire folklore Geyer girls H. H. Holmes hands happened head Holmes Hopkins human husband inside Jane John John Dee Kate Webster killed killer knew Krampus later legend lived looking Mary Matthew Hopkins months moved murder mystery named needed neighbors never night Pitezel police prison rumors Sagée seemed someone Sophie Lyons spontaneous human combustion stay story stranger there's things tion told took torture town traveled trial victims village Villisca walked wanted WICKED MORTALS wife witch witchcraft woman women WORLD OF LORE young