Malice in the Mitten

Deep in southwest Michigan, Purgatory Road cuts through woods, wetlands and the Three Rivers State Game Area—a place associated with strange local stories for years. By 2019, one legend had emerged clearly in writing: a mysterious Goat-Man said to roam Purgatory with an even stranger companion known as the Devil Dog. On this episode of F-Bomb Friday, Tracy explores what can actually be documented about Purgatory, where the written trail disappears, how Goat-Man folklore appears elsewhere in America, and why some legends survive even when nobody remembers exactly where they began.
#FBombFriday #MichiganFolklore #GoatMan #PurgatoryRoad #MaliceInTheMitten
Recorded, edited, & produced by Tracy Preston, featuring Todd Preston
Researched  & written by Todd Preston
Original music created exclusively for F-Bomb by Tracy Presotn
Original artwork by Todd Preston
Sources:
Michigan Department of Natural Resources. “State Game/Wildlife Areas.” Michigan.gov, Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Accessed 26 Sept. 2026. Michigan DNR state game areas
Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Jones Area State Game Areas Master Plan. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, 2016. Accessed 26 Sept. 2026. DNR master plan
Michigan Natural Features Inventory. “Bog.” Michigan State University Extension. Accessed 26 Sept. 2026. Michigan Natural Features Inventory — Bog
Tsmola. “Purgatory.” Geocaching, 27 June 2008. Accessed 26 Sept. 2026. Purgatory geocache archive
Cox, Steve. “Kalamazoo Dirt Road Challenge Ride.” Pedal Press, Kalamazoo Bicycle Club, May 2012. Accessed 26 Sept. 2026. Kalamazoo Bicycle Club source
“Small-Town Memories; Small-Town Future. Part 2: Welcome to Michiana-Plus.” Eggshells, 20 Aug. 2019. Accessed 26 Sept. 2026. Eggshells Purgatory article
University of Maryland. “Folklore (University of Maryland’s Version).” Maryland Today, University of Maryland, 2023. Accessed 26 Sept. 2026. University of Maryland folklore archive article
Puglia, David J. “Getting Maryland’s Goat: The Goatman Legend.” Contemporary Legend, Indiana University ScholarWorks. Accessed 26 Sept. 2026. Academic Goatman folklore source

In 1883, sixty-year-old Michigan farmer John Guild transferred his property to a woman who promised him a home for the remainder of his life. Not long after the deal, he was dead.
An examination reportedly revealed arsenic. A neighbor testified about purchasing a product called Rough on Rats. And investigators questioned what happened to Guild's missing money.
Korun Larson was convicted of first-degree murder. Her husband, Ole, was acquitted.
But the story didn't end with the verdicts.
A campaign to secure Korun's pardon would raise further questions about one of Michigan's forgotten nineteenth-century murder cases.
Join Tracy Preston and Christine Mulligan as they examine the historical evidence and remember the life of John Guild.
#MaliceInTheMitten #MichiganTrueCrime #HistoricalTrueCrime #JohnGuild #TrueCrimePodcast
Written, recorded, edited & produced by Tracy Preston, featuring Christine Mulligan
Original music created exclusively for Malice in the Mitten by Tracy Preston
Original artwork by Todd Preston
Sources:
“The ‘Rough on Rats’ Murder.” Kalamazoo Gazette, 20 Feb. 1884, p. 1. Reproduced in Murder by Gaslight, 12 July 2014. Read historical newspaper transcription.
The Clinton Republican. Historical newspaper issue containing reports of Ole Larson's acquittal and Korun Larson's pardon effort. Clinton County Historical Newspaper Archives. Historical newspaper archive.
“Woman's Christian Temperance Union.” Social Welfare History Project, Virginia Commonwealth University. Historical background.
“Microfilm & Obituary Request.” Muskegon Area District Library. Newspaper collection information.
 

What happens when common sense takes a vacation? This week on Round Robin, Tracy, Christine, and Nina explore some of the most outrageous and extraordinary stories making headlines.
From a Disney World guest diving into an attraction's water to two men driving a couch down a public road, we're asking the question everyone seems to be thinking: What the hell is wrong with everybody?!
Discover why groups sometimes encourage risky behavior, how the human brain develops extraordinary physical abilities, and what separates reckless decisions from remarkable achievements.
Plus, meet Betty Bromage, the 97-year-old wing walker who proves that adventure doesn't have an expiration date.
#RoundRobinPodcast #FunnyNews #WeirdNews #HumanBehavior #WomanOfTheWeek
Written, recorded, edited & produced by Tracy Preston, featuring Christine & Nina Mulligan
Original music created exclusively for Round Robin by Tracy Preston
Original artwork by Todd Preston
Sources:
Tucker, Luke. “Police Stop Men ‘Driving’ Couch Down Busy Charlotte Road.” WBTV, 1 Oct. 2026. Read source.
“Disney World Guests Banned after Diving into Epcot Boat Ride Water, Violating Strict Safety Rules.” Entertainment Weekly, Oct. 2026. Read source.
Hyem, Caitlin. “Dad Unexpectedly Runs Record-Breaking Mile While Pushing His Daughter in a Pram.” Guinness World Records, 9 Sept. 2026. Read source.
“Fastest Mile Pushing a Pram (Male).” Guinness World Records, 2026. Read source.
Gross, Katherine. “‘Unicycle Strongman’ Rides Back into Record Book by Squatting over 130 lbs Mid-Peddle.” Guinness World Records, 1 Oct. 2026. Read source.
Newman, Vicki. “Brave Betty Becomes Oldest Person to Do the Loop-the-Loop as She Wing Walks at 97.” Guinness World Records, 15 Sept. 2026. Read source.
“Oldest Person to Perform a Loop the Loop Wing Walk (Female).” Guinness World Records, 2026. Read source.
Gardner, Margo, and Laurence Steinberg. “Peer Influence on Risk Taking, Risk Preference, and Risky Decision Making in Adolescence and Adulthood: An Experimental Study.” Developmental Psychology, vol. 41, no. 4, 2005, pp. 625–635. Research abstract.
“Risk-Taking in Social Settings: Group and Peer Effects.” Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2014. Research article.
“The Role of Social Context in Risky Decision-Making: Presence of Friend and Low Resistance to Peer Influence Increase Risky Decision-Making.” PubMed, 2022. Research abstract.

