RedHanded - Episode 187 - Leonarda Cianciulli: The Soap-Maker of Correggio - Part 2

Episode Date: March 4, 2021

In the concluding part of this grisly series Leonarda Cianciulli sinks deeper into depravity. The fear reaches boiling point as her continued experiments, making human soap from the fat of her victims, fail to deliver. And with Leonarda's beloved son Giuseppe about to head to war - she knows she has just one last shot left to save him - and for that another woman must die... Merch: www.redhandedshop.com  Sources: www.redhandedpodcast.com    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Red Handed early and ad-free. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. So, get this. The Ontario Liberals elected Bonnie Crombie as their new leader. Bonnie who? I just sent you her profile. Check out her place in the Hamptons. Huh, fancy. She's a big carbon tax supporter, yeah? Oh yeah. Check out her record as mayor. Oh, get out of here.

She even increased taxes in this economy. Yeah, higher taxes, carbon taxes. She sounds expensive. Bonnie Crombie and the Ontario Liberals. They just don't get it. That'll cost you. A message from the Ontario PC Party. They say Hollywood is where dreams are made.

A seductive city where many flock to get rich, be adored, and capture America's heart. But when the spotlight turns off, fame, fortune, and lives can disappear in an instant. Follow Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder on the Wondery app or wherever you I'm Hannah. I'm Saruti. And welcome to Red Handed. This is part two of a two-part series, people. So if you haven't yet listened to part one of Leonardo Cianciulli, the soap maker of Correggio, please go back and listen to last week's episode because otherwise

you're going to feel disgusted and also very confused. It's going to be a bad time for you. You need the warm up, I think. You can't really just dive straight in with this one, unfortunately. Absolutely. So go and do that. But maybe before you go and do that, you want to listen to this very quick announcement because we have. Because we have merch. We have merch. There is merch. Get the merch bugle. What was it?

Something. Merch bugle out. The merch bugle. The merchandise klaxon is ringing through the hills and valleys. With a deafening sound. Screaming, try harder, be better. Blanket hag. Fuck off with your entire life.

And also loud, confident, and wrong. Guys, there is just so much merch. It all launched last Friday. But if you haven't seen that yet, it's probably because you haven't listened to last week's episode. And you also don't follow us on social media, which is, I mean, I don't really know what to say to you, if that's the case. Yeah, which I hope you feel as disappointed in yourself as I feel in you. I feel like you need to go to your room and think about what you've done for at least the rest of the week. Oh, wait, that's all we can do.

We can't do anything else. And while you're locked up in your house, you might as well wear some comfy merch, right? Yeah, snuggly. I put denim shorts on today, which was a huge mistake. I'm really uncomfortable. I mean, that sounds like the most uncomfortable item of clothing anyone could ever wear. right? Yeah, snugly. I put denim shorts on today, which was a huge mistake. I'm really uncomfortable. I mean, that sounds like the most uncomfortable item of clothing anyone could ever wear. I hate that. Don't do that. Yeah, yeah. I mean, yeah, I've got tights on, but I don't know why I bothered,

to be honest. Yeah, where are you going? Breaking lockdown. It's because I went for a run this morning. So that was like sports clothes. And then I always feel better when I've gone for a run. So I was like, oh, maybe I'll put on normal person clothes today but it was a huge huge mistake instant regret no don't do that don't ever wear normal person clothes again wear our merch instead so if you'd like to get your hands on some of this delicious delicious merch now is the time to do it people head on over to redhandedshopcom. The link is in the episode description below. Go check that out. And also for one more week, we are going to be doing free international shipping if you spend over £75 and free domestic shipping if you spend over £50. It's worth it. Go check it out. And

we're also going to be doing a little competition because who doesn't like that? Let's gamify it, right? Is that tacky i don't know whatever if you would like to take part in said competition what you need to do is pick up your phone follow us on instagram and then go find the post that i posted on wednesday the 3rd of march and leave a comment the one that you need to comment on will be obvious read the descriptions please and then we're going to pick two winners and send you guys the merch of your choice because we thought that would just be a nice thing to do. And also, one other little tiny announcement before we move on to today's episode. If you are a patron of Red Handed, firstly, congratulations

on making excellent decisions with your life. You will have seen that we have just been inundating you with fantastic content, including last Friday, where we released our monthly In The News episode, which goes out every single month for $5 and up patrons. And February's In The News did not disappoint for such an alarmingly short month. Quite a lot happened still. And we actually covered the case of the America's worst cook killer, which is pretty devastating. And now the Russian cannibal, because there is just an endless supply. We could actually become a podcast that only talked about Russian cannibals and never run out of content. Honestly, we could. And we've got a Russian consultant. Katya could do it. She'd

do the translating. Watch this space, people. And finally, we also covered in a huge amount of detail, almost like a little mini-sode in itself, the very harrowing and weird case of the Princess of Dubai, Princess Latifah. So if you want to get your ears all over that, then head on over to patreon.com slash redhanded and become a patron of Red Handed. I just had a really intrusive thought about like the suckers of an octopus's tentacle except they're all ears. Welcome to inside my brain people. It's not good in here. Wonderful. I don't want to be there. Me either, but I don't have a choice. Well, you can escape for the next hour or so because we're

going to talk about somebody else instead. We're going to talk about Leonardo Cianciulli. Before we get on with today's episode, shall we do a quick recap of part one, even though I know you've listened to it because we told you to? I think we better because to be honest, I'm not convinced I remember. Well, let's all remember together. So last week we left off with Leonardo entering a downward spiral of fear when she found out that her beloved son Giuseppe was off to war. Leonardo poured over her books on the occult and realized that if she was going to be able to protect him, she would have to cast a powerful protective spell. One that needed a sacrifice. Because after all, under the law of equivalent exchange, to save a life, one must give a

life. And this sacrifice had come in the shape of a woman named Faustina Setti, a woman who had come to Leonardo looking for some magical help, finding love. Leonardo murdered Faustina and then tried to turn her into soap and cakes so that she could protect her Giuseppe inside and out. But the grisly killing had gone to waste because Leonardo's soap hadn't turned out quite right. They were absolutely disgusting. So Leonardo knew she had to try again. When word spread around town about Faustina's abrupt departure to marry someone in Pula, Leonardo acted as surprised as everybody else did. And nobody was any the wiser.

