When newlyweds Tony and Deb Pickman moved into their new home in Atchison, Kansas in March 1993, they were excited to have found what they believed was the perfect home for their new family. But that summer, when Deb gave birth to their son, Taylor, things in the Pickman’s new house went from perfect to terrifying in a matter of months.

Considered one of the most haunted houses in America, the Pickman’s experienced everything from disembodied voices and moving objects to spontaneous fires and violent physical attacks before finally deciding to abandon the house altogether, rather than risk their lives any further. In the years since, “Sallie’s House,” as it’s become known due to its ghostly inhabitant, has become a major destination for ghost hunters and thrill-seekers alike.

Want to see the Sam & Colby Video we talked about in the episode? CLICK HERE!

Amodio, Joe. 2006. A Haunting - "Sallie's House". Directed by Bertrand Morin and Jeffrey Fine. Produced by New Dominion.

Business Insider. 2020. "7 haunted houses that were once worth over $1 million." Business Insider, October 14.

Pickman, Debra Lyn. 2010. The Sallie House Haunting: A True Story. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications.

Tanner, Beccy. 2001. "Atchison's haunted history." Wichita Eagle, October 26: 25.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Weirdos! We're bring OG MORBID back! THIS week we're reviving something that many of you have been missing: the illusive MiniMORBID! But fear not! We're going to give you a DOUBLE DOSE of Mini as Ash & Alaina each talk about a different cryptid of the midwest! Get ready for an unhinged episode that had us laughing HYSTERICALLY! And don't forget the hit the comments to let us know what you think of our pitch for November's Bonus Episode!

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Throughout the twentieth century, few names loomed as large in the business and financial worlds as John Paul Getty. Once the richest man in the world, Getty made his fortune in the oil industry and an avid art collector, with a massive collection that served as a basis for the Getty Museum, the wealthiest museum in the world.

Getty’s wealth and business acumen made him a household name well beyond his death in 1976; however, that same wealth and notoriety made him a target for con artists and other criminals. Among those who sought to extort the Getty family, no attempt was more incredible and sensational than the kidnapping of Getty’s favorite grandchild, J. Paul Getty III, by an Italian crime syndicate in 1973.

At first, the scion of the Getty family refused to negotiate with kidnappers, arguing that, if he paid the money, they would only kidnap other members of this family. But Getty reconsidered his position just a few weeks later, when his grandson’s ear arrived in the mail, with the promise of other body parts, should he not comply with their demands.

Associated Press. 1973. "Getty kidnapers spurn offer of $430,000 ransom as 'paltry'." Buffalo Nerws (Buffalo, NY), August 3: 2.

—. 1973. "Getty's mother awaits word from kidnapers on ransom." Buffalo News (Buffalo, NY), July 18: 3.

—. 1973. "Grandson of Getty missing." Los Angeles Times, July 13: 9.

—. 1974. "Italy arrests 3, seeks 4th in Getty kidnapping ." New York Times, Janaury 17: 14.

Miller, Julie. 2017. "What All the Money in the World gets right (and wrong) about the Getty kidnapping." Vanity Fair, December 25.

New York Times. 1976. "2 Getty kidnappers sentenced in Italy." New York Times, January 30: 10.

—. 1973. "Roman police report a threat to sever a finger of Getty boy." New York Times, July 20: 2.

Norman, Judith. 2013. "His favorite wife: A memoir looks back on the life of the fifth and final Mrs. Getty." New York Times, September 1: 10.

Pearson, John. 1995. Painfully Rich: J. Paul Getty and His Heirs. London, UK: Macmillan.

Reuters. 1973. "Ransom is offered for Paul Getty, 17, his father reports." New York Times, November 18: 8.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElroy (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.