Horrorwood: True Crime in Tinseltown
**2025 Ambie Award Nominee: Best Indie Podcast Hosts** Kate and Kevin met way back when they worked together at a (likely haunted) theatre and the two became fast friends. Skip ahead a few years to present day, where they mostly sit around and talk about true crime. From horrific homicides to unsolved mysteries, spooky haunts to behind-the-scenes secrets, these two are here to bring you all the drama - and trauma - of Tinseltown. Settle in, Misfits.
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Episodes
Monday Jun 05, 2023
Monday Jun 05, 2023
19-year-old Maple Batalia was poised to take on the world. A talented artist, a beautiful model, an actress starting her career, and an intelligent young woman who also happened to be studying to become a doctor - she could do anything she set her mind to. Tragically, after a night of studying at Simon Fraser University's library, she walked out to the parking lot completely unaware of the evil she was about to encounter.
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Episode Sources:
Picture Perfect: The Shattered Dreams of Maple Batalia
“Man pleads guilty to second-degree murder of Maple Batalia” by Jennifer Saltman
“Maple Batalia's killer, Gurjinder Dhaliwal, sentenced to life in prison” - CBC News
“Man who was accessory to murder of Maple Batalia released early” - CTV News
“Family mourning death of daughter, 19, gunned down near B.C. university campus” by Keven Drews and Terri Theodore
“Maple Batalia’s ex-boyfriend arrested after high school receives threats” by Kevin Diakiw
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Creeptastic theme music by:
Nicholas Davio - nicholasdavio.com, @mr.nick.davio, @huron_coast
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Thursday Jun 01, 2023
Thursday Jun 01, 2023
When 26-year-old Jean Spangler left her home on the evening of Friday, October 7, 1949, she had no idea she wouldn't be returning. She told her sister-in-law she was working that night...but there was no record of her employment for that date. What was she up to? Where did she really go? This episode has Kirk Douglas, the Black Dahlia killer and "That 70s Show" star Laura Prepon. It's a doozy, folks.
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Episode Sources:
"The Missing Star Spangler Girl: Inside the chilling, still unsolved disappearance of Jean Spangler” by Maureen Lee Lenker
Monday May 22, 2023
Monday May 22, 2023
Welcome to our first Misfit Monday! When Kate's friend Kevin co-hosted a couple of weeks ago, he mentioned he had some spooky stories to share. Kate's been under the weather (still, ugh) so she invited Kevin to share those stories on the Pod today. He's bringing us dead women doing dishes, a ghost cat named Jinx, and two little girls getting up to some shenanigans in the afterlife. Let's go!
Episode Sources:
Kevin's memories
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Creeptastic theme music by:
Nicholas Davio - nicholasdavio.com, @mr.nick.davio, @huron_coast
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Monday May 15, 2023
Monday May 15, 2023
Hey Misfits, Kate here. I was working on a different episode for you this week when my body was possessed by what can only be described as a stomach demon. I've been super sick, so instead of what I had planned I'm giving you one of our Patreon episodes (Patronians - please forgive me! I have a new episode coming for you this week).
This case has a bit of everything: Scientology, Katy Perry, mental illness, and a sweet old landlady who makes homemade tamales. Johnny Lewis had really begun to make a name for himself in Hollywood. After recurring on "The O.C." he went on to star in the first two seasons of "Sons of Anarchy" in the role for which he became most known. While some detected trouble brewing within the young actor, few could have predicted the grisly and brutal murder he would carry out, in a crime scene that seemed straight out of a horror movie.
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Episode Sources:
"The Secret Life of Johnny Lewis" by Bill Jensen
"Warning Signs Seen Before Actor's Violent End" by Greg Risling
"Katy Perry 'Devastated' Over Johnny Lewis' Death" by Beth Anne Macaluso
"'Sons of Anarchy' Actor Johnny Lewis Kills Woman, Dies in a Fall: Cops" by Howard Breuer
Johnny Lewis' Autopsy Report
And here's a sweet anecdote about Cathy from one of her neighbors
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Send us an email:
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Creeptastic theme music by:
Nicholas Davio - nicholasdavio.com, @mr.nick.davio, @huron_coast
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Monday May 08, 2023
Monday May 08, 2023
Before it was a popular filming location for Hollywood, the Linda Vista Community Hospital was where the residents of Boyle Heights turned to for medical care. The place used to be poppin' until budget cuts forced it to cut back on services. Quality of care went down and the death rate went up, and when you have that many people dying in one location, well, a few of those spirits are bound to stick around...
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Episode Sources:
Linda Vista Haunted History
“The Most Haunted Hospital in America” by Ersilia Pompilio, RN, MSN, PNP
“Boyle Heights: Problems, Pride and Promise” by Louis Sahagún
“East LA Interchange”
“A 'Forgotten History' Of How The U.S. Government Segregated America” by Terry Gross
“A Brief History Of Boyle Heights, In 6 Landmarks” by Liz Ohanesian
“The Paranormal Past, Present & Future of the Haunted Linda Vista Hospital: An Interview with Richard Berni of Boyle Heights Paranormal Project”
For further reading: https://laghosttour.com/linda-vista-hospital/
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Follow us!
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Send us an email:
horrorwoodpodcast@gmail.com
Creeptastic theme music by:
Nicholas Davio - nicholasdavio.com, @mr.nick.davio, @huron_coast
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Monday May 01, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
CW: This episode involves a child and domestic violence.
Even if you don't know her name there's a good chance you've heard her voice. Judith Barsi played the role of Ducky in the animated movie "The Land Before Time." But that's just one of a long list of credits in her short career. When she wasn't acting on screen she was riding her bike, playing with her Care Bears and watching one of her favorite shows - "Growing Pains." No one would have guessed that the adorable, sweet, bubbly girl on TV was living a nightmare in real life - a life that would be horrifically cut short.
Childhelp: Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse
Call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline 24/7 (1-800-4-A-CHILD or 1-800-422-4453)
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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Episode Sources:
“A Script of Fear : Repeated Threats by Father of Child Actress Carried to Tragic End” by John Johnson and Gabe Fuentes
“Inquiry in Barsi Case Dropped Too Soon, Panel Says” by Gabe Fuentes - LA Times
“A Lesson Learned From Family Tragedy” by Sherry Barber
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Dr. Amie Harwick was one of a kind: intelligent, beautiful and a lover of all things macabre. As a famed Hollywood sex therapist she was a strong advocate for women as well as those marginalized for their sexual identities. She had an array of interesting hobbies and side gigs including modeling, go-go dancing and fire-eating. Yes, fire-eating! But someone in her life was hell-bent on bringing her down, and Amie's life was cut tragically short.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
Sign the Petition: Justice 4 Amie
Donate to the Memorial
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Episode Sources:
“The Life and Death of Amie Harwick” - 48 Hours
“The Final Hours of Amie Harwick” - 48 Hours
“Inside the Bright Life of a Murdered Hollywood Sex Therapist” by E.J. Dickson, Rolling Stone
“Timeline: The Suspicious Death of Amie Harwick” by Murray Weiss
Monday Apr 17, 2023
Monday Apr 17, 2023
What do you get when you combine greedy Hollywood execs with thousands of movie extras and a flood scene billed as 'the spectacle of the ages?' Tragedy. You get tragedy. Hollywood was doing things a bit differently back in the 1920s, like ignoring any and all safety practices that might be necessary for a film shoot. Such was the case on the film "Noah's Ark" - the movie that led to the creation of safety regulations on set.
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Episode Sources:
“Noah’s Ark (1928): Fake Flood, Real Deaths” by Gary Cahall
IMDb: Noah’s Ark Trivia