Phoenix, AZ | The Orpheum Theatre has endured every challenge history put in its path, and so have the spirits of those who once filled its halls. From vaudeville spectacles and Hollywood premieres to decades of neglect and a $14.5 million restoration, the Orpheum has been the stage for both Phoenix’s triumphs and its growing pains. Today it dazzles with cutting-edge technology, but its most unforgettable performances may come from the ghosts who never left.

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📚 Our key sources for this episode are listed below. A complete list of sources can be found on our website.
https://www.orpheumphx.com/
https://www.fototphx.org
https://kjzz.org/content/1280136/haunted-phoenix-reawakening-sleeping-spirits-orpheum-theatre
https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/ghostly-guests-at-the-orpheum-theater
https://www.historictheatrephotos.com/Theatre/Orpheum-Phoenix.aspx
https://www.phoenixmag.com/2016/02/01/nice-guys-finish-last/
https://www.newspapers.com/article/arizona-daily-star-harry-nace-obit/11210210/
https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/haunted-places-in-arizona-orpheum-casey-moores-lost-dutchman-6554798?utm_source=perplexity
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix-history/2022/01/13/phoenix-history-colorful-career-joseph-elmer-rickards/9136371002/?itm_campaign=confirmation&itm_content=news&itm_medium=onsite&itm_source=onsite
12 News: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y39nKgxDCEA&t=104s
https://www.phgmag.com/the-orpheum-theatre-is-a-gilded-mirror-of-phoenix-history/
Arizona PBS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPOyF-M7BbQ
https://www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com/valleygirlblog/grand_openings/the-orpheum-theatre-phoenix-debuts-new-renovations/
https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2025/02/03/phoenix-orpheum-theatre-upgrades
https://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Phoenix-America-Debe-Branning-ebook/dp/B07W735YGJ
https://imagesarizona.com/the-orpheum-a-monument-to-phoenixs-memory-lane/

🎶Music Credits:
Alana Jordan from Pixabay: Dark Cabaret 07, Imaginary Friend, Dark Cabaret Instrumental, Mistakes Were Made

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👏 Special thanks to our talented partners:
Paolo Sbrighi for Musical Composition (instagram.com/paulosbrighi/)
Mario Cintra for Logo Design (instagram.com/alacarala/)

Fall River, MA | We stayed overnight in the Lizzie Borden House to see for ourselves if the many accounts of paranormal activity were real. We’ll just say it wasn’t exactly uneventful. In this haunted detour from Phoenix, we dive into the ghost stories surrounding the infamous ax murders and uncover a relatively unknown tragedy in the Borden family that happened right next door, and is likely fueling the paranormal activity at the Borden house. Lipton soup, phantom bells, and child spirits in the attics. No shortage of stories to tell here.

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📚 Our key sources for this episode are listed below. A complete list of sources can be found on our website.
-https://usghostadventures.com/
-Medeiros, D. (2023, October 23). Poisoned Jell‑O, a killer mom, and a career‑criminal murderer: 3 shocking true crime tales. The Herald News.
-The Warps and Wefts of Lizzie Borden. (n.d.-a). The four wives of Lawdwick Borden. Retrieved July 28, 2025, from https://lizziebordenwarpsandwefts.com/the-four-wives-of-lawdwick-borden/
-The Warps and Wefts of Lizzie Borden. (2023, September 28). Murder in the cistern: The girl who lived. Retrieved July 28, 2025, from https://lizziebordenwarpsandwefts.com/2023/09/28/murder-in-the-cistern-the-girl-who-lievd/
-The Warps and Wefts of Lizzie Borden. (2024, February 12). A visit to the scene of another Borden tragedy. Retrieved July 28, 2025, from https://lizziebordenwarpsandwefts.com/2024/02/12/a-visit-to-the-scene-of-another-borden-tragedy/

Music Credits:
Beethoven Sonatas provided by https://www.classicals.de/beethoven.
Inspiring Cinematic Ambient Music by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay

Have ideas or suggestion? We would love to hear from you! Send us a text via this link.

👏 Special thanks to our talented partners:
Paolo Sbrighi for Musical Composition (instagram.com/paulosbrighi/)
Mario Cintra for Logo Design (instagram.com/alacarala/)

Phoenix, AZ | We dive into conflicting confessions, courtroom chaos, and the question that won’t die: Did Winnie Ruth Judd act alone? Or was “Happy Jack” Halloran neck-deep in the horror?

From drainpipe letters to marionette films, this story only gets weirder.

