On October 14, 1987, Reba McClure and her eighteen-month-old daughter, Jessica, stopped by the Midland, Texas home of her sister for a visit. As Reba sat in the backyard watching Jessica play with some neighborhood children, she heard the phone ring and went inside to answer it. When McClure returned to the backyard a few minutes later, she saw the other children staring at the ground on the far-side of the yard, but Jessica was nowhere to be seen.

To Reba McClure’s absolute horror, while she was inside on the phone, Jessica had fallen twenty-feet down into the well on her sister’s property and become lodged in a section only fourteen-inches wide. Rescue teams arrived at the house not long after Jessica fell into the well, but the situation proved far more complicated than anyone had expected; they needed to dig a parallel shaft to rescue the girl, but any amount of significant vibration in the earth could have collapsed the well entirely.

In the early days of cable news twenty-four-hour news coverage, the rescue of Jessica McClure became one of the most watched events in the United States. However, while the rescue of the girl was everyone’s primary concern, the wall-to-wall coverage itself quickly became a major part of the story, as ordinary smalltown Americans were shoved into the spotlight and questions over rights to the story (and rights to privacy) took center stage.

Belkin, Lisa. 1988. "Baby Jessica's rescuers fighting over TV rights." New York Times, March 24.

Bone, Mark, and Gregory Rosati. 2021. How 58 hours in Midland, Texas, changed the future of TV news. July 30. Accessed March 24, 2026. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/30/opinions/baby-jessica-cnn-films-shorts-mark-bone-opinion.

Comiter, Jordana, and Carolina Blair. 2025. Where Is ‘Baby Jessica’ Now? Inside Her Life 38 Years After Her Harrowing Rescue from a Texas Well. October 16. Accessed March 24, 2026. https://people.com/all-about-baby-jessica-life-now-11830322.

Crimmins, Patrick. 1987. "Toddler's rescue 'matter of time'." Midland Reporter-Telegram, October 16: 1.

Hillrichs, Julie. 1987. "Naps, choruses of nursery song help toddler endure her ordeal." Midland Reporter-Telegram, October 16: 1.

Kennedy, J. Michael. 1987. "Jessica makes it to safety-after 58 1/2 hours." Los Angeles Times, October 17: 1.

Lunsford, Lance. 2024. Inside the Well: The Midland, Texas Rescue of Baby Jessica. Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press.

Madigan, Tim. 1987. "Rescue just agonizing inches from sobbing girl in Midland well." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 15: 1.

—. 1987. "Town shares emotion of toddler's relatives." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 16: 1.

Nye, Ramona. 1987. "Jessica free, under doctors' care." Midland Reporter-Telegram, October 17: 1.

Pitts, John Paul. 1987. "Concerned people give of themselves for Jessica." Midland Reporter-Telegram, October 17: 1.

Thomas, Evan, and Peter Annin. 1997. "'Baby Jessica' grows up." Newsweek, October 27: 34.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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When Carolyn and Roger Perron moved into a small farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island, they thought they’d found the perfect house in which to raise their five daughters and enjoy the rest of their lives. Before long, the Perron’s dream home turned into a nightmare. It started small—disembodied voices, unpleasant odors—but soon the unpleasant and obnoxious experiences developed into an all-out attack of ghostly apparitions, assaults from unseen hands, and the presence of something far worse than the spirits of the undead.

At first, the Perron family ignored or dismissed the various incidents that disturbed them, but after several years in the house, the experiences had become too numerous and too severe to dismiss. Faced with the unimaginable scenario of losing their house to forces beyond their comprehension, the Perron’s decided to fight back.

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Langston, Keith. 2024. The True Story Behind The Conjuring: Where Is the Perron Family Now? October 20. Accessed March 26, 2026. https://people.com/the-conjuring-true-story-8645388.

Nickell, Joe. 2016. "Dispelling Demons: Detective Work at The Conjuring House." Skepticakl Inquirer 20-24.

Nickell, Joe. 2014. "The Conjuring: Ghosts? Poltergeist? Demons?" Skeptical Inquirer 22-25.

Perron, Andrea. 2013. House of Darkness, House of Light, vol. 2. Providence, RI: AuthorHouse.

—. 2011. House of Darkness: House of Light, vol. 1. Providence, RI: AuthorHouse.

Rhode Island Governor's Justice Commission. 1995.

Highlights and Analysis from 25 Years Collecting Serious Crime Data.

Data analysis, Providence, RI: Rhode Island Statistical Analysis Center.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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We are THRILLED to invite to you join our Morbid Book Club in this bonus episode that is #sponsored by our friends at @ashleyofficial. This quarter, we are serving up forensic chills with a side of culinary chaos as we dive into Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell! And the best part? We’re joined our new best friend Chef Reilly Meehan who helps us break it all down! #Morbidbookclub #ashleypartner

We’re unpacking the very first Dr. Kay Scarpetta novel that basically launched a thousand forensic obsessions, chatting about ALL of the gritty details, and some of the wild theories we came up with while reading! (I’m looking at you Lucy!) Chef Reilly brings a totally unique perspective (and some top-tier vibes), as we somehow manage to connect the worlds of food, storytelling, and forensic science. Expect hot takes, a little dark humor, and some truly unhinged tangents, because you know we can’t stay on track for too long.

So keep it weird… and keep turning those pages!

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Grab your copy of A Little Bit Extra by Chef Reilly Meehan

Want more of Patricia Cornwell's body of work? Check out her other books, and preorder her upcoming memoir!

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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