The Witch of New York (S7E4)

Today, I'm joined by Alex Hortis, author of The Witch of New York, a riveting account of the 1843 trials of Polly Bodine. A resident of Staten Island, Bodine was accused of murdering her sister-in-law and her infant niece, sparking public outrage. Bodine went to trial not once, not twice, but three times for the crimes, and Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, and P.T. Barnum variously took part in the attendant media circus.

Above: Woodcut of Polly Bodine portraying her as a witchlike old crone at the time of the crimes, even though in actuality she was a young woman.