Pod Insights Hot History Evelyn Romadka: The Vampire Queen About this episode Hello you! Happy Friday!
Today we're talking about Evelyn Romadka, the Wisconsin housewife whose obsession with crime novels and dual personality disorder post a botched medical procedure led her to form her own all female criminal network! If you love crime AND history, then this is a story you don't want to miss!
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Til next week, Ainslie x
Transcript 0:00 Speaker 00 Known as the Vampire Queen, she was to her agents what J-Lo was to the strippers in Hustlers. She kept her girls dressed in the finest clothes and dining in the chicest hotels. She kept them safe and secure and gave them a better life than they could have ever dreamt of. And this was actually kind of common. We just don't hear about it as much because the majority of the historical record focuses on the offences and actions of men.
0:44 Speaker 00 Hi guys and welcome back to Hot History, your corner of the internet where we cover all the things in history that you probably should know, but don't. I'm Ainslie Harvey, your hot historian here, ready to chat about a tale for both my history and my crime. Lovers, I've been seeing your DMs. Diva, give us a bit of dark history, give us some, you know, crime mysteries. So I am answering your calls today with a story of high society millionaires, personality disorders, cat burglars, love affairs, and one of my personal favourites, guys, an all-female criminal organisation that ends with its leader disappearing, rather appropriately, like a thief in the night.
1:25 Speaker 00 This is the story of the Vampire Queen, so let's get into it by rewinding it all the way back to Wisconsin in the late 1880s, where we meet one Evelyn Kane. Now, she is the daughter of a very successful and wealthy Wisconsin rubber man called PJ Kane, whose career gave the family a comfortable upbringing. They were by no means that, like, Gilded Age new money widens at Linwood Hall or Vanderbilt's or Rockefeller, so nothing like that. But they were pretty well off. Despite this, however, we don't actually know a lot about them, as was the case for the majority of these upper-middle-class families. But what we do know is that Evelyn's youth was pretty standard, average, if you will.
2:09 Speaker 00 There's very little to note of her, save for the fact she was pretty, because apparently that's the only thing that matters when it comes to young women. And she was rather smart, becoming a schoolteacher around the age of just 12 or 13. Now, it was this job that would see her make one of the most important connections in her life. That of young Charles Romadka, who she came across while walking to school one morning through the Northwoods of Wisconsin. So he was part of a hunting party she encountered, and it turned out was actually the heir to a wildly successful trunk business. The thing you use for storage, not Calvin Klein's, just FYI. And soon the pair fell in love, and despite his family's initial apprehension, they quickly married.
2:53 Speaker 00 Now, these first few years were bliss. They were evenly matched in temperament and shared similar desires for their future, and their love was genuinely real. The only thing of note between them was their different hobbies. Charles, on one hand, liked working and hunting, spending his time between his family and associates, while Evelyn was introspective and loved literature. In the pages of books and pamphlets, she would escape into exotic lands and dive into devious plots, with mystery novels particularly taking her fancy. From Agatha Christie-esque whodunnits to true crime reporting in the papers, Evelyn
3:35 Speaker 00 was fascinated by the heroic detectives and deceptive criminals whose lives seemed destined to intertwine. Basically, she would have loved a Netflix murder cult serial killer show, guys. She would have been all in for it. Still though, as I said, despite their differences in pastimes, Evelyn and Charles were genuinely smitten, and it seemed nothing would stop them from enjoying their lives together. At least, that's what they thought. For soon Evelyn was pregnant, and while totally and absolutely overjoyed at the prospect of having her own family, it was not an easy pregnancy. During this point in history, and to be honest, let's be so for real, even still now, society views pregnancy as a largely private women's matter.
4:20 Speaker 00 Discussions about our medical experiences have always been considered improper, hence the disparity in women's health and research today. You pair this with the fact that the late Victorian era was still plagued by limited medical knowledge and pregnant women were still expected to continue household duties, pregnancy was a very dangerous business. Childbirth too, of course, was just as perilous, with limited pain relief and many women giving birth at home without trained professionals, therefore increasing the risk of infection and bleeding. So this was, and still is guys, pretty precarious. And unfortunately for Evelyn, the effects of childbirth extended well after she had safely delivered her child.
