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The Unsolved Murders in Room 18 · Murder Files Unsealed

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  Speaker 1: Welcome back. Everyone, Ready for another deep dive? Oh?
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, always up for a good mystery.
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  Speaker 1: Well, get ready, because this one takes us to Globe, Arizona,
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  to a place called the Drift In Saloons a saloon.
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  Speaker 2: Huh sounds interesting already. What's the story there?
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  Speaker 1: Well, it's not just any saloon. It's over one hundred
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  years old. It's got a history as a brothel.
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  Speaker 2: Ooh, a secret past. I like where this is going.
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  Speaker 1: And get this, there were two unsolved murders in the
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  same room.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, now you've got my full attention. Two unsolved murders,
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  you say, this sounds right up our alley.
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  Speaker 1: We're basing this deep dive on a really interesting article
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  from a z family. They did a great job digging
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  into the history and the spooky side of this place.
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  Speaker 2: Snooky side. So we're talking ghosts too.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, there are definitely ghost stories. But even without the ghosts,
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  this place is fascinating.
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  Speaker 2: All right, lay it on me. What makes this drift
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  In Saloon so special?
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  Speaker 1: Well, first of all, it's a classic Wild West relic.
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  Think miners, cowboys, maybe even a few outlaws passing through.
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  Speaker 2: I can picture it now. The swinging salon do the
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  dusty piano in the corner exactly.
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  Speaker 1: And upstairs above all the saloon action was a brothel
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  called the International House.
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  Speaker 2: So a secret world hidden in plain sight. That adds
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  a whole other layer to the story.
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  Speaker 1: Right, And it's funny, even though prostitution was actually legal
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  in Arizona at the time, there was still this air
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  of secrecy surrounding the International House.
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  Speaker 2: You know, it makes sense, even if something's legal, there's
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  always a certain mystique, a taboo that comes with activities
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  that happened behind closed doors exactly.
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  Speaker 1: And I think that secrecy, that hidden world is part
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  of what fuels the stories and legends that still swirl
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  around the drift in today.
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  Speaker 2: And those two murders you mentioned, don't forget those, those
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  definitely add to the mystery.
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  Speaker 1: Oh we're getting to those. They happened in a room
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  called Room eighteen, just the year apart, one in nineteen
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  oh six and the other in nineteen oh seven.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, so pretty close together. Do we know anything about
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  the victims?
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  Speaker 1: Their names were Joseph Ludwig and Richard Vecklund. And the
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  really chill part is that both men had their throats slit.
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  Speaker 2: Oh wow, that's brutal, So it sounds like we might
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  be dealing with more than just random acts of violence,
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  maybe a vengeful spirit or something.
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  Speaker 1: That's what a lot of people think, especially because Ludwig's
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  murder was particularly gruesome. The newspaper at the time called
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  it the worst murder in Globe's history.
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  Speaker 2: Worse than a simple slit throat. What else happened?
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  Speaker 1: Well, his body was mutilated, and then, to make matters
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  even worse, it was dynamited.
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  Speaker 2: Dynamited. Why would anyone go to such lengths to cover
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  up a murder?
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  Speaker 1: It definitely raises more questions than answers. What were they
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  trying to hide? Was there something about Ludwig that made
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  him a target?
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  Speaker 2: And what about Vecklund, the second victim? Was there any
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  connection between the two men.
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  Speaker 1: That's where things get even stranger. Veckland was found alive
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  but drugged and robbed. When the police asked him where
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  he needed to go, he specifically said the International House,
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  Room eighteen.
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  Speaker 2: Hold on room eighteen, the same room. More, Ludwig was murdered,
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  but you said he wasn't staying there.
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  Speaker 1: That's right. He wasn't a giinst at the International House,
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  So what was he doing? In ro eighteen, and what
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  does it have to do with his attack?
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  Speaker 2: It's almost like he was trying to tell the police something,
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  a clue about what happened to him, or maybe even
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  who was responsible, and.
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  Speaker 1: Then, just like Ludwig, he ended up dead. Two men,
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  two brutal murders, one mysterious room.
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  Speaker 2: It's a classic setup for a haunting, wouldn't you say?
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely? But is there really a connection between the murders
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  and the paranormal activity that people report experiencing at the
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  drift End today?
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  Speaker 2: That's the million dollar question, isn't it?
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  Speaker 1: It is, and that's what we'll explore as we continue
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  this deep dive, because this story gets even more interesting
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  when you hear what the saloon's current owner has to say.
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  And believe me, she's got some stories that'll make you
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  think twice about whether ghosts are real or not. So
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  tell me more about this current owner. You said she's
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  got some stories.
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  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, and she's not just the owner. She actually
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  lives in the former brothel.
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  Speaker 1: Wait, she lives there above the saloon.
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  Speaker 2: That's right. Her name's Megan Crawford and she moved in
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  with her family a while back.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, that's bold. I mean knowing all the history, the murderers,
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  the rumors of hauntings, I'm not sure I could sleep
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  soundly up there.
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  Speaker 2: It's definitely not your average living situation. And you have
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  to imagine the atmosphere. We're talking dark staircases, rooms preserved
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  from another era, the feeling that you're constantly surrounded by
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  the past.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, the article talked about the dining room in the brothel.
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  It still has the original linoleum rug and antique furniture.
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  It's like a time capsule totally.
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  Speaker 2: And can you imagine sitting down to dinner in that
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  room knowing what might have happened there over a century ago.
