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Little Slaughterhouse on the Prairie
- Bloodlands collection
- Narrated by: Steven Weber
- Length: 1 hr and 19 mins
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Publisher's Summary
At a remote little inn not far from the Kansas homestead of Laura Ingalls Wilder lived the Bender family. These pioneers welcomed unwary visitors with jackrabbit stew and a sledgehammer to the skull.
In time, their apple orchard gave up its secrets - a burial ground for their mutilated victims, each stripped of their possessions. The devilish enterprise on “Hell’s Half-Acre” would earn the Bloody Benders an undying place in the annals of American infamy. But it was the mysterious fate of eldest daughter, Kate, that would make them the stuff of mythic campfire prairie tales.
Little Slaughterhouse on the Prairie is part of Bloodlands, a chilling collection of short addictive historical narratives from bestselling true-crime master Harold Schechter. Spanning a century in our nation’s murderous past, Schechter resurrects nearly forgotten tales of madmen and thrill-killers that dominated the most sensational headlines of their day.
What listeners say about Little Slaughterhouse on the Prairie
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- Ortrud
- 17-06-2022
Prairies and wagons and murderers, oh my!
WELL. I'd heard of the Bloody Benders. I was very familiar with the Little House on the Prairie series. I had no idea the two happened in the same county at the same time.
The Benders are the main story, and Schechter distinguishes well between known facts and speculation. There was quite a lot of information I'd never heard before - including that the Benders crossed paths with the Ingalls family. THAT took some digesting.
It seems extraordinary that one family could live in a human slaughterhouse, murder at least eleven people in less than a year, then disappear without a trace. I think it's most likely they were caught and quietly killed by locals. No similar killing sprees happened subsequently, and they don't seem like the type to reform. It would also explain why Laura described Pa as being completely certain they were dead. It's now known he couldn't have been a member of the posse (as Laura believed), but he could have heard first hand accounts from friends.
I found the narration a shade too quick - had to set it at 0.95. Overall an engaging and informative listen.
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- SW TUBBS
- 01-11-2022
Another Bloody Episode
You could be forgiven if you thought you were reading fiction. Another bloody episode from history.
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