MFM Minisode 505

This week’s hometowns celebrate Grandparents Day! Stories include Nana’s mafia run-in and a grandma prank. For our sources, please visit https://www.myfavoritemurder.com/episodes. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3UFCn1g. Head to social media to share your favorite moments from this episode. Instagram: instagram.com/myfavoritemurder http://instagram.com/myfavoritemurder Facebook: facebook.com/myfavoritemurder http://facebook.com/myfavoritemurder TikTok: tiktok.com/@my_favorite_murder http://tiktok.com/@my_favorite_murder Send your hometown stories to [email protected] mailto:[email protected]. Join the Fan Cult to access ad-free episodes of My Favorite Murder. Members also receive merch store discounts, exclusive audio and video content and more! Visit www.fancult.supercast.com http://www.fancult.supercast.com/ to join. Shop for My Favorite Murder and other Exactly Right merchandise here: www.exactlyrightstore.com https://www.exactlyrightstore.com. Rate, review and follow My Favorite Murder on the iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you like to listen. See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  This is exactly right.

• 0:07Speaker 00

  911, what's your emergency?

• 0:09Speaker 01

  Help us, they're everywhere. We think they're murder hornets. 911 Nashville returns.

• 0:17Speaker 02

  It's a homicide detective down here.

• 0:19Speaker 03

  Three bodies on the ground.

• 0:20Speaker 01

  With emergencies of biblical proportions.

• 0:23Speaker 03

  Hell, sin swarms upon you and upon your people.

• 0:26Speaker 02

  That's one of the plagues of the Bible.

• 0:27Speaker 03

  And somebody's unleashing them on Nashville.

• 0:30Speaker 01

  Brian Phillippe, 911 Nashville. All new Thursdays on ABC, next day on Hulu.

• 0:37Speaker 00

  Whether you're buying, renting, or selling, Zillow can help make your someday today. To help find a home that fits where you are in life, or that apartment that's a little closer to where you want to be. Zillow has the right information, tools, and support to help turn your future home into a reality. Because someday starts today. Visit zillow.com/today to get started.

• 1:02Speaker 04

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• 1:49Karen Kilgariff?

  Hello and welcome

• 1:50Georgia Hardstark?

  to my favorite murder.

• 1:51Karen Kilgariff?

  The minisode.

• 1:52Georgia Hardstark?

  Special edition.

• 1:54Karen Kilgariff?

  Grandparents' edition.

• 1:55Georgia Hardstark?

  That's, we did that so smooth.

• 1:57Karen Kilgariff?

  I mean, it's like we memorized our lines earlier.

• 2:00Georgia Hardstark?

  Ah, you want to go first?

• 2:01Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes, so yesterday was grandparents' day. And of course, we love and respect and admire all grandparents. So we thought it'd be the perfect time to do a grandparents' day spectacular here on the minisode.

• 2:14Georgia Hardstark?

  And you guys know we love grandparents' stories.

• 2:17Karen Kilgariff?

  And you know personally about me, that my example always, when I'm talking, when, especially when we were trying to do the combo stories, my example was always a grandma and Al Capone.

• 2:28Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. No, you have one?

• 2:29Karen Kilgariff?

  Grandma Al Capone story.

• 2:31Georgia Hardstark?

  Holy shit.

• 2:32Karen Kilgariff?

  And then in parentheses, it says, "kinda", which is perfect. It's perfectly done. It starts high, high. "I heard on your 500th minisode that you were looking for combination stories. And when I heard you say the combination of Al Capone and grandma, that's my standing example. I knew I had a story for you. I'm from Windsor, Ontario."

• 2:54Georgia Hardstark?

  You have an Ontario mug.

• 2:56Karen Kilgariff?

  "As if the Lord made me drink this coffee."

• 2:59Georgia Hardstark?

  I remember when you bought that. I think I was there with you.

• 3:02Karen Kilgariff?

  You were?

• 3:02Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 3:03Karen Kilgariff?

  In the Starbucks in Ontario? Or did someone send it to us?

• 3:06Georgia Hardstark?

  No, I think you bought it.

• 3:08Karen Kilgariff?

  Okay.

• 3:08Georgia Hardstark?

  I think I remember you buying that one.

• 3:10Karen Kilgariff?

  I really do love it.

• 3:11Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, it's good.

• 3:11Karen Kilgariff?

  And it's got your seafoam green. "I'm from Windsor, Ontario, in Canada, which is right across the border from Detroit, Michigan. I thought they were going to say it's right across the border from you guys. Yes, you're the land next door, we know. During the 13 years of US prohibition, Windsor was a major bootlegging hub. The area was nicknamed the Windsor-Detroit funnel. Did you know any of this?

• 3:35Georgia Hardstark?

  Mm-mm.

• 3:35Karen Kilgariff?

  Because of all the alcohol that was being run across the river. My great-grandpa, my grandma's dad, was a rum runner, one of the people who smuggled the alcohol.

