Leonarda Cianciulli: The Soap-Maker of Correggio
Morbid
10/23/23
•80m
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Having lost several children to childhood illnesses, Leonarda Cianciulli was very protective of her surviving children and was willing to do anything to protect them. So, when the deeply superstitious Leonarda was warned by a fortune teller that all her children would die at a young age, the forty-six-year-old shopkeeper determined that the best way to keep her son alive was to offer human sacrifices in exchange for Giuseppe’s safety. Ove the course of a year, Leonarda murdered three local women and disposed of their bodies with caustic chemicals, using any remaining biological evidence in the creation of soaps, candles, cookies, and cakes, which she shared with others in her community.
Thank you to the lovely David White, of Bring Me the Axe podcast, for research assistance :)
References
Baltimore Sun. 1946. "Rendered her friends to wax, she says." Baltimore Sun, April 28: 3.
Eddy, Cheryl. 2015. The Superstitious Murderer Who Turned Her Victims Into Cake And Soap. June 23. https://gizmodo.com/the-superstitious-murderer-who-turned-her-victims-into-1713486930.
Green, Ryan. 2019. The Curse: A Shocking True Story of Superstition, Human Sacrifice and Cannibalism. Unknown: Independent.
Museo Criminologico. 2006. The Correggio soap-maker. September 12. http://www.museocriminologico.it/correggio_uk.htm.
Ortiz, Genoveva. 2022. The Deadly Soap-Maker of Correggio: The True Story of Leonarda Cianciulli. unknown: True Crime Seven.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
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Previous Episode
The Sauchie Poltergeist aka Wee Hughie
October 19, 2023
•66m
When Annie Campbell uprooted her daughter from their home in Donegal, Ireland and relocated to Sauchie, Scotland in 1960, the move resulted in consequences far beyond what anyone could have expected. Removed from the only home she’d ever known, eleven-year-old Virginia Campbell did her best to acclimate to the foreign environment as she and her mother settled into the home of Virginia’s aunt, but within just a few weeks of their arrival the family was under siege from an invisible entity Virginia would later name “Wee Hughie.”
One of the most notorious cases of poltergeist activity in Scottish history, the case of the Sauchie poltergeist involved the usual trappings of poltergeist phenomenon—slamming doors, moving objects, and disruptive noises. Yet what set the phenomenon apart from myriad other cases of poltergeist phenomenon was that the supposedly supernatural phenomenon was witnessed by many bystanders, including Virginia’s teachers and classmates.
Was the Sauchie poltergeist a genuine example of paranormal activity, or was “Wee Hughie” nothing more than an elaborate hoax perpetrated by a creative girl seeking attention in the wake of major disruption in her life and environment?
Thank you to the lovely David White, of Bring Me the Axe podcast, for research assistance :)
References
Associated Press. 1960. "Haunted Irish girl gtets aid." Windsor Star, December 3: C-8.
Owen, A.R.G. 1964. Can We Explain the Poltergeist? New York, NY: Garrett Publications.
Robinson, Malcom. 2020. The Sauchie Poltergeist. Scotland: Independent.
Sims, Victor. 1965. "Poltergeist Terror." Sunday Mirror, June 13: 8.
—. 1965. "Virginia was possessed by a wild and unknown force." Sunday Mirror, June 27: 13.
United Press International. 1960. "Girl's ghost upsets school." Pittsburgh Press, December 2: 17.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Next Episode
Listen Now: Ghost Story
October 24, 2023
•8m
Tristan Redman is a journalist who doesn’t believe in ghosts. But weird things happened in his teenage bedroom – weirder than normal. When, years later, he discovers subsequent occupants of his family home were haunted by the ghost of a faceless woman, he’s curious. Because by a strange coincidence, it just so happens that the house Tristan grew up in is right next door to a murder scene - where his wife’s great grandmother was killed by two gunshots to the face. Could there be a connection? Tristan decides to investigate and soon finds himself where no son-in-law should ever be: delving deep into his wife’s family history, asking questions no one wants answered. Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios present Ghost Story — a seven-part podcast series about family secrets, overwhelming coincidences and the things that come back to haunt us.
Follow Ghost Story on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Ghost Story ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. Listen now: Wondery.fm/Ghost_Story
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