MFM Minisode 465

Summary

My Favorite Murder Minisode 465 – Summary

Podcast: My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
Episode: MFM Minisode 465
Date: December 8, 2025
Duration (content only): ~26 minutes

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Episode Overview

In this Minisode, Karen and Georgia read and discuss a series of listener-submitted "hometown" stories—a hallmark of MFM Minisodes. True to their comedic, conversational style, they mix heartfelt empathy and personal anecdotes with laughter as they navigate tales involving risky childhood decisions, chilling local crimes, quirky animal interludes, haunted cabins, and cult-adjacent childhoods. As always, the friendship between the hosts shines through their banter, weaving humor through the sometimes-dark stories shared.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Listener Stories: Themes of Danger, Survival, and Kindness

Hitchhiking & Childhood Agency

• Vanessa's story (01:56–06:57) kicks off the episode: As a sixth grader left to get herself to school due to her mother's early shifts, she experiences anxiety after thinking she missed the bus. A stranger offers her a ride—she accepts, he sternly warns her never to do this again, and she arrives safely. But the twist: she hadn’t missed the bus—it was a late start day. Vanessa reflects on the unnecessary risk and pressure of managing adult responsibilities as a child.

  • Memorable Quotes:
    • Georgia: "Why do we make children wake up so fucking early?" (02:36)
    • Karen (on tired kids): "Get them ready for factory work. That's what it's all about." (02:58)
    • Vanessa: "I risked being abducted for what? Middle school? Insane. SSDGM. And don't risk your life for middle school." (06:56)
    • Karen: "The pressure of doing the bus correctly." (06:57)

• Hosts empathize, sharing their own stories about exhaustion and parental expectations, critiquing the pressures of early school times (03:01–04:18).

• Karen recounts a reverse stranger danger story: she and her ex once saved two young teens stranded late at night, all while warning them about the risks. (05:30–06:04)

Small Town Crime & Trust Betrayed

• Chilling murder case from a listener whose dad grew up in a Pennsylvania coal town (07:52–09:20): A childhood acquaintance, Joe Alessio, killed two young siblings, participated in the search party, and buried their bodies in a mine shaft.

  • Notable Quotes:
    • Karen: "Guess who was part of the search party. That's right, Joe." (08:38)
    • Georgia: "Man, those are the stories that, like, your town just never gets over. No, it stays with everyone." (09:20)
    • Karen: "The idea that the guy that did it is in the search party is beyond comprehension until what, the last 15 years?" (09:43)
    • Georgia: "You don't understand what evil looks like. It looks like everyone else. It looks like you and me." (09:53)

• The hosts discuss the recurring theme in true crime of perpetrators blending into the search effort and the community’s shock (09:20–09:53).

The Trickster Dog of West Virginia

• Axel the dog (11:32–15:33): A couple, Catherine and her then-new husband David, encounter a scrappy dog near their Airbnb. Locals call him Axel, the "street dog gang leader." Catherine and David bathe and care for him, consider keeping him, but as they leave, Axel chases their car—only to be retrieved by his true owner in a passing pickup truck.

  • Hosts’ Reactions:
    • Georgia: "She [the cashier] called him a street dog gang leader." (12:44)
    • Karen (on Axel's cuteness): "That's the most stealable dog of all time." (15:17)

• The story blends warmth and humor, highlighting the bond between people and stray animals and the quirky personalities found in small towns.

Haunted Cabins and Pushy Ghosts

• Ghost stories from a student who stayed in cabins near Ashland, OR (15:37–19:02):

  • Strange phenomena: missing silverware, unplugged clocks, unexplained lights.

  • A later student was physically pushed back by an unseen force, and another reported seeing a lumberjack ghost with a chainsaw.

  • The tales are darkly comedic and spooky, sparking a debate about what counts as a "good" ghost story.

  • Quotes:

    • Karen (on ghost stories): "It's like straight out of a Blumhouse horror movie." (18:12)
    • Georgia: "I'm a college dropout now. Goodbye." (18:31)

Parenting, Kindness, and the "Hot Dog" MFM Lore

• Lighthearted closer: A parent relates how her toddler, upon seeing a sibling in meltdown, suggests, "maybe a hot dog would help"—despite never having eaten one, only hearing about them from the podcast (20:14–21:21).