The letters had worked perfectly. Leonardo gave Giuseppe some of the tea cakes she had made with Faustina's blood, but she knew they weren't going to protect him, not until the ritual was complete. Giuseppe had to be protected inside and out. So Leonardo still had to make the soap. The tea cakes are for the insides. The outsides are still a problem.

So after consulting all of her books through many sleepless nights, searching for an answer as to why the first batch had gone so terribly wrong, Leonardo concluded that the reason was the exchange hadn't been a fair one. The sad, miserable life of an aging old single woman like Faustina could never have been equal to the illustrious future that fate had in store for her son Giuseppe. Leonardo's sponsored by the patriarchy, apparently. She decided that she needed a younger sacrifice for the spell to work. And it was now August 1940. And if you know anything, you will know that World War II was in pretty full swing by then.

So dangerous times to be around, especially in Italy. Yeah, not a great time to be kicking around in Italy. No, no, not a good place to be kicking around continental Europe or Britain, to be honest. But Leonardo's not that bothered about the rise of fascism or the axis of evil. She's bothered about keeping her son alive. In three months' time, Giuseppe was set to leave for war and Leonardo could feel the pressure mounting. If she messed up this ritual again, this time Giuseppe would surely be doomed. And so she decided upon her next and hopefully final

sacrifice to complete her protection ritual for her son. The next victim would be Francesca Suavi. Francesca had been a school teacher in the town of Correggio until she had to retire early in order to look after her sickly husband before he passed away. She was much younger than Leonardo and had no children who would miss her. But what made her even more perfect of a victim was that she was destitute. What with her husband passing and the fact that the school had since filled her previous position, leaving her desperate for work. This made Francesca the perfect sacrifice

because Leonardo knew exactly what she needed and desired most. Just as she had fooled Faustina by telling her that she had found her the perfect solution to all of her woes and troubles so that she would fall perfectly into her trap, she knew that she could do the same to Francesca. So when Francesca came to Leonardo one day, on one of her weekly visits for advice and guidance, Leonardo started the plan to lure her in.

She told Francesca that she had found her a job teaching at an elite girls' school in Piacenza in the northwest. She wove a story about a magical school in a university town overlooking a beautiful mountain range, where Francesca would be teaching the children of ambassadors and royalty. Leonardo told Francesca how schools in high society such as these don't advertise jobs. Instead, they only accept letters of recommendation from their inner circle, which of course she told Francesca she was a part of, and with her word, she would certainly be a shoo-in for the position. And so, she began the same routine as she had with Faustina.

Leonardo had Francesca write the same sort of postcards and letters, which she all too happily handed over. On the 5th of September, Francesca was all set to make her journey to Pagenza, to begin her new dream career, and Leonardo was all set to make her second sacrifice. Francesca arrived at Leonardo's house at the crack of dawn, with all of her earthly possessions packed in two large suitcases. And just like Faustina, Francesca was full of nerves thinking about how much her life was about to change. She didn't even hesitate when Leonardo handed her the large glass of herbal red wine. Within minutes, the room was spinning.

Francesca found herself resting her head on the table in front of her, just about managing to keep her eyes open. Rest easy, she heard Leonardo whisper, and then through her blurry vision, she watched as Leonardo rummaged through her coat pockets, stealing the money she had brought with her for her journey to Pachenza. It wasn't much compared to what Faustina had with her, but Francesca certainly wasn't going to be needing it. This time around, Leonardo was certain that there would be no errors

and certainly no wastage of precious, as she carefully laid out basins around Francesca in order to catch every drop. She carried Francesca's suitcases to store next to Faustina's belongings in a locked cupboard and returned to the semi-conscious woman carrying the same large axe that she had used before. And now begins our no eating segment of this episode, which pretty much carries on until the absolute end. Actually, you know what?

Stop the podcast. Go and brush your teeth because that will mean you don't want to eat anything for at least an hour and then come back and listen. I agree. I agree. Hot tips. So Leonardo stood above Francesca and carefully lined up the blade with some practice half swings, like some sort of mad macabre baseball player. And finally, with a mighty swing that almost made Leonardo fall over, she lodged the heavy, sharpened axe head into the side of Francesca's skull. And remember that Francesca is still alive while this is happening.

She's just like passed out or semi-conscious thanks to the drugs. As soon as the axe struck, almost immediately, blood began pouring down her body and dripped into the metal buckets below. Wasting no time, Leonardo began to dismember Francesca's body, starting with her head, then her arms, and then her legs, placing each limb in one of the buckets. As the blood collected, Leonardo began wiping the flesh down and noticed something that hadn't been present with Faustina. There was a thick yellow layer of fat beneath Francesca's skin. Perhaps this is what was missing last time, she thought.

Faustina had been an incredibly skinny woman. No wonder the final result was so bad. It wasn't a magical problem. It must have been a chemistry one. Leonardo has obviously not seen Fight Club. Nor have I. Oh, my God. Do you know what?

I was suspecting that you hadn't seen it because A, you never have. And B, I feel like any soap made out of human fat joke is a Fight Club joke. And there have been no Fight Club jokes thus far. That's what they do in Fight Club. They make soap out of human fat. They steal it from liposuction clinics. Oh, why? Because it makes really good soap.

And Leonardo should have known that. Oh, my God. Okay, maybe I will watch it. I'm like that Elmo meme where it's like all this delicious stuff and it's like, oh, award-winning, highly regarded films. And then it's just like a pile of like fucking crack cocaine

and it's just like crap B-horror movies and he's just got his face in that that is me i mean like in under the duvet this week we're gonna talk about like fucking event horizon and the cell which is a continuation conversation from in the news because that's the kind of movie i watch i'm sorry to say okay i'll watch fight club okay deal okay can you watch it before under the duvet and then we can... Yes. Okay, that's a fair deal. Okay.

You watch The Cell, the absolute beautiful film that it is, and I'll watch Fight Club. Wonderful. Okay, back to this. So thrilled with herself, feeling as though she'd solved it, Leonardo drained the remaining blood from Faustina's amputated limbs and threw her flesh into the pots of caustic soda on the stove. Everything was going perfectly compared to her first sacrifice. This time, she had multiple trays of blood filled right to the top in the oven. She had the pot simmering away on the stove, and she'd even managed to clean her bloodied clothes with ease.

