In the 1970s, residents of Circleville, Ohio, began receiving hundreds of anonymous letters — filled with threats, accusations, and terrifying secrets.What started as a small-town scandal spiraled into a decades-long mystery involving murder, blackmail, and a botched investigation.Join Vanessa Richa…In the 1970s, residents of Circleville, Ohio, began receiving hundreds of anonymous letters — filled with threats, accusations, and terrifying secrets.What started as a small-town scandal spiraled into a decades-long mystery involving murder, blackmail, and a botched investigation.Join Vanessa Richardson as she unravels one of America’s strangest unsolved cases — the chilling story of The Circleville Letter Writer.
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In this episode, Payton uncovers a small town’s dark secret: a blackmailer urging residents to commit murder to keep their secrets hidden.
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Discount Codes: https://mailchi.…In this episode, Payton uncovers a small town’s dark secret: a blackmailer urging residents to commit murder to keep their secrets hidden.
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Case Sources
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack – Season 7, Episode 6
48 Hours – Season 36, Episode 47 “The Circleville Letters”
The Columbus Dispatch - https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/crime/2021/08/25/circleville-ohio-mystery-menacing-letters-gillispie-freshour-cbs-48-hours/8253758002/
CBS News - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/circleville-letters-author-unmask/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/circleville-letters-ohio-rumors-secrets/
The Scioto Post - https://www.sciotopost.com/updates-about-the-circleville-mystery-writer/
All That’s Interesting - https://allthatsinteresting.com/circleville-letters
Scioto Valley Guardian - https://sciotovalleyguardian.com/2024/05/23/has-a-forensic-expert-unmasked-the-anonymous-author-of-the-infamous-circleville-letters/
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In March 1977, school bus driver Mary Gillespie started receiving threatening letters delivered to her home in Circleville, Ohio. It wasn’t long before her husband, Ron Gillespie, also received the letters which accused Mary of having an affair with the local school superintendent, Gordon Massie.
-…In March 1977, school bus driver Mary Gillespie started receiving threatening letters delivered to her home in Circleville, Ohio. It wasn’t long before her husband, Ron Gillespie, also received the letters which accused Mary of having an affair with the local school superintendent, Gordon Massie.
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Narration – Anonymous Host
Research & writing – Jessica Forsayeth
Creative direction – Milly Raso
Production and music – Mike Migas
Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn
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If you enjoy our podcast, please leave us a rating and review!…HAPPY SPOOKY SEASON!! This is the story of the mysterious letters that terrorized the town of Circleville, Ohio for two decades.
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The Circleville Letter writer is a case that will absolutely baffle your brain. In 1976 one of the first letters was delivered to Mary Gillespie and it accused her of being one of the many women supposedly having an affair with the superintendent of schools, Gordon Massie. The letters would continue…The Circleville Letter writer is a case that will absolutely baffle your brain. In 1976 one of the first letters was delivered to Mary Gillespie and it accused her of being one of the many women supposedly having an affair with the superintendent of schools, Gordon Massie. The letters would continue to be sent, not only to Mary, but to most of the residents and business owners in the town. The letter writer seemed to know everything about everyone and would stop at nothing to take down the people they thought were morally wrong…. As if sending intimidating letters across a city is a moral thing to do. By the end of this a possibly innocent man would be sent to prison, another man would end up dead and Mary would survive an attempt on her life.
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An anonymous letter-writer antagonized residents of Circleville, Ohio for years, singling out the school superintendent, Gordon Massie, and a local bus driver, Mary Gillispie, as the focus of much of the vitriol. When Mary finds a booby trap with a loaded gun in 1983, the gun is traced to her brothe…An anonymous letter-writer antagonized residents of Circleville, Ohio for years, singling out the school superintendent, Gordon Massie, and a local bus driver, Mary Gillispie, as the focus of much of the vitriol. When Mary finds a booby trap with a loaded gun in 1983, the gun is traced to her brother-in-law Paul Freshour – but the letters would continue long after Paul went to prison for attempted murder.more
Circleville, OH. 1976. A local woman begins receiving threatening letters in the mail that instruct her to end an extramarital affair she swears is a fabrication. But when the letters continue, and the threats grow stronger, things finally come to a head as her husband loses his life trying to confr…Circleville, OH. 1976. A local woman begins receiving threatening letters in the mail that instruct her to end an extramarital affair she swears is a fabrication. But when the letters continue, and the threats grow stronger, things finally come to a head as her husband loses his life trying to confront the writer. And that's just the beginning. Join host Ryan Kraus for a psychological exploration of this fascinating mystery.more
August 19, 1977. Circleville, Ohio. After receiving a phone call, an angry Ron Gillispie frantically drives away from his home and dies after crashing into a tree. For the past several months, Ron’s wife, Mary Gillispie, had been receiving anonymous threatening letters expressing anger about her all…August 19, 1977. Circleville, Ohio. After receiving a phone call, an angry Ron Gillispie frantically drives away from his home and dies after crashing into a tree. For the past several months, Ron’s wife, Mary Gillispie, had been receiving anonymous threatening letters expressing anger about her alleged affair with another man. In total, over a thousand anonymous letters would be sent to residents of the area during this time period. Five-and-a-half years later, Mary would find a homemade booby trap containing a gun belonging to Ron’s former brother-in-law, Paul Freshour. Paul is accused of being the author of the anonymous letters and spends ten years in prison for Mary’s attempted murder, but the threatening letters continue to be sent while Paul is incarcerated. Was Paul Freshour the mysterious “Circleville Writer” or was he framed and wrongly imprisoned? For our special two-year anniversary show of “The Trail Went Cold”, we will be chronicling a case which was voted on by our listeners: the bizarre saga of “The Circleville Letters”. Special thanks to listener Jamie Sciullo for narrating the opening of this episode, and Tyler from “The Minds of Madness” podcast for providing the voice of the Circleville Writer.
Also, a big thanks to Esther Gamez for providing us with another terrific piece of cover art for this episode. Be sure to check out Esther’s Facebook and Tumblr pages to see more of her artwork.
Additional Reading:
https://unsolved.com/gallery/poison-pen-murder/
https://circlevilleletters.wordpress.com/
http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Circleville_Writer
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The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.more
