Terrifying & True | The Man With a Hole in His Stomach: Beaumont’s Human Experiments
Terrifying & True | The Man With a Hole in His Stomach: Beaumont’s Human Experiments  
Podcast: Weekly Spooky | Scary Stories for Halloween
Published On: Mon Aug 10 2026
Description: Alexis St. Martin survived an 1822 gunshot wound with an opening into his stomach. William Beaumont used it to study digestion, lowering food on threads into a living man's body. Terrifying & True examines the medical breakthrough and the unequal relationship behind it: a surgeon who was also an employer, a labor contract requiring experiments, and a patient who negotiated, refused, and repeatedly left. Follow the history beyond the lurid image of a man with a hole in his stomach. When a discovery depends on someone's pain and economic dependence, how freely can that person consent?Bonus episodes & support: https://weeklyspooky.com/joinMore scary stories: https://weeklyspooky.com/Story submissions: WeeklySpooky@gmail.com