• 3:44Georgia Hardstark?

  Got it.

• 3:44Karen Kilgariff?

  He died before I was born. And I've been told that although he didn't talk much about his activities, he met Al Capone.

• 3:51Georgia Hardstark?

  Whoa.

• 3:51Karen Kilgariff?

  "When my grandma was young, her home was robbed at gunpoint. They cut the telephone lines before they entered and tied her to a chair. I guess it was believed that this was the work of Al Capone's guys or something, because they seemed to be looking for something specific on top of money. During the robbery, they went through a bunch of their paperwork and things. And obviously, they did not clean up after themselves when they left. Later, when my grandma was helping clean up, she came across her own adoption papers."

• 4:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, I mean, trauma on trauma.

• 4:22Karen Kilgariff?

  This is, we thought we were getting an Al Capone story.

• 4:25Georgia Hardstark?

  Holy shit.

• 4:26Karen Kilgariff?

  And that's how simply it could happen back then. You didn't have to have a, what do you call it?

• 4:32Georgia Hardstark?

  DNA test?

• 4:33Karen Kilgariff?

  No, it was none of that ancestry.com stuff. It was like...

• 4:35Georgia Hardstark?

  Almost too far-fetched.

• 4:37Karen Kilgariff?

  One little drawer in that grandpa's roll-top desk.

• 4:39Georgia Hardstark?

  Let me help after being tied up and fucking robbed.

• 4:43Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes, you're right.

• 4:44Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, hey, what's this?

• 4:45Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh, yeah.

• 4:46Georgia Hardstark?

  On top.

• 4:47Karen Kilgariff?

  It's total trauma Sunday.

• 4:49Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, too bad this isn't an episode that we could name Trauma Sunday.

• 4:52Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh, goddammit.

• 4:53Georgia Hardstark?

  Save it.

• 4:54Karen Kilgariff?

  What do you like on your trauma Sunday? Pineapple sauce? Because that's traumatic.

• 4:58Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, my god.

• 4:58Karen Kilgariff?

  This is how she found out that the people she thought were her parents were actually her grandparents. They adopted her, and her sister was actually her mother.

• 5:06Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, nix.

• 5:08Karen Kilgariff?

  Growing up, I was always told that my grandma was adopted, so we didn't know much about her side of the family. Hey, so that is a very different story.

• 5:16Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 5:17Karen Kilgariff?

  The reason I found out this whole story is that I started performing in a local bus tour group about rum-running. A local bus tour group.

• 5:26Georgia Hardstark?

  Must be like a haunting tour.

• 5:29Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh, yeah.

• 5:30Georgia Hardstark?

  Like they ride around and be like, "That building right there is where Al Capone..."

• 5:34Karen Kilgariff?

  And she's playing Al Capone. I'm assuming it's a woman.

• 5:37Georgia Hardstark?

  It's got to be.

• 5:39Karen Kilgariff?

  "A local bus tour group about rum-running in Windsor, and my mom casually brought it up like it was a normal story. I know this might not be exactly the Grandma Al Capone story you were looking for, but I thought it could count. Thank you, Lexi."

• 5:52Georgia Hardstark?

  My god, it all counts, Lexi.

• 5:53Karen Kilgariff?

  Lexi, you sharing your story about your family, even if there was never a label that we had asked for, it's always valid.

• 6:01Georgia Hardstark?

  It's a good one.

• 6:02Karen Kilgariff?

  You get Al Capone in there? We're listening. That's us.

• 6:09Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay, well, this one's called Grandma, a Clown, and Kidnappers.

• 6:14Karen Kilgariff?

  Ooh.

• 6:15Georgia Hardstark?

  Light-hearted.

• 6:17Georgia Hardstark?

  "Hello, Karen, Georgia, and the person screening emails for the show. My sister told me I had to listen to you guys, forcing me to join the ranks of every single other person whose sister forced them onto the podcast. Thanks to her, I have been a loyal listener for a long time, and I realized I have a hometown story that needed to be shared. While my cousins were growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, my grandma had a side hustle that made her an absolute legend in our family.

• 6:42Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes.

• 6:43Georgia Hardstark?

  She was a children's birthday party clown named Bubble Gum the Clown.

• 6:49Georgia Hardstark?

  Naturally, we called her Grandma Bubble Gum."

• 6:51Karen Kilgariff?

  Hold on a second. I need to say that I think this has changed my vote permanently about clowns. Because if it's a grandma clown?

• 6:58Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 6:59Karen Kilgariff?

  Your birthday party is a dream.

• 7:01Georgia Hardstark?

  Is it?

• 7:02Karen Kilgariff?

  No?

• 7:02Georgia Hardstark?

  I don't know. I still, you know?

• 7:05Karen Kilgariff?

  You're saying the quality of the grandma is very crucial?

• 7:08Georgia Hardstark?