  • Memorable Quotes:
    • Georgia: "Maybe a hot dog would help." (21:18)
    • Karen: "Maybe I should have a hot dog and figure out what they are." (21:19)
    • Georgia: "I love that. That's our legacy." (21:24)

Cults, Clothing, and Coming Out

• Final story by Beth (22:01–25:24): Growing up in Oregon during the Rajneesh movement, Beth experiences the fear and suspicion community members had for the cult—especially around wearing "sunset" colors. Her mom refused to let her go on a Girl Scout trip to visit the Rajneesh commune, citing, “because there were lesbians there.” Years later, Beth comes out, her mother is loving and accepting, but the irony is not lost.

  • Key Moments:
    • Karen: "You don't need a permission slip to be a lesbian. Stay sexy and wear what feels good." (25:24)
    • Georgia: "Why didn't you want me to go? Because you will become the thing you are. Well, guess what? I'm the thing that you didn't want." (25:32)
    • Karen: "The lesbians with machine guns are like the least of your fucking worries. I promise you." (25:45)

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Additional Notable Quotes and Banter

• On early school times:

  • Karen: "Why am I so tired? Could you figure it out? You work at a goddamn hospital." (03:44)
  • Georgia: "I would fall asleep in class every fucking day in like fourth grade and no one said shit about it. That's not okay." (03:48)

• On true crime and appearances:

  • Georgia: "Why would this happen? Yeah, let's blame Satanists." (09:39)

• On haunted cabins:

  • Georgia: "I want the push stories more than the light flickering stories." (19:02)
  • Karen: "It's those old electrical cords wrapped in cloth... going to start a fire. A haunted fire." (19:19)

• On bullying in the '80s:

  • Karen: "Ah, the 80s. The golden age of bullying." (22:09)
  • Georgia: "It's like you either bullied or you got bullied. And those were the only two modes of existence in the 80s..." (22:19)

• On Rajneesh Puram field trip:

  • Karen: "Why won't you let me go visit a cult? Her answer... Because there were lesbians there." (24:55)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:38 – Intro and host banter
• 01:56 – Vanessa's hitchhiking/bus story
• 05:30 – Karen's own reverse-hitchhiking anecdote
• 07:52 – Small town murder story (Joe Alessio)
• 11:32 – Axel the street dog and Airbnb adventure
• 15:37 – Haunted cabin at college
• 20:14 – Parenting, toddlers, and "maybe a hot dog would help"
• 22:01 – Beth's Rajneesh cult/community story

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Tone and Style

The episode is trademark MFM: conversational, comedic, raw, and at times irreverent. Karen and Georgia shift fluidly from light to dark subjects, using humor as a balm for the grim or unsettling stories, and create camaraderie through relatable confessions and honest reactions.

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Conclusion

Minisode 465 delivers the classic blend of humor and heart that defines My Favorite Murder. Drawing on the wild tapestry of listener experiences—ranging from childhood dangers and small-town horror to endearing animal tales, ghostly intrusions, and the complexities of growing up outside the "norm"—Karen and Georgia make space for both laughter and reflection. Their commentary not only entertains but also connects listeners through shared anxieties, oddities, and defiant kindness.

Stay sexy, and don’t get murdered.

Transcript

[Karen Kilgariff]

This is exactly right.

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[Karen Kilgariff]

Hello and welcome to my favorite murder. That's Georgia Hardstark.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's Karen Kil. It's the Minisodes.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's the Minisodes.

[Georgia Hardstark]

We knew that.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's the Minisodes.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

If you're listening to the Minisodes, you don't need to know who we are. What's important is the emails.

[Georgia Hardstark]

For some reason, we're not going to tell you who this is.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's a secret.

[Georgia Hardstark]

When it's a minisode.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Okay, you go first.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Hitchhiking story. To the women that have gotten me through it all, I wanna start off with a confession. I'm not even that into true crime. I am still, however, a day one listener. Not because of my obsession with true crime, but because of my obsession with each of you and the inspiring friendship you share. I am being so serious when I say that this is the only podcast I listen to. Wrote this by my mom. And I have listened to every episode at least three times. Wow. But in the interest of everyone's time, let's get into every episode.

