The Giggling Granny | Nannie Doss

·42 min·4 clips

Nannie Doss's two daughters died from food poisoning after she told her eldest to avoid the porridge.

The episode begins with a quote and host Alyssa Carroll introducing the show's focus on true crime and the nature vs. nurture debate. Carroll details Nannie Doss's birth in 1905 in Blue Mountain, Alabama, and provides historical context from that year. Doss's childhood is explored, including her parents Jim and Lou Hazel, her father's harsh treatment, and her limited education. A key moment is a train accident at age seven that caused a concussion and lifelong headaches, potentially damaging her frontal lobe and affecting impulse control. As a teenager, Doss faced bullying and sexual abuse from relatives, with her father showing indifference. She escaped by marrying Charles Braggs at 16, but the marriage was unhappy, and she is suspected of poisoning their two middle daughters. After divorcing, Doss married Robert Harrelson, and later, she poisoned her infant granddaughter with a hat pin and her grandson with arsenic. She then murdered Harrelson with arsenic. Doss used life insurance money to buy land and continued meeting men through lonely hearts ads. She married and poisoned subsequent husbands Arlie and Samuel Doss, with Samuel's autopsy revealing arsenic and leading to her arrest. Doss confessed to multiple murders, was found guilty but deemed insane, avoiding the death penalty. She died in prison in 1965, often giggling about her crimes. The host concludes by discussing Doss's blame on her head injury and the pattern of female serial killers using poison.

As heard by us

Alyssa Carroll revisits Nanny Doss's early life to probe the childhood, work, and mindset behind the Giggling Granny label.

Serial Killing: A Podcast looks past the easy shock of Nanny Doss's "Giggling Granny" label and spends its time with Nancy Hazel's early life instead.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want the Giggling Granny story to open in 1905 Blue Mountain, Alabama, then follow Nancy Hazel toward the lonely-hearts ads that start looking like a way out.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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