Show Notes
The ghosts keep comin’ and they don’t stop comin’ in the second Halloween special from your favourite amateur paranormal investigators. Turn on your head-mounted GoPro, loosen the top of your flashlight and get ready to record some EVPs, because it’s time to go ghostbusting, Aussie style. Who cares that it’s November? It’s always Halloween in our hearts!
EPISODE NOTES: Happy Spook-vember! Australia is somewhat fascinated by ghost stories, and we could get philosophical and discuss how it’s a way for us to come to terms with our painful history of abuse, torment, and genocide – but in reality, Aussies just love a good yarn. Keep on listening to hear spooky tales of haunted asylums, convicts seeking revenge, poltergeists wreaking some good old-fashioned havoc and, of course, murder. Once again, we loosened our journalistic standards belt for this Halloween special, although interestingly, I did read a journal article about ghosts in Tasmanian history, so maybe ghost research is actually peer reviewed? We tried to include one somewhat legit source for each state, but y’know… ghosts.
Queensland To read one version of the spooky tale of Captain Logan's ghost, head here http://www.chapelhill.homeip.net/FamilyHistory/Other/QueenslandHistory/TheGhostsofQueensland.htm To read a little more about Logan’s life before he became spectral, head here https://www.logan.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/7322/richinhistory-patricklogan.pdf
New South Wales To read about the sightings on Victoria Pass and to read more about Caroline Collit's murder, head here http://bmlocalstudies.blogspot.com/2014/03/murder-on-victoria-pass.html A newspaper article about the history of the ghost sightings, and a bit of Henry Lawson’s poem, can be found here https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/219766312
Victoria Read paranormal investigator Sarah Chumacero’s accounts of J Ward here https://livinglifeinfullspectrum.com.au/blog/tales-of-j-ward/ You can read about the history of Ararat County Jail here https://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2010/08/16/2983696.htm and about J Ward more specifically here https://www.abc.net.au/local/videos/2010/08/19/2987241.htm
Tasmania Read paranormal investigator and Willow Court preservation enthusiast Nick Jarvis’ collation of the ghosts of Willow Court here https://willowcourtproject.com/notable-reports/ To read about the controversial decision to let ghost busters into the asylum, go here https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-02-22/ghost-hunters-haunt-old-mental-asylum/1952878
South Australia You can read about all the ghosts of the Adelaide Arcade here, at our personal friend (not really, he doesn’t know who we are) Allen Tiller’s website. This is a link to part one of a six part series on the Adelaide Arcade... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Murder in the Land of Oz
As the final installment of our First Nation's themed season, we are talking about January 26th. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We are back after a (what turned into a much bigger than intended) break!
Whoops we covered another cult. Coming for ya, Jo Thornely. Chantelle McDougall, her six-year-old daughter Leela, her partner Simon Kadwill, and their housemate Tony Popic went missing in July of 2007. Simon was the leader of an internet-based doomsday cult, who believed that through death, a chosen few would ascend to a new plane of reality and usher in the new Aquarian age of existence. So you know, normal stuff. They told friends and family they were moving to Brazil, but their was no activity on their passports. Their disappearance left police stumped. Had they committed group suicide, or had they gone even further into isolation and completely segregated themselves from society? Our main sources this week were the coronial inquest completed in 2017. You know we love an inquest document! https://www.coronerscourt.wa.gov.au/_files/Felton,%20G;%20McDougall,%20C%20J%20and%20L;%20Popic,%20A%20K%20%20finding.pdf News articles about the case can be found here https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-06/cult-leader-simon-kadwell-inquest-begins-into-missing-family/9205656 and here https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/cult-leader-simon-kadwell-inquest-hears-police-failed-to-investigate-report-of-dead-flesh-smell/news-story/b828be6ad139699e509c94ce62bc5292 The website for Simon’s “work” can be accessed via the Wayback Machine here https://web.archive.org/web/20071103141354/http://www.thenewcall.org/book_sdp.htm Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Okay, yes, every show and their dog (or podcast cat) have covered this case. But we just had to jump on the bandwagon. You may be familiar with the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard from the documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest, or the hit TV show now on Hulu The Act, or just generally from having an internet connection at any point in time over the past four years. The internet is obsessed with this case, and for good reason – the horrific murder of Dee Dee Blanchard shocked the world, not because of the brutality of the crime – but because of the scale of the abuse that Dee Dee afflicted on Gypsy, her daughter, who she had raised to believe was sick with a whole medical textbook of illnesses. Once Dee Dee was dead, the truth came out – nothing was wrong with Gypsy. She was a victim of Munchausen by Proxy, and was horribly abused by the person who was meant to care for her most. EPISODE NOTES: Friends and neighbours looked at Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard as a perfect mother-daughter pair. Dee Dee was dedicated to her sick daughter, and Gypsy was in turn loving and devoted to her mother. When Dee Dee was murdered in 2015, people were horrified. Who was going to take care of poor Gypsy now? But as the truth came out, and Gypsy – along with her boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn – was charged with her death, people were horrified to discover that Dee Dee was not what she seemed – and neither was Gypsy. Gypsy had every disease under the sun, from cancer to muscular dystrophy. She was confined to a wheelchair, had tubes all over her body, and had no hair and barely any teeth. She never properly attended school and was in and out of hospital constantly. But none of her ailments were real. Dee Dee was forcing Gypsy to be sick, lying to her about her real age, and physically and mentally abusing her to keep up the sickness routine, so that Dee Dee could keep reaping the benefits of having a sick child. While Gypsy and Nicholas Godejohn were both ultimately convicted of Dee Dee’s murder, many people believe that Gypsy acted in self-defence, and did what she had to do to escape from one of the most horrific situations of abuse conceivable. Read Michelle Dean's incredible longform article on the case here https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/michelledean/dee-dee-wanted-her-daughter-to-be-sick-gypsy-wanted-her-mom More info about the case can be found here https://www.yourtango.com/2019322839/who-nick-godejohn-new-details-gypsy-roses-boyfriend-man-murdered-dee-dee-blanchard?fbclid=IwAR0c95is1g2caWJ1wSQX9CobuA8rK30l_Z5BDjfW4AAdf-CpbE2IlcVH7kA Information about the case and also Munchausen by Proxy can be found here https://www.yourtango.com/2019322870/what-munchausen-syndrome-by-proxy-story-gypsy-rose-blanchard?fbclid=IwAR28fu87X_aWdA9iOnfoLHevQ_bfIyiMeabBSbHo-T2YajOWh8ey3vd7YKI For some info on Hulu's stunning new show The Act (this is not a sponsored episode but also – sponsor us, Hulu?) head here https://www.marieclaire.com.au/the-act-tv?fbclid=IwAR2Ohe3PFiupYeS2rfTO3Ux9LoluGAiYbzWQMNMiQJz8RCg5iwvChcyUMHM