5:02 Speaker 00 While we don't know for certain what actually happened here, we do know that Evelyn had a difficult birth, which led to severe postnatal depression, after which she was subjected to a botched medical procedure to help cure this. Yes guys, another "gift" for anybody listening, from the Victorian era is of course the stereotypes and stigma of women's mental health, aka melancholia. First written about by Doctors Cullen, Pennell and Eskrell, the term melancholia was used from the late 18th century to the end of the 19th century, to encompass depression in
5:40 Speaker 00 any and all forms, and the treatments for it were, well, let's just say, unusual. Everything from swings and hanging chairs to bring about vertigo, nausea and vomiting, to pouring cold water on naked patients to shock and subdue them were used. But the treatments for women in particular were absolutely fucking brutal, especially when it came to what they dubbed postnatal melancholia.
6:12 Speaker 00 To be honest, more often than not, these women were actually just thrown away in insane asylums and, you know, locked, locked out of society forever. But sometimes, like in Evelyn's case here, doctors performed actual surgery in an attempt to fix them. And their main hypothesis here, the thing that they determined would be the fix, would cure them, was that the female reproductive organs were connected to the emotional and physical wellbeing centres of the body and were therefore the most likely cause of women's mental health. So basically, your ovaries are what's giving you anxiety or like your uterus is the thing making you
6:52 Speaker 00 depressed, right? As such, if we just take it out, then, then you'll be fine. For us today, it's obviously insane to think about, like, you know, it's some, it's some mass or tumor which is altering the brain's chemistry. But this was genuinely the belief of the time, one which saw hysterectomies, ovarotomy and clitoridectomies become common procedures for curing melancholia. This, of course, like I said, is just absolutely barbaric. And postnatal depression now is commonly treated with talk therapy and antidepressants and very, very normal. But back in the 1890s, it was seen as a curse and one which Evelyn
7:35 Speaker 00 was struck with. Now, we don't know what kind of procedure she had done or more so, you know, was done to her. But we do know it was botched and she found herself drastically ill. She was struck down by fever and pain and delirious ramblings which went on for months. Unsure how to help his suffering wife and taking the advice of further doctors, Charles authorised another operation on Evelyn, which left her, to no surprise, with even more pain and trauma. Also pausing here for a second, I do think based on this, we can deduce the second surgery was likely like a complete and total hysterectomy. So absolutely brutal. She's in her twenties here, guys, and losing her uterus, ovaries, everything.
8:20 Speaker 00 It's crazy. Eventually though, the pain subsided and Evelyn's body healed. But her mind would be forever fragmented. Over the course of the next few months, she became less interested in her normal life. And while trying her absolute best to be a good wife and a good mother, the charade could only go on for so long. Soon, the bubbly young woman was gone, replaced by something, or should I say someone else? Yes, you see guys, this is a true version of the movie Split. But obviously, like without James McAvoy being a wall climbing beast thing.
9:00 Speaker 00 Because Evelyn's various medical procedures had given her what was later diagnosed as extreme personality change. And the personality she adopted was that of a criminal. As I said at the top here, she loved reading thrillers and crime pamphlets. And in her recovery, this is what she consumed. Reading Blake's Yellow Pages, which was basically like an encyclopedia of different crimes of the time. Evelyn became more introspective and her prior interest in criminal activity evolved into a full blown obsession. Telling her husband, her sole desire was to quote, "meet real crooks."
9:41 Speaker 00 Still, she fought these urges, but after five years, she couldn't take it anymore. And packed a bag in the middle of the night and set off for Chicago. Full of its fair share of criminals and miscreants, the windy city was the perfect place for Evelyn to start over. And she decided to take up base at the Victoria Hotel. It was fancy and fabulous and for whatever reason, she was drawn to it. Which in a string of fate is where she met cleaner Albert Jones. Now, he was tall, dark skinned and handsome and instantly caught Evelyn's eye. Although not for any of the aforementioned traits. Rather, it was his watch. You see, Evelyn first came across Albert in the hotel lobby and asked for the time.
10:26 Speaker 00 He responded by pulling out a small fancy lady's pocket watch, which she instantly realised was stolen.
10:34 Speaker 00 This was what she had waited for, longed for, desired for in every single way. A criminal. Now, face to face with her dream come true, Evelyn had a choice. Be satisfied with ticking this off her bucket list, or follow Albert down this dark and dangerous path. She, of course, chose the latter and recalled to Lieutenant James V. Larkin that this was the day she came face to face with my dreams. And by the time that same pocket watch ticked over to the afternoon, the two began both a sexual and criminal affair. So what was their hustle then? Well, with his job at the hotel putting him in proximity to the wealthy and his role as a cleaner providing him covered to be in their rooms.
