Haunted Prison: A Shadow Devil, 1980 Riot Energy, and a Burned Relic

 

Recapping The Dead Files “Death Sentence” (aka “Prisoner of Shadows”): (Season 1 Episode 19) which aired June 29, 2012.

 

We review a film shoot inside a decommissioned penitentiary, a whispered “Hey,” a client who took home a souvenir (then… burned it), and Amy & Steve breaking protocol mid-case.

 

We unpack why prisons hang onto rage, fear, and you-really-shouldn’t-take-that energy.

 

Expect: shadow-devil vibes, wall-crawlers, portal “holes,” and a reveal where the sketch is meh but the consequences are not.

 

So grab your stolen hat, and join us where The Activity Continues…

 

Patreon: Join before Sun, Oct 26, 2025 for the Birthday Happy Hour + live mini-recording (chat open, Q&A, spooky stories). https://www.patreon.com/theactivitycontinues

 

 

Content warnings

Prison violence (referenced), discussion of the 1980 prison riot, medical distress, demons/attachments. No gore.

 

Highlights

Why this prison case hits different: protocol break (Amy & Steve meet pre-reveal)

“Don’t take souvenirs from haunted sites” — and definitely don’t burn them

The “Devil Shop” nickname, shadow-devil activity, and that gross basement hole

Sound design tricks (insect buzzing = instant dread) and Exorcist homage vibes

How mob mentality supercharges hauntings long after the riot is over

 

Chapter Markers

00:00:00 Intro

00:00:32 Hello! Housekeeping

00:04:14 Overview

00:06:00 Segment One – The Set Up

00:17:34 Segment Two – The Investigation

00:28:03 Segment Three – The Reveal

00:38:40 Research and Rabbit Holes

00:54:04 Outro/Disclaimer

 

Episode Links:

Dead Files episode: “Death Sentence / Prisoner of Shadows”

Background reading on the 1980 New Mexico Prison Riot (content caution): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico_State_Penitentiary_riot

Documentary series about the riot from 1988 “Shakedown in Santa Fe”

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0910778/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrIwew30GRI

Filming/tour info for the decommissioned penitentiary: https://www.cd.nm.gov/divisions/corrections-industries/old-main/old-main-filming-tours/

This site has lots of pictures and floor plans: https://www.cd.nm.gov/divisions/corrections-industries/old-main/

Sandi K Shelby: https://share.google/s07n52SOq4Sx1s0gf

Terrible Angels: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1727362/

Our blog post: https://www.theactivitycontinues.com/blog/the-devils-shop-extras/

Beverly McChesney: https://www.theactivitycontinues.com/chat-with-beverly-mcchesney/

 

The Activity Continues is a paranormal podcast where soul friends Amy and Megan chat about true crime, ghost stories, dreams, and other paranormal stuff including the TV show, The Dead Files. Our recaps are full of recurring jokes about recurring tropes.

 

Sometimes we try to come up with possible explanations for some of the things that the clients experience. But this by no means indicates that we do not believe the clients or are invalidating their experiences. We do believe.

 

This episode was recorded on August 27, 2025, and released on October 2, 2025.

 

 

Disclaimer:

This podcast is in no way affiliated with Warner Brothers, HBOMax, the Travel Channel, Painless TV, or the TV show The Dead Files or any of its cast or crew. We’re just fans who love the show and want to build a community of like-minded people who would enjoy hanging out and discussing the episodes and similar content.

 

Credits:

Hosted by: Amy Lotsberg and Megan Simmons

Production, Artwork, and Editing: Amy Lotsberg at Collected Sounds Media, LLC. https://www.collectedsounds.com/

Theme song. “Ghost Story” and segment music by Melissa West

Background music: “Beyond the Stars” by Chris Collins

 

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Thank you for listening, take care of yourselves. We’ll see you next time!

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