THE FESTIVAL OF BIZARRE TORONTO HISTORY

 

MONDAY MAY 6

A Night of Shocking Murders

A NIGHT OF STRANGE
& SHOCKING MURDERS!

Toronto's past is filled with chilling crimes that have a lot to teach us about the history of the place we call home. On the festival's opening night, we'll dive into some of those grisly cases with three authors who've written about some of the strangest and most shocking murders in our city's history.

Nate Hendley is the Toronto-based author of several history books, including The Beatle Bandit: A Serial Bank Robber's Deadly Heist, a Cross-Country Manhunt, and the Insanity Plea that Shook the Nation and The Boy on the Bicycle: A Forgotten Case of Wrongful Conviction in Toronto.

Carolyn Whitzman is a writer, researcher and Invited Professor at the University of Ottawa. Her most recent book is Clara at the Door with a Revolver: The Scandalous Black Suspect, the Exemplary White Son, and the Murder That Shocked Toronto.

Adam Selzer is a tour guide and historian in Chicago and New York as well as the author of more than twenty books, including H. H. Holmes: The True History of the White City Devil.

— 8pm on Zoom —
(Eastern time)

 

WEDNESDAY MAY 8

The Man Who Mailed Himself Out Of Slavery

THE MAN WHO MAILED
HIMSELF OUT OF SLAVERY

The story of Henry Box Brown is one of the most incredible tales in North American history — and it has a deep Toronto connection. Brown spent the final years of his life living in our city. On the festival's third night, we'll talk about his dramatic escape from slavery, his ecclectic theatrical performances, and Toronto's own history of racism on the stage with two renowned professors.

Dr. Cheryl Thompson is an Associate Professor in the Performance program at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is currently working on her third book about Canada's history of blackface as performance and anti-Black racism. Her previous books include Uncle: Race, Nostalgia, and the Politics of Loyalty and Beauty in a Box: Detangling the Roots of Canada’s Black Beauty Culture.

Dr. Martha J. Cutter is Professor of English and Africana Studies at the University of Connecticut, and the author of The Many Ressurections of Henry Box Brown (which you can get for 30% off by using the code "Cutter30" at that link) and "Will the Real Henry 'Box' Brown Please Stand Up?"

— 8pm on Zoom —

 

FRIDAY MAY 10

The Body Snatchers of Toronto

THE BODY SNATCHERS OF TORONTO

Toronto's dead haven't always been able to rest in peace. There was a time when our city was plagued by graverobbers. As local medical schools developed a ravenous appetite for fresh bodies, grisly scenes played out under the cover of darkness. Victorian Torontonians were left horrified by reports of empty coffins and missing corpses.

The talk will be presented by Adam Bunch, author of The Toronto Book of the Dead and The Toronto Book of Love, the host of the Canadiana documentary series, and the creator of the Festival of Bizarre Toronto History.

— 8pm on Zoom —

 

SATURDAY MAY 11

The Necropolis Cemetery

A BIZARRE TOUR OF
THE NECROPOLIS CEMETERY

There are strange secrets hidden among the gravestones of the Necropolis. We'll spend the Saturday afternoon of the festival roaming among them with one of the city's most riveting tour guides. We'll dig up unexpected tales about the dead in a fascinating walk led by Chantal Morris, creator of the wildly popular Toronto Cemetery Tours.

— 1pm —

 

SUNDAY MAY 12

A Weird Toronto Mother's Day Walk

A WEIRD TORONTO
MOTHER'S DAY WALK

 

More info: https://www.bizarretoronto.com/schedule.html