The Bender Hotel of Horror

[@mikea1714]

I live in Kansas and a few years ago the former Bender homestead was up for sale. The sale had a disclaimer that there still might be undiscovered bodies on the land.

[@rileyorr8851]

I also live in Kansas and this is the first time i’ve ever heard of this case. Hearing that the homestead was up for sale is crazy to me!

[@dominoespizza1756]

How much did it go for?

[@mikea1714]

@@dominoespizza1756 I have no idea, it sold back in 2020. I did a quick google search and couldn’t find a selling price. I know it’s crop land and I have stopped by the historical marker and the land is currently all wheat. Haven’t stopped by the mini museum out there that does have a few of the artifacts from the time and I think they do have at least one of the hammers found.

[@damenwhelan3236]

What!?! Bodies might be in the ground! Wait.

[@florencepierce1864]

Ohhhh ... Yay! Honey - Don't let the kids go digging, you hear?!

[@PatSmith-j9c]

Simon is the only person I know of that can be both parts of a dynamic duo... Tangent Man and Fact Boy!!!!

[@kryw10]

Fact Man and Tangent Boy’s evil counterparts.

[@fourswords2003]

Now that's a show I want to see.

[@msalmon30]

Damn hit that nail on its head 😂

[@willmfrank]

I have often joked that Simon's videos are like The Why Files without Hecklefish... And then I realized that Simon is his own Hecklefish. 😉😃

[@amemooress6291]

The amount of effort that the writers on this channel put into their research is nothing short of brilliant. Sometimes I feel like yall are like detectives.

[@Gnome_with_no_name]

They could be a new version of the Vidoc Society.

[@EllaGreenn]

True. Very surprised she was unwilling to pay 50$ for a book though.

[@SG-pu3rx]

​@@EllaGreennwho is she?

[@lauralafauve5520]

Dear Simon, Been watching some of your older shows. Like the Hello Kitty Murder. Just want to say that it's things like you switching out the word "victim" for "girlfriend" in the case of a 13 year old, is one of the things that keeps me coming back. It's a sign of caring that one doesn't see often enough.

[@gordwrath6811]

He is a softie, and we love him for it. Even if he is a narcissist. 😅

[@SuperKendoman]

Hong Konger here, the Hello Kitty murder and Jars murderer still gives me the chills remembering them. My mother recalls being too afraid to ride the taxis alone at night after work and whenever she saw a big cardboard box just left on the side of an alley she'd not walk past and go through a different route. That's how bad the crime was before the SAS and royal marines trained the elite police tactical unit to deal with the cities issues back then. The detectives behind those cases were one of Hong Kongs best who relied mostly on common sense and their own intuition despite the lack of resources

[@memeju1ce]

@@SuperKendomanthis is a perspective i hadn’t considered- thank you for sharing! i didn’t think of how the crimes had affected the general public. it must have been so scary.

[@SuperKendoman]

@@memeju1ce I think most of us back then would have been wary of any suitcases, nylon bags or boxes strewn about especially those that were so close to garbage containers. There was news of limbs being found in these coloured nylon bags when an innocent bystander got curious seeing blood trickle out of it; even now thinking about it sends shivers down your spine when you come upon one, it's probably the fear that there's SOMETHING inside it that you don't want to know about. There's a reason why old Hong Kong gangster movies seem so real, it's because the writers or director witness that stuff first hand

[@MeeraReads]

@@gordwrath6811nah, he’s a bit full of himself and clearly grew up with money, but I don’t think he’s a narcissist 😂

[@MissMentats]

Bruh. You can’t upload blain braze, into the shadows and cas crim all at the exact same time. 😢 wtf do I do here

[@IndustrialSociety1995]

Give Simon that SWEET *SWEET* watch time. In order of your favorites too.

[@evalevy2909]

Paralyzed by indecision. I relate.

