Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “The Midwest Black Widow” Pt. 2 - Belle Gunness

Episode Date: September 25, 2017

A fire rages at black widow Belle Gunness's murder farm, where her many victims lie buried below her hog pen. After deputies find a headless woman's body in the ashes, authorities believe that Belle was murdered by her jealous farmhand. But Greg and Vanessa think that’s exactly what Belle wanted them to believe. Why would a serial killer fake her own death? And what would drive her to do so? Greg and Vanessa investigate.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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And now, you can try it for free at ZipRecruiter.com slash killers. That's ZipRecruiter. Meet your match on ZipRecruiter. This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Bonnie and Clyde, the Lonely Hearts Killers, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. These are infamous criminal duels. But you don't need to break any laws to find your perfect business partner because you have Shopify. It's the commerce platform that can help you with literally everything, website design, marketing, shipping, and more. So start your business today with the best partner, Shopify, and get that. Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at Shopify.com slash killers. That's Shopify.com slash killers. This is Euphoria Calvin Klein, the new elixir collection featuring three perfume in 10 cents.

inspired by a unique orchid accord paired with vanilla, each with its own distinct attitude, each with its own universe, bold elixir, sensual, woody, addictive, magnetic elixir, sweet and romantic like a lingering touch, solar elixir, a radiant expression of joy, ultra-concentrated for amplified impact and lasting power. Find your euphoria. Discover the Euphoria Elixir Collection by Calvin Klein. Hi, I'm Greg Polson, and this is serial killers. Today we're going to take a deep dive into the life of Belle Gunas, the Black Widow who killed multiple men and children in her quest for financial gain. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Vanessa's not a licensed

psychologist or psychiatrist, but she's done a lot of research for the show. Hi, everyone. We'd like to ask a quick favor. Would you leave a five-star review of serial killers on your favorite podcast directory? It seems so simple, but it really helps us out. And don't forget to subscribe while you're there, because a new episode comes out every Monday. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram at Parcast and on Twitter at Parcast Network. Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes dramatizations and discussions of murder and assault that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13.

In the early morning hours of April 27, 1908, a house began to burn. Bell! Children, are you in here? Joe Maxen, the farmman who replaced Ray Lamphair in February of 19. was woken by the smell of smoke that fateful morning. He was on the second floor of Bell's farmhouse in LaPort, Indiana, the very farmhouse that was being devoured by flames. When Joe opened his bedroom door, he was greeted by a wall of fire. So he jumped out the second-story window and hurried into town in a panic.

When the fireman arrived on the scene, it was too late. The house had crumbled, slowly transforming into ash. As authorities made their way through the, the rubble, they found the headless body of a woman. It was suspected that the corpse was that of Bell goodness herself, but it couldn't be identified at that point because there was no head to examine. Bell's three children were also found inside, consumed by flames. Their charred remains were all that was left of them. That sight must have been awful. I can only imagine. The man in charge of the investigation, Sheriff Alfred Smutzer, was quick to act. He had a suspect in mind. Bell's former

farmhand Ray Lamfair. Just one day earlier, Belle had reported that she believed Ray would kill her and her family and burn her entire house down because he was furious she gave him the romantic brush off. But was that actually the case? Did Ray torch the farmhouse to kill Bell and her innocent children as a horrific act of revenge? Or did the bold, buxom black widow, murderer of several gullible men, set him up? Leading up to the fire, Bell had murdered five men that we have addressed, two of which were her husbands, but there were plenty of other victims that would be uncovered. Bell has become known as one of the most prolific black widow killers ever, that is, women named after the deadly spider. These women murder their lovers out of

rage, sexual dysfunction, or financial gain. Bell made a killing, pardon the pun, targeting lonely men, mostly immigrants in the personal ads. These were aptly called the Lonely Hearts columns. Bell used this as her platform for reeling in men and their money before brutally killing and dismembering them. That's right. She'd publish ads, talking up herself and her property, trying to lure men looking for companionship and a foundation. But most importantly, a comely wife. That's what Bell offered. Well, this and much more. She offered a meal upon their arrival. Then she offered sleep by strychnine poisoning. And then death by meat cleaver. a swift bludgeoning to the head.

