Jack of All Graves

Marko is sick AF, so our pal Bookseller Ryan from the Laydown Podcast is here to listen to a story about a culty group of early 20th century writers and talk new horror reads! HIGHLIGHTS: [0:00] CoRri tells Ryan about the early 20th century Carmel-by-the-Sea artist community and its weird suicide pact [41:57] Catchin' up; Ryan met Joe Hill! [ 51:00] What we watched: Sinners, Thunderbolts, The Ugly Stepsister, Fight or Flight, A Minecraft Movie, Heart Eyes, The Rule of Jenny Pen [01:13:42] Ryan's Recs! - It Will Only Hurt for A Moment by Delilah S. Dawson - Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wending - When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy - Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito - The Reformatory by Tananarive Due - The Eyes Are The Best Part by Monika Kim - Strange Pictures by Uketsu - We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer - Someone You Can Build A Nest In by John Wiswell - Shiny Happy People by Clay McLeod Chapman - Play Nice by Rachel Harrison - Spread Me by Sarah Gailey STUFF WE REFERENCED: * Tainted Marshmallows and Murder in Carmel [https://www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a43144910/carmel-artist-colony-history-poison-true-crime-joy-lanzendorfer/] * Strychnine Found in Food of Writer [https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SFC19140509.2.6&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------] * JAPANESE SLAYER OF CARMEL ARTIST HELD George Kodani, Confessed Murderer, Has Day in Court [https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SN19140912.2.24&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------] * FIND NEW YORK GIRL STRANGLED ON BEACH; Searchers Accuse Japanese of Killing Helena Wood Smith in Monterey, Cal. BURIED IN SAND FOR 12 DAYS [https://www.nytimes.com/1914/08/25/archives/find-new-york-girl-strangled-on-beach-searchers-accuse-japanese-of.html] * Bohemian Tragedy [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/146051/bohemian-tragedy] * The 1906 Great San Francisco Earthquake [https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/earthquakes/san-francisco] * Rebuilding San Francisco After the 1906 Quake [https://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=Rebuilding_San_Francisco_After_the_1906_Quake] * Divorced Wife of Geo. Sterling, Cal. Poet, Ends Her Life [https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=LAH19180809.2.577&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------] * 20 lost years of Carmel’s literary past reveal cyanide suicides, poisonings and a Bohemian legacy [https://thesandpiper.org/20-lost-years-of-carmels-literary-past-reveal-cyanide-suicides-poisonings-and-a-bohemian-legacy/] * Reclaiming the Legacy of Nora May French, the Pioneering Poet Made Into a Femme Fatale by Mediocre Men and California Mythology [https://crimereads.com/nora-may-french-gilded-edge/] * Carmel’s Cautionary Tale for Post-Roe America [https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/carmels-cautionary-tale-for-post-roe-america/]

In honor of Bookseller Ryan's birthday, an on time episode! This week, we're talking grifters -- from the douchebag in Mark's opener who convinced the psychiatric community of his genius, to some more obvious and brazen scammers on our social media feeds or shilling devices. HIGHLIGHTS: [0:00] Mark tells Corrigan about the torturous "sleep room" wayward girls were subjected to in the 1960s [38:52] We discuss when Marko's voice dropped [48:00] We've got lots of new stuff on the Ko-Fi, plus we chat about Cabin in the Woods and whether there are other genre equivalents; and I summarize two JoAG stories Mark does not remember at all that have become the basis for Broadway musicals [01:03:30] What we watched! (Creature, Scary Movie, Ring, A Simple Favor, Another Simple Favor, Thunderbolts, First Blood, Sweeney Todd [01:34:15] Let's talk about grifters!