[@volusize]

Binge! 😅🎉

[@MissMentats]

@@evalevy2909I elected to have one on my phone, one on the tv and one on my iPad. I’m not sure this is the best way to consume the content tho

[@BarneySm0kesCrak]

Make a playlist and put them there to watch

[@thomasbender4694]

As a Bender, this one hits home! I've known about this for decades, but didn't think many others did, or cared. Thanks for reading it, and thank the author for writing!

[@ice9594]

Very cool to encounter a blood Bender. 😊 So, do you agree with the story’s ending about what happened to Kate?

[@TingTingalingy]

You always this misanthropic? Serial killing families are exceedingly rare therefore people are interested

[@katharris7026]

36:25 36:26 36:27 36:29 36:32 36:35 36:39

[@SG-pu3rx]

​@@ice9594Bender probably wasn't this family's actual last name

[@SG-pu3rx]

​@@TingTingalingywtf are you on?

[@coralmar5329]

I love that I didn't get 5 min in without them mentioning Bender from Futurama

[@SaraBanartist]

"Get a room, you two" "We're IN a room!" "Well then loose some weight!"

[@ashleybowles7732]

I love that I am in the same age group of Simon. He keeps on bringing up shows from my childhood and early adulthood

[@itarry4]

​@@ashleybowles7732yeah but in most of the references used in the script he usually has absolutely no idea what the reference meant, especially if it's video games.

[@kat8753]

"Lord, lord," that ramblin' man

[@CentralCalPiper]

Yep. The "Bloody Benders." I remember reading about them as a kid when I found some "Old West" magazines when I was forced to go to the beauty shop with my mom. I was bored stiff, but those magazines saved my bacon. One of those memorable stories concerned this family, The Benders. I remember seeing the pictures of the front yard of the property with holes throughout, baring the bodies of the victims. I remember there was a large slab that covered the "death hole" where their hapless victims were disposed of. Gruesome stuff that has stayed with me for most of my 61 years!

[@rivervan]

I’ll never get tired of Simon’s tangents - thank you Emma, Simon, and editors for this new video!

[@kandreasworld4374]

Heard this story at least a dozen times, but this is the first time I heard a conclusion which is awesome. Good job on writing this script!

[@edsimons628]

A direct ancestor of mine ate at the Bender Inn. As a circuit riding Methodist preacher, he figured the Benders decided he was to poor to be worth killing. He believed that Colonel York and his posse did find the Benders and didn't bring them in for trial.

[@monstersociety3360]

Sounds like your ancestor got off lucky! Good for him & you for that matter! Question: Was it ever confirmed that the reason he wasn't killed was because he was poor or was that just something he just sort of self-diagnosed? Technically, the Benders could have just figured he was a preacher & killing him would be even more immoral than a standard murder or something. Even the nastiest of serial killers have rules.

[@4lyeskas]

​@@monstersociety3360 Yeah my first thought was that they wouldn't want to off a preacher as a man of God.

[@ShandraVdeG]

​@@monstersociety3360Probably a mix of both, as well as his being a circuit preacher, he would be good word of mouth advertising to bring more potential victims to the inn.

[@edsimons628]

@@monstersociety3360 , a good point. My ancestor assumed it was because he didn't look prosperous, but I doubt that he knew for sure.

[@damenwhelan3236]

​@@monstersociety3360 More likely he was expected and his congregation would look for him. They off kids. Clergy is hardly taboo

[@cyanidesmile7263]

I'm so early that I'm here before Simon's first tangent

[@Ohforgodssakethatsme]

Wow! You discovered a way to bend time (the only logical explanation) and used it to get here before Simon's first tangent. That alone should earn you Superfan status. 🙂

[@davidbennettracing538]

That is a genuine achievement! 😂😝👍🏻

[@Spooky_Platypus]

Legend

[@MaesterTori]

Fantastic episode! For what it's worth, 'dropsy' is what we now call oedema. Dropsy of the heart indicates that she probably died of heart failure as a result of her heart being slowly crushed by the swelling of its tissue and that surrounding it.

