On the morning of October 31st, 1978, 408 people woke up in the small Northern California

town of Palomor.

At dusk, parents and children throughout the community engaged in

Halloween activities, trick-or-treating, passing out candy, attending costume

parties.

By the end of that autumn night,

only nine people would be left alive.

Every other soul in Palomar was gone, left in their places, jackalandons, with detailed carvings of the missing. This is a voice from darkness. Hello, this is Dr. Malcolm Ryder, parapsycologist. Normally I'd be in the studio taking your

calls to help you with your supernatural problems, but not tonight. Tonight I'm in Palomar, California.

Tonight I'm going to tell you the tale of the worst case of the jackalantern murders in American history.

What happened in Palomar stands alone, not only in the quantity of people affected,

but also in a few details that do not occur in any other case.

Palomar is situated roughly 30 minutes south on the highway from Six Rivers National Park.

Like many towns in this region,

Palomar owes its origins to the gold rush.

The town never grew large.

At its height in the early 20th century, its population boasted a mere 900-some

residence, but unlike other Gold Rush communities, it never transformed into a ghost town, at least not until Halloween night of 78.

The town exists today, though merely as a museum, a place to honour all those lost that tragic night.

Throughout the town, year-round jackalantons carved to resemble the missing are placed where they were found on November 1st.

I spent the better part of today traversing the town, taking in the pumpkins, learning their stories, honoring the dead.

We are recording this broadcast from Palomar's former AM radio station, and so we'll start our story.

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