Morbid: What Listeners Are Saying

Table of Contents

• TLDR

• What Listeners Like

• What Listeners Don’t Like

• Featured episode

TLDR

"Morbid" offers a unique blend of true crime storytelling with engaging and personable hosts, fostering a strong sense of community among its dedicated listeners. While praised for in-depth research on a variety of cases and a conversational style that many find relatable and entertaining, some listeners express concerns regarding tangents, ad placement, and shifts in content focus. Ultimately, the podcast's passionate delivery and diverse content continue to resonate strongly with a significant portion of its audience.

What Listeners Like

Many listeners express a deep appreciation for the hosts, Ash and Alaina, highlighting their engaging personalities and the feeling of listening to friends discuss true crime. Their chemistry and banter are frequently cited as a major draw, making even dark topics more palatable. Listeners enjoy their humour, finding it a welcome addition to the often heavy subject matter. The hosts' evident care for the material and their respectful approach towards victims are also noted as positives. Some appreciate their empathy and how they put themselves in the victims' shoes.

The podcast's content is also a significant point of praise. Many reviewers commend the in-depth research conducted for the true crime cases, with some noting the inclusion of details not found elsewhere. Listeners appreciate the variety of cases covered, including both well-known and lesser-known stories. The hosts are acknowledged for citing their sources. The storytelling style is often described as easy to follow and descriptive, painting a vivid picture for the listener. Some listeners enjoy the personal opinions and insights shared by the hosts. The inclusion of extra segments like spooky episodes and listener tales is appreciated by many, who see it as a way to diversify the content and keep things fresh. The listener tales, in particular, are seen by some as a way for the community to connect and share their own experiences.

From a community perspective, "Morbid" is seen as having cultivated a cool and engaging listener base. The hosts' interaction with their audience is viewed positively, with some mentioning their responsiveness to feedback, although this point is also contested in negative reviews. The podcast's consistency in releasing episodes is also appreciated by listeners. Some listeners feel a sense of loyalty and connection to the hosts, akin to a friendship. The willingness of the hosts to express their feelings about the cases and to be open about their personal lives resonates with many.

Technically, some listeners find the audio quality to be good. The length of episodes is seen as a positive for those looking for longer listening experiences. Some listeners are happy to support the creators through platforms like Patreon, viewing it as a direct contribution to their work. Trigger warnings are also appreciated by some listeners.

What Listeners Don’t Like

A significant portion of the negative feedback revolves around the podcast's hosting style. Many listeners find the amount of banter, personal talk, and off-topic tangents to be excessive and disruptive to the storytelling. They feel it significantly increases the episode length without adding substantive content. Some listeners find the hosts' attempts at humour to be poorly timed, childish, or insensitive, especially when discussing tragic events. The hosts are sometimes perceived as interrupting each other, and one host, Alaina, is occasionally described as condescending or as having a superiority complex towards the other host, Ash.

Concerns are also raised regarding the content and its presentation. Some listeners feel the podcast has shifted away from true crime, with an increase in spooky episodes, listener tales, and interviews that they did not sign up for. Listener tales, in particular, are a point of contention, with many listeners finding them boring, too frequent, or filled with self-praise. Some reviewers express dissatisfaction with the research quality in some episodes, describing it as lazy or lacking depth, especially for international cases. Accusations of victim blaming and a lack of sensitivity towards victims and their families are also made. The hosts' tendency to offer their own opinions and judge the actions of those involved in the cases is criticised by some, who prefer a more factual and objective approach. Some listeners feel the focus has shifted away from the victims to the hosts' commentary. There are also complaints about the coverage of old or less interesting cases.

Technical aspects also receive criticism. Frequent and intrusive ad placements, sometimes mid-sentence, are a major annoyance for many listeners. Some listeners have noticed issues with audio quality and editing, such as random cut-offs and restarts. The length of the intros before getting to the story is frequently cited as being too long. Mispronunciation of names and places is also noted as a recurring issue. The release schedule and consistency of uploads have also been points of frustration for some.

Audience engagement and how the hosts handle feedback are also sources of negative reviews. Some listeners feel that the hosts do not take constructive criticism well, reacting defensively or even mocking negative feedback. There are accusations of the hosts deleting negative comments and siccing their fans on those who offer criticism. Some former Patreon subscribers report unfulfilled promises of bonus content and a lack of response to their inquiries. The hosts' occasional forays into political commentary have also alienated some listeners who prefer the podcast to remain focused on true crime and morbid topics. Some listeners feel the podcast has become more about self-promotion than the content itself.

Featured episode

Episode 289: The Swamp Angel

TLDR

Seventeen-year-old Helen Spence, known as the "Swamp Angel," grew up in the Arkansas White River community in the 1930s. She saw her father get murdered by an outsider looking for hidden treasure. Her stepmother was fatally injured while protecting her. When the killer walked free, Helen shot him in the courthouse. She was sent to prison for manslaughter, where she escaped several times, faced abuse, and saw other inmates exploited. After parole, she confessed to killing a predatory boss. She was sent back to prison, escaped again, and was eventually shot and killed by a prison guard in a staged setup. Her community quietly buried her beside her father.

Synopsis

This Morbid episode tells the intense and tragic story of Helen Spence, called the "Swamp Angel." She was a teenager from the tight-knit river community on the lower White River in 1930s Arkansas. Hosts Alena and Ash describe the river people's way of life, their strong bonds, traditions of river justice, and how they lived off the land, even making their own gear to dive for mussels. Helen was close to her father, Cicero Spence, a well-respected man in their community.

Everything changed in December 1931. Helen saw her dad get shot by Jack Warhols, an outsider who thought Cicero had buried money. Helen's stepmother Ada tried to protect her, pretending she knew where the money was. Jack attacked Ada and left Helen stranded in their boat. Ada died from her injuries soon after.

At the trial, Helen wasn’t allowed to testify, she was just seventeen and seen as unreliable. When Jack looked like he’d walk free, Helen took matters into her own hands. In the courthouse, she pulled out a pearl-handled pistol from her rabbit fur muff and shot him four times, saying it was "river justice."

Helen was charged with murder but convicted of manslaughter and given two years. At the Arkansas women's prison, known as the "P farm," she was treated harshly. She was whipped after trying to escape. While out on appeal and living with a sheriff, she worked at a café owned by Jim Bohots, a predatory man. After he harassed her and took her for a drive, he ended up dead. Helen later admitted to killing him, saying he threatened her and made unwanted moves.

Back in prison with a ten-year sentence for second-degree murder, things got worse. She was locked in a wooden cage during brutal summer heat. Her health declined. Still, she tried to escape again but was caught. On her final attempt, she was shot and killed by a prison trustee, Frank Martin. It was later found out prison staff planned it.

The episode ends with Helen's burial. Her community didn’t want her displayed in a funeral home. They took her body and buried her in an unmarked grave next to her father. A cedar tree planted by her friend John Black marked the spot. The hosts talk about LC Brown, a childhood friend, and the author of Daughter of the White River, who worked to share Helen’s story and push for a posthumous pardon.