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Send us Fan Mail Get ready for a chilling walk down memory lane as we take you on a ghostly journey through Dodge City with our mischievous guide, Luke McGlue. Picture this: it's Halloween night, and the usually bustling streets are eerily silent. Luke has a mission - to administer the infamous Keely Cure to a stubbornly intoxicated judge. Sounds simple, right? But things aren't always as they seem in this legendary Wild West town.  In the second act, we take a haunting detour to the city's graveyard with our special guest, historian Brad Smalley. Uncover the tragic tales of Lizzie Palmer and J.M. Essington, victims of the city's lawless past. Ever wondered about the spectral figure of Billy Brooks, Dodge City's first appointed Marshal? Hear a captivating recount of his life and the mystery surrounding his ghostly presence. And don't worry, we won't leave you in suspense. Stick around after the show as Brad and Mike unravel the intriguing blend of truth and tales that make up this riveting episode. So, are you ready for a wild ride through Dodge City's shadowy past? Support the show If you'd like to buy one or more of our fully illustrated dime novel publications, you can click the link I've included.

Send us Fan Mail In November 2026, The Wild West Podcast will launch a new month-long series, Beyond the Legend: The True History of the Frontier, that deconstructs popular Hollywood myths about the 19th-century American West. Drawing on primary sources, court records, and historical archives, the series will examine the facts behind romanticized cowboy clichés to reveal a grittier, darker, more complex frontier. The series will debunk the cinematic "quick-draw" duel and explore the ruthless, flawed realities of famous lawmen such as Wyatt Earp. The narrative will also clarify regional historical facts, showing that primary nineteenth-century sources consistently referred to the cattle route into Dodge City as the "Western Trail" or "Western Cattle Trail," and examine frontier gun-control ordinances that directly contradict cinematic depictions of a lawless, unrestricted jurisdiction. Support the show If you'd like to buy one or more of our fully illustrated dime novel publications, you can click the link I've included.

Send us Fan Mail Halloween night in Spearville, Kansas, arrived with a blizzard so dense it erased the horizon and pressed the cold into the marrow of every bone. The wind rattled the windows of the Ford County Bank, carrying with it the scent of scorched kerosene and the faint, metallic tang of fear. Inside, Oliver Yantis, Bill Doolin, and George "Bittercreek" Newcomb moved with the practiced urgency of men who had robbed banks before. Yantis’s gloved hands shook as he stuffed silver coins and crisp Treasury notes into a battered canvas sack, the fabric stiff with frost. Outside, the storm thickened, and a darkness seeped through the mortar, heavy with the odor of old crypts and dried blood. The outlaws fled into the Cimarron breaks, their horses’ hooves muffled by the snow, only to find themselves swallowed by a white, endless void. In a sagging line shack, the stolen money lay between them like a curse, while the wind clawed at the boards and shadows stretched across the walls, alive with a slow, deliberate pulse. Alone now, Yantis crouched in a dugout carved from frozen earth, the air thick with the smell of damp rot and gun oil. Somewhere beyond the door, a rider approached—headless, astride a pale horse whose breath steamed in the moonlight. The apparition’s coat flapped in the wind, canvas stiff with the memory of old blood. Yantis fired his revolver, but the bullets shattered like ice against the rider’s chest, falling useless to the dirt floor. Panic clawed at his throat as the dugout seemed to shrink, the darkness pressing in until he could taste the soil on his tongue. Desperate, he burst into the open, blinded by moonlight and snow, and ran straight into the waiting rifles of Sheriff Chalk Beeson and Deputy Tom Hueston. The shots echoed across the prairie, but the nightmare did not end. In the telegraph office, the wires began to chatter, keys clacking out warnings in the empty night. Even now, as October winds howl through Spearville, doors are bolted tight and children hush at the sound of phantom hoofbeats—Oliver Yantis, still running, forever lost in the frozen dark. Support the show If you'd like to buy one or more of our fully illustrated dime novel publications, you can click the link I've included.

