ARCHY IN PRINT
Archy's talents have also appeared in print, notably as a psychic detective for Full House magazine
The Case of Dr Crippen
Amongst the many unsolved cases he has investigated is that of the notorious Dr Crippen, who was convicted of the murder of his wife, Cora, and hanged in 1910 at Pentonville Prison. But did he actually kill her? To this day, the evidence that condemned him has been disputed.
As far as Archy’s concerned, this questioning is quite justified, as he’s convinced that Crippen was innocent. The remains found in the cellar of the Crippens’ home were not those of his wife, who had in fact left Crippen and gone to America some time earlier.
As to whose the remains were and why they were there is something that Archy talks about in an up-coming book. But in Archy’s view, an innocent man was indeed sent to the gallows.
The Axeman of New Orleans
A particularly gruesome case that Archy looked into was that of the Axeman of New Orleans, a serial killer who terrorised the inhabitants of the city for 18 months between 1918 and 1919.
In Archy’s view, the killer was the product of an incestuous relationship who himself experienced great violence at the hands of his father. The motive for his spate of murders? Families weren’t supposed to be happy, and it was his job to put a stop to it.
The Bloody Benders – the case Archy refused to do
Archy won’t take on every case he’s asked to look into, and ‘The Bloody Benders’ was a case in point. The Benders were a family of serial killers, responsible for a series of murders in Labette County in Kansas from 1871 to 1873.
As soon as he started looking into what happened, the mother, known as Kate and a vicious woman, came straight at him, spitting venom. So Archy closed down, and refused to go any further with it, saying that if he had, she’d have ‘hooked into him’. She was very psychic herself, and malevolent to boot.
Although she couldn’t have harmed Archy, he said she could be a drain on him. “Even though they can’t physically harm you, having an angry spirit in your face for hours on end – especially a murdering one – does get you down after a bit”. And whilst they can be got rid of, it does take quite a bit of effort, so it’s easier if you don’t let them in in the first place.