Bell's M.O. worked well for her. After her victims were dead, she'd use that powerful upper body strength of hers and carry their bodies to the basement where she'd butcher their corpses. Then she'd often let the voracious hogs in the pen devour the remains. Whatever was left got buried on the grounds.

Now, I have to admit that Bell strikes me as quite an anomaly when it comes to female serial killers. Why do you say that? Well, we've discussed various female serial killers on the show, And we've learned that most female serial killers, dare I say, kill more discreetly? Without the mess, you mean? Right. I see where you're going with this.

The majority of female serial killers have this ammo in common, poisoning their victims. Arsenic was usually the go-to poison, but over time, women have gotten more creative. In 2007, a former 911 operator named Lynn Turner was charged with poisoning her boyfriend with antifreeze. Lynn Turner looked away as prosecutor Penny Penn urged jurors to convict her and says the ex-9-1-1 operator killed fireman Randy Thompson for the same reason she did her husband Glenn out of her lust for money. They were worth so much more to her dead than they ever were alive. And if we look at female serial killers active in the late 19th century

when Bell was actively killing, we see that there were quite a few who preferred the quiet method of poisoning over overt violence like stabbing or shooting. Some of the most famous were Lydia Sherman, Sarah Jane Robinson, and Jane Topin. But Lydia Sherman primarily poisoned children. Her method emerged from her desperation. She first murdered her husband, whom she viewed as useless to support her and their family. She put arsenic in as porridge.

And the doctor concluded the cause of death was too much alcohol consumption. Remember, medical methods were not really great back then, and it's because of this that female serial killers, like Lydia Sherman and Belguna, thrived for some time. Lydia was also a mother of six, and as she succumbed to poverty, she made the decision to eventually kill all of her children because she no longer wanted to care for them.

She poisoned them all over the course of a year, ending with her eldest, her daughter, also named Lydia. Like Lydia, other female serial killers of the time relied on poisoning, hiding their dirty deeds under the guise of the medical conditions of the time. These killers used poison as a means of elimination and simply pretended that their victims died of natural causes. But not Bell.

Right. She poisoned her victims. This part is the same. But what she did after is vastly different than her serial killer contemporaries. She violently bludgeoned her victims over the head with a meat cleaver and then sliced and diced their bodies. Yes. She hacked off heads and limbs, removed shoulders from sockets,

and stuffed body parts that she sprinkled with quicklime into grain sacks. This chemical compound, which comes from limestone, is said to prevent the body from smelling and help it decay faster. She had developed quite the procedure, but there was nothing discreet or clean about it. Like you said, it was very, very messy.

But even though it was messy, she was very good about keeping it concealed. She had what would eventually be called the murder farm to thank for that. She could fit a lot of bodies on all that land. Well, what can this mess? aspect of her MOTELUS. It can tell us that her kills were not solely about money.

She didn't just want to get it over with simply and quickly. She enjoyed the gore. She enjoyed the physical destruction. In this way, I have to think that for Belle, there was a sexual component to her kills. She derived a sick pleasure from the mutilations and dismemberments. I might go as far to say that Bell was a sexual psychopath. Which, as we know from the previous episode, it's almost unheard of in female serial killers. Yes, because women tend to kill for money and resources, but men kill for sexual

gratification. And even though she was killing men and disposing of them in such a savage manner, Belle didn't discriminate. While a man offering her money was her victim de Jure, she also killed children, including some of her own. It's suspected that Bell killed her two young infants for their insurance policies. We also mentioned in episode one that she killed her foster daughter, Jenny Olson. This was most likely because Jenny had told a classmate that Bell had killed her father, Peter, and Bell felt that she had to shut her up. That's right. And if we look at the archetype of the Black Widow serial killer, we will also learn that while gaining money was the prime motivation, these women would also kill anyone who got in their way. So when Jenny Olson

became a threat to Bell, in Bell's mind, she had to be eliminated. In the previous episode, we also addressed that Bell may have lost her maternal instinct when she had miscarried a child after being violently beaten by a man. Yes, that seems to be a pivotal turning point in Bell's serial killer journey, the loss of that unborn child. And the manner in which it occurred probably scarred her so much that it sparked in her a cold disregard for children. Like the men in her life, they also became pawns in her game. And if they crossed her, she had no problem getting rid of them. So what else does the Black Widow archetype tell us?

