Listen to "Counterfactuals: The Harrison Horror" on Spreaker.

Counterfactuals: The Harrison Horror

Today we discuss the ghoulish tale of John Scott Harrison, the only man to be both the son and the father of US Presidents. Less than 24 hours after his burial, John Scott’s body was stolen by resurrectionists. The consequences of the body snatching would cause significant changes for American medical history and more.

Oct 20, 2026| 01:05:32
Other Podcasts
1
Counterfactuals: Italy and WWI
2
Counterfactuals: The Great Sparrow Campaign
3
Counterfactuals: Stainless Steel
4
Counterfactuals: The Great Library
5
Counterfactuals: The Russian Civil War and the Polar Bears
6
Counterfactuals: Smith v. Allwright and Civil Rights
7
Counterfactuals: The 1844 Princeton Explosion
8
Counterfactuals: 1527 Sack of Rome
9
Counterfactuals: Rabies
10
Counterfactuals: Going Up? Elevators
11
Counterfactuals: John Hay
12
Counterfactuals: Paardeberg – Canada’s Most Important Battle?
13
Battle of Westport
14
Counterfactuals – War, Mosquitoes, and Human History
15
Counterfactuals: Sticky History of Duct Tape
16
Counterfactuals: Japan’s Turning Point at Shimonoseki Straits
17
Counterfactuals: The Plastic Revolution
18
Counterfactuals: Nuclear Disaster Aboard K-219
19
Counterfactuals: Samoan Crisis of 1889
20
Counterfactuals: Wine Extinction
21
Counterfactuals: The Sensational 1876 Election
22
Counterfactuals: The Mutiny That Almost Lost the Revolution
23
Counterfactuals: The Battle of the Bulge at Elsenborn Ridge
24
Counterfactuals: The Last Invasion of Britain
25
Counterfactuals: What if the Chicken Didn’t Cross the Road?
26
Counterfactuals: USS Boston and the New Navy
27
Counterfactuals: The Three Kingdoms – or not?
28
Counterfactuals: Just How Foundational IS Concrete?
29
Counterfactuals: Roosevelt and Churchill at Christmas, 1941
30
Counterfacutals: WWI and The Battle of the Gulf of Riga
31
Counterfactuals: Confederate Espionage
32
Counterfactuals: The Passenger Pigeon’s World
33
Counterfactuals: Did Ketchup Save the World?
34
Counterfactuals: 1983, The World’s Most Dangerous Year
35
Counterfactuals: Cannae and Hannibal
36
Counterfactuals: Task Force 34 and Leyte Gulf
37
Counterfactuals: The Great Lisbon Earthquake
38
Counterfactuals: The Axumite Empire
39
Counterfactuals: The Battle of Tsushima and the 20th Century
40
Counterfactuals: What if we Used a Different Calendar?
41
Counterfactuals- The White Ship and the Anarchy
42
Counterfactuals: The Forgotten WWII Battle of Thala
43
Counterfactuals: A World Without Potatoes
44
Counterfactuals: Viking North America
45
Counterfactuals: Westward Expansion and Ashley’s 100
46
Counterfactuals: What if There Were no Transistors?
47
Counterfactuals: The Dmitriads
48
Counterfactuals: 732 – The End of Christian Europe?
49
Counterfactuals: A World Without Cats
50
Counterfactuals: The Inca
51
Counterfactuals: Alexandrian India
52
Counterfactuals: 1815 Tambora Eruption
53
Counterfactuals: The Duels of Alexander Hamilton
54
Counterfactuals: Death of a President Part 2
55
Counterfactuals: Death of A President Part 1
56
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
57
A History of Making the Perfect Smile
58
The American Civil War on the Water
59
Modern Marvels: Celluloid and Transistors
60
Hurricanes that Made History
61
Volcanoes: Vesuvius & Tambora
62
Movie Stars in WWII
63
Explorers: Magellan and Bering
64
New York Engineering: The Secret Subway and Brooklyn Bridge
65
The “Proto-Mafia”
66
Stolen Art: The “Just Judges” and Goya’s Wellington
67
Grape Blights and Grasshopper Plagues
68
Governors Assassinated
69
Pearl Harbor: The first Shot and the Aftermath
70
Hygiene History: Soap and Semmelweiss
71
Mad Monarchs: Charles VI and Ludwig II
72
Ancient Egypt: The Pyramids and the Silver Pharoah
73
Terror in the Air: TACA 110 and China Airlines 006
74
The P-38 Lightning
75
New York Riots
76
Forgotten Naval Battles of WWI
77
“My Name is Aaron Burr”
78
What You Didn’t Learn in School: Continents and the Seven Seas
79
Alexander the Great
80
Women in WWII: WASP and Virginia Hall
81
Forgotten Colonies: Popham and Panama
82
Exploited History: Slavery and Human Zoos
83
Dog Tales
84
