In part two, we follow Ronald Cotton from his decision to talk to police through two trials, decades in prison, and his ultimate DNA exoneration after another man, Bobby Poole, was identified as the true perpetrator. We unpack how racial bias, prior records, blocked expert testimony, and juries’ overreliance on confident eyewitnesses fueled Cotton’s wrongful convictions, and how his and Jennifer Thompson’s advocacy, alongside over 600 DNA exonerations nationwide, has driven reforms in interrogation, lineup procedures, and the use of eyewitness evidence.

Edited by Maxwell Holechek

In part one of this two-parter topic, we tell the story of Jennifer Thompson, a 22‑year‑old college student whose courageous attempt to memorize her rapist’s face led to the wrongful conviction of Ronald Cotton. We focus closely on the crime itself and Jennifer’s immediate aftermath experience, from her escape to the hospital exam and early police interviews, to show how trauma and flawed identification procedures shaped her memory and, ultimately, the case.

Edited by Maxwell Holechek

TW: Discussions of sexual assault. 

A rushed arrest, a collapsing case, and a sensational trial that put everyone on display.

Part Two picks up immediately after the arrest of Clifford Hayes, the first man charged in the Hall Mills murders. We break down how police built a case on a coerced confession, why it quickly fell apart, and how Hayes was cleared while Raymond Schneider was convicted of perjury instead. From there, the investigation lurches forward through botched evidence, unreliable witnesses, and a courtroom spectacle that culminates in the infamous 1926 trial of Frances Hall and her family. We unpack the prosecution’s theories, the defense’s brutal dismantling of key testimony, and how the trial ultimately left the case exactly where it started, unresolved, controversial, and haunted by what might have been done differently.

Edited by Maxwell Holechek

A secret relationship. Two bodies under a crabapple tree. A century-old case that begins with a compromised crime scene.

In Part One, we examine the 1922 Hall Mills murders in New Brunswick, New Jersey. A minister and a choir singer are found dead in a known lover’s lane, arranged side by side with their love letters scattered around them. Before authorities can secure the area, reporters and onlookers flood the scene, disturbing crucial evidence and muddying the investigation from the very beginning. We walk through who the victims were, the origins of their relationship, the tensions in their marriages, and the early timeline that shaped the first wave of suspicion. It is one of the most enduring unsolved cases of its era, and this episode sets the stage for everything that followed.

Edited by Max Holechek

This episode dives into the lonely Rosicrucian childhood of Manly P. Hall, his meteoric rise in 1920s occult Los Angeles, and the creation of his magnum opus, The Secret Teachings of All Ages, which cemented him as one of the most influential esoteric philosophers of the twentieth century. Along the way, we'll talk about his years at the Philosophical Research Society, his legendary residence in Frank Lloyd Wright’s eerily iconic and possibly haunted Ennis House, and the still‑unsolved, sinister circumstances surrounding his 1990 death and contested will.

Edited by Max Holechek

Tucked into rural Thurston County, Bucoda is not just another small Northwest town. It carries a chilling legacy and transforms every October into Boo Coda, Washington’s self-proclaimed haunted hotspot.

In this episode, we uncover the ghost-laced story of Bucoda. From its original name, Seatco, meaning “evil spirit” or “devil” in a native language, to the dark remains of Washington’s first territorial prison, the town carries whispers of tortured inmates, tragic accidents, and restless souls. We explore the haunted gym that hosts the annual Scary Nights Haunted House, the legends of ghostly figures along the train tracks, and how the living residents embrace Bucoda’s eerie reputation as both a point of pride and a source of fear.

Edited by Maxwell Holechek

Sink your teeth into our second tale of one of New Orleans’ darkest vampire legends: the Carter Brothers. Dockworkers by day, blood-drinkers by night, these two anomalies still haunt the streets of the French Quarter, with their 1932 case of vampiric crime, courtroom drama, and mysterious vanishings that blurred the line between fact and folklore. From vanished bodies to mental health myths and Anne Rice parallels, this one’s part history, part hysteria, and all haunt. Perfect part deaux for this spooky season!

Edited by Maxwell Holechek

This spooky season, we dive into two of New Orleans’ most enduring vampire legends: Count St. Germain, the mysterious European aristocrat who fascinated Enlightenment courts and allegedly discovered the secret to eternal youth, and Jacques St. Germain, his 20th-century doppelgänger who hosted lavish parties and may have left more than wine stains behind.

We’ll unravel the historical breadcrumbs, sift through the lore, and ask the age-old question: are these men merely the products of high-society gossip and gothic imagination… or is immortality hiding in plain sight on Royal Street?

Stay tuned for part 2, where we continue our descent into New Orleans’ shadowy past, more legends, more mystery, and maybe even a few more vampires if you're lucky.

Edited by Max Holechek

High in the Colorado Rockies stands a hotel that has welcomed presidents, movie stars, and curious travelers, but it is the ghosts that made it famous.

In this episode, we uncover the story of the Stanley Hotel, an opulent mountain retreat built in the early 1900s that became as legendary for its hauntings as its grandeur. From its origins as F.O. Stanley’s vision of luxury and health to chilling reports of spectral children, phantom piano music, and rooms so active they inspired Stephen King’s The Shining, we explore the history and the paranormal legacy of one of America’s most iconic haunted hotels.

Edited by Max Holechek

Richard Trenton Chase, also known as the “Vampire of Sacramento,” terrorized California in the late 1970s with a spree of murders involving cannibalism and delusional blood rituals. Join us as we unpack his chilling journey from a nightmarish childhood and untreated psychosis to the city-wide panic that erupted after his gruesome crimes, as we also explore how systemic psychiatric failures and missed warning signs led to the tragic descent into violence that would haunt criminal psychology forever.

TW: child abuse, murder, cannibalism.

Edited by Maxwell Holechek