Well, Michael and C.L. Kelleher, in their book Murder Most Rare, describe the Black Widow as, quote, typically intelligent, manipulative, highly organized, and patient. She plans her activities with great care. In many cases, the Black Widow begins to murder relatively late in life, often after the age of 30, and therefore brings a good deal of maturity and patience to the planning and commission of her crimes.

She relies on her ability to win the confidence and trust of her victims as a precursor to any attack. For this reason, she is seldom viewed as a suspect. Well, Belle fits the bill, I'm guessing. Yep, she was 31 when she murdered her first husband, although her first two kills may have actually been her two young children in 1900. Regardless, she was at least 30 years old. She didn't spend a lot of time getting to know her victims in person, but it's safe to say she earned a good deal of trust just by communicating with them via letters.

Right. So by the time they showed up at her doorstep, they had probably already committed to her in their minds. And meeting was almost like a formality. Remember that gushy love letter she wrote to Andrew Hegelian? Oh, yes. That was one significant way in which she earned her victim's trust. Bell communicated with Andrew for about six months before he came to meet her. That's a lot of time spent on priming a victim.

But that makes sense. Considering the quote about Black Widow killers, the part about these women having maturity and patience and planning. their kills. Absolutely. It was all part of Bell's ploy to build trust so she could strike and then look completely innocent. As for the children, she was their mother, so trust was just a given. But none of this manipulation or any of her kills would come to light until after the fire. When that occurred, Bell's murder farm no longer stood as a fortress guarding her darkest secrets. No. The fire crumbled walls and beams. And all that was left was the truth.

Just waiting to be discovered. Our story will continue in a moment after the break. Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right, so I can tune out travel advice that's just plain wrong. Bro, Skycoin, way better than points. Never fly during a Scorpio full moon. Just tell the manager you'll sue. Instant room upgrade.

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And now, back to our story. It took time for the truth to be revealed. And in the meantime, the suspicion spotlight was now on Ray Lamfair, Bell's fired farmhand. Sheriff Smutzer didn't waste any time. He confronted Ray, who immediately asked, did Widow goodness and the kids get out okay? So Ray either knew about the fire from the townspeople or uttered those words because he had something to do with it. Yes. But then a young man came forward to provide some other information.

His name was John Silliam, and he said that the morning of the blaze, he saw Ray running from the house just before the flames started. That seems a little incriminating. Investigators were also trying to solve the matter of the missing head and properly identify the female corpse found in the wreckage. Various neighbors and friends of Bell weighed in. They did not believe the remains belonged to Bell. So, the next step was to do a detailed,

examination of the remains. Doctors measured them and concluded that the dead woman was much too short to be Belle. Factoring in her head, the woman was only about five foot three. Bell was over six feet. How can you argue with that? Right. Even though the remains were charred, which could account for less length, a nine-inch difference, it's hard to ignore. And then a doctor named Jay Myers examined the internal organs of the body and sent the stomach contents to a pathologist in Chicago. And what did the pathologist say? The organs contained deadly doses of strychnine. Stricknine was Belganis drug of choice.

She used it on practically all her victims. So who was this headless woman? Well, answering this question definitively became the central quest for investigators. And so, Bell's dentist, Dr. Iwer P. Norton, came into the fold. According to him, if the teeth of the dead woman were located, they could surely provide some valuable insight into the identity of the body.

So Louis Schultz, a former miner who went by Klondike, was hired to sift through all the debris from the fire. On May 19, 1908, almost a month after the fire, Klondike's team found some dental remains containing two human canines, porcelain teeth, and some gold crownwork. This was a big deal because Bell's dentist claimed he had performed that dental work for Bell.

And it was this statement that convinced coroner Charles Mack to declare that the remains, in fact, did belong to Belle. What's interesting is that even in her absence, Bell is still causing such a conundrum in the town. What were her teeth doing in the remains if she hadn't perished in the fire? Did she plan this as well?

