XCV: The Curse of the Changeling: The Death of Michael Leahy

In 1826, the Irish countryside was shaken by the tragic death of Michael Leahy — a young boy believed by his family to have been taken by the fairies and replaced with a changeling. Accusations of witchcraft, folklore, and superstition collided with brutal reality, leading to his drowning in a lake. Was this the deadly grip of old-world myth, or a crime justified by fear? Join me as we uncover the chilling tale where folklore and murder intertwine.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Dark Cast Network. Welcome to the dark side of podcasts.
Leader they would deck refice animals, dark world, a ritualistic
child abuse? Is there a well organized plot, an insidious
design to program the minds of our children towards the

(00:24):
occult and witchcraft? Does it make you want to hate
murder or does it make you want to do murder? Well,
let's explore the darkness of mankind, one crime at a time.
When old stories turn dark, sometimes they can lead to
horrific outcomes. In eighteen twenty six, County Kerry, Ireland, a

(00:47):
four year old boy named Michael Leahy could not speak,
he could not walk, and in the mind of his
community he must have been very struck. A changeling left
in place of a stone child. Two women were ordered
to bathe him in the River Flesk sunrise after sunrise
to put the faery out. On the third day, they

(01:11):
held him down and he never came up. What happens
when folklore becomes the final authority and mercy becomes murder.
This is the curse of the change Land. The unfortunate
superstitions that lead to the death of Michael Leahy. Welcome
back to rogue Darkness. The podcast that uncovers how the

(01:32):
misinterpretations in misinformation surrounding witchcraft, the occult, and other beliefs
have led many to do unthinkable crimes. From ritualistic killings
and the demons that live in all of us, to
exploration of the macabre and delving deep into the unknown.
Let's explore the darkness of mankind, one crime at a time.

(01:54):
I'm your host of the grim and Gruesome Raven County
Carry eighteen twenty six. Little Michael Leey, only four, was different, nonverbal,
unable to walk. His family and neighbors feared maybe he

(02:17):
was no longer Michael, but a changeland the folklore runs deep.
A changeland a fairy left behind to take a human's place.
The only cure ritual. His grandmother, Anne Roach, known for
her folk healing, directed a sunrise bathing ritual in the
river Flesk. Two women, Roche and Mary Clifford, brought Michael

(02:41):
to the river for three consecutive mornings. On the third,
he was held under the water for too long and drowned.
The intention, they insisted, was not murder, but to put
the fairy out of him. Traylee assizes, eighteen twenty six,

(03:02):
Roche was indicted for murder, but her defense a deep
rooted belief in fairies. Folkler's Thomas Crofton Croker captured the
verdict recorded in the London Morning Post.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
The sin was on the grandmother, not on her. It
was not done to kill, but to cure, to put
the fairy out of it.

Speaker 1 (03:23):
The jury was instructed.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
You would not be safe in convicting, however strong your suspicions.

Speaker 1 (03:30):
The final verdict not guilty. The judge's decision exposed how
deeply changeling belief had seeped into rural Ireland, blurring lines
between compassion and superstition. Across the country, similar tragedies occurred
under the same belief system. Michael's death rippled beyond Trayleie.

(03:53):
The chilling whispers, changeling drownings, folk cures gone fatal remained
etched in the local memory. In modern times. Author Hannah
Kent drew from this case to craft her novel The
Good People, probing the intersection between folklore, motherhood, and superstition.

(04:14):
It's one of the few contemporary works that breathe new
life into a story so rooted in rural tragedy. But
what is a changeling. Truly in European folklore, a child
taken or replaced by fairies, demons, or otherworldly beings when
a family believed their child was a changeling. The resulting

(04:35):
fear could lead to abuse or even lethal tests to
expose the truth. Blame met belief, and in Michael's case,
belief met death. Michael Lee, four years old, silenced by
ritual lost between worlds. His death isn't just a footnote
in folklore. It's a reminder superstition when I'm and checked

(05:01):
can shatter lives. If you walk along the Riverflest today,
listen not for fairies, but for the echoes of a
child who forever belonged to the world of the living.

(05:27):
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case and if you have any questions regarding it or
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(05:50):
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(06:13):
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box of the episode. And with that said, that concludes

(06:35):
this week's episode of Rogue Darkness. The darkness is all
around us and I can confidently say that reality truly
is more terrifying than fiction. Until next time,