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.

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