On Thanksgiving Day in 1923, 24-year-old actress Martha Mansfield was working on her latest film, a Civil War drama. The media predicted her role as the leading lady would catapult her into the next level of stardom. Tragically, she never got to finish her scenes that day, and within 24 hours Martha was dead.

Episode Sources:

“Dangerous Curves Atop Hollywood Heels: The Lives, Careers, and Misfortunes of 14 Hard-Luck Girls of the Silent Screen” by Michael G. Ankerich, (2010)

“Making Over Martha” by Delight Evans, Photoplay Magazine, 1920

“Martha, the Beautiful” by Lillian May, Motion Picture Magazine (Aug 1920 - Jan 1921) pgs. 56-57, 108

“The Movie Star Named After Mansfield” by Timothy Brian McKee, Richland County History

“‘The Century Girl’ A Huge Success” The New York Times, Nov 7, 1916

"Martha Mansfield Left All to Her Mother In "Partial Return" for Care Given Her” New York Times, p. 1, Sep 26, 1924

“Martha Mansfield, Movie Star, Dies As The Result Of Burns” Meriden Morning Record, Dec. 1, 1923

“Martha Mansfield, Film Star, Dies of Burns Caused by Costume Fired by Smoker's Match” New York Times, Dec. 1 1923

“Golden Images: 41 Essays on Silent Film Stars” by Eve Golden

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*Hey Misfits, we're pretty chatty at the top of this episode so if you'd prefer to get right to the story then skip ahead to about 10:15.

Adam Hecht is the son of wealthy Hollywood producer Harold Hecht. Adam’s life took a strange turn after befriending a man from L.A.’s unhoused community. What began as an act of compassion led Adam down an unexpected path, leaving behind questions, eerie encounters, and theories that don’t quite add up. Was it a search for meaning, a brush with danger, or something far darker? Join us as we dive into a story of privilege, mysticism, and a vanishing that still haunts Beverly Hills.

Episode Sources:

“Adam Hecht was the 24-year-old son of a famous movie producer, who inexplicably moved a homeless man into his apartment and promptly disappeared. [Unresolved Disappearance]” on the r/UnresolvedMysteries Reddit thread from desaparecidose, 7 years ago

Adam Hecht: Searching for Answers - UPDATE!, February 14, 2019, Missing Persons, Lost and Found Blogs

“Adam Arthur Hecht, Case Number 8904930“ from Cold Case Missing Persons section of the City of Beverly Hills government website

“Adam Hecht” from Unsolved Mysteries

“Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 5 - Full Episode” from Unsolved Mysteries - Full Episodes Channel on YouTube

“Adam Hecht” on Unsolved Mysteries Wiki, Fandom

“About: Harold Hecht” from DBpedia

“Oscar-Winning Producer Harold Hecht Dies at 77” by Deborah Hastings, May 28, 1985, Los Angeles Times

“568DMCA - Adam Arthur Hecht” from TheDoeNetwork

“Harold Hecht” on IMDb

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Peter Arne was the type of actor who, though you might not recognize his name, you would recognize his face. His career really took off in the 1950s, appearing in array of plays, TV shows and films, including "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," "Antony and Cleopatra," "Victor/Victoria " and several "Pink Panther" movies. But his life was cut short in his early 60s when he was viciously attacked and murdered in his own home.

Episode Sources:

“Peter Arne, British Actor, 62, Is Found Murdered in London” The New York Times, Aug. 4, 1983

“The Avengers Forever: Peter Arne” by Pete Stampede

“Actor Murdered by Teacher” Westminster and Pimlico News, Oct 28, 1983, p. 7

Mary Renault

“$100,000 BOOK PRIZE IS OFFERED BY M.-G.-M.” The New York Times, Oct 12, 1943 p. 23

“Books: MGM” TIME Magazine, Nov 1, 1943

“The Tragic Death of Actor Peter Arne” by The Crime Reel, Jun 14, 2023

“1983 PETER ARNE a well known actor - Murdered for his kindness” - Museum of Crime, Sandy Kaye

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Hellooooo! It's been a while since we've done a Misfit Monday, where we read the true stories YOU have written in to us. We've got a ghost brother, a lady in white, a disembodied voice, and menstrual cramps caused by a hauntingly dark past. Settle in, Misfits, and keep sending in your stories!

Episode Sources:

YOU!

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Happy Halloween! We're covering your (well, Kevin's) favorite cryptid: MOTHMAN! With his glowing, red eyes and enormous wingspan, is Mothman just a clumsy bird or a harbinger of doom? Sightings of this alleged monster began in Point Pleasant, West Virginia in 1966. Some believe that Mothman was connected to UFO sightings in the area at the time along with a smiling, extraterrestrial man named Indrid Cold. This idea is explored further in the movie and book of the same title, The Mothman Prophecies. Mothman has not gone away, and many airport staff at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago have stories. Settle in for a special Halloween episode, misfits...chirp, screech, woooooosh!

