Little Slaughterhouse on the Prairie

 

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 page-turning 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.

Book source ~ Borrowed with Prime on Audible

Little Slaughterhouse on the Prairie

Bloodlands Collection, #2

Harold Schecht ~ Author

Steven Weber ~ Narrator

28 June 2018

True Crime

1 hr 19 mins

My Rating ~ 4 bites

The Benders. Mass murderers in the time (1870-1873) and area (Kansas) of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

What the hell did I just read and, with my fascination with true crime, how have I never heard of this? I’m not sure where I saw about this, but apparently I picked it up with my Prime membership in 2019. The Benders were some scary people. The hair stood up on the back of my neck while listening to this book. Yikes! 

Also, ah shit. Now I understand why Supernatural Season 1 Episode 15: The Benders is what it is. The monsters are people. Also the original Benders were from Kansas and that’s where Sam and Dean are from. Clever, clever.