It’s that time of year! Today we bring you our 2nd Annual Spooky Month Special. We each tell as story that we find spooky or mysterious.
THE DEATH OF MIKE MANSHOLT
In 2016, 17- year-old Mike Mansholt left Germany for his first solo vacation to Malta. However, alarm bells were raised when he did not return on his booked flight home. Mansholt’s body was later found at the bottom of a cliff, but that’s not where the story ends. Find out the details when you listen to Alanna tell us about this strange case.
Alanna’s sources:
https://www.insider.com/mike-mansholt-missing-german-boy-found-without-organs-in-malta-2018-12
THE DANCING PLAGUE OF 1518
In 1518, a woman started dancing in the streets in Strasbourg.
Historical documents, including “physician notes, cathedral sermons, local and regional chronicles, and even notes issued by the Strasbourg city council” are clear that the victims danced. It is not known why.
Historical sources agree that there was an outbreak of dancing after a single woman started dancing, a group of mostly young women joined in, and the dancing did not seem to die down. It lasted for such a long time that it attracted the attention of the Strasbourg magistrate and bishop, and some number of doctors ultimately intervened, putting the afflicted in a hospital. Find out more when Hannah tells us about the Dancing Plague.
Hannah’s sources:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20161028-the-town-the-nearly-danced-itself-to-death
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/jul/05/bizarre-dance-epi-demic-of-summer-1518-strasbourg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_mania#Theories
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_plague_of_1518
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_hysteria_cases
THE VILLISCA AXE MURDERS
The Moore family consisted of parents Josiah and Sarah and their four children: Herman (11), Mary, (10), Arthur (7), and Paul (5). They were an affluent family, and very well liked and active in their community.
On June 9, 1912, Mary invited Ina (8) and Lena Stillinger (12) to spend the night at the Moore residence. That evening, the visiting girls and the Moore family attended the Presbyterian church where they participated in the Children’s Day Program, which Sarah had coordinated. After the program ended at 9:30 p.m., the Moores and the Stillinger sisters walked to the Moores’ house, arriving sometime between 9:45 and 10 p.m.
The next morning, a neighbour noticed the house was unusually quiet and upon investigating discovered the bodies of the 8 victims murdered by an axe in the night. Find out more when Anna discussing this disturbing case.
Anna’s sources:
