Joseph Kallinger: The Shoemaker – Madness, Murder, and a Son’s Curse

In this chilling episode of Among Monsters, host Damien Vale delves into the disturbed mind and crimes of Joseph Kallinger, a Philadelphia cobbler turned murderer who embarked on a horrifying crime spree across three states — with his 12-year-old son as his unwilling accomplice. Driven by hallucinations, delusions of divine command, and years of brutal childhood abuse, Kallinger believed he was chosen by God to punish the wicked. Over six weeks in 1974 and 1975, he and his son Michael robbed, assaulted, and terrorized families — culminating in the brutal murder of nurse Maria Fasching in New Jersey. But behind the violence lay a deeper, more haunting story: of generational trauma, a system that failed to stop escalating abuse, and a child dragged into darkness by his own father. With vivid detail, historical context, and emotional gravity, Damien Vale unpacks one of America’s most unsettling family horror stories — a case that blurs the line between insanity and pure evil.

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