Thomas Neill Cream, the Lambeth Poisoner

Thomas Neill Cream, the Lambeth Poisoner

From Poisoned History by Suzanne

December 1, 2025 · 52 min · Season 3 · Episode 1

About this episode

The episode explores the crimes of Thomas Neill Cream, a notorious poisoner in the late 1800s.

Thomas Neill Cream was a good-looking man about town in the late 1800s, who was poisoning many of the people he treated and blackmailing anyone he thought could afford to pay. He was eventually caught when the family of one of his victims denied that she could possibly have committed suicide as was suggested by a note she wrote. But that’s not the end of the story. Sources and Resources: Wilson Smith, A, Strychnine and Vomit: The Untold Story of Past US Addiction Treatments, Filter Magazine 8 September 2021, https://filtermag.org/strychnine-addiction-treatments/ McLaren, A., Dr Cream’s Crimes were Just Part of the Problem, Chicago Tribune, 18 March 1993, https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/03/18/dr-creams-crimes-were-just-part-of-the-problem/ Butts, Edward. "Thomas Neill Cream". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 15 December 2013, Historica Canada. thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/thomas-neill-cream. Accessed 09 November 2025. Murder by Gaslight, the Lambeth Poisoner, 29Aug2010. History of Shrewsbury, Quebec, Chapter III, LaChute 1835-1876, https://morrison13750.tripod.com/lachute/part3.pdf Foran, J., The Evil Deeds of Dr. Cream. Canada’s History…

People in this episode

Host: Suzanne

Topics covered

  • true crime
  • poisoning
  • blackmail
  • historical crime
  • 19th century
  • murder

Keywords

  • Thomas Neill Cream
  • Lambeth Poisoner
  • poisoning
  • blackmail
  • true crime
  • historical crime

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Filter Magazine, Chicago Tribune, Historica Canada, Canada’s History

Books & works: Murder by Gaslight, Medical Murders Podcast

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