Ep. 31 The Legend of the Babysitter and the Man Upstairs & Nellie Bly

In this week's episode, Sandra talks about a well-known urban legend called "The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs." This legend tells the story of a young girl who is babysitting for a family and keeps receiving phone calls telling her to "check the children." Concerned, she calls the cops who are able to trace the call coming from inside the house. This legend is actually based on the true story of the tragic murder of Janett Christman a young girl who was babysitting in her hometown of Columbia, Missouri in the 1950s who was found murdered, and to this day the mystery remains unsolved. Later, Danielle discusses the pioneering journalist, Nellie Bly. She was one of the few women in 1887 who was given the chance to write pieces related to serious issues. She is mainly known for going undercover as a mentally ill woman who gets placed into an asylum. Her work and dedication to investigating the conditions of mental asylums were lauded by the public. This led to an increase in the budget to improve living conditions. Nellie abruptly left the writing world when she felt underappreciated after famously traveling around the world in 72 days. Sandra's Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_babysitter_and_the_man_upstairs https://medium.com/omgfacts/the-truth-behind-the-babysitter-the-man-upstairs-urban-legend-d41d1722c9e9 https://truecrimearticles.wordpress.com/2018/03/30/the-unsolved-murder-of-janett-christman/ https://moviesanywhere.com/movie/when-a-stranger-calls https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52836495/janett-christman Danielle's Sources: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nellie-Bly https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/07/28/she-went-undercover-expose-an-insane-asylums-horrors-now-nellie-bly-is-getting-her-due/