Category: Culture

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,…

In 1909, newspaper reports poked fun at what they called France’s growing “hygiene craze,” and the examples were almost too strange to believe. Tea, coffee,…

In June 1921, Hartford, Connecticut, turned out in force to honor two of the most famous Jewish figures of the age: Dr. Chaim Weizmann, future…

In the early 1900s, reports of “night riders” carried an immediate sense of terror. These masked groups moved under cover of darkness, often arriving in…

At the turn of the twentieth century, newspapers loved a good ghost story, especially when the haunting came with witnesses, crowds, and just enough absurdity…

There is something wonderfully gothic about an old family tomb hidden behind a grand mansion, especially when that tomb comes with instructions involving a lead-lined…

In 1889, one amateur photographer set out to capture the lively scene at St. Simon’s Island during encampment week. What he got instead was something…

In the summer of 1908, the quiet town of Harmony, Maine, found itself troubled by something no one could quite explain. At the home of…

In 1921, a strange domestic drama unfolded in Orange, New Jersey, when a woman answered her door and found herself face-to-face with the husband she…

In the early 1900s, the word “hobo” carried a whole world of meaning. It could suggest poverty, wandering, hard luck, railroad travel, or simply a…