452 - Morals & Morale

Summary

Podcast Summary: My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark – Episode 452: Morals & Morale

---

Introduction

In Episode 452 titled "Morals & Morale," hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark delve into two spine-chilling true crime stories perfect for the Halloween season. Amidst their engaging banter and occasional humorous exchanges, Karen and Georgia explore the devastating 1918 Hammond Circus Trainwreck and the enigmatic case of "The Watcher" from Westfield, New Jersey. This episode not only recounts historical and contemporary tragedies but also reflects on human resilience and the lingering effects of unresolved mysteries.

---

1. The 1918 Hammond Circus Trainwreck

Background of the Hagenbeck Wallace Circus

The episode opens with an exploration of the Hagenbeck Wallace Circus, a prominent Midwestern circus rivaling giants like Barnum & Bailey by 1918. Established in 1907 through a merger, the circus was renowned for its spectacular elephant acts and a diverse lineup of approximately 250 performers, including the star equestrian Rosa Rosalind, aerialists known as the Flying Wards, strongmen like the Dirks Brothers, and the dedicated clown Joe Coyle.

The Tragic Event

On June 22, 1918, tragedy struck when the circus's wooden train collided with a sleeping troop train near Hammond, Indiana. The crash occurred around 3:45 AM when the troop train's engineer, Alonzo Sargent, had fallen asleep at the wheel, leading to an inevitable collision due to his failure to heed the circus train's safety signals.

Georgia [29:17]: "Shit. Yeah."

Karen [29:05]: "The engineer on the troop train hasn't seen any of these warnings because he has fallen asleep at the wheel."

Survivor Accounts and Immediate Aftermath

The collision resulted in immediate fatalities and chaos as fires ignited from the spilled kerosene and oil lamps. Survivors recounted harrowing experiences of escaping the burning wreckage while trying to rescue loved ones. Notable survivors included Joe Coyle, who, despite severe injuries, desperately attempted to save his family.

Survivor Henry Miller [31:03]: "I was pounded into the corner of my berth. My scalp was split open."

Investigation and Accountability

A subsequent joint investigation blamed both Alonzo Sargent for negligence and the circus for using outdated wooden train cars instead of safer steel ones. Despite Sargent being charged with manslaughter, the case concluded in a mistrial, leaving lingering questions about accountability. The circus faced numerous lawsuits, leading them to eventually transition to steel cars and sustaining significant financial and emotional losses.

Legacy and Memorialization

The tragedy left a lasting impact on the circus community and led to the establishment of Showman's Rest, a dedicated burial ground for circus performers. Annual Memorial Day services honor the victims, ensuring that their sacrifices are remembered.

Georgia [36:18]: "Yikes."

Karen [36:41]: "The death toll is likely higher because of the transient nature of the circus."

---

2. The Enigmatic Case of The Watcher

Introduction to The Watcher

Transitioning to a more contemporary mystery, Karen and Georgia recount the eerie saga that inspired the Netflix series "The Watcher." The story revolves around the Broaddus family, who moved into a historic home at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey, only to receive unsettling letters from an anonymous neighbor known as "The Watcher."

The First Letter

In June 2014, Derek and Maria Broaddus began renovating their new six-bedroom Dutch Colonial home. Shortly after, they received a handwritten letter welcoming them but with a sinister undertone, hinting at the house's dark past and hinting at mysterious happenings.

Georgia [56:43]: "Have you found all of the secrets it holds yet?"

Karen [56:36]: "A little hacky, a little corny."

Escalation and Continued Threats

Weeks later, a second, more threatening letter arrived, referencing black mold and the children's activities, intensifying the family's fear. Despite involving the police and increasing security measures, the letters persisted, suggesting deeper, more personal animosity.

Georgia [60:05]: "657 Boulevard is anxious for you to move in."

Investigation and Theories

Investigations revealed that the letters were postmarked locally, but DNA analysis of the envelopes pointed to an unidentified woman, eliminating the immediate neighbor family who were initially suspected. Various theories emerged, including potential vendettas, hoaxes, or disgruntlement from previous residents, but concrete evidence remained elusive.

Karen [73:44]: "It's a card."

Georgia [75:28]: "It's a card."

Impact on the Broaddus Family and Community

The relentless harassment led the Broadduses to list their home for sale multiple times, each attempt thwarted by the lingering fear instilled by the letters. The community remained divided, with some supporting the family's plight while others remained skeptical of the underlying motives behind the letters.

Georgia [82:04]: "It's all about style, durability and price."

---

Reflection and Conclusion

Throughout Episode 452, Karen and Georgia intertwine historical and modern tales of tragedy and mystery, highlighting themes of human vulnerability, the quest for truth, and the enduring impact of unresolved events. Their discussions not only recount the gruesome details but also empathize with the victims' and families' struggles, presenting a thought-provoking narrative that resonates with the listeners' fascination with true crime and the macabre.

Georgia [82:28]: "Do you want a cookie?"

Karen [83:18]: "Follow the show on Instagram and Facebook at myfavoritemurder."

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Karen Kilgariff [29:05]: "The sonic boom of the crash vibrated glass window panes in houses near the tracks."

• Survivor Steinhaus [31:03]: "When I woke up, I thought someone had slugged me one in the neck."

• Georgia Hardstark [56:53]: "This is a terrifying..."

• Karen Kilgariff [73:55]: "It's a card."

---

Final Thoughts

Episode 452 of My Favorite Murder masterfully balances detailed storytelling with the hosts' personable interactions, delivering compelling narratives that honor the victims while engaging listeners in deep, often unsettling, mysteries. Whether recounting the historical horrors of a circus tragedy or unraveling the perplexing case of The Watcher, Karen and Georgia ensure that each story is both informative and emotionally resonant, making it a memorable addition to the My Favorite Murder series.

Transcript

[Karen Kilgariff]

This is exactly right. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile.

[Georgia Hardstark]

With the price of just about everything.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Going up during inflation, we thought we'd.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Bring our prices down.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So to help us, we brought in.

[Georgia Hardstark]

A reverse auctioneer, which is apparently a thing Mint Mobile unlimited premium wireless.

[Karen Kilgariff]

30, 30 bid to get 30. 20, 20.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Better to get 20.

[Karen Kilgariff]

20 bid to get 15.

[Georgia Hardstark]

15, 15, 15.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Just 15 bucks a month.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Sold. Give it a [e-mail] $45 upfront payment equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first three month plan only. Taxes and fees, extra speed slower above 40 gigabytes. You detail.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Hey, it's Karen Kilgarev. Hey. And I'm Chris Fairbanks. And we have one burning question for you.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Do you need a ride?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Each week on our podcast, do you need a ride? We drive around with some of the most hilarious people in comedy.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Listen and laugh with us as we.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Run errands, grab some drive thru, and.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Of course, sit in traffic. It's la, so there's so much fun traffic.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So check out do youo need a Ride Wherever you get yout podcasts new episodes every Monday. We did it first. My favorite.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Hello and welcome to my.

[Karen Kilgariff]

The Halloween episode.

[Georgia Hardstark]

The spooky Halloween episode.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I did a long take to my camera if you want to do some sort of. Yeah. Batwing. Look at her. Look at us.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I dressed up like the Mothman.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's right.

[Georgia Hardstark]

My little Mothman costume.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And I dressed up like the sweater you brought me.

[Georgia Hardstark]

You did dress up just like the sweater I brought you.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I dressed up like. A little bit like Mimi.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, there's a lot of cat hair on that for sure. There's no avoiding it.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I mean, that is having pets and then bringing clothes anywhere. You just turn around and go, is it like this all the time?

[Georgia Hardstark]

So embarrassing.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass.

[Georgia Hardstark]

No, no. I also dressed up with my enormous zit. Oh, that just decided to come hang out today.

[Karen Kilgariff]

The third lead character of this podcast.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I mean, is it one that hurts? Yep.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Hurts a lot. Big red bump.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Wow.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's just fun. And it's fun being in your 40s and still getting enormous fucking zits.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Well, it's like your teens are saying, hey, Georgia, don't forget. It was. It wasn't just trauma. There was also acne.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right. Keeping it real.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Keeping it real.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

All right. Keep yourself grounded.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I put on a bunch of makeup before this because of course, we're doing video now.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And realized that I shouldn't have brought my brand new makeup to try. I should have gone with the old trusty.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That looks good. Can I fucking take these off, please?

[Karen Kilgariff]

I mean, you can.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It looks good. Now I can see you. Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Thank you.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It looks right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I appreciate it. I didn't do. I did the powder wrong.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Have you tried? There's like new Korean. It's like.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes.

[Georgia Hardstark]

The foundation, the powder foundation.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, yes. The cushion.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oof.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Insane. I love it also. It's so exciting, the Korean trend, but especially that stuff because everything is really pale, Right. Whereas when I was growing up, everything was one and a half shades too dark. Cause I was pale.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right?

[Karen Kilgariff]

You already taken the costume?

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's so hot. It's so hot in here. But see, I still have this shirt on. Halloweenish. And I have these on. Let's pretend they're cat ears.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. What else would they be?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Bat ears. Cause I was Mothman.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, right, right. Do bats have smaller ears?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Don't they little. What are they? Bat ears.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Could we get the staff zoologist in here, please?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Maureen, what do you got?

[Karen Kilgariff]

I thought we should share some of our favorite Halloween memories.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, go ahead. I got nothing.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Well, we used to go, and I'm positive I've told you this already, but we used to get into the back of my Uncle Steve's truck, which was like a 1935 Peterbilt, and he would fill it with hay. And then we would all be back there like we were going on our own individual hay ride. Me, my sister, my cousins Stevie, my cousins Lisa and Cheryl, maybe some other neighborhood kids. Because the houses were so far away that we couldn't walk trick or treating.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So we had to be driven. And then. I know I've told you this, but I've definitely tweeted it. We had this legendary neighbor, Mr. Lewitter, who gave out full size candy bars.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And we didn't, it's. We didn't talk to him the rest of the year. Sometimes maybe he'd wave from like his driveway. But it wasn't like he was like friends of the family. But man, was he our best friend when we went trick or treating. Or just like, thank you so much.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That is amazing. I wonder like, you still think about him. That's so wonderful.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's a good thing to remember, like when you appeal to kids, sense of candy, sense of like the stuff they're into and you're like, I'm not just going to go short and fun size and rip you off. I'm going to treasure you because there's only eight of you in this neighborhood, so.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Well, we have hundreds of kids every year come trick or treating at our house because we just live in one of those neighborhoods, which is so fucking great. I love it so much.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes.

