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PODCAST

The House Red

Justin Holt & Kimberly Ramey

History is stranger than fiction---and we"re here to prove it. Welcome to The House Red, the podcast where we uncork the wildest, weirdest, and most unbelievable true stories from history. From bizarre plagues to daring heists, twisted scandals to forgotten legends, we dive into the past"s juiciest tales with a twist of dark humor and a splash of intrigue. So pour yourself a glass and get ready---because history has never been this intoxicating.

history

All Episodes

52:49

José Alvarenga: 438 Days Adrift

The House Red ·

2026/04/06

Out on the open ocean, there’s nowhere to run… and nowhere to hide. In 2012, José Salvador Alvarenga set out on a routine fishing trip—and vanished into one of the most unbelievable survival stories ever recorded. For 438 days, he drifted across the Pacific Ocean, battling starvation, isolation, and the endless horizon. This week on The House Red, we explore how he survived, what it cost him, and what happens to the human mind when it’s left alone with nothing but the sea.

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33:38

Laurie Bembenek: From Cop to Centerfold to Convict

The House Red ·

2026/03/30

A former cop. A Playboy Bunny. A brutal murder. Laurie "Bambi" Bembenek's life reads like fiction—but her conviction was all too real. In this episode, we unravel how a woman with everything to lose became the center of a shocking case, and why many believe she never should’ve been found guilty.

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32:41

Julianne Koepcke: Surviving the Amazon

The House Red ·

2026/03/23

At 17, Julianne Koepcke fell from a plane into the Amazon—and survived. Alone and injured, she spent 11 days fighting her way through the jungle in one of the most unbelievable survival stories ever told.

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38:33

The Great A-Flock-Alypse: 7 Days of Death

The House Red ·

2026/03/16

For one strange week in 2010, something bizarre seemed to be happening around the world. Birds fell from the sky, thousands of fish washed ashore, and animals began dying in sudden, unexplained events. Was it coincidence, natural causes, or something far stranger? This week on The House Red, we dive into the eerie seven days when the animal kingdom seemed to collapse all at once.

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44:08

Shock and Awe: The Story of Topsy

The House Red ·

2026/03/09

In 1903, thousands gathered at Coney Island for a spectacle unlike any other. At the center of it all was Topsy, a circus elephant with a troubled past—and a grim fate. In an era obsessed with electricity, showmen turned her execution into a public demonstration that would later become one of the earliest shocking films ever recorded.

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34:27

Phineas Gage: A Mind-Blowing Experience

The House Red ·

2026/03/02

He lost part of his brain but stayed awake. In this episode, we tell the unbelievable true story of Phineas Gage—the man who survived the ultimate workplace accident—and how the iron that should’ve killed him instead reshaped science, psychology, and the idea of what makes you… you.

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25:45

King Zog I: Bullets, Blood Feuds, and a Self-Crowned...

The House Red ·

2026/02/23

King Zog I of Albania survived assassination attempts, coups, exile, and international pressure to crown himself king in one of Europe’s most unstable regions. This episode follows Zog’s entire life—from his rise as a teenage warlord, to becoming a modernizing monarch, to his dramatic escape as World War II closed in. It’s a story of ambition, survival, and one man’s determination to rule against all odds.

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27:18

Linda Hazzard: The Hunger Cure

The House Red ·

2026/02/16

In the early 1900s, self-proclaimed healer Linda Hazzard promised miraculous cures through one simple method: starvation. Branding herself as a medical authority, she convinced wealthy patients that extreme fasting could cleanse the body of disease—while quietly starving them to death under her care. In this episode, we unravel how pseudoscience, charisma, and blind trust turned a “wellness retreat” into a death sentence—and how Hazzard nearly got away with murder.

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36:37

Birds of War: Pigeon Guided Missiles

The House Red ·

2026/01/26

Long before AI and smart weapons, the U.S. government explored a very different guidance system: pigeons. Project Pigeon was a real, classified attempt to train birds to steer missiles using behavioral science. In this episode, we break down how it worked, why it almost didn’t sound insane at the time, and how close it came to becoming a weapon of war.

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28:38

Neglected Waters: The Marie Joseph Story

The House Red ·

2025/12/08

A summer afternoon, a public pool, and a mystery that went unnoticed far too long. In this episode of The House Red, we follow the quiet disappearance of Marie Joseph—and the unsettling questions that rose to the surface afterward.