[Karen Kilgariff]

3Times doesn't like true crime. We need to send this person a gift basket.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Truly. Jesus Christ. Like a spa day or something. Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So sorry.

[Georgia Hardstark]

The year is 2011. I'm in sixth grade and it's my first time taking the school bus alone. My divorced and working mother had just started the 4am shift at her Job at our local grocery store. So it was now my responsibility to make sure I woke up, fed myself, and made it to the bus stop before the 6:45 pickup. Why do we make children wake up so fucking early?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Get them ready for factory work. That's what it's all about.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's sickening to me.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Bells early morning.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Stop it everyone.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah, it's based on like farm hand work where it's like you gotta be up before the sun is up.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I mean, honestly, like half of my issues with school, I think were because I was so fucking tired. Cause we had to get up at 6 in the fucking morning.

[Karen Kilgariff]

The most trouble I ever got into was. I think I was a junior. And I got up, took a shower. And I remember cause my mom had knew bath sheets, so they were really big. So I had one in my hair and one around my body. And I sat back down on my bed, fell over and went back to sleep. And she came by because she was always trying to get to work and was like, God damn it. But I was like, obviously there was something going on with my system that I.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Your child is tired. That's not something you should get in trouble for.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Why am I so tired? Could you figure it out? You work at a goddamn hospital.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I would fall asleep in class every fucking day in like fourth grade and no one said shit about it. That's not okay.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Maybe I'm an.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Maybe I'm anemic. Maybe have sleep apnea. Hey, I do have sleep apnea. And I found out when I was fucking 30. Like what, do you have ADHD? Oh yeah. I do too. Yeah, what the fuck, everyone?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Sugar sensitivity. And I'm filled with corn pops before I come to school. Right?

[Georgia Hardstark]

I'm allowed to drink soda. Okay, let's digress, shall we? But that's our. That's our platform.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's our problem.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Look at us now. I don't wake up till 11 o' clock every day. I arrived at the bus stop on time, proud of my newfound agency. And I began to wait and wait and wait. After about 15 minutes, I began to panic. I fucked up my first day of taking care of myself. And now I had no way to get to school. Had the bus come earlier than usual? Is the pickup spot different from last year? My young mind raced as I thought of the consequences of missing school because I couldn't get to the bus stop on time. As I sat sobbing on the sidewalk outside of our apartment complex, a man pulled his car over and asked if I was okay. Yes, I responded Cautiously, since it is 2011 after all. And stranger danger had been instilled in me since I could remember. What's wrong? He asked, since I was clearly in distress. I missed the school bus. I responded sheepishly, foolishly, aware of the danger I was in. Maybe it was the fact that he claimed to work at our apartment complex. And then it says, textbook serial killer lie. Or maybe it was because he scolded me the moment I accepted to never do this again. But for some unknown reason, I trusted this random man to drive me to school.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Shockingly, I arrived at school unscathed. He says, do you wanna ride? She says, okay. He gets in the car and he goes, never do this again.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Never do this again.

[Georgia Hardstark]

You're so lucky I'm fucking normal.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's what happened long ago when my ex and I picked up these two like 13 year olds at a gas station at 1am we were driving up to Petaluma and they were standing around trying to make phone calls. And there was all these men that I could. They were just watching them at this. And I was like, girls, what are you doing? Why are you here this late? And they're like, our ride left us. And I'm like, get into the car. Never get anyone's car, but get into my car. And I was like, do you know Ms. Kilgariff over at Lou Sutton? And they were like, oh, yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