[Georgia Hardstark]

But we run out of candy so quickly. And if we did the full size candy bar, it would be thousands of dollars. Cause there's that many kids.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Hey, pony up, Pony up, as my people would say.

[Georgia Hardstark]

But, you know, we do do what Vince does. Cause he's the one who buys it all. Is Buys, like, little bags of chips instead of just candy. So, like, sometimes you get a fucking bag of, like, voodoo chips in your fucking.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Bag and ring pops, which to me is like the ultimate.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That is the best. And also, that's the candy that lasts you weeks after.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Absol.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. Ring pops are like. You can go back to that pillowcase in the corner.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And it keeps on giving.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I mean, I love Halloween.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I do too. All right, well, since it's Halloween, goodbye. Bye. Should we eat candy? Yeah. Ooh, candy. That's right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Wait a second.

[Georgia Hardstark]

These are different flavored KitKats that are on our fucking table right now.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Okay, we have to bust into this.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay. Yours is different than mine. What's yours?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Which is brew Kit Kat.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It says it at the very bottom there. What does it say?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Crisp wafers in marshmallow flavored cream. Naturally and artificially flavored.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, good. This is crisp wafers in cinnamon toast flavored cream.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Let's eat them way off mic.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay. Ooh, it's orange. Yours is green. You need a Kit Kat. Nice. Dude yourself.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Alejandra really went for it.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Here, trade me the other one.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Mm.

[Georgia Hardstark]

All right, I'm getting a little cinnamony.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Is a bit crayony.

[Georgia Hardstark]

We're both not totally overwhelmed. Okay, I'm gonna taste yours now. Marshmallow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Okay.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Tastes like a. Tastes sweet.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I feel like marshmallow is very subtle. I think the Kit Kat people understand that.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And they're just like, let's appeal to the kid's sense of gourmand.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I think I like the marshmallow one best. But there's also these Reese's peanut butter cups called Werewolf tracks.

[Karen Kilgariff]

What?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Milk chocolate with vanilla cream flavor. So it's chocolate on the bottom, vanilla on the top of the cup, and then peanut butter in the middle.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I'm loving this variety that they're bringing.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I know. And then there's some weird Skittles, which I don't care about. Fuck yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Shocking lime ghoulish. Green apple. Oh, these are Skittles. Shrieks. Shriekers. What does that mean?

[Georgia Hardstark]

No idea.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Do they. You open this and they just start screaming.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay, now I'm totally sugared up. I'm also having a Coke, which I don't ever do, so I'm going to be, like, bouncing off the fucking walls.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Okay, great. That's. I think that's what we need for podcasting. That's the fun.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I'm just going to take one bite of this.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Me, too. This Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I don't mind that.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's great.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Werewolf tracks.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. Werewolf tracks. Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Do kids care about, like, white chocolate and stuff these days?

[Georgia Hardstark]

I don't think kids like white chocolate. I think I'm the only person in the world who likes white chocolate.

[Karen Kilgariff]

You and some German aunt or something?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Totally. Oh, my God. I could eat the whole thing. Okay.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Okay. Clear it.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Clear the set.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Clear the set.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay. Did you hear? We're in a fucking Marvel movie. You and I. We're in a Marvel movie.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I've never gotten past an audition. That's crazy news. What are you talking about?

[Georgia Hardstark]

I got a comment on Instagram that was like, we heard you get mentioned in the new Marvel movie Venom.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And I was like, that's a Tom Hardy movie.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I know. And I was like, I don't know what you're fucking talking about. I forgot. You're in love with Tom Hardy. I thought it was. Who's the football player guy?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, Tom. The guy from the Patriots. Brady.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Brady. And I was like, I don't really like him. No, no. Go Dodgers. That's a different sport. But we are in Venom. When they're walking through a forest, one of the characters says, this is what my favorite murder warned us about.

[Karen Kilgariff]

No.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yes. Which is, like, such a deep cut. That means whoever wrote that, like, fucking knows who we are.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Look it up. See who wrote it.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Stay out of the forest. Vince told me that. Told me that Tom Brady is.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's not Tom Brady.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Who is it?

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's Tom Hardy.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Tom Hardy is a. Is credited as a writer, but he's like, I doubt it. But. But he did see us at the Iheart Podcast Awards, right?

[Karen Kilgariff]

No, that's Chris Pine. Fuck. Jesus.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I have no interest in heartthrobs. They're not my thing. Okay, who wrote this? Let's see. So, yeah, so it was him and then the writer, Kelly Marcel. So I feel like we've got her to thank Kelly, if it was you. Oh, my God, that's deep. Because stay out of the forest. Is not like my favorite murder said, stay sexy and don't get murdered. It's we're in the forest. This is what my favorite murder warned us about.

[Karen Kilgariff]

If it's Tom Hardy, I just wanna say to Tom Hardy, I've been wanting to talk to you for a while, sir.

[Georgia Hardstark]

She saw you at the iHeart Awards and she was like, wow, that wasn't you.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Since your FX series Taboo, I was literally just telling Lily, our development director, have you seen Taboo, the FX series with Tom Hardy? It's so good. I literally was just recommending it.

[Georgia Hardstark]

And listen, Tom, if you want a podcast, we're waiting for you.

[Karen Kilgariff]

We have so many ideas for you over here.

[Georgia Hardstark]

You're blushing right now.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's just that kind of thing where.

[Georgia Hardstark]

You'Re just like, we're in a Marvel movie. That is Zeitgeist.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's wild. I thought we were. Because we're old.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I know. We're so old.

[Karen Kilgariff]

We've been around.

[Georgia Hardstark]

If someone could get that on film in the theater and send it to us, I want to hear it.

[Karen Kilgariff]

We're going to have you arrested by the FBI because that's actually piracy.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right? Okay.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I love. I mean, sorry to be superficial, but no.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's the sexiest, funnest thing. It's so fun. It's so fun.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's real good. And Tom Hardy's real good.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. So tell us if you see that. All right, well, let's get into the stories then, shall we? Or first though. No, first we have a podcast network called Exactly Right Media.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah, there's business we have to do. Just because it's a holiday doesn't mean you're getting out of school early.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's right. So here are some highlights. Today on Spooky Halloween.

[Karen Kilgariff]

This week on the Bananas podcast, Kurt and Scottie are joined by performer and writer Mamrie Hart. Everybody's best friend. You love her, you know her. She's there to chat about the weirdest news out there. Go listen to that. Mamrie is hilarious.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Mamrie is so funny. And then also hilarious comedian Joel Kim Booster is Roz's guest on Ghosted by Roz Hernandez. Rumor has it Joel actually bought a haunted frickin house. So you obviously don't wanna miss that.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Episode on Wicked Words, Kate Winkler Dawson talks to Texas Monthly reporters Karen Jacobs and Rob Damie about their podcast Shane and Sally, detailing the 1988 disappearance of two teenagers in West Texas. And also, if you don't know about Texas Monthly, it's one of the most incredible publications it makes me so happy that it has survived all of the everything. Covid, shutdowns, journalism, whatever. And that's where our friend Skip Hollingsworth writes a lot.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

But what a great. I'm so excited they're making podcasts.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. And then over in the MFM store, we now have a very exciting new enamel pin for all the Day One listeners out there. You don't have to prove that you are a Day One listener to buy it, so don't worry about it. So go to myfavoritemurder.com and check out the new Day 1 listener pin, and.

[Karen Kilgariff]

You can fib a little bit if you want to.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's okay. We don't mind.

[Karen Kilgariff]

We don't care. It can be month one Listener, it can be year one Listener, but you do get an award. And if you haven't noticed, our website's Listen page is now searchable, organized by year, and it allows you to find episodes by themes like Heroic Woman or cults or whatever. So we know we have a lot of podcasts. It's very dense. We have a long history. It's difficult. It's problematic. Go get into it. It's yours as well as ours.

[Georgia Hardstark]

You're welcome. And lastly, Nick Terry has outdone himself yet again. There's a new episode of MFM Animated live on YouTube.com. exactly right. It's from Minisode 290, and it's called Vlad the Bat. And it's the perfect way to celebrate Halloween.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, also, just real quick, it's October 31st. Scary, scary times. We're all teetering on the edge. Will we turn into a fascist dictator state? Or will we have the first female black president? Oh, my God, Please let it be the second one.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Please, please make sure you vote, because it does matter. It matters so much.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Think it through.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, okay.

[Karen Kilgariff]

We don't want to lecture you, but.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Jesus Christ, we've been doing this podcast for a while. Let's not repeat ourselves.

[Karen Kilgariff]

We've gone through this stuff before.

[Georgia Hardstark]

We have.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Let's not kid ourselves. Today's episode is sponsored in part by Acorns.

[Georgia Hardstark]

You know, as much as we try to save for our future, the present has a way of throwing unplanned expenses at us.

[Karen Kilgariff]

But with acorns, you don't need a huge nest egg to start investing. In fact, you can get started with just your spare change.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Acorns makes it easy to start automatically saving and investing for your future.

[Karen Kilgariff]

You don't need a lot of money or expertise to invest with Acorns. In fact, you can get started with.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Just your spare change with their roundups feature. Every purchase you make is an opportunity to invest so that witch grade cauldron that you bought for $20.45 gets rounded up and becomes a 55 cent investment in your future.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Acorns recommends an expert built portfolio that fits you and your money goals, then automatically invests your money for you.

