Hello, and welcome to another episode of Nostologic Mystery Radio.

I'm your host Stevie K.

And it's my honor to bring you the radio shows of yesteryear.

And if you enjoy this podcast, I would be so appreciative if you give this podcast a follow

or maybe tell a friend who also enjoy old-time radio like you and I.

For today's episode, I bring you,

Seekers of Stotland Yard, episode titled Buckets of Blood,

where the head of a murder victim is used to entice a murderer to confess his crime.

So sit back and relax, and I hope you enjoy this nostalgic mystery radio. Thank you for listening.

How do you do? This is Ty Broome. It is said that Christian II, a 16th century king of Denmark, would inform one night that

a courtier had been stabbed and killed in a tavern brawl.

The candles had been extinguished during the fight, and the murderer was consequently unknown.

Now determined to discover him, the king ordered all who had been present to reassemble in the

Taran. One by one they were made to lay their hands over the heart of the dead man. As the last

man, a soldier, obeyed the king's command. Blood trickled from the mouth of the corpse. Thereupon

the soldier broke down and admitted the murder. This charming little tale is the origin of the belief that when confronted with the evidence of his guilt, the criminal will confess.

Coupled with a maxim that a murderer will always return to the scene of his crime, it formed the basis of criminal detection for many years.

The practice in England was to stick the head of a victim on the top of a pole,

and for officers of the law to stand guard over it, scrutinizing the demeanor of each passerby.

This was done with the trunkless head that was discovered on the left bank of the Thames early in 1726.

It was only one of the appetizing episodes in the casebook history I'm about to tell you.

By way of warning, or perhaps inducement, I have called the case buckets of blood.

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