This week on Same Crime, Different Time, we’re doing something a little special. We’re stepping back into the pages of my own book, Murder & Mayhem in the Willamette Valley, to revisit one of the most chilling figures in Oregon’s early criminal history: Norman “Snake” Brooks.

Brooks earned his nickname not for stealth, but for the venom he left in his wake.

In the chapter we read today, we explore the crimes that rattled the Willamette Valley, and the complicated legacy Snake left behind. Whether you’ve read the book or this is your first introduction, Brooks’s story is a haunting reminder that the past isn’t as quiet as we like to think.

You can listen to the full episode and hear the chapter in my own voice, right here. Thank you, as always, for supporting Oregon history and the stories that shaped it… even the ones that make us shiver.

In the summer of 2000, 15-year-old Leah Freeman vanished from Coquille, Oregon. Her body was found weeks later. What followed was a decade-long investigation, a controversial conviction, and finally a historic exoneration—but the real killer remains unknown.

On this episode of Same Crime, Different Time, we unpack the cold case that shocked a small town, the forensic oversights, and the human cost of injustice.

Listen now and join the conversation about truth and the fight for justice.

Rain, a quiet street, a glass of wine left half full.On March 6, 2009, Nancy Kareen Moyer vanished from her Tenino, Washington home. For 16 years, the question has lingered: what happened to Nancy?

In this week’s episode of Same Crime, Different Time, I walk through the case, the evidence, and the heartbreak of a mystery that refuses to rest.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.#TrueCrime #ColdCase #NancyMoyer #PacificNorthwestMystery #SameCrimeDifferentTime

Ever wondered what it’s like to stand in a place where the laws of physics seem to bend? The Oregon Vortex, nestled in Gold Hill, Oregon, offers just that experience. From brooms standing on end to the eerie sensation of shrinking or growing, this roadside attraction has baffled visitors since 1930.

But is it magic, science, or just a clever illusion? Join us as we delve into the history, science, and legends of the Oregon Vortex.

Sources & Citations

“Oregon Vortex (House of Mystery).” The Oregon Encyclopedia. Oregon Encyclopedia+1“Inside The Baffling Phenomena Surrounding The Oregon Vortex And House Of Mystery.” Kathryn Olvera, All That’s Interesting, August 8 2022. All That’s Interesting“The Oregon Vortex Phenomenon: What’s Really Going On?” IFLScience, December 21 2023. Science Times“The Oregon Vortex and House of Mystery — Roadside America.” Roadside America“Scientific Info — The Oregon Vortex and location of the House of Mystery.” The Oregon Vortex official site. Oregon Vortex“History | Gold Hill Oregon.” City of Gold Hill Community history page. cityofgoldhill.gov“The Origins of the Oregon Vortex.” PortlandGhosts.com.Portland Ghosts

There are places where the walls remember. At the Oregon State Hospital in Salem, history lingers, in the scent of disinfectant, the echo of closing doors, the quiet weight of all that was once forgotten.

Built in 1883, this was Oregon’s first asylum. It was a monument to both care and confinement. Here, generations lived and died under the label of “insane.” Many were buried without names, and thousands more left behind no trace at all. That was, until the 2004 discovery of a locked room filled with over 3,500 copper urns.

This week on Same Crime, Different Time, we explore:

* The hospital’s dark legacy and the lives it contained

* The “Room of Cremains” and the scandal it unearthed

* Ken Kesey’s time as a night orderly, and how One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest grew from the hospital’s haunted halls

* The enduring reports of footsteps, shadows, and whispers that refuse to fade

This isn’t just a ghost story — it’s an echo of the way we once treated the vulnerable, and a reminder that some spirits don’t rest until they’re seen.

