Paper Ghosts: The Texas Teen Murders artwork

True Crime · iHeartPodcasts

Paper Ghosts: The Texas Teen Murders

by iHeartPodcasts

Paper Ghosts: The Texas Teen Murders takes you back to 1983, when two teenagers were found murdered, execution-style, on a quiet Texas hill. What followed was decades of rumors, false leads, and a case that law enforcement could never seem to close. Now, veteran investigative journalist M. William Phelps reopens the file — uncovering new witnesses, hidden evidence, and a shocking web of deaths that may all be connected. Over nine gripping episodes, Paper Ghosts: The Texas Teen Murders unravels a story 42 years in the making… and asks the question: who’s really been hiding the truth?

Chart trend

Position in the True Crime chart (US), last 90 days.

#24
all-time peak
52
days in the top 50 since Nov 2024

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

The Bodies Were Shaking

In this final episode of the season, Phelps tracks down someone who claims to know what happened to Shelly and Vincent: where and how they were murdered, who killed them,

Dec 24 2025
56 min

Oh My God... What Kind of Mess is This?

As Phelps keeps digging, new sources come forward.  Has all of this been some sort of witch hunt to pin the murders on two innocent men, so the real killers walk free? S

Dec 17 2025
54 min

Frosty the Ice Man

Small-town rumor and speculation seem to dominate discourse in Weatherford. Phelps has to ask: is Wendy Robinson’s murder connected to Vincent and Shelly’s? When Wendy’s

Dec 10 2025
46 min

He Went to Sleep Forever

As Phelps seems to be getting somewhere with Shelly and Vincent’s case, another teenager is found murdered and sexually assaulted, changing the dynamic and path of his in

Dec 3 2025
44 min

Like Bodies Through a Meat Grinder

Phelps dives deeper, trying to separate fact from rumor, while new suspects come into play—and a third teen murder rocks the town of Weatherford.  But could a noted seria

Nov 26 2025
55 min

Bump Monkeys

As Phelps interviews sources connected to the Weatherford teen murders, including law enforcement working the case at the time, two new theories emerge—sending him deep i

Nov 19 2025
54 min

Until My Last Dying Breath

Phelps teams up with a local private investigator discovering that things are not what they seem in Weatherford, Texas… and learns peculiar new information about the case

Nov 12 2025
49 min

Piss Hill

 As family members panic without word from teens Vincent and Shelly, Vincent’s father heads out to search for the kids. Meanwhile, a local private investigator gets invol

Nov 5 2025
52 min

The Preacher's Daughter

In Texas: teens are dying. Two teens go missing on a March night in 1983—and that’s only the beginning. A body count of kids and teens, missing and murdered, in a county

Nov 5 2025
55 min

Introducing: Paper Ghosts: The Texas Teen Murders

Paper Ghosts: The Texas Teen Murders takes you back to 1983, when two teenagers were found murdered, execution-style, on a quiet Texas hill. What followed was decades of

Oct 29 2025
3 min

Episode 8: “The Boogeymen”

In this final episode of season 4, Phelps interviews a suspected serial killer, who he believes could be responsible for Dana Stidham’s murder—the first time anyone has s

Apr 10 2024
1 h 08 min

Episode 7: “Killer Confrontation”

With investigative pressure mounting on the Benton County Sheriff’s Office’s suspect in Dana Stidham’s murder, Phelps uncovers a disturbing phone call made to a local wom

Apr 3 2024
51 min

Episode 6: “Spawn of Hell”

The second female victim, known only as “Grace Doe” for nearly 30 years, is identified as Shauna Garber. Phelps’s investigation turns toward a new suspect in the murder o

Mar 27 2024
47 min

Episode 5: “Grace Doe: Shauna Garber”

With the discovery of a second young female murder victim just over the Missouri border, 20 minutes away from where Dana Stidham’s body was found, a new suspect seems to

Mar 20 2024
48 min

Episode 4: “The Cave”

The investigation by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office heats up in Dana Stidham’s gruesome murder, zeroing in on one particular suspect.  Phelps digs deeper, speaking to

Mar 13 2024
38 min

Episode 3: “The Skull in the Creek Bed”

As the 1989 holiday season looms, Dana Stidham’s body is discovered by a local hunter in a Bella Vista creek bed. Law enforcement shifts its focus from missing person to

Mar 6 2024
47 min

Episode 2: “The Evidence of Things Not Seen”

As the search for Dana Stidham continues, her sudden disappearance baffles family, friends, and police, as everyone grows increasingly alarmed that Dana has met with foul

Feb 28 2024
47 min

Episode 1: “Forever Pain”

In the heat of the Ozarks summer, 1989, an 18-year-old woman goes missing.  Dana Stidham vanishes in the middle of the day, from the parking lot of a local supermarket. E

Feb 21 2024
44 min

Introducing - Paper Ghosts Season 4: The Ozarks

Summer 1989: in the heart of the Ozarks. A young woman goes missing before a body is found, not far from the Missouri border. Soon, a second body is discovered nearby. Th

Feb 14 2024
3 min

Is Serial Killer Larry Hall Connected to Tammy’s Murder?

Law enforcement investigating Tammy Zywicki’s murder spent decades looking into known and suspected serial killers operating in the Midwest. Among them was Larry Dwayne H

Mar 29 2023
19 min

Chart positions

Where Paper Ghosts: The Texas Teen Murders ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 4, 2026).

#184 ▼ 4 True Crime US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

This is now my favorite podcast. Excellent production and I love the thorough coverage and investigation on each case. I am now following and listening to all of the podcasts by him!! Can’t wait for the upcoming episodes.

lal19_ · Dec 2024

I listen to many podcasts, including several true crime. Nobody does a better job of digging into a case and presenting facts as an advocate for the victim. M. William Phelps does outstanding work. Great for anyone serious about the truth and not just sensationalized storytelling.

nfldraftnik · Oct 2024

Love M. William Phelps’ story telling, thorough coverage of the cases, and victim advocacy.

LuMaLu22 · Sep 2024

I listen to all of M William Phelps podcasts and still want more! His storytelling is so captivating and his voice is perfect for listening. He truly investigates everything he discusses and gives so much background… it’s fantastic. He has such a passion for what he does it totally shines through on every episode. More Paper Ghosts! More everything from Phelps!

Amysterylover41 · Jul 2024

After making it partway through episode 4 of season 4, I finally realized that the main character of every single story in this podcast is dogged reporter M. William Phelps. Not the victim(s). In S4, E4, Our Intrepid Investigative Reporter interviews someone he feels is the likely killer, and spends the greater part of the episode in an expository ecstasy: “*I* had to” go hard on this guy, *I* had to…..etc. Sir. You are not the story. Please dial back on your self-aggrandizement. Bullying an elderly convict, whose voice and reactions clearly show confusion and (potentially) dementia, in an interview is not professional behavior. I hold no brief for this serial killer *at all*, but I question the journalistic integrity of any reporter who makes himself the focus of his own reporting. Aggressively questioning an old man is not the flex you seem to think it is. Your coverage of this 35-year old case would have a lot more impact if you would focus less on yourself in it. This world does not need a 21st century Geraldo Rivera. Conduct yourself accordingly.

Lauren JN · Aug 2024

1/3 of every show is obnoxious ads for casinos and other garbage. The content is really good if you can get over the constant ads for nonsense. It’s really hard to continue to listen with this. Seems like every 10 minutes there are 3 minutes of ads. There are other podcasts out there. Skip this one

Billin21 · Jul 2024

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Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of Paper Ghosts: The Texas Teen Murders, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.

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