UPCOMING APPEARANCES:

Saturday, October 5, 2024: Book signing at Darksome Art and Craft Market, Mount Moriah Cemetery, Philadelphia. 11am-5pm.
Monday, October 14, 2024: Dark History I at Ridley Library, Folsom, PA. 6:30pm.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024: Demon, Witch, Cannibal at Marple Library, Broomall, PA. 6:30pm.
Monday, October 28, 2024: Ordinary Poisons at Hockessin Library, Hockessin, DE. 6:00pm.

NEW FOR 2024!
Pathfinder: How Pennsylvania's Ann Preston Blazed the Trail for Woman Doctors

​In 1850, the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania was founded in Philadelphia as the first fully authorized medical school in the world for women to earn an MD. It was established by a group of progressive Quakers and businessmen from southeastern Pennsylvania that believed women had a right to advanced education in medicine. Within two years of opening its doors, though, it was faced with utter failure—until one determined Quaker lady stepped up to keep the dream alive, against all odds. This is the story of Chester County's Dr. Ann Preston, one of the nation's first woman doctors and the first woman dean of a medical school in American history.
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NEW FOR 2024!
Bonfire of the Ballet Girls: Beauty, Peril, and Power on the 19th Century Stage
In the 19th century, the symbol of grace and beauty was the ballerina, in her gauzy white costume; meanwhile, the height of modernity on stage was gas illumination. The combination of the two could sometimes spell disaster for the ballerina, the theater, and the audience. In this lecture, we explore the system of poverty, exploitation, and desperation which ultimately resulted in the fiery deaths of nine dancers in Philadelphia, and dozens more around the world.
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Dark History I: Murder, Madness & Misadventure in Penn's Woods
This program features true tales from the mysterious history of Delaware and Chester Counties. Hear cases of witchcraft and natural disasters. Learn how one woman's murder trial in the 18th century changed the Pennsylvania legal system forever, and how the system of indentured servitude might have driven one young man to commit the most heinous of crimes.

Now a book! CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

Dark History II: Unusual Deaths, Crimes & Hauntings in Penn's Woods
Based on the popular first Dark History lecture, this program features more true tales of the region’s disasters, deaths and tragedies. Learn about the "coffin ships" that brought European immigrants into Philadelphia, and how one tragic crime inspired ghost-hunting mania in Delaware County. Hear about a terrible miscarriage of justice in Media and a dreadful explosion in Chester. At the end, we'll explore a cold case that remains unsolved after 65 years.

Coming soon as a book! CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER

Dark History III: Black Widows and the Devil’s Luck
The third installment of the Dark History series, this program features more true stories of bloodshed and misfortune in southeastern Pennsylvania. Explore mysterious shipwrecks with ties to Pennsylvania as well as a criminal poison ring that may have killed over 100 people. Learn about how mental illness and abuse may have driven one 19th century woman to commit a terrible crime.

Dark History IV: Cults, Crimes, and Other Catastrophes
The fourth installment of the Dark History series, this program features more true dark stories of Penn's Woods, including a cult in Chester County, a fiery disaster in Berks County, and a lust-fueled poisoning in northern Delaware that resulted in the state's only legal execution by burning.

“What Heart so Hard”: The Hanging of Elizabeth Wilson
In 1786 Elizabeth Wilson, a farmer’s daughter from Chester County, became the last woman executed for infanticide in Pennsylvania. This lecture will address her mysterious life, controversial death, and the way history gets reshaped over time.

Demon, Witch, Cannibal: Pennsylvania’s Early Settlers and the Supernatural
For fans of everything spooky, Pennsylvania has a reputation as an unmitigated disappointment— but that is far from the truth. Because of its origins, the Quaker colony has a unique and sometimes extreme relationship with the metaphysical

The Root of All Evil: Greed, Murder, and Life Insurance Swindles in Greater Philadelphia
This presentation will examine some of the worst cases of murder for life insurance in southeastern Pennsylvania, including the Udderzook Tragedy, the Sarah Whiteling murders, H.H. Holmes and more.

Ordinary Poisons: Quack Medicine, Fashion Victims and Good Intentions Gone Bad
From arsenic wallpaper to radium water, tutus to soda, explore the different historical ways that everyday objects could kill.

Plagues and Pestilence in West Chester
In the early 1800s Chester County, PA billed itself as an elegant and healthful place, but the reality was very different. This lecture will explore its fight against infectious diseases in the 19th and early 20th centuries, how families coped with loss, and how they worked to overcome the King of All Fears--Death.

Troubled Waters: Disasters on the Delaware River and Beyond
This presentation shares the stories of vessels that met tragic ends on or near the Delaware River, as well as some ships with local connections that experienced strange and unexplained incidents at sea.

Infamous: The Life and Legend of Outlaw James Fitzpatrick
This presentation covers both the fact and fiction of a Revolutionary-era bandit named James Fitzpatrick, whose legend as "Sandy Flash" would be cemented by author Bayard Taylor in the 19th century. Born near Kennett Square, Fitzpatrick was a blacksmith, soldier, deserter, and highwayman--and may have been the unjust victim of a botched execution at the hands of bloodthirsty Patriots. (image courtesy of Stephanie Farra)