American Hauntings Podcast

This is an episode of the podcast that could have gone in a lot of directions – it’s an episode about the Devil, cults, true crime, satanic films, witchcraft, music, mind control, murder, and more – and really, maybe all these things and not even half of them. Who knows? It’s got ...  Show more

In the fall of 1926, the best friend of Chicago gangsters returned to politics and got his name added to the Republican mayoral primary ballot. William “Big Bill” Thompson was back from political exile – he just couldn’t stay away. In early July, he sailed his yacht down the Chic ...  Show more

If there was any one thing that motivated Hymie Weiss it was revenge. Since the murder of his friend Dean O’Banion, he’d been the de facto boss of the North Side gang that Dean had founded, mostly because none of the rest of the guys had wanted to be in charge. They were content ...  Show more

In 1997, 13-year-old John Ushman was found dead inside Room Five of the Southern View Motel in Springfield, Illinois. Authorities ruled that he died while playing Russian roulette with a stolen revolver.But newly obtained police records reveal changing statements, hidden guns, a ...  Show more

On August 5, 1994, Decatur Realtor Sherry Lewis left to show a home. She never came home. More than three decades later, her murder remains unsolved. In this special anniversary episode, American Dread revisits one of Central Illinois' most haunting cold cases and the ongoing sea ...  Show more