Episodes

Call Me Korgia

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Fangirl Alert! Listen to “CALL ME KORGIA” on iTunes, Spotify, Overcast, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts!
lighted happy birthday candles
Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

Before we get into the details of today’s episode, Call Me Korgia, let’s say HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR VERY BEAUTIFUL AND WONDERFUL KYM!! TODAY is Kym’s birthday and we wish her all the best!

So! Happy Birthday and Happy Tuesday!! Today’s episode is allllllll about the serious, hardcore fangirling over and paying an homage to Kym and Kris’ most favorite podcast, My Favorite Murder. Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, hosts of the epically popular podcast, are the ladies who inspired us to get into podcasting. When we started we had no delusions we could do anything at the level of these two amazing women, but we knew we wanted to podcast  anyway. And so we did with coffee mugs in one hand, mics in the other, and a whooooole lot of opinions, stories, and laughter. And we have loved every minute of it from day one.

As a birthday kickoff for Kym, we went to the January 11, 2019, My Favorite Murder podcast live show at the Civic Theater in San Diego, CA. After the show, we met Karen and Georgia where we were able to thank them (profusely) for inspiring us. In today’s episode we recount the mega highs and the very few (only one actually) annoying lows of the night. Oh, and there’s Kym’s especially slick maneuver at the meet and greet. That’s our girl, Kym.

Kym and Kris in San Diego MFM Show
Waiting for Georgia and Karen in San Diego Civic Theater January 11, 2019, My Favorite Murder.
Karen and Georgia MFM On Stage
Karen and Georgia sit down to talk murder, San Diego Civic Theater, January 11, 2019, My Favorite Murder
Fangirl Moment
The moment we got our act together and got to thank Karen and Georgia for inspiring us to start podcasting.

The second half of the episode segues into a very MFM-tributesque recounting of two stories from our travels: The “Blood Countess” Elizabeth Bathory of Slovakia, and the underground area of Edinburgh, Scotland called “Mary King’s Close“, where people spent generations living, working, and dying in darkness.

Kym talks about how Elizabeth Bathory and her husband reigned bloody supreme (literally) as sado-masochists in their castle (now in ruins) on a hill in Slovakia. But it wasn’t until after the death of her husband that Elizabeth’s unbridled vanity and penchant for fatal torture earned her the reputation as being history’s most prolific female serial killer. Elizabeth believed the blood of virgins would keep her young (sound like any bloodsucker you’ve heard of?), so she took advantage of her social standing to get as many into her clutches as possible. Spoiler alert: she was caught, but she is proof that the rich and powerful could (and still can to this day) literally get away with murder because although Elizabeth’s servants – who were forced to do her disgusting dirty work – were put to death for their participation in her schemes, Elizabeth was merely sentenced to live out the rest of her days in her own home. Did we mention she lived in a castle? Tsk. Poor, poor, bloody Elizabeth.

elizabeth_bathory_portrait
Countess Elizabeth Bathory, the first female serial killer in history. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia, artist and copyright unknown.

 

Čachtice Castle, Slovakia
Ruins of Elizabeth Bathory’s castle. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

While there’s no murder and intrigue in Kris’ story, there is definitely creepiness and death as she talks about the history of Mary King’s Close, and how part of the current city of Edinburgh was built right over the top of existing streets, businesses and homes, some still intact. Despite the lack of sunshine and fresh air, life continued underground for many of the poorest folk for generations, even when the plague devastated almost half the population of Edingurgh in the 1600s. In fact, underground was where the plague victims were quarantined (albeit provided for), until the devastating disease ran its course. One of the plague’s most famous victims, little Annie, still receives gifts to this day as visitors try to help alleviate her sorrow of being abandoned by her parents as she died a slow and pitiful death in the darkness of Mary King’s Close.

marykingsclose_wikipedia_thecontinnuumgroup
The actual Mary King’s Close, with props to recreate what life was like in the underground “city”. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia, photo by The Continnuum Group
Mary King's Close Model
Model of Mary King’s Close, Edinburgh, Scotland. Photo by Kristen Core.
Mary King's Close Plaque
Plaque describing the model of Mary King’s Close, Edinburgh, Scotland. Photo by Kristen Core.
A Scottish Close
What a typical close looks like, open to the fresh sky. Photo courtesy WordPress Free Library, by Pixabay

Oh…and the city mentioned by Kris as being the home of the “Cathedral of Bones” near Budapest is called Kutná Hora and the “Church of Bones” is named Sedlec Ossuary. Here’s a look at some of the eerie, beautiful craftsmanship inside the church. Yep. Those are human bones.

Sedlec Ossuary Kutná Hora
Photo of the Bone Church, Sedlec Ossuary in Kutná Hora Hungary, Photo courtesy of Wikipedia, by Pudelek (Marcin Szala)

Check out our CALL ME KORGIA episode on  iTunes/Apple Podcasts, SpotifyOvercast, Libsyn, Pocket CastStitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.

And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

© The Mugly Truth 2018 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2018. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox”  by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com

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