Episodes

  • The Nesbitt Homestead Murders | Hood River, Oregon

    The Nesbitt Homestead Murders | Hood River, Oregon
    Mar 5 2026
    In the early 1900s, the Hood River Valley was still frontier country. Homesteads were scattered across rugged land, neighbors lived miles apart, and life revolved around routine and survival.

    When that routine suddenly stopped - others took notice.

    Louisa Nesbitt and her daughter Alma vanished from their rural homestead without warning. At first, neighbors assumed the women had simply left the valley. But as time passed with no word from either of them, suspicion began to grow.

    What followed would become one of Oregon’s most unusual early murder cases—one that tested the limits of the legal system and left a mystery that still lingers in the Pacific Northwest today.

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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Ghouls of Grays Harbor

    Ghouls of Grays Harbor
    Feb 26 2026
    Pack your raincoat and your flannel, we’re heading to Grays Harbor in Washington, the salty gateway to the Pacific and the misty doorstep of the Olympic Peninsula. The most notable town on Grays Harbor is Aberdeen, hometown of Kurt Cobain. The town leans into its legacy with a welcome sign that reads “Come As You Are,” a nod to the iconic Nirvana anthem. Nearby, a humble highway sign became rock folklore and was eventually relocated due to its popularity with fans.

    But Grays Harbor is more than grunge nostalgia. The stately Polson Museum, a 1924 riverfront mansion built by the Polson Logging Company family, houses antiques and logging relics that some visitors swear carry more than just dust. The museum gift shop shelves true crime tales like Deep in the Woods about the 1935 kidnapping of George Weyerhaeuser, and The Port of Missing Men, which recounts the chilling legend of sailor turned union man Billy Gohl.

    Dubbed the “Ghoul of Grays Harbor,” Billy Gohl was accused of murdering dozens of sailors in the early 1900s, allegedly stealing their valuables and dumping their bodies into the harbor. Convicted of only two murders, he died in prison, but debate still churns like gray water. Was he a serial killer responsible for up to 100 deaths, or a convenient scapegoat for powerful men threatened by his labor activism? His legend lingers at his namesake — Billy’s Bar & Grill.

    The harbor’s ghostly roll call does not end on land. The Lady Washington, a 1989 replica of the first American vessel to make landfall in the Pacific Northwest in 1788 under Captain Robert Gray, sails as a floating tribute to maritime history. Many believe old sea spirits are drawn out wherever the ship sails into port!

    Visit our website! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Patreon, & more! There are so many ways that you can support the show: BuyMeACoffee, Spreaker, or by leaving a rating & review on Apple Podcasts. Sources
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    46 mins
  • Mel's Hole of Mysteries

    Mel's Hole of Mysteries
    Feb 19 2026
    This episode originally aired in three parts - now conveniently edited down to one for your listening pleasure!

    Today we’re going to talk about a very mysterious hole, known as Mel’s Hole. Who is Mel, and what is so special about his hole? On Feb 21st 1997, a self described Willie Nelson Doppelgänger named Mel Waters, contacted radio talk show “Coast to Coast with Art Bell.” Five phone interviews over the course of 5 years detailed a bewildering tale with many peaks and pits!

    Extended versions: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

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    1 hr and 34 mins
  • Friday the 13th: Paraskevidekatriaphobia & A History of Bad Luck

    Friday the 13th: Paraskevidekatriaphobia & A History of Bad Luck
    Feb 12 2026
    In this episode we examine the history behind one of the world’s most persistent superstitions. Friday the 13th has long been associated with fear and bad luck—but where did that reputation come from, and why does it keep resurfacing across the centuries?

    Join us as we delve into the fear of Friday the 13th – known as paraskevidekatriaphobia – tracing the date’s uneasy legacy from medieval power plays to modern financial panic and how it became embedded in culture. Along the way, we explore how superstition, greed, and human behavior have repeatedly collided on the same allegedly cursed calendar date.

    Then, we shift from history to storytelling with a narrated account from one of the scariest corners of Reddit, r/nosleep, shared with permission from its author, RoséBlack2222. Sometimes Friday the 13th horror doesn’t arrive with curses or disasters — sometimes it starts with something much smaller, and spirals from there.

    If you enjoyed the story please check out and support RoséBlack2222 on Patreon & Substack!

    Visit our website! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Patreon, & more! There are so many ways that you can support the show: BuyMeACoffee, Spreaker, or by leaving a rating & review on Apple Podcasts.
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    50 mins
  • What Lies Beneath the Oregon Zoo

    What Lies Beneath the Oregon Zoo
    Feb 5 2026
    The Oregon Zoo might seem like an unlikely setting for true crime and paranormal history, but beneath its family friendly surface lies a past with some unsettling chapters. In 2013, construction crews working on a new elephant habitat unearthed human remains. These undocumented burials trace back to Hillside Farm — a poor farm and sanatorium for the mentally ill and those with infectious diseases. The identities of those found remain unknown, their presence lingering as a quiet reminder of Portland’s forgotten dead.