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📚 In a world where anyone can publish anything and skip giving credit to their sources, we do right by the many historians, journalists, and experts who made this episode possible by citing their work. Our key sources for this episode are listed below. A complete list of sources can be found on our website.

Bommersbach, J. (2003). The trunk murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd (1st trade ed.). Poisoned Pen Press. (Original work published 1992)

L.A. Not So Confidential. (2023, February 8). 127. Vintage case: The Trunk Murders & Winnie Ruth Judd [Audio podcast episode]. In L.A. Not So Confidential: The Premier Forensic Psychology Podcast. Apple Podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l-a-not-so-confidential-the-premier/id1293032240?i=1000598648335

Pela, R. L. (2014, September 24). Ruthless: A long-lost confession letter may finally tell the real story of Winnie Ruth Judd. Phoenix New Times. https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/ruthless-a-long-lost-confession-letter-may-finally-tell-the-real-story-of-winnie-ruth-judd-6657689

Worel, J. V., & Worel, S. L. (2015). Sammy and Sunny: The story of Hedvig Samuelson, murdered by Winnie Ruth Judd, and the story of Sunny Worel’s search for Sammy. [Self-published].

Have ideas or suggestion? We would love to hear from you! Send us a text via this link.

👏 Special thanks to our talented partners:
Paolo Sbrighi for Musical Composition (instagram.com/paulosbrighi/)
Mario Cintra for Logo Design (instagram.com/alacarala/)

Phoenix, AZ | Three bold, trailblazing women share a quiet Phoenix duplex, until one boards a train to Los Angeles with the other two dead and hidden in her luggage. In 1931, Phoenix was a little-known desert town of 50,000, but this brutal, baffling case put it on the map and continues to raise questions nearly a century later.

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🌎 Website: www.darkcitypodcast.com
✉️ Email: info@darkcitypodcast.com

📚 In a world where anyone can publish anything and skip giving credit to their sources, we do right by the many historians, journalists, and experts who made this episode possible by citing their work. Our key sources for this episode are listed below. A complete list of sources can be found on our website.

- Bommersbach, J. (2003). The trunk murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd (1st trade ed.). Poisoned Pen Press. (Original work published 1992)
- Worel, J. V., & Worel, S. L. (2015). Sammy and Sunny: The story of Hedvig Samuelson, murdered by Winnie Ruth Judd, and the story of Sunny Worel’s search for Sammy. [Self-published].
- Pela, R. L. (2014, September 24). Ruthless: A long-lost confession letter may finally tell the real story of Winnie Ruth Judd. Phoenix New Times. https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/ruthless-a-long-lost-confession-letter-may-finally-tell-the-real-story-of-winnie-ruth-judd-6657689

Have ideas or suggestion? We would love to hear from you! Send us a text via this link.

👏 Special thanks to our talented partners:
Paolo Sbrighi for Musical Composition (instagram.com/paulosbrighi/)
Mario Cintra for Logo Design (instagram.com/alacarala/)

Carver, AZ | It wasn’t on the map. Then it was. This desert mystery begins in 1983 with a park ranger’s call that was quietly buried. The story only gets weirder from there.

Audio Attribution:
Mysterious flute.mp3 by Almusic34 is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License
Record scratch sound by kwahmah_02, via Freesound.org.
The Witch and the Snitch by Dor Ben Lulu, Amitai Mann

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Have ideas or suggestion? We would love to hear from you! Send us a text via this link.

👏 Special thanks to our talented partners:
Paolo Sbrighi for Musical Composition (instagram.com/paulosbrighi/)
Mario Cintra for Logo Design (instagram.com/alacarala/)

Before we hit the heat of Phoenix….

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Background Music: The Witch and the Snitch by Dor Ben Lulu, Amitai Mann

Have ideas or suggestion? We would love to hear from you! Send us a text via this link.

👏 Special thanks to our talented partners:
Paolo Sbrighi for Musical Composition (instagram.com/paulosbrighi/)
Mario Cintra for Logo Design (instagram.com/alacarala/)

Alhambra, CA | Famed music producer Phil Spector‘s enraged reaction stunned police when they showed up to his castle to find actress Lana Clarkson dead in his foyer. But even more shocking was the story Phil Spector and his defense team told at his murder trial, especially when compared to the forensic evidence.

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🌎 Website: www.darkcitypodcast.com
✉️ Email: info@darkcitypodcast.com

📚 In a world where anyone can publish anything and skip giving credit to their sources, we do right by the many historians, journalists, and experts who made this episode possible by citing their work. Our key sources for this episode are listed below. A complete list can be found on our website.

