TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
The Texas True Crime podcast is dedicated to shining a light on everything crime-related that takes place in the state of Texas.
The Spookies podcast broadcasts out of Lawrence, Kansas.
Handprint of the suspect from the 1946 Texarkana Phantom Killer case file released by the FBI.
Unfortunately, Gordon died at the scene, while his sister was taken to St. Michael Hospital, where she tragically died three days later.
People are drawn to true crime stories for a variety of reasons, and it’s a complex phenomenon that can’t be attributed to a single factor. Is it empathy and connection to the victims? Is it psychological interest? Or is it simply morbid curiosity that draws the masses? “True crime interests me because I want to know what makes a person decide to hold people up at night in their cars like the Moonlight Murderer,” said Moore. “What goes wrong in your brain that you don’t recognize this is wrong? I think most people interested in true crime feel the same way. Most of us want to know what causes a person to behave this way. Are killers born, or are they made?” The loose ends of unsolved cases also draw self-proclaimed sleuths, hoping they will notice something that was overlooked in the past. “People don’t like loose ends,” she explains. “They want a resolution, and in cold cases, there aren’t any.” It may be that human desire for justice that is making true crime one of the most consumed forms of today’s media. When cases grow cold, they tend to grow old. People stop searching, the media stops reporting, and police officers must eventually retire. Everything comes to a halt until someone takes a renewed interest. That spark of interest can help light a fire that illuminates the shadows around forgotten cold cases.
While the Alexander tragedy resonates with locals, there is another local case that garnered an even more extensive
spotlight. The infamous 1946 Moonlight Murders were the inspiration behind two movies, including The Town that Dreaded Sundown . It is also believed to be the inspiration for the classic horror story of “The Hook Man.” Known by many names, “The Texarkana Moonlight Murders,” or “The Phantom Killer,” is considered to be the oldest cold case in Texas history. Michael Little and his wife, Stephanie, are hosts of The Spookies podcast, broadcasting from Lawrence, Kansas. Their podcast not only focuses on true crime but also dark history, conspiracy theories, weird mysteries, and the occult. “I find most of the cases we cover through research,” said Little. “I heard about the Texarkana Moonlight Murders as a child living in Texas. My mother used to talk about it a lot. She heard rumors and stories about it… It doesn’t seem real, and yet it is. I hope someday the truth will be revealed.”
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COMMUNITY & CULTURE
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