Ghosts on Wicked’s Stage: The Horror Behind the Iroquois Theatre Fire

On this premiere episode of Citegeist, we uncover the tragic history behind Chicago’s Iroquois Theater Fire and the ghosts said to linger in Death Alley. Spirits have been seen by many, including Ana Gasteyer as she was starring in Wicked as Elphaba in what is now the Nederlander Theatre.

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0:00 Intro
1:46 Story Portion (Alleged History)
11:33 Gossip Sesh Begins
12:24 Reliaility of Newspapers
13:10 Digital Preservation Discussion
14:29 Construction of the Iroquois Theater
19:16 Research Tangent #1: Mary Lytle
20:10 "Takes Ride in Cab with Wife's Body" (Research Tangent #2)
24:49 What Went Wrong? Asbestos Curtain & Safety Issues
33:41 Rachael Gorman and the "Sister's of Charity"
38:50 The Search for "Emma Dixon" the Ghost
41:36 The Real Cost of the Fire 42:12 Inquest & Court Cases
47:04 Ana Gasteyer as Elphaba in Wicked
47:42 Outro

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Bibli-ahh-graphy and Works Cited

“1903 Chicago Iroquois Theater Legal Proceedings Overview.” n.d. Accessed November 24, 2025. https://www.iroquoistheater.com/iroquois-theater-fire-legal-proceedings-overview.php.

“1903 Newspapers Spiced Tragedy with Heroes and Villains.” n.d. Accessed November 10, 2025. https://www.iroquoistheater.com/bogus-1903-iroquois-theater-fire-news.php.

“Anna ‘Annie’ Halverson Dixon (1860-1903) - Find a...” n.d. Accessed November 24, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/44159931/anna-dixon.

“Anna Dixon and Her Daughters Lost Their Lives at the Iroquois Theater.” n.d. Accessed November 16, 2025. https://www.iroquoistheater.com/anna-dixon-and-daughters-iroquois-theater-victims.php.

“Asbestos - Overview | Occupational Safety and Health Administration.” n.d. Accessed November 15, 2025. https://www.osha.gov/asbestos.

“Chicago Newspaper Cartoonist John T. McCutcheon.” n.d. Accessed November 10, 2025. https://www.iroquoistheater.com/famous-john-mccutcheon-cartoon-about-iroquois-theater-disaster.php.

“Chicago’s ‘Alley of Death’ - Atlas Obscura.” n.d. Accessed November 8, 2025. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/couch-place-the-alley-of-death.

Clark, Charles R. n.d. Iroquois Theater Fire, Exterior View of the Facade. Photographic print. The Chicago History Museum, ICHi-36009.

“DECISION IN IROQUOIS FIRE.; Court Holds Fuller Construction Company Was Not Absolved from Liability. - The New York Times.” n.d. Accessed November 24, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/1908/02/02/archives/decision-in-iroquois-fire-court-holds-fuller-construction-company.html.

“Eddie Foy as Sister Anne in ‘Mr. Bluebeard.’ He Was Dressing for This Act with the Elephant When the Iroquois Fire Began.” 1903. 50c16040-457a-0131-2dd2-58d385a7bbd0. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/50c16040-457a-0131-2dd2-58d385a7bbd0?canvasIndex=0.

Ericson, Henry Albert. 1903. “Panorama of Iriquois [i.e. Iroquois] Theater after the Fire, Dec. 31, 1903.” Photograph. December 31. LC-DIG-ppmsca-07431. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007662240/.

“Frank Berg’s Family Died at the Iroquois Theater in 1903.” n.d. Accessed November 24, 2025. https://www.iroquoistheater.com/frank-berg-family-died-at-iroquois-theater.php.

“Iroquois Theater Fire Changed Theaters and Fire Prevention.” n.d. Accessed November 10, 2025. https://www.iroquoistheater.com/iroquois-fire-impact-on-theaters-and-fire-prevention.php.

“Iroquois Theater Lamp.” 1903. ICHi-073824. The Chicago History Museum. https://images.chicagohistory.org/asset/7265/.

Iroquois Theatre. n.d. Accessed November 10, 2025. https://iroquoistheatrefire.org/.

