In this episode I tell podcaster Sarah Marshall a truly wild story I uncovered about the first recognized case of Munchausen Syndrome (Factitious Disorder) in the United States. An alleged professional wrestler and American folk anti-hero called the Indiana Cyclone faked symptoms of injury and illness while blowing through hospitals across the country from the 1950s to the 1970s, leaving a bizarre kind of terror in his wake.Catch Sarah and I at SF SketchFest on Feb 2nd and Feb 3rd!Make sure you listen to You're Wrong About and You Are Good (duh duh duh!)Check out our new merch line Folk Devils UnitedBecome a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus contentOr subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple PodcastsLeave us a message on our Urban Legends HotlineHosted Chelsey Weber-SmithProduced and Edited by Miranda ZicklerMusic direction by Riley Swedelius-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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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.