I am somewhat a cliche'. I grew up running around barefoot on a farm in Kentucky.
I love writing, art, sunshine, all animals and my incredibly patient husband, who tolerates my "crazy animal lady" side.
When thoughts of Kentucky come to mind, they usually contain pleasantries, like sweet tea and southern hospitality. Unfortunately, all Kentuckians are not known for their kindness. Some are known for just the opposite. Others tried to shield their wretchedness via politics or finances.
Here are 5 of the greatest evils ever to roam the Bluegrass State:
1. Champ Ferguson was a legendary Confederate Ranger and Guerilla fighter born in 1821. From 1861 to 1865 he is said to have murdered no less than 51 soldiers and civilians, (though this number could potentially be over 100.) He was arrested in 1865, and then hanged in Tennessee. His preferred method of killing was with his firearm.
2. Charles Manson is said to have such a powerful personality that he is a danger to society. He never raised a hand during the famous Tate murders, but has been in prison ever since. Born in 1934, he was reared in Ashland Kentucky.
3. Donald Harvey was born in Ohio, but he began and continued his career as a murderer in London Kentucky after his parents relocated to Booneville. He killed over a dozen people at Marymount Hospital. He was only convicted of 8 in the Bluegrass, but killed between 37 and 87 people via strangulation or poison. He was called the “Angel of Death”.
4. Henry Clay, a Kentucky senator born in 1777 is known for many achievements. Things that are not widely publicized are his 1817 oration and support of the “Act to Establish a Lunatic Asylum” in the Bluegrass State. The facility was built and patients checked in on May 1, 1824. There was no director, nor physicians in the establishment. The patients were treated poorly and lived in horrific conditions, seen after by visiting physicians and students only. The facility later went on to use experimental technology like shock and water treatments, along with other traumatic procedures. Many patients were buried in unmarked graves on the asylum property.
5. Lynnie Rana England was born in 1982 in Ashlan (raised in same town as Manson.) She destroyed her career in the military by tormenting and torturing prisoners in the Abu Ghraib detention facility in Baghdad.
Believe it or not, Kentucky doesn’t have a lot of evil people that were born here, depending on one’s definition of evil. These were the worst examples of a Kentuckian I could find, but that isn’t disappointing. At least we know the Bluegrass State rears primarily good hearted folks.
If you know of any wicked people that aren’t on this list, please feel free to share in the comments below!
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