June 11, 2025
S36 Ep2: Serial Killers in History – Catherine Monvoisin: The Affair of the Poisons
Beneath the chandeliers of Louis XIV’s Versailles, whispers of love and ambition turned lethal. Episode 2 of Serial Killers in History chronicles Catherine Monvoisin—La Voisin—the fortune-teller whose poison ring ensnared France’s elite and sparked the explosive Affair of the Poisons.
In this episode:
- How a Parisian herbalist built a criminal empire of black masses and murder-for-hire
- The secret pact with Madame de Montespan, the King’s mistress, to keep royal affection at any cost
- Gabriel de La Reynie’s investigation that unmasked 17th-century high-society corruption
- The Chambre ardente: France’s first special court for poison and witchcraft—and the 36 deaths it ordered
- Why La Voisin’s trial signaled the twilight of witchcraft fear and the dawn of Enlightenment scepticism
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