Cynthia Varady
Bio
Award-winning writer and creator of the Pandemonium Mystery series. Lover of fairy tales and mythology. Short stories; book chapters; true crime. She/Her.
Stories (43)
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Mrs. Sherlock Holmes and the Murder of Ruth Creuger
On February 13, 1917, seventeen-year-old Ruth Creuger, a recent high school graduate, told her sister Christine that she had some errands around their Harlem neighborhood in New York. Ruth left the house at 11 in the morning but never returned.
By Cynthia Varady7 months ago in Criminal
The Strange Death of Kathleen Peterson. Content Warning.
Around 2:40 a.m. on December 9th, 2001, a 911 call came into the Durham, North Carolina, emergency dispatch. A frantic man on the other end of the line told the dispatcher that his wife had fallen down the stairs, and he needed help before suddenly hanging up. He phoned again several minutes later and demanded to know why the ambulance hadn't arrived. When the ambulance arrived eight minutes after the initial 911 call, Kathleen Peterson was dead at the scene.
By Cynthia Varady8 months ago in Criminal
Detective Alice Clement and the Dulcimer Murder
A murder mystery fit for the likes of Miss Marple, the case of The Dulcimer almost seems too implausible to be true. The calculating length some will go to take another’s life is shocking, but not to Detective Alice Clement.
By Cynthia Varady9 months ago in Criminal
Fertility Fraud: How DNA Exposed Donald Cline's Sinister Secret
Jacoba Ballard always felt different. She had blond hair and blue eyes, while her parents had dark hair, dark eyes, and olive skin. As a child, Jacoba routinely asked her parents if she was adopted, trying to explain why she felt different. Then, her parents told her she was the product of artificial insemination.
By Cynthia Varady10 months ago in Criminal
The Beaumont Children
Nearly 50 years ago, the three Beaumont children went missing from Glenelg Beach in Adelaide, Australia. The day, intended to be filled with fun, turned into a waking nightmare. The children’s disappearance caused an outpouring of sympathy for parents Jim and Nancy Beaumont, who hoped for years that their children would return home.
By Cynthia Varady11 months ago in Criminal
Solved: Joy Hibbs 31-Year-Old Murder
A Horrible Surprise At one in the afternoon of April 19, 1991, David Hibbs arrived home, excited to hand his report card over to his mom, Joy Hibbs, with the good news that he'd made the honor roll. However, instead of finding his home in its normal state, plumes of smoke billowed from his home in Corydon, Pennsylvania, in the Bristol Township. Noting that his mom's car was in the driveway, David hurried to the back kitchen door, but thick smoke pushed him back.
By Cynthia Varady2 years ago in Criminal
The Pink Panthers International
While not related to the bumbling Inspector Clouseau, this organized crime team derived its moniker from the comedy film series. Composed of Siberian, Montenegrin, and Yugoslavian ex-military left over from the Bosnian War, The Pink Panthers have around 200 to 300 active members with elite skills.
By Cynthia Varady2 years ago in Criminal
I'm So Sorry:
Dear Pro Wrestling, I owe you a huge apology. For much of my life, I have disliked you. I used to scoff and scold people who admitted to enjoying you. "You know it's fake?" I'd say with a spiteful roll of my eye, docking them IQ points for having owned up to indulging in such trash. That is until Wrestling Isn't Wrestling by Max Landis entered my life.
By Cynthia Varady3 years ago in Unbalanced
9 Ways to Ignite Your Creative Spark
For some, creativity is as natural as breathing. It seems as though their mug of creative juices sloshes over with great ideas. This group of people always seem able to come up with fresh ways of expressing themselves, and they finish projects like they’re on an assembly line. And then there’s the rest of us, the lowly prole slogging away at our first attempt at writing in over a decade or trying desperately to finish that first draft of our Great American Novel. Well, I have news for the second half of this grouping: creativity must be nurtured.
By Cynthia Varady3 years ago in Lifehack