“John and Elizabeth Christian Lost Their Daughter Henrietta to the Iroquois Theater Fire.” n.d. Accessed November 24, 2025. http://www.iroquoistheater.com/18-year-old-henrietta-christian-died-at-iroquois-theater.php.

“Leah F Dixon (1888-1903) - Find a Grave Memorial.” n.d. Accessed November 24, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/44159937/leah_f-dixon.

Library, Massasoit. n.d. “Massasoit Libraries: Major American Fires: Iroquois Theater Fire- 1903.” Accessed November 10, 2025. https://library.massasoit.edu/americanfires/iroquois.

Lillian Russell, 1861-1922, Bust Portrait, Facing Right, Wearing Plumed Hat. n.d. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ppmsca-72874.

McCutcheon, John T. 1904. His Sunday Dinner. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:McCutcheonIroquoisSundayDin.jpg.

Newspapers.Com. n.d. “Dec 31, 1903, Page 2 - St. Joseph News-Press at World Collection.” Accessed November 16, 2025. https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/559333703.

Old Spirituals. 2025a. “Iroquois Theater.” January 16. https://oldspirituals.com/tag/iroquois-theater/.

Old Spirituals. 2025b. “Iroquois Theater.” January 16. https://oldspirituals.com/tag/iroquois-theater/.

Pietrantonio, Valeria. 2023. “Lillian Russell, American Gilded Age Singer and Actress.” Quello Che Piace a Valeria, December 4. https://quellochepiaceavaleria.com/en/lillian-russell-american-gilded-age-singer-and-actress/.

Queen of Random Things, dir. 2021. Ana Gasteyer - GORGEOUS Defying Gravity. 01:44. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PQbseCqVXU.

“Rachael Gorman Targeted the Wealthy.” n.d. Accessed November 10, 2025. https://www.iroquoistheater.com/notorious-grifter-masquerading-as-nun-helped-in-iroquois-theater-rescues.php.

scott. 2019. “Death Alley Near Nederlander Theatre.” Windy City Ghosts, November 9. https://windycityghosts.com/death-alley-near-nederlander-theatre/.

The Inter Ocean. 1903a. “Her Southern Home Left for Gay Revels.” August 11.

The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois). 1902. “REAL-ESTATE TRANSFERS.” September 14.

The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois). 1903b. “Architect Who Designed New Iroquois Theater Engaged to Arrange Philadelphia Playhouse.” January 22.

The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois). 1903c. “Iroquois Theater Cornerstone Laid.” July 29.

The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois). 1903d. “Iroquois Theater Fire, 1903 [Page 1].” December 31.

The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois). 1903e. “Iroquois Theater Fire, 1903 [Page 2].” December 31.

The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois). 1903f. “Iroquois Theater Fire, 1903 [Page 5].” December 31.

The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois). 1903g. “Iroquois to Open Monday, Nov, 23.” November 15.

The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois). 1903h. “One Sister Safe and One Dead.” December 31.

The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois). 1903i. “Promenade Foyer of the Proposed Iroquois Theater.” May 10.

The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois). 1903j. “Takes Ride in Cab with Wife’s Body.” December 7.

The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois). 1903k. “Work on Theater Tied Up.” August 11.

The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois). 1904a. “Asbestos Curtain In Theater Death Trap Annihilated By Blast Of Air During Fire.” January 1.

The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois). 1904b. “The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois); 01 Jan 1904, Fri.; Page 1.” January 1.

The Survivors and Rescuers, Bishop Fallows. 1904. Chicago’s Awful Theater Horror “Lest We Forget.” Memorial Publishing Co.

“Three Original Early 20th Century Chicago Postcards of j.k. Sebree’s Saratoga Hotel and Annex.” n.d. Accessed November 8, 2025. https://www.urbanremainschicago.com/three-original-early-20th-century-chicago-postcards-of-j-k-sebree-s-saratoga-hotel-and-annex.html.

“Traeger Appointed Coroner Jury Heard Testimony from 180 Iroquois Witnesses.” n.d. Accessed November 24, 2025. https://www.iroquoistheater.com/iroquois-theater-coroners-jury.php.

Wicked Wiki. 2025. “Ana Gasteyer.” November 8. https://wicked.fandom.com/wiki/Ana_Gasteyer.