Send us Fan Mail The script tells the chilling story of a 1958 archival discovery at Fort Hays State University, where a graduate assistant listening to a reel-to-reel tape recorded by local resident Mary C. Highland uncovers a dark, hidden secret from the Kansas frontier. Prompted by a cryptic note left in the tape box, the narrative flashes back to 1888 Bucklin, Kansas, where investigator Jack Sterling looks into the legend of the "Sod-House Spectre". He learns that the haunting ghost is Eleanor Vance, a mother who froze to death with her child during the Great Blizzard of 1886 after being cruelly denied shelter and coal by a ruthless railroad official named Elias Corbin.  The tale culminates in a fiery act of vengeance at the Bucklin City Opera House, where Corbin is confronted by Jack Sterling and ultimately dragged into the flames by the spectral figure of Eleanor Vance. Back in 1958, the young archivist preserves the haunting history, realizing that true historical memory often lives on through local folklore and unspoken truths rather than official documents alone.  Support the show If you'd like to buy one or more of our fully illustrated dime novel publications, you can click the link I've included.

Send us Fan Mail This special Halloween episode of the Wild West Podcast, narrated by Brad Smalley, explores the dark history and haunting of Soule's Eureka Canal in Cimarron, Kansas. The story centers on Asa T. Soule, a wealthy New York tycoon who made his fortune selling Hop Bitters and sought to carve a massive irrigation ditch across the plains to build an agricultural empire. The venture ultimately failed due to unpredictable river flows and porous soil, earning it the bitter local moniker "Soule's Folly". Beneath the economic failure lay a much darker human cost, rooted in the ruthless displacement and ruin of ordinary men who crossed Soule's path. The narrative follows a visiting New York journalist, Frank Hopper, who teams up with Cimarron local Eleanor Vance to investigate whispers of the supernatural. Hopper experiences a terrifying encounter with a phosphorescent, wailing specter in the dry canal bed—the restless ghost of Silas Croft, a former New York farmer whose life and livelihood were destroyed by Soule's early speculations before perishing alone in a brutal Kansas blizzard. Understanding that the haunting was an unsettled ledger demanding truth rather than vengeance, Hopper writes a searing exposé detailing Croft's tragic fate and Soule's exploitation. Once the story is published and the debt of memory is paid, the phantom vanishes into peace, inspiring Hopper to leave his eastern career behind and plant his roots in Kansas as a small-town journalist alongside Eleanor. Support the show If you'd like to buy one or more of our fully illustrated dime novel publications, you can click the link I've included.

Send us Fan Mail In the summer of 1867, a terrifying cholera epidemic swept through Fort Dodge, Kansas, striking down healthy men by dusk and leaving a young eastern private named Walter "Walt" Hall among the fallen. Amidst a raging prairie thunderstorm, soldiers heard frantic scratching coming from the stone "Dead House," but the exhausted post surgeon dismissed the terrifying sounds as the wind. Decades later, in the spring of 1890, a hardened U.S. Cavalry veteran named Sergeant Elias Thorne arrived at the post—now the Kansas Soldiers' Home—and began hearing rumors of a "cholera ghost" haunting the abandoned hospital. Driven by sleepless nights and a smudged post-mortality ledger bearing a damning question mark, Thorne forced his way into the locked outbuilding, where he discovered deep scratch marks and a single tarnished Union brass button before being grabbed by an emaciated, cyanotic blue specter and pulled into the living nightmare of being buried alive. Listeners should tune in to this episode of the Wild West Podcast for a masterclass in atmospheric frontier storytelling that brilliantly bridges historical atmosphere with bone-chilling supernatural dread. The narrative vividly brings to life the stark, brutal realities of 19th-century military life at Fort Dodge while building a gripping, suspenseful mystery around forgotten archival ledgers and a tragic historical secret. It is an unforgettable listening experience that will leave you double-checking your locks as the autumn winds howl across the plains. Support the show If you'd like to buy one or more of our fully illustrated dime novel publications, you can click the link I've included.

