290 - Amish Killer Edward Gingerich - a podcast by Dan Cummins

Long before he brutally murdered his wife Katie - crushing her head and disemboweling her on March 18th, 1993 - Ed  was really struggling with his mental health. He'd been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia a year earlier. He'd been really sick long before that. He's been battling powerful hallucinations and delusions for over a year. He'd been tormented by visions of things like a giant rabbit. He was convinced the devil was using his wife to keep him from salvation. He thought he could read messages from god by studying his spit. Despite all this,  instead of getting proper treatment, he was encouraged to not take his antipsychotic medication. He was told his ills could be prayed away. He was told he was cured by a quack chiropractor who thought he could ease Ed's troubled  mind by pulling on his toes and making him drink blackstrap molasses. Seriously. Today's episode is a fascinating, ridiculous, darkly funny at times, so sad in others, cautionary tale to remind us all to take our mental health very seriously. 

Bad Magic Productions Monthly Patreon Donation:  This month our donation will be going to Lifting Hands International whose mission statement is “We provide aid to refugees both at home and abroad. No politics. Simply humanitarian.”  If you are looking for a way to help those in crisis in Ukraine, please visit liftinghandsinternational.org and look for the Urgent Ukraine Banner at the top. Our donation amount is TBD as we recorded this one in advance!

TICKETS FOR HOT WET BAD MAGIC SUMMER CAMP!  Go to www.badmagicmerch.com

Watch the Suck on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9OLHJJzbdxg

Merch: https://www.badmagicmerch.com

Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v

Want to join the Cult of the Curious private Facebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult of the Curious" in order to locate whatever happens to be our most current page :)

For all merch related questions/problems: store@badmagicproductions.com (copy and paste)

Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcast

Wanna become a Space Lizard?  Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcast

Sign up through Patreon and for $5 a month you get to listen to the Secret Suck, which will drop Thursdays at Noon, PST. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch. You get to vote on two Monday topics each month via the app. And you get the download link for my new comedy album, Feel the Heat. Check the Patreon posts to find out how to download the new album and take advantage of other benefits.

Further episodes of Timesuck with Dan Cummins

Further podcasts by Dan Cummins

Website of Dan Cummins