Recent Posts
A Strange Reward From Long Island Sound
Some stories from the old newspapers are strange because they end in tragedy. Others are strange because they feel almost like little fairy tales printed…
Father and His Three Daughters Drown in Mississipi River
A quiet boat ride on the Mississippi River turned into a terrible family tragedy near Le Claire, Iowa, in August 1914. Thomas Thomas lived with…
Sing Sing Guard Dog Suspended for Bullying
Even prison guards could get themselves suspended at Sing Sing, especially when the guard in question had four legs, a shaggy coat, and a habit…
The Kingston Schoolgirl Murder Mystery
For more than a month, the disappearance of 15-year-old Elizabeth Johnson had troubled Kingston, New Jersey. She had vanished from her home on August 12,…
Old-Fashioned Homemade Brooder for Baby Chicks
In the early 1900s, raising chicks successfully often depended on resourcefulness. Store-bought equipment could be costly, and many small farmers relied on homemade solutions built…
New York Police Face a Strange Gas Death Puzzle
A fashionable New York apartment house became the scene of a grim mystery in September 1924 when two people were found dead and a third…
Kansas Couple Found With Skulls Crushed in Ax Man Mystery
In the spring of 1912, fear traveled faster than fact. Across several states, newspapers were already whispering about an unknown “Ax Man” believed to have…
22 Charred Bodies Taken From Passenger Train
The people of Sandford, Indiana, felt the blast before they understood what had happened. One moment, an accommodation passenger train was slowing along the Big…
Blood Drinkers of New Orleans
At the turn of the twentieth century, desperation often drove the sick toward strange and unsettling remedies. In New Orleans, one such treatment drew men,…
Alligator in the San Antonio River Stole Pigs
Something was stealing the young pigs from a small chicken and hog ranch along the San Antonio River, and 14-year-old Edmund Dullnig was determined to…