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  Speaker 1: Give me the creeps, that's for sure. But Crawford doesn't
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  seem phased by it. In fact, she said she wasn't
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  even a big believer in the supernatural before she moved in.
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  Speaker 2: Oh really, so what changed her mind?
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  Speaker 1: Well, she's had some experiences, some pretty unsettling encounters. For example,
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  she saw a woman in white just standing there in
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  the brothel. She thought it was someone else in the building,
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  but when she went to check, there was no one there.
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  Speaker 2: A woman in white. Huh. That's classic ghost story material right.
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  Speaker 1: There, right. But It's not just apparitions. There are all
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  these weird little things happening all the time, the feeling
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  of a cat running by your legs when there's no
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  cat around. Doors slamming shut all over the brothels, door
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  slamming on their own, Yeah, constantly. They even had to
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  install special hooks to keep them from slamming. It's like
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  something's trying to get their attention.
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  Speaker 2: It definitely sounds like something's going on. But do we
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  think it's connected to those murders or is this something else.
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  Speaker 1: Entirely Well, Crawford has a theory about the murders, and
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  it's not a supernatural one. She thinks it was all
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  about greed.
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  Speaker 2: Greed huh, so how do the murders fit into that?
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  Speaker 1: She believes the prostitutes were running a robbery scheme targeting
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  the men who came to the International House.
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  Speaker 2: That's a pretty bold theory, but it does make you
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  think about the power dynamics at play in a place.
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  Speaker 1: Like that exactly. And what if Ludwig and Vecklund were
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  victims who threatened to expose the operation. Maybe they knew
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  too much and became liabilities, so.
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  Speaker 2: Their murders were a way to silence them.
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  Speaker 1: That's what Crawford thinks. And there's another interesting detail. Remember
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  that prostitute Elena Mendoza who was convicted of Vecklund's murder
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  but then had the charges dropped.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that was strange. Why were the charges dropped?
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  Speaker 1: We don't know for sure, but Crawford believes Mendoza was
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  either bragging about her involvement in the murder or using
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  Veckln's fate as a warning to other men.
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  Speaker 2: Wow, that's cold, like, don't mess with us, or you'll
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  end up like him.
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  Speaker 1: Exactly. So we've got unsolved murders, a possible robbery scheme,
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  and a location steeped in secrecy. It's no wonder people
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  think the Driftin is haunted.
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  Speaker 2: But it's interesting, right the ghosts might not be the
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  murderers themselves. What if it's the victims who are still there, Like.
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  Speaker 1: Ludwig and Vecklund, their spirits are restless, seeking justice or closure.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a chilling thought. And now Crawford and her
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  family are living right in the middle of it all,
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  surrounded by these na explained events, these echoes of the past.
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  It makes you wonder what else is hidden in that
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  building waiting to be discovered or who else.
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  Speaker 1: It really makes you think, doesn't it. What would it
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  be like to live in a place where the line
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  between past and present is so blurred?
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  Speaker 2: I can't even imagine. It'd be fascinating and terrifying all
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  at the same time.
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  Speaker 1: Definitely, But even if we don't live in a hanted saloon,
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  this story has some pretty universal themes, don't you think, Oh?
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, greed, violence, mystery. Yeah, those are things that have
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  always been part of the human experience, right, And.
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  Speaker 1: This story is a reminder that the wild West wasn't
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  all romanticized cowboys and heroes. There was a dark side too.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and sometimes that darkness lingers even after all this time.
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  Speaker 1: It makes you wonder what other secrets are hidden in
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  the places we visit, the places we live. What happened there?
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  Who walk those halls before us?
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  Speaker 2: Ooh, that's a good question. I'm looking around my apartment
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  now thinking what might have happened here over the years.
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  Speaker 1: I know it gives you a whole new perspective on
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  the places we inhabit. But getting back to the drift in,
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  I'm still stuck on those unsolved murders.
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  Speaker 2: Me too. Do you think we'll ever know for sure
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  what happened to Ludwig in Veckland.
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  Speaker 1: It's hard to say. But if you want to dive
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  deeper into that side of the story, the article recommends
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  the True Crime Arizona podcast. They did a whole episode
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  on the murders in Room eighteen.
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  Speaker 2: Oh. I might have to check that out. I'm always
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  up for a good true crime podcast.
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  Speaker 1: I think you'll like it. They go into a lot
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  of detail about the victims, the suspects, the investigation. It's
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  a pretty fascinating listen.
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  Speaker 2: Well, as we wrap things up here, I'm left thinking
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  about what you said earlier. What if the spirits and
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  the drift in aren't the murderers but the victims.
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  Speaker 1: It's a chilling thought, like they're trapped there, unable to
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  find peace.
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  Speaker 2: And maybe all this paranormal activity, the slamming doors, the apparitions,
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  maybe that's their way of trying to communicate, trying to
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  get someone to listen to their story.
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  Speaker 1: It sends shiver's down my spine just thinking about it. Well,
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  there you have it, folks, another deep dive into the
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  strange and mysterious world around us. We've got unsolved murders,
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  a secret brothel, and maybe even a few restless spirits.
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  Speaker 2: The drift in Saloon is proof that sometimes the most
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  fascinating stories are hidden in plain sight.
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  Speaker 1: And it's a reminder that the past has never truly gone.
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  It's always there, whispering to us if we know how
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  to listen. So the next time you walk into an
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  old building, take a moment to think about the stories
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  those walls could tell. You never know what secrets might
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  be lurking beneath the surface.