Long before we knew what serial killers were, a family in remote Kansas was disposing of victims at their family farm. Listen in to the Tale of the Bloody Benders if you dare!
AI Summary
# The Bloody Benders: America's First Serial Killing Family
In this creepy October episode, Josh and Chuck dive into one of America's darkest true crime stories: the Bender family, a seemingly ordinary household in 1870s Kansas that operated a roadside inn along the Osage Trail. What started as a strange, reclusive family with a reputation for being violently unusual quickly transformed into something far more sinister when bodies began appearing in a local creek, buried in their orchard, and hidden in a cellar trap door. As authorities closed in on the murders of at least a dozen travelers, the Benders vanished without a trace, becoming America's first widely-publicized serial killers and sparking a national manhunt that continued for decades.
"Not a rural juror. I heard of 510. Wait, wait, no. I need to know. What was that? I can't remember what that's from. 30 Rock. — Josh and Chuck discuss a running joke from 30 Rock where Jane Krakowski's character says 'rural juror' as a movie title that no one understands."
— Josh
American Gods
2017
TV-MA
★ 7.1
"In American Gods, one of the characters is a Slavic god named Zernbog, and every time the benders killed somebody, he gained strength. — Josh mentions that Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods features a character inspired by the Bender family murders."
— Josh
Avatar: The Last Airbender
2005
TV-Y7
★ 8.8
"There was a movie made in 2016 called Bender that does not look great. Did you see the trailer? — Josh discusses a 2016 film about the Bender family, noting it had poor acting and focused too much on historical drama."
— Josh
Red Dead Redemption: The Man from Blackwater
2010
29m
★ 6.7
"There's a pig farm where your character shows up, and there's a creepy old lady and a creepy old man, and they're like trying to get you to stay for dinner. — Josh mentions the video game contains a scene inspired by the Bender family murders, warning players not to drink the offered drink."
— Josh
The Beverly Hillbillies
1962
★ 6.9
"Did you watch the Beverly Hill Billies? I did. Like a lot? Yeah, yeah, I watched it a lot. — Chuck references the show when comparing John Bender Jr. to the character Jethro Clampett, mentioning a specific episode where Jethro becomes a movie producer."
— Chuck
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