Tea Time Crimes

The Circleville Letters and the Attempted Murder of Mary Gillispie

Episode Summary

In 1977, Mary Gillispie, a married mother of two, received a threatening anonymous letter. This would be the first letter of thousands to pollute the town of Circleville, Ohio. To this day, no one knows who is responsible for the letters that led to the death of one man and the attempted murder of Mary herself. Follow along with us to try and make sense of what happened for nearly two decades in this small Ohio town.

Episode Notes

In 1977, Mary Gillispie, a married mother of two, received a threatening anonymous letter. This would be the first letter of thousands to pollute the town of Circleville, Ohio. To this day, no one knows who is responsible for the letters that led to the death of one man and the attempted murder of Mary herself. Follow along with us to try and make sense of what happened for nearly two decades in this small Ohio town.

Tea of the Day: Witchwood Tea House’s Dragon Fire

Theme Music by Brad Frank

Sources:

• https://www.the-sun.com/news/5946542/mystery-of-circleville-letter-48-hours/
• https://listverse.com/2020/08/16/top-10-strange-facts-about-the-circleville-writer/
• https://medium.com/illumination/inside-the-circleville-letters-the-shocking-true-story-of-a-small-towns-secret-44cb995ad6b2
• https://thoughtcatalog.com/christine-stockton/2021/06/who-wrote-the-circleville-letters/
• https://thecrimewire.com/multifarious/The-Circleville-Letters
• https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/rrh499/who_was_the_circleville_letter_writer/
• https://www.historicmysteries.com/circleville-letters-mystery/
• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/talking-about-trauma/201306/in-the-mind-of-a-stalker
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU5m3jTpq14
• https://www.vice.com/en/article/3k94wj/psychology-of-stalking-treatment
• https://www.actionagainststalking.org/the-impact-of-stalking
• https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/633984/circleville-letters-unsolved
• http://www.britishgraphology.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/The-anonymous-letter-writer.pdf
• The Cincinnati Enquirer - 10 Dec 1993, Fri · Page 16 https://www.newspapers.com/image/101976587/
• The Circleville Herald - 09 Jun 1972, Fri · Page 1 https://www.newspapers.com/image/74350782/
• The Press Gazette - 04 Mar 1983, Fri · Page 14 https://www.newspapers.com/image/903054307/
• Lancaster Eagle-Gazette - 05 Mar 1983, Sat · Page 2 https://www.newspapers.com/image/296061242/
• Chillicothe Gazette - 19 Mar 1980, Wed · Page 12 https://www.newspapers.com/image/290149802/
• https://www.ancientfaces.com/person/gordon-r-massie-birth-1932-death-1996/35652631
• Unsolved Mysteries - Season 7, Episode 6
• https://youtu.be/dkb0KswsXoc
• 48 Hours : The Circleville Letters
• https://www.cbsnews.com/video/the-circleville-letters/
• Podcasts Mentioned: 
  • https://www.whateverremainspodcast.com/circleville
  • https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/the-circleville-letter-writer/