Ten days In A Madhouse: Nellie Bly is Committed to Blackwell Island

Welcome To The Oddity Shop, Where The Bizarre is Always on Sale.  This week, your Curator Kara Has Gone Mad with Nellie BlyWe open the doors to Blackwell’s Island, once home to New York’s almshouse, workhouse, penitentiary, and the infamous asylum, and follow the razor‑sharp path of Elizabeth Jane Cochrane, better known as Nellie Bly, whose undercover reporting forced the public to look straight at what it wanted to ignore. From the ice-cold intake baths to rancid meals and nights spent shivering under thin blankets, we revisit the details she recorded and the people she met: grieving widows, immigrant women who couldn’t be understood, and a teenager who didn’t know why she was there.We walk through how Bly engineered her commitment, the moment she dropped the act and was believed even less, and the terrifying reality of the “credibility trap” once you’re labeled insane. This story isn’t just Victorian scandal; it’s a mirror. Understaffed psychiatric wards, overwhelmed hospitals, and carceral “solutions” still echo the same logic: out of sight, out of mind. If this resonated with you, use your voice: share the episode, leave a review, and subscribe so more people find these stories—and the courage inside them.Check out Our Website for all references used in this episode!Get All Your Spiritual Supplies From Mystic Moons On Etsy, or Check out their FacebookSupport the showThe Shop's phone lines are open! Give us a call and leave a voicemail (Or two!) with your creepy personal tale/oddity, and it could be featured on a future episode!616.320.4935JOIN US ON PATREON: Click Here!Join the Oddity Shop on Patreon for Day Early Access to Episodes and tons of bonus content!!!Visit our Website to learn more!Email Us at: oddityshoppodcast.comwww.OddityShopPodcast.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. Affiliate programs are designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to the partner site.