[@CLJlovesmal]

I love anyone talking about the Bender family. I admit i didn't find out about them until The Librarians show, but have been obsessed ever since.

[@benjie128]

As a Texan, it's kinda surreal to hear all the locations and been like... Yup, been there, and there, know where that is, that's over there, and over here, down a ways, yup, yup, I know where that is.

[@jeffdroog]

Cool! No one else cares though man lol Everyone is from somewhere,and everywhere is somewhere...That's how the world works.

[@monstersociety3360]

Ignore @jeffdroog I like your comment Mr. Texas guy

[@benjie128]

@@monstersociety3360 I'm a girl but thanks 😊

[@TrippyDaHippie409]

@@jeffdroog just being a dick for fun?

[@patriciatucker622]

I live not far from Denison Texas.

[@jacksonstarky8288]

I've seen a few videos about the Benders on KZbin before, and once again Simon and his writers give us by far the best coverage of the case.

[@natemcgaw221]

The Wild West AND true crime? Yes please,don’t mind if I do!

[@Concetta20]

Yes! 😂 Its a typical Tuesday in 19th century Dodge City.

[@a_lilhocuspocus]

Simon, you had me rolling with laughter on this one. The ay ayy every time you brought up Katie's sexcapades was hilarious. 😆

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Thanks For this emma! Love your scripts ❤❤❤

[@sylvia.s.s.]

Well, this made me go back and start once again watching all of Supernatural. Just as Dean said, "... demons I get, people are crazy"

[@MRPandoraHartDR]

First time I learnt about the family was cos I wondered why 'The Benders' was the title of a Supernatural episode.

[@meadowsong8560]

Knew I’d find a supernatural friend!

[@MRPandoraHartDR]

@@meadowsong8560 :-) Being from the UK it was actually one of the rare episodes where i didnt know the background to the plot. So it came as a bit of an eyeopener!

[@brandonquist8394]

The name itself isn't used, but this whole setup reminds me of an episode of Amphibia, although with a much more karmic ending.

[@4lyeskas]

Oh dang I didn't even make the connection but I do remember that SPN episode!

[@alissapyrich1891]

​@@meadowsong8560we are legion

[@histrogeek]

Can I just point out that, of course west of the Mississippi was settled!!!!! Just not by people who listened to Washington, DC. Mexicans, Native Americans, Mormons, even Brits who lived side-by-side with Americans in Oregon (which at the time included modern Washington State and British Columbia).

[@SaBoTeUr2001]

I had to wind that back to check that I heard right: at 33:36 "Edward York identified the brother of his body". Lol

[@rossnorris2351]

This was an awesome episode. I currently live in Henrietta, normally live in Wichita Falls (near the Little Wichita River) and went to school with a guy with the last name Bender. A very interesting coincidence.

[@lauralafauve5520]

When I was in the 1st grade Americans pronounced Hawai'i "Hawahyah". So these things do change. But I have always heard Osage pronounced with a long a sound, like the word "sage". Of course it could have changed, and I'm just behind the times.

[@Erador]

You’re not, Osage is still “Oh-sage”.

[@Perceptionreflection]

It's def still Oh-sage, and the name he pronounced 'suh-leed-uh' is the town of Salida, pronounced 'Suh-lye-duh'. I'm from the valley that it was founded to serve as an entry point into, the San Luis Valley (it sits at the pass between the Arkansas River Valley and the San Luis Valley), and I currently live in Kansas.

[@lauralafauve5520]

Thank you Erador and Perception!

