Occasionally, a mistake can change the course of history and even distort the face of the earth. When the Khwarazmian Shaw humiliated and killed a couple of Mongolian trade emissaries, he arguably made one of the most consequential mistakes in all of human history. This mistake would lead to the deaths of millions. Borders would be redrawn. Family lines would end. Entire cities and cultures would disappear, and the Khwarazmian Empire would fall.
Part 2 of our possibly never-ending series on the Yellow Fever outbreak that devastated Philadelphia in 1793.
In Appalachia and in the American South there are some Christians who take literally passages of the bible that other adherents to the faith might consider to be metaphor. These followers of Christ's teachings put to the test the biblical notion that true believers can take up venomous snakes without suffering injury. On this episode of Where is the Line? we'll be talking about a snake handling preacher from Alabama named Glenn Summerford. Summerford found himself in the national spotlight in 1991 after being accused of attempting to murder his wife using the same Copperheads and Diamondback rattlesnakes that he often clutched during religious services.
One of the first policemen to find Michael Taylor wandering the street naked and blood covered recognized Michael and requested that officers be sent to the Taylor home. The first officer who entered the home quickly ran back outside and is reported to have began dry-heaving. What this policeman saw would later be described as “a scene of appalling depravity.” The walls were covered not only in blood, but in bits of flesh. Christine Taylor lay dead on the floor. Here eyes had been removed, her face was almost entirely torn away leaving her unrecognizable, and her tongue had been extracted.
Nine months after the release of the film The Exorcist an Ossett West Yorkshire man named Michael Taylor underwent a 7 hour exorcism. The following morning Michael killed and mutilated his wife along with their family dog. In part 1 of "The Worst Exorcism Ever," we discuss the release of the The Exorcist and the impact that the movie had on its mid-1970s audience. We also speak with a new friend and genuine Englishman who was very close to some key players in this story and who shared with us a previously unconsidered perspective on who was really behind this now infamous exorcism.
Where is the Line? 