PNW Haunts & Homicides

We’re taking a short break and using this time to amplify the voices of other creators we love in the true crime space. This week we’re bringing you a story from Alecia - host of Truly Twisted (AND Twisted & Uncorked )! Follow the show @itstrulytwisted on Instagram and @trulytwisted on TikTok as well as the host @littleleesha. On September 29, 1996. Just after 2am, in the quiet Ontario town of...

What happens when a controlling husband not only silences his wife — but continues to terrorize her loved ones, even from behind bars? By the end of September 1990, 26-year-old Microsoft employee and young mother Jami Sue Hagel Sherer had vanished from Redmond, Washington. Her family, friends, and coworkers searched desperately for answers, and Microsoft even posted a reward to help locate her. Bu...

What happens when a picture-perfect life hides a dangerous secret — and a young mother suddenly vanishes? In September 1990, 26-year-old Jami Sue Hagel Sherer vanished without a trace from Redmond, Washington — leaving behind her young son, her close-knit family, and a trail of unsettling questions. Jami’s life appeared perfect: a promising career at Microsoft, a new family home, and a bright futu...

We’re taking a short break and using this time to amplify the voices of other creators we love in the true crime space. This week we’re bringing you a story from Lindsay and Madison of Ye Olde Crime .  They discuss the death of Thomas Edwin Bartlett, as well as why you should go to a quality dentist, why you should background check your doctors, and how not to procure poison. Visit our website! Fi...

We’re taking a short break and using this time to amplify the voices of other creators we love in the true crime space. This week we’re bringing you a story from abroad by Jaimie Beebe of The Last Trip. On a solo holiday in Marsa Alam, Egypt in April 2017, 27‑year‑old Polish beautician Magdalena Zuk experienced a troubling mental health episode. Hospitalized three days into her trip, she attempted...

We’re taking a short break and using this time to amplify the voices of other creators we love in the true crime space. This week we’re bringing you a story from abroad by Jaimie Beebe of The Last Trip . 21-year-old college student Skye Budnick boarded a one-way flight from Connecticut to Japan in April 2008—and was never seen again. Skye's final confirmed sighting was at a small inn in Noboribets...

In 1990 Neil Stonechild, a 17-year-old Saulteaux First Nations teen, was last seen on a freezing November night in Saskatoon, handcuffed and bleeding in the back of a police cruiser. At least, according to the disturbing testimony of his best friend. Five days later, Neil’s frozen body was found in a remote snow-covered industrial field near Saskatoon. The official cause of death was ruled hypothe...

We’re taking a short break and using this time to amplify the voices of other creators we love in the true crime space. While we’re enjoying our summer hiatus, we’ve got something dark and compelling to keep your earbuds company. We're dropping an episode from Ye Olde Crime hosted by twisted sister co-hosts and our friends from the midwest - Lindsay and Madison. In this episode, they discuss the v...

Aurora and Fanni from Bad Witches Productions join us to share the real-life hauntings and creative process behind their horror short, Vessel . Aurora’s ghostly attachment sparked a deeper exploration into how feminism and the paranormal intertwine—both in life and on screen. We dive into the connection between women’s experiences with the paranormal and the broader struggle to be believed, especi...

We’re taking a short break and using this time to amplify the voices of other creators we love in the true crime space. While we’re enjoying our summer hiatus, we’ve got something dark and compelling to keep your earbuds company. We're dropping an episode from Sins & Survivors , a Las Vegas true crime podcast hosted by Shaun & John.   They were invited by Jake Deptula (@jaked3000) and Mich...

We’re taking a short break and using this time to amplify the voices of other creators we love in the true crime space. While we’re enjoying our summer hiatus, we’ve got something dark and compelling to keep your earbuds company. We're dropping an episode from Sins & Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast hosted by Shaun & John.   A tragic case of child custody gone wrong. On Easter Sun...

This week, we head to Portland’s Crystal Ballroom , the haunted concert venue that inspired the eclectic, art-filled vibes of the Crystal Hotel . Owned today by McMenamins , this iconic building has been everything from a debutante’s playground to a psychedelic rock stage—and it has the ghost stories to prove it. Originally opened in 1914 as Cotillion Hall, the Crystal Ballroom has seen it all: fl...

We’re taking a short break and using this time to amplify the voices of other creators we love in the true crime space. While we’re enjoying our summer hiatus, we’ve got something dark and compelling to keep your earbuds company. We're dropping an episode from Truly Twisted , a gripping true crime podcast hosted by Alecia Watson of Twisted & Uncorked that explores the deeply disturbing cases t...