[@TH3H0LYJ3BUS]

I'm pretty excited for this, the bender site is about 40 miles from where I've lived for most of my life, and I'm intrigued to see what this script has. It's the second time I've got to enjoy Simon talking about things I'm close to ( btk was the first, he lived half a block from my grandma and I used to jump his driveway on my bike as a small kid)

[@deeceepnw]

Yes, Mr. Whistler two things can co-exist in the time-space continuum: true crime and of course the unlawful serial killers in the Bender Family. Thank you Emma for a stellar script! ✨😎

[@Craftypaganmama]

Growing up in Kansas, the bloody benders were the first serial killers I ever learned about. INSANITY! You can even visit the house site. So glad you covered this one

[@TheKrispyfort]

New meaning to the term "on a bender"

[@CinderXiaoLong]

Salida is actually pronounced with a long "i", like Sal-eye-duh. It's also where my mother grew up, and houses one of the oldest brothels in Colorado. The red light district is still standing, though the buildings operate as shops nowadays

[@kwoodmansee]

Sa-lie-duh I'd love to hear Simon try to pronounce Saguache

[@jenniferhof9448]

@@kwoodmansee Or Buena Vista for that matter. 😉 Plus La Junta, and where I grew up - Canon City.

[@kwoodmansee]

@@jenniferhof9448 we certainly make it hard on people

[@revolution1237]

"Yo, look at them! They be a Salida (slider)!"

[@revolution1237]

​@@kwoodmansee"Yo, they Saguache ('s (is) a watcher)!"

[@Nerathul1]

Simon: Historians in the day were like "I heard it from some guy who heard it from some guy" it's okay, you can say Heroditus

[@annaperkins1544]

Thanks for your great script, Emma! Never heard of this story before. I kept thinking, while listening and crocheting, that so many crimes must be untold and buried because people stopped murdering after one or two victims.

[@kevinscottbailey8335]

Emma should have definitely given Simon some pronunciation guides for this one. Particularly with regards to the word Osage, which is pronounced oh-sage, not uh-sahj LOL

[@veridico84]

Some good video drops tonight Simon. Great stuff. Now I have a few hours of watching / listening tonight.

[@AdamOBrien29]

Hell yes mega early, thank you Emma n Factboi

[@miriana666]

Thank you very much for your hard work🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@Quivirak9]

Being from Kansas I've known this case for my whole life but thanks for covering it because it's always interesting to hear about it

[@thebadgerstick9492]

Oh you can’t even imagine how glad I am to have at 4am found out there is a new cascrim episode! This will finally sooth me nerves

[@choughed3072]

I was genuinely talking to my wife about this case two days ago. Excited about this one.

[@Chord_]

That obituary at the end is novelistic with how dripping in dramatic irony it is.

[@MeeraReads]

I can clearly remember one time my dad got in a loud argument with a cashier about his travelers checks. This was in the late 90s and I guess the guy was young and kept saying “we don’t take checks” 🙃 And my dad didn’t think to explain the difference or ask if there was someone older on staff 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@verbaldrop887]

I love that Simon talks about travelers checks like they did the same thing back then that they do in the modern day

[@gingersnaps6004]

Yess!! The Bloody Benders!! America’s first serial killer family!! Awesome guys!!

[@jeffdroog]

What? You do know the entire country was taken by murder right? I'd argue they were FAR from the first.

[@katherinethegreat]

Technically, the Harpe brothers were earlier & definitely related to each other. Fun fact: it is suspected that Nicholas Porter Earp(pa to Virgil,Wyatt,Morgan,James,Warren,etc.) was a direct descendant.

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

I love the cold-read format. Simon should implement it in even more channels than the three he currently uses it for.

[@bogbupog]

So addicted to these, I think I’ve listened to them all 😭

[@MikeJones-yo8en]

“Dropsy… it sounds like a kid’s character” 😂 it really does though! Astute observation Simon, I always thought the same thing, well done

[@etaoinshrdlu927]

There's a video game, based on an online comic, about "Dropsy the Clown."

[@marandakealy8732]

Omg! I requested this one! I’m so excited!

[@angelatheriault8855]

Montgomery County, Kansas near Independence was also the location of the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder. She lived there from 1869 to 1871 as a small child. Her book, Little House on the Prairie, is based on her family’s experiences while living there on the frontier.

[@diannasquillace-Manno]

She actually spoke once about meeting the Benders!

[@zarasbazaar]

It took me quite a while to realize you were saying Osage.