Send us Fan Mail The wind that sweeps across the Kansas plains in early April is sharp enough to peel paint from the clapboard facades of Dodge City’s Front Street, and it carries with it the names of men who once kept order with a Colt and a badge. On the morning Ed Masterson walked his final patrol, the temperature hovered just above freezing, the kind of chill that seeps into the bones and makes a man’s hand slow on the draw. We follow the faint, crumbling trail of his remains, from the military orderlies at Fort Dodge to the tangled grass of Prairie Grove Cemetery, and finally to the neat, sun-bleached stones of Maple Grove. What begins as the echo of gunfire along the city’s infamous deadline becomes a meticulous search for a vanished grave—a story of how the relentless sprawl of new streets and new ambitions can erase even the memory of a lawman’s last stand. We walk the sawdust-strewn floors of Dodge’s saloons, where the gaslight flickers against whiskey bottles and the air is thick with the scent of cheap tobacco. In the alley beside the Lady Gay Saloon, a single shot splits the night, and history hesitates: did Ed’s bullet find Jack Wagner, or did Bat Masterson’s steady hand decide the outcome? The records are as thin as the paper they’re written on, and the ache of uncertainty lingers like the smell of gunpowder. As we search, we hear the faint voices of others lost to time—the gambler whose grave was moved when the railroad came through, the cowboy whose name was misspelled in the city ledger, the woman whose resting place now lies beneath a schoolhouse foundation. Each story presses the same question: when progress paves over the past, what debt do we owe to those whose bones lie beneath our feet? This is a story stitched together from brittle telegrams, faded burial ledgers, and the half-remembered tales of old-timers who still recall the sound of boots on boardwalks. We sift through the evidence—maps drawn in a surveyor’s careful hand, the grainy print of a newspaper obituary, the hum of ground-penetrating radar tracing what lies beneath the sod. Ed Masterson’s presence lingers, not as a specter but as a question: is a headstone merely a marker, or is it a covenant to remember those who once stood watch when the night was at its darkest? If the grave of a hero can vanish, so can the memory of any life. The task falls to us, the living, to decide how we honor the names that history nearly lets slip away. Support the show If you'd like to buy one or more of our fully illustrated dime novel publications, you can click the link I've included.

Send us Fan Mail On the edge of the prairie, where the wind could strip paint from a fence post and the sun baked the grass to brittle straw, a limestone mansion rose in defiance. Its walls, quarried by hand and mortared with ambition, promised permanence in a land that devoured dreams. Inside, John Mueller’s fortunes climbed with each black walnut step, the staircase polished by boots that tracked in the dust of cattle drives and the scent of imported cigars. But the winter of 1886, the White Death, arrived with a cold so deep it cracked the water pails and silenced the herds. Beneath the weight of ice, the house became a reliquary of loss. Caroline moved through rooms that echoed with absence—a nursery where the fire never caught, a rocking chair that creaked in the stillness, and a hush that pressed against the glass, as if a child’s breath lingered just out of sight. When the Schmidts arrived, the house inhaled a new century. Electric bulbs flickered where oil lamps once smoked the ceilings, and the kitchen filled with the yeasty warmth of bread rising before dawn. Children’s laughter ricocheted off stone walls that had known only silence. Then, one afternoon, a neighbor’s boy tumbled down the walnut staircase, his cry sharp as a winter wind. He insisted another child had pushed him—though no living child stood nearby. Elizabeth Schmidt, undeterred, turned to the brittle pages of county ledgers, tracing the inked names of the Muellers and the unmarked graves that census takers never tallied. In the wavering lamplight, her daughter Elma glimpsed a pale boy at the nursery door, his finger pressed to his chest, then pointing outward across the prairie—a silent plea that needed no voice. The house did not yield to exorcism or bravado. Instead, it responded to remembrance. In the cool, earthen basement, Elizabeth found a trunk marked with initials dulled by time. Inside, a child’s wooden horse, its paint worn smooth by small, restless fingers. She set it on the parlor mantel, above the coal grate where the family gathered on winter nights. The air shifted. The cold that haunted the nursery receded, and the doors no longer rattled in the night. What lingered felt less like a haunting and more like a watchful presence. Over the years, the Home of Stone became more than a monument to Dodge City’s wild days. It stood as a testament to the quiet endurance of pioneer mothers and the small, daily acts that knit a wounded place back together. If this story moved you, follow the show, share it with a friend who loves haunted history, and leave a review telling us the object you’d place on your mantel to honor a forgotten story. Support the show If you'd like to buy one or more of our fully illustrated dime novel publications, you can click the link I've included.