This week Corrigan tells Marko the horrific origins of the phrase "going postal," which somehow became a punchline in the '90s. Along the way, they bicker about cultural differences, debate the ethics of human experimentation, and chat about some excellent flicks. Classic shit. HIGHLIGHTS: [0:00] Corrigan tells Marko about the origins of the phrase of "going postal" [48:06] Cultural exchange! [56:00] Snakebite guy leads Mark to ask some iffy questions about human experimentation [01:09:53] What we watched: Thunderbolts, NOPE, Freaky Tales, Drop, Deranged, Black Widow, Ed Kemper, Conclave [01:38:56] A tease for next week's episode! STUFF WE REFERENCED: * Recalling the post office shooting, 25 years later [https://montclairlocal.news/2020/04/recalling-the-post-office-shooting-25-years-later/] * Montclair Marks 30th Anniversary of Post Office Shooting That Killed Four [https://montclairlocal.news/2025/03/montclair-marks-30th-anniversary-of-post-office-shooting-that-killed-four-video/] * Workplace violence: homicides and nonfatal intentional injuries by another person in 2020 [https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2022/workplace-violence-homicides-and-nonfatal-intentional-injuries-by-another-person-in-2020.htm] * Examining Workplace Homicide [https://crimelibrary.org/notorious_murders/mass/work_homicide/4.html] * THE LONER: FROM SHY FOOTBALL PLAYER TO 'CRAZY PAT' [https://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/22/us/the-loner-from-shy-football-player-to-crazy-pat.html] * MAIL CARRIER KILLS 14 IN POST OFFICE, THEN HIMSELF [https://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/21/us/mail-carrier-kills-14-in-post-office-then-himself.html] * THREE DIE IN POSTAL SHOOTINGS IN TWO STATES [https://www.removepaywall.com/search?url=https://greensboro.com/article_b08bb654-2e6e-5928-b5e3-1c27c0ec5c53.html] * Postal Officials Examine System After 2 Killings [https://www.removepaywall.com/search?url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/08/us/postal-officials-examine-system-after-2-killings.html] * State v. Smith [https://law.justia.com/cases/south-carolina/supreme-court/1989/23002-2.html] * United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Curtis L. Collins, Defendant-appellant, 690 F.2d 431 (5th Cir. 1980) [https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/690/431/107613/] * A disgruntled postal worker with a high-powered rifle shot... [https://www.upi.com/Archives/1980/11/04/A-disgruntled-postal-worker-with-a-high-powered-rifle-shot/2725342162000/] * Man kills 4, self [https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS19800505.2.21&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------] * Throwback Thursday: Postal workers start packing pistols in 1961 [https://www.times-standard.com/2018/09/27/throwback-thursday-postal-workers-start-packing-pistols-in-1961/] * Mass Shooting at Montclair Post Office Remembered 30 Years Later [https://montclairlocal.news/2025/03/mass-shooting-at-montclair-post-office-remembered-30-years-later/] * DEATH IN THE POST OFFICE: 4 Shot Dead in New Jersey Post Office; Wide Manhunt but Motive Is Not Clear [https://www.removepaywall.com/search?url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/22/nyregion/death-post-office-4-shot-dead-new-jersey-post-office-wide-manhunt-but-motive-not.html] * 2 decades later, Montclair reflects on deadly post office shooting [https://www.nj.com/essex/2015/03/montclair_post_office_shooting_anniversary_shell.html] * Post Office Supervisor Shot to Death; Co-Worker Arrested [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/28562023/] * The Chilling Story Of The Post Office Shootings That Inspired The Phrase ‘Going Postal’ [https://allthatsinteresting.com/going-postal] * Seinfeld Clip: because the mail never stops… [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL6ubXD9ZjY&t=23s]

Marko pulls out one of his classic unsolved mysteries with the Oakville blobs -- mysterious, illness-inducing goo from the sky -- before Corrigan revisits the claims of organ harvesting by Falun Gong she touched on a few weeks ago. Let's really dive in to the evidence... or lack thereof. HIGHLIGHTS: [0:00] Marko tells Corrigan about the Oakville blobs: mysterious, illness inducing goo from the sky [20:12] Uh oh, it's a Marko inspirational speech. Plus, Corrigan goes to Asia, then comes back and meets a legend [32:00] Watch-along time is upon us! Help us pick a space horror! [38:40] What we watched! (Hold Your Breath, The Rule of Jenny Pen, Stuck, The Woman in the Yard, 825 Forest Road, Sinners, The Incident, Conclave, Opus, Bunny Lake Is Missing, Hollow Man, Kneecap, Thanatomorphose, the Untamed [01:24:40] CoRri revisits the claims of organ harvesting by Falun Gong STUFF WE REFERENCED: * China used to harvest organs from prisoners. Under pressure, that practice is finally ending. [https://archive.is/20240503042417/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/in-the-face-of-criticism-china-has-been-cleaning-up-its-organ-transplant-industry/2017/09/14/d689444e-e1a2-11e6-a419-eefe8eff0835_story.html] * Forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_organ_harvesting_from_Falun_Gong_practitioners_in_China] * Food Aspiration In Lungs: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment [https://www.natureword.com/food-aspiration-in-lungs-causes-symptoms-and-treatment/] * Foreign body in the liver: Case report and review of literature [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4614338/] * First Known Survivor of China’s Forced Organ Harvesting Speaks Out  [https://thediplomat.com/2024/08/first-known-survivor-of-chinas-forced-organ-harvesting-speaks-out/] * China is harvesting organs from Falun Gong members, finds expert panel [https://www.reuters.com/article/world/china-is-harvesting-organs-from-falun-gong-members-finds-expert-panel-idUSKCN1TI235/] * UN urged to investigate ‘forced’ organ harvesting in China [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/9/25/un-urged-to-investigate-forced-organ-harvesting-in-china]

While Corrigan is gallivanting through Asia, Marko takes over with a lively reading of a gruesome tale: Michael Shea's "The Autopsy."