Little Slaughterhouse on the Prairie

Bloodlands collection

By: Harold Schechter

Narrated by: Steven Weber

Length: 1 hr and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

At a remote little inn not far from the Kansas homestead of Laura Ingalls Wilder lived the Bender family. These pioneers welcomed unwary visitors with jackrabbit stew and a sledgehammer to the skull.

In time, their apple orchard gave up its secrets - a burial ground for their mutilated victims, each stripped of their possessions. The devilish enterprise on “Hell’s Half-Acre” would earn the Bloody Benders an undying place in the annals of American infamy. But it was the mysterious fate of eldest daughter, Kate, that would make them the stuff of mythic campfire prairie tales.

Little Slaughterhouse on the Prairie is part of Bloodlands, a chilling collection of short addictive historical narratives from bestselling true-crime master Harold Schechter. Spanning a century in our nation’s murderous past, Schechter resurrects nearly forgotten tales of madmen and thrill-killers that dominated the most sensational headlines of their day.

©2018 Harold Schechter (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

So amazing

I loved this story because it was at a good pace and was very descriptive. Wonderful narrator too

Nice short listen.

This was a nice break from the fiction I usually listen to. It is closer to a podcast than a book but I enjoyed the story and the panic it caused nation wide. I would recommend it.

quick listen

was very interesting , with lots of unknown details ,would recommend to anyone that likes old time true crime

Cool story

I grew up reading the Little House on the Prairie books so this was a fun listen. I thought it would have more of the actual Ingalls’ experience but they were only mentioned a few times. This was fun to listen to though and has great details from the time period. I would recommend it.

Little Slaughterhouse on the prarie

I live in SE Kansas and always heard stories of the Bender family but this story presents all the facts. Very complete and informative.

Fascinating

This story was fascinating. I thought it was going to be a work of fiction, along the lines of the rewritten “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”, but it’s a TRUE STORY. I was riveted from beginning to end.

True Story of Bloody Benders Horrific Crimes

This was a fascinating account of the real life murderous family called the Bloody Benders. I had first learned of this horror story on the excellent History Channel show Wild West Tech. This informative account covers all the bases including speculation about what happened to the family afterwards. Filled with facts, photos and media that enhances the story, it is a great short read about a little known event. Steven Weber does a superb job on the narration of the audio book. So good I read/listened to this in one sitting.

Enjoyed it

I enjoyed this true crime story. I also liked Steven Webber's narration. I will definitely read/listen to this author's other works.

Good Historical perspective

Pretty good amount of info considering how long ago this took place. I just wanted more detail, maybe more scene setting.

Little Slaughterhouse on The Prairie

The book’s content, by it’s very subject matter, is gruesome and sad. Yet I found it interesting as it revealed yet another danger encountered by western expansion in America.