This was going to be the one. This was certainly going going to work Francesca's sacrifice would mean something and this is something we see with Leonardo again and again she always talks about the women's sacrifice meaning something and not going to waste and doing this I'm like they didn't fucking sacrifice shit you murdered them Francesca didn't sacrifice herself to save your son you killed her what are the lives of women compared to a fit and healthy man, really? Yeah, definitely. And it also like compounds that magical thinking and narcissism that we talked about in last week's episode. The idea that she almost sees these women like cattle or like livestock, and they're just there to like serve a purpose to die so that,

you know, she and her family can be nourished off them. And just the way she sort of manages to rotate her thinking into saying that these women were sacrificing themselves for the greater good, it again just screams of that level of very heightened narcissism that Leonardo has. The metallic taste of blood in the tea cakes sent a tingle down Leonardo's spine when she bit into them. She believed it was a sign of the spell working. Like a child on Christmas morning, she ran to the pots on the stove and lifted the lid with excitement, but once again, that familiar feeling of failure washed over Leonardo as she

looked upon the exact same unusable-looking brown sludge that Faustina's sacrifice had given her. In a fit of rage, Leonardo grabbed one of the pots to throw it across the room and the searing hot handle burnt her palm. Screaming in agony, she looked down at her hand and her stomach dropped when she saw that the blistering dark red burn had cut the lifeline on her palm exactly through the middle. Leonardo saw this as a sign that her fate had changed forever and that it was the universe punishing her for the evil she had committed. Which, even though she's an olden days person, a pastor, if you will, she should know that everything comes with a cost.

You don't get what you want, Leonardo. You just don't. Yeah, isn't that that whole thing in magic? I know, like, we're talking about the law of equivalent exchange, but, like, you don't get something for nothing, right? Haven't you got to give up something in order to do some black magic? Yeah, and also, sorcerers, they're real pedants for semantics. Like, in fucking Game of Thrones, where she's like, well, technically, Jason Momoa is still alive.

That's what you asked for. It's that same thing. They love a good trick, don't they? So Leonardo is not only upset that her soap didn't work for the second time. She's upset because her injury made it too painful for her to carry the pots of filth into the septic tank. So she had to wait until Giuseppe got home and asked him to dispose of the contents instead. to carry the pots of filth into the septic tank so she had to wait until Giuseppe got home and

asked him to dispose of the contents instead. She told him it was just another batch of soap that had gone wrong. This had happened before so Giuseppe didn't think twice about it and thankfully he didn't even look inside to inspect the contents. Presumably he did see them when he threw them into the septic tank. He's not just throwing the pots in there as well. You would think so. Very wasteful of you Giuseppe. You would think so. Very wasteful of you, Giuseppe. You would think that he just sees like some big old fucking femur bones tumbling out into the septic tank.

However, I mean, I don't know how she was making soap before, but I think she must have been using animal fat. So maybe bones are just pretty normal. But you would hope that a person would be able to be like, oh, that is a massive sheep femur where is she getting these giant sheeps from i know and also like whenever you listen to any detective speak they always say there's a very specific smell to a dead human body but i don't know maybe giuseppe's just like fucking shut up mom i hate you i want to go to war then i won't

have to carry your pots of fucking bones to the septic tank. I think Giuseppe's just over it. We go on to find out quite how over it he is, understandably so. Leonardo just told Giuseppe that she'd burnt her hand by accident whilst daydreaming and he didn't question her on it, but he did know her well enough to notice the strange underlying sense of guilt in his mother's tone. All the while this was going down, World War II was now escalating rapidly and Mussolini had committed Italy in full force to the fighting.

Everybody in Italy was convinced victory was just on the precipice and Mussolini's propaganda was being churned out more than ever. And of course, Giuseppe was eating it all up, presumably mopped up with all of those blood tea cakes that his mum just keeps feeding him. He was itching to escape his mother and join the fight with dreams of one day returning home as a war hero. So in secrecy, or at least he thought, he made plans to join his regiment earlier than he was meant to. But of course, word of his plans found their way back to his mother's ears, and the pressure Leonardo felt to complete her protection spell had become unbearable. She had now failed twice. What could be going wrong? I mean,

trying to make cakes and soap out of human beings, possibly quite a lot, could be going wrong. I mean, she could just ring Tyler Durden and he would tell her how to do it. Tyler Durden is a character in Fight Club. I was going to say. You're confused. Is that a character from this movie? Yes. Okay, got it. Nailed it.

Tyler would sort it right out. So she racked her warped mind trying to think of the solution. And then she realized it wasn't a chemistry issue it must be to do with her intent whilst conducting the spell because apparently much like with crime at a criminal trial intent is vital to magic the entire time she was sacrificing Faustina and Francesca Leonardo was so caught up in the mechanical aspect of her actions that her mind wasn't focused on her reasoning for her actions. By focusing on her intent and reasoning while sacrificing her next victim, her wishes would surely be communicated to the universe

and the spell would surely work too. She was certain of it. There's quite a... magic's very intention-y, if you have not listened to last week's episode which obey our instructions god damn it with tarot cards it's all about intention like when you're asking the question you have to ask it very clearly and with intent otherwise it doesn't work oh what if the tarot cards know that you're going to lie to the person if you don't like what the cards say will it still show you the right answer it still show you the right answer? It will show you the right answer, but it will just give you like a shady moon face.

It's just like, really? Got it. Got it. Got it. That makes sense. That's fair. So now that Leonardo had figured out that it was all about intent, she was certain it would now work. But now she only had enough time for one last attempt since Giuseppe had moved up the time of his departure. She had one last shot to save her son's life on the battlefield and ensure his glorious future. Failure was not an option. Would you like a fun fact about Mussolini? Yes. Did you know a relative,

I think a great-great-granddaughter, is now a Member of parliament in Italy really yeah wow there you go I'm Mussolini's great granddaughter and I'm your MP I don't know if they call it MP you know what I mean there was a German comedian I cannot remember his name who had a whole bit about when I worked at Soho Theatre how all of your grandparents and stuff when you grow up in Germany he was like older than us. So his sort of parents generation. Everyone's like, oh, well, we just went on holiday for five years. Absolutely nothing to do with us. So I can imagine that maybe Italy might have a similar attitude.

