Edgar Allan Poe was never one to underestimate the power of a good secret, and his death was no exception. Rarely have the details of someone’s final days caused such a stir in the annals of dark history. Just like the spine-tingling tales he wrote, much of Poe’s personal and professional life was shrouded in mystery,…
Tag: American History
The Harpe Brothers Terrorized The Great Frontier And Became America’s First Serial Killers
When it comes to American history, there is no landscape more breathtaking and dramatic than the great frontier. The late 18th century was an unparalleled time of discovery and violence when the New World was busy forging itself through the bloody conflicts of its people. Massive, uncharted, and full of possibility, life as a pioneer…
American Brutus: How Lincoln’s Murder Revealed A Spectacular Killer
Walking into the Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. is like taking a visceral journey into the past. Not only does it perfectly capture the nostalgia of the 19th century—when the United States was in the midst of grave political dissension—but it remains the backdrop of one of the most infamous moments in American history, the…
The Tulsa Race Riot Traded Progress For Terror
In our quest for racial peace, society sometimes conveniently forgets the stunning events of the past which have contributed to the ongoing American narrative. Remembering such phyletic stories is not only key to our survival as a species, but it also illustrates the need for tolerance and healing on the heels of an incredibly dark…
This Former Slave Stole A Confederate Ship And Literally Sailed To Freedom
Even though Robert Smalls was born in 1839, poor, black, and a slave in the Antebellum South, his existence was anything but predictable. His incredible fight to freedom and subsequent life merit the accomplishments of three lifetimes. During a harrowing historical period of intense fear and racism in America, Smalls managed to dramatically turn his…
Cudjo Lewis: The Heartbreaking Story of The Last American Slave
On March 2, 1807, Congress banned the importation of slaves from Africa, and the law finally took effect on January 1, 1808. Cudjo Lewis was the last known survivor to arrive on the final slave ship to the United States. Through his life, he watched his world change in unimaginable ways, taking him from the…
Hannah Duston: The Puritan Axe Murderer Who Found Revenge
Back in the 17th-century territory of what is now Massachusetts, many Puritans families struggled to survive in the wild, unpredictable conditions of the new world. One of their greatest fears, aside from starvation, was the threat of Native Americans who were known to wreak havoc on colonial homesteads and slaughter or abduct anyone who fell…
How The Slave Ship Zong Traded Sanity For Profit
The stinking, corrupt vessel known as the slave ship Zong carried hundreds or poor souls across the Middle Passage during the Atlantic Slave Trade and is regarded as one of the vilest and most barbarous trips to ever set sail. It departed from São Tomé, an island off the coast of west Africa, in 1781…
The Raven Report © 