Send us Fan Mail Step into the captivating world of the American frontier, where history, grit, and surprising truths converge to reshape everything you thought you knew about the Old West. In this engaging address, our speaker Dr. Frank Sharp peels back the layers of myth to reveal a astonishing reality: post-Civil War Texas was pulled from deep economic depression not just by hard-working cowboys, but by the legendary Texas Longhorn itself—a drive that infused what would be billions of dollars in modern currency into a devastated economy. Drawing on decades of firsthand research and vivid field experience, the narrative takes listeners from the original 1493 Spanish cattle imported by Columbus straight to the dusty trails of Fort Griffin and the iconic Western Cattle Trail. Yet, this isn't merely a nostalgic walk down memory lane; it is an urgent rally for historical preservation. Listeners will be hooked as the speaker exposes a startling modern tragedy: while hyper-selective breeding has filled associations with crossbred "freaks" valued solely for oversized horn spans, the true, genetically pure, small-bodied Texas Longhorn is actually on the brink of critical extinction. With a perfect blend of Third-Grade math, sharp wit, interactive banter, and authentic passion, Dr. Frank Sharp offers an unforgettable look at the animal that quite literally carried American civilization forward. Tune in to discover why saving the true Texas Longhorn means safeguarding the very heart of Western heritage. Support the show If you'd like to buy one or more of our fully illustrated dime novel publications, you can click the link I've included.

Send us Fan Mail Imagine standing atop Pawnee Rock in May of 1872, looking out over the vast, windswept plains of Kansas. As far as the eye can see, the earth itself seems to move—a living, breathing ocean of dark fur and thunder. Welcome to The Wild West Podcast. Today, we invite you to travel alongside Colonel Richard Irving Dodge: soldier, keen naturalist, and eyewitness to the final, awe-inspiring days of the American frontier. In this episode, written and produced by Mike King and narrated by Brad Smalley, Colonel Dodge takes us into the heart of the Great Plains. You'll hear his firsthand account of standing above a staggering buffalo herd—an unbelievable spectacle spanning twenty-five miles wide and fifty miles deep—and feel the pulse-pounding terror of being caught in a sudden stampede of five thousand charging bison. This remarkable chapter of history unfolds just two months before Colonel Dodge would take command of Fort Dodge on the north banks of the Arkansas River, a mere five miles from where the legendary Dodge City was about to be born. At the time, Dodge was stationed at Fort Larned—a crucial outpost serving as a disbursement point for Indian annuities and a vital shield for the workers laying track for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad. Step back in time with us to May 1872, and experience the frontier through the eyes of the man who lived it. Tune in now to The Wild West Podcast. Support the show If you'd like to buy one or more of our fully illustrated dime novel publications, you can click the link I've included.

Send us Fan Mail Journey into the raw, untamed frontier of June 1872 with former buffalo hunter turned saloon owner George W. Brown. In this gripping episode, Brown details the chaotic birth of Buffalo City—a bustling boomtown sparked when a strict military ban on alcohol at Fort Dodge sent thirsty soldiers, hunters, and freight drivers searching for a new watering hole just beyond government lines. From makeshift tent bars and 25-cent whiskey shots to the rapid, wild rise of a frontier outpost, listen as history comes alive through firsthand accounts of ambition, lawlessness, and the men who built the Old West one wooden plank at a time. Expect high-stakes drama, authentic period storytelling, and an unfiltered look at true frontier grit. You'll hear how a military ban on whiskey sparked an entire town, how wagonloads of gamblers and dance hall girls transformed a desolate prairie, and how an explosive, bullet-riddled saloon shootout unfolded over a midnight feud. Whether you're a history buff or just love a compelling, cinematic story filled with larger-than-life characters, this episode offers an unforgettable front-row seat to the wildest days of the American West—hit play and tune in today! Support the show If you'd like to buy one or more of our fully illustrated dime novel publications, you can click the link I've included.

Send us Fan Mail Step back in time to the summer of 1872 and experience the raw, untamed spirit of the American frontier. Narrated through the vivid recollections of George W. Brown, this episode transports listeners directly onto the sun-drenched plains of Kansas, following the massive buffalo herds alongside legendary frontiersmen. Richly atmospheric soundscapes—from the crackle of evening campfires to the distant howl of coyotes—bring to life the gritty reality, unexpected humor, and rugged camaraderie of hunters like "Prairie Dog" Morrow and Thomas Nixon as they navigate a rapidly changing wild West. Whether you are a historical enthusiast or simply love a compelling, well-told story, this immersive audio journey offers an unvarnished window into the lives of the men who shaped frontier lore. Listeners will be captivated by the colorful anecdotes, sharp wits, and larger-than-life tales of early entrepreneurial ventures and epic hunts along the Arkansas River. Tune in to hear history brought to life through authentic voice acting and traditional acoustic instrumentation that will leave you feeling as though you're sitting right beside the campfire. Support the show If you'd like to buy one or more of our fully illustrated dime novel publications, you can click the link I've included.