So maybe she's just changed her name. I'm sure she's not like really super proud of her heritage. But a lot of people are super proud of Winston Churchill, who's a big old racist. So who knows? This is what I mean. Who the fuck knows knows though this is a slight sidetrack and i won't go on it now we'll save it for under the duvet i watched a really interesting youtube video about how world war ii is taught in german schools oh i know and i was like i never thought about

that it's really interesting i'll tell you i'll tell you afterwards and under the duvet actually tracy friend of the show tracy clayton podcaster extraordinaire text me the other day she said what do you learn about the American War of Independence in school I was like Tracy nothing literally nothing I only figured out that Paul Revere isn't just a racehorse like last year like I knew nothing nothing about it and like anything I know about the American War of Independence I've learned from Hamilton and the internet. Like it's just not discussed. We do not talk about it. I just spent my entire time like doing history at school,

learning about the Tudors, the Egyptians and then the Nazis. That was it. Yeah, Nazis, USSR, Nazis again. It's basically the way it goes. That's it, full stop. The only time we cover anything to do with when America was still part of the empire is we do the slave trade for like two weeks in year nine, like when you're about 14.

And then it's basically just like, but we didn't have slaves. They just stopped off here on the way to Africa. It has absolutely nothing to do with us, basically. Let's get back to the soap. When choosing her final sacrifice for Giuseppe's protection spell, Leonardo decided the time for half measures was over. So she chose the only other woman in Correggio who was more well-known than her.

Virginia Chioppo. This, as I'm sure you already know, is going to be a giant mistake. Virginia really is not the less dead. People are going to miss her instantly. But again, narcissism. She's like, it's got to be somebody super fucking famous that everybody loves

because that's the only way this will work now. Yeah, everyone knew who Virginia was because she was a former opera singer who had performed in famous venues like La Scala in Milan and was known and adored by everyone in Correggio. Not only was she talented, she was incredibly well educated and had a personality to match. She could hold court with any man and receive the mutual respect that most women at the time could only dream of. It'd be an understatement to say that Leonardo was a bit jealous of Virginia, but no matter how jealous she was, she just couldn't quite bring herself to dislike her. Virginia was just too lovable. Her personality and charm were infectious. They'd first met when Virginia had walked into Leonardo's soap store, and it didn't take long for them to bond over their love of poetry and music. They drank wine and dined

together often, and soon Virginia began coming to Leonardo for guidance and advice because she felt there had been a hole in her life ever since she'd left the opera. She'd learned of Leonardo's fortune-telling abilities and would press her for premonitions on whether she'd ever feel spiritually satisfied again. Being friends with Virginia had also helped raise Leonardo's fortune-telling abilities and would press her for premonitions on whether she'd ever feel spiritually satisfied again. Being friends with Virginia had also helped raise Leonardo's social status in the eyes of the townsfolk of Correggio. Because although Leonardo was at first praised and loved for her poetry and fine soaps, as the years had gone on, her strange behaviour and fascination with the occult had made her a bit of a social pariah. But with her close association with Virginia, she found herself enjoying fine dinner parties

with the upper echelons of Correggio once again. This is why it was all the more painful for Leonardo when Virginia one day informed her that she was leaving town for good. She was running out of savings and she'd been living off her brother whilst in town, but his goodwill was dwindling. There was just nothing left for her in Correggio anymore. But Virginia had no plan, no idea of where to go next. So who better to consult with than her fortune-telling friend, Leonardo Cianciulli?

When she heard this, the gears in Leonardo's twisted mind began to spin and she convinced Virginia to delay her departure on the promise that she would find her a suitable job prospect somewhere else. To satisfy the laws of balance in the world of magic, the sacrifice required for Giuseppe's protection needed to be somebody who mattered to the universe, to the world, and to Leonarda.

And a woman as special and as rare as Virginia fit the bill perfectly. In Leonardo's mind, Faustina and Francesca had meant nothing to the world, and they'd meant nothing to her either. They were chosen simply on the basis of their vulnerability. But with Virginia, it was different. And in Leonardo's mind, killing Virginia would hurt her as much as the axe would hurt Virginia. Fuck it up.

Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondery Show American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in U.S. history. Presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our latest series, NASA embarks on an ambitious program to reinvent space exploration with the launch of its first reusable vehicle, the Space Shuttle. And in 1985, they announced they're sending teacher Krista McAuliffe into space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, along with six other astronauts. But less than two minutes after liftoff, the Challenger explodes. And in the tragedy's aftermath, investigators uncover a series of preventable failures by NASA and its contractors that led to the disaster. Follow American Scandal on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season only on Wondery+. You can join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial today. I'm Jake Warren, and in our first season of Finding, I set out on a very personal quest to find the woman who saved my mom's life. You can listen to Finding Natasha right now exclusively on Wondery Plus. In season two, I found myself caught up in a new journey to help someone I've never even met. But a couple of years ago, I came across a social media post by a person named Loti. It read in part,

Three years ago today that I attempted to jump off this bridge, but this wasn't my time to go. A gentleman named Andy saved my life. I still haven't found him. This is a story that I came across purely by chance, but it instantly moved me and it's taken me to a place

where I've had to consider some deeper issues around mental health. This is season two of Finding, and this time, if all goes to plan, we'll be finding Andy. You can listen to Finding Andy and Finding Natasha exclusively and ad-free on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. They say Hollywood is where dreams are made. A seductive city where many flock to get rich, be adored, and capture America's heart. But when the spotlight turns off, fame, fortune, and lives can disappear in an instant. When TV producer Roy Radin was found dead in a canyon near L.A. in 1983, there were many questions surrounding his death.

The last person seen with him was Lainey Jacobs, a seductive cocaine dealer who desperately wanted to be part of the Hollywood elite. Together they were trying to break into the movie industry. But things took a dark turn when a million dollars worth of cocaine and cash went missing. From Wondery comes a new season of the hit show Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder. Follow Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of The Cotton Club Murder early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. What she means, it will hurt her social status

because this woman is leaving. It's clear that she's only picking Virginia obviously because of her standing and like how important she is, etc. But only because Virginia is planning on leaving. So Leonardo is going to lose that like, you know, power by association anyway. So she might as well kill her and make some fucking soap.