Well, I can't help to think about what you said about the Black Widow archetype. These types of killers are intelligent and highly organized and tend to meticulously plan out their crimes, right? So was this just a genius plan set in motion by a sexual psychopath who wanted to get away Scott Free?

If that's the case, then could she have actually removed her teeth and put them in the wreckage to throw off investigators? Was there a woman walking around somewhere without teeth just going about her business? The whole scenario is just bizarre. Well, let's focus on what she actually did. It was Joe Maxen, Bell's second farmhand, that came forth with information that led to authorities discovering the true nature of Bell. Joe told Sheriff Smutzer that Bell had made him bring loads of dirt to a large area where the hogs fed. She showed him holes in the area that had been covered by dirt. When Maxen asked about the mounds of dirt,

Bell told them they were simply concealing trash. But she wanted the ground to be made level. So she told Joe to fill in any empty spaces that were not filled with trash. It was because of this reveal that Sheriff Smutzer took a team back to the farm to dig. And here's what they found. The body of Jenny Olson, Bell's foster daughter. The one Bell claimed went off to a Lutheran University. And then came the body of Andrew Hegelian.

This was the swede who had come to Wu Bell, but he disappeared, which caused his brother, Alsat, to write to Bell inquiring about his brother's whereabouts. And that most likely scared Bell, right? Yes, this was the first case in which a relative of one of Bell's suitors posed a serious threat to her. As the investigation went on and the digging continued, more and more bodies were unearthed. Old B. Budsburg from Wisconsin. He vanished in May of 1907, Thomas Linbo from Chicago, who went to work for Bell three years prior, Henry Gerholt from Wisconsin, who had arrived with $1,500 in hand for Bell.

A watch Gertholt owned was also discovered and later identified as his. The list goes on. There was also Olaf Zvenharud, a man from Chicago, John Moe from Minnesota, and Olaf Lindblum from Wisconsin. Just considering these, that's already eight victims in total. But that's not where we stop. There were reports of other possible victims, about 33. Why the uncertainty? Most of the remains found on Bell's farm could not be identified.

But there were reports of missing persons and other elements that suggested these people could have been victims of Bell's murder agenda. However, the exact number of victims attributed to Bell is believed to be approximately 12. Interesting. Considering another aspect of the Black Widow archetype, according to Michael and St. L. Kelleher, the average Black Widow will claim between six and 13 victims during her active period, which generally ranges from 10 to 15 years. So if Bell killed 12 people at her farm and her first husband, Mauds and her two infant children, well, that puts her at 15, which is a bit above the average for the Black Widow,

but very close indeed. And let's also consider how long she actively killed for. Well, that's indeterminable. What we can do is only focused on her first kills in 1900. to her last Leport kills in 1908. So about eight years within the ballpark. Days after these discoveries, about 10,000 people,

mostly tourists, flooded to the murder farm. It shockingly became like a morbid amusement park. Hot dog vendors swarmed to take advantage of the sudden crowds. Others sold souvenir postcards of the horrific farmhouse. In a corner of the postcards was a picture of Bell. Vanessa, what could account for this level of fascination? Well, human fascination with serial killers is nothing new. And according to James Hoare, editor of the British magazine Real Crime,

they represent something larger than life, something truly cartoonishly monstrous, like the horror stories you're told as a child. I think he touches on something profound here. Stories of serial killers are like fairy tales for adults. It's as if there's something ingrained in our psyches that causes us to need stories about being hunted by monsters. It's funny you should mention that. because the newspapers jumped on the badm wagon, too.

