It's that feeling when the energy and the room shifts, when the air gets sucked out of

a moment and everything starts to feel wrong.

It's the instinct between fight or flight.

When your brain is trying to make sense of what it's seeing, it's when your heart starts

to stand there.

Welcome to Heart Starts Pounding.

I'm your host, Kaelin Moore.

If you're joining us for the first time, this is a podcast of terrifying tales, often told

by those who lived them, and if you're a repeat listener, welcome back.

I'm of the belief that every hometown has a dark secret.

Sometimes it's thrilling, like the neighbor with the nicest car on the block getting

arrested for fraud.

Sometimes it's a salacious tale of the local parishioner being caught with his pants down.

Other times it's as sinister as murder.

Today, we're deviating from our standard format, and I'm going to tell you a spooky tale

of hometown history, a tale of fraud, of a pious woman's devilish impulses.

But at the forefront, it's a tale of murder.

Our story starts with the young man who is caught in the middle of it all.

This past year, I found a photo of my family having Thanksgiving dinner in the year 1900,

just one town over from where I grew up.

The photo is about 20 solemn faces, ranging from infant to elder, all staring directly

into the camera.

...