11:19 Speaker 00 Albert had mastered the art of burglary, which he, in turn, taught Evelyn. She took up a similar role as a maid and began learning where to look for hotel patrons valuables. Exactly how much of them to take and most importantly, how to explain it all away. After all, no one notices the woman there to change her sheets and towels. This gave Evelyn the thrill of her life. But she wasn't happy with the takings after all. People don't travel with their most valuable possessions. They leave them at home in safes and desk drawers. So she began searching ad columns in local papers for work amongst the wealthy families in Chicago.
11:59 Speaker 00 At this point, she is still working with Albert, but this is kind of her own like first hustle. And her plan here is to pose as the maid of these wealthy couples, staying in one place long enough to find out where the family held their valuables. Before she and a small percentage of the goods then vanished into the night. And when I say goods, hey guys, I mean one thing in particular. Jewels. Evelyn Romadka never met a shiny object she didn't like. From diamonds to rubies and Colombian emeralds to gold bands, Evelyn was an addict. And her ice was carbon made. So once she'd taken these jewels, of course, under a fake name and, you know,
12:44 Speaker 00 never enough, like I said, to be noticeable at first, she would give them to Albert, who acted as her fence, selling them off for cash. And this was a pretty successful arrangement, similar to Bonnie and Clyde, but without the mass violence and death, just, just jewel theft, you know, really low key here. Eventually, though, her eyes were too big for her belly, and her obsession for more drove her to rashly enter the premises at 5520 South Park Avenue after she spotted an unlocked door. So this is a big break from her normal hustle and pattern here, right? There's no planning, there's no established story, it's just pure greed and instincts.
13:25 Speaker 00 She spots this door, she goes in and like lets herself loose inside. Here, she ransacks every single room, looking for whatever shiny things caught her eye, until she finally found the Holy Grail, a large alligator-skinned pocketbook full of the family's entire jewelry collection. This is her Ocean's Eight moment. Like, I imagine her opening this pocketbook and like sunbeams and the heavens just beaming out of it. And the thrill of stealing them, not by breaking, but still, you know, entering, was the cherry on top. And just like that, she stuck it under her arm and she walked out the door,
14:10 Speaker 00 right in the street, unnoticed and unidentified. Now, as you can imagine, this is quite the shock for the residents, Mr. and Mrs. Beck, who upon returning home and finding they'd been robbed blind, immediately called the Chicago Police Department. They then send out their best officer, Lieutenant Larkin, who took a report of their comings and goings, staff ledgers, and a detailed description of everything that had been taken. But ultimately, the trail ran cold. Evelyn left no physical evidence on the scene and, as I said, you know, she wasn't identified, leaving the property, you know. I do genuinely think about this all the time.
14:51 Speaker 00 How easy it must have been for criminals back in the day. Like, there's no alarms, there's no CCTV footage, there's no listening devices or phones or like dash cams, any of that. Like, we have this very, I think, idealized way of thinking about past societies, you know, they're, they're more pure, they're full of good people and good neighbors, but they were probably all doing shady shit, just never got caught. Because there's no cameras and shit, you know? Like Evelyn just walks in and out and that's it, it's wild. Anyway, back to Lieutenant Larkin, who has no leads or clues or idea who could have done this. He's, he's feeling kinda shit, he's feeling kinda down about himself, guys.
15:35 Speaker 00 He's one of Chicago's best officers, but he's kinda left with his dick in his hand a bit. So he decides to go and drink his sorrows away at the Baltimore Inn, one of Chicago's most fashionable and fancy hotels. And while he's here, like I said, eating and mainly drinking his sorrows away, his eyes lock on a gorgeous young woman. Sat at the table all alone, she was glowing, but this wasn't necessarily what caught the lieutenant's eye. It was rather what was at her table. A large alligator-skinned pocketbook, put on display like a trophy or a piece of art. Yeah, you see, after the easiest pull of the century, Evelyn decided to treat herself.