But this is what the spell required to work. Leonardo needed to experience the pain. She needed her mind to be wholly present throughout the slaughter to do so. The biggest challenge Leonardo faced, aside from killing someone, was that Virginia was nowhere near as desperate or as lonely as Faustina or Francesca had been. There was also next to no chance that Virginia would leave town without telling her brother, so getting her to write the letters and postcards like she had with the first two would be difficult. Leonardo needed to be cunning and play it cool, so every time she met with Virginia, she subtly laid the groundwork to pique her interest. The long con is what she's

working on here. Leonardo would mention that she'd found a job that Virginia would be perfect for, but she couldn't reveal too much because the work was rather hush-hush. This worked like a charm on the ever-curious Virginia, and soon enough she began pleading with Leonardo every time they met to divulge some more information about this mysterious job. Until finally, Virginia swore that she wouldn't tell anyone. And so slowly, Leonardo revealed more and more details about this non-existent work. Leonardo told her it was a secretarial job for a wealthy family working in the arts, which would be tied together nicely with Virginia's background in opera and love of music. She would be required to attend grand balls and parties rubbing shoulders

with high society. She would need to network with famous people for potential future business opportunities for her employer. The job was in Florence and even came with a large apartment right in the heart of the city's musical scene. If it sounds like it's too good to be true, my friends, it probably is. Virginia's duties would also involve managing some rising stars in the music business, and there'd be a chance for her to start singing again herself.

So Leonardo's just extracted all of the things from Virginia, being like, what do you want? Okay, yeah, it's all of those. It looks like she learned something from all those people that she used to go have her palm read off when she would literally walk into the tenor, be like, am I going to die? It seems like this woman's quite scared of dying. Let's tell her she's not and then take all her money. And as if all of this wasn't enough for Virginia, the cherry on the cake was that the mysterious wealthy family had already heard of

her too. And they were very, very interested in having Virginia work for them. Just like she had done with Faustina and Francesca. Leonardo falsely dangled Virginia's hopes and dreams in front of her and used it to draw her closer and closer to her slaughter. By this point, she had Virginia wrapped around her little finger and she made her promise not to utter a single word of this to anybody, even her brother. So when Leonardo requested Virginia to write and hand her the letters and postcards detailing her departure from Correggio and arrival in Florence. Virginia did this without a second thought. On the 30th of September 1940, the day she was set to leave Correggio forever, Virginia told her brother

goodbye and thanked him for his generosity and hospitality. Around 12pm, she made the short walk down to Leonardo's soap store, which was oddly closed. As she entered the building, Virginia felt strange, without the usual bustling crowd of customers and visitors. There was an eerie silence to the place that unnerved her, and then Leonardo met her at the entrance. When Leonardo saw Virginia, she was taken aback by how glamorous she looked. Guessing this was her last day in Correggio, Virginia had clearly decided to dress up in her finest furs, draping herself in jewellery that Leonardo could only dream of owning. Upon seeing Virginia like this, Leonardo began second-guessing her plans. How could she possibly kill such a spectacular woman? It would be a travesty,

but this train of thought was short-lived. She snapped out of it, reminding herself that she had to do this. She had to save Giuseppe from her mother's curse. So she led Virginia to her dining table and went to collect a glass of the herbal red wine. Virginia insisted that it was too early for her to drink and that she wanted to be clear-headed for the long journey to Florence. But her protest fell on deaf ears. Leonardo proceeded to pour the poisoned wine from its decanter into a glass in front of Virginia. There was a bit of back and forth, but when she realised that Leonardo wasn't going to relent, Virginia gave in, saying, I don't understand why it's so important to you that I drink this, but if it means that much, then I will. She lifted the glass and took a large gulp while

Leonardo watched. As the poison began to take effect, the room began spinning and her mind lost command of her body. She slumped over the table and fell into semi-consciousness. Leonardo wasted no time in freeing Virginia from her fancy furs and jewellery, stowing them in her suitcase away with the possessions of Faustina and Francesca. And as this was a by now well-rehearsed routine, Leonardo fetched the pots and trays and laid them out on the floor, just like she had done around Francesca, and returned with a large axe. All the while, Leonardo kept in mind that she needed to focus on her intent and truly feel

the pain of what she was about to do for this woman, or the spell wouldn't work. And she couldn't lose this sacrifice as well. There wasn't time. With a loud shriek and a big swing, Leonardo buried the axe deep into Virginia's breast. She felt Virginia's ribcage burst on impact and she watched as Virginia's blood cascaded from her chest into the metal pots below as her body began to spasm and twitch. Leonardo reset herself with the axe and with another loud shriek, she slammed it down again and again. Virginia's left arm fell from her body into the pan below, spurting blood from its socket.

Her right arm hung onto the shoulder by a tendon, which Leonardo ripped off with her bare hands and dropped the arm into another bucket. Leonardo's face was streaming with tears as she proceeded to disembowel this woman who had once garnered standing ovations and adorations from crowds in the most famous opera houses in Italy. And now look at her, butchered like cattle, lying in pieces in pots and buckets on her kitchen floor

in a thick, fleshy soup of her own blood. Leonardo fell to her knees sobbing, allowing herself to fully feel the pain of what she had done to Virginia. She then pulled herself together and began pouring the blood she had collected into the trays for the oven. She inspected the remaining flesh and almost let out a yelp of joy when she saw the thick layer of white fat underneath Virginia's pale, bloodied skin. This was exactly the quality of fat she needed to make the soap for the protection ritual. Leonardo threw the chunks of flesh into the pots of caustic soda on the stove,

but she couldn't help feel like something wasn't right. It wasn't perfect. The solution smelled like death. And so Leonardo went and dug through Virginia's suitcase until she found the bottle of perfume she had been wearing that day. Leonardo emptied this perfume into the pots. That was what had been missing. It now smelled beautiful.

The soap was going to be perfect, she told herself. And when she bit into the tea cakes this time, Leonardo was in disbelief as to how sweet and delicious they were compared to the metallic ones that had come from Faustina and Francesca before. Virginia had been the perfect sacrifice. And then Leonardo started to rummage through Virginia's suitcase, hoping that it would be full of valuable items. But she was blown away by what she found. There was 50,000 lira in the suitcase, which is about 40,000 pounds today, and it was all stashed in an envelope banded together with public bonds worth just as much. This, along with Virginia's clothes and

expensive jewellery, pretty much guaranteed that Leonardo and her whole family would never have to fear going broke ever again. Giuseppe was going to survive the war and the family would never have financial problems. It seemed as though Virginia's sacrifice had saved them all. When Leonardo went to check on the pots simmering on the stove, she wasn't surprised to find that the fat was perfect. Creamy white with a beautiful flowery smell. The spell was working. Leonardo could feel it in her bones. And she began forming the bars of soap, then laid the tea cakes out on the dining table. Tonight would be the night that she'd finally complete the protection ritual on her son. When Giuseppe came home later that day, Leonardo met him at the door. She took him by the hand and led him into the kitchen, where she handed him the tea cakes and made sure to watch him finish eating at least half the batch.

