Episode #92: The Bloody Benders & the 1873 Zodiac Back

9/7/2026: On today’s episode, Valerie tells the story of the Bloody Benders! They were a spiritualist family who ran a general store and inn for weary travelers along the Great Osage Trail in rural Kansas. Oh yeah, and they were serial killers. When people started disappearing, the Benders were suspected, but NO ONE expected what was found in and around their house of horrors. Next, in the 1873 Zodiac Back, Amy Jo outlines what the outer planets were up to and how Mercury Retrograde (and Venus & Mars Retro) may have felt. We get acquainted with Comet Tempel 1, and lastly - Herschel Happenings! - we see what Herschel the Younger (William Herschel’s grandson) was working on. Always be cataloging!

Cover Photo: Photograph of Bender Victims' graves, Dr. York's grave at far right, George R Gamble 1873 photograph - Anthony , Kyle , Teya V, and Clio Admin. "The Bloody Benders Historical Marker ." Clio: Your Guide to History. August 1, 2022. Accessed October 1, 2025

https://youtu.be/pahwN4F8hD0?si=tpIU9zyGrSuhB-lK

Locator map showing Labette County in Kansas

Sketch of the Benders, John Towner James (author), Kan-Okla Publishing Company (Wichita, KS), publisher. - "The Benders in Kansas". 1913

The Bender cabin in Labette County. The cabin was dismantled piece by piece by curiosity seekers. Source: Acquired from Steve Cox, public domain.

Diagram of the Bender Inn Wichita City Eagle (Wichita, KS), May 22, 1873

Sketches showing the Bender Inn; view of the Bender orchard; finding of Dr. York's body, Harper's Weekly June 7, 1873 p.484 Drawn from a photograph by George R Gamble

This 1873 photograph shows the infamous Bender Inn the day after the grave digging began.

In 1873, Kansas Governor Osborn offered a 2,000 reward for information pertaining to the Benders and the case.  The reward (50,000 in today’s dollars) was never claimed, and the Benders never found. Source: Acquired from Steve Cox, public domain.

Historical Marker for The Bloody Benders

January 1, 1873 Chart

December 31, 1873 Chart

May 23, 1873 Chart - Canadian Mounties & Preakness Race Day

June 9, 1873 Chart - Ally Pally Fire date

American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac, Outlines and Path of the Penumbra of the Eclipse of November 19, 1873. Scanned at Federal Repository Library, UC Berkeley 

Eclipse Path, November 20, 1873

Comet Tempel 1 as seen by NASA's Stardust. NASA's Stardust-NExT mission took this image of comet Tempel 1 at 8:39 p.m. PST (11:39 p.m. EST) on Feb 14, 2011. The comet was first visited by NASA's Deep Impact mission in 2005.

John Herschel (1837–1921) and Sir William James Herschel (1833–1917), 2nd Bart, sons of Sir John Herschel. Photograph purchased by the NPG 1982. Albumen print. Public Domain.

Sources/Photo Sources

Intro Sources:

https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/timeline/

The Bloody Benders Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Benders

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labette_County,_Kansas 

https://www.aetv.com/articles/bloody-benders 

https://www.newspapers.com/image/78529634/?match=16&terms=Bender&search-id=4b2d6349-df4f-4452-84c1-97cfe57df6e5&search-rank=1 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Osage_Trail 

https://www.humanitieskansas.org/get-involved/kansas-stories/people/true-crime-in-kansas-the-mystery-of-the-benders

https://kualumni.org/stories/bloody-benders-property/

The Bloody Benders Photo Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labette_County,_Kansas#/media/File:Map_of_Kansas_highlighting_Labette_County.svg 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Benders#/media/File:The_Benders_in_Kansas_(AKA_Bloody_Benders).jpg 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Benders#/media/File:House-diagram.jpg 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Benders#/media/File:Bender_Inn.jpg 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Benders#/media/File:Bender_Farm.jpg 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Benders#/media/File:Large_2392_bender_farm.jpg 

https://www.humanitieskansas.org/get-involved/kansas-stories/people/true-crime-in-kansas-the-mystery-of-the-benders

1873 Zodiac Back Sources:

https://www.eclipseatlas.com/1870-to-1874 

https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/scan/manifest/1873MNRAS..34...72T 

https://mooncalendar.astro-seek.com/partial-solar-eclipse-scorpio-new-moon-day-20-november-1873?no_mobile=1 

https://mooncalendar.astro-seek.com/partial-solar-eclipse-scorpio-new-moon-day-20-november-1873?no_mobile=1

https://www.nature.com/articles/019217c0 

https://deepimpact.astro.umd.edu/science/tempel1.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Herschel_the_Younger

1873 Zodiac Back Photo Sources:

astroseek.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempel_1#/media/File:StardustTemple1.jpg 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Herschel_the_Younger#/media/File:John_and_William_Herschel,_late_1850s.jpg 

https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_27_51/draft-letter-from-sir-john-herschel-to-henry-goulburn-dated-at-london?page=1 

https://www.eclipseatlas.com/1870-to-1874?gallery=687ab6639afd1f0171750085&item=5df797d5-0664-4f8d-a801-c8d56744d8d8