16:19 Speaker 00 And of all the gin joints in all the world, she happened to walk into the one where a defeated Lieutenant Larkin sat. He was stunned at first, as, like I said, she made no attempt to hide the pocketbook. After all, no one but him would know what was inside. Larkin was sure, though, that this was his cat burglar, and as such, followed her home that evening before launching an investigation the following morning. Now I'm not sure exactly who he was expecting Evelyn to be here. But one thing's for certain, based on the reporting, he wasn't expecting her to be Mrs. Romadka, a Wisconsin high society lady with a deep set personality disorder and a love of thieving. And so, as is expected in this case, she was arrested
17:02 Speaker 00 and her husband, Charles, was notified of his missing wife's whereabouts. Yeah. You see, he didn't really know what happened to Evelyn after she left Wisconsin. Like, he also didn't lodge a missing persons report or try very hard to find her. So he's really shocked to find that she was, one, totally fine, two, had been working as a maid, and three, was a master thief. And of course, the shock didn't end there. Bursting through the police station doors, Charles perhaps thought the sight of him before his wife would, like, shock her back into her old self. But the contrary was true. When she saw him, she boldly declared before the entire station of officers
17:46 Speaker 00 that she preferred her new lover Albert over him and ordered him to leave at once. Such a savage move, kind of obsessive. The result for Charles, though, was obviously humiliating, and he soon filed for divorce and custody of his daughter. He hoped that this would adequately distance himself from the scandal, but when Evelyn's arrest reached the papers, his brothers axed him from the family business, after which he was forced to take up work as a turnstile operator at an amusement park for $10 a week. So quite the fall from grace here.
18:23 Speaker 00 So at this point, Evelyn's arrested and it's time for her trial, which lasted a whole 11 minutes. Yeah, this was quite the, um, El Woods, like where you got in the shower level spectacle here, which basically started off with Evelyn flat out refusing to give up the name or even acknowledge that she had a partner in crime because she wanted the full glory, or blame, depending on which side of the aisle you're on, for her crimes, after which she was then found guilty and sent straight to prison. The police, of course, though, knew this couldn't be the case and were determined on finding her accomplice. So they ransacked Evelyn's apartment, which was squeaky clean.
19:05 Speaker 00 Again, guys, many crime books consumed for her to know the drill here.
19:11 Speaker 00 But by a stroke of luck, Lieutenant Larkin kicked over a book and a piece of paper came flying out. He bent it down, picked it up, turned it over, and lo and behold, a phone number was on it. He called the line and a woman picked up, claiming to be the wife of a man named Albert. Larkin asked when Albert would be home and she said that he was away and didn't know when he would return. Knowing that this was obvious codswallop, Larkin then listened in on the next call, which to the surprise of no one listening along, was to Albert, who told her to hide the contents of the trunk upstairs. This was the smoking gun that Larkin needed.
19:55 Speaker 00 And as such, he had his men stall on the property, seize the trunk and bring it to him at the station, where jewels, cash and art, totaling approximately 25,000 US dollars at the time, were entered into evidence.
20:11 Speaker 00 Having finally found and arrested Albert in the days that followed, things went from weird to weirder in this case. Instead of deflecting blame, Albert confessed that he acted as "Evelyn's Negro Master", asserting an "evil influence" over her to commit the crimes. The papers went berserk on the story, spreading tales of the "white woman's negro friend", which only engulfed Evelyn in further scandal. Now, we don't know whether this was Albert's attempt to shift the blame from Evelyn or whether the Negro Master title was merely fabrication by prejudiced officers and members
20:54 Speaker 00 of the press, which is highly likely given the time. But we do know that Evelyn absolutely fucking hated it. While she later confirmed that Albert's criminality sent a strange thrill through her, the idea that he was responsible for her criminal genius was not only incorrect, but in her eyes, insulting, which makes sense of what happened next.
21:25 Speaker 00 In prison, Evelyn is an exemplary inmate. Truly, the perfect prisoner here. She joined hobby groups, she took extra laundry service, she kept to herself. And as such, was released from prison after just a few years, after which she kind of vanished. No one heard from her, there was no, you know, she wasn't popping up on police radars, there was no big kind of red flags here. And it seems that perhaps her stint in prison had maybe even triggered her old personality back. But all of those thoughts were put to rest in July 1911, when Kansas City millionaire Edmund Gatlin stumbled into a local police precinct, claiming he was drugged and robbed by a woman he'd met the night before.
