25. Hell’s Belle: America’s Most Notorious Female Serial Killer

About this episode

The episode explores the chilling story of Belle Gunness, America's most notorious female serial killer, and the dark secrets surrounding her crimes.

Surprriissee Baddies! We're back with a brand new episode! When a fire broke out at a farm in LaPorte, Indiana, in 1908. a disgruntled farmhand was immediately suspected of arson and the murders of Belle Gunness and her three children. But when investigators were forced to look deeper by a desperate man searching for his missing brother, they discovered a chilling web of disappearances and a trail of dead bodies leading to the identification of one of the most notorious female serial killers in American history. Join Carly and Tab as they unpack the dark secrets of the Black Widow of LaPorte/ the Mistress of Murder Farms and how she was able to operate undetected for years, hiding in plain sight. This episode includes discussions of violence and murder, including violence against children. Please listen with care. Keep up to date on all things Historically Bad: Instagram: ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@historicallybadpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.historicallybadpodcast.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/HistoricallyBadPatreon⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contact us: ⁠admin@historicallybadpodcast.ca⁠ STICKERS: ⁠https://historically-bad-podcast.square.site/⁠ Historically Bad is created and produced by Tabitha Festa and Carly…

People in this episode

Hosts: Carly, Tab

Topics covered

• female serial killer
• murder
• historical crime
• Belle Gunness
• disappearances
• violence against children

Keywords

• Belle Gunness
• serial killer
• LaPorte
• murder
• 1908
• disappearances
• violence
• children

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Miami University, Ohio Valley History

Books & works: Come prepared to stay forever, Just Like One of the Family: An Immigrant Murderess in Turn-of-the-Century America

Places: LaPorte, Indiana

More episodes of Historically Bad

• 27. Femme Fraud: Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos · May 2, 2026 · 2h 25m
• 26. The Bermuda Triangle: We Went Looking… and Got Lost Too · November 27, 2025 · 1h 20m
• 24. Fools Gold: The Bre-X Gold Fraud Scandal · March 11, 2025 · 1h 36m
• 23. Don’t drink the (Flavor)aid: Jim Jones and the Jonestown massacre · February 25, 2025 · 1h 43m
• 22. H. H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer and his Murder Castle (...?) · April 29, 2024 · 1h 7m
• 21. Auschwitz Angel of Death: Nazi Doctor Josef Mengele · April 22, 2024 · 1h 10m