This 2015 kickoff to the Six Impossible Episodes series features Stagecoach Mary, Edward Mordrake, Robert the Haunted Doll, the London Beer Flood, the Lost Army of Cambyses and La Maupin.

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Holly shares an odd detail about the red barn murder case. She and Tracy also discuss the way Forrest Mars may have affected the way his father's life is described.

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This installment of the eponymous foods series covers candy bars, including Snickers, Mars Bars, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and some side mentions of other candies.

Research:

• “Behind the Bar.” Snickers. https://www.snickers.com/our-story
• Brenner, Joel Glenn. “Life on Mars: The Mars family saga has all the classic elements.” Independent. July 25, 1992. https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/life-on-mars-the-mars-family-saga-has-all-the-classic-elements-1535722.html
• “Forrest Mars Sr., Candy Bar Titan Famed for Snickers.” The Plain Dealer. July 3, 1999. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1071308390/?match=1&terms=%22Forrest%20Mars%2C%20sr.%22&search-id=695f29a8-5f65-43f4-8445-637d2758eb9e&search-rank=1
• “Frank C. Mars Buys Trotters.” The Lexington Herald. May 30, 1933. https://www.newspapers.com/image/684730957/?match=1&terms=%22Frank%20C.%20Mars%22%20Pulaski&search-id=b3e1ac20-1b03-4d55-8bb0-bf38efd85070&search-rank=7
• “Frank C. Mars Dies of Heart Attack.” The Atlanta Constitution.” April 9, 1934. https://www.newspapers.com/image/398152288/?match=1&terms=%22Frank%20C.%20Mars%22%20Pulaski&search-id=b3e1ac20-1b03-4d55-8bb0-bf38efd85070&search-rank=8
• “Frank C. Mars Is Victim of Death.” The Decatur Daily. April 9, 1934. https://www.newspapers.com/image/534932502/?match=1&terms=%22Frank%20C.%20Mars%22%20Pulaski&search-id=b3e1ac20-1b03-4d55-8bb0-bf38efd85070&search-rank=4
• “Frank C. Mars Taken By Death.” Tacoma Daily Ledger. April 9, 1934. https://www.newspapers.com/image/725917256/?match=1&terms=%22Frank%20C.%20Mars%22&search-id=3bd9eccf-f65f-485c-ac5b-70d3f755a3fc&search-rank=6
• “Frank C. Mars.” Candy Hall of Fame. https://candyhalloffame.org/inductee/frank-c-mars/
• “Frank Mars.” Oak Park River Forest Museum. https://oprfmuseum.org/people/frank-mars
• “The H.B. Reese Candy Company Story.” The Daily News. June 9, 1956. https://www.newspapers.com/image/517725214/?match=1&terms=%22H.B.%20Reese%22&search-id=a96c9fd5-6131-45ad-91a5-d3390afd07b1&search-rank=9
• “H.B. Reese Company Housed in Large, Modern Building.” The Patriot-News. Nov. 27, 1957. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1094489845/?match=1&terms=%22H.B.%20Reese%22&search-id=cc48e553-f70b-43c6-a7b2-c7374b30be88&search-rank=1
• “Harry Burnett ‘H.B.’ Reese.” Candy Hall of Fame. https://candyhalloffame.org/inductee/harry-burnett-h-b-reese/
• Lieberman, Hallie. “Was It Hershey or Reese That Made Peanut Butter Cups Great?” Atlas Obscura. October 27, 2016. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/was-it-hershey-or-reese-that-made-peanut-butter-cups-great
• Mari, Christopher. “H.B. Reese.” EBSCO. 2024. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/h-b-reese/
• “Mars Family.” Forbes. June 29, 2026. https://www.forbes.com/profile/mars-1/?list=families
• “Mars, Incorporated: History in the Making.” https://www.mars.com/about/history
• “The Milky Way: How Frank Mars started a candy bar empire in Minnesota.” Fox9 KMSP. March 30, 2022. https://www.fox9.com/news/the-milky-way-how-frank-mars-a-minnesotan-created-a-candy-bar-empire
• “Snickers History: The Horse, the War, and the World’s Top Candy Bar.” Moss & Fog. Oct. 25, 2023. https://mossandfog.com/the-history-of-snickers-the-worlds-most-popular-candy-bar/
• “Sons, Daughters Willed H.B. Reese Property.” The Patriot-News. May 25, 1956. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1094130007/?match=1&terms=%22H.B.%20Reese%22&search-id=a96c9fd5-6131-45ad-91a5-d3390afd07b1&search-rank=8
• “Table Data - Automobile Registrations, Passenger Cars, Total for United States.” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/data/A01108USA258NNBR
• Upton, Emily. “The Fascinating Rise of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.” Business Insider. June 30, 2013. https://www.businessinsider.com/the-fascinating-rise-of-reeses-peanut-butter-cups-2013-6