High above Kalamazoo, Michigan, stands a magnificent Victorian castle built in 1895. But according to decades of paranormal accounts, some of its former residents may never have left.
This week on F-Bomb Friday, Tracy Preston explores the fascinating history and chilling legends of Henderson Castle.
From Mary Henderson's mysterious missing jewelry and the Lady in White to the tragic legend of a little girl named Christine, the castle holds stories that blur the line between history and haunting.
We'll also uncover the real military record behind one alleged spirit, examine paranormal investigations conducted inside the castle, and investigate the mysterious legend of a basement Door to Nowhere.
What is documented history? What is folklore? And what remains unexplained?
Join us as we explore one of Kalamazoo's most intriguing historic landmarks.
#FBombFriday #HendersonCastle #MichiganFolklore #HauntedMichigan #MaliceInTheMitten
Recorded, edited & produced by Tracy Preston, featuring Todd Preston
Researched and written by Todd Preston
Music created exclusively for F-Bomb by Tracy Preston
Original music created by Todd Preston
Sources:
Detroit Rock City Paranormal. “Henderson Castle.” Detroit Rock City Paranormal, 2019, www.detroitrockcityparanormal.com/henderson-castle.
GRAVE Paranormal. “Henderson Castle in Kalamazoo, MI.” GRAVE Paranormal, 27 Dec. 2019, graveparanormal.com/henderson-castle-in-kalamazoo-mi/.
“Henderson Castle.” Henderson Castle, Henderson Castle Foundation, www.hendersoncastle.com/index.php/castle.
“Henderson Castle.” SAH Archipedia, Society of Architectural Historians, sah-archipedia.org/buildings/MI-01-KZ20.
“The Haunted History of Kalamazoo’s Henderson Castle.” The Haunted Places, thehauntedplaces.com/haunted-history-kalamazoo-henderson-castle/.
“Henderson Castle.” Spookfinder, spookfinder.com/place/henderson-castle. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.
“Henderson-Ames Company.” Kalamazoo Public Library, www.kpl.gov/local-history/kalamazoo-history/business/henderson-ames-company/.
“Inside Look at One of the Most Haunted Places in Michigan.” FOX 17 West Michigan, 18 Oct. 2018, www.fox17online.com/2018/10/18/inside-look-at-one-of-the-most-haunted-places-in-michigan.
“Kalamazoo’s Henderson Castle Is One of Michigan’s Most Haunted Sites.” FOX 17 West Michigan, 2023, www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/kzoo-bc/kalamazoos-henderson-castle-is-one-michigans-most-haunted-sites.
Michigan Volunteers of ’98: A Complete Photographic Record of Michigan’s Part in the Spanish-American War of 1898. 1898. Internet Archive, archive.org.
Rzepczynski, Kris. “Henderson Castle.” Kalamazoo Public Library, 21 Feb. 2017, www.kpl.gov/local-history/kalamazoo-history/houses/henderson-castle/.
Southern Michigan ParaNormals. “Past Investigations.” The Southern Michigan ParaNormals, WordPress, thesouthernmichiganparanormals.wordpress.com/investigations/.
Thomas, Wayne, and Brandon Hoezee, hosts. “Southern Michigan Paranormals Danny Holroyd: Stories of Hauntings in West Michigan Including Henderson Castle.” Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters, WKTV Community Media, 27 Apr. 2023, www.wktvjournal.org/podcast/grand-rapids-ghost-hunters/.

In December 1883, William Vanderhoof died after years of unexplained illness in Berrien County, Michigan.
His wife, Elizabeth, was accused of poisoning him with arsenic.
A jury convicted her of murder.
But William's attending physician believed he was suffering from heart disease, and the medical evidence was far from straightforward.
In 1888, the Michigan Supreme Court overturned Elizabeth's conviction, criticizing the handling of expert testimony and the jury's instructions.
Then, in April 1889, prosecutors abandoned the murder case entirely.
#MaliceInTheMitten #MichiganTrueCrime #HistoricalTrueCrime #WilliamVanderhoof #TrueCrimePodcast
Written, recorded, edited & Produced by Tracy Preston
Original music created exclusively for Malice in the Mitten by Tracy Preston
Original artwork by Todd Preston