Summertime is upon us! We’ve penciled in some time to sip rosé and soak up the sunshine so we’ll be sprinkling in some periodic breaks from our own content creations. Of course, we’d never leave you high and dry. While we’re taking a little summer break, we’re dropping an episode from a podcast we absolutely love—Twisted & Uncorked! If you're into conspiracy theories, creepy encounters, and a...

After more than four decades of silence, Parabon Nanolabs and cutting-edge genetic genealogy are reigniting public interest in three men who were—separately and confusingly—all referred to as the ‘Freeway Killer’: Patrick Kearney, William Bonin, and Randy Kraft. Kraft, convicted of 16 murders in California, is suspected of killing dozens more young men across the West Coast—often targeting Marines...

Summertime is upon us! We’ve penciled in some time to sip rosé and soak up the sunshine so we’ll be sprinkling in some periodic breaks from our own content creations. Of course, we’d never leave you high and dry. This week, our friends Shea & Jody of the Rainy Day Rabbit Holes podcast are taking us down a previously Patreon-Only rabbit hole of haunted history and horror movies! In this bonus e...

Summertime is upon us! We’ve penciled in some time to sip rosé and soak up the sunshine so we’ll be sprinkling in some periodic breaks from our own content creations. Of course, we’d never leave you high and dry. This week, our friends Shea & Jody of the Rainy Day Rabbit Holes podcast share the story of one of the weirdest—and most unbelievable—government projects in Pacific Northwest history....

In this spooky and delightfully unhinged episode, we’re joined by “extra special” guests Shea & Jody from Rainy Day Rabbit Holes to explore the strange history and haunted happenings of Portland’s Crystal Hotel , a pizza-slice-shaped building with a century of stories baked in. Located in the Pearl District, this vibrant, music-themed boutique hotel—now owned by McMenamins —has a rich and colo...

In March 2023, Meshay Melendez and her daughter Layla Stewart disappeared from Vancouver, Washington. Despite multiple red flags and an active no-contact order, Meshay’s abusive ex-boyfriend, Kirkland Warren , was free — with devastating consequences. In this heart-wrenching episode, we uncover the tragic story of Meshay Melendez and her 7-year-old daughter, Layla Stewart, whose lives were cut sho...

Booze, Brothels, and the Dark Side of Portland’s Past (Feat. Rainy Day Rabbit Holes) What happens when you toss two hilarious Pacific Northwest history podcasts into Portland’s creepiest tunnels with beer, ghosts, and a whole lot of sass? This. You get this glorious chaos. In this unhinged crossover episode, Shea and Jody from Rainy Day Rabbit Holes team up with Caitlyn and Cassie from PNW Haunts...

Remember Jake the Alligator Man ? Turns out his bizarre backstory might be tangled up with one of San Francisco’s most mysterious landmarks — The Cliff House. In this episode, we dig into the cursed history of this seaside icon: from explosive shipwrecks and devastating fires to ghostly apparitions, secret tunnels, and maybe even a mummy curse (?!). We’ll explore how The Cliff House rose, burned,...

On October 1st, 2015, tragedy struck the quiet town of Roseburg, Oregon, home to the Umpqua Community College campus. When 26-year-old Christopher Sean Harper Mercer opened fire, it became the scene of Oregon’s deadliest shooting. He fired erratically on both students and staff, senselessly killing nine people, wounding several, and leaving countless others with unimaginable trauma.  Investigators...

Ever wondered how free love, feminism, and scandal shaped the 1800s Pacific Northwest? Join Caitlyn as she tags along with Shea of History Unhinged: Rainy Day Rabbit Holes . *This episode contains piping hot old-timey PNW tea!* 🫖 Learn all about free love and feminism in 1860s PNW as well as an iconic woman of the day. In the rugged 1800s Pacific Northwest, one woman defied societal norms with bl...

This week, we dive into the eerie and eccentric history of Long Beach, Washington —home to Marsh’s Free Museum and its most famous resident: Jake the Alligator Man! 🐊👀 We uncover the mysteries, myths, and bizarre tales surrounding Jake, from tabloid headlines to wild legends of his alleged past life as a whiskey-drinking, cigar-smoking sideshow star. Is Jake a cannibalistic cryptid, a carnival o...

Hana and her adoptive brother, Immanuel, were brought from Ethiopia into what was supposed to be a loving home, but they instead found themselves in an abusive environment of isolation, starvation, and cruel punishment. Perhaps the warning signs were too subtle, because no interventions came in time to prevent the unimaginable tragedy that unfolded in May 2011. Far too often abuse is only exposed...