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Execution of a Voodoo Doctor episode artwork

Nov 15, 2023 15 min

Execution of a Voodoo Doctor

from Pennsylvania Oddities Hosted by Marlin Bressi

Over one thousand criminals have paid for their crimes in Pennsylvania with their lives. But one man, Lorenzo Savage, holds the distinction of being the only voodoo doctor executed by the Commonwealth. The story seems like a tale ripped from the pages of a dime-store novel: A lovelorn nurse is brutally slain, her body found outside an abandoned mansion. In her hand detectives find an arrangement of playing cards, which they soon learn is the black magic "hand of death". But the tragic tale of Elsie Barthel is not a work of fiction. It really happened in Pittsburgh in the fall of 1923.

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Execution of a Voodoo Doctor

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How long is this episode of Pennsylvania Oddities?

This episode is 15 minutes long.

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This episode was published on November 15, 2023.

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