Recent Posts
Rural Valley Man Dreams of Missing Neighbor’s Body
In February 1925, a strange report out of Kittanning, Pennsylvania, told of a missing man, a repeated dream, and the discovery of a body exactly…
Maine Man Bleeds to Death After Falling on Axe
In March 1899, a Maine woodsman named Daniel Morton set out after dinner with his axe newly sharpened and tucked beneath his arm. He had…
Human Remains Found After Windsor Hotel Fire
The aftermath of a great fire is often worse than the flames themselves. Once the smoke clears, what remains is not only wreckage, but the…
Prisoner Tries to Escape With Rusty Scissors
There is something almost comical about a jailbreak attempted with a rusty pair of scissors, but Harry Kelly’s little excavation project was treated as no…
Heroes and Horror in Tannersville’s Twilight Hotel Fire
In July 1926, the fashionable inn at Tannersville, New York, was destroyed by fire so completely that even counting the dead became difficult. The hotel…
Over 20 People Witness Werewolf in Oporto
In 1902, newspaper readers were told that Portugal had fallen under the spell of superstition, with witches, wizards, saints, spirits, and even a werewolf troubling…
When Homework Was Called a National Crime
The debate over homework, overworked children, and the need for fresh air is not nearly as modern as it sounds. In 1900, editor Edward Bok…
9 Men Hurt in Pittston Mining Incident
A mine cage was supposed to carry workers safely down into the darkness and back again, but when something went wrong, it could become a…
When Fashion Came for the Squirrel
At the turn of the twentieth century, fashion had already taken a heavy toll on the natural world. Birds had been slaughtered for their feathers,…
Frozen to Death on Lake Erie
This 1904 account from Lake Erie describes the terrible danger faced by men who crossed the ice in winter. Without landmarks, a traveler could lose…