22:10 Speaker 00 Now, this wasn't a new tale. In fact, it was a string of common occurrences that had started almost 18 months prior, where wealthy men found themselves waking up with heavy heads and empty pockets after prior meetings with young ladies. This led the police to believe that these weren't coincidences, but rather the work of a systematic, organised crew who would seduce these men, drug them, and then rob them blind. And as such, they were dubbed the Vampire Women.
22:44 Speaker 00 Now, this was truly infuriating for the police. Because night after night, these men would come into the station and despite showing them mugshot after mugshot in these like big books of various women who were convicted of prior crimes, none of them could identify the lady they'd met. They were ghosts, phantoms, hence the term vampire. And this went on for almost two years. No clues, no idea, no evidence. Until Mr Gatlin of Kansas City identified one Evelyn Romatica.
23:24 Speaker 00 You see, having gotten out of prison, Evelyn's fury over Albert taking credit for her thefts made her realise the only person she could really trust was herself. This, of course, would be difficult for a thief. After all, it's hard to be the thief, fence, and mastermind at the same time. I mean, guys, there's a reason it's called Ocean's Eleven, not just Danny Ocean stealing stuff, right? So Evelyn decided to trust the next best thing: other women. Having researched and recruited at least eight different agents to her cause, Evelyn founded her own FEMA-led criminal organisation targeting rich white men visiting Chicago for business. The hustle was a simple one.
24:10 Speaker 00 Evelyn would track them down and make the mark, while one of her vampire women was sent in to flirt, after which another would come past and slip a sleeping pill into the unsuspecting man's drink. The conversation then continued with the man getting sloppier and sloppier, after which the pair would stand up to saunter out of the bar, where she would then pickpocket him before saying goodnight.
24:34 Speaker 00 The man would then stumble on home, none the wiser, leaving no memory of the night or the woman he'd drank with. It was a pretty decent play, guys. No one was hurt, aside from a light drugging, which, yes, is very, very bad. But they are criminals, and they're not murdering, or maiming, or raping. They're just, you know, relieving these wealthy men of a bit of their coin, which, I gotta say, you know, I, I respect a woman's rights. But I, I also do respect a woman's wrongs here. And these gals were very good at what they did. And Evelyn was their leader.
25:17 Speaker 00 Known as the vampire queen, she was to her agents what J-Lo was to the strippers in Hustlers. She kept her girls dressed in the finest clothes and dining in the chicest hotels. She kept them safe and secure and gave them a better life than they could have ever dreamt of. Free of the suffering confines of Victorian marriage and of the harsh realities of the streets. And this was actually kind of common. We just don't hear about it as much because the majority of historical record focuses on the offences and actions of men. So while we may have had our first encounter with female criminal organisations from Ocean's Eight, The Bling Ring or Spring Breakers, if you know, you know.
26:02 Speaker 00 They've actually existed for centuries, dating all the way back to ancient Rome. One of the best examples of which is the Bacchanalian Conspiracy of 186 BCE, in which Roman authorities accused women of organising secret religious gatherings as a front for their criminal activities, where they would steal and seduce in order to manoeuvre the political and social agendas of the day. The female criminal organisation was also prevalent during the Middle Ages and early modern period, where women sometimes worked together in gangs that specialised in pickpocketing, prostitution or black market, trading, again, for the betterment of each other's lives. But we really see this world expand in 18th century London,
26:47 Speaker 00 where female criminal networks became more visible through court records such as the Old Bailey Proceedings, one of the earliest detailed written sources about female organised crime. It tells us these women worked in gangs that targeted crowded markets and theatres, again, pickpocketing and thieving, not murdering and maiming. And by the 19th century, female gangs became full-blown organisations, one of the best examples of which is the Forty Elephants. Dubbed as the first documented all-female crime syndicate in the UK, these ladies were operating across the pond around the exact same time as Evelyn and her vampire women.
