The Curse

A Shocking True Story of Superstition, Human Sacrifice and Cannibalism (True Crime)

By: Ryan Green

Narrated by: Steve White

Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1894, Leonarda Cianciulla was born into an abusive household. As a young girl, she attempted suicide twice to rid herself of the misery. After decades of abuse, Leonarda sought stability and married Raffaele Pansardi. Her mother did not approve and conveyed her anger in the strongest possible sense. She cursed the marriage.

Leonarda believed that her mother’s words had power and they haunted her for the rest of her life. Following the curse, Leonarda experienced fits and seizures, was imprisoned for fraud, lost her home to an earthquake, had three miscarriages and lost 10 children due to ill health in their youth. Her fears were exacerbated when she visited a Romani fortune teller who informed her, "In one hand I can see prison. In the other, a mental asylum."

In 1939, Leonarda’s eldest son, Giuseppe, informed her that he was going to join the Army. As one of only four remaining children, she needed to protect him at all costs. She decided that the only way to do that was through the most extreme means - human sacrifice.

The Curse is a chilling account of one of the most brutal and bizarre true-crime stories in history. Ryan Green’s riveting narrative draws the listener into the real-live horror experienced by the victims and has all the elements of a classic thriller.

Caution: This book contains descriptive accounts of abuse and violence. If you are especially sensitive to this material, it might be advisable not to listen.

©2019 Ryan Green (P)2019 Ryan Green

YIKES!

This book is like a horror movie! It’s unbelievable how messed up people can be. It started with a mother who hated her own child because she was conceived through rape. The cruelty and abuse that Leonarda Pansardi experienced as a child as well as her involvement in the occult and witchcraft, molded her into the monster she became.
If you like True Crime, you will like this book.

Abusive Parenting Creates a Murderer

Abusive parents can cause a mental breakdown in children which can create future mental illnesses. This story was intriguing and worth listening to. Loved the narration by Steve White. Well written Ryan Green.

A bizarre trip through megalomania

Leonarda's mother didn't approve of the husband she had chosen. After the wedding she cursed the marriage. Having believed in the supernatural all her life, she would find her mother's curse as a scapegoat for the seizures and many miscarriages that seemed to plague her. She sought a consultation from a from a fortune teller to see if she had for sure, she was told that she would outlive all of we children. After she had miscarriages, she blamed the curse. When her son Giuseppe was born and lived she thought she had beaten the curse. She had some successful pregnancies afterwards, but they were sickly children. When she lost two more of her children to illness, she dove into studies of the occult to take control of this curse. It was her obsession with controlling her own fate that drove her to murdering three women.

Perfect for True Crime Junkies

Myself being a true crime junky, you cant stop listening and you cannot go wrong. But, not for the faint of heart . The narrator was amazing and he kept me enthralled along with the style of the writing of the book itself. It is so shocking you cannot stop listening.

disturbing beyond belief

a difficult story to take in, but so well done by the author. I could not stop listening.

What A Story!!!

As a true crime buff, I'm very surprised to have never heard of this serial killer before. Especially being a female serial killer (the rarest of killers) it surprises me at the lack of attention true crime writers have given this story.

This particular book is well-researched and well written. It's such a good story that I had a hard time pausing it to do other things like work.

The narration is perfect for this book! He did a great job bringing this chilling story to life without being OTT.

(I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.)

Riveting story of a disturbed & superstitious lady

This is the story of an abused and superstitious woman who does everything she can to protect her surviving children. She would do anything to save them, even murder.
 
Had anyone else written the story, it would be documentary like and likely boring. Ryan Green is however the King of the true crime genre. He does meticulous research and adds so much flavour to the stories that I feel his stories should become motion pictures. He combines facts with his own analysis and assumptions to create a masterpiece. I highly recommend this story, along with all the others!
 
Steve is a perfect fit to narrate Ryan’s books. He adds emotion and suspense in his performance making the stories enjoyable and entertaining.
 
Note: This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this objective review voluntarily.

Something new!

This was a new true crime story that I had never heard of before. Told very well! Interesting story in history to say the least!

Great story

I'm shocked I've never heard of this story. It was well written and kept my interest.

Fascinating and horrifying

I must admit that I've never heard of this case before. It's as fascinating as it is horrifying. As stated in the synopsis, Ryan Green's narrative is riveting. And Steve White's performance does it justice.

NOTE: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.