[@ravengreenleaf2018]

I wanna hear more of these old western crimes

[@infonut]

... 00:37:51 Laura Ingalls Wilder also mentioned she had memories of The Benders while they lived in The Little House On The Prairie but in actuality they were not there at the time.

[@bunyipdragon9499]

5:45 as soon as I saw the cabin I realised simon is right, he has done this story before. It was a long time ago and I haven't got a clue what channel it was on. Pretty sure it wasn't a long episode though. Edit -- love all the extra info from when they fked the shack. Well done Emma, thankyou

[@marthasalter405]

I knew this story but not the epilogue of where the Benders may have lived out their lives. Great storytelling!

[@Merriwen]

Oh, a new episode! Love it!

[@nimocolombia]

Yes! Another video of the casually dressed criminalister!

[@Inky_Black]

Love the show. That white tee with a pocket has been giving me strong dentist vibes for a few episodes now, tooth be told. I don't hate it.

[@BlueMasteress2012]

I really like these old-timey ones. Doesn't feel as horrible when it happened so long ago.

[@jejbsh2191]

Bender bending Rodriguez salutes this episode

[@josiemardis8092]

I grew up about 40 miles from the Bender farm in SE Kansas. University of Kansas is doing a big archeological dig at the site right now.

[@zramirez5471]

Wow dude I thought the Lore Lodge accounting was good - the research on this is impeccable!

[@audreymew7650]

Yaaaay I've been waiting for this family to show up on this channel

[@DrGangrel38]

Thanks Emma😊

[@tonyalewis9053]

I live in SW Missouri but My parents graduated from LaBette County High School in the 1950’s. When we visited relatives in SE Kansas, my Father would scare the hell out of us (my siblings and me) with tales of the Benders! I still think of them whenever I drive past Cherryvale on my way to Wichita to visit relatives.

[@TeamOT]

"The flies don't lie. Ugh, that's Santiago's." (Please someone, don't leave me hanging).

[@ManWhorse]

“Give them the CHAIR!” - Simon, probably

[@LiamGoodison]

settle down Beavis uhuhuh

[@DrGangrel38]

Love this show 😊

[@joelellis7035]

I'm early on this one. Osage (Oh-sayj).

[@rebekahvasquez1464]

An interesting older serial killer is Belle Gunness, nicknamed Hell's Belle. She was active between 1884 and 1908 in Illinois and Indiana. I didn't see any search results for it, so I don't know if Simon has done an episode yet.

[@softanna27]

He did on one of his many other channels kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWbOm52LqNmZfMUsi=Qx62DiQMNAykr8Lb

[@fireangel6038]

You forget how old the towns around you are till you here them being named in a murder mystery this old

[@HaYlEeXx19]

17:23 someone should make this a horror movie.

[@richardstafford5016]

Pretty sure this is the inspiration for Rob Zombie’s Firefly Family

[@Charles_Anthony]

The guy who did Bone Tomahawk would be a perfect director for such a movie to be made. Seriously, best western I've seen in the past 30 years.

[@danielmclellan1522]

Just stumbled across a novel about it - Family of Killers.

[@erraticonteuse]

Yeah Texas's weird tail thing was chopped off by the Missouri Compromise line (the southern border of Missouri) which stated that slavery could not exist in states with any land above that line out west. Also I think it's weird when non-Americans hear about Americans still being able to use an outdated technology like checks and assuming that we all still use them regularly. We don't, it's just a handful of old people. Most Americans, like the rest of the world, haven't even touched cash in years.

[@zachblack7080]

26:29 I think we need a Biographics episode dedicated to Emma lol

[@cornflaki]

every time simon says "benders" i hear it in the voice of jay from the inbetweeners

[@vampirefrompluto9788]

25:10 Gardens back then were mostly food for the family.