  Absolutely. "One summer day, Grandma Bubble Gum had just finished working a gig and came straight over to my aunt's house in full clown attire and makeup to watch my cousins for a couple of minutes to help bridge the gap between my aunt leaving for work and my uncle coming home. My oldest cousin, Kevin, who was always a little shit and made it his personal mission to push her buttons, decided he wasn't having it. The second she walked in, he bolted out the front door and took off down the street on his bicycle. Without missing a beat, my grandma took off, sprinting after him down the road, still in full head-to-toe clown makeup and costume." That's right, running.

• 7:45Karen Kilgariff?

  Running.

• 7:46Georgia Hardstark?

  "Kevin, leaning completely into the drama, started screaming at the top of his lungs, 'Help, help, a crazy clown's chasing me.' Kevin, you little shit."

• 7:57Karen Kilgariff?

  Kevin, goddammit.

• 7:58Georgia Hardstark?

  "He led the chase straight towards the packed public pool down the block, still screaming about the deranged clown that was closing in on him."

• 8:05Karen Kilgariff?

  Here's the thing, Kevin's really manipulating the, like, public fears.

• 8:09Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally.

• 8:11Karen Kilgariff?

  Because almost no one's going to stop and be like, "No, I'm sure that clown is his grandma."

• 8:16Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 8:16Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 8:17Georgia Hardstark?

  Of course not. "Right as they reached the pool, my uncle, happened to be driving by in his work van, saw the absolute circus unfolding, pulled over, and grabbed my cousin and his bike and put them in a van. As he did that, my grandma caught up and jumped in.

• 8:30Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh.

• 8:31Georgia Hardstark?

  My uncle drove them all to the house, where Kevin undoubtedly received a harsh 90s-style grounding."

• 8:37Karen Kilgariff?

  You mean five across the eyes?

• 8:39Georgia Hardstark?

  Exactly.

• 8:41Georgia Hardstark?

  Shortly after they made it back inside the house, there was a deafening, aggressive pounding on the door. My uncle went to answer it, wondering who on earth is banging like that, and pulled it open to find a half dozen police officers with their guns drawn.

• 8:53Karen Kilgariff?

  Good. Thank you.

• 8:54Georgia Hardstark?

  Right. The lead cop looked him dead in the eye and asked, in the most serious voice imaginable, "Where's the clown?"

• 9:03Georgia Hardstark?

  Because you can't tell gender in a clown either, like, full clown. I have a photo of Grandma Bubblegum.

• 9:08Karen Kilgariff?

  Okay.

• 9:09Georgia Hardstark?

  Turns out, the pool goers hit 911 with the speed of people watching a true crime reenactment come to life, fully convinced John Wayne Gacy was back on the loose and a local creep was helping him finish the job, like a fucking work van.

• 9:21Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah. The work van, everyone jumping in is bad.

• 9:25Georgia Hardstark?

  Absolutely. Thankfully, my uncle and my grandma managed to talk the cops down, and they left without taking Bubblegum the Clown into custody. This, of course, instantly became a favorite story to tell at every family gathering, much to my grandma's eternal annoyance. She would just sit there scowling while we all laughed along with whoever was telling it. To this day, whenever anyone in our family-

• 9:45Karen Kilgariff?

  Still in the clown makeup, but really mad.

• 9:47Georgia Hardstark?

  She accidentally put permanent clown makeup on, or she could never get it off. Oh, man. To this day, whenever anyone in our family wants to make the rest of us laugh, we just hold up finger guns and ask in a deadpan, dead, serious voice, "Where's the clown?"

• 10:00Karen Kilgariff?

  So good.

• 10:01Georgia Hardstark?

  Grandma Bubblegum's name was Nancy. She passed away in 2020, but she was an absolute badass. Not only did she beat cancer twice, raise three kids, and fiercely loved all eight of her grandkids, even the one who almost got her arrested. She fucked politeness before it was popular. She was one of the good ones. I miss her every day. Karen and Georgia, you are both amazing. Thank you for helping me get through earning my bachelor's degree in marketing, then switching paths to get my teaching certificate, because I wanted to be someone who made a difference. I'm now in my third year teaching and truly believe I found my calling.

• 10:34Karen Kilgariff?

  Nice.

• 10:35Georgia Hardstark?

  You are my favorite aunts that I never met, even though you have forgotten my birthday every year.

• 10:41Karen Kilgariff?

  What do you think this fucking podcast is?

• 10:44Georgia Hardstark?

  It's your birthday podcast. Have, I have attached a picture of my grandma as Bubblegum the Clown. Stay sexy, trust your gut, and when in doubt, ask, "Where's the clown?"

• 10:52Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes.

• 10:53Georgia Hardstark?

  Best, Jenny.

• 10:54Karen Kilgariff?

  Here she is. Jenny, show us your grandma.

• 10:57Georgia Hardstark?

  It's a little terrifying. Nancy, I love you. It's a little terrifying.

• 11:02Karen Kilgariff?

  Nancy, your wig covers your ears. It looks like you have secrets. There's all, there's all kinds of, you know, there's a whole, like, science in the system-

• 11:10Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, really?

