Esther Ludlow, the host of true crime podcast “Once Upon a Crime,” will be the guest speaker at the May 19 History Happy Hour in Campbell.

Ludlow, a San Jose resident, will share information about the Lamson murder that happened in 1933 in Palo Alto. The trial was carried out in San Jose, and Ludlow says she chose to share the details of this case for its regional appeal.

The monthly event at the Ainsley House pairs local history presentations with the drinks and snacks commonly found at an off-the-clock happy hour gathering. Guests must be 21 and older.

Ludlow started podcasting in 2011 as a way to promote her health and wellness business. She runs the Sophia Center for Wellness as a life coach and counselor. She says those first recordings started out in 2011 as “more of a hobby podcast.”

She turned to the microphone because she didn’t fancy herself a writer and speaking played more to her strengths.

“As I was trying to start that business, I thought I don’t want to do a blog because that’s writing,” Ludlow says. “So I thought I could always talk. I thought I could do a podcast and work that into my work somehow, promoting my business and my coaching.”

However, she says her first podcast lasted about a dozen episodes. It was a combination of her career, academic background and love of reading that resulted in the birth of “Once Upon a Crime.”

Ludlow has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in counseling. She has worked with incarcerated people and at-risk youths. She is also an avid reader with an interest for true crime in particular.

“I was interested in learning about what makes a person make that kind of decision to do a crime, especially one that is more serious,” Ludlow says, adding that at the time she was thinking about developing the podcast, true crime shows and podcasts such as “Making a Murderer” and “Serial” were gaining popularity.

“I had said for a couple of years that if I did a podcast, if I really committed to it, I think I could do a true crime podcast,” she says. “I have all this information in my head that I could probably do that forever.”

In June she launched her first episode, and at press time “Once Upon a Crime” had more than one million downloads on Apple’s iTunes store.

“There’s a huge audience,” Ludlow said. “Every month I do a different topic. The very first series I did was about people who were kidnapped and then later found. That was called ‘Lost and Found.’ I also did one on celebrity stalkers.”

Ludlow’s podcast was even featured in an “Entertainment Weekly” special on true crime.

Event tickets are $15 and are available for purchase online. Participants are required to show a photo ID to enter.

A ticket includes drinks, light snacks and a tour of the Ainsley House, which is located at 300 Grant St.

For more information about “Once Upon a Crime,” visit truecrimepodcast.com