168: Conflicting Stories & Missing Pieces (Death Valley #2)

Research and Rabbit Holes for The Dead Files “Death Valley” (Season 2 Episode 19) which aired May 17, 2013.

This week we’re back in Death Valley Junction—but this time, we’re going deeper. Like… five days of rabbit holes deeper.

In part two of this three-part series, we leave the recap behind and dive headfirst into the history of the Amargosa Opera House and Hotel… and things get complicated fast.

We uncover the origins of the property as a 1920s mining hub built to impress investors (for a booming industry that lasted… about three years), complete with dormitories, a cafe, a general store, and—yes—an infirmary that the show barely touched on.

From there, we follow the story of how the place sat abandoned for decades before ballerina Marta Becket arrived in 1967 and quite literally adopted it—painting her own audience on the walls and performing for them when no one else showed up. (We love her. We would die for her.)

But then… things take a turn.

We dig into what may have really happened with Rich and Mary Lee—because despite what the show implies, it doesn’t seem like ghosts are the only reason they left. There are power struggles, conflicting stories, a very suspicious letter that may or may not have actually been written by Marta, and just enough missing information to make everything feel a little… off.

So, grab your refrigerator yogurt (labeled it so Terry from accounting doesn’t take it) and join us where… The Activity Continues.

This episode was recorded on March 29, 2026 and released on April 30, 2026.

Chapter Markers

00:00:00 Hello!

00:00:56 How We Ended Last Time

00:01:41 The Property

00:15:18 The Clients

00:21: 30 Marta Becket

00:25:08 Shotgun Kitty

00:27:39 Next week

Episode links:

Property’s Official Page: https://www.amargosaoperahouse.org/

Amargosa at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amargosa_Opera_House_and_Hotel

Marta Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marta_Becket

Article about the Marta: https://www.jeffreysward.com/tributes/amargosa.htm - the links within that article are dead.

...for the rest of the links please see our Blog:

https://www.theactivitycontinues.com/blog/extended-show-notes-for-tac-168

Credits:

Hosted by: Amy Lotsberg and Megan Simmons

Production, Artwork, and Editing: Amy Lotsberg at Collected Sounds Media, LLC. https://www.collectedsounds.com/

Theme song “Ghost Story” and segment music by Melissa West

Overview music: “Beyond the Stars” by Chris Collins

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