• 11:11Karen Kilgariff?

  -to the clown makeup.

• 11:12Georgia Hardstark?

  Like, of why it scares us?

• 11:13Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 11:14Georgia Hardstark?

  The, she looks a little, like, her eyes make it look like someone's forced her to do this, and she's trapped.

• 11:19Karen Kilgariff?

  Correct, because she didn't include the eyes in the design.

• 11:22Georgia Hardstark?

  Right, and there's no eyebrows.

• 11:23Karen Kilgariff?

  There's, right.

• 11:24Georgia Hardstark?

  A little bit of, like, I lost a dare, and I'm scared of it.

• 11:27Karen Kilgariff?

  I just finished this in the bathroom. Can we get this over with?

• 11:30Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally.

• 11:30Karen Kilgariff?

  So I can go back to work.

• 11:31Georgia Hardstark?

  My pores, my blessed pores. Okay.

• 11:34Karen Kilgariff?

  But what I love is the idea that, what was the clown's name? Buttons?

• 11:38Georgia Hardstark?

  Bubblegum.

• 11:38Karen Kilgariff?

  Bubblegum.

• 11:39Georgia Hardstark?

  So good.

• 11:41Karen Kilgariff?

  Bubblegum hauling ass up the street after Kevin.

• 11:44Georgia Hardstark?

  Fuck, yeah.

• 11:45Karen Kilgariff?

  Is hilarious.

• 11:46Georgia Hardstark?

  Love it.

• 11:47Karen Kilgariff?

  Love it.

• 11:50Karen Kilgariff?

  911, what's your emergency?

• 11:53Speaker 01

  Please help us. They're everywhere. We think they're murder hornets. 911 Nashville returns.

• 12:00Speaker 02

  What's a homicide detective doing here?

• 12:02Speaker 03

  Three bodies on the ground.

• 12:03Speaker 01

  With emergencies of biblical proportions.

• 12:06Speaker 03

  Hell, since swarms upon you and upon your people.

• 12:08Speaker 02

  That's one of the plagues of the Bible.

• 12:10Speaker 03

  And somebody's unleashing them on Nashville.

• 12:13Speaker 01

  Brian Phillippeach, 911 Nashville. All new Thursdays on ABC, next day on Hulu.

• 12:20Speaker 00

  Whether you're buying, renting, or selling, Zillow can help make your someday today. To help find a home that fits where you are in life, or that apartment that's a little closer to where you want to be. Zillow has the right information, tools, and support to help turn your future home into a reality. Because someday starts today. Visit zillow.com/today to get started.

• 12:46Karen Kilgariff?

  Okay, well, then we'll just go right into this one. This one is connected to yours. Grandma, the hometown hero. It says, "Hello, Karen and Georgia. This is a story about my beautiful Grandma Gail and her untold heroic actions in the local town. I feel very lucky to have grown up with my grandparents, as spending time with them is one of my favorite things in the world. But only as I've gotten older, have I really taken an interest in their lives." That's how it is. When you're young, you don't realize other people have lives. "Apart from their adventures traveling the world in a tiny plane and running the most amazing local pet shop," the story.

• 13:23Georgia Hardstark?

  That sounds like such a cool grandparents.

• 13:24Karen Kilgariff?

  That sounds like people were smuggling chimpanzees to me. "The story I want to tell took me 19 years, a bottle of Baileys, and the Christmas spirit to shake out of my grandma."

• 13:35Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 13:36Karen Kilgariff?

  Bottle of Baileys. "Before I continue, I must put forth a do not try this at home warning for all listeners, and the reason why will be obvious soon enough. One evening, sometime in 1970, in the most English-looking town of England ever, my grandma, my grandma was making her religiously routine walk to the local store. Footfall was of the typical quantity, hmm, and everything seemed normal, until suddenly my grandma heard a huge crashing sound. Looking behind her, she discovered a white van had rammed into a shop window, and this shop turned out to be the electrical store. My grandma and a bunch of other people looked on in shock as a single man began loading up what were very expensive colored TVs."

• 14:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Whoa.

• 14:20Karen Kilgariff?

  So it's-

• 14:21Georgia Hardstark?

  It's not subtle.

• 14:22Karen Kilgariff?

  No, it's like, oh, I'm crashing there, and then fill the crashed van with TVs to drive away. "For some illogical reason, my grandma made the unfiltered decision to get involved."

• 14:33Georgia Hardstark?

  No, keep walking.

• 14:35Karen Kilgariff?

  "Her thought process for what she did next goes as follows," and I quote, "This is my town. I can't just watch it happen, can I?" Oh, I'm sorry. "This is my town," I don't know, anyway, the British, British version of that. "Can I?" Then, without much more thought, my grandma ran over to this man and tackled him to the ground.

• 14:57Georgia Hardstark?

  Don't do that.

