The Demon of the Delta: The Vicksburg Murders and the South's First Serial Killer

In the shadow of Reconstruction, a port city on the Mississippi was stalked by a predator history nearly forgot. Who was the original "Demon of the Delta," and why does his story redefine the origins of American serial murder? This episode travels to Vicksburg, 1871, a community fractured by the Civil War and struggling through a fragile new reality. Into this tension stepped Samuel Little—not the infamous 20th-century killer, but a white man who preyed upon freed Black women, the most vulnerable in the changing social order. We explore the months of terror as bodies were discovered in secluded places, a series of brutal killings that gripped the city with fear and mystery. Listeners will uncover a chilling, forgotten chapter of true crime history, examining how this specific post-war environment allowed a monster to operate and why this case is now considered a grim milestone: the South's first documented serial killer. #VicksburgMurders #DemonOfTheDelta #SamuelLittle #ReconstructionEra #SerialKillerHistory #19thCenturyCrime #MississippiHistory Hosted by Ibnul Jaif Farabi. Produced by Light Knot Studios (lightknotstudios.com).