    The episode also explores two modern tragedies that unfolded at the zoo. In 1970, a late night break-in led to the death of 19-year-old Roger Adams after he fell into a lion enclosure, followed by the controversial shooting of the lions involved. Decades later, in 2019, concertgoer Carl Stanley Ross Sr. was found dead in an uninhabited rhino exhibit days after being reported missing. Though investigators found no evidence of foul play, a lawsuit and court ruling concluded that negligence on both sides contributed to his death. Together, these stories reveal the Oregon Zoo as a place where history, tragedy, and unanswered questions quietly coexist, long after the crowds have gone home.

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    58 mins
  • The Columbia Edgewater Country Club Car Bombing

    The Columbia Edgewater Country Club Car Bombing
    Jan 29 2026
    On April 21st 1955, a deadly act of violence shattered the quiet grounds of Portland’s Columbia Edgewater Country Club on Marine Drive. After an evening at the club attending a stag party, attorney and WWII veteran Oliver Kermit Smith returned to his car and started the engine. A bomb hidden beneath the driver’s seat detonated, killing him instantly.

    Investigators quickly determined the explosion was deliberate. The device had been wired directly into the ignition system, ensuring detonation the moment the car was started. With no evidence of business disputes or outside enemies, attention soon turned to Smith’s personal life — including a recent remarriage and an affair involving Victor Laurence Wolf, a local electrician living in the boarding house owned by Smith’s wife.

    Dubbed the “Sex Slave” murder case by papers of the day, the story became a salacious tale of infidelity and betrayal that ended in murder. Wolf ultimately confessed to constructing and installing the bomb and was convicted of first-degree murder. Smith’s wife, Marjorie, was also charged but later acquitted, with the jury finding insufficient evidence that she met Oregon’s legal threshold for criminal responsibility. The Columbia Edgewater car bombing was a calculated murder carried out in silence — long after the party had ended.

    Visit our website! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Patreon, & more! There are so many ways that you can support the show: BuyMeACoffee, Spreaker, or by leaving a rating & review on Apple Podcasts. Due to the content guidelines of the platform we are unable to publish our source list via Pastebin for this week's episode. If you are interested in learning more about the case you may contact us to request the complete list of sources.
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    1 hr and 25 mins
  • Reddit AITA: Paranormal Nonbelievers

    Reddit AITA: Paranormal Nonbelievers
    Jan 23 2026
    Join Caitlyn & Cassie as they chat about Reddit AITA stories featuring paranormal nonbelievers! How do you go about telling someone you don't believe in their ghost story? Or that there might be more physical evidence for Bigfoot than Jesus? Tune in for a fun discussion and let us know your verdicts!

    Visit our website! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Patreon, & more! There are so many ways that you can support the show: BuyMeACoffee, Spreaker, or by leaving a rating & review on Apple Podcasts. Sources
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    1 hr and 11 mins
  • The Disappearance of Maurice, Martha, Louis, Jennie, and Betty Sodder

    The Disappearance of Maurice, Martha, Louis, Jennie, and Betty Sodder
    Jan 16 2026
    This week we're showcasing our friend Alecia of Truly Twisted. On Christmas Eve 1945, in the rural outskirts of Fayetteville, West Virginia, George and Jennie Sodder tucked their children into bed for the night with the anticipation of spending Christmas together the next morning. Tragically a fire quickly engulfed the home forcing the family to leave, but 5 of the children were still inside. What would unfold that evening is still one of the greatest mysteries in the true crime world today, leaving us to wonder, what happened to the Sodder Children?

    Join Alecia on social media @itstrulytwisted on Instagram and @trulytwisted on TikTok, and personally @littleleesha.

    Recourses used in todays episode:
    https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-happened-sodder-children-siblings-who-went-up-in-smoke-west-virginia-house-fire-172429802/
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodder_children_disappearance
    https://allthatsinteresting.com/sodder-children?utm_campaign=fbpdgg1&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

    Visit our website! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Patreon, & more! If you have any true crime, paranormal, or witchy stories you'd like to share with us & possibly have them read (out loud) on an episode, email us at pnwhauntsandhomicides@gmail.com or submit a Google Form. There are so many ways that you can support the show: BuyMeACoffee, Spreaker, or by leaving a rating & review on Apple Podcasts.
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    21 mins