[Georgia Hardstark]

And now Acorns is investing in your future too. Open an acorns later ira and get up to a 3% match on new contributions. That's extra money for your retirement.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Plus you can see your potential with the Acorns Compound Interest Calculator. It'll show you how the power of time and compound interest can help your money grow.

[Georgia Hardstark]

You know we love that here. So give your money the chance to work as hard as you do.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Head to acorns.com murder or download the Acorns app to start saving and investing for your future.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Today, paid non client endorsement compensation provides incentive to positively promote Acorns Investing involves risk Acorns Advisors LLC and SEC registered investment advisor. View important [e-mail] murder support for today's episode comes from Oneskin.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Fall is all about cozy sweaters, warm drinks and new skincare routines, right?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Because as the temperatures drop, your skin may need a little extra love. And Oneskin is here to help.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oneskin has developed a powerful solution that targets the signs of aging at the molecular level.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Their products are powered by the revolutionary OS1 peptide, scientifically proven to reduce dysfunctional cells, a key source of skin aging.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And One Skin isn't just about looking good. They focus on the deeper aspects of skin health to make sure your skin stay resilient and youthful.

[Georgia Hardstark]

They combine tissue engineering, data analysis and cutting edge longevity science to create the world's most effective product to target skin aging.

[Karen Kilgariff]

One Skin is next level skin care.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I'm using prescription strength retinol and it's like dry and gross here in la and I've been putting on that One Skin cream like right before I go to bed every night. My skin is freaking glowing. It looks amazing.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It really works. I've been doing the One Skin eye cream and I've never been an eye cream person. I was always like I don't think these are real. I absolutely never believe that One Skin's eye cream is real because I actually can see a difference.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oneskin is the world's first skin longevity company.

[Karen Kilgariff]

By focusing on the cellular aspects of aging, Oneskin keeps your skin looking and acting Younger for longer.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Get 15% off with the code MURDER at ONESKINCO.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's 15% off ONESKIN CO with Code Murder.

[Georgia Hardstark]

After you purchase, they'll ask where you heard about them.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Please support our show and tell them we sent you.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Goodbye. Okay, you're first.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I today on Halloween, have a story for you that is horrible, upsetting from the beginning of the 20th century and involves elephants.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, no.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So are you ready for me to begin?

[Georgia Hardstark]

No.

[Karen Kilgariff]

This story begins in the early hours of June 22, 1918, on the railroad tracks just outside of Hammond, Indiana, about 25 miles south of Chicago.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay.

[Karen Kilgariff]

A train from the Hagenbeck Wallace Circus is headed for Hammond, where they're scheduled to put on their famous show and delight families from all around the area. And this big spectacle of entertainment is very much needed at this time in America. The Spanish flu has been ravaging the United States, and then the devastation of World War I is just coming to an end overseas. So, of course, back then it was a very big deal when the circus rolled into town. Journalist Les Standiford writes in Time magazine, quote, at the industry's peak, the day the circus came to town ranked with Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Fourth of July. Banks and businesses closed, schools were dismissed, and an entire populace assembled on early morning main streets to watch the elephants, clowns and bejeweled entertainers parade from the train station to the circus grounds where the big top was raised to house thousands for afternoon and evening performances.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, my God. Sounds amazing.

[Karen Kilgariff]

But today's Hagenbeck Wallace show will not go on. Instead, the circuses stop in Hammond will go down in history as an enormous tragedy. This is the story of the 1918 Hammond circus trainwreck.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I didn't know about this.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. I think before we get into a horrible tragedy, I'll go ahead and take these off.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Those little cat ears that are bobbling on your head.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. All right. So the main sources used in today's research are the book the Great Circus Trainwreck of 1918 by writer Richard Lytle. And that's heavily cited in this. I love it when Maren reads a book.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I know.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Then she just. She knows everything about this story. She just tells me every single detail.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's above and beyond.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's great. The rest of the sources are in our show notes. So first, let's talk about the Hagenbeck Wallace Circus. As Smithsonian magazine reports, in the 20th century, quote, the Hagenbeck Wallace Cir. Circus wasn't the largest show in the country, but it came close. It is very successful in the Midwest, and it rivals the Barnum and Bailey and Ringling brothers shows by 1918. The Hagenbeck Wallace Circus has been around for about a decade, officially starting in 1907. After two preexisting circuses merged, Benjamin Wallace, who ran the famous great Wallace show, purchased the Carl Hagenbeck Trained Wild Animal Circus run by an animal trainer named Carl Hagenbeck. So the result of this merger is of course, a bigger, better circus, complete with more acts and more animals by 1918. The Hagenbeck Wallace Circus is uniquely acclaimed for its incredible elephant acts, as well as an impressive roster of about 250 talented performers. So, of course, as I'm reading the research in this, I get to incredible elephant acts and the depression sets in.

[Georgia Hardstark]

So, yeah, we all know circuses are fucking horrible, right? I mean, it's a time and. And that time and place didn't give a fucking shit about animals. It is.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's dumbo in hell and it's very sad. So I just wanna put a little point, a little finger at that, of like. Yes, but this story is actually about human tragedy.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So among them is Rosa. Rosalind. She's an equestrian who can do things like somersault from one horse to another. She's the highest paid member of the Hagenbeck Wallace Circus, and she's often described as its superstar. She earns $25,000 a year, which in.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Today'S money would be 1917, right? 18.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yep. 1918.

[Georgia Hardstark]

How much was it? 25?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yep.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's a fucking lot of money. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go 150.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's fucking $500,000.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Holy. A year. Holy shit.

[Karen Kilgariff]

She's a true star girl. Another huge draw are the Flying Wards, which are a nationally known group of aerialists who do an amazing trapeze act as they hang dangerously high above the audience. Then there's the three person strongman act called the Dirks Brothers. Though only two of the three performers are actually related, their act involves incredible stunts, including one where, quote, elephants walk over a bridge held up by the legs of the brothers who are lying on their backs.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So elephants revenge a little bit.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So of course there's circus clowns, which I know I should have done a trigger warning because the people who don't like clowns really don't like clowns.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Is it real? Is that a real thing?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I think there are some people who witness clowns at like, just that age where no one explained that a man wearing a bunch of white makeup was gonna come up and make goofy noises. At them.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I mean, it when we were kids was fucking terrifying for sure.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So I guess it's scary for a reason. Yeah, the film. And the book.

[Georgia Hardstark]

And the book.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So among those circus clowns is a man named Joe Coyle. He goes by the name Big Joe and he takes his clowning job very seriously. Years later he'll tell the Chicago Tribune, quote, being a clown has its serious side. You have to be ingenious. Develop your own makeup and costumes. For example, I have all my costumes copyrighted. My hats, shoes, even my makeup.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, I've heard that. That's wild.

[Karen Kilgariff]

He gets it. He knows that's ip.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Protect it. It's your idea. Those are just a few of Hagenbeck Wallace's many performers. Richard Lytle notes that the show had, quote, 25 different acts and was advertising the presence of 60 aerialists, 60 acrobats, 60 horse riders, 50 clowns, 100 dancing girls. Adding to that impressive pool of performing talent were the shows. Seven elephants, lions, tigers, zebras, camels, a hippopotamus, hundreds of draft horses, perhaps as many as 80 horse drawn wagons and 20 specially trained trick ponies.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. So it isn't just the raw talent of these performers or the spectacle of exotic animals that make the Hagenbach Wallace Circus so successful. It's also a matter of logistics. As author and journalist Doug Wissing writes, the enormous growth of railroads in the post Civil War era fueled the golden age of circuses. Instead of plodding through the mud at 10 miles a day from small town to small town, circuses hitched their rail cars to trains and clattered to cities hundreds of miles apart overnight. So the business of the Hagenbeck Circus booms after they invest in their own train cars and they use railways to crisscross the country. A trend in the circus and carnival world around the turn of the century. According to Smithsonian magazine, around 100 circuses are operating in the US at the time and nearly a third of them tour by train. So that brings us back to June 22, 1918. The Hagenbeck Circus packs up after performing a charity show in Michigan City, Indiana at the state penitentiary.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, that's nice.

[Karen Kilgariff]

We're going to over to the pen. Go over to the pen and we're going to do some somersaults off a horse.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, morals are down over pen.

[Karen Kilgariff]

We're just going to stop by morals and morale. This tour has already taken the circus through the Northeast. It's now moving through the Midwest. And the next stop is Hammond, Indiana. The Hagenbeck Wallace crew Always travels on two separate trains, which the circus operators purchased secondhand many years ago. Each train has about 25 cars and they're all made of wood. There's all sorts of equipment and circus infrastructure packed onto both trains. But one of the two also transports all of the circus animals and livestock along with the people who handle and train them. And then the other train carries most of the circus staff, including the performers, roustabouts, managers and their friends and families. So the train with the animals heads out from Michigan City toward Hammond. First it's planning to pass through their destination and head up to the stockyards in Chicago. Then the animals can more easily be fed and watered before the show in Hammond later that day. So they kind of have to like go out and away handle everything and then come back in. This train cuts through Hammond at around 2:30 in the morning with no incident and then heads up to Chicago. Around the same time, the second Hagenbach Wallace train, the one that's carrying most of the people, leaves Michigan City. This train has four long sleeping cars which are mostly lit by kerosene or oil lamps. It's 1918.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Just one of those sleeping cars has electrical lighting.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So it's right on the verge of that innovation. It's so weird.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Such a weird time. Did you read the book Water for Elephants?

[Karen Kilgariff]

No. I kind of watched three minutes of the movie on a plane.