Send us Fan Mail Saddle up and tune in to this thrilling episode of the Wild West Podcast, hosted by Brad Smalley! The show shines a spotlight on an upcoming doubleheader event in Dodge City, Kansas, featuring Dr. Frank Sharp—an educator, author, cattleman, and lead educator for the State of Texas Herd of Longhorns at Fort Griffin. In a captivating interview, Dr. Sharp dismantles common misconceptions about Texas Longhorns, revealing the shocking truth that genuine historical longhorns are actually critically endangered—far closer to extinction than most realize due to modern breeding trends prioritizing extreme horn length over pure historical traits. It’s an eye-opening conversation that bridges the rich, shared history between Texas and Dodge City, leaving listeners eager to learn more about the true identity of these iconic animals. Beyond the rich livestock history, this episode delivers an irresistible invitation to a hands-on, high-energy community experience! Dr. Sharp previews his upcoming July 31, 2026 events at the Ford County Historical Society Museum, including an interactive morning session titled "Music on the American Frontier". Forget dry museum lectures—this session brings history to life by inviting adults and kids alike to grab spoons, maracas, or rhythm bones and jam along to authentic 19th-century cowboy trail songs. Between the fascinating frontier history, vivid historical artwork previews, and the promise of a foot-stomping good time, this podcast episode is a must-listen that will have you eager to dust off your boots and join in on the celebration! Support the show If you'd like to buy one or more of our fully illustrated dime novel publications, you can click the link I've included.

Send us Fan Mail In episode 6 of Buffalo Days, the narrative opens with a sudden and intense prairie storm that triggers a massive buffalo stampede. As lightning strikes and kills a bull in the herd, the animals scatter in panic, threatening to crush the hunters and their heavily loaded supply wagons. The men are forced to make a desperate run through the blinding rain and mud, barely escaping the thundering herd when the storm runoff carves out a massive rut in the earth, redirecting the buffalo away from their path and slowing the animals down in a nearby river. The following day, after the storm passes, the hunters venture out onto the prairie to survey the aftermath, following the winding, crooked trails left by the buffalo. Along the way, they witness the grim reality of the hide-hunting trade, coming across hundreds of decaying carcasses and spoiled hides left behind to rot by other hunters. After continuing their hunt for two more weeks to fulfill their quota of 557 hides, they haul their haul back to Fort Hays to collect their pay. The episode closes on a reflective note as the group splits up, leaving the narrator alone in a saloon to ponder his descent into becoming a hardened, cold-blooded "buffalo runner." Support the show If you'd like to buy one or more of our fully illustrated dime novel publications, you can click the link I've included.

Send us Fan Mail Before sunrise, Josiah Wright Mooar sets out with Jim White to learn the technique of buffalo hunting from a stand. Moving six miles out, they locate a massive herd, utilizing the cover of sandhills and a riverbank to approach the animals while the skinners wait with a freight wagon nearby. As the buffalo draw close, Jim criticizes the animals' lack of intelligence and explains their tendency to stampede blindly. He then demonstrates how to set up a tripod shooting stand for his single-shot, lever-action Sharps .50 rifle. Jim methodically accounts for distance, wind, and bullet arc before opening fire. Using his specialized tripod, Jim systematically drops one buffalo after another; the narrator watches the animals lose their wild dignity as forty of them are killed without alerting the rest of the herd. Once the hunt concludes, Jim signals the team to begin the arduous work of processing the kill. The skinners move the wagons forward and immediately begin skinning the carcasses using specialized knives and a horse-hitch to peel the hides away. While Jim White remains on high ground to keep watch for potential Indian threats, the rest of the crew spends nearly the entire day skinning and cutting the animals. By late afternoon, they finish harvesting the hides for curing and secure the hindquarters of meat—valued at three cents a pound—to ensure a profitable haul for the camp. Support the show If you'd like to buy one or more of our fully illustrated dime novel publications, you can click the link I've included.