Giuseppe noticed that the kitchen was a mess, which he knew meant that his mother must have been making soap all day. Leonardo told him it was a new recipe that she'd been working on. She then told her son that he had to take a bath, and even though Giuseppe was almost a fully grown man by this point, he didn't dare argue when he heard the tone in his mother's voice. As Giuseppe obediently filled the tub with the last bucket of hot water. Leonardo walked into the room, clutching the new creamy white bar of soap that she had made from the fat of the woman she had murdered earlier that day. At first, her eyes were glazed over and she seemed to be staring right through him. But suddenly she snapped back to the present and walked over to her son

and began unbuttoning his clothes despite his protests. But she kept going until he was completely naked. Leonardo told him, I've been bathing you since you were a child and now you want to get embarrassed with me? She turned him around and pushed him towards the bath and said, come on now, get in before it gets cold. Giuseppe wanted to scream at her that he wasn't a child and that she needed to treat him like the man he was. He was going to war for God's sake. Leonardo was not having any of it, unsurprisingly, and Giuseppe just had to do what she said, if only to get away from her. He got in the bath and Leonardo hovered next to him with the soap

still clutched in her hands. He reached out for it, hoping that she'd hand it over and leave him alone. But instead, she grabbed his hand and said, you are very precious to me, Giuseppe. If something were to happen to you, I wouldn't be able to bear it. My heart would break. And then in absolute creep town, I find this more difficult to think about than chopping up bodies, honestly. Yeah. When I was done getting through this bit of the story i felt more disgusted prepare yourselves she began dipping the soap into the water and rubbing it on she's giving him a bath she's washing her adult son in the bath perfect in every way but their mum washes them in the bath only once a year once a year? Only on Christmas Eve?

No. Deal breaker? Deal breaker. A hundred percent. Fuck me. Oh my God. Like, I almost just said what the secret project was then. I can't say that yet.

But I was reading some stuff for the secret project that Hannah and I are working on. And there is a running theme of mothers being cold, indifferent, but far too hands-on in the other kind of way. Yes, yes. That leads to a lot of people becoming fucking serial killers. I'm not saying obviously everyone does, but it's a theme. Definitely. Definitely an arc. A theme, an arc, something to stay away from. Just leave your sons alone.

Yeah, and I know there is obviously the stereotype of the overbearing Italian mother, but I'm sure even this is going quite far. She went on to say, you're my baby and I'll always take care of you. I don't know why she's talking like that, but she is. We've got to run with it now. She's suddenly Phil Mitchell. I don't know. I'm just developing a lot of characters at the moment. Mate, you've got to go with where, you know, the voice gods take you. Do it. No matter what happens, no matter what it costs, I will take care of you, Giuseppe. He was trying to rationalize this. I'm sure Giuseppe has to do quite a lot of rationalizing because his mum is a witch. So he just has to be like, oh, well, just mum with her little animal bones. Exactly. And he's like, it's fine. i'm leaving for war soon because war and the imminent and very

real prospect of being blown up on the battlefield is better than this yes i think he rationalized it by thinking that she's just upset and she's acting out because she's upset that he's leaving and it wasn't the first time weird stuff had happened she used to leave animal bones under his pillows like little like blair witch talisman people. And sometimes he'd wake up in the middle of the night to find her standing over his bed and chanting in a language that he couldn't understand. So this is not out of the ordinary for Giuseppe. But even for him, when she started to put soap on his chest back and his genitals, despite his protests, it was a little bit much.

But Leonardo wasn't that bothered because all she could think about was getting him thoroughly covered in her magic soap. Get that life boy on. Can't have an Achilles heel situation, can we? Got to get every last spot. Get right in between those bum cheeks. Precisely. This should be the new advert for life boy.

Except with the mother not doing it. You just doing it yourself. I don't know. I don't work in advertising. Whatever. After Leonardo was satisfied that the ritual was finished, Giuseppe jumped out of the tub and got dressed. He couldn't bear to make eye contact with his mother after what had just happened. But Leonardo couldn't care less if this had damaged their relationship because in her mind, she had just saved her son's life. The protection spell was now sure to work and no man, bullet or curse would ever be able to harm her sweet and perfect Giuseppe.

In her mind, Leonardo had beaten fate. Hell, she was fate. She'd won. And she'd cheated death itself. All she had to now do was get rid of what remained of Virginia, which was simple enough. She fed the remaining tea cakes to her family and friends, and sold the remaining bars of soap in her store.

As for the money she had taken, Leonardo stored that away. She couldn't spend that just yet, it would have drawn too much unwanted attention to her. Everything had worked out perfectly. Or so she thought. All this time, Leonardo had believed that the letters and postcards written by her victims, that she had had Giuseppe post to their families, had done the trick in preventing any suspicions after they disappeared. But when the three women's families and friends didn't receive any further correspondence from them,

they understandably grew worried. But no one more so than Virginia's sister-in-law. She had been out at the time when Virginia had left her brother's house on the day she disappeared, and so Virginia hadn't even said goodbye to her. Virginia and her sister-in-law had been incredibly close, so for her to hear nothing, it was odd. Virginia's sister-in-law was by nature a very cynical woman.

When she read the letters written by Virginia telling her of this incredible dream job in Florence that she needed to keep a secret, she didn't believe it for a second. Why would a secretarial job require so much secrecy, she wondered. And why would this mysteriously wealthy family want Virginia to work for them when they could have hired someone more experienced in Florence? There were too many holes in the story, and so she decided to start investigating. She asked everyone that knew Virginia

if they had any clue about this dream job that she'd suddenly landed, but nobody could give her any answers. Except one person who dropped the clanger that if there was anyone in town who could make your dreams come true or find a way to get you your most desired job, it was none other than mystical fortune-telling soap maker, Leonardo Cianciulli. Mrs. Chiappo had always been dubious when the woman of Correggio sang the fortune-teller's praises. She'd never been one for all that mysticism and hocus-pocus, but now she had a lead.