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32:44

The New England Vampire Panic: Fear, Folklore, and...

The House Red ·

2025/12/01

New England once had a full-on vampire panic — and no, it wasn’t sparked by a moody novelist or a fog machine gone rogue. In this episode of The House Red, we dig up (literally) the bizarre 19th-century hysteria that had entire towns convinced their neighbors were undead. From exhumations to accidental medical theories, this story has everything: fear, folklore, family drama, and a whole lot of questionable science.

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30:28

Miracle at Noon: The Day the Sun Danced

The House Red ·

2025/11/24

On October 13th, 1917, tens of thousands gathered in Fátima expecting a miracle — and many swore they got one. Witnesses reported the sun spinning, plunging, dancing, and defying every law of physics. Was it divine intervention? Mass hysteria? Atmospheric weirdness? In this episode of The House Red, we dive into the testimonies, theories, and the extraordinary spectacle that turned a sleepy Portuguese field into the site of one of history’s most debated miracles.

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35:54

Chaos in Karansebes: The Austrian Army Debacle

The House Red ·

2025/11/17

When an army mistakes itself for the enemy, things get weird fast. In this episode, we dive into the legendary 1788 Austrian Army debacle at Karansebes—an epic cascade of misunderstandings, booze-fueled panic, flying passwords, and friendly fire so chaotic it practically fought itself. Grab your canteen: this is military history at its most gloriously ridiculous.

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27:55

Death on Display: The Paris Morgue

The House Red ·

2025/10/31

In 19th-century Paris, death became a public spectacle. The city’s morgue drew massive crowds—not for mourning, but for curiosity. Behind glass walls, the unclaimed dead were displayed like exhibits, turning tragedy into entertainment. In this episode of The House Red, we step inside the Paris Morgue to uncover how it became one of the city’s strangest and most haunting attractions.

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27:13

Tsutomu Yamaguchi: The Atomic Man

The House Red ·

2025/10/10

In August 1945, two cities burned under the blinding light of atomic fire. Most who saw it never lived to tell the tale. But one man—Tsutomu Yamaguchi—witnessed both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and somehow survived them both. This is his story: of luck, loss, and the human will to endure the impossible.

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28:28

Ken Rex McElroy: The Skidmore Bully

The House Red ·

2025/09/12

Ken Rex McElroy terrorized the small town of Skidmore, Missouri for decades—bullying neighbors, dodging the law, and walking free from dozens of charges. But in 1981, the town had enough. In broad daylight, surrounded by dozens of witnesses, the town took things into their own hands. This episode unpacks the chilling story of the man who couldn’t be stopped—and what the town finally did about it.

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35:59

Napoleon's Bunny Brigade

The House Red ·

2025/09/05

In 1807, Napoleon Bonaparte prepared for a grand hunting party—only to be ambushed by an unexpected army. But instead of soldiers, it was rabbits. Lots of rabbits. In this episode of The House Red, we dive into the bizarre day when one of history’s most formidable generals was hilariously outmaneuvered by a horde of fluffy foes.

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36:22

Griselda Blanco: Cocaine's Godmother

The House Red ·

2025/08/29

Before Pablo Escobar, there was Griselda Blanco — the ruthless "Godmother of Cocaine." From Medellín to Miami, she built a billion-dollar empire on blood, betrayal, and fear. In this episode, we uncover how a poor girl from Colombia became one of the most feared figures in the drug world — and the dark legacy she left behind.

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31:16

Project Acoustic Kitty: Whiskers, Wires, and Espionage

The House Red ·

2025/08/22

During the Cold War, the CIA poured millions into one of the strangest espionage schemes in history: turning a housesat into a living spy device. Dubbed Project Acoustic Kitty, it was part science experiment and part absurdity. In this episode, we dive into how the CIA tried to wiretap the Kremlin with a cat, why it failed spectacularly, and what this bizarre footnote reveals about the paranoia era.

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58:05

Elisa Lam: Drifting in the Cecil

The House Red ·

2025/08/15

In 2013, hotel guests in downtown Los Angeles complained of strange-tasting water. Days later, the body of 21-year-old traveler Elisa Lam was discovered in the rooftop tank of the notorious Cecil Hotel. In this episode of The House Red, we dive into Elisa's mysterious final days, the unsettling elevator footage, and the swirling theories that still haunt the halls of the Cecil.

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41 results

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