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03544aam a2200373 i 4500 001 FB7C8392BD7E11EDA110D29847ECA4DB 003 SILO 005 20230308010044 008 230301r20232022nyua b 001 0deng d 020 $a 1984879855 (pbk.) : 020 $a 9781984879851 (pbk.) : 040 $a IMmBT $b eng $c IMmBT $e rda $d SILO 043 $a n-us-ks 050 14 $a HV6533.K3 $b J66 2023 082 04 $a 364.152/320978196 $2 23/eng/20230301 100 1 $a Jonusas, Susan $e author. 245 10 $a Hell's half-acre : $b the untold story of the Benders, a serial killer family on the American frontier / $c Susan Jonusas. 264 1 $a [New York] : $b Penguin Books, $c 2023. 300 $a xxii, 345 pages : $b illustrations ; $c 22 cm 520 $a "In 1873 the people of Labette County in Kansas made a grisly discovery. Buried on a homestead seven miles south of the town of Cherryvale, in a bloodied cellar and under frost-covered soil, were countless bodies in varying states of decay. The discovery sent the local community and national newspapers into a frenzy that continued for over two decades, and the land on which the crimes took place became known as 'Hells Half-Acre.' When it emerged that a family of four known as the Benders had been accused of the slayings, the case was catapulted to infamy. The idea that a family of seemingly respectable homesteaders--one among thousands who were relocating further west looking for land and opportunity after the Civil War--were capable of operating 'a human slaughter pen' appalled and fascinated the nation. But who the Benders really were, why they committed such a vicious killing spree, and what became of them when they fled from the law is a mystery that has remains unsolved to this day--not that there aren't some convincing theories. Part gothic western, part literary whodunnit, and part immersive study of postbellum America, Hell's Half-Acre sheds new light on one of the most notorious cases in our nation's history while holding a torch to a society under the strain of rapid change and moral disarray. Susan Jonasus draws on extensive original archival material, and introduces us to a fascinating cast of characters, including the despairing families of the victims as well as the fugitives that helped the murderers escape. Hell's Half-Acre is not simply a book about a mass murder. It is a journey into the turbulent heart of nineteenth century America, a place where modernity stalks across the landscape, violently displacing existing populations and wearily building new ones. It is a world where folklore can quickly become fact, and an entire family of criminals can slip right through a community's fingers, only to reappear at the most unexpected of times"-- $c Provided by publisher. 504 $a Includes bibliographical references (pages 287-332) and index. 650 30 $a Serial murderers $z Labette County $z Labette County $x History $y 19th century 650 0 $a Frontier and pioneer life 650 0 $a TRUE CRIME / Serial Killers 650 $a HISTORY / United States / Civil War Period 650 $a HISTORY / Modern / 19th Century 775 08 $i Reproduction of (manifestation): $a Jonusas, Susan. $t Hell's half-acre $d [New York] : Viking, [2022] $w (DLC) 2021024138 941 $a 5 952 $l UNUX074 $d 20240202024026.0 952 $l CMPE792 $d 20231121011551.0 952 $l SXPC124 $d 20231118010447.0 952 $l OPAX566 $d 20231108010353.0 952 $l EZPE755 $d 20230308010751.0 956 $a http://locator.silo.lib.ia.us/search.cgi?index_0=id&term_0=FB7C8392BD7E11EDA110D29847ECA4DBInitiate Another SILO Locator Search