[Georgia Hardstark]

The book is really fucking good. And it's like this is. It could take place right now in this story.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Cause it's all about that. I mean it's interesting to think about. It's like the things that were going around in America and going down and it's like, come over here and look at this horse and this elephant and this like and this guy up on a trapeze. We have to give these people something.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. Your life is so boring. The day to day is exactly the same. You're never gonna leave your small town.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Like a bunch of people died of the Spanish flu.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Jesus. Anne went to war. Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes. Just intense. Yeah. So there's somewhere around 400 people on this train. Many are sleeping in bunks. Some of those bunks are stacked three beds high while the VIP employees have more private accommodations in sleeper style compartments. So the family of Joe Coyle the clown, Big Joe is currently sleeping in a berth that's reserved for family acts. He's been temporarily given this birth because he has guests, his wife stella. And they're two young boys, 10 year old Joe Jr. And their toddler Howard. Big Joe's family is joining him for a few shows, and then they're gonna go back home to Ohio. The entire Coyle family lives and breathes circus life. Stella's an accomplished bareback writer who used to perform in the same shows as her husband.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So it's basically like the bareback writer and the clown fell in love.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, my God, I love that.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I mean. And then the couple's oldest son, Joe Jr. Seems to be following in his dad's footsteps. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports, quote, he was practically born under the big top. And this sawdust ring was his first playground. When little Joe was about six weeks old, his mother returned to the circus, joined her husband and continued her work. He was a fine, strong baby. And when he was four years old, his father gave him a tiny clown suit for a plaything.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's adorable.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Really precious. So the coils, along with everybody else on board this train, are fast asleep until around 3:45 in the morning, when a brakeman notices one of the train's bearings is overheating. Even though they're very close to their destination in Hammond, the engineer decides it'd be safest to stop and give that bearing time to cool down to prevent a fire. So the engineer pulls the train through a switch where the tracks branch off and then slows the train to a halt. While most of the circus train is now safely positioned on an adjoining set of tracks, the last several cars, the sleeping cars, are still on the main line. Meanwhile, there's a troop train that Transports World War I soldiers to east coast cities for deployment, heading down those same tracks. At the moment, it's empty, and an engineer named Alonzo Sargent is at the controls. And he's been working for almost 24 hours straight, and he's getting drowsy. So back on the circus train, the engineer crew is taking all of the routine safety precautions and sending various signals and flares to alert approaching trains to ensure that they have enough time to either reroute to another track or slow down before approaching their stalled train. But the engineer on the troop train hasn't seen any of these warnings because he has fallen asleep at the wheel.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Shit. Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

His train has roared past four caution signals and a series of flares. And now he's going above 50 or 60 miles an hour. His train is flying towards the Hagenbach Wallace train. It is worst case scenario. A few minutes before 4am, this all steel troop train slams into the back of the wooden circus train. According to Richard Lytle, quote, the sonic boom of the crash Vibrated glass window panes in houses near the tracks and brought local residents out into the pre dawn night to see what had caused the noise. The scene was evidently beyond immediate comprehens, and the onlookers froze at the edge of the wreck.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Can you imagine? Like, just you've seen nothing in your life, basically, and then this catastrophe happens right in front of your house.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Your day is like flapjacks.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Hard work, right?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Hopefully a little bit of beer at the end of the day and you're 10.

[Georgia Hardstark]

You're 10, and that's the rest of your fucking life. Rolling your own cigarettes, you're getting ready.

[Karen Kilgariff]

To go to work in the morning. You're 10.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. Horrifying and just like, what could this be? So, dozens of passengers are killed instantly, and the remaining hundreds of sleeping passengers are violently jolted awake into an extremely disorienting and brutal reality. The troop train drills into the back of the circus train three cars deep.

[Georgia Hardstark]

The whole wood versus steel thing is just, like, horrifying. It hurts to hear.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Three cars deep. Oh, my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. Broken beams, boards, and beds. And most disturbingly, bodies are violently hurled forward through the collapsing roofs and mangled walls of the sleeping cars, creating a deadly crush.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

An assistant lighting engineer named Henry Miller later remembers. Quote, I was in the last coach next to the caboose. I woke up to the sound of splintering wood. I was pounded into the corner of my berth. My scalp was split open. The whole car buckled. It parted down the center as CLE as though it had been sliced with a giant knife. Another survivor is Steinhaus, who handles the circus's props, says this quote, when I woke up, I thought someone had slugged me one in the neck. I felt like I was under an apartment building. There was enough wood on me to build a ship.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Whoa.

[Karen Kilgariff]

End quote. So the sheer force of the troop train slamming into the circus train is, of course, deadly all on its own. But the nightmare is just beginning, because shortly after the crash, all of the kerosene and oil lamps that light the Hagenbach Wallace set the train on fire.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Shit.

[Karen Kilgariff]

This fire moves quickly throughout the wooden sleeping cars. Those who survive the initial impact now have to scramble through sharp pieces of wood and debris with serious injuries or an outright shock to escape being consumed by an enormous fire. And when they do escape, many of them turn right back around and risk their lives to pull their loved ones out of the fiery wreckage while men, women, and children are trapped on the train, screaming in terror.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

One ticket seller named A.F. roberts, who manages to get to safety later remembers that quote, I saw people burned alive in one great flaming hell of tortured souls and consumed flesh. God, the awfulness of it. And how brave were the injured who aided in the rescues. So it's 1918. The emergency response is of course, nothing like it is today. No911. There aren't even readily accessible phones to call for help. Instead, basically the only help these people are going to get is whatever they can go and get themselves. At least one crash survivor actually does just that. They just go run for help. And meanwhile, all of the survivors, from roustabouts to acrobats and everybody in between, they act as first responders even though they themselves have just experienced unfathomable trauma. There's no time to process what's happened. They just begin pulling their friends and co workers from the wreckage and doing whatever they can to save lives, including Big Joe Coyle. Big Joe was actually thrown from the train during the crash. So he watches as it erupts in flames in front of him, knowing that his wife and boys are still on board. No, a newspaper article written shortly after the crash reports that Big Joe is, quote, badly injured, but he tore hysterically at the wreckage that pinned down his wife and little ones, end quote. And he keeps doing it, even when it's basically assumed that his family has died in that fire.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Joe has to be physically pulled out of the burning train. He refuses to give up and he continues fighting to reach them. This desperate blend of panic, courage and heartbreak repeats over and over. An 18 year old named Bobby Cottrell, whose family members are bareback riders with the circus, is able to pull his parents to safety, but he's unable to reach his aunt and she dies in the fire. A group of boys named Jimmy Mulvaney, Jay Kirker and James Everett, two of whom had literally run away from home to join the circus, quickly mobilize and begin pulling as many of their colleagues as they can from the burning train. It takes about a half an hour for fire engines from Hammond and nearby Gary, Indiana to get to the scene. Wow, half an hour.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, it's like by that time and.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Even then they're limited in what they can do. Smithsonian magazine reports, quote, the only source of water were nearby shallow marshes. A wrecking crane was also brought to the accident site to dig people out, but it couldn't initially be used because. Because the heat from the fire was too intense, end quote. So still firefighters try their best to free people from the wreckage until around 4:45am when rescue trains start to arrive. They bring more supplies to help fight the fire and carry the wounded back into town, where they're diverted to a handful of area hospitals. The call goes out to doctors and nurses who travel in from surrounding towns to treat this, this big influx of new patients. The tight knit nature of the circus crew and their resourcefulness is on display both at the hospital and at the crash site, where they continue to help their friends and colleagues. Richard Lytle writes that, quote, acrobats, trapeze performers and contortionists, the most athletically oriented of the circus staff, had forgotten their priceless legs at the accident site and leaped into small holes in the wreckage to give aid to those pinned under debris. And at the hospitals, they continued to move the injured wherever necessary. Surviving cowboys from Wild west shows acted as nurses. The hospital staff quickly found that they were quite adept at handling cuts, bruises and minor burns.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yikes.

[Karen Kilgariff]

End quote. So they're just like in there with their people doing whatever they can, kind of like through the whole thing, which they themselves. It's like, you're not just gonna go sit down and take a breath? It's like, nope, they're in there, like working on it.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Amazing.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So around 110 people are injured in this crash and 86 people are killed.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

The death toll is likely higher because of the transient nature of the circus. No one really knows for sure how many people were on the train in the first place. I mean, it's such a. I kind of love. It was like a romantic time where you really could run away and join the circus. That was real.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh my God. Like, what if you had seen the circus in this one city and like just jumped on the train? Cause you fel with the trapeze artist and you were on the train and no one knew you were there and then.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yep, they think that happened. Yeah. And the reality of those 86 lives lost is absolutely devastating for the Hagenbach Wallace Circus. Among the casualties is a member of the flying wards named Jenny Ward Todd, two of the strongmen from the Derrick's Brothers act, and tragically, of course, Joel Coyle's entire family, Stella and his two sons, Joe Jr. And Howard. When medical help. This is horrible. When medical help arrives, Joe's taken away on a stretcher weeping. And he's heard to say, I wish I could have died with them. The steaming train wreckage is eventually cleared from the railway, but it's of course, a difficult process. It requires a crane, which is terribly gruesome in and of itself. Still, spectators Come and stand and watch as it's being cleared. The Indianapolis Star reports that, quote, at noon, bodies were still being hauled from the mass. It was impossible to say that the things taken from the burning wreckage were human beings.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, fuck.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Of course, the question of who is to blame comes up immediately. A joint investigation by the Interstate Commerce Commission and Indiana Public Service Commission eventually singles out two parties, of course. One is Alonzo Sargent, the engineer of the troop train who'd fallen asleep. He is arrested, he's charged, he's alive. Yeah, he lives through it.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Holy shit.

[Karen Kilgariff]

His train is steel, right?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right. So yeah, you're gonna kind of win that one, but still.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So he's arrested, he's charged with manslaughter, but the criminal case against him ends in a mistrial. He'd been working since five in the morning, which could be why the jurors were unable to reach a verdict. I'm sure they got in there and it's like, especially back then, if there was no union, there's no protections.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Totally.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And he was forced to do his job exactly that way. Then you know, it's a human mistake.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Totally.

