Hello and welcome to my Victorian nightmare. I'm your host, Genevieve Mannion,

and I'm here to talk about mysterious deaths, morbid fascinations, disturbing stories, and otherwise spooky events from the Victorian era.

Because to me, there's just something especially intriguing, creepy, and oddly comforting

about horror and mayhem from the 19th century.

So, listener discretion is advised.

Hello, friends, and welcome to this, my 16th episode, the last of our extra spooky Halloween season episodes.

Although I might post something fun on Halloween this Thursday, just like a little Halloween candy, something to shove in a pillowcase, if I can get my act together.

When I was a kid, my favorite time of year was actually the day after Halloween when all of the Halloween candy went on sale, and I'd buy mountains of it like an animal. One year, I got 500 pixie sticks for $5.

This was that year that that song, Pump Up the Jam, was playing like 30 times a day on the

radio, so I did like a kid's equivalent of a drinking game. Every time that song came on, I'd

rip the tops off of 10 pixie sticks and just pour them

straight down my gullet. Then I'd roll on my bedroom floor from one side of the room to the other,

back and forth, back and forth, like as fast as I could. And I'd count the laps until the song was over

to see if I could beat like last time's Technotronic, pump up the jams,

pixie stick challenge.

If you ever need to pump yourself up, accomplish something, and make yourself proud,

I couldn't more highly recommend this challenge.

I had such a lovely Halloween week this week, by the way.

I went to the farmer's market, and I bought myself some cider donuts to have with my coffee and a quart of apple cider.

I pour the whole thing in a big pot and add cinnamon sticks and mulling spices and

oranges and lemons and sliced ginger. That is the most important ingredient. I let it simmer

on low for like 30 minutes and then strain it and pour it into glass bottles, pop them in the fridge,

...