[@shupbender5487]

Yes! I've been waiting for and episode about the Bloody Benders! (no relation)

[@troyreazin4949]

Simon, Kansas has some of the best farm land in the world, it's in the center of the bread basket

[@GrievousReborn]

26:30 Emma's closest encounter with something that resembles a posse

[@55chevy327]

This needs to be a movie

[@tightropewalkergirl6485]

I swear I have seen something that sounds similar to this?

[@AkaSnugD]

There has been at least one lower budget films made. “Bender” in 2016

[@danielmclellan1522]

There's a novel, at least. Family of Killers.

[@kat8753]

Anybody ever play that Oregon trail game. I always pictured the wild west being a lot like that. Probably would have just set down stakes right outside of the closest town. That's far enough.

[@Watermelon-f3e]

I love watching Simon learning about America. It is funny sometimes.😂

[@lsd358]

Nice one Emma 😀

[@AngelaTaylor-ob7kl]

Thanks

[@MzJenAtailia]

Rather bold of appearance and fluent talker. This is my kind of lady

[@HikuroMishiro]

I do think Simon has covered this before. Also referenced on Supernatural and The Librarians, and probably other shows.

[@deeceepnw]

I knew a John Bender in the 1980s, in Orange County California. He played bass in my ex’s band at the time. I seem to recall that he was originally from somewhere else but don’t recall after all this time. He was a stand up guy.

[@ChasingLamely]

It wasn't Shermer, IL, was it?

[@vampirefrompluto9788]

You guys should cover the case of Jaycee Lee Dugard. She was kidnaped & held prisoner for 18 years!

[@XDeminox]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Simons commentary makes up for the lack of tangents. Overall very good episode, needs more tangents.

[@ryn_taylor]

My great grandma was a Bender! Wild to see the name here as I didn’t think it was too common

[@Eyesorecrymore]

About 33:30 "The brother of his body." 😂😂😂

[@ignitionfrn2223]

2:05 - Chapter 1 - The wild wild west 10:30 - Chapter 2 - A land of outlaws & conmen 20:10 - Chapter 3 - Missing 26:20 - Chapter 4 - The posse 30:50 - Chapter 5 - Hell's half acre 36:20 - Chapter 6 - The witch hunt 42:50 - Chapter 7 - What happened to the benders ?

[@sagethelemur]

yoo wake up babe, new simon whistler just dropped

[@Hidfhjccbxcbhc]

Simon what do you want from South Africa 🇿🇦 You backbites every country, I am surprised how many episodes do you,upload everyday? You're always making stories and war videos.

[@Madmij]

The first serial killer family? Sawney Bean has something to say about that.

[@danielmclellan1522]

I forget, was it Christie-Cleek that they think was an urban legend spawned by recollections of Sawney Bean, or the other way around?

[@brianbourquin7178]

Grew up In Glenwood Springs. Joe Bender was in my Graduating class.(2002). Nice family, pillars of the community.

[@laynemartin7914]

You talking about them going through the same things I was reminded of the two red headed sister handmaid's in "I'm the empress in this life"

[@sharonduggins7332]

I attended first grade in Cherryvale, Kansas. We heard strange stories about Cherryvale when I was six years old.

[@martincann5052]

Dropsy the clown? Like that weird adventure game from a while back?

[@katla_phc]

12:30 even as an American, at 28 years old I got my first checkbook and wrote my first check - it was to renew my passport because I had to mail it in and there was no online payment system 😂 (but I will say that I have been paid with checks for much longer than the average person after direct deposit became a thing because of the nature of my work up until a couple years ago)

[@katherinecollins4685]

Well researched

[@_M_a_r_t_i_n_M]

Damn Simon, your American accent is nearly fricking spot on! I'm Canadian and I could never pull off a 'classical' American accent like that so well 🤣Also being Canadian I just had my mind blown realizing that people all around the world practice North American accents for fun just like we do with various European accents, usually the country where our parents or grandparents immigrated here from.. And the funny thing, and also truly great thing about this is. Is that it is NEVER done out of what some party-poopers want to label as "racism". It's honestly from a place of either nostalgia or even respect and is always for fun and nothing more and nothing less.