Ep. 81 - Madame Tussaud's MACABRE Origin Story

My Victorian Nightmare

Genevieve Manion

History

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 9 February 2026

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On today's episode, Genevieve will discuss Madame Tussaud's macabre origin story, haunted houses, fatal theater accidents, murder in a row boat, murder in a furnace, death in a dentist’s chair, and a courageous, life-saving dog - all this and much, much more. Subscribe to the Newsletter! ⁠https://myvictoriannightmare.myflodesk.com/myukzmys04⁠ Subscribe to the Patreon free trial for ad-free listening! ⁠https://www.patreon.com/cw/MyVictorianNightmare/membership Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DUa9VvBjhmS/?igsh=bmR0b2dnZ2hmaXdy References: https://www.delish.com/food-news/a70248518/toxic-levels-arsenic-found-in-candy/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamber_of_Horrors_(Madame_Tussauds) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Tussaud https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/04/madame-tussaud-edward-carey-little “A Haunted House” - The Jeffersonian, Dec. 3rd, 1859. The Spiritualist, Feb. 15th, 1870. “Terrible & Fatal Accident At The New Theatre” - The Bristol Mercury and Daily Post, Western Countries and South Wales Advertiser, Jan 1st, 1870. A Girl Pursues her Faithless Lover and Shoots him in a Row-Boat while Crossing the Sound to Elizabethport, N. J. - The Illustrated Police News, Apr. 11th, 1872. Death Laughs at the Laughing Gas, Behind the Dentist’s Chair - The Illustrated Police News, Apr. 11th, 1872. “A Well-to-do Jerseyman’s Wife Begging in the Streets of New York” - The Illustrated Police News, Mar. 14th, 1872. “MADE HER OWN SHROUD” - The Illustrated Police News, Mar. 21st, 1872. “A MOTHER-IN-LAW’S SACRIFICE” - The Illustrated Police News, Apr. 11th, 1872. Extraordinary Shipwreck and Wonderful Sagacity of a Dog - The Illustrated Police News, Apr. 18th, 1872. Which the Human and which the Brute—Wonderful Sagacity of a Mare which Assists her Drunken Owner Home by the Coat Collar - The Illustrated Police News, Apr. 11th, 1872 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to my Victorian nightmare. I'm your host, Genevieve Mannion,
0:09.1	and I'm here to talk about mysterious deaths, morbid fascinations, disturbing stories, and otherwise spooky events from the Victorian era.
0:19.6	Because to me, there's just something especially intriguing,
0:22.6	creepy, and oddly comforting about horror and mayhem from the 19th century. So, listener discretion
0:30.8	is advised.
0:44.0	Hello, friends, and welcome to this my 81st episode.
0:46.7	I hope that you had a lovely week.
0:50.5	I hope that your disassociative skills are sharpening.
0:56.7	The happy places that you visit in your minds are glistening with sunlight. Palm trees swaying in the wind. My happy place is my grandparents' dank haunted basement. They had a real
1:03.0	human skeleton down there. I spent a lot of time talking about Jim and the holograns to that guy in
1:08.2	the 80s. Great listener. Happy memories. Anyway, for you today,
1:12.7	dear listener, I have Madam
1:14.7	Toussaud's creepy origin
1:16.8	story, haunted houses,
1:18.9	fatal theater, accidents,
1:20.6	murder in a rowboat, murder in a furnace,
1:23.1	death in a dentist chair,
1:24.4	and a courageous, life-saving
1:26.9	dog. All this and much, much more.
1:33.5	But first, thank you to Amanda, Delia, Megan, Sarah, Olivia, Nikki, and Erin for joining the
1:40.6	Patreon this week. You and everyone who has joined are the reason why my show can
1:46.6	continue. If you would like to receive the show at free or you feel you would enjoy some
	...

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