So it was like, oh my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Thank God it was Nevado.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. Like the middle of nowhere.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I was so mad at these girls. I was just like, what are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Luckily they got you. Ashamed I had done something so risky, but relieved I wouldn't have to deal with the ridicule of missing the bus on my first attempt, I shoved my anxiety aside and reached for the entrance to my school. But it was locked. As it turns out. As it turns out, I actually hadn't missed the bus due to my own 12 year old negligence. That particular Monday happened to be a two hour late start, meaning the bus I sobbed over would be arriving an hour and a half from the moment of my realization. Not only had I risked my life because of a clerical error, but I was now stranded at school. I ultimately walked to my friend's house that lived near the school and the rest of the day went accordingly. But holy fuck, I risked being abducted for what? Middle school? Insane sstgm. And don't risk your life for middle school. Vanessa.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Vanessa. The pressure of doing the bus correctly.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's not on you.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's so awful. And especially then when you're like. Cuz the first thing they said was ridicule.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I'm gonna get in trouble. You're going to get in trouble for not getting there on time. But you're also gonna get in trouble if you accept a ride from someone.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's so much pressure for a young mind who can't handle that. Look, that's how you know they're too young.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Isn't logical. Doesn' like A to B to C.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Can't go if the bus isn't here. It's not my fault.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Totally.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And I don't have to solve the fact that the bus isn't here. I just go back home and go, the bus never came.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

But they don't know that that's what a 14 year old would do.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right? A 12 year old.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Nope.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh my God. This is why I could never have children. I just couldn't let them go out into the world. I'd be like, I haven't taught you everything.

[Karen Kilgariff]

You're at work typing. Hmm. I'm getting a weird feeling.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I wonder if she's out in the world.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I hope she's not crying in a man's car somewhere.

Okay, I'm not gonna read you the subject line of this. It says, dear Karen in Georgia. I grew up in a small coal town in northeastern Pennsylvania right outside of Scranton. Yes, like the office. My dad grew up in that same small town in the 70s and 80s. He was friends with a kid named Joe Alessio who just didn't seem quite right. My dad will be the first to tell you that he got into a lot of trouble as a teen, but will also tell you that this kid was on a different level. Animal abuse, setting fires, et cetera, et cetera. Long story short, 1981, when he was 15 years old, Joe killed two children, Cheryl and Christopher Ziemba. They were 8 and 4 years old. And then he rolled their bodies into a carpet and dumped them down a mine shaft up in the mountains behind my dad's childhood home.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

The entire town went looking for these children. My grandma tells me that she can still hear the townspeople yelling their names and not hearing anything back. And guess who was part of the search party. That's right, Joe. The part that gets me is when they found the bodies, Christopher was wearing his favorite Superman T shirt. And Joe had recently tried to claim that Cheryl's death was an accident and that he killed Christopher. Out of panic, he tried to appeal his life sentence, but got turned down. He will not be eligible for parole until 2041. Thanks for everything you do. I saw you in Denver recently and it made my year. Ssd, gm.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Man, those are the stories that, like, your town just never gets over. No, it stays with everyone.

[Karen Kilgariff]

The entire town's looking for a brother and a sister. Yeah. I mean, awful.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, my God. That's like. When I picture the 70s and 80s, I'm like, well, everyone was just looking for missing children.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes.

[Georgia Hardstark]

All the time.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And always baffled and kind of like, what's going on?

[Georgia Hardstark]

And who wouldn't? Why would this happen? Yeah, let's blame Satanists.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Well, let's blame Satanists because the idea of that the guy that did it is in the search party is beyond comprehension until what, the last 15 years?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Because you don't understand what evil looks like. It looks like everyone else. It looks like you and me.