They soon called her America's female blue beard, which is a reference to the fairy tale known as Bluebeard. Yes, it was first put into print in France by Charles Perrault in his collection of stories known as Tales of Past Times. In English, we call it Mother Goose's Tales. Right. I loved those stories as a kid. In the story, a man named Bluebeard, which was given to him due to the strange color of his beard,

tries to find a woman to spend his life with. He has tons of wealth and a beautiful estate, and he just wants someone to share it with. But all the women flee at the sight of him and his beard. However, he finally seduces a beautiful woman and takes her to his mansion. He tells her she can open any door except for one. Well, of course, having a grasp on human psychology and behavior,

I can assume the woman goes right for the door she isn't supposed to open. Bingo! When she opens the door to the first, forbidden room. She finds corpses upon corpses inside, women that Bluebeard had married and then killed. Sounds like he kept the bodies as trophies. Exactly. But when he finds out what his new wife has done, he prepares to kill her as well. But thankfully, in the story, she is rescued just in time by her strong strapping brothers. In the story. But life is not a story. And if someone is within the

Clutches of a serial killer, rarely are they rescued or able to escape. It's revealed through the story that Bluebeard had become a rich man and was able to live in a mansion because of the money he amassed from his several wives. So Bluebeard is the male version of the Black Widow. And like Bell Gunness, he is an interesting case. He isn't, like other male serial killers, driven solely by sexual desires. I'm sure that played a part, but he was mainly after profit. So Bluebeard goes against type.

Yep, but the archetype is similar to the Black Widow, hence Bell's nickname of Lady Bluebeard. Pretty chilling. Lady Bluebeard aside, Ray Lamb Fair, the man considered the prime suspect in the fire and the murders, was about to be tried in November of 1908. But before we get to that, let's take a little break. Now, our story continues. The trial of Ray Lamb Fair began on November 13, 1908. The courtroom was filled to the brim with townspeople.

He pleaded not guilty. His defense leaned on the idea that the body found in the ruins did not belong to goodness. That would mean she hadn't died in the fire and could have started it herself before she fled town. So it was up to Ray's lawyer, Wirt Warden, to disprove Irid Norton's identification of the teeth found in the wreckage. But it was the intention of Chief Prosecutor Ralph N. Smith to prove that the headless woman found in the ruins was in fact Bell and that she died in the fire. this would mean Ray Lamfair had set the fire, most likely out of revenge. It was suggested by the defense that the teeth were Bell's teeth and her own dentist, Dr. Norton, confirmed it. However, everyone in the courtroom couldn't deny that the dental work done to Belle's teeth by Dr. Norton was quite common,

and couldn't be the sole deciding factor on whether Ray was innocent or not. So what else did the jury consider? The fact that Ray may have threatened Bell out of jealousy once she began dating Andrew Hegelian. But we have to note that even though Ray may have threatened Bell, she saw a way to use this to her advantage, spreading word about town that she was scared of Ray and thought he was mentally unstable. It's as if she was prepping the town against Ray so that when the time came, everyone would think he was guilty of the fire and whatever else. So just when things were looking a little bleak for the defense, the tide turned. New information was revealed. A few witnesses came forth explaining to the court that they had, had seen Belle with an unidentified woman the day before the fire. When asked to describe the woman,

a witness said that she was large, but not quite as large as Bell. When asked if he had ever seen her again, the man answered, no. So the woman, like the men who came in contact with Bell, vanished. Could she have been the headless woman authorities found? It's entirely possible. Almost two weeks after the trial began, the defense and prosecution gave their closing statements. Warden, Ray's attorney, pleaded with the jury to spare his client's life in the face of what was only circumstantial evidence. The judge announced the verdict. The jury found Ray guilty of arson, but not murder. He was sentenced to two to 20 years in prison.

He only made it one, because in December of 1909, Ray Lamfair died from tuberculosis. But before he died, Ray gave a testimony that filled in a lot of the blanks. That's right. On January 14th, 1910, the Reverend E.A. Shell, came forth saying that Ray had confessed to him on his deathbed. Ray told the Reverend of Bell Gunas' crimes and that she was most certainly still alive. So according to Ray, Bell did not die in the fire. Correct. Ray told the Reverend that he hadn't murdered a soul, but that he

helped Bell bury most of the bodies. This is how she did it. After a man arrived, she made him feel very comfortable. She cooked a large meal for him, then drugged his coffee. When he was out cold, she would split his skull with a meat cleaver. But sometimes Belle would wait for her suitor to go to bed. Once he was asleep, she'd enter the room holding a candle, and then chloroform him. This must have been what happened to the suitor who got away. If you'll recall, there was a man named George Anderson

who awoke to find Bell standing over him with a lit candle. When he locked eyes with her, Bell fled the room. Then Anderson himself fled. So I guess the fact that he was a light sleeper really saved his life. Mm-hmm. He may not have known exactly what Bell was planning on doing, but the entire situation seemed strange enough to prompt him to leave in such a hurry. But not strange enough for him to report her to the authorities. True. At least that's what we can infer.

