This week, Hadley shares the tale of the Villisca Axe Murder House in Villisca, Iowa, and unpacks the true crime event that turned the domestic symbol of the American dream into a nightmare. A quaint farmhouse built in 1868, the home is forever marked by tragedy after a family of six and their two young house guests were murdered on a June night in 1912. After reviewing the details of the unsolved case, the co-hosts discuss the current state of the home and the reports of strange occurrences from visitors and current owners. Spooked by the familiarity of this story’s setting, Alyssa and Hadley bring on production designer Jerry Wanek, who brought the sets to life on The CW’s Supernatural, to learn more about how once-friendly houses like the Villisca Axe Murder House have influenced television shows and films (41:27). Wanek shares anecdotes from the Supernatural set, including the inspiration behind the show’s quirky motel rooms (51:53) and where his team sourced the best vintage props (55:11), as well as a spooky encounter he had while staying in a Los Angeles apartment previously inhabited by Elvis (59:48). 

TW: Sexual assault

CONTRIBUTORS

Host/Producer: Alyssa Fiorentino

Host/Producer: Hadley Mendelsohn

Producer: May Tsehay

Sound Engineer: Josh Caldwell

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In the premiere of House Beautiful’s new limited series Dark House, co-hosts (and editors) Alyssa Fiorentino and Hadley Mendelsohn introduce listeners to the show, and to themselves, sharing the personal ghost stories from their childhood homes that still keep them up at night. Hung up on questions about how and why certain homes become haunted, the co-hosts chat with their first guest, Tok Thompson, Ph.D., folklorist, and professor of anthropology at the University of Southern California (29:41). With years of experience studying ghosts and their origin stories from around the world, Professor Thompson joins Alyssa and Hadley to discuss the root of human fascination with haunted houses and the paranormal, and the important role ghost stories play in our culture. Ultimately, they arrive at another question that will linger throughout the series: What are ghosts trying to tell us? Listen to find out.

CONTRIBUTORS

Host/Producer: Alyssa Fiorentino

Host/Producer: Hadley Mendelsohn

Producer: May Tsehay

Sound Engineer: Josh Caldwell

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At the crossroads of true crime, interior design, and the paranormal, Dark House explores beautiful homes that can’t seem to escape their dark histories. Hosts and House Beautiful editors Hadley Mendelsohn and Alyssa Fiorentino dig into the twisted backstories of four infamous homes, and uncover the strange stories suggesting some inhabitants never left—and that perhaps history isn't the only thing haunting them. Featuring guest interviews with authors, set designers, psychic mediums, and paranormal investigators, Dark House uncovers why these residences, and the stories they tell us, are so important.

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