Dark House

Latest Episodes:

Guest Interview: Sally Quinn (Author, Former Grey Gardens Owner) Aug 31, 2022

Show notes

Following their review of the iconic Grey Gardens estate, the co-hosts sit down with author and Washington Post columnist Sally Quinn—who purchased the East Hampton home from Little Edie Beale in 1979—to learn more about her experiences there, her belief in magic, and the other haunted homes she’s owned over the years. Quinn also discusses the impact astrology has had on her life and shares a few jaw-dropping anecdotes about her experiences dabbling with hexes.

CREDITS

Alyssa Fiorentino - Co-host & Producer

Hadley Mendelsohn - Co-host & Producer

Jessy Caron - Producer

Jacob Stone - Sound Editor & Mixer

Ian Munsell - Assistant Audio Engineer & House Beautiful Lead Video Editor

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Grey Gardens (East Hampton, NY) Aug 24, 2022

Show notes

Hadley and Alyssa uncover the fascinating history of Grey Gardens, the grand East Hampton estate of Big Edie and Little Edie Beale—eccentric aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill—that was made famous in a 1975 documentary by Albert and David Maysles. After spotlighting the iconic women and their home, the co-hosts unpack its gradual downfall: Over time, the property fell into disrepair and was overrun by cats and raccoons (and perhaps something else not of this realm?). Little Edie held onto the property until two years after her mother died in 1977. Big Edie’s spirit is said to watch over the house. Among the believers is author and Washington Post journalist Sally Quinn, who purchased the home from Little Edie in 1979 and swears it’s haunted.

CREDITS

Alyssa Fiorentino - Co-host & Producer

Hadley Mendelsohn - Co-host & Producer

Jessy Caron - Producer

Jacob Stone - Sound Editor & Mixer

Ian Munsell - Assistant Audio Engineer & House Beautiful Lead Video Editor

Hadley Keller - Story Editor

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Guest Interview: Scott Michaels (Celebrity Death Historian) Aug 17, 2022

Show notes

Following their deep dive on 10050 Cielo Drive—the Beverly Hills home where Sharon Tate and four others were brutally murdered on August 9th, 1969—Alyssa and Hadley sit down with Scott Michaels, whose Dearly Departed Tours provided true crime fans with a one-of-a-kind look at the dark side of Hollywood for almost two decades. The conversation begins where the co-hosts left off: Is it possible that all of Benedict Canyon, where both 10050 Cielo Drive and the Harlow/Bern house were located, is cursed? Scott shares his thoughts, including a list of peculiar deaths and tragedies that have befallen Benedict Canyon residents over the years. Scott also shares his own experiences driving a tour bus on Cielo Drive and visiting the Oman House, as well as his book recommendations for anyone interested in learning more about the Tate-LaBianca Murders and what happened when he brought a piece of stone from 10050 Cielo Drive into his own home.

CREDITS

Alyssa Fiorentino - Co-host & Producer

Hadley Mendelsohn - Co-host & Producer

Jessy Caron - Producer

Jacob Stone - Sound Editor & Mixer

Ian Munsell - Assistant Audio Engineer & House Beautiful Lead Video Editor

James Scully - Pre-production Advisor

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10050 Cielo Drive (Los Angeles, CA) Aug 10, 2022

Show notes

Alyssa and Hadley dive into the complicated history of 10050 Cielo Drive, the Beverly Hills home where Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, and Steven Parent were brutally murdered by members of the Manson Family Cult on August 9th, 1969. The co-hosts discuss the home’s beautiful architecture and peaceful-but-isolated location, as well as Charles Manson, the Family’s history, and the events that lead up to the infamous Tate-LaBianca Murders. After reviewing the facts from both crime scenes, Alyssa and Hadley shed light on the fate of 10050 Cielo Drive after 1969, the last celebrity tenant to occupy the home before it was knocked down, the multi-million dollar mansion that was built in its place, and the neighboring home nicknamed the “Mount Everest of haunted houses.”