Now, once she had taken the bodies down to the basement, according to Ray, Bell would dissect them, chopping them up into pieces, all part of her process to dispose of her victims effectively. She'd become quite the expert at dissection because her second husband, Peter, a butcher, had taught her how. Oof, the irony. The skill he taught his wife was the skill she used to dispose of his body. Ray also shed some light on the mystery involving the headless woman. According to Ray, Belle had hired a woman from Chicago, pretending to offer her a job as a housekeeper. But there was no job. Instead, Bell killed the woman and decapitated her. Bell tied weights to the head and then threw it in a swamp. Bell then put her own clothes on the dead woman's body. After that, Bell removed her own clothes. false teeth and placed them beside the body in the house, ensuring that they would be discovered

after the fire and could falsely identify the body as Bell. So this poor woman was simply a pawn in Bell's elaborate plan? Bell hired her to be her decoy? According to Ray, yes. And what about the children? Well, apparently Bell chloroformed them and may have even smothered them to death. She dragged their bodies and the body of the headless woman to the basement. And then she started the fire. With Ray's help, He was part of the plan. However, at the last minute, Bell betrayed him. Instead of meeting him at a designated spot, she ran another way,

cutting across the open fields before she reached the woods and disappeared. Ray also told the Reverend that Bell was very wealthy. She had murdered about 42 men, maybe even more. From these kills, she had collected roughly $250,000. That would be about $6 million today. And the day before the fire, Bell withdrew most of her money. A telltale sign that someone is preparing to flee. And flee, she did.

But to where? That is the question. The mystery of Bell's whereabouts continued for several decades. Reports popped up all over America that Bell was cited here or there. Sheriff Smutzer, the point person on the case, had you endure 20 years of receiving at least two reports a month. Sometimes it was Chicago, other times it was San Francisco or New York, even Los Angeles. In 1931, Bell was reported scenes somewhere in Mississippi, where she supposedly owned a lot of property.

That would make sense that she'd have all that land, considering how much money she'd racked up. But was it true? No one knows for sure. What is known for sure is that when she fled La Port, she left a trail of intrigue, even obsession, in her wake. Ray Lamfair continued to pine after Bell even after he was convicted of arson and incarcerated.

His cellmate, Harry Myers, claim that Ray would just stare out his window and talk about Bell. Apparently, he even said, she's out there, Harry. Later, when Harry was released, he recounted an incident that supposedly happened while he and Ray were in prison. One night, both Harry and Ray were watching some visitors leave the premises. A woman passed by their window. She was big-boned, blonde, and well-endowed. When Ray saw her, he told Harry, and I quote,

She's about the size of my old gal. People think she's dead. She's not dead. Harry, she had a large scar on her left thigh, but that body that was burned, it had no scar. Besides, I know where Belle is, and she's not far from here. Believe me. When I consider all that Bell put Ray through, filing police reports against him, leaving him to take the blame for the fire and even the deaths of the children, how could Ray, after all this, still have warm and fuzzy feelings for Bell? It's quite simple. Ray was still under her spell.

Look, there's a reason these black widows are able to kill for a decade or more. There's a reason they're rarely ever suspected to be cold-blooded killers. They have charisma and charm. They use their sexuality to their advantage. They create narratives that their male counterparts want and need to believe. But how could these men have protected themselves? What could they have done, you mean? Well, for one, they could have changed their perspective.

They could have told themselves that because they didn't know this woman well or intimately, that maybe she couldn't be trusted. Or at the very least, maybe they needed to simply be on guard in case something was amiss. But they naively fell right into her plan, right? Exactly. Black widows utilized the idealism of romance to lure victims. If Ray Lamferre was willing to help Belle dispose of the bodies rather than turn her in, it's obvious that he had been manipulated by her.