[Karen Kilgariff]

He's never retried. But this accident effectively ends his decades long career on the railroad. And he reportedly struggles with the guilt until his passing in 1942 at the age of 75.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

What a horrible thing to live in.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, just horrible.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Meanwhile, the same investigation by the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Indiana Public Service Commission does place some blame with the Hagenbach Wallace circus itself. While there are still plenty of wooden trains on the tracks at the time, there's a clear understanding that steel cars are much safer and worth investing in. And the circus, like many traveling shows, saved money by buying older wooden trains for their tours. A decision that wound up costing dozens and dozens and dozens of lives. As they rebuild operations in the coming years, the circus does invest in more expensive steel cars. So it's not like the most cynical thing where they would just go back and replace them. But 125 lawsuits are filed on behalf of the victims for this disaster, for damages that top a million dollars, which is more than $20 million in today's money. On June 26, 1918, four days after the train wreck, a funeral service is held for the victims at Woodlawn Cemetery outside of Chicago, in a section of the cemetery known as Showman's Rest. So the Showman's League of America, which is a guild for circus and carnival workers, had coincidentally purchased 750 plots here at this cemetery just before this train reckoning.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. Their intention was to create a final resting place for people in the industry who might not have the money or a family to give them a proper burial. So the league's president is quoted as saying, no showman need ever go to a pauper's grave.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I love that.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I know. So of the estimated 86 crash victims, 56 are buried at Showman's Rest, and they all get their own headstone. But because some of them were burned beyond recognition or no one actually knew their legal names, these victims were unable to be identified. So it is a mass grave. As museum director Patty Drabing explains in a 2018 IndyStar interview, quote, these were often people who literally ran off and joined the circus. They might have only been there a few weeks, and their names might never have been known.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Plus, like, in the mayhem of the crash, it's not like you're sleeping next to your identifying, you know, papers or bag or whatever. It's just mayhem, Right?

[Karen Kilgariff]

And it's like, if it is, and it is like show business. It's like you could be in a different train car that you're not supposed to be in, or you're not assigned spot, or any number of things could be going on. It's showbiz. So because of all that, the headstones often don't include a formal name. Instead, they list the victim's circus world nickname, like Baldi or their act four horse driver. Or most devastatingly, something more tragic and simple, like unidentified male or female. 1500 people attend this funeral service on June 28th, including Joe Coyle himself, who is just beginning to mourn the loss of his entire family. Joe will eventually return to performing.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

But only as a down and out quote, sad clown who's always dressed in ragged clothes.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Just devastating.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Like, he couldn't do the joyful thing he used to do anymore, but he loved it so much that he just needed, like, he's doing it as his. Himself. His real.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

His real feelings. And he can show it. Which is kind of maybe cathartic in a way, too, right? Where it's like, you don't have to put on a suit and go back to work and everything's fine. It's like, here's my sorrow. Let me fucking show you.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's right. You know, and, like, do a, you know, an overdone version of that. Where it's like watching little kids laugh while he does it. I mean, hopefully that was. Hopefully that was cathartic.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's tragic.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's so sad. And it Also is like, oh, all the clowns that kind of creeped you out. Then you're like, oh, is that why you were creeped out?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Cause you're like, something's going on back there.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Your aura is just like, oy vey.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So the funeral at Showman's Rest is funded by Hagenbach Wallace owner Ed Ballard. But Ed Ballard is not in attendance. Instead, he's back on the road, and he is working to rebuild the circus. According to Richard Lytle, quote, of the 25 acts in the show on June 21, all but one of them had been affected by this tragedy.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

End quote. Ed's behavior might sound shocking or callous, but he knows that if he's going to keep this operation afloat and continue housing and feeding staff and paying everybody, he has to do what needs to be done. So he works to borrow performers and equipment from other shows like the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey, until his staffers are ready to return. And in the end, the circus carries on with the help of its borrowed crew. And they only have to cancel two of its slated performances before they are back. Meanwhile, survivors of the wreck are dealing with serious trauma. When a reporter later asks one of the animal trainers, who is unidentified in the reporting, if any animals were killed, he explains, quote, no, ma'am, not an animal was killed. They were all in the first section ahead of the next section. Only people were killed. This place ain't the same. We all aren't here. The actors can't get their minds to work straight. It's all so. So the lady that trains the lion over there, her name is Millie Jewell, was burned to death. Her partner ain't half doing his act. He just naturally can't.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

End quote. As hard as Ed Ballard tries, the Hagenbach Wallace Circus never fully recovers from the disaster, financially or spiritually. And two decades later, its operators file for bankruptcy. By the mid 20th century, the golden age of the American circus has faded with the rise of movies and tv. But the allure of the circus lives on. Nowhere is more the case than, ironically, at Showman's Rest. You can still visit it today, and legend has it that the area is haunted, with some visitors claiming to hear spooky sounds of ghost animals during their visits. Although, as many articles point out, the source of those noises could be the nearby Brookfield Zoo.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay, that makes sense. However, if anywhere is haunted, that place is fucking haunted.

[Karen Kilgariff]

For real.

[Georgia Hardstark]

You know, for real.

[Karen Kilgariff]

But even more than a memorial or a paranormal hotspot, Showman's Rest stands as a tribute to the circus, an industry that offered so many people more than just a paycheck or a place to live. For many people, the circus was their chosen home, where it didn't matter who you were or where you came from, that home came with a built in family Aw. A ceremony is held at Showman's Rest every Memorial Day that honors the victims of the 1918 Hammond crash, along with the many other performers and roustabouts who are buried there. The Village of Oak park in Illinois, which is very close to Woodlawn Cemetery, notes on its website that this event, quote, is a time to reflect on the lives and legacies of these performers whose dedication to bringing joy and wonder to audiences shaped an important chapter in American entertainment history. The Memorial Day service is a solemn yet celebratory occasion filled with stories of life under the big top, ensuring that the spirit of the circus lives on even as the performers themselves have passed. And that is the story of the devastating Hammond circus trainwreck of 1918.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Holy shit.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Had you ever heard of that?

[Georgia Hardstark]

No.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So crazy.

[Georgia Hardstark]

So wild. Wow. That's devastating. Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

As you said, it's fall and the weather's getting cooler and holiday festivities are in full swing.

[Georgia Hardstark]

And with Vaya you can elevate your experience.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Treat yourself to their premium THCA flower.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Or flavorful gummies and Vaya's premium hemp products offer just the right amount of relaxation and rejuvenation.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Whether you want to get better sleep, ease anxiety or enhance your mood, Vaya has something for you.

[Georgia Hardstark]

They offer a wide array of gummies with and without THC ranging from 0 to 100 milligrams.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Vaya is also known for its soothing topicals and calming drops, all crafted with the highest quality hemp. Sourced from trusted independently owned American farms.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Vaya legally ships to nearly all 50 states in discreet packaging directly to your door with a worry free guarantee.

[Karen Kilgariff]

When I was on vacation I used these gummies for sleeping and they work like a charm. It is kind of amazing when you just sit down in your bed, eat a little bit of candy, put your head down on the pillow and go to sleep like cause I have sleeping problems every once in a while. So it's really nice to have something this amazing that actually helps.

[Georgia Hardstark]

So if you're 21 and older, head to viahemp.com and use the code murder to receive 15% off.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's V I I A H E.

[Georgia Hardstark]

M P.com after you purchase, they'll ask where you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them we sent you this Fall.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Enhance your everyday with Vaya.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Goodbye.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Fall invites us to gather around the table for those cozy meals that have been cherished by our families for generations.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Whether it's a savory pot pie or a rich stew, there's nothing quite like those comforting fall flavors.

[Karen Kilgariff]

But if you're like me and that's too much work, Home Chef is here to help.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Home Chef has step by step recipes that are designed to make cooking a breeze. Whether you're a total beginner or a confident cook looking to save time.

[Karen Kilgariff]

With speedy recipes that are ready in less than 30 minutes and oven ready dishes that require zero prep, you can choose the meals that work for you.

[Georgia Hardstark]

So no more feeling overwhelmed, no more racing against the clock, just delicious meals that come together effortlessly every time.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Home Chef boxes are conveniently delivered to your doorstep to simplify your cooking experience.

[Georgia Hardstark]

And Home chef has over 30 options a week and serves a variety of dietary needs so you don't have to worry about what to make ahead of time.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Plus, they roll out 18 fresh options every week like cherry smothered meatloaf or creamed spinach chicken.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Not only is it convenient, but it's economical too. Home Chef customers save an average of $86 per month on groceries.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I mean the idea of having a box sent to your door that inside has buffalo style turkey meatballs or salmon and dill bearnaise. These like delicious meals that you can either put together yourself or just throw in the microwave. It's such a solution for these days when you work till seven and you get home and you don't want to eat badly. You want something really good and homemade, but you truly do not have the time.

[Georgia Hardstark]

For a limited time, Home Chef is offering our listeners 18 free meals plus free dessert for life and of course free shipping. On your first box.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Go to homechef.com mfm that's homechef.com mfm.

[Georgia Hardstark]

For 18 free meals plus free dessert for life. Yep, you heard that right. Homechef.com mfm must be an active subscriber to receive free dessert. Goodbye. As we gear up for holiday festivities, you still have time to turn your home into a cozy and inviting space where you can emotionally attack your loved.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Ones with Article's carefully curated collection. Your rudest aunt won't know how to respond.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Article believes in delightful design for every home and thanks to their online only model, they have some really delightful prices too.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Article makes furniture shopping a breeze with its carefully selected styles from mid century modern to Boho and Everything in between. No more endless scrolling. Just beautiful options that suit your taste.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Check out their Lee modular sofa, available in Lifeguard fabrics. You'll be able to throw wine on your sister without any regret.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And Article provides fast and affordable shipping across the US And Canada. You get to choose your delivery time and they'll keep you in the loop with updates along the way.

[Georgia Hardstark]

When it comes to quality articles, designers hit the sweet spot between style, durability and price. They're also all about thoughtful craftsmanship that not only looks great, but also stands the test of time.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I looked down at this Lee modular sofa and I couldn't believe the price.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Like a classy, attractive sofa for a price like that.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. The idea that Article provides such beautiful quality furniture for people that like being able to make your space into a beautiful home is. It's almost like they're doing volunteer work for people.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, you don't have to live like a college student anymore. You guys with Article.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Article's offering our listeners $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more.

[Georgia Hardstark]

To claim, visit article.com murder and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's A R T I c l e.com murder to get $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more. Goodbye.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Goodbye. Okay, my turn. Great job.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Thank you kindly.