Industrial Invention: Elevators and Vending Machines
85
Bitter Cold in the Gilded Age: The Long Winter and the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition
86
Christmas and Candy in the American Military
87
Stories of Pearl Harbor
88
Bread, Berries, and the Government
89
Animals of the Great War: Pigeons and Mercy Dogs
90
Forgotten American Mints: From New Orleans to Manila
91
The American Civil War Trans-Mississippi Theater: Wilson’s Creek and Prairie Grove
92
Hurricane History: The Great Miami Hurricane and Doc McFadden
93
Cold War Defense: The DEW Line and Texas Towers
94
Disasters: Railway Accidents
95
The Eastern Front: Fortresses, Night Witches, and Fake Guardsmen
96
WWII Special Forces: Los Baños and Makin Island
97
Television and the Don Lee Broadcasting System
98
Pirates! 2: Barbarossa, Port Royal, and Jamestown
99
US Borders: The Missouri Bootheel and The Toldeo War
100
D-Day Heroes
101
A.P. Giannini and The History of Credit
102
Forgotten Peoples: the Itza Maya and Axum
103
1970s Car Disasters: The Dale and the Vega
104
Coasties: Stories of the USCGCs Tampa and Icarus
105
Lines on the Road and the Wheels that Drive on them
106
Two 19th Century Kates
107
Aerial Hijinks: 3 Wild Stories
108
Civil War Freedom Fighters: Robert Smalls and Abraham Galloway
109
The Mafia Beer Wars: Dean O’Bannion and Calvin Goddard
110
Supernatural True Crime: The Greenbrier Ghost and Bridget Cleary
111
Weird Wars: China’s War on Sparrows and the Pastry War
112
A History Guy Christmas: Nutcrackers and Christmas Trees
113
Useful Resources: The Histories of Helium and Asbestos
114
Forgotten Fruit History: Bananas and Oranges
115
Tin Can Ships: Destroyers and the First Submarines Sunk by the US in Both World Wars
116
History Lost: The 1890 Census and the 1973 NPRC Fire
117
Pawns and Princes of Russia
118
Weird Weather: 1974 Tornado Super Outbreak, 1943 Black Hills Record, and the Great White Hurricane
119
The War Before the War: The Undeclared War and the Reuben James, WWII Iceland, and the ‘Phoney War’
120
Nuclear Near Misses: The Palomares Incident and the Wrench That Nearly Blew Up Arkansas
121
Tales of the Gilded Age: Cleveland’s Secret Surgery and the Harrison Horror
122
Pilotless Planes: Planes that Landed Themselves, the L-8 Blimp, and Taffy Holden
123
War Time Heroes: Mary Edwards Walker and Tom Custer
124
Tales of Cow: Steaks and US History and “Sir Loin” of Beef
125
Unique Animals: Pere David’s Deer and Okapi Johnstoni
126
True Crime Trials: Daniel Sickles’ Temporary Insanity and the murder of Gulielma Sands
127
Fantastic Frauds: Titanic Thompson and Stanley Weyman
128
A tortoise, a horse, and a bear, oh my! : Timothy, Sgt. Reckless, and Winnie the Pooh
129
Cold War Chronicles: Able Archer and Oleg Gordievsky
130
Mystery Murders: The Saxtown Axe Murders and the “Servant Girl Annihilator”
131
Pirates! : The Wreck of the Whydah and Albert Hicks
132
Cats and Dogs: Housecats and Civilization and Able Seaman Just Nuisance
133
Unsung Heroes: Video Game Pioneer and “Brave Bessie”
134
True Stories of the Wild West: A Bandit Who Fell off His Horse and Soapy Smith
135
Historical Cryptids: Beast of Gevaudan and Washington’s Eagle
136
Aviation Accidents: Fall From an SR-71 and the Valkyrie’s mid-air Collision

Recent Pocasts

All Podcasts
Counterfactuals: The Harrison Horror
Oct 20, 2026   |   01:05:32
Counterfactuals: The 1844 Princeton Explosion
Jul 28, 2026   |   1:02:36
Counterfactuals: Paardeberg – Canada’s Most Important Battle?
May 19, 2026   |   58:45
Counterfactuals: Sticky History of Duct Tape
Apr 7, 2026   |   01:03:34
Counterfactuals: Japan’s Turning Point at Shimonoseki Straits
Mar 24, 2026   |   01:00:46
Counterfactuals: The Plastic Revolution
Mar 10, 2026   |   01:00:02

Support The History Guy

If you love history, this is the channel to support! Generous contributions from supporters allow The History Guy team to continue creating the snippets of forgotten history that have been seen by viewers all around the world. You’ll be supporting this record of the past that helps to inform our present. Making The History Guy takes time, effort, and equipment. It is history that deserves your help!

Memberships
Donations
Shout Outs