Right. The lengths he went to please her, bearing bodies for her, keeping all her secrets, helping her torch the farmhouse. We see a similar archetype in the femme fatale character of film noir, movies like double indemnity, feature a woman with ulterior motives, winning over men and using them to her advantage for her wants and needs. This woman does so without regard for the men in her life. This woman is purely driven by selfish motivations. And what's more selfish than greed? But where does the archetype of the Black Widow originate?

We can see characteristics of the Black Widow in several ancient texts. Take Greek mythology, for example. The goddess Circe would lure men to her island, and when they were close enough, she would use a spell to transform them into hogs, making them prisoners of the island forever. Those familiar with Homer's The Odyssey may recall that Odysseus was the only man to escape her seduction

because the god Hermes had warned him of her peril. We can also see this character in the Bible. Even as early as the book of Genesis and the story of Adam and Eve, Eve is portrayed as a temptress, convincing Adam, her male counterpart, to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. And as a temptress, Belgones has become a figure of folklore, the way she fooled men and used their susceptibility to her sexuality to upend them.

But it's also the way she disappeared, veiled by flames, running off into the night, and how she seemed to reappear in different places. All this really makes her something of a legend. You know someone has left an impression when numerous, conflicting stories about them start materializing. According to the Leport County Historical Society, Bell became a famous sex worker in a brothel in the South.

But then there's the theory that she became a madam on the Atlantic coast and the claim that she escaped back to her homeland of Norway. She was even immortalized in a song. Mm-hmm. Here's a selection from one popular tune. Bell Gunnis was a lady fair in Indiana State. She weighed about 300 pounds, and that is quite some weight. That she was stronger than a man, her neighbors all did own.

She butchered hogs right easily and did it all alone. But hogs were just a sideline, she indulged in now and then. Her favorite occupation was a butchering of men. Because of Belle, Laporte became a city of interest. visitors still tour the town and the grounds of the farm. Young residents often dress up as Belle at Halloween. A bit morbid, I must say. Bell wasn't some made-up character from a horror film,

like Michael Myers or Freddie Kruger. She was a cold-blooded killer who took the lives of several men and children. But she remains an alluring figure in Laporte and beyond. So maybe she succeeded in her goals in more ways than she could have imagined. It's not only the many men who came to court her that she seduced. No, she seduced us all. Thanks again for tuning in to serial killers. If you want to listen to any previous episodes of serial killers,

you can find them on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Spotify, or on our website, Parchast.com, spelled P-A-R-C-C-A-S-T-com. If you like what you hear, please leave a five-star review or tell us what you think on social media. We're on Facebook and Instagram. as at Parkast and Twitter at Parcast Network. It seems simple, but it really helps our show. Join us next Monday as we delve into the twisted psyche of Charles Edmund Cullen.

Have a killer week. Serial Killers was created by Max Cutler and developed by Ron Cutler. It is a production of Cutler media and is part of the Parcast Network. It is produced by Max and Ron Cutler, sound designed by Ron Shapiro, with production assistance by Joel Stein, Carly Madden, and Maggie Eiffel. admire. Serial Killers is written by Jessica Mallow and stars Greg Poulson and Vanessa Richardson. All. Pay off your home, travel for life, drive a Ferrari. In celebration of the world premiere of the Monopoly Big Board Buckslot machine by Aristocrat Gaming, Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is

giving one person a $1.6 million dream package. The biggest prize in Yamava's history. Club Serrano members can earn daily instant prizes and secure a spot in the finale May 29th. Don't pass go and own it all. Only at Yamava, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You win? Details at yamava.com must be 21-20. Please gamble responsibly. Monopoly is a trademark of Hasbro. Hasbro is not a sponsor of this promotion. Blood Trails is a true crime podcast born in the outdoors,

where the terrain is unforgiving, the evidence is scarce, and the truth gets buried under brush and silence. I've seen something in the road. I instantly thought it was a sleeping bag, and there was a full of blood. Somebody somewhere knows something. I'm Jordan Sillers. Season two is out now with new episodes every Thursday.

Listen on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.