The Recipe: Blood and Lye episode artwork

EPISODE · May 27, 2026 · 28 MIN

The Recipe: Blood and Lye

from Macabrium · host Pretty Wicked | Southern Gothic Media

In a quiet Italian town, there was a woman everyone trusted. She baked. She welcomed people in. She was the kind of person no one questioned. And then people started disappearing. When she finally confessed, it wasn’t just what she had done… it was why. SHOW NOTES 🖤 FOLLOW PRETTY WICKED New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe so you never miss one. Instagram: @prettywickedthepodcast If you loved this episode, leaving a review means the world and helps other listeners find the show. Pretty Wicked is hosted by Megan Alda. 🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING Here is everything used to research this episode. 🔗 WEB SOURCES Weird Italy - Leonarda Cianciulli, the Soapmaker of Correggio https://weirditaly.com/2013/04/25/leonarda-cianciulli-the-soapmaker-of-correggio/ All That's Interesting - The Chilling Story of Leonarda Cianciulli https://allthatsinteresting.com/leonarda-cianciulli Utterly Interesting - The Crimes of Leonarda Cianciulli https://www.utterlyinteresting.com/post/the-crimes-of-leonarda-cianciulli-the-soap-maker-of-correggio Cardinal Points Online - Soap Maker of Correggio https://cardinalpointsonline.com/cardinal-sins-soap-maker-of-correggio-murders-three-women/ Medium - Mother Dearest: The Crimes of Leonarda Cianciulli https://medium.com/@rocknrollgeek1975/mother-dearest-the-crimes-of-leonarda-cianciulli Museo Criminologico, Rome - The Correggio Soap-Maker http://www.museocriminologico.it/correggio_uk.htm Life in Italy - Italy During the Second World War https://lifeinitaly.com/italy-second-world-war/ History Rise - Italy Under Mussolini https://historyrise.com/italy-under-mussolini-fascism-propaganda-and-world-war-ii/ Chapman University - Italian Society During World War II https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1038&context=history_books Working Class History - Italian Resistance https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e77-80-italian-resistance/ Baltimore Sun - "Rendered Her Friends to Wax, She Says" (April 28, 1946) Referenced in multiple secondary sources above - original print archive only. 📚 BOOKS The Curse: A Shocking True Story of Superstition, Human Sacrifice and Cannibalism - Ryan Green (2019) Confessioni di Un'Anima Amareggiata (Confessions of a Bitter Soul) - Leonarda Cianciulli Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a quiet Italian town, there was a woman everyone trusted. She baked. She welcomed people in. She was the kind of person no one questioned. And then people started disappearing. When she finally confessed, it wasn’t just what she had done… it was why. SHOW NOTES 🖤 FOLLOW PRETTY WICKED New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe so you never miss one. Instagram: @prettywickedthepodcast If you loved this episode, leaving a review means the world and helps other listeners find the show. Pretty Wicked is hosted by Megan Alda. 🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING Here is everything used to research this episode. 🔗 WEB SOURCES Weird Italy - Leonarda Cianciulli, the Soapmaker of Correggio https://weirditaly.com/2013/04/25/leonarda-cianciulli-the-soapmaker-of-correggio/ All That's Interesting - The Chilling Story of Leonarda Cianciulli https://allthatsinteresting.com/leonarda-cianciulli Utterly Interesting - The Crimes of Leonarda Cianciulli https://www.utterlyinteresting.com/post/the-crimes-of-leonarda-cianciulli-the-soap-maker-of-correggio Cardinal Points Online - Soap Maker of Correggio https://cardinalpointsonline.com/cardinal-sins-soap-maker-of-correggio-murders-three-women/ Medium - Mother Dearest: The Crimes of Leonarda Cianciulli https://medium.com/@rocknrollgeek1975/mother-dearest-the-crimes-of-leonarda-cianciulli Museo Criminologico, Rome - The Correggio Soap-Maker http://www.museocriminologico.it/correggio_uk.htm Life in Italy - Italy During the Second World War https://lifeinitaly.com/italy-second-world-war/ History Rise - Italy Under Mussolini https://historyrise.com/italy-under-mussolini-fascism-propaganda-and-world-war-ii/ Chapman University - Italian Society During World War II https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1038&context=history_books Working Class History - Italian Resistance https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e77-80-italian-resistance/ Baltimore Sun - "Rendered Her Friends to Wax, She Says" (April 28, 1946) Referenced in multiple secondary sources above - original print archive only. 📚 BOOKS The Curse: A Shocking True Story of Superstition, Human Sacrifice and Cannibalism - Ryan Green (2019) Confessioni di Un'Anima Amareggiata (Confessions of a Bitter Soul) - Leonarda Cianciulli Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The Recipe: Blood and Lye

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In a quiet Italian town, there was a woman everyone trusted. She baked. She welcomed people in. She was the kind of person no one questioned. And then people started disappearing. When she finally confessed, it wasn’t just what she had done… it was...

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