Recent Posts
Woman’s Coin Toss to Organ Grinder Hid a Stolen Pin
The organ grinder outside the jeweler’s shop seemed like nothing more than an annoyance. A well-dressed woman had entered a Paris jewelry store and asked…
Chorus Girls Told to Wear Tights Despite Heat Wave
Even a heat wave could not loosen Birmingham’s rules about bare knees on the stage. In the summer of 1926, chorus girls appearing in the…
Woman Leaves Daughter $1 and Orders Parrot Chloroformed
Pretty Polly had been marked for death in her mistress’s will, but the parrot was not gone yet. When Mrs. Ottilie Stock died in June…
Girl Thought Dead Revived After Lightning Hit Her Coffin
The mourners were on their way to the cemetery when the storm broke over Hanston, Kansas. Inside the metallic coffin was the 5-year-old daughter of…
Wedding Dance Custom Ends in Brawl and Bride Gets Black Eye
The wedding celebration began with music, dancing, and an old social custom. It ended with broken heads, a riot call, seven arrests, and a bride…
Parents Feared Missing Teen Girls Ran Away With the Circus
When two teenage girls vanished from Washington, D.C., their parents feared the lure of the circus had carried them away. Seventeen-year-old Edith Holmes and fifteen-year-old…
Man Pardoned 30 Years After Escaping Prison Over a $2 Pig
William Pearson’s crime had been small, but the shadow of it followed him for thirty years. In 1876, when he was just 18 years old,…
Mystery Animal in Pennsylvania Woods Sparked Kangaroo Rumors
Something strange was said to be roaming the wooded hills near Pleasant Run, Pennsylvania, and nobody seemed able to get a good enough look at…
Quick-Thinking Engineer Prevents Passenger Train Disaster
For a few terrifying moments on the Lake Shore tracks, it looked as if a passenger train was about to plunge into disaster. The westbound…
Mother Watches Baby Die in Her Arms During Heat Wave
The summer heat had already done its damage by the time Susan Dodi reached the doctor’s office with her baby in her arms. Her six-month-old…