• 14:58Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes, do it. The older you are, the more you should be tackling people. Bearing in mind, this woman barely stands five foot, one feet tall, she jumped on the man and, using what must have been some mutant powers, fought to keep him under civilian arrest.

• 15:14Georgia Hardstark?

  Citizen arrest.

• 15:15Karen Kilgariff?

  Truly never do this.

• 15:16Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, my god.

• 15:17Karen Kilgariff?

  "All the while, everyone else looking on at the scene didn't think to help her and just continued to watch." That's why you don't do it.

• 15:24Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 15:25Karen Kilgariff?

  Unless you have three friends with you.

• 15:26Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally.

• 15:27Karen Kilgariff?

  Then go for it.

• 15:27Georgia Hardstark?

  Come on, guys, and it's just you.

• 15:29Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah, exactly. "Eventually, the police were called."

• 15:33Georgia Hardstark?

  Eventually.

• 15:34Karen Kilgariff?

  It says, "Eventually, the police," in parentheses, it says, "cops," were called. Yeah, we know what the fucking police are.

• 15:40Georgia Hardstark?

  The Bobby, it's a Bobby, maybe.

• 15:43Karen Kilgariff?

  "Was it in a lift or a flat? The police were called, and my grandma was able to keep the man pinned down until they arrived, at which point, she simply left the scene and carried on with her day."

• 15:55Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, my god, Grandma.

• 15:57Karen Kilgariff?

  "It wasn't until she got home and the adrenaline had relaxed that she noticed a huge black bruises scattered all over her body from the action."

• 16:05Georgia Hardstark?

  Jesus.

• 16:06Karen Kilgariff?

  "As extremely mad as my granddad was with her that day, it's fair to say that my grandma is the toughest bad bitch in all the land with an uncanny amount of bravery. Having lost my mother to illness from a young age, my grandma has been my biggest role model and a hero to me every day. Therefore, I shared this story to give her some well-deserved social justice."

• 16:26Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow.

• 16:27Karen Kilgariff?

  "Stay sexy and interrogate your grandparents about their past, Anna."

• 16:31Georgia Hardstark?

  Yep.

• 16:32Karen Kilgariff?

  How great is that?

• 16:33Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow.

• 16:35Karen Kilgariff?

  I love it.

• 16:35Georgia Hardstark?

  Grandma.

• 16:36Karen Kilgariff?

  That guy beat her up, and she's like, I don't care.

• 16:40Georgia Hardstark?

  And she still held him down.

• 16:40Karen Kilgariff?

  And she's like, you won't, this is my town.

• 16:42Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, my god, these color TVs. She should have won a color TV from, the store should have given her a color TV as a thank you.

• 16:48Karen Kilgariff?

  Can we get that store's phone number? And get this all happened 40 years ago.

• 16:54Georgia Hardstark?

  Right. Okay. Hello, pleasantries, and so on. "I just finished the minisode where a girl from Perth talked about her job at Fremantle Prison and thought, hey, I have a story. Back in 1960, my nan and pop were boyfriend and girlfriend, still teenagers, and living in Redcliffe, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. One night, my pop was in the back sleepout," I don't know what that is, "and Nana was-

• 17:18Karen Kilgariff?

  Back porch?

• 17:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, probably right. "And Nana was returning to the main part of the house when she saw a man crouching on their back veranda, holding his shoes. She crept back to tell my pop, who pulled her inside and went to look. There, he saw a man on their veranda, so he chased after him. Nana's brother joined in the chase." See, you gotta have at least two.

• 17:37Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes, you gotta have backup.

• 17:39Georgia Hardstark?

  "With pop eventually lunging at the man and catching him, he said, quote, 'Once I caught him, I thought, what am I gonna do now? So I acted tough.' They got him back to the house and called the cops, who dismissed the man as a harmless peeping tom. He ended up doing three months' prison time, but went on to do much worse."

• 17:58Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh, no.

• 17:59Georgia Hardstark?

  "That peeping tom turned out to be the Night Caller, aka The Nedlands Monster, aka Eric Edgar Cook, which I don't think we ever covered, but is a serial killer, I mean, from that time."

• 18:12Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes, and I feel like I've definitely listened to an Australian-produced podcast about the Night Caller. Am I wrong about that?

• 18:19Georgia Hardstark?

  Probably, or, no, I would never say you're wrong about it. Why would I do that?

• 18:24Karen Kilgariff?

  Why?

• 18:25Georgia Hardstark?

  Pop passed away recently, and the funeral's celebrant, celebrant?

• 18:28Karen Kilgariff?

  Celebrant?

• 18:29Georgia Hardstark?

  Celebrant.

• 18:30Karen Kilgariff?

  It's like the priest that oversees the funeral.

• 18:32Georgia Hardstark?

  Got it. "Told this story as part of his eulogy, which, as a nonreligious family, I think we can all agree, was a solid use of time."

• 18:41Georgia Hardstark?

  "SSDGM and don't dismiss peeping toms as harmless, as they statistically go on to commit violent crimes due to not being held accountable for their creepy actions and tend to escalate."