[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

This is an or so we thought story. Hey, MFM crew. I've always wanted to tell this story, and now is my time in 2020. I met my husband David during the Pandemic. We both got Covid right after meeting and quarantined together for two weeks. Being sick like that after just a few weeks of knowing each other was so crazy. But we made it out alive. After a few weeks of getting better, we decided to go for a three day weekend trip to an Airbnb in a little town in West Virginia. On our second day there, I was lying down near a window and saw a dog. It was really cold, so I went outside to see if the dog had a collar. He did have a collar, but he was filthy and didn't seem like he had a tag. My husband and I stayed with this dog outside for most of the day and thought about bringing him inside. There was a walkable grocery store nearby, so I headed there to get the dog some food. The cashier saw me looking at dog food and said, is Axel over there? He likes to play with all the tourists that come by, like begging for food. I'm starving.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So la dog.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Hi, I'm Axel. She then showed me pictures of Axel and other dogs that like to come around frequently. Oh my God. The suckers at the Airbnb. The fucking coastal elite, where they're just.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Kind of like, if you make your eyes wide enough, you'll get a full dinner in the middle of the day.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Tail between legs, you're golden. Oh my God. She called him a street dog gang leader. She also told me that Axel was almost taken by a previous couple who were staying at that Airbnb, but they ended up leaving him behind. She told me he had an owner, a Penny somethings. I can't remember the exact name. I bought dog food and dog shampoo, wash because he was dirty. My husband and I took the dog inside, gave him a warm bath and gave him dinner. That sounds like my ideal vacation. Find a stray dog.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Find a couple that will bathe you and dine you.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's actually the other way around. Yeah, I love it. Da da da da da. We gave him dinner. We hung out with this one blue eyed dog for the rest of the evening. We found a kitten outside an Airbnb in like Lake Arrowhead. Once we let him stay inside, even though it was against the Airbnb rules. Now it was the final day of our trip and we had to decide what to do about Axel. He was still there and not looking to be leaving or walking back to his home. My husband and I talked about taking him, but were worried he wouldn't get along with our other dog, Murphy. We looked at each other and decided not to Take Axel. We packed our things in the car and drove off. We'd been driving for not 30 seconds, and we realized Axel was running behind the car.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Does he do that for everybody?

[Georgia Hardstark]

I don't know. We looked at each other and said, come on, babe. My husband began driving faster to see if that would stop him from running, but it made Axel run even faster.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Pull over.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's when we decided we had to take Axel with us.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yay.

[Georgia Hardstark]

He clearly wanted to come. I love that they're letting the dog decide. So we pull over, and my husband goes to the trunk to get a blanket to lie down in the backseat. He opens the back door, and Axel jumps right in. When suddenly a rusty red pickup truck sees us and thinks our car is broken down and asks in a Southern Appalachian accent, are y' all okay? Do you need help? And we began to explain that we were trying to get the dog into the car. And he says in a Southern Appalachian accent, is that my dog? Axel, get in here.

Axel jumps out of our backseat into the red pickup truck, and they set off into the sunset.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, Axel. Axel.

[Georgia Hardstark]

My husband and I are literally speechless trying to explain how that just happened. Truly one of the funniest stories I have to tell. It makes me laugh and cry at how many things had to line up for that to even happen. Thank you all for everything, and thanks for always speaking up about mental health and how immigrants make this country great. SSDGM Catherine N. Do I have a picture of Axel? Oh, yes or no?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, my God.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Like, that's a fucking hound.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's the most stealable dog of all time.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Immediately.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Are you out of your mind?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Look at the face. I guess I'm really hungry. I haven't eaten in a while.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I don't know. I seem abandoned, even though this is a brand new red collar. Oh, my.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Axel. Yeah. Axel, get in that car.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That is amazing. I love it. Okay.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay, your turn.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Subject line of this email is the time I lived in a haunted cabin. Dear Karen, in Georgia, during my senior year in college, I did a study away program near Ashland, Oregon. We lived on a small campus surrounded by wilderness, where we lived in cabins instead of dorms. It was awesome. That kind of sounds amazing.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Cabins. Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. The area that is now our campus was once a small town built around a 1920s lumber mill. The best way I can describe it is that it feels like living on Walton's Mountain. The cabins were.

[Georgia Hardstark]

What does that mean?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, the Waltons.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. Oh. Got it. Got it.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So it's like everything's spread Apart the.

[Georgia Hardstark]

TV show's the Waltons.