27:31 Speaker 00 Starting out in Elephant Castle in Lambeth around the 1880s, these women were the poorest of the poor. They lived in slums and were described by Charles Booth, a social reformer who wrote about London's poverty at the time, as the lowest class of all. Deciding to change their fortunes for themselves and their families, several women in Elephant Castle joined together, using their skills in deception and pickpocketing, to start the basis of what would become the Forty. Elephants, so what did they do? What's their hustle? What's their, what's their shtick? Well, they primarily stole from the most expensive department stores in London, dressing
28:10 Speaker 00 up in fashionable clothing with huge skirts, under which they had plenty of room to store all of their loot. And there was no faffing around with these ladies. They were organised guys, dividing themselves into cells with each group being allocated a patch of the city to ensure mass coverage. One policeman at the time said that those girls would descend on a western store like a swarm of locusts, and he wasn't wrong. They had their hustle down to a proper art form, approaching rich-looking gentlemen with choreographed precision while one woman pickpocketed him and passed the goods to another, who was, you know, then gonna pass it off to a nearby collector.
28:53 Speaker 00 Or, my personal favourite guys, yelling at him, causing such a scene that they could steal from the shop without being noticed. They also, as Evelyn had done, posed as mates, robbing their employers and blackmailing men with whom they had. An affair so truly jacks of all trades here. And like I said, this became a full-blown organisation run and led by the Queen, the first of which was a lady by the name of Mary Carr. Now, for those of you with Disney Plus and who love a period drama, just like me, I recommend you watch the series A Thousand Bloes, which is all about Mary and the forty elephants, and gives a fun and insightful look into the Victorian crime gang.
29:36 Speaker 00 Plus, I also love Erin Doherty, who plays Mary. She also plays, um, young Princess Anne in The Crown, a slave obsessed with her. Definitely go give it a watch. The real Mary, however, was described by a newspaper at the time as good-looking and charming, but she was so much more than that. She had a real knack for organisation and a mind for strategy which saw her turn this mismatched group of mothers, daughters and wives into an actual criminal gang. Using her home initially as a base for planning these crimes, the Forty Elephants were known for being quick and slick, reselling their goods through an elaborate network to avoid being traced
30:17 Speaker 00 and spending their riches not on bills or groceries or even towards, you know, savings accounts, but in their favourite clubs, music halls and restaurants. Basically, guys, they were just fun-loving divas who used their skills to get up amongst Soho's blossoming nightclub scene, hanging out at venues like the Golden Calf All 43 Club, ushering in this new Edwardian era in London. So very similar to our vampire women here, right? Using their criminality as a way to live life to the fullest, saving themselves, if you will.
30:54 Speaker 00 But for all her success, Evelyn had one great weakness: her ego. It saw her enter that unlocked home and wind up in prison and in the case of Mr Gatlin here, her eyes were yet again too big for her belly. Seeing this stupidly wealthy, great big bumbling buffoon of a man, Evelyn wanted to be the one who made the play for him. After all, he was the perfect target, one which would set her and her girls up for the year. And that would have been the case, except she didn't give him a high enough dose of drugs
31:36 Speaker 00 which allowed him to then identify her mugshot the following day. Pointing her out of the mugshot book, it was this, you know, huge volley with all these different mugshots in it. Police finally had a break in the case of the vampire women and quickly formed ranks arresting 13 women who in exchange for immunity confessed to Evelyn being their leader.
32:00 Speaker 00 This was the evidence the police needed. The vampire queen finally identified and incriminated with with victim testimony and her associate's identification. It was a slam dunk. So they immediately set off to arrest her. But when they reached her hotel, they found neither hide nor hair of her. She vanished into the night, as though she may have actually been a vampire after all. The police were stopped here. What happened? How could this have come to transpire? Was was she tipped off? Did they have a mole in their midst? And what would they do now?
32:42 Speaker 00 Well, the first thing they wanted to do was arrest the 13 women for community. However, by the time they got back to the station, guess what? They're gone. And having thought they'd secured their queen via their testimony, they took no mugshots of these women. But don't worry, guys, they weren't that sloppy. They did take their IDs, but guess what? When they followed up on them, turns out they were fake. I mean, you didn't really think that Evelyn would leave town without her gouts. This wasn't her first radio, guys. She knew that if they gave her name to the police with her prior conviction and the title as their queen, the girls wouldn't matter. After all, it's not like there was any physical evidence of their crimes or a way for victims to identify them.
33:26 Speaker 00 Even the police ended up looking through the countless books of mugshots after the women vanished, hoping to find a match to them, but nothing. Likely telling us that Evelyn handpicked women with no prior criminal convictions to avoid them being identified. We don't know what happened to these gals after they vanished, but by all accounts, they went on to live normal lives with no reference of former vampire women popping up in police reports after this. But what about Evelyn? Right? I mean, that's the big question because no one, especially with a record like hers, just vanishes into the night. Well, actually, that's kind of exactly what she did.
