“He who has no fools, knaves, or beggars in his family was begot by a flash of lightning.”

 Recently I've been into castles and the UK and such. Last night and today I've been going through a list of English castles to see who I'm related to. So I reached Herstmonceux castle and read that construction began in 1441. The man behind it was Sir Roger Fiennes. Now, if you've read my previous posts, particularly the one with Bellatrix Lestrange and the Peverell family, you know I'm into Harry Potter. Just a little bit. So when I see the name "Fiennes" I think of Harry Potter. Why? Because Ralph Fiennes plays Voldemort in Harry Potter (he also plays Francis Dolarhyde in Red Dragon... you all know I majored in Forensics and LOVE Hannibal Lecter right?) 

So I see the name Sir Roger Fiennes and I think to myself... "hmmm I wonder." So I plug it into geni.com and I find out he is my third cousin 20 times removed. Very cool. I'm related to another person who lived in a castle. At the same time, I wander over to wikipedia and type in Ralph Fiennes. Usually for actors it just gives the parents but it also lists his grandfather Sir Maurice Fiennes with years for birth and death. Plug that into geni. While geni was doing its search I see that Ralph is the 8th cousin of Prince Charles of Wales. Well I'm distantly related to the Prince of Wales. So I open up another geni tab on my computer and search for Prince Charles. Then I pushed the little pin to see if Sir Roger and Prince Charles are related. Prince Charles is Sir Roger's 16th great grandson. Yadda Yadda Yadda I keep going and see that Ralph is Roger's 18th great grandson. See my brain did know there was a connection between the two! 

So Ralph Fiennes is my 16th cousin once removed. I'm related to the man who portrayed Lord Voldemort and Francis Dolarhyde. Both psychopathic serial killers. Ah I love it.

Which brings me to my next point. In every family tree there the potential for that crazy one person. Well my tree is full of them. In the WSJ article it said I was related to Charles Manson but I could't remember how. Well of course I wouldn't find the answer until AFTER the article is published. Anyway, on the online version of the article there's a video with the editor talking to a woman. She says "the one woman interviewed is related to Charles Manson" and the other woman was like... and she brags about this? Truth is... I'm a forensics nerd. I love criminal minds. I love Silence of the Lambs. I read Kathy Reichs. Bones. Murder. Love it all. 

So here are some of my creepy relatives:

Charles Manson: 18th cousin once removed

Vlad the Impaler (Dracula): first cousin 21 times removed's wife's second cousin once removed 

Countess Elizabeth Bathory (bathed in blood of the girls she killed): 12th cousin 19 times removed

Herman Mudgett (built a "castle" for torture): 12th cousin 6 times removed

Lizzie Borden (murdered father & stepmother with hatchet): 10th cousin 7 times removed

Ivan the Terrible: 8th cousin 17th times removed

I'm sure I'll find or remember more crazy people that I'm related to. But I'd say that is plenty for now.