[Karen Kilgariff]

The Waltons is so old.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I think I'm like that much too young for it.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I was too young. Like, I remember my parents watching it. Just at the end, they all go, good night, John Boy. Goodnight, Grandpa. And it was just the outside shot of the house. It was real homey. It was almost like grown up. Little House on the Prairie.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's what I was thinking. Is that word Little House on the Prairie.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It was years later. Got it in a higher mountain.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay, okay. Time and place, here we are.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Little House on the Prairie was like Minnesota, I believe. And then I believed. Walton's is Appalachian.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Did you grow up like that? Tell us how it was.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes. Did you make the walls of your own home out of mud and clay? Please write in. Okay. The cabins were where the mill workers lived and our library was their general store. Pretty rad. That's incredible. Actually. I lived in a cabin with three other girls. Everything was fine for a while, but then we started noticing strange things were happening. Silverware would go missing. Doors opened and then closed on their own. My roommate kept a flashlight in her desk drawer and opened the drawer more than once to find the flashlight turned on. We would wake up in the morning to find our alarm clock unplugged when we knew it had been plugged in. When we went to bed, our porch light flickered for the entire semester. Two of our professors tried to fix it with no luck. Ghosts.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's not. No.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I spoke to two girls who did the program the year after me and Anna told me that she was coming out of the bathroom one day and heard footsteps. She thought it was one of her roommates, and she said she felt like someone was standing outside the door, so she yelled out, wow. Very funny, guys. You're just trying to hear me pee. She stepped out of the bathroom and she said she got pushed backwards. The force was so strong that she hit her back on the bathroom sink.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Anna lived in the same bedroom in the cabin that I lived in the previous year. I asked if she'd ever felt anything, and she said she was doing her hair in the mirror and saw a person standing behind her near the bunk bed. When she screamed and turned around, there was nothing there. Oh.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Night mirror Ghost nightmare.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's like straight out of a Blumhouse horror movie.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Another girl told me that she often saw a ghost when she was walking home from the library at night. She described the ghost as a lumberjack man who carried a chainsaw. He never did anything to me. But I always saw him. Cool. What does he have to do past carrying a fucking chainsaw at you?

[Georgia Hardstark]

I'm a college dropout now. Goodbye.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Goodbye. That's when I started jogging away from college. It makes sense for an area that was a lumber mill town. Our professor told us that the ghost who haunts Cabin 8 is a lumberjack too. Maybe it's the same one. Thank you for everything you do and for always bringing humor to shitty situations. Love y'. All. And also Anna sadly passed away in 2022. RIP Anna SSDGM Becca so sorry. I know. Sad.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow. Ghost stories. I want the push stories more than the light flickering stories. You know what I mean?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. Because if it's like a cabin in the 20s, then you're like, that's an electrical issue.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's fucking middle of nowhere.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Of course, just get someone out there. It's those old electrical cords wrapped in cloth. Ex get rid of them because they're.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Going to start a fire. A haunted fire.

[Karen Kilgariff]

A haunted fire. But somebody pushing you into the sink?

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's fucked up.

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[Karen Kilgariff]

The holidays are back at Starbucks, so.

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[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay, here's my last one. It's short. Okay, okay. It's lighthearted. To my favorite murder gals. I am currently in the trenches of parenting two girls, both under the age of two, which means most of my days are spent breaking up would be baby cat fights, cleaning up crushed Cheerios, and listening to Wheels on the Bus way too many times. The other day my youngest daughter was extremely upset over something teething, am I right? And launched into a full blown meltdown at the breakfast table like first thing in the morning. And my older daughter immediately rushed to her side, tried comforting her and looked up at me with two wide eyes. She uttered maybe a hot dog would help. I was immediately Confused. These girls have never seen or even had a hot dog ever before in their short lives. But then they realized they have heard about hot dogs. When we are driving in the car, listening to your podcast Stay Sexy and know that, yes, a hot dog always helps. Mary and two pint sized fans. Oh, maybe a hot dog would help.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Maybe I should have a hot dog and figure out what they are.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Hot dogs all around.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, that's so cute.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I love it. I love that. That's our legacy.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I know. Yes. Teach the children well. They're like, there's too many nitrates in this for you to actually eat.

[Georgia Hardstark]

You shouldn't be eating them.

[Karen Kilgariff]

We've gotten so many cute hot dog keychains, toys, you know, hand stitched, crochet, many things. Yeah, that earrings so cute. And people walking up with like hot dog print dresses on. That's so good. Okay, my last one is pretty great. It starts Heidi Ho Murderinos. I am not a fitter inner. I've only been concerned about standing out for two of my 52 years. And of course, those years were in junior high.