-Barber, M. (1985, July 11). As Sleeping Beauty was in the fairy tale, Alhambra Castle is being awakened by love. Los Angeles Times.
-Grimes, W. (2021, January 22). Phil Spector, famed music producer and convicted murderer, dies at 81. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/17/arts/music/phil-spector-dead.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
-Gupta, P. (2013, March 15). Friends of Lana Clarkson protest HBO film "Phil Spector". Salon. https://www.salon.com/2013/03/15/friends_of_lana_clarkson_protest_hbo_film_phil_spector/
-Los Angeles Times. (1939, December 3). Fables of Alhambra mystery castle explode.
-Meares, H. (2013, October 4). Phil Spector's Pyrenees Castle: The fairytale castle that became home to a nightmare. PBS SoCal. https://www.pbssocal.org/history-society/phil-spectors-pyrenees-castle-the-fairytale-castle-that-became-home-to-a-nightmare
-Sippell, M. (2024, December 9). 7 chilling details from Phil Spector’s murder of Lana Clarkson. MovieMaker. https://www.moviemaker.com/phil-spector-murder-lana-clarkson-details/
-Sonksen, M. (2013, December 6). On location: Alhambra. PBS SoCal.
-Wrensmoor. (n.d.). https://www.wrensmoor.com

Have ideas or suggestion? We would love to hear from you! Send us a text via this link.

👏 Special thanks to our talented partners:
Paolo Sbrighi for Musical Composition (instagram.com/paulosbrighi/)
Mario Cintra for Logo Design (instagram.com/alacarala/)

Alhambra, CA | What’s the story behind Alhambra’s castle on the hill? Wrensmoor Castle stands like a stately gift from the past, modeled after the grand châteaus of the Pyrenees, the homeland of its original builder, Sylvester Dupuy. Behind its stately facade is a layered history shaped by opulence, challenges, and moments of dark intrigue. From hidden passages to a séance room, the castle has seen it all—including the downfall of legendary music producer Phil Spector, who once called it home.

This episode’s topic was chosen by the highest bidder at a recent fundraiser hosted by the Asian Real Estate Association of America Greater Los Angeles (@areaagla on Instagram). We were thrilled to auction off a custom episode to support relief efforts following the January Los Angeles fires. Thank you to our winning bidder @thelenderlife on Instagram, based in Arcadia and specializing in helping clients find the right mortgage for their unique situations.

Follow us for episode photos and more at:
📷 Instagram: instagram.com/darkcity.podcast
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🎥 TikTok: tiktok.com/@darkcitypod
🌎 Website: www.darkcitypodcast.com
✉️ Email: info@darkcitypodcast.com

📚 In a world where anyone can publish anything and skip giving credit to their sources, we do right by the many historians, journalists, and experts who made this episode possible by citing their work. Our key sources for this episode are listed below. A complete list can be found on our website.

-Barber, M. (1985, July 11). As Sleeping Beauty was in the fairy tale, Alhambra Castle is being awakened by love. Los Angeles Times.
-Grimes, W. (2021, January 22). Phil Spector, famed music producer and convicted murderer, dies at 81. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/17/arts/music/phil-spector-dead.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
-Gupta, P. (2013, March 15). Friends of Lana Clarkson protest HBO film "Phil Spector". Salon. https://www.salon.com/2013/03/15/friends_of_lana_clarkson_protest_hbo_film_phil_spector/
-Los Angeles Times. (1939, December 3). Fables of Alhambra mystery castle explode.
-Meares, H. (2013, October 4). Phil Spector's Pyrenees Castle: The fairytale castle that became home to a nightmare. PBS SoCal. https://www.pbssocal.org/history-society/phil-spectors-pyrenees-castle-the-fairytale-castle-that-became-home-to-a-nightmare
-Sippell, M. (2024, December 9). 7 chilling details from Phil Spector’s murder of Lana Clarkson. MovieMaker. https://www.moviemaker.com/phil-spector-murder-lana-clarkson-details/
-Sonksen, M. (2013, December 6). On location: Alhambra. PBS SoCal.
-Wrensmoor. (n.d.). https://www.wrensmoor.com

Have ideas or suggestion? We would love to hear from you! Send us a text via this link.

👏 Special thanks to our talented partners:
Paolo Sbrighi for Musical Composition (instagram.com/paulosbrighi/)
Mario Cintra for Logo Design (instagram.com/alacarala/)