Some theaters refuse to let their stories end.

In this haunted history special, Bridgett Denise guides you into three Southern stages where ghostly performers and restless audiences still linger long after the curtain has fallen.

In Memphis, the Orpheum Theatre is home to Mary, a little girl who never left her favorite seat.

In Austin, the Paramount Theatre hides the ghost of a man in white and the spirit of a glamorous actress from the Roaring Twenties.

And in Birmingham, the Alabama Theatre echoes with phantom applause, icy projection booths, and the faint notes of a mighty Wurlitzer organ playing itself.

With deep history, chilling testimonies, and Southern Gothic atmosphere, this episode reveals why some theaters never go truly dark.

And don’t forget — this October, Vivid Nightmares brings you double the chills: Haunted History Thursdays + True Crime Fridays.

Take your seat, the spotlight is waiting… but remember: the audience around you might not all be living

In 1991, the quiet Texas suburb of Channelview was rocked by one of the most bizarre true crime stories in American history. Wanda Holloway, a mother desperate to see her daughter make the junior high cheerleading squad, took her obsession to a deadly level. Instead of encouraging practice or patience, Wanda turned to murder-for-hire — plotting to have her daughter’s rival’s mother killed.

In this episode of Vivid Nightmares, host Bridgett Denise dives into the chilling details:

• Wanda’s obsession with status and cheerleading

• The taped conversations that sealed her fate

• The media circus that turned “Cheerleader Mom” into a national punchline

• And the shocking aftermath that left a family forever scarred

💀 Was Wanda just a controlling mom who lost her grip, or was she dangerous long before cheer tryouts? Share your theories with me on socials @VividNightmaresPodcast.

On December 21, 1995, a routine bank pickup in Columbus, Georgia, turned into a bloodbath. Brink’s guard John Hamilton, a Vietnam veteran and family man, was ambushed outside a SouthTrust Bank. The shooter? An outsider flown in from Los Angeles. The plan? An armored truck robbery that ended in chaos, gunfire, and death.

In this episode of Vivid Nightmares, host Bridgett Denise takes you inside the heist, the courtroom battles, and the lasting scars left on a community just days before Christmas. From the triggerman’s violent past to the family’s grief, this is a Southern true crime story that shows just how far greed will go.

💀 What do you think? Was this always meant to end in murder, or could Hamilton have survived if things went differently? Share your thoughts with me on socials @VividNightmaresPodcast.