Sources:

“The Oregon State Hospital, 1883–2008” (American Journal of Psychiatry) Psychiatry Online“Oregon State Hospital: Beyond One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (OregonDiscovery) Oregon Discovery“The Flight Home: The Museum of Mental Health Memorial” (Oregon Historical Society blog) Oregon Historical Society+1“Haunted Salem – Willamette Heritage Center” Willamette Heritage Center“Haunted Story of Oregon State Hospital — Salem” (Medium) Medium“TIL that there’s a room in the basement of Oregon State Hospital …” (Reddit thread) Reddit“Oregon Film Tour: ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’” (Travel Oregon) Travel OregonWikipedia: “Oregon State Hospital”Wikipedia+1

This is the bonus paid subscribers’ episode for this week. Thank you for being a paid subscriber and keeping me in coffee this month!

On a windswept cliff above the Pacific, Heceta Head Lighthouse still casts its light 21 miles out to sea. But for more than a century, locals have whispered that it’s more than a beacon—it’s a haunting.

Meet “Rue,” the Gray Lady. She’s said to drift through the keeper’s house, tidying rooms, moving objects, and startling overnight guests at the historic B&B. Workers renovating the house in the 1970s refused to stay after dark, claiming they saw a woman in gray glide down the hallway—or felt a cold hand on their shoulder when they worked alone.

Who was Rue? Some say she was a lighthouse keeper’s wife who lost her child and never left. Others point to the unmarked grave on the property, believed to be that of a child buried near the cliffs. Whether born of tragedy or legend, Rue’s story has become part of Heceta Head’s identity—woven into Oregon’s fog, its folklore, and its fascination with the restless past.

This week on Same Crime, Different Time, I dive into the history, eyewitness accounts, and eerie beauty of this iconic site—and explore why some places refuse to let their stories rest.

Listen to “Haunted by History: The Ghosts of Heceta Head Lighthouse” wherever you get your podcasts.Download the full companion guide here: LINKNew episodes every Friday—because the past always leaves footprints.

Note: I had planned an episode on the infamous killers Jeanace Freeman/Gertrude Jackson. I wrote the episode, recorded it, and realized it was just not what I wanted to amplify. I think deeply about the things I share, and the horror of that one got to me. In replacement, a seasonal ghostly episode for you instead.

In Portland’s Oaks Amusement Park, the laughter never really stops—even after closing time.

Since 1905, this riverside park has survived fires, floods, and a century of Oregon weather. It’s seen thousands of skaters glide across its century-old rink, and more than a few claim they weren’t alone. Visitors tell of various ghosts, the sound of unseen children playing on the midway, and rides that start on their own.

In this week’s episode of Same Crime, Different Time, we dig into the park’s history, its survival through the 1948 flood, and the legends that refuse to fade. We’ll also explore another couple of Oregon’s amusement parks, and why parks make perfect haunted landscapes. They’re where joy and terror share the same track.

Listen to Haunted Midways now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you haunt your favorite shows. Download your own Haunted Midways: Write Your Ghost-y Amusement Park Story here, as a free bonus!

In August 1985, the tiny town of Mineral, Washington, nestled in the shadow of Mount Rainier, was jolted awake by a murder that has never been solved.

First one member of the household was found dead. It would take months to find the other half of the couple, who were slain with no obvious motive. Just horror, silence, and a community left in fear.

The police searched. No clues bore fruit. Then another couple disappeared while camping. Their daughter was found, days later, forty miles away. Then another case was posssibly linked to the disappearances.

Forty years later, the Mineral murders remain one of Washington State’s darkest mysteries.

In this week’s episode of Same Crime, Different Time, I dive into what happened that winter night, explore the theories investigators considered, and why this case still haunts the foothills of the Cascades.

Whether it was a stranger passing through, some weird coincidences, or a seral killer, these people’s loved ones deserve answers. If you have any information about any of these cases, please contact the Lewis Clounty Washington’s Cold Case task force or email me so I can pass it on.

A special bonus episode for subscribers! In February of 1946, a gruesome discovery broke the silence of the Willamette River near Oak Grove, Oregon.A fisherman found what he first thought was a bundle of clothes — until he realized it was a woman’s dismembered body, wrapped and weighted down.

