Herman Webster Mudgett of New Hampshire, better known by the alias H.H. Holmes, was responsible for anywhere from 20 to 200 killings before he was apprehended in 1894, and is known as one of America’s first serial killers. But ... not THE first. That title -– at least on record -- belongs to the Harpes: "Big" and "Little" Harpe, who killed at least 40 men, women, and children – and likely more. Be warned, this may be the most violent episode we have yet told.

Herman Webster Mudgett of New Hampshire, better known by the alias H.H. Holmes, was responsible for anywhere from 20 to 200 killings before he was apprehended in 1894, and is known as one of America’s first serial killers. But ... not THE first. That title -– at least on record -- belongs to the Harpes: "Big" and "Little" Harpe, who killed at least 40 men, women, and children – and likely more. Be warned, this may be the most violent episode we have yet told.

Humans have always committed crimes. What can we learn from the criminals and crimes of the past, and have humans gotten better or worse over time?

Criminalia

Serial Killers on the American Frontier: "Big" and "Little" Harpe

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/76cc3f2e-8cb2-4dff-82a5-b2350125eaa9/transcript

Led by Matthew Kimes and Ray Terrill, the Kimes–Terrill Gang were known for successfully pulling off some very high-profile bank robberies -- but they may have been better known for their daring prison escapes. In the lore of their gang it's said that each member swore a blood oath promising to free other members from their prison cells – even if it meant they, themselves, were apprehended or killed while trying to spring a fellow associate. While that may be just part of their legend, it does very much seem to be true when you hear their story. Prison, say modern historians, was nothing more than, quote, “just another occupational hazard.”

Led by Matthew Kimes and Ray Terrill, the Kimes–Terrill Gang were known for successfully pulling off some very high-profile bank robberies -- but they may have been better known for their daring prison escapes. In the lore of their gang it's said that each member swore a blood oath promising to free other members from their prison cells – even if it meant they, themselves, were apprehended or killed while trying to spring a fellow associate. While that may be just part of their legend, it does very much seem to be true when you hear their story. Prison, say modern historians, was nothing more than, quote, “just another occupational hazard.”

Prohibition Outlaws: The Rise and Fall of the Kimes-Terrill Gang

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/110d9551-a196-4446-a221-b241016973c3/transcript

When the priest asked, "Are you penitent, my son?", Samuel Green, with the rope around his neck and standing at the gallows, said with a smirk, "If you wish it." On their best days, Samuel Green and William Ash were burglars, highway robbers, and counterfeiters. On their worst; violent murderers. This is the story of their criminal career.

When the priest asked, "Are you penitent, my son?", Samuel Green, with the rope around his neck and standing at the gallows, said with a smirk, "If you wish it." On their best days, Samuel Green and William Ash were burglars, highway robbers, and counterfeiters. On their worst; violent murderers. This is the story of their criminal career.

Samuel Green and William Ash, the 'Terrors of New England'

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/420912fd-3b74-4bf7-98c9-b234000cdb0c/transcript

In the Ambush Museum in Gibson, Louisiana, hangs a copy of a poem written by a woman named Blanche Barrow, and it reads: "Across the fields of yesterday / She sometimes calls to me / A little girl just back from play / the girl I used to be / And yet she smiles so wistfully / once she has crept within I wonder if she hopes to see / the woman I might have been." For four months, Blanche found herself a member of the outlaw Barrow gang – along with the famously known, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. The story of Bonnie and Clyde is woven into American lore; but there was more than one criminal in the Barrow family: Clyde's long-time outlaw older brother Marvin 'Buck' Barrow AND his reluctant-criminal ride-or-die wife, Blanche.

In the Ambush Museum in Gibson, Louisiana, hangs a copy of a poem written by a woman named Blanche Barrow, and it reads: "Across the fields of yesterday / She sometimes calls to me / A little girl just back from play / the girl I used to be / And yet she smiles so wistfully / once she has crept within I wonder if she hopes to see / the woman I might have been." For four months, Blanche found herself a member of the outlaw Barrow gang – along with the famously known, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. The story of Bonnie and Clyde is woven into American lore; but there was more than one criminal in the Barrow family: Clyde's long-time outlaw older brother Marvin 'Buck' Barrow AND his reluctant-criminal ride-or-die wife, Blanche.

The Reluctant Blanche Barrow: Bonnie Wasn't the Only Dame in Clyde Barrow's Gang

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/b64703d5-ae24-42dc-ab99-b22d002011f0/transcript

Serial Killers on the American Frontier: "Big" and "Little" Harpe

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