34:06 Speaker 00 Evelyn Romadka was neither seen nor heard of again in Chicago or the rest of the US. There were no properties, hotel rooms, sublets or vehicles in her name, no mention in police records or local archives. She just vanished after 1911. I mean, did she die? Moved to the UK or here, Sydney? Did she go undercover, incognito, change her name, her hair, get a job at a supermarket? Maybe she remarried and became a mother again? We don't know. But what we do know is that she had a sister who lived in Canada. The place she told her former cellmate in prison that she was one day going to move
34:51 Speaker 00 to, which makes me wonder, was this perhaps all part of her plan? I mean, think about it. Is it not possible that she played Gatlin, an incredibly wealthy baboon, to identify her to police? Drug him enough to be robbed, but not enough to forget her after all? By pinning the blame solely on herself, her vampire women would be released without charge, allowing them to live normal lives and her to leave the US for Canada. Here she joins her sister. She lives in anonymity, having done what she always wanted to do. Become a criminal mastermind. The truth, though, is we don't know what happened to Evelyn Romadka.
35:34 Speaker 00 Whether she went on to burgle more unsuspecting millionaires or died in her bed at a hundred, she wasn't followed up on or written into legend like Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy, Jesse James, or the copious amounts of other 19th century male criminals. She just vanished. Despite being notorious at the time and still fascinating today, all we have of the vampire queen are a few court documents and newspaper clippings detailing her 1907 arrest and her subsequent crimes in 1911, plus, of course, the mugshot. And the reason for that is because this is the reality of women's history.
36:15 Speaker 00 Evelyn is scandalous for sure, no one's debating that. Outrageous, even if we are being honest, but she's not rich like Alva Vanderbilt. She's not ferocious like Joan of Arc or famous like Marilyn Monroe. She makes it into the 0.5%, but barely. Again, let me remind you here. This is a woman who developed a personality disorder and decided to turn her love of crime novels into a profession. She is, by every meaning and definition of the word, scandalous. And yet, we know almost nothing about her. And if that's the case for a leader of a criminal organisation, what chance did the mother of five on the Oregon Trail?
36:59 Speaker 00 Or the single woman working on the docks in New Jersey have of making it into the history books? Big fat doughnut, guys, zero. It is for this reason that any and all primary sources, especially those perceived as mundane as court documents or hospital records or diary entries, are essential in piecing together our history as both women and humanity. We're not complete with 50% of the human population's stories only making up 0.5% of what we have recorded. Our history is broken, fractured, and genuinely leaves me questioning
37:40 Speaker 00 how on earth we're meant to understand who we are and where we've come from. Plus, it makes me even more emphatic to all of you guys, and you know, your friends and family and everybody online, that we have to write our own stories and experiences. We have a real chance, living in this unprecedented time of social media and digital footprints, to creating this time capsule for history. I mean, even this episode that you're listening to right now becomes a part of the historical record. Hi, everybody who's going to listen to this in future and think, wow, what a great episode. This is recorded as part of that. So we all need to be active in recording our stories and experiences,
38:23 Speaker 00 which, if Evelyn Romadka had done, I am sure would have been a New York Times bestseller a hundred times over.
38:34 Speaker 00 Which brings us to the end of another episode of Hot History. Thank you so much for following along with me on this episode, guys. I want to hear from you. What do you think ended up happening to Evelyn and her vampire women? DM me, tell me in the comments and then check back in next week because we are talking about one of the most cursed objects in history. The Hope Diamond. It is a tale spanning a lot of time from the French kings up to Gilded Age heiresses and I'm super keen to chat with you all. Plus, if you listened to today's episode and liked it, then please feel free to leave us a review or share this episode with your friends and family.
39:16 Speaker 00 I absolutely love seeing all of your messages about, you know, what you're doing when you're listening, how you're listening, what your thoughts are, who you're sharing it with. And of course, if you have any recommendations for future episodes you want to see or just feedback in general, it is always so appreciated. As always as well, if you are looking for some more hot history before then, you can follow us on Instagram at Hot History Club and on TikTok at hot dot history. It has been a pleasure, as always, getting down and dirty in time with you and I will speak to you all next week. Thanks, guys. Love you. Bye.
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