What's the oldest fear in the human record? Not vampires. Not werewolves. Not anything that hunts in the dark. It's the person sitting across from you at dinner—the one who poured your drink.

In this episode, we're diving into one of history's most chilling archetypes — the woman poisoner. From the prison cells of ancient Rome to a TikTok trend that exploded in 2024, the legend of the woman who knows what grows in the dark has never really gone away.

Four women. Four centuries. One very uncomfortable truth about trust, proximity, and the people who feed us.

Content Warnings:

This episode contains discussion of: poison and poisoning, domestic violence, child death (including infant death), execution, and serial homicide. Please take care of yourself.

Sources & Further Reading

Locusta

• Tacitus, Annals (Books 12 & 13) — the original ancient source
• Suetonius, Life of Nero — describes Locusta's estate and students
• Cassius Dio, Roman History — corroborating accounts
• "Locusta of Gaul: Rome's Imperial Poisoner" — Crime Reads (crimereads.com)

• "Aqua Tofana: Slow-Poisoning and Husband-Killing in 17th Century Italy" — Mike Dash History (mikedashhistory.com)
• Giulia Tofana — Wikipedia (start here, then follow the citations)
• "What Is MATGA?" — Fast Company (fastcompany.com)
• MATGA movement coverage — Newsweek, November 2024

• Mary Ann Cotton — Britannica (britannica.com)
• "The Dark Angel of Durham" — Weird Darkness

• "The Story of Nannie Doss, the Giggling Granny" — All That's Interesting (allthatsinteresting.com)
• Nannie Doss — Wikipedia
• Nancy "Nannie Doss" Hazle — Encyclopedia of Alabama