So she immediately marched up to Leonardo's soap store, where she found the old woman standing in the back. She walked right up to her, pretending to be another desperate woman in search of guidance. Leonardo took her by the hand and walked her into the dining room, where she poured them both a cup of coffee and began to read her palms. When Leonardo brought up the topic of Mrs. Chiappo's granddaughter, she seized the opportunity to bring up the real reason she had come to see Leonardo. Mrs. Chiaopo asked her what she knew of Virginia's whereabouts and this job in Florence that she had abruptly left for. This is when Leonardo's face dropped and she told Mrs. Chiaopo

that she knew as much as she did about the matter and that despite them being friends, Virginia hadn't told her much either. But Mrs. Chioppo left the soap store unsatisfied and skeptical about what Leonardo had told her, and so she began questioning Leonardo's neighbors about the day that Virginia had gone missing. And these neighbors told her that they had seen Virginia arrive at the soap store on the day in question, but that they hadn't seen her leave. This was enough for Mrs Chiu Po to feel as though she was onto something, and so she immediately went to the police. And as it turned out, the police were already investigating the disappearances of Faustina and Francesca. And now with the news of a third woman vanishing in the small town of Correggio, and the potential

link between them all being Leonardo Chinchuli, the police decided to pay the fortune teller a visit. But by this point in her life, Leonardo was a well-versed liar and manipulator, and she gave away absolutely nothing under police questioning. All she knew was that the three women in question would come to her for guidance, and that was all. She told the police that she had no clue where any of them might be now. What she didn't count on were the very things that she had put in place so masterfully to cover her tracks being what brought about her downfall. The letters and postcards that the three missing women had posted

were pretty much the only evidence that the police had at this point, and after some investigation, they discovered which post office they had been sent from and who had sent them. Leonardo has not tried that hard here. She's really shot herself in the foot because she made her son post the letters and postcards all three times. So the police had their sights on Giuseppe now and this new revelation in their investigation was more than enough to conduct a search of Leonardo's property. And when they did, they discovered the suitcases and possessions of all three missing women locked away in a cupboard. We're talking about the jewellery, the furs, it was all there. And they also found all of Virginia's money. The police were convinced

that this meant the women were dead. And it all made sense. Everyone in town knew Giuseppe was planning on leaving and this must have been his way to get a leg up in life, kill women, steal their shit, move. So Giuseppe was promptly arrested and brought back to the station for questioning, but of course he knew nothing and couldn't give them any answers. His interrogators, however, weren't buying it, and they pressed him for more and more about the whereabouts of the women's bodies. After a few hours of this, Leonardo suddenly turned up at the police station, banging on the doors in hysterics.

She told them that her son had nothing to do with any of it and that it was indeed her who had murdered the women. This is such like a perfect twist of irony that after all she's done to protect Giuseppe, she accidentally ends up implicating him in the murders of three women. Well, it all comes with a price. God, I love it. Obviously, when this little old woman turns up

and says that she's the one that actually did it, the police didn't believe her even a little bit. To them, she was just a loving mother trying to take the fall for her murderous son. That is, however, until Leonardo began describing how she had carried out each of the murders in alarming detail. She told the police of the poison she'd used, the way she'd killed them with an axe, and even how the blood had spewed from their wounds as she'd butchered the women. The blood drained from the officers'

faces as they listened to Leonardo recount more and more of the gruesome details. And finally, they asked her if what she was telling them was the truth, then where were the bodies now? The officers almost regretted asking when Leonardo happily told them how she'd liquefied the remains in caustic soda and used the remaining fat to make soap. And as for the blood, we already know she used it to bake tea cakes. There had been whispers of black magic and Satanism having found its way into Correggio for years but officers never imagined they'd be faced with a case like this with murder cannibalism spells and sacrificial rituals. When the police told Giuseppe about what his mother had told them he instantly vomited. It all

made sense now the bizarre way she'd bathed him the endless batches of tea cakes and her insane erratic behavior it all added up. Giuseppe went on to tell officers everything about his mother, from her obsession with her mother's curse, the black magic and the spell books in her study. He told them everything. Giuseppe was distraught thinking about how the woman who had raised him could have been capable of such unspeakable evil. Leonardo, on the other hand, wasn't that bothered. She'd completed her mission. She'd successfully cast the protection spell on her son. She'd thwarted her mother's curse.

That was all that mattered. Her fate now was pretty inconsequential. And it didn't take long for word of Leonardo's horrific crimes to spread throughout Correggio, and her family was soon ostracised completely. The soap store also went out of business. Her remaining children left town, and Giuseppe joined the army as he'd planned.

And even Leonardo's husband moved away and ended up becoming an alcoholic. I'd forgotten about him. Oh yeah, he's still there. Good old Raphael. So with the country in a mess due to the war and political unrest rife, it took almost six years for Leonardo to face trial, during which time she was sent from prison to prison. You know, I've been thinking about it. It's like, once we get out of this COVID lockdown, our court system is fucking backed up to shit with cases.

It's going to be a fucking nightmare. It's going to be bad times. Yeah, I mean, even getting a property solicitor that's competent and can do things on time at the moment is impossible because everyone's scrambling to get in for the stamp duty holiday, which has now been extended. But, like, my understanding is that solicitors everywhere are just up to their fucking necks.

So when Leonardo's trial finally came around, she stood in the dock in the courtroom, giving her twisted testimony, describing her crimes not just in lurid detail, but with a grin on her face that stretched from ear to ear. Occasionally, she would even break out into a cackle. Leonardo wouldn't simply give a basic explanation of her actions. She would delve into the mystical reasoning for them, and try to tell the people about her mother's curse, and how magic worked, which only served to make everybody realize that

she was completely insane. Leonardo had waited six years for the trial and was convicted in a matter of just three days. She was sentenced to 30 years in prison and three years in a mental asylum. Leonardo couldn't help but think back to the fortune she had once received all those years ago from the young Romani woman, where she had told her, in one hand I see prison, in the other hand I see an insane asylum. I mean, she was right. They always know, because magic is real. Around 20 years into her sentence, Leonardo suffered a stroke, which she did recover from, but prison doctors found a brain hemorrhage later on. Initially, the doctor wasn't sure what could have caused this,

but after reading the details of Leonardo's case, they realised that the most likely cause was inhaling the toxic fumes from all of the caustic soda that she used to liquefy her victims. Gradually, Leonardo lost her vision and some brain function, and her seizures also returned. A year before she was due to be released on the 14th of October 1970, she fell into a coma and died shortly afterwards at the age of 76. The police cremated and disposed of her remains because they knew any grave she had would be vandalised and her belongings were

donated into a criminology museum in Rome, including the axe that she'd used in her murders. Did she outlive all of her children? That's what I want to know. When did Giuseppe die? I don't know if we know that information, to be honest. A lot of the information for this particular two-part that we've just done comes from a very good book that we would definitely recommend called The Curse by Ryan Greene.

