In late October and early November 2021, TV's long-running paranormal series The Dead Files brought its cameras to Flagstaff. The episode that came out of it, "The Haunting of Flagstaff," Season 14, Episode 12, aired April 2, 2022, and members of our team ended up on screen. Here is how the whole thing came together, from the first rumor to the taping.
What is The Dead Files?
The Dead Files is a Travel Channel paranormal series built on a novel two-track investigation. When it premiered in September 2011, its concept stood out: Steve DiSchiavi, a retired New York City homicide detective, digs through the documented history of a reputedly haunted place, while psychic medium Amy Allan walks it cold, with no research at all. Neither sees the other's findings until the big reveal at the end of each episode, when they compare notes with the owner who called them in. The formula has kept the show running for well over a decade.
Why did The Dead Files pick Flagstaff?
Reported activity in the basement of Crystal Magic, the downtown crystal shop, drew the show's attention, and Flagstaff's deep bench of documented dark history did the rest. Word first moved through the ghost vine in spring 2021 that producers were considering the town, which was no sure thing; Arizona has no shortage of candidates, from Tombstone to Jerome to Skull Valley. By summer the buzz was back, and several people in Flagstaff's paranormal community, our team included, got emails and video calls from the producers.
Who from Freaky Foot Tours is in the episode?
Our co-founder Susan Johnson was asked to contribute historical background on murders from Flagstaff's past, including the 1937 Walkup family tragedy, the case Susan literally wrote the book on. Co-founder Nick Jones appears too, and even underwent testing on camera. The Arizona Daily Sun previewed the episode and our team's role in it on March 28, 2022, a few days before it aired. None of us knew how the producers would cut it all together until we watched with everyone else, and we heard about several new hauntings during the taping that we were itching to investigate.
Questions people ask
Which Dead Files episode is about Flagstaff?
"The Haunting of Flagstaff," Season 14, Episode 12, which first aired on April 2, 2022. It covers Crystal Magic's basement along with several other downtown locations.
Can I visit the places from the episode?
Yes. Crystal Magic, the Weatherford Hotel, the Hotel Monte Vista, and the Orpheum Theater are all in downtown Flagstaff, and all of them figure in the running debate over the town's most haunted building. Our walking route passes them nightly.
What happened when it aired
Flagstaff threw a watch party, and we wrote up the whole evening, screen appearances and all, in Dead Files Part II.
Walk the episode's territory
Every location the show investigated sits within a few blocks of downtown, which happens to be our office. The Flagstaff Haunted History Tour covers that ground in 75 minutes, nightly at 7 PM plus 8 PM Fridays and Saturdays, $29 for adults, told by the same team the show came to for its history.
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