[Georgia Hardstark]

So I have a perfectly Halloween spooky, but not gruesome, creepy story to tell you.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Great.

[Georgia Hardstark]

And it happened kind of recently. It's a story that inspired the Netflix series the Watcher.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, yes.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Did you watch out? Naomi Campbell, right? Nope, not Naomi Campbell.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Naomi Jennifer Coolidge walks.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yes.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes. Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I mean, how epic would it have been if like a Naomi Campbell starred at it?

[Karen Kilgariff]

She's just doing like super cunty walks back and forth down that street.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Hell yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

How dare you stare at my house.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Ugh. Please, someone make that so. The series is only very loosely based on actual events, but what happened is still creepy and fascinating and. And as of yet, unresolved.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes. You love that.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I love an unresolved. So this is the story of the Watcher. The main source for the story is a reporting in New York magazine by Reeves Weideman. And the rest of the sources can be found in the show notes. Okay, we're in Westfield, New Jersey. It's June of 2014. Like posh high end neighborhood. It's New York City suburb. It's one of the wealthier, higher end ones in New Jersey. It has lots of beautiful old houses. But it's a little spooky too, because the man who created the Addams Family cartoons actually was from Westfield, and he based the house that the Addams Family lived in off one of those Victorians that they have in town. So, like, gorgeous.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Perfect.

[Georgia Hardstark]

So it's a lovely late spring evening, and a man named Derek Broadus is busy painting one of the rooms of the house his family has just bought. The house is on a street that's just called the Boulevard, which is, like, fancy. Sheesh. Pinky out. And it's full of tasteful, beautifully maintained old houses. It's got these long sidewalks. It's just really gorgeous. And the Broaddus family's new street address is just 657 Boulevard. Like, that's the name of the street.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I just love that, like, long sidewalks are. Yeah, they're supposed to. As opposed to what? That they stop a bunch or.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I don't know. I don't know what Ali meant by that. I am thinking of, like, in the Valley, there's a lot of places that just don't have sidewalks. Right. Cause they're so. I don't.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Are there?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, it's just like road and then. I don't know.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah, I get it.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. So I guess sidewalks are fucking, like, for rich people.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I wouldn't know. I'm from the country. We did not have sidewalks.

[Georgia Hardstark]

All we had were sidewalks in the suburbs. Okay. The house is about 100 years old. It's a six bedroom Dutch Colonial, similar to the Amityville Horror House. So I'll pick. Picture that. That looks like it has two eyes.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

You know what I mean?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Gotcha.

[Georgia Hardstark]

So creepy. The Broadest family has just purchased the house for a terrifying $1.3 million.

[Karen Kilgariff]

The spookiest number of all.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. Which in today's money. So 1.3 in 2014. This is harder, I feel like, almost. Because you can't just leap, you know?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes, that's true. We really have to be reasonable with our estimation.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's 2, 5, 1 7.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I was just kidding.

[Georgia Hardstark]

You know, Inflation. Darris Broaddus grew up in a working class town in Maine, but has done very well for himself and is now a senior vice president at an insurance company in Manhattan. Derek and Maria have three children who are 10, 8, and 5, and the family already lives in Westfield in a house they're about to sell. And Maria is actually from the town, so her parents live nearby, so nothing bananas there. The Brod's plan is to live in their old house for a few more months while they complete those fucking pesky renovations. Everyone hates them. They haven't Changed their address yet. So on that June night when Derek is painting, there's not a ton of mail, just some junk mail that's piled up. He finishes his work for the night and brings a stack of the mail in and goes through it. Tucked in with a few bills is an envelope, the kind that you send a greeting card with. And it's addressed to Mr. And Mrs. Broadus, but the last name is misspelled, so it's just kind of spelled a little bit different, as if someone just heard it and just took a guess at it and got it wrong. Okay. The handwriting is shaky, like a child or old person wrote it.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Or a nervous child, Nervous old child.

[Georgia Hardstark]

A nervous elderly child. The worst, desperate, most terrifying fucking thing on the planet. Think. Think of it. I'm nervous elderly child, like gray hair, crouched over Legos. Legos. Okay. Inside is a typed letter and it reads, quote, dearest new neighbor at 657 Boulevard, allow me to welcome you to the neighborhood. Oh, great.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So far, sounds great. I'm really open to whatever this card has to say.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right. 657 Boulevard has been the subject of my family for decades now. And as it approaches its 110th birthday, I have been put in charge of watching and waiting for its second coming. Okay, you're starting to get a little nervous, right?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Like a little what, second coming of a house.

[Georgia Hardstark]

My grandfather watched the house in the 1920s, and my father watched in the 1960s. It is now my time. Do you know the history of the house? Do you know what lies within the walls of 657 Boulevard? Why are you here? I will find out. Okay, so you're already like, running for the hills.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I mean, but also, this spookiness isn't really staying on track.

[Georgia Hardstark]

No.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So it's like, is it in the walls? Why would it be the new people who moved in's like, problem? Why are they doing something to you?

[Georgia Hardstark]

And why do you need to watch it? Like, what's the deal? If there's something in the walls, then like, what? Okay, goes on. Do you need to fill the house with the young blood I requested? Better for me. Was your old house too small for the growing family, or was it greed to bring me your children? Once I know their names, I will call to them and draw them to me. Uhoh, yeah. You're involving the children. Now you know, who am I? There are hundreds and hundreds of cars that drive by 657 Boulevard each day. Maybe I'm in one. Look at all the windows. You can see from the 657 Boulevard. Maybe I'm in one. Look out at any of the many windows in 657 Boulevard. And all the people who stroll by each day. Maybe I am one. Welcome my friends, welcome. Let the party begin. End quote.

[Karen Kilgariff]

A little hacky, a little corny. A little corny, Little heavy handed.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Still not what you wanna fuckin see.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Absolutely not in any way. But it made me go when they first said cars driving by and like windows or whatever, it's like, oh, you live nowhere near this house.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, you think that's what you got?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Sure. Just like trying to make it seem like I'm there watching and it's like. Or are you like seven miles away trying to write a scary card?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right? And underneath is signed in cursive, the Watcher. They name themselves, they give themselves a nickname. No one's scary if they give themselves a fucking nickname.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Right?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Everyone knows that. So Derek though, freaks out. He runs around the house turning off all the lights. He calls the police and an officer comes over. But you know, can't really do much. You know, the family doesn't have any enemies. And so that night Derek tells his wife Maria about the letter, which is like, why'd you tell her? You're going to like scare the shit out of her.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah, but if she doesn't know, then you're in trouble too.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Absolutely. I mean, yeah, I wouldn't want Vince to tell me. They email the previous owners of the house that they had just bought it from and tell them about the letter and are like, do you know who it could be from? And the woman, Andrea woods, says that they never got a letter in the 23 years they lived in the house until right before they moved out. So after it was listed for sale, but before the house was closed and the note had been weird again, had referenced young blood. But she and her husband threw it away without thinking too much about it. Like, yeah, don't tell the people who are just putting in an offer for sure, right?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Certainly not.

[Georgia Hardstark]

You don't have to.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's just a card. Bye.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay, bye. We're out. Well, the Broadduses can't stop thinking about this letter. The couple is on high alert and at one point they're showing the house to a new neighbor. And that neighbor uses the phrase young blood in reference to the children. When have you ever heard or said someone be like, oh, those little young bloods? No, no, that's just like immediate red flag.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And is that the Jennifer Coolidge character in the TV show?

[Georgia Hardstark]

I think she's the real estate agent.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh. Okay.

[Georgia Hardstark]

If I remember correctly, I know what the whole thing.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So I would. If I were Naomi Watts, I'd never stop being suspicious of that person.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. Who says that? But what if it's, like, multiple people and they just, like, don't like this family? And they're like, you don't belong in this neighborhood.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's like, everyone's against us.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, let's scare them away. But why?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

So the next letter arrives.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Wait. I have a theory of why do it. The people who sold wish they didn't sell. Lied about getting a card themselves. So then that makes it look like they're also victims. And it's hard to. Right. And then it's like, actually, we want you out so we can get back in. Okay.

[Georgia Hardstark]

But it doesn't match the end, so. Great idea. I love the idea.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I'm going to pout for the rest of your story. I don't care.

[Georgia Hardstark]

But I do want to hear what you think. And I think, to me, it's kind of obvious, but whatever. Okay. The next letter arrives two weeks later. So at the end of June or beginning of July. This is a distinctly threatening tone. Now, it mentions the contractors who have been working on the house. And ask, quote, have they found what's in the walls yet? Is it black mold? That's the fucking most terrifying thing.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I'm truly in the walls. Fully agreed.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. It says, in time they will end quote. And it also references one of the Broaddus kids painting at an easel on the front porch. So they definitely have at least driven by and seen them.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes. Right.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Then it goes on to say, quote, 657 Boulevard is anxious for you to move in. It has been years and years since the young blood ruled the hallways of the house. Have you found all of the secrets it holds yet? Will the young blood play in the basement or are they too afraid to go down there? There. I would be very afraid if I were them. It is far away from the rest of the house. If you were upstairs, you would never hear them scream.

[Karen Kilgariff]

No, I don't like this card at all.