For decades, she has been known only as the Oak Grove Jane Doe. Her killer never found.

This week on Same Crime, Different Time, we reopen her case.We’ll trace the headlines that once gripped the region, the whispers that rippled through Clackamas County, and the forensic breakthroughs that might finally bring her home.

It’s a story about violence, silence, and the ghosts that refuse to stay buried.

Listen to The Oak Grove Jane Doe Case above, as a subscribers only episode for this week, or next week on your favorite podcast app.

Sources:

* Wikipedia — Oak Grove Jane Doe. Comprehensive summary of discoveries in 1946, later re-openings, and the 2025 exhumation. Wikipedia

* CBS News — “Woman’s remains exhumed in Oregon’s oldest unidentified ...” (Sept 24, 2025) — reporting on exhumation and forensic goals. CBS News

* Chronline / The Chronicle — “Oregon authorities exhumed remains in one of Portland area’s oldest unsolved murders” (Sept 23, 2025) — regional report on the exhumation. Chronicle

* ABC News — “Oregon police recover partial remains of dismembered woman in 80-year-old cold case” (Sept 24, 2025) — national coverage of evidence recovery and case history. ABC News

* The Guardian — “Cold case found? Body unearthed is Oregon’s oldest unidentified person case” (Sept 23, 2025) — international coverage, includes quotes from OSP and context. The Guardian

* KPTV — “Body of ‘Oak Grove Jane Doe’ exhumed; Oregon’s oldest unidentified person case” (Sept 22, 2025) — local TV coverage. https://www.kptv.com

* Newspapers.com — Capital Journal / Albany Democrat-Herald clippings (April–Oct 1946) — contemporaneous reporting on torso, limbs, and head discoveries. (Example: Capital Journal clipping on head discovery). Newspapers

* Lake Oswego Review — “Unidentified remains from 1946 homicide case found at Oregon City cemetery” (Sept 23, 2025) — local reporting and exhumation details. Lake Oswego Review

* Crime Immemorial / various true-crime writeups — historical retellings and aggregation of 1946 timeline. Crime Immemorial#SameCrimeDifferentTime #OregonHistory #ColdCaseFiles #TrueCrimePodcast #OakGroveJaneDoe #HauntedHistory #WomenInHistory #ForensicAnthropology

Oregon and Washington are among the top 10 most dangerous states in the U.S. That’s the headline. But the story behind it is even darker.

In this week’s Same Crime, Different Time, we look beyond the numbers to ask:

* Why did the Pacific Northwest see such a high concentration of serial killers in the ’70s and ’80s?

* Did pollution from smelters poison a generation, as Caroline Fraser argues in Murderland?

* How did California’s highways and hitchhiking culture create opportunities for predators like the Zodiac, the Golden State Killer, and the Hillside Stranglers?

* And what toxins—social, cultural, or chemical—are we still breathing in today?

🎧 Listen to the full episode above

#TrueCrime #PacificNorthwest #CaliforniaCrime #Podcast #Murderland

Sources

* “Pacific Northwest States Oregon and Washington Among Top 10 Most Dangerous in U.S.” — 610 KONA News, Aug. 2025.

* Caroline Fraser, Murderland: The Toxic Legacy of the Pacific Northwest’s Serial Killer Era (2025).

* Washington Post, “Review: Murderland by Caroline Fraser,” June 2025.

* Seattle Times, “Women Missing Along the Green River—Police Puzzled,” Aug. 1982.

* Oregon Journal, “Police Say Runaways Likely To Return Home Soon,” 1974.

* San Francisco Chronicle, multiple issues, 1969–1971 (coverage of Zodiac killings).

* Los Angeles Times, coverage of the Hillside Stranglers and William Bonin, 1970s–80s.

* Serial Killer Statistics by State, SerialKillersInfo.com.

* Case files and FBI archives on Gary Ridgway, Jerry Brudos, and Randall Woodfield.