• 18:51Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 18:51Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, yeah, we know that.

• 18:52Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 18:53Georgia Hardstark?

  And that's, this is from M. "P.S. Here's a news clipping where Nan and pop tell the story." That's them in the picture, top right.

• 18:59Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes.

• 19:00Georgia Hardstark?

  Look at them.

• 19:01Karen Kilgariff?

  Cute they are.

• 19:03Georgia Hardstark?

  Yes. And, oh, there's a documentary about this killer as well.

• 19:07Karen Kilgariff?

  The Night Caller?

• 19:08Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, they caught him.

• 19:10Karen Kilgariff?

  Also just so creepy, there's a man on your back porch, holding his own shoes.

• 19:14Georgia Hardstark?

  What is that?

• 19:15Karen Kilgariff?

  Or maybe they were someone else's shoes.

• 19:17Georgia Hardstark?

  Holding a pair of shoes.

• 19:18Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah, like, so you don't make noise. Sneaking up on that, oh.

• 19:21Georgia Hardstark?

  But then why, yeah, it's so creepy. And then I'd be like, well, what if he comes back to this house, knowing what happened?

• 19:28Karen Kilgariff?

  Of course.

• 19:29Georgia Hardstark?

  Right?

• 19:30Karen Kilgariff?

  And you'd be like, well, then get into that sleepout. That's the only place that's safe.

• 19:33Georgia Hardstark?

  We have no idea what that is.

• 19:35Karen Kilgariff?

  No, it's a- Back barn?

• 19:36Georgia Hardstark?

  Who knows?

• 19:37Karen Kilgariff?

  Could be anything.

• 19:44Speaker 01

  Please help us. They're everywhere. We think they're murder warrants. 911 Nashville returns.

• 19:51Speaker 02

  What's a homicide detective doing here?

• 19:53Speaker 03

  Three bodies on the ground.

• 19:54Speaker 01

  With emergencies of biblical proportions.

• 19:57Speaker 03

  Oh, since swarms upon you and upon your people.

• 19:59Speaker 02

  That's one of the plagues for Bible.

• 20:01Speaker 03

  And somebody's unleashing them on Nashville.

• 20:04Speaker 01

  Brian Phillippe joins 911 Nashville. All new Thursdays on ABC, next day on Hulu.

• 20:11Karen Kilgariff?

  Whether you're buying, renting, or selling, Zillow can help make your someday today. To help find a home that fits where you are in life, or that apartment that's a little closer to where you want to be. Zillow has the right information, tools, and support to help turn your future home into a reality. Because someday starts today. Visit zillow.com/today to get started. Okay, here's my last one. Uh, the subject line of this is Grandma Pranks and Deathbed Confessions. And it says, Dear Karen and Georgia, I am writing in about my prankster grandmother's deathbed confession. My grandma Nancy was an advocate for disability rights, a wonderful mother and grandmother,

• 20:56Karen Kilgariff?

  but most spectacularly, a legendary prankster.

• 20:59Georgia Hardstark?

  Nice.

• 21:00Karen Kilgariff?

  It all started when my dad decided to propose to my mom. My grandma generously offered a family heirloom ring and mailed it to my dad. Now, dear reader, my dad has many positive attributes, but being detail oriented is not one of them. On his way to propose to my mom, my dad stopped by the post office to pick up the ring. Without opening the box to inspect the ring first, he got down on one knee.

• 21:23Georgia Hardstark?

  No, oh, no.

• 21:25Karen Kilgariff?

  Gave his heartfelt plea to my mother to marry him. Opened the box to reveal a plastic Cracker Jack box ring. My mother in tears and my dad furious called my grandma, who thought it was all hilarious.

• 21:38Georgia Hardstark?

  No, don't fuck with someone's proposal. But at the same time, she probably thought he was gonna open it.

• 21:43Karen Kilgariff?

  Open the fucking box! There's one thing of like, I'm not detail oriented. And it's like, I don't really care that much. I mean, not to say that, of course. Your father loves.

• 21:54Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, maybe he doesn't care about a ring, 100%.

• 21:56Karen Kilgariff?

  Maybe he doesn't care about your mother. Let's talk about all of it. Somehow, my dad managed to redeem himself and married my mom. Over the years, my parents and grandmother gifted each other the plastic ring back and forth, continuing the joke. The last time the ring was seen was when my parents gifted it to my grandmother, bronzed on a small statue of a woman reaching out her hand.

• 22:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, my God.

• 22:19Karen Kilgariff?

  So now, for the last 20 years or so, everyone had agreed that the ring and the statue had been lost to time and the prank had finally ended. My grandma swore she had no clue what happened to it. A few months ago, my grandmother was losing her battle to cancer and we all gathered by her bedside to say our goodbyes. My parents sat by her bed and she reached out to my mother and said, "Get the lady from the closet." My mother, confused, went to the closet to reveal the statue with the ring that my grandma had been holding on to for the better part of two decades. In her last moments, my grandma regaled the whole family with her best prank and her final wish, that once she passed,

• 23:01Karen Kilgariff?

  keep her ashes in the Golden Lady statue.