[Georgia Hardstark]

No, this one's worse. And then it goes on. Will they sleep in the attic or will you all sleep on the second floor? Who has the bedrooms facing the street? I'll know as soon as you move in. It will help me to know who is in which bedroom. Then I can plan better. So, fuck you. Immediate fuck you.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Is it like the son of the family from before who knows the whole layout and is just being a weirdo and maybe put some stuff in the walls himself.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Fucking with him. So it goes on and then it says, have a happy moving in day. You know, I will be watching. End quote.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Wow.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Derek and Maria stop taking their kids to the house after the second letter arrives. Obviously. Remember, they haven't moved in yet. They give this one to the police as well, but continue to keep everything a secret from their neighbors, all of whom are suspects. They attend a neighborhood barbecue and find out that the family in the house immediately next to theirs is a little colorful. In that neighboring house, a 90 year old matriarch lives there with four of her grown children. They're in their like 60s at this point, and they've all been there since the 1960s like the letter writer indicated. Additionally, the letter writer said that they had been watching the house for almost two decades after taking over for their father. And the family patriarch in this house next door had died 12 years earlier. So the timing lines up to me. It's like, boom, right? It turns out that this family was one of the first the Westfield police thought of. They were like, hey, it's these guys. These guys. The police had interviewed one of the adult sons. And this man had been known to trespass and look in windows in the past. But later we learn that he's been managing schizophrenia since he was a young adult. And when he looks in windows, he's actually interested in the renovations in unoccupied houses, houses, not at peeping at people. But it still like, seems close to, you know, like this. The motive of the watcher doesn't. Right, Right. But this man's never been a physical threat to anyone. And he denies having anything to do with the letters. Some people will always think that this family had something to do with them. It's the only house that's been occupied by the same family for as long as the letter writer claims to have been around and also has a good of the Broaddus home. Both letters had been sent through the mail and had been postmarked in Kearney, N.J. and the first letter had been sent three days before the sale of the house had been made public. Which also suggests to investigators that the letter writer is someone local who, like, knew who was moving in. Yeah, you know, because they already had their name before it even gone public.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And all the neighbors, when they know like a house is up for sale and what's selling, asking about stuff, talk to either the family or the real estate agent. Yeah, totally.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay. So at the end of July, the third letter arrives. This one points out that the family is barely spending any time at the new house and asks, quote, where have you gone to? 657 Boulevard misses you. And then six months pass and the renovations are finished, but the Broadduses fucking give it a hard hell no. And they never move into the house.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, my God.

[Georgia Hardstark]

And they did, like, crazy renovations to make it their dream home. They sell their old place that they had been living at in Westfield, but they move in with Maria's parents. They just didn't want to bring children to this house, you know, obviously. Right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. Right.

[Georgia Hardstark]

So they're trying to get this mystery solved, but soon it looks like it's not going to happen. Like, no one really cares that much about it. And so the Broadduses decide to put the house back on the market, which would be where your theory comes in and would be so spot on. Right?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

They first list the house in early 2015 for 1.5 million to reflect those, like, costly renovations that they've done. But already there are a lot of rumors circulating, and anyone who views the house can see that it was only purchased six months prior, which will make any buyer go, what the fuck is wrong with this house?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right. And that's when the whole story starts to come out publicly. The family gets a few low ball offers for the house, but they don't want to take such a huge financial hit. The Broadduses then file a lawsuit against the Woodses, the family who had just.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Sold it to them, who didn't disclose.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. The Broadduses say that the Woodses should have disclosed that first letter they got right before they closed on sale. The lawsuit is eventually dismissed, which I wonder, like, how. I guess it was threatening and they did something. Maybe it wouldn't have been dismissed, but nothing had happened.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. And it's kind of just like we got a weird card. There's no law that says we have to tell you about every weird card we get.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Totally. It makes me think of. There's this one story I heard about this house that been bought. Then one day, spiders started coming out of the wall in droves. Like, it was so infested with spiders that they had to move out and shut the house down. There was no getting rid of them. Holy shit. And they were able to sue the people who lived there before because they were like, oh, yeah, we didn't tell you that this house is fucking owned by spiders. Can you imagine just seeping out of the cracks in the wall?

[Karen Kilgariff]

That is spiders. No, that's from the devil.

[Georgia Hardstark]

A.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And actually Something. When I was subletting my house in Burbank, when I was working in Chicago, the guy that was subletting for me called me and he's like, dude, I have to tell you, there's crickets everywhere in the house. Yes.

[Georgia Hardstark]

But you just never noticed.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And, well, I'd never had that experience. Like, there would be one here and one there, but apparently there was like an infestation of crickets where I'm like, well, at least it's cricket. I.

[Georgia Hardstark]

No, it's like the least horrible insect that could happen. So what'd you do?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Just sent the bug man over and sprayed for it. But it was just kind of like, it was so weird. I was just like, so, okay.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's like a Bible curse.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It is, it is.

[Georgia Hardstark]

You should have been like, you brought them, motherfucker. There were not crickets before.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Stop sinning in my house. Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh my God. Do you know they have dog. They have dogs who sniff out black mold at houses.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I've seen some videos. Goes, I love it.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay, stop it.

[Karen Kilgariff]

You brought it up.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I know, I'm telling me. Stop fucking changing the subject. Okay, okay. Lawsuits dismissed. The Broaduses are like, all right, we need to sell the house. But they're like, we're not going to fucking do what these people did to us. We have to disclose what happened even though they legally don't. But nobody wants to buy the house because of that. Right? Like, no one wants those letters and they don't feel right not telling them about them.

[Karen Kilgariff]

What's weird is that truly there isn't really anything.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I know.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Like, it's just a weird letter.

[Georgia Hardstark]

But if they're scared enough and like, let's pretend they're just like normal rational people and they're freaked out enough by it not to move in, then like, you kind of can't do that to other people.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah, true. It's almost like passing on a stalker, right?

[Georgia Hardstark]

And like, so maybe the person they tell are like, oh, we don't give a shit about that. This is a fucking nice house. And like, let's get it for a discount. Someone might not care.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Right, true.

[Georgia Hardstark]

So they tell them, hoping they find that person, but they can't find that person. So then a developer comes and wants to buy the house and they want to split the lot in two and like, take down the old house, build two new houses there and then problem solve. The house isn't there anymore, but fucking Westfield is like, hell fucking no, you're not tearing down a 110 year old house. Because of some letters. Yeah, Right. So everyone has a planning board meeting. And the neighbors are like, absolutely not. And among the people at this meeting is the woman. Is a woman from that same eccentric family next door. And she's giggling probably. She's rubbing her hands together.

[Karen Kilgariff]

This is all my doings.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's right. Oh, wait, what? Did I. Did I say that out loud? She says, on the record, quote, I've spent almost 60 years looking at a magnificent, beautiful house. I don't wanna be looking out at a driveway, end quote. Which is like, you've been watching this house. And the town ultimately rejects the Broaddus proposal. Through are like, nope, go back.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Can't do it.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Can't do it. Which is like, I get that, but.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I think so too.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Can't tear down a fucking gorgeous old house with history.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Because also, it doesn't solve the problem.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Like, it actually. It's just a sidestep.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, totally. So over the next year, the Broadduses keep lowering the asking price on their house. They always insist on showing any potential new buyer all the letters before they proceed with the sale.

[Karen Kilgariff]

At least they're honestly.

[Georgia Hardstark]

No, I mean, noble giving them a lot of credit for that because. Because, you know, when you are in that in between house, like, they spent all this money, they still have that mortgage. That's a fucking lot of money to be waiting on for a house to sell.

[Karen Kilgariff]

But they're smart enough to know that if they lied about it, that would just be one more burden on them.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right?

[Karen Kilgariff]

That was one more thing that they're, like, feeling bad about. So it's like, keep your side of the street clean and try to get this taken care of.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, definitely. I think their agents and lawyers are like, shut the fuck up. Stop fucking telling people letters away. Yeah, people make offers, but every time they read the letters, they back out. Derek says about one of the people who were interested but then saw the letters. He says about it. Quote, some cocky guy from Staten island said, fuck it, I'm gonna get a house on a discount. And then Derek says he read the letters and we never heard from him again. So the Staten island guy was like, oh, no.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Bravest you got Staten island, buddy.

[Georgia Hardstark]

He can deal with Cropsey, but not the watcher. So by now, the story has been picked up by a lot of local New Jersey news outlets and some national ones. I totally remember hearing about it because it's just so creepy and fascinating.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I think I remember reading that article, actually.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, totally. And of course, that makes it even harder for the broadduses to sell the house in 2016, they finally managed to rent it out to a family who pays $5,000 a month to live in it, which I think is a huge discount. It's like, not a lot for that house, for whatever they could have gotten for it.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Right.

[Georgia Hardstark]

And a few months after that family moves in, the renters, they call Derek because another letter has arrived.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oof.

[Georgia Hardstark]

This one says, quote, 657 Boulevard survived your attempted assault and stood strong with its army of supporters barricading its gates. Meaning, like that public, you know, housing thing.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Meeting. My soldiers of the Boulevard followed my orders to a T. They carried out their mission and saved the soul of 657 Boulevard with my orders. All hail the Watcher. End quote. So it could be the whole fucking neighborhood that's in on this. I mean, and listen, I live in a neighborhood that's got some really fucking old, like, original houses. Before, like, Los Angeles was a place, you know, I would defend one of those fucking houses. They're gorgeous, sure.

[Karen Kilgariff]

But what are you defending it from?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Getting torn down and turned into a lot.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Not like someone moving in.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah, before they had. They were forced to get that. What do you call it? Developer in. They were just trying to live like a normal family. So what's the fight here?

[Georgia Hardstark]

You didn't really give them much of a choice.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah, that's true. This is all the Watchers fault.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It is. Hold on.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I can't stop eating these Skittles. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'll stop now.

[Georgia Hardstark]

No, it's asmr.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's Halloween.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's Halloween.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's Halloween.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay, so end quote, Then the letter then goes on, drastically changing to this threatening tone, saying, quote, maybe a car accident, maybe a fire, maybe something as simple as a mild illness that never seems to go away but makes you feel sick day after day after day after day after day. Like black mold, maybe the mysterious death of a pet. Loved ones suddenly die. Planes and cars and bicycles crash. Bones break. You are despised by the house, and the Watcher won. End quote. Okay, Then I'd be like, light a fucking match and run.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Wait, sorry. This is to the original family.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's to the original family, but there's other people living in it at the time. Okay, yeah. So this is the last letter that ever arrives at the house. And then in November of 2018, more than four years after that first letter arrived, New York Magazine publishes that long article about the whole saga, which is the main source for this story. The attention this attracts will eventually inspire the Netflix series the Watcher, Again, though very loosely based on what actually happened. But the article also brings attention to the initial police investigation and how unthorough it was like they didn't give a shit because, like, I mean, what. It's kind of a threat.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's a card.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's a card.