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In the spring of 1828, a news story broke in Suffolk, England about the horrific murder of Maria Marten. Her paramour was the only suspect, but he evaded authorities for some time before he was captured and put on trial.

Research:

• Curtis, J. “AN AUTHENTIC AND FAITHFUL HISTORY OF THE MYSTERIOUS MURDER OF MARIA MARTEN, WITH A FULL DEVELOPMENT OF ALL THE EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH LED TO THE DISCOVERY OF HER BODY IN TO WHICH IS ADDED, THE TRIAL OF WILLIAM CORDER, TAKEN AT LARGE IN SHORT HAND SPECIALLY FOR THIS WORK, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF HIS EXECUTION, DISSECTION, &c. AND MANY INTERESTING PARTICULARS RELATIVE TO THE VILLAGE OF POLSTEAD AND ITS VICINITY; THE PRISON CORRESPONDENCE OF CORDER, AND FIFTY-THREE LETTERS, IN ANSWER TO HIS ADVERTISEMENT FOR A WIFE.” London. Thomas Keity. 1828. https://archive.org/details/b20443237
• Devlin, Laura. “Who was the murderer whose skin binds a book?” BBC. April 22, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0wrdleer2o
• Harding, J. “Celebrated Trials of All Countries, and Remarkable Cases of Criminal Jurisprudence.” 1847. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=pj3FyXaS91YC&rdid=book-pj3FyXaS91YC&rdot=1
• “Horrible Murder.” Bristol Mirror. April 19, 1828. https://www.newspapers.com/image/970366046/?match=1&terms=%22Maria%20Marten%22&search-id=6e26d629-68a9-4c86-a81d-4164828d99b9&search-rank=1
• “Horrible Murder.” The Morning Chronicle. April 24, 1828. https://www.newspapers.com/image/392094838/?search-id=6e26d629-68a9-4c86-a81d-4164828d99b9&search-rank=3
• “Horrid Murder. North Wales Chronicle. May 1, 1828. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1367388437/?match=1&terms=William%20Corder&search-id=15f8324b-4277-49e4-ade3-f37de505ca71&search-rank=4
• Langbein, John H. “THE PROSECUTORIAL ORIGINS OF DEFENCE COUNSEL IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: THE APPEARANCE OF SOLICITORS.” Cambridge Law Journal. 58(2), July 1999, pp.314-365. https://law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/Faculty/Langbein_Prosecutorial_Origins_of_Defence_Counsel.pdf
• “Murder in Suffolk.” Cambridge Chronicle and University Journal, Isle of Ely Herald and Huntingdonshire Gazette. May 2, 1828. https://www.newspapers.com/image/785569973/?match=20&terms=William%20Corder&search-id=15f8324b-4277-49e4-ade3-f37de505ca71&search-rank=2
• “Murder in Suffolk.” Birmingham Journal. May 3, 1828. https://www.newspapers.com/image/784498364/?match=1&terms=%22William%20Corder%22&search-id=9a769e68-25cc-42f4-b01d-1bca08e64ac6&search-rank=38
• “The Red Barn Murder.” St. Edmundbury Chronicle. http://www.stedmundsburychronicle.co.uk/rbpeople.htm
• “Sanguinary and Atrocious Murder.” Cheltenham Chronicle and Gloucestershire Graphic. May 1, 1828. https://www.newspapers.com/image/786265260/?match=3&terms=William%20Corder&search-id=15f8324b-4277-49e4-ade3-f37de505ca71&search-rank=1
• “William Corder.” Lancaster Gazette. May 24, 1828. https://www.newspapers.com/image/395993259/?match=1&terms=William%20Corder&search-id=a5f1199d-5191-413d-943a-1cbabcb0a368&search-rank=16