CREDITS

Alyssa Fiorentino - Co-host & Producer

Hadley Mendelsohn - Co-host & Producer

Jessy Caron - Producer

Jacob Stone - Sound Editor & Mixer

Ian Munsell - Assistant Audio Engineer & House Beautiful Lead Video Editor

James Scully - Pre-production Advisor

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Ackley House (Nyack, NY) Feat. Legal Scholar Eric Goldman Jul 27, 2022

Show notes

Hadley and Alyssa uncover the true story behind the first house declared “legally haunted” in the United States. Nicknamed “Ackley House” after its one-time occupants, the Ackley family, this classic Queen Anne sits on the Hudson River across from Sleepy Hollow, New York. The many ghosts who roamed the home’s halls were nothing but friendly, until the 1990s when the Ackleys decided to sell the house and found themselves entangled in a legal battle with potential buyers over the home’s spooky reputation. In a landmark decision now referred to as “The Ghostbusters Ruling,” the house was deemed haunted by the New York Supreme Court. After digging into the home’s backstory, Alyssa and Hadley bring on legal scholar Eric Goldman to unpack the implications of the court’s decision and to learn more about disclosure laws for stigmatized properties.

CREDITS

Alyssa Fiorentino - Co-Host & Producer

Hadley Mendelsohn - Co-Host & Producer

Jessy Caron - Producer

Jacob Stone - Sound Editor & Mixer

Ian Munsell - Assistant Audio Engineer & House Beautiful Lead Video Editor

James Scully - Pre-production Advisor

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Welcome to Dark House Season 2 Jul 13, 2022

Show notes

Dark House is officially back! Co-hosts Alyssa Fiorentino and Hadley Mendelsohn kick off season 2 of House Beautiful’s hit podcast with an exciting update on new episodes dropping every other Wednesday through the end of the year. After a brief reintroduction to the show and recap of season 1, the co-hosts tease some of their favorite moments from the upcoming season and share a few personal ghost stories that kept them up at night between recording sessions.

CREDITS

Alyssa Fiorentino - Co-host & Producer

Hadley Mendelsohn - Co-host & Producer

Jessy Caron - Producer

Jacob Stone - Sound Editor & Mixer

Ian Munsell - Assistant Audio Engineer & House Beautiful Lead Video Editor

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Wondery Presents: The Execution of Bonny Lee Bakley Jun 20, 2022

Show notes

On May 4, 2001, Bonny Lee Bakley was found fatally shot in a car on a dark North Hollywood street. The prime suspect was her husband, famed actor Robert Blake. But Bonny, a longtime con artist, had plenty of enemies. She left behind a trail of men she’d scammed, and she had a volatile relationship with Christian Brando, the troubled son of movie star Marlon Brando.

Not since the O.J. Simpson case had the eyes of the nation been so fixated on a homicide. The search for Bonny’s killer took detectives on an eleven-month odyssey across the country and through Hollywood's underbelly of hustlers, drug addicts, and would-be hitmen. It would be the most expensive murder investigation in LAPD history to date. This is the story of Robert and Bonny’s toxic relationship, her shocking murder, and his chaotic trial. Did actor Robert Blake kill his wife? Or was the murder someone else's vendetta? From Wondery, and the team behind the hit series Hollywood & Crime (The Dating Game Killer, The Wonderland Murders, Death of Starlet) comes a six-part series about love, obsession and fame gone wrong. Co-hosted by Tracy Pattin and Josh Lucas.

Listen by subscribing to Wondery Plus in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery App: http://wondery.fm/DarkHouse_TEOBLB

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Is it Possible to Live (Happily) in a Haunted House? The S.K. Pierce Mansion (ft. Joni Mayhan) Oct 27, 2021