So you guys can go check that out. I don't think we know if that final fortune came true and when her children died. I mean, either way, it suits my magical thinking because if she does outlive them, then her mother's curse was right. If they didn't, then her spell worked. So either way, I'm a winner. Isn't it funny how magic works? Fun fact for our last moments together this week during her stay in prison leonardo wrote an autobiography which she entitled confessions of an embittered soul which she's stolen from me and in that book she details her and her mother's life and she also included a vast traditional of

italian baking recipes which turns out is one of the most comprehensive collections of its sort to date and is still referred to by some of the world's top, tippity top Italian chefs. Isn't that interesting? I love it. Not the tea cake one. Leave that one alone. Everything else is okay. Leave the tea cakes out of it. Yeah, don't do that. The rest of them, I'm sure she was fine. Wow. So yes, guys, that is the end of our very long and detailed look into the life of Leonardo Cianciulli, allegedly Italy's first ever female serial killer and the soap maker of Correggio.

We hope you've all survived. We hope you haven't thrown up on yourselves or done something horrible like that. If you have, don't worry, wipe it off and come join us under the duvet immediately after this for all $5 and up patrons, where we'll be talking about all manner of things, clearly. Don't forget to get your merch. Again, that is out, redhandedshop.com. And if you would like to become a patron, you will also get a very special thank you from Hannah and I on an episode like this.

And we've got a big fat list of people's names to read out now. So thank you very much. Jessica Benzie, Rosie Pickup, Christina Cooper, Emmeline Swink, Eileen Watson, Nila Forsberg, Megan, Amy Clements, Jennifer Richter, Anne, Catherine H. Bolstad. All right, Anne, buddy, give us your life story. Christine, Sarah Wilmont sarah wilmont grace i'm just kidding i love you grace dunkerley jake remington renata kid van on abigail robinson alice russell sarah elizabeth victoria bland bella jewel gabriel bowling sandra resendez nathathalie Phillip, Danielle Y. Bolt, Madison Doering, Paige Craig, Berling Adolfsdotter, Ariel Green. Oh, it looks like because of the AO that it should be and the MH that it should be an Irish name.

MH is like a V sound. Yeah. Calvin, I don't know. So Calvin, I don't know so calvin i don't know sorry calvin de france suzy charlotte knight tracy hart alexandra eastman karen malquist nage carson nora ambrose kaylee lynn sandra savilla julia eldridge elizabeth swift kirsten Barron, Paige Gadsby, Aisha, Kelly, Rusa Tamenian, Melanie White, Gemma Parkinson, Natalie Hartley, Kat Clark, Ella Abigail, Andy Tran, Pamela Forbus, Natasha Zinzu, Kelly Osbourne, oh hi, Michelle Red Bear,

Jacob Perry, Amy, John Paul Quigley, James, Amy Hernandez, Caitlin Ziska, Halen Sav, Tiffany Martens, Francisco Lozano, Elise Raffel, Emma Bottomley. I drive past a road every morning now called Hotley Bottom Lane, which makes me laugh so much. Every single time I drive past it, I'll take a picture of it. Nicola Reid, Andrea Halford, Laura Jennifer Reid, Siobhan, Isabella Rosales, Anna Bain, Sasha McLean, Mare, or Mara possibly, Laura Farm, Chloe Inglis, Rosie Bell, Sawn, Sai, Pia, Emily Matthews, Amber Colbin,

Savannah Evans, Eleanor Doyle, Eleanor, no Doyle, Sarah Bushnell, Brittany Shields, Catherine, Evelyn Lindgren, Sarah Wellington, Christina C, Rebecca Parker, Natalie Bennett, Tamsin Bartlett, Jade Grimley, Rowan Tennant, Claire, Sorfay Holditch, Lauren Walker, Amanda Garcia, Shauna DeSalvo, Thomas Snyder, Rachel Saum, Ben Bryant, Janelle Traversartorio, Emily Huth, Emily Hackman, Abby Norman Walker, Liz Shemwell, Andrew Burridge, Anne Wherry, Catherine Brunette, Angelique Cox, Jasmine Munoz, Eve Lopez, Vicky Browning, Rebecca Floodgate, Steph Bennett, Roxanne Ellis, Emma Tiatia, Claire Chambers, Marielle Fish, Michelle Pierce, Jessie, and Anuradha Baumik. That was difficult. Annur Daha Baumik. Thank you. Whitney Erskine, Libby Walker, Adam Wright, Michelle Johnson, Lindsay Greth, Joe Boyd, Stein Olsen, Val Dernises, Rachel Wise, Emily Snook, Bridget Walters, Guglia Metti. I think

you've been around for a while, Bridget. Rachel Tong. Catherine Kuntz. Jackie Cook. Jonathan Herron. Amanda Nichols. Octavia C. Daniel Pacheco. Rachel White. Vivian McLaren.

Sarah Spooner. Destiny Trujillo. Annie Claude Lacroix. Katie All. Mindy Easterwood. Jill W. Mattie Snook. And Richard Dembo.

Thank you very much for supporting the show. Thank you. And our lives the show. Thank you. And our lives. Absolutely. You're all superstars. Don't go making any people out of soap, but continue to wash your hands and wear a mask, please. Yes, please. And we shall see you very soon.

Goodbye. Bye. You don't believe in ghosts? I get it. Lots of people don't. I didn't either, until I came face to face with them. Ever since that moment, hauntings, spirits, and the unexplained have consumed my entire life. I'm Nadine Bailey. I've been a ghost tour guide for the past 20 years.

I've taken people along with me into the shadows, uncovering the macabre tales that linger in the darkness. And inside some of the most haunted houses, hospitals, prisons, and more. Join me every week on my podcast, Haunted Canada, as we journey through terrifying and bone-chilling stories of the unexplained. Search for Haunted Canada on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. He was hip-hop's biggest mogul, the man who redefined fame, fortune, and the music industry. The first male rapper to be honored on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Sean Diddy Combs.

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