Maniac: Insanity & Tragedy in South Pasadena

In 1940, a principal snapped and went on a shooting spree at his Southern California junior high school. Who or what was to blame?

Sources:

Barer, Burl and Frank Giradot Jr.. A Taste For Murder (Denver: Wildblue Press, 2016).

Ban, Thomas A. “Bromides” International Network for the History of Neuropsychopharmacology. 24 October 2013. https://inhn.org/inhn-projects/drugs/bromides

Church, John. Pasadena Cowboy: Growing up in Southern California and Montana, 1925 to 1947 (Novato: Conover-Patterson Publishers, 1996).

Cropeley, Thomas and Zachary Theroux. “The Old Bromides and Their 21st Century Refreshment.” JAMA Network. 2017. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/2629878

Faith, Laura. “The Backstory: Mad School Principal Kills 5, Wounds 1.” Iloveyoupug (blog about Margie Alman). http://www.iloveyoupug.com/2011/01/backstory-mad-school-principal-kills-5.html

“John Ernest Alman.”Grave Spotlight. https://www.cemeteryguide.com/gotw-johnalman.html

Peters, William F. “The History of South Pasadena High School” SPHSAA. https://www.sphsaa.org/000/3/0/5/5503/userfiles/file/History%20of%20SPHS.pdf

Plummer, Mary. “South Pasadena Students Recall 1940 Murder Spree.” KPCC. 19 September, 2014. https://archive.kpcc.org/blogs/education/2014/09/19/17256/pasadena-school-students-recall-murderous-rampage/

Rai, Dr. Vandana. “What is Bromide Toxicity?” icliniq. 16 May, 2023. https://www.icliniq.com/articles/vitamins-and-minerals/bromide-toxicity

Rasmussen, Cecilia. “A Principal’s Bloody Rampage.” Los Angeles Times. 20 July 1997. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-jul-20-me-14688-story.html

Underwood, Agness. Newspaperwoman (New York: Harper, 1949).

Williams, Janette. “After 72 years, notorious South Pasadena school shootings still resonate.” Pasadena Star News. 29 August, 2017. https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2012/09/15/after-72-years-notorious-south-pasadena-school-shootings-still-resonate-with-survivors/

Newspapers:

The Los Angeles Times

San Pedro News Pilot

San Bernardino Sun

Madera Tribune

Calexico Chronicle

Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston

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