[Karen Kilgariff]

What are they supposed to do? Yeah, I mean, also, it would be interesting to know what could they do? Like, based on what? The postmark. Can you go back to the.

[Georgia Hardstark]

You're on the right track. Karen is a detective. So in 2018, the police test the DNA on the envelopes and discover an intriguing detail. The envelopes that the letters were sent in had been sealed. Lick. Sealed by a woman. This brings renewed focus to the woman who had been living at the house next to the Broadduses. But police ask neighbors to voluntarily submit DNA samples. The woman next door who had spoken out at the town meeting, she is not a match. Oh, but it's like, you fucking stop someone on the street and you're like, lick this closed. I don't know. Is that a thing?

[Karen Kilgariff]

I mean, you could.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Would anyone do it? I don't know.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I don't like the taste of these. Do you mind?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right. Or you know what you could do? You could take it to the post office, put it in the outgoing mail without it being sealed, and then whoever's, like, sealing them licks it and sends it on. Oh, right. Without even thinking about it. I would never fucking do that.

[Karen Kilgariff]

No.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yes.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I wonder if you're allowed to do that.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Like, leave it unsealed.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, it's an accident. Oh, no. I better seal this one before the card gets lost.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Also, I wonder if they had, because there's. I've watched people do it where they just have a little piece of wet sponge and they do that.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's what you're supposed to do. So, wait, but the DNA with DNA was on it.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So the DNA was on that part of the envelope?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. Like saliva.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Okay, so there's a woman somewhere that probably wasn't the neighbor that sealed it. Okay.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's all we know.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, okay.

[Georgia Hardstark]

She just. Someone sealed it. It wasn't that neighbor.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Okay.

[Georgia Hardstark]

People around Westfield have thrown around a couple theories, but they're very loose and they name people directly, so I'm not even gonna bother talking about them.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's Joanne.

[Georgia Hardstark]

You know Joanne.

[Karen Kilgariff]

She did it.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Jesus. And her brownies are terrible. Some people theorize that the whole thing was an elaborate hoax concocted by The Broadduses to either get out of buying such an expensive house that, like, maybe when they moved in, they're like, oh, shit, we actually can't afford this. But they did all these renovations, too. You know what I mean? It's weird.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. That doesn't seem right.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Or maybe they did it to get rich from a movie. But how would they know that was gonna happen? You know what I mean?

[Karen Kilgariff]

They would have to be sure that the best writer at New York Magazine totally picked up on this story. That seems a bit far fetched.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Before I tell you our story, Naomi Campbell has to play me. I just wanna get that clear.

[Karen Kilgariff]

We. I require that she's attached throughout this project. It's such a waste of money.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I know. There's no evidence to back any of this up. And if it were true, their plan would have been a spectacular failure. Not to mention a huge risk for an insurance executive to take. You know what I mean?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

And the money that the family did get from the Netflix show apparently didn't even cover the losses on the house.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So I bet they had two grand or something.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

For the whole family. Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Not each. And that's basically it. There's been no more letters since 2018. No one has made any additional headway on the case. The Broadduses want the female DNA from the envelopes to be run through forensic genealogy testing, and have even offered to pay for it themselves. But so far, police are like, no, no. We have things to do.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Right, but why can't they hire their own private genius? Paul Holz knows a genealogy lab that you could hire. Just get. Get the question answered.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Call Paul Holz. We're always saying it.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I mean, have him solve your cards.

[Georgia Hardstark]

The Broadduses finally sell the house for just under a million dollars in 2019, which is about 400 grand less than they paid for it four years earlier.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It happens. It happens.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It hurts. Hurts.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I feel like that's a lot of money.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I bet the marble they used in that kitchen was worth three times.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah, they. That's the thing, is, they. The budget that they were remodeling under did not take into account the watcher.

[Georgia Hardstark]

The budget they were using was that they were going to live there while their kids grew up. So let's use the nice fucking marble. Let's use the nice tile. And then faucets and shit.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Perhaps someday resell it way above what we bought it for.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right? And, like, I mean, not to be like, boohoo, this rich family. But, like, it's kind of lame that it's just because some fucker fucked around and found out, right, that he was right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Fucked around and we didn't find out.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It kept it secret.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's so annoying. Since the new owners have bought the house, there have been a few incidents with alarms being triggered mysteriously, which they'll do, particularly in the basement. Oh, my God. I had that house fucking alarmed to.

[Karen Kilgariff]

The hell and cameraed up, down and sideways everywhere.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Simply safe fucking all over the place.

[Karen Kilgariff]

We've told you and told you the.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Police have actually been called to the house more than 50 times since the new owners moved in. Cause I bet they're fucking terrified.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Five zero.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yes. They like hear a fucking one cricket and they're like, 911.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I don't like that at all.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I know. I wouldn't want. Would you do it? You get the house at a huge discount. It's a big old beautiful house in a fucking great neighborhood in New Jersey.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's dirty Jersey.

[Georgia Hardstark]

So that's a no. Just cause it's New Jersey.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I mean, I'm just saying that there's lots of lovely places to live in New Jersey if that's where you need to live. Why does it have to be on the boulevard? Is it a kind of like. Is that a status symbol?

[Georgia Hardstark]

I think you couldn't afford a house in that probably area slash school district or whatever for what you had if you didn't get that huge discount. You know what I mean?

[Karen Kilgariff]

So it's like every horror movie where they're like, we don't care. And then as they are in the house, they're starting to learn.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, I don't believe in that. And then so I think, like, don't.

[Karen Kilgariff]

911 may help you.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Crickets.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Crickets.

[Georgia Hardstark]

But, oh, by the way, though, it seems that most of those calls are due to people trespassing on the property because of the house notoriety.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's really shitty.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's so shitty.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's very inconsiderate of those people where it's like my interest trumps your constant paranoia that I'm. It's gonna take one thing to trigger.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, my gosh, that house today on Halloween, they do not pass out candy. They turn all the lights off and they fucking leave for the fucking Adirondacks.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Well, also, why wouldn't they? Their security walls go up. I wonder if there's like HOA rules where they can't build or something.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I don't think there's like fences, like. Yeah, some of those places won't let you Build fences and shit. I know. It's so fucked up. The broad is moving to another house in Westfield, which is perfectly nice, but way smaller and probably not as nice as the one on the boulevard. Derek Broaddus has tried his best to move on, but he's still consumed with the mystery, which I'm sure has been so irritating to him, and it's taken a toll on him.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

In 2022, he tells New York Magazine, quote, I had just turned 40 when we bought the house. I am now 93 years old. End quote.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

The gray Hair man. And that is the story of the enduring mystery of the Watcher.

[Karen Kilgariff]

You know, also, it's kind of the thing of, like, the more mysterious the message you are left to interpret. There's nothing worse than a void of information that you are left to interpret or make up what's going on. It makes people crazy.

[Georgia Hardstark]

And the incoherence of it, that it's a little all over the place. And what does point to someone not being rational?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I mean, it's unhinged to do that in the first place, but then to, like, make yourself seem legitimately unhinged by how poorly you write this letter.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yep.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's like it just adds to it.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Also, I wonder if they really wanted to just tear all those walls out. Cause they're like, fine, let's see what's in the walls then. If you insist. Like, there's just so many. Question, question, question. And what did the. Like, if the letters stop at a certain point, a certain year, did anybody look up if anybody died?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Good idea. Or, like, who in the neighborhood died?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. Or who in the city died? Or who in people's lives? Because also, there's the thing. Did you watch the. Oh, it's so good. The new Olivia Colman movie? I recommended it.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yes. You did? What was it called?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Dirty Little Letters.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I think. Yes. Yes.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And she does. It's like her. But no one would expect it. Cause she's this different kind of person. And I wonder if it's that thing where there's, like, somebody that one of the people in that family did something to and didn't realize it.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right. Yeah, it could be. It could have been someone they actually know.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And it's just some weird. A weird person's revenge. That's insanely effective.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Like, if he's an insurance adjuster, did he have a client that he said, nope, you won't be covered.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right. He fucked someone over. Or maybe it was like someone he works with, who he fired and something. God, yeah. Or a mom at the PTA fucking meeting.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It could be anybody. It could be anyone.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Spooky Halloween. We did it, you guys. We hope you have a really good spooky Halloween.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Great job. That was really. That was. I think I watched the beginning of that and then for some reason had to go somewhere or something, and then I just forgot that I was watching it.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Me too.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Now I want to watch it.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, totally. Totally.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Because anyone knows I need a watcher. Yeah. What are the details? What are the possibilities?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Possibilities. They're endless.

[Karen Kilgariff]

You have to go to where we're family.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Because when you're in Boulevard, you're right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Let's go get endless breadsticks and figure out who's doing this.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Sit around a table of breadsticks and fucking figure this out.

[Karen Kilgariff]

The possibilities are endless. It's just a little Italian guy going like this to his mustache.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's a meme.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's me.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I'm in the driveway.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Tony Soprano.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Tony, thanks for listening.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah, thanks for listening. Please be safe on your Halloween.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Check your candy light sweater.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Wear a coat over your costume to ruin it. Want your plastics, Right?

[Georgia Hardstark]

And stay sexy and don't get murdered.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Goodbye, Elvis.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Do you want a cookie?

[Karen Kilgariff]

This has been an exactly right production.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Our senior producer is Alejandra Keck.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Our managing producer is Hannah Kyle Crichton.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Our editor is Aristotle Acevedo.

[Karen Kilgariff]

This episode was mixed by Liana Scolacci.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Our Researchers are Maren McClassian and Allie Elkin.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Email your hometowns to my favorite murdermail.com.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Follow the show on Instagram and Facebook at my favorite murder. And Twitter at myfavemurder. Goodbye. Yes.

[Karen Kilgariff]

No, these are just Skittles.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wait, aren't they sour?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, hold on. Yep. Mm.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Too sour.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Not too sour. They're good.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay, I'm gonna try them.