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This 2022 episode covers Giordano Bruno, a mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, occultist, and according to the Catholic church of 16th-century Italy, a heretic. He met a bad end because of his views, but he started out as a friar.

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Tracy ponders how Sara Weiss knew some of the things she knew and whether her husband characterized her as less informed than she was. Holly talks about a possible relative of Theophilus Brome.

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Screaming skull lore is something that is unique to Britain, though specific skull lore varies. The first episode has roots in the English Civil war, and the second is tied to colonialism in the Caribbean and the slave trade.

Research:

• Berry, Helen. “Exclusion Crisis: Challenging James II’s Right to Rule.” History Today. May 5, 2026. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/feature/exclusion-crisis-challenging-james-iis-right-rule
• “The Bettiscombe Skull – Pinney Family.” Bridport and Lyme Regis News. March 25, 1904. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1325106358/?match=18&terms=Azariah%20Pinney%20&search-id=f74cfd16-6d86-49a4-a9db-d190c38e3250&search-rank=1
• Collinson, John. “The history and antiquities of the county of Somerset, collected from authentick records, and an actual survey made by the late Mr. Edmund Rack. Adorned with a map of the county and engravings of Roman and other reliques, town seals, baths, churches and gentlemen’s seats.” Vo. II. Bath. R. Crutwell. 1791. https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_the-history-and-antiquit_collinson-john_1791_2/page/n1/mode/2up?q=horrid
• Cooper, W.J. “Bridport’s Most Exciting Day 280 Years Ago.” Bridport and Lyme Regis News. June 11, 1965. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1325206100/?match=2&terms=Azariah%20Pinney%20&search-id=f74cfd16-6d86-49a4-a9db-d190c38e3250&search-rank=2
• Davey, Tim. “A Slave to History.” Evening Post. Sept. 28, 1999. https://www.newspapers.com/image/909493603/?match=7&terms=Azariah%20Pinney%20&search-id=f74cfd16-6d86-49a4-a9db-d190c38e3250&search-rank=10
• Frere, Sheppard Sunderland, et al. "United Kingdom". Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Sep. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/place/United-Kingdom
• “Higher Farmhouse.” Historic England. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1296177?section=official-list-entry
• Hubbard, Vincent K. “Swords, Ships & Sugar: History of Nevis to 1900.” Premiere Editions. 1996.
• Ingram, John H. “The Haunted Homes and Family Traditions of Great Britain.” London.Gibbings. 1901. https://archive.org/details/hauntedhomesand01ingrgoog
• Kelly’s Directory of Liverpool & Birkenhead, 1894. [Part 2: Birkenhead and Trade & Court Directories]. Kelly & Co. Ltd, 1894. JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/community.30135909
• Prickett, Katy. “The Macabre Tale of Oliver Cromwell’s Head.” BBC. Nov. 17, 2024. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0j8vn2ne70o
• “Screaming Skull of Bettiscombe.” Dorset Echo. Aug. 14, 1963. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1325267462/?match=1&terms=Bettiscombe%20skull&search-id=0ee431ba-ab8d-4d60-a29c-7ac53b535399&search-rank=1
• Thiselton-Dyer, T. F. “Strange Pages from Family Papers.” LONDON. SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & COMPANY. 1895. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/17050/pg17050-images.html#CHAPTER_II
• Underwood, Peter. “Ghosts of Somerset.” Bossiness Books. 2011.
• Weaver, Frederic William, M.A., ed. “Notes and Queries for Somerset and Dorset. Vol. II.” Sherbourne. J.C. and A.T. Sawtell. 1891. https://archive.org/details/notesqueriesfors02brid/page/n3/mode/2up
• “A West Dorset Legend.” Dorset Echo. July 24, 1953. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1194417076/?match=7&terms=Bettiscombe%20Skull&search-id=f5da8122-4471-4f76-bbb5-a9d54fce9cc6&search-rank=11
• West, John. “Britain’s Haunted Skulls.” Psychic News. October 2021. https://pocketmags.com/us/psychic-news-magazine/october-2021/articles/britain-s-haunted-skulls?srsltid=AU7gw4XzpYKPL3Gr5erHXG9udfTa62VhFURg_DaM9wBGEqMGPwm4YI-G