[Georgia Hardstark]

God, it's bad.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's just so bad. No one's ready.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Tucked my shirts into my shorts.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Well, they were so big and long, you had to put them somewhere. Ah, the 80s. The golden age of bullying.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Truly, it's so true. It's why we're here today. Truly.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's like you either bullied or you got bullied. And that those were the only two modes of existence in the 80s, when there were only four approved brand names of clothing at school. And at least three of them involved convincing your parents to drive you three hours over a mountain pass to a real mall. Oh, and then beg you to buy them the guess or a spree shirt of your choice if you could fit into it. Yes, yes and yes. I really tried to blend and go unnoticed by the cool kids. But the clothing rules kept changing. And then the Rajneeshis moved to town.

The Bhagwan Sri Rajneesh and his pals started their own settlement in central Oregon in the early 80s, though the commune would later be known for more nefarious deeds. When I was in sixth and seventh grade, the school bullies would focus on the color palette the cult members chose to wear. The Bhagwan's followers, called Rajneeshis, only wore the colors of the sunset, capital C, capital S. And suddenly wearing any shade of red could get you on the wrong side of a dodgeball. Not to mention the vicious chants of Rajneeshi, Rajneeshi echoing for weeks.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So you're just like a 12 year old girl going to school? Like I just got this cute red esprit shirt. Yeah, here I go. The cult was unwelcome in their tiny town of Antelope, just over an hour from where I grew up in Bend. But the mistrust and suspicion spread all over the area with Rajneeshi Hunter bumper stickers and parody songs on the radio about the Bhagwan's right hand woman, Sheila. There didn't seem to be a sympathetic or even neutral stance on them anywhere in the state. Of course not.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Tough titties.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah, because you've got a. There's a race issue. There's just a general new people in a country territory issue doing something not Christian, not Christian in the league kind of opposite. And in a commune y way, it's all the. It's a real perfect storm in maroon. Oh, except for my girl scout leader. Yep, she put together a field trip for our troop to go visit the Communists unum one Saturday in 1984.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's progressive, right?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Finally, my curiosity would be satiated if only I could get my mom to sign the permission slip. But you know what? That woman didn't even seem to consider it before telling me no, but. But all my friends were going. I would be the only person who didn't go. Who we would be chaperoned. Why you're being so close minded, mom. Why won't you let me go visit a cult? Her answer, though seemingly random at the time, would bubble up in my memory about 13 years later when I was planning another uncomfortable conversation with her. Why wouldn't she let me go visit the Rajneesh Purim? And then the mother's answer in quotes. Because there were lesbians there.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh no.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Although my FOMO felt fatal, I guess I wasn't that concerned about it because I was almost 30 when I found out zero Girl Scouts went on that trip. Nobody's parents signed those permissions.

Now when I came out to my mom in 1997, she was very loving and accepting and I will never stop missing her since she passed 10 years later. But Jesus Christ, mom, you don't need a permission slip to be a lesbian. Stay sexy and wear what feels good.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Beth, that's such a great like full circle story. Why didn't you want me to go? Because you will become the thing you are. Well, guess what? I'm the thing that you didn't want.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Me to spirit for a reason. But also, did you know they also have machine guns there.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And all kinds of shit you would be very worried about.

[Georgia Hardstark]

The lesbians with machine guns are like the least of your fucking worries. I promise you. Hey, lesbians with machine guns. Thank you for listening.

[Karen Kilgariff]

We'd love to hear from you.

[Georgia Hardstark]

We truly would.

[Karen Kilgariff]

What's going on in Bend?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Let us know. And also stay sexy and don't get murdered.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Goodbye.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Goodbye, Elvis. Do you want a cookie?

[Karen Kilgariff]

This has been an exactly right production.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Our senior producer is Molly Smith and our associate producer is Tessa Hugh Hughes.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Our editor is Aristotle Acevedo.

[Georgia Hardstark]

This episode was mixed by Liana Squillace.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Email your hometowns to my favorite murder.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Gmail.Com follow the show on Instagram at My favorite murder.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Listen to my favorite murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Or Watch us on YouTube. Search for my favorite murder and then like and subscribe. Goodbye.

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