Strange Country Ep. 270: The Man Who Killed Halloween

from Strange Country · host Strange Country

Halloween is the time of year of ghouls, goblins and moral panic about candy. Could some neighbor be handing out candy full of pins? Or even worse, plain boxes of raisins? Where did this all come from? Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly talk about the origin of poisoned candy, stemming from one father who poisoned his own kid to collect insurance money. Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands Cite your sources: "DEA Warns of Brightly-Colored Fentanyl Used to Target Young Americans." DEA.gov, 30 August 2022, https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2022/08/30/dea-warns-brightly-colored-fentanyl-used-target-young-americans. Accessed 1 October 2023. "Halloween execution date sought for man who killed son." UPI (USA), sec. News, 2 Sept. 1983. NewsBank: Access World News, https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=AWNB&req_dat=0FA0729FAB9D3500&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews/1567BF11158C5F68. Accessed 1 Oct. 2023. "Joe Rogan and Dr Phil push Halloween candy fentanyl story before producer says it could be fake; 'That was always the fear right, when we were kids, is that someone's gonna sneak in a razor blade into an apple,' Rogan says." Independent [Online], 31 Oct. 2022, p. NA. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A724680900/STND?u=nysl_sc_flls&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=4905dace. Accessed 1 Oct. 2023 "RHODE ISLAND MAN SENTENCED TO SEVEN YEARS IN PRISON FOR ROLE IN NATIONWIDE CONSPIRACY THAT TRAFFICKED DRUGS HIDDEN IN TOY TRUCKS, DISNEY ITEMS AND HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS." States News Service, 20 Sept. 2023, p. NA. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A766621939/STND?u=nysl_sc_flls&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=1a1aa97e. Accessed 1 Oct. 2023.. "Should reports of candy-colored fentanyl spook you?" Daily Herald [Arlington Heights, IL], 28 Oct. 2022, p. 1. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A724348841/STND?u=nysl_sc_flls&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=8b7c1e70. Accessed 1 Oct. 2023. Ortega, Nicolás. "Wife Takes Stand At Husband's Trial In Son's Poisoning (Published 1975)." The New York Times, 29 May 1975, https://www.nytimes.com/1975/05/29/archives/wife-a-takes-stand-at-husbands-trial-in-sons-poisoning.html?searchResultPosition=5. Accessed 1 October 2023. Ponti, Crystal. "The Haunting Legacy of Ronald Clark O'Bryan, the Man Who Killed Halloween." A&E, 22 October 2020, https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/the-man-who-killed-halloween. Accessed 1 October 2023. Skal, David J. Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween. Bloomsbury USA, 2002. TALLEY, OLIVE. "Ronald Clark O'Bryan, who killed his 8-year-old son with...." UPI (USA), sec. News, 30 Mar. 1984. NewsBank: Access World News, https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=AWNB&req_dat=0FA0729FAB9D3500&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews/1568797363D91408. Accessed 1 Oct. 2023.

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