Memphis Murder Mayhem

A journey through Memphis’ troubled past: the shocking crimes and the brutal killings that led to it being dubbed the “Murder Capital of the World.” With its alluring hospitality, legendary cuisine and transcendent music, Memphis is truly a quintessential Southern city. But lurking behind the barbeque and blue suede shoes is a dark history checkered with violence and disarray. Revisit the mass murder of 1866 that took more than fifty lives, the infamous Alice Mitchell case of the 1890s and a string of unthinkable twentieth-century sins. Author and lifelong Memphian Teresa Simpson explores some of the River City’s most menacing crimes and notorious characters in this riveting ride back through the centuries. Includes photos!

The writers of Malice in Memphis understand that any time you get a big group of people together to go hog wild, there's a perfect opportunity for crime. Each of the tales in Mayhem in Memphis deals with murder or theft or some other action, polite - and not so polite - that society frowns on.Needless to say, the stories are fiction, and so are all the characters, but the settings are quite real.This is the fourth Malice in Memphis anthology of crime-ridden short stories set around the Memphis bluff.Read them all, why don't you?You'll have a blast.Contributing authors: Phyllis Appleby, Mary Balsamo, Kristi Bradley, Barbara Christopher, Juanita D. Houston, Larry Hoy, Lynn Maples, Carolyn McSparren, Elaine Meece, Geoffrey Meece, James C. Paavola, PhD, Jackie Ross Flaum, Angelyn Sherrod, and Dr. Susan Wooten.

"The Illuminati Mayhem & Murder" by Frank White delves into the enigmatic and often misunderstood world of the Illuminati, the secret society that has captivated imaginations and sparked controversies for centuries. This comprehensive volume combines White's two groundbreaking works, providing an unparalleled exploration of the group's far-reaching influence, intricate power structures, and alleged involvement in pivotal historical events. In "Who Are The Illuminati," White critically examines the truths and myths surrounding this secretive organization. From their rumored control over global events to their purported ties with influential families like the Rockefellers and Rothschilds, the book investigates the depth of the Illuminati's influence. Are they the puppet masters of the world's elite, shaping politics, entertainment, and media? Or is their notoriety a product of misinterpretation and conspiracy theories? "The Illuminati's Greatest Hits" takes a darker turn, unveiling the alleged covert operations and brutal tactics employed by the Illuminati to maintain their stronghold. From orchestrating revolutions and wars to the high-profile assassinations of Lincoln, Kennedy, and other key figures, White explores how these events fit into the larger puzzle of the New World Order. The book questions the extent of their manipulation and their relentless pursuit of global domination, shedding light on the sinister side of this enigmatic group. Together, these narratives form "The Illuminati Mayhem & Murder," a book that not only uncovers the layers of secrecy surrounding the Illuminati but also challenges the reader to question the very fabric of modern history. It's an essential read for anyone intrigued by the shadowy intersection of power, conspiracy, and the clandestine forces shaping our world.

Recounts a family's attempts to solve the murder of one of their kin, a Memphis woman named Deborah Watts, in a case stretching over twenty years, from 1977 to 1997.

Memphis is a city that uses any excuse to party down.When times were hard after the Civil War, our response was to crank up the blues. When that nasty bug, the Boll Weevil, infested our lush fields of cotton, a group of tricksters put on boll weevil costumes and invaded parties, drank the hosts' bourbon, and danced with the ladies (whether they wanted to or not.)One week mid-May was chosen as a blow-out in praise of cotton and the money it brought to us. With the advent of other crops, however, the party became known merely as "Carnival." More recently it has expanded to laud the whole area during May, our last coolish month until October. Even with air conditioning, nobody can celebrate in high summertime down here.The stories in this anthology are centered loosely around this party that has kept our spirits up in one form or another through yellow fever epidemics, boom times and depressions, wartimes and peace times.The writers are members of our local mystery-writers group, Malice in Memphis. We understand that any time you get a big group of people together to go hog wild, there's a perfect opportunity for crime. Each of these tales deals with murder or theft or some other action, polite-and not so polite-that society frowns on. Needless to say, the stories are fiction, and so are all the characters.This is our fourth Malice in Memphis anthology of crime-ridden short stories set around the Memphis bluff. "Mayhem in Memphis" received the Imaginarium Convention's 2020 Imadjinn Award for Best Anthology.

East Tennessee is gorgeous country, but the hills and hollers have a dark side. James Earl Ray, who had already assassinated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., created mayhem at Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary when he led six other men in a short-lived escape. Several thousand Cherokee Indians from East Tennessee were forced on what would later be called the "Trail of Tears." In the "Hankins Murder" case and in the triple killings in Oliver Springs, chaos and confusion resulted from the wrongful arrest and public accusations of innocent people. Jake and C.H. Butcher brought about bedlam with their banking scandal that at the time was unsurpassed in scope in the nation's history. Author Dewaine A. Speaks details these stories and more.

"On May 1, 1866, a minor exchange between (white) Memphis city police and a group of (all black) Union soldiers quickly escalated into "murder and mayhem." A mob of white men roamed through south Memphis, leaving a trail of blood, rubble, and terror in their wake. By May 3, at least forty-six African American men, women, and children and two white men lay dead. Other Memphians, mostly black but a few whites closely associated with the city's growing population of black migrants, lost their homes. Many were brutally assaulted. An unknown number of terrified blacks were driven out of the city. Every African American church and schoolhouse lay in ruins, homes and businesses burglarized and burned, and at least five women had been raped. As a federal military commander noted in the days following, "What [was] called the 'riot,'" was "in reality [a] massacre" of extended proportions. Remembering the Memphis Massacre is a collection of essays that will teach non-specialists about a history that has been hidden from all but academics for most of the past century and a half, thereby placing the Memphis Massacre in its wider historical context"

In his memoir, Life on the Mississippi, Mark Twain personified the river as “Sudden Death and General Desolation! Sired by a hurricane, dam’d by an earthquake, half-brother to the cholera, nearly related to the small-pox on the mother’s side! Look at me! I take nineteen alligators and a bar’l of whiskey for breakfast when I’m in robust health, and a bushel of rattlesnakes and a dead body when I’m ailing!” Twain’s time as a steamboat pilot showed him the true character of The Great River, with its unpredictable moods and hidden secrets. Still a vital route for U.S. shipping, the Mississippi River has given life to riverside communities, manufacturing industries, fishing, tourism, and other livelihoods. But the Mighty Mississippi has also claimed countless lives as tribute to its muddy waters. Climate and environmental conditions made the Mississippi the perfect incubator for diseases like malaria. Natural disasters, like tornadoes, floods, and even an earthquake, have changed and reshaped the river’s banks over thousands of years. Shipwrecks and steamboat explosions were once common in the difficult-to-navigate waters. But when there was money to be made, there were some willing to risk it all—from the brave steamboat captains who went down with their ships, to the illegal moonshiners and pirates who pillaged the river’s bounty. In this book, author and Mississippi River historian Dean Klinkenberg explores the many disastrous events to have occurred on and along the river in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries—from steamboat explosions, to Yellow Fever epidemics, floods, and Prohibition piracy. Enjoy this journey into the darkest deeds of the Mississippi River.