Summary: London has Jack the Ripper. New Orleans has the Axeman, a mysterious figure who in 1918 and 1919 crept into a series of homes and beat people to death while they slept, often with an ax or ax handle found in the home. Then, he upped the ante, sending a letter to The Daily Picayune taunting police and instructing locals to play jazz music -- and loudly -- at midnight on a certain date or risk being slaughtered. That night, unsurprisingly, the music blared. We talk with former Times-Picayune history columnist (and Axeman enthusiast) James Karst about the details of the case, including possible suspects and a theory that it was all the mob’s doing. Thanks to Aakash Gandhi, Max Surla, SYBS, roljui, Dan Bodan, Jingle Punks, Wayne Jones and Unicorn Heads for creating music used in this episode. And thanks to Papa Legba for our theme music.
