Ghosts on Wicked's Stage: The True Horror Behind the Iroquois Theatre Fire

On this premiere episode of Citegeist, we uncover the tragic history behind Chicago’s Iroquois Theater Fire and the ghosts said to linger in Death Alley. Spirits have been seen by many, including Ana Gasteyer as she was starring in Wicked as Elphaba in what is now the Nederlander Theatre.WATCH on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/@Joshua.Spellman0:00 Intro 1:46 Story Portion (Alleged History) 11:33 Gossip Sesh Begins 12:24 Reliaility of Newspapers 13:10 Digital Preservation Discussion 14:29 Construction of the Iroquois Theater 19:16 Research Tangent #1: Mary Lytle 20:10 "Takes Ride in Cab with Wife's Body" (Research Tangent #2) 24:49 What Went Wrong? Asbestos Curtain & Safety Issues 33:41 Rachael Gorman and the "Sister's of Charity" 38:50 The Search for "Emma Dixon" the Ghost 41:36 The Real Cost of the Fire 42:12 Inquest & Court Cases 47:04 Ana Gasteyer as Elphaba in Wicked 47:42 Outro https://citegeistpod.com/ Have a ghost story you want to share? Leave a voice note or send an en email at https://citegeistpod.com/contact Podcast Instagram: http://instagram.com/citegeistpod Personal Instagram: http://instagram.com/joshua.spellman Channel illustration by GiAnna Ligammari: https://virtualgia.com/ https://www.instagram.com/virtualgia.zip Royalty Free Music: "Behind the Veil" by 8er41Bibli-ahh-graphy and Works Cited“1903 Chicago Iroquois Theater Legal Proceedings Overview.” n.d. Accessed November 24, 2025. https://www.iroquoistheater.com/iroquois-theater-fire-legal-proceedings-overview.php.“1903 Newspapers Spiced Tragedy with Heroes and Villains.” n.d. Accessed November 10, 2025. https://www.iroquoistheater.com/bogus-1903-iroquois-theater-fire-news.php.“Anna ‘Annie’ Halverson Dixon (1860-1903) - Find a...” n.d. Accessed November 24, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/44159931/anna-dixon.“Anna Dixon and Her Daughters Lost Their Lives at the Iroquois Theater.” n.d. Accessed November 16, 2025. https://www.iroquoistheater.com/anna-dixon-and-daughters-iroquois-theater-victims.php.“Asbestos - Overview | Occupational Safety and Health Administration.” n.d. Accessed November 15, 2025. https://www.osha.gov/asbestos.“Chicago Newspaper Cartoonist John T. McCutcheon.” n.d. Accessed November 10, 2025. https://www.iroquoistheater.com/famous-john-mccutcheon-cartoon-about-iroquois-theater-disaster.php.“Chicago’s ‘Alley of Death’ - Atlas Obscura.” n.d. Accessed November 8, 2025. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/couch-place-the-alley-of-death.Clark, Charles R. n.d. Iroquois Theater Fire, Exterior View of the Facade. Photographic print. The Chicago History Museum, ICHi-36009.“DECISION IN IROQUOIS FIRE.; Court Holds Fuller Construction Company Was Not Absolved from Liability. - The New York Times.” n.d. Accessed November 24, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/1908/02/02/archives/decision-in-iroquois-fire-court-holds-fuller-construction-company.html.“Eddie Foy as Sister Anne in ‘Mr. Bluebeard.’ He Was Dressing for This Act with the Elephant When the Iroquois Fire Began.” 1903. 50c16040-457a-0131-2dd2-58d385a7bbd0. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/50c16040-457a-0131-2dd2-58d385a7bbd0?canvasIndex=0.Ericson, Henry Albert. 1903. “Panorama of Iriquois [i.e. Iroquois] Theater after the Fire, Dec. 31, 1903.” Photograph. December 31. LC-DIG-ppmsca-07431. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007662240/.“Frank Berg’s Family Died at the Iroquois Theater in 1903.” n.d. Accessed November 24, 2025. https://www.iroquoistheater.com/frank-berg-family-died-at-iroquois-theater.php.“Iroquois Theater Fire Changed Theaters and Fire Prevention.” n.d. Accessed November 10, 2025. https://www.iroquoistheater.com/iroquois-fire-impact-on-theaters-and-fire-prevention.php.“Iroquois Theater Lamp.” 1903. ICHi-073824. The Chicago History Museum. https://images.chicagohistory.org/asset/7265/.Iroquois Theatre. n.d. Accessed November 10, 2025. https://iroquoistheatrefire.org/.“John and Elizabeth Christian Lost Their Daughter Henrietta to the Iroquois Theater Fire.” n.d. Accessed November 24, 2025. http://www.iroquoistheater.com/18-year-old-henrietta-christian-died-at-iroquois-theater.php.“Leah F Dixon (1888-1903) - Find a Grave Memorial.” n.d. Accessed November 24, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/44159937/leah_f-dixon.Library, Massasoit. n.d. “Massasoit Libraries: Major American Fires: Iroquois Theater Fire- 1903.” Accessed November 10, 2025. https://library.massasoit.edu/americanfires/iroquois.Lillian Russell, 1861-1922, Bust Portrait, Facing Right, Wearing Plumed Hat. n.d. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ppmsca-72874.McCutcheon, John T. 1904. His Sunday Dinner. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:McCutcheonIroquoisSundayDin.jpg.Newspapers.Com. n.d. “Dec 31, 1903, Page 2 - St. Joseph News-Press at ...