Episode Sources:

“An Ode to a Hometown Creature: Mothman of Point Pleasant, West Virgina” by Swen Mallow, June 7, 2021, Folklife “Meet The Mothman, The Horrifying Cryptid Of West Virginia Folklore” by Jaclyn Anglis, Edited by Maggie Donahue, August 13, 2024, All That’s Interesting “The Mothman Prophecies (2002)” on IMDb “The case of the Chicago Mothman” by Robbie Telfer, September 5, 2024, WBEZ Chicago “An Update on the Legendary Chicago Mothman” by Jennifer Greer, December 10, 2021, Medium “The Mothman of O’Hare: Winged Humanoid Sightings Haunt Chicago’s Skies” by Jack Sullivan, Hangar 1 Publishing “Unravelling the mystery of the Chicago Mothman: Experts reveal the truth behind the creepy red-eyed flying monster - as Netflix releases trailer for Unsolved Mysteries” by Jonathan Chadwick, July 21, 2024, DailyMail

“Festival FAQ” from Mothman Festival website

“The Mothman And The Silver Bridge Collapse” from November 3, 2023, All That’s Interesting “Mothman Statue” on RoadSide America

“The Mothman Revisited” episode of Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix, Volume 4, Episode 5

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Our first live show was so much fun! And also exhausting. We're gonna take another day or two to relax, but in the meantime enjoy this episode from the archives.

It was the early morning hours of September 14, 1977 in New York City, and 36-year-old reporter for Variety, Addison Verrill, was leaving Mine Shaft, an after-hours gay back room bar. This would be the last time that Verrill was seen alive. Journalist for the New York Times and gay activist, Arthur Bell, would later be at the center of the case, receiving a phone call confession from the murderer.

Episode Sources:

“Paul F. Bateson” death record

“Paul Bateson: The Real-Life Killer Who Appeared in The Exorcist” by Orrin Grey, April 19, 2018, The Lineup

“Paul Bateson Was in One of the Most Horrifying Scenes of ‘The Exorcist’ Before Becoming a Murderer” by Hanna McKennett, Edited by John Kuroski, January 14, 2022, updated February 21, 2022, All That’s Interesting

“There’s Nothing Gay About Murder” by Arthur Bell, September 26, 1977, page 23, The Village Voice:

“A Talk on the Wild Side” by Arthur Bell, October 31, 1977, page 16, The Village Voice

“Phone Call from a Fugitive” by Arthur Bell, October 3, 1977, page 1 & 11, The Village Voice

“Searching for the Truth About the Actual Murderer in The Exorcist” by Matt Miller, October 25, 2018, Esquire

“Rites Held for Addison Verrill, Variety Reporter Killed in Robbery,” September 20, 1977, The New York Times

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We don't know how to be chill about this so we're gonna shout it - WE HAVE AN EMMY WINNER ON THE SHOW TODAY! AJ Links is a two-time Emmy award-winning casting director for her work on the hit TV show "The Bear." She's letting us in on some unknown Emmy facts and chatting with us about the allegedly haunted Sebastiani Theatre. We're talking wine and ghosts today. Let's gooooo.

Special thanks to Tightrope Recording in Chicago, IL.

Donate to the Sebastiani Theatre here

Episode Sources:

“The spookiest spots in Sonoma” by Chase Hunter, The Sonoma-Index Tribune, Oct. 14, 2021

“About Sonoma Valley: The Birth Place of California's famed Wine Industry”

Sebastiani Family History

Sebastiani Theatre History

“New Sonoma County documentary examines the lore of spirits among us” by Dianne Reber Hart, Petaluma, Argus Courier, Sep. 20, 2016

“SEBASTIANI THEATRE'S TRIXIE AMONG ITS ARTISTIC CHARMS” by Dianne Reber Hart, The Press Democrat, May 25, 2014

“My Haunted Sonoma Show” Oct. 30, 2014

Sebastiani: Our History

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UFOs, human-sized spider creatures, little girl ghosts and textbook demons: these are just a few of the things stars like Kesha, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato claim they've encountered through the years. We're keeping it fun and light and a little wily with this one. Happy spooky season!

Episode Sources:

“Celebs Who Have Had Actual Ghost Encounters” by Lydia Price, People, Oct. 22, 2023

“Kesha Says Whitney Cummings Was Tricked Into an Emotional Chat with a 'Demon' While Ghost Hunting” by Jack Irvin, People, June 29, 2022

“16 Signs You're Becoming Demi Lovato” by Demi Lovato, Buzzfeed, July 15, 2013

“Ariana Grande has a pretty face and a golden voice, but the chart-topping sitcom star has a dark side, too” by Joe La Puma, Complex, Nov. 5, 2013

“After a Near-Death Experience, Al Pacino Says There’s No Afterlife” by Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, Oct. 7, 2024

“Why You Should Tour Historic Brushy Mountain Prison” by Amanda Luhn, Knoxville Backyard and Beyond, Apr. 17, 2024

“Vanessa Hudgens Says She Speaks to Spirits: 'Something That I Have the Ability to Do’” by BreAnna Bell, People, Apr 7, 2022

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