• 23:05Georgia Hardstark?

  What?

• 23:06Karen Kilgariff?

  The statue now sits lovingly in my parents' house, a reminder of the legendary matriarch of our family. And here's the Golden Lady statue right here.

• 23:15Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, wow.

• 23:17Karen Kilgariff?

  Uh, thank you both for being my constant companions all these years. I started listening as a junior in high school and this year I finished my masters and started my dream job working in a children's hospital.

• 23:28Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow.

• 23:29Karen Kilgariff?

  SSDGM and always open the box first, Eliana.

• 23:33Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow. Oh, that's, yeah, she got the last laugh. At least it's pretty.

• 23:37Karen Kilgariff?

  I mean, it's so good. But also, it's such a funny thing to be like, "Open the closet." One last joke.

• 23:44Georgia Hardstark?

  I thought she was gonna have like, the person put it in her like, in her coffin with her for her viewing or something like that. That's good.

• 23:51Karen Kilgariff?

  There's so many ways to do a prank.

• 23:53Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay, my last one is Grandma Superstitions. Hello, ladies. My 84-year-old grandma Carol is very superstitious, to the point where my mom began to joke that she got all these sayings from her witchcraft book. One year around Halloween, my parents were out shopping and found a candy dish that looked like a hollowed-out spellbook. As a joke, they bought it for her and for Christmas, my mom called all of my grandma's sisters and typed up as many of her superstitions and old wives' tales as they could remember and gave her the book. The kicker is that my grandma absolutely loves it and still adds new sayings to it to this day. The book is full of newspaper clippings and handwritten post-its. While I can't remember all of the sayings, I have listed below all that I can remember off the top of my head. Thank you.

• 24:38Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay, ready?

• 24:39Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes.

• 24:40Georgia Hardstark?

  You can't get rain on a baby's face before it is a year old or they will have freckles. Like, give me freckles.

• 24:47Karen Kilgariff?

  Just absolutely not related in any way.

• 24:49Georgia Hardstark?

  Right, and actually not that big of a deal. You, if you drop a comb, it is bad luck unless you step on it and make a wish before picking it up.

• 24:57Karen Kilgariff?

  She had OCD.

• 24:59Georgia Hardstark?

  That's actually OCD.

• 25:00Karen Kilgariff?

  Very simple, yeah.

• 25:01Georgia Hardstark?

  You are also not supposed to rake leaves or anything in your yard before May 1st or you are raking someone out of your life. This was put to the test one year when my aunt's dog pooped right beside their front steps and she knew someone was going to end up stepping in it, so she raked it up and within an hour received a call that her husband's uncle had died.

• 25:19Karen Kilgariff?

  Not related.

• 25:21Georgia Hardstark?

  No. You cannot cut a baby's hair before they are a year old. Grandma can't remember why this is, but she still enforces it on her grandkids and great-grandkids.

• 25:31Karen Kilgariff?

  Just keep scissors away from babies.

• 25:34Georgia Hardstark?

  They can't cut their own hair. To prevent the seven years of bad luck of breaking a mirror, do not touch the shards for seven hours. Never rock a rocking chair when nobody is in it or someone you love is going to die.

• 25:46Karen Kilgariff?

  I've heard that one before.

• 25:46Georgia Hardstark?

  Those last couple ones sound familiar.

• 25:48Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 25:49Georgia Hardstark?

  And finally, my favorite. This isn't as much of a superstition as it is an old wives' tale. To soothe a baby who is teething, get a pair of mole's feet, tie them to a string and place it around the baby's neck. Yes, you heard that right. Take the feet off of a little mouse and put them around your baby's neck. My grandma swears this works and that she did it with my dad and uncle. She wanted to do it with my brother and I, but my mother wouldn't allow it.

• 26:18Karen Kilgariff?

  Why not?

• 26:19Georgia Hardstark?

  What are spoils for?

• 26:20Karen Kilgariff?

  Of vermin from the yard?

• 26:22Georgia Hardstark?

  And also, what, to soothe a baby who's teething? It's like, it's not that big of a deal that you would do. Like, maybe to like, save a baby's life? Sure, I'll try it.

• 26:29Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes.

• 26:29Georgia Hardstark?

  But that's not the first. Give him a pickle, like everyone knows.

• 26:33Karen Kilgariff?

  I mean, like, they're just gonna keep on coming in. There's so much to cry about with teething.

• 26:37Georgia Hardstark?

  And then you're crying because your parents did that to you?

• 26:40Karen Kilgariff?

  What's that weird distant rat smell?

• 26:42Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, God. I love my grandma and her superstitions slash old wives' tales. Anytime I hear a new one, I am sure to write it down and add it to her book. Thank you for all you do and for keeping me entertained for hours since I discovered you right before the pandemic. I finally faced my fears and flew, solo, I might add, from Columbus to Chicago to see you live and I do not regret it.