Show notes

In the finale of Dark House, Alyssa brings listeners to the last—and most haunted—stop on the tour: the S.K. Pierce Mansion in Gardner, Massachusetts. Built in 1875 for a wealthy furniture manufacturer and his family, the grand Victorian was inhabited for just two weeks before the first of five confirmed deaths in the house took place. According to countless visitors, the spirits of those who lived and died there never actually left. In fact, the ghosts are so active, the couple who owned the home from 2008 to 2015 only lived there for two years before they felt like they had no choice but to move out. After sharing the most frightening encounters reported to have happened in the house, and the current owners’ plans to turn the mansion into a bed and breakfast, Hadley and Alyssa wonder how a house this haunted can ever be inhabitable, for residents and tourists alike. Looking for answers, they reach out to Joni Mayhan, author of Bones In The Basement: Surviving the S.K. Pierce Haunted Victorian Mansion (40:24). A psychic medium, self-proclaimed ghost magnet, and former resident of Gardner, MA, Mayhan joins the hosts to share an exclusive update on the hauntings at the mansion (44:25), her personal experiences with the ghosts there (including which one followed her home) (46:32), and most importantly, her best advice for anyone who thinks they’re living in a haunted house (1:02:09).

CONTRIBUTORS

Host/Producer: Alyssa Fiorentino

Host/Producer: Hadley Mendelsohn

Producer: May Tsehay

Sound Engineer: Josh Caldwell

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What’s Lurking Behind That Historic Charm? The Mercer-Williams House (ft. Marcus Harvey) Oct 20, 2021

Show notes

Hadley takes listeners to the Spanish moss-veiled city of Savannah, Georgia, as she details the storied past and present of the Mercer-Williams House. Designed in 1860 and restored in 1969 by preservationist Jim Williams after years of abandonment, the Italianate revival that inspired Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil played host to a world famous antiques collection, and, more notably, at least three untimely deaths. It’s also supposedly built right on top of unmarked graves, like much of the city is. The house witnessed some of the city’s liveliest parties as well as some of its darkest secrets, and while it was the scene of the crime in a scandalous murder trial, it’s unclear whether it’s haunted by the spirits of those who died there, or simply by its reputation. To get a better understanding of the region and the hauntings that unfold in it, Hadley and Alyssa sit down with Ghost Brothers co-star and Georgia native Marcus Harvey (42:31). Having been on several paranormal investigations in Savannah, Harvey shares his insights on the energy of the city (49:30), as well as his thoughts on antiques being possessed (56:12), and how dealing with the paranormal has allowed him to be more spiritual (1:01:48).

TW: Domestic abuse

CONTRIBUTORS

Host/Producer: Alyssa Fiorentino

Host/Producer: Hadley Mendelsohn

Producer: May Tsehay

Sound Engineer: Josh Caldwell

Interested in advertising with us? Please visit https://www.advertisecast.com/DarkHouse for more information.

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Is It Haunted, or Is It Hollywood? The Harlow/Bern House (ft. Bridget Marquardt) Oct 13, 2021

Show notes

Alyssa shares the story of Los Angeles’s infamous Harlow/Bern House, a 1930 Craftsman that was once home to Hollywood starlet Jean Harlow and her MGM executive husband, Paul Bern. Two short months after the couple tied the knot, Bern was found dead in their home at 9820 Easton Drive in Benedict Canyon. Though his death was ruled a suicide, rumors have been circulating Hollywood for years suggesting Bern was actually murdered and that studio executives covered it up to protect Harlow’s career. Strangely, the next person to own the home also suffered an untimely death at the hands of the Manson Family. The co-hosts discuss a controversial interview from a 1970 issue of Fate Magazine that suggests the ghost of Paul Bern appeared in the home to warn the new occupants about a looming violent tragedy. Unsure of whether or not the house is haunted, cursed, or just a figure of Hollywood legend, Alyssa and Hadley connect with celebrity paranormal investigator Bridget Marquardt to find out what happened when she visited the home herself (39:33). Marquardt, who starred in E’s 2005 reality series The Girls Next Door, also shares stories about Hugh Hefner’s ghost visiting her in a “dream” (50:23), seeing a full apparition in her bedroom at the Playboy Mansion (53:48), and the scariest encounter a guest has shared with her on her podcast, Ghost Magnet with Bridget Marquardt (59:52).

TW: Suicide

CONTRIBUTORS

Host/Producer: Alyssa Fiorentino

Host/Producer: Hadley Mendelsohn

Producer: May Tsehay

Sound Engineer: Josh Caldwell

Interested in advertising with us? Please visit https://www.advertisecast.com/DarkHouse for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices