Where My Macabre Began: Charles Manson

At the age of approximately 15, my personal preoccupation with the true crime genre began, and it came about through my interests in music. At that time, I was discovering many of the "classics;" the likes of Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Led Zeppelin, and more. I was especially enamored with The Beatles; we're …

Harbor Terrace, Part Four: Carl H. Drew

CW: DISCUSSION OF VIOLENCE *NOTE: STARRED NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED OUT OF RESPECT FOR THEIR PRIVACY. HAVEN’T READ PART THREE YET? READ IT HERE. "Surely many would find what we involved ourselves in, as objectionable." - Carl Drew Carl H. Drew grew up on a farm in New Hampshire. It's been very difficult to find much …

Harbor Terrace, Part Three: Robin Marie Murphy

CW: Some discussion of violence, mentions of sexual violence Scroll to the bottom for a glossary of people in this story. *Note: Starred names have been changed out of respect for their privacy. Haven't read part two yet? Read it here. A Tough Girl Although 17 year old Robin Murphy would eventually serve as the …

Harbor Terrace, Part Two: The Murder of Barbara Raposa

CW: Some discussion of violence Scroll to the bottom for a glossary of people in this story. *Note: Starred names have been changed out of respect for their privacy. Haven't read part one yet? Check it out here. Twenty year old Barbara Raposa's murder is typically discussed as a part of the same cluster as …

Harbor Terrace, Part One: The Place I’ve Always Lived, and The Story I’ve Always Been Told

CW: Some Discussion of Graphic Violence Scroll to the bottom for a glossary of people in this story. *Note: Starred names have been changed out of respect for their privacy. Are you proud of your hometown? I have mixed feelings about mine. Certainly, there are many things about Fall River, Massachusetts that I'd consider positive …

Thoughts on Film: “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile”

This evening, as my husband is away and I have some alone time, I figured I may as well watch the new Joe Berlinger film that has the true crime community (and beyond) talking. I haven't read any reviews or hot-takes on it yet, so I wanted to get my first impressions down here before …

Anger, Blame, Empathy, and Understanding in the Wake of Extreme Violence

CW/TW: Discussion of suicide and violence I felt compelled to write this opinion piece after recently reading Understanding Jonestown and Peoples Temple by Rebecca Moore, who is the sister of two prominent Temple members, Carolyn Layton and Annie Moore. After reading this book, I think that, in my anger over the death of so many …

The Mystery Tape

Author's Note: Since originally publishing this piece, this article was brought to my attention. Reading it has prompted me to write an addendum, which you can find at the end of this piece. Among the multitude of disturbing images and ideas that my imagination produces when I'm thinking about the massacre at Jonestown, one of …

A Neolithic True Crime Case

In September of 1991, adventurers Erika & Helmut Simon were hiking through the Alps near the border between Austria and Italy. They stumbled across what they thought, at first, to be a recently deceased fellow hiker partially frozen into the icy ground. They alerted the authorities, who removed the body and transported it to the …

Reflections & Opinions on Jonestown

I am revamping some of my Jonestown/ Peoples Temple pieces to reflect new (to me) information and changes in my own understanding and opinions on the subject matter. I'll make it known on my socials when I publish those. I intended to leave them up to make a point - that it is okay to …