This episode explores the evolution of American's bogeyman, the Stranger, and reveals how rare these types of kidnappings really are. Through looking at the sensational child snatching crimes that have shaped our culture from the 1800s to the 1980s, and how we have responded to them in the media, in books, with PSAs and made-for-TV movies, host Chelsey Weber-Smith explains the problem with Stranger Danger and what this moral panic might be covering up. American Hysteria is written and produced by Chelsey Weber-SmithProduced and edited by Rod RodriguezShow art by Roache (xroache.com](xroache.com)Thanks for Jake Weholt for the interviewThanks to Corinne Manning for advisingCheck out Kidnapped: Child Abduction in America by Paula Fass for further reading Become a Patron for extra episodes, interviews, and videos monthly! Follow American Hysteria on social media:Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/amerhysteria">@AmerHysteria</a>Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/americanhysteriapodcast/">@AmericanHysteriaPodcast</a> Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

Poisoned Halloween Candy

American Hysteria explores how fantastical thinking has shaped our culture – moral panics, urban legends, hoaxes, crazes, fringe beliefs, and national misunderstandings. Poet-turned-podcaster Chelsey Weber-Smith tells the strangest stories from American history and examines the forces that create the reality we share, and sometimes, the reality we don't.