HORROR BY GASLIGHT: Chilling Unsolved Murders That Haunted The Victorian Era Beyond Jack the Ripper

Gaslit streets, shadowy crimes, and killers who vanished without a trace — these haunting Victorian-era murders remain unsolved more than a century later.

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IN THIS EPISODE: The fog-shrouded streets of Victorian England – where gaslit alleys concealed dark secrets and justice often remained elusive. From the gruesome "Shakespeare" murder that had London wondering if Jack the Ripper had crossed the Atlantic, to dismembered bodies scattered along the Thames, to high society poisonings that scandalized the nation, the Boxing Day slaughter of the Murphy siblings, the Christmas Eve killing of actress Harriet Buswell, the strange death of Charles Bravo that exposed a scandalous love triangle, and more. In an era of rudimentary forensics and primitive police work, these murderers vanished into history, leaving behind only questions and theories. These crimes from the 1800s remain unsolved today – just as they were over a century ago.

CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Disclaimer and East River Shadows” (Short Story Lead-In)
00:07:15.256 = Show Open
00:10:36.687 = THE GRUESOME MURDER OF SHAKESPEARE: Jack The Ripper In America?, Part 1
00:25:14.532 = THE GRUESOME MURDER OF SHAKESPEARE: Jack The Ripper In America?, Part 2
00:39:17.189 = THE GRUESOME MURDER OF SHAKESPEARE: Jack The Ripper In America?, Part 3
00:50:37.114 = THE THAMES TORSO MURDERS: Victorian London's Forgotten Serial Killer
01:13:31.020 = THE BALHAM MYSTERY: The Inexplicable Poisoning of Charles Bravo
01:35:48.075 = BLOOD ON BOXING DAY: The Gatton Murders
01:47:56.775 = THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF MADELEINE SMITH; Love, Poison, and Mystery
02:01:50.405 = BRADFORD BUTCHERY: The Tragic Case of John Gill
02:19:09.778 = THE GRIMWOOD MURDER: The Real-Life Crime Behind Oliver Twist's Darkest Scene
02:34:00.843 = CHRISTMAS MURDER OF A FORGOTTEN ACTRESS: The Case of Harriet Busman
02:49:39.560 = THE PIMLICO POISONINGS: Marriage, Minister, Murder, and Mystery
02:59:58.344 = Show Close, Verse, and Final Thought

SOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE… https://weirddarkness.com/UnsolvedVictorian
BOOK: “Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper — Case Closed" (2002) by Patricia Cornwell: https://amzn.to/3Y51Bsl
BOOK: "Chasing the Ripper" (2014) by Patricia Cornwell: https://amzn.to/3GaZuNs
“The Murder of Shakespeare”: https://www.jack-the-ripper-tour.com/generalnews/the-murder-of-carrie-brown/, https://www.casebook.org/dissertations/dst-carrieb.html, https://www.casebook.org/victims/carrie.html, https://hadenajames.wordpress.com/2019/02/14/carrie-brown/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfMrWSWryIg
“Thames Torso Murders”: https://staffblogs.le.ac.uk/crimcorpse/2016/05/31/thames-torso-murders/, https://www.casebook.org/dissertations/thames-torso-murders.html, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPGCIP2fBJs, https://www.express.co.uk/news/history/1967801/jack-the-ripper-london-thames-torso-killer
“he Pimlico Poisoning”: https://www.shedunnitshow.com/thepimlicopoisoningmysterytranscript/, https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/record/t18860405-466, https://charlespearce.org/pub/unsolved-murder-mysteries/chapter-6.2, https://thethreepennyguignol.com/2024/04/17/the-impossible-case-of-the-pimlico-poisoning/
“The Balham Mystery: The Inexplicable Death of Charles Bravo”: https://london-overlooked.com/charles-bravo/, https://philanthony5092.medium.com/the-balham-mystery-or-the-notorious-death-of-charles-bravo-88f298c3e89f, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0PFklzKtiw, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzWUobbsC7E
“Blood On Boxing Day: The Gatton Murders”: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-17/aus-story-gatton-murders/4759320, https://unresolved.me/the-gatton-murders, https://www.police.qld.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-07/1898%20Gatton%20Murders.pdf
“The Strange Affair of Madeleine Smith”: https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/entertainment/2738490/madeleine-smith/, https://www.atmostfear-entertainment.com/culture/criminology/love-lies-and-arsenic-the-poisoned-promises-of-madeleine-hamilton-smith/, https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/madeleine-smith, https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/madeleine-smith-the-alleged-victorian-poisoner-who-became-a-global-mystery-after-she-was-cleared-susan-morrison-4555186
“Bradford Butchery: The Tragic Case of John Gill”: https://www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/blog/blog-posts/the-bradford-murder-mystery-jack-the-ripper-up-north.php, https://www.jack-the-ripper-tour.com/generalnews/the-murder-of-john-gill/, https://www.shortstories101.com/story/the-john-gill-case/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFIScixTlag, https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/15601386.unsettling-tale-of-murder-in-victorian-bradford/
“The Grimwood Murder: The Real-Life Crime Behind Oliver Twist's Darkest Scene”: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/apr/11/dickens-oliver-twist-eliza-grimwood-murder, https://www.jack-the-ripper-tour.com/generalnews/the-murder-of-eliza-grimwood/, https://katdevitt.com/2025/01/30/the-unsolved-murder-of-eliza-grimwood-the-crime-that-inspired-charles-dickenss-oliver-twist/, https://www.eadt.co.uk/things-to-do/21559441.ipswich-stonham-aspal-girl-eliza-murdered-serial-killer/, https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/lifestyle/memories/south-london-memories-tales-of-haunting-by-the-victim-of-grizzly-murder/
“Christmas Murder of Forgotten Actress: The Case of Harriet Busman”: https://www.jack-the-ripper-tour.com/generalnews/murder-without-motive/, https://branchcollective.org/?ps_articles=marlene-tromp-a-priori-harriet-buswell-and-unsolved-murder-before-jack-the-ripper-24-25-december-1872, https://katdevitt.com/2024/12/30/the-unsolved-christmas-murder-of-harriet-buswell/, https://www.judithflanders.co.uk/a-sad-story-with-no-ending/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56tNB5LSmoE
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Originally aired: April 17, 2025

EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/UnsolvedVictorian