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Sara Weiss wrote a lengthy account of life and afterlife on Mars, a place she said she visited through psychic travels starting in 1892.

Research:

• Calanchi, A. (2024). “Renewed in health”: Meeting Giordano Bruno on planet Mars. Between, 14(27), 93-109. https://doi.org/10.13125/2039-6597/5444
• Crossley, Robert. “Mars and the Paranormal.” Science Fiction Studies , Nov., 2008, Vol. 35, No. 3 (Nov., 2008). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25475179
• Daly, Liza. “Journeys to the Planet Mars (1903).” 2/23/2022. https://lizadaly.com/utopian-novels/journeys-to-the-planet-mars/
• Daly, Liza. “Sara Ditto Weiss.” https://ayonmuya.org/21-biography.html
• Dickey, Colin. “Sara Weiss’ Journeys to the Planet Mars (1903).” The Public Domain Review. 2/3/2026. https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/journeys-to-the-planet-mars/
• “Funeral of Mrs. S. Weiss.” The St. Louis Republic (St. Louis, Mo.), March 25, 1904. Page 14.
• Hennesy, Roger. “The Martian Century.” History Today. 7/7/1998. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/feature/martian-century
• Hyslop, James H. “Journeys to the Planet Mars.” Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. Vol. 7, Issue 5. 1913.
• Lane, K. Maria D. “Mapping the Mars Canal Mania: Cartographic Projection and the Creation of a Popular Icon.” Imago Mundi, 2006, Vol. 58, No. 2 (2006). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40234145
• Mason, Brian D. “The Navy’s Greatest Refractor Turns 150.” Astronomy. February 2023.
• “Mrs. Sara Weiss Passes Away.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Page 1. 3/23/1904.
• Myers, F.W.H. “The Subliminal Self.” Chapter VIII. Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research. Vol. 11. 1895. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Proceedings_of_the_Society_for_Psychical/iuZAAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
• Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command. “26-inch ‘Great Equatorial’ telescope.” https://www.cnmoc.usff.navy.mil/Our-Commands/United-States-Naval-Observatory/Our-Telescopes/The-26-inch-Great-Equatorial-telescope/
• Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command. “Our Telescopes.” https://www.cnmoc.usff.navy.mil/Our-Commands/United-States-Naval-Observatory/Our-Telescopes/
• “Romance, Philosophy, Morals.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Page 11. 1/15/1904.
• “Spirit Bands In Mars.” Boston Evening Transcript. January 06, 1904. Page 16.
• Louis Post-Dispatch. “A St. Louis Woman’s Journey to Mars.” Page 52. Dec 20, 1903.
• Louis Post-Dispatch. “St. Louis Woman Draws Under Spirit Influence.” 6/2/1901.
• The St Louis Republic. “What the Spirits Say of Mars.” Page 41. 4/9/1899.
• The St. Louis Republic. (Saint Louis, MO) 12 Dec. 1903, p. 10. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn84020274/1903-12-12/ed-1/.
• The St. Louis Republic. (Saint Louis, MO) 25 Mar. 1904, p. 10. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn84020274/1904-03-25/ed-1/.
• “The ‘Weiss’ Books.” Reason. August 1910.
• “WEISS.” Obituary. St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Page 7. 3/24/1904.
• Weiss, Sara. “Journeys to the planet Mars, or, Our mission to Ento.” The Bradford Press. 1903.

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