• 27:02Karen Kilgariff?

  Yay!

• 27:02Georgia Hardstark?

  Thank God. SSDGM, Andrew, he/him.

• 27:06Karen Kilgariff?

  Andrew, thanks for coming.

• 27:08Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, thanks for flying solo.

• 27:09Karen Kilgariff?

  I love, I bet you that's such a satisfying thing to have people as a gift, be like, here's all the shit you've said that we all remember and think is kind of either funny or wise.

• 27:19Georgia Hardstark?

  I love that and like, here are the recipes that someone finally put together.

• 27:24Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 27:25Georgia Hardstark?

  That's so good.

• 27:26Karen Kilgariff?

  All that.

• 27:26Georgia Hardstark?

  Um, well, thanks for listening to this grandparent. Go talk, go ask your grandparents what their fucking major malfunction is.

• 27:34Karen Kilgariff?

  What have you been up to these last 80 years?

• 27:37Georgia Hardstark?

  Right. What did you even do?

• 27:38Karen Kilgariff?

  What do you have to pass on and let us pass it on?

• 27:41Georgia Hardstark?

  And don't forget to include their name because we love hearing the grandparents' names and imagining them as a baby named Faye or whatever.

• 27:48Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes.

• 27:49Georgia Hardstark?

  You know?

• 27:49Karen Kilgariff?

  A nice maud out there, a nice Ernest.

• 27:53Georgia Hardstark?

  Sure, Patty.

• 27:54Karen Kilgariff?

  No more Ernests.

• 27:55Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, Ernest is good.

• 27:57Karen Kilgariff?

  Ernie? Um, yeah. I wish grandparents' day was every day.

• 28:02Georgia Hardstark?

  Me too.

• 28:03Karen Kilgariff?

  Well, stay sexy.

• 28:04Georgia Hardstark?

  And don't get murdered.

• 28:05Karen Kilgariff?

  Goodbye.

• 28:06Speaker 01

  Elvis, do you want a cookie?

• 28:16Karen Kilgariff?

  This has been an Exactly Right Production.

• 28:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Our managing producer is Molly Smith.

• 28:19Karen Kilgariff?

  Our consulting producer is Kate Schellbach.

• 28:22Georgia Hardstark?

  Our creative lead is Allison Agosti.

• 28:24Karen Kilgariff?

  Our associate producer is Tessa Hughes and our editor is Aristotle Acevedo.

• 28:28Georgia Hardstark?

  This episode was mixed by Leona Scolacci.

• 28:30Karen Kilgariff?

  Email your hometowns to [email protected] and follow the show on Instagram at MyFavoriteMurder.

• 28:36Georgia Hardstark?

  Listen to My Favorite Murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 28:41Karen Kilgariff?

  Or watch new episodes every week on Netflix. Search for My Favorite Murder, add us to your list, and hit the double thumbs up button. Goodbye.

• 28:55Karen Kilgariff?

  Calling all amateur detectives and podcast obsessives.

• 28:59Georgia Hardstark?

  Virgin Voyages' second True Crime Voyage sets sail March 20th, 2027 for a five-night escape to Grand Turk and the Beach Club at Bimini.

• 29:08Karen Kilgariff?

  As part of the On Air at Sea collection, this immersive sailing brings together fan favorite podcasts, including Disgrace Land, Buried Bones, and Wise Crack for live recordings, behind-the-scenes access, exclusive meet and greets, and crime-themed programming that you won't find anywhere else.

• 29:24Georgia Hardstark?

  All aboard our award-winning, kid-free ships.

• 29:27Karen Kilgariff?

  Head over to virginvoyages.com/troocrime to secure your spot. Goodbye.

• 29:33Speaker 00

  Okay, laundry stinks, literally. I mean, you could just keep buying new underwear. Not that I've ever done that. Or maybe sort your clothes into piles based on how re-wearable or filthy they are. Or just use Arm & Hammer Deep Clean. It's made for real life stinks and stains. So even if you don't do laundry the quote, "right way", Deep Clean will knock it out. I mean, it is from the number one liquid detergent brand that tackles more loads than any other. Come clean with Arm & Hammer Deep Clean. Number one claim based on total wash loads sold.

• 30:08Speaker 03

  This episode sponsored by Codecademy. Your job is changing, fast. New tools, new expectations, and real pressure to keep up. This isn't a someday problem. It's happening right now. That's where Codecademy comes in. Instead of just watching or reading, you learn by doing. From your very first lesson, you're writing real code directly in your browser. No setup, no guesswork. Whether it's AI tools, prompt engineering, data analysis, or cybersecurity, Codecademy shows you exactly what to learn and gives you a clear, step-by-step path to get there. So you're not just keeping up with tech, you're actually getting ahead. With structured career paths and real-world projects,

• 30:52Speaker 03

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