Citegeist

We're taking a detour from the usual historic romp to discuss some of my personal ghost stories and paranormal experiences. The Red Lady, a ghost who gave me a book, and more!

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Grey Nurses are mysterious figures that appear in hospitals all across the world, regardless of culture or region. Who are they and where do they come from? It's hard to say - but Adelaide, South Australia may be the key to finding out.

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Sources:

Alison Green's answer to Nurses, have you ever seen the ghost of a recently deceased patient? - Quora. (n.d.). Retrieved May 3, 2021, from https://www.quora.com/Nurses-have-you-ever-seen-the-ghost-of-a-recently-deceased-patient/answer/Alison-Green-104?ch=10&share=081d3000&srid=ua4ka aquilareen. (2019). North Adelaide Calvary Hospital chapel [Photo]. https://www.flickr.com/photos/31967465@N04/48810339713/ at 3:54pm, 31st October 2017. (n.d.). Aldershot's "Haunted" Military Hospital: Who Is The Grey Lady? Forces Network. Retrieved April 29, 2021, from https://www.forces.net/news/aldershots-haunted-military-hospital-who-grey-lady Austin Health: The ghosts that roam our hospitals. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2021, from https://www.austin.org.au/ghoststhatroamourhospitals/ GREY LADY OF NORTH ADELAIDE CITY'S BEST GHOST STORY. (1929, October 17). Register News-Pictorial (Adelaide, SA : 1929 - 1931), 30. History and heritage. (n.d.). Calvary Health Care. Retrieved May 8, 2021, from https://www.calvarycare.org.au/about/heritage/ Museum, O. (2017, September 14). 30 Nurses Share their Most Blood-Curdling Hospital Ghost Stories. The Occult Museum. http://www.theoccultmuseum.com/nurses-share-hospital-ghost-stories/ Paranormal Investigation at the Former Royal Adelaide Hospital—Searching for the 'Grey Nurse'—Review of Adelaide's Haunted Horizons Ghost Tours, Adelaide, Australia. (n.d.). Tripadvisor. Retrieved April 29, 2021, from http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g255093-d6948983-r596869442-Adelaide_s_Haunted_Horizons_Ghost_Tours-Adelaide_Greater_Adelaide_South_Australi.html Smith, K. & R.N. (2017, October 31). 8 Terrifying Ghost Stories as Shared by Nurses. Nurseslabs. https://nurseslabs.com/8-ghost-stories-shared-nurses/ Strangways Terrace. (n.d.-a). State Library of South Australia. Retrieved May 11, 2021, from https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+43308 Strangways Terrace. (n.d.-b). State Library of South Australia. Retrieved May 11, 2021, from https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+8517 Strangways Terrace. (n.d.-c). State Library of South Australia. Retrieved May 11, 2021, from https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+7428 Strangways Terrace, North Adelaide. (n.d.). State Library of South Australia. Retrieved May 11, 2021, from https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+1294 The Grey Nurse. (2011, May 10). Personal Ghost Stories. https://personalghoststories.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/the-grey-nurse/ The Grey Nurse Hospital Ghost Phenomena—Truth or Urban Myth? (2020, March 1). Haunted Horizons Adelaide. https://adelaidehauntedhorizons.com.au/grey-nurse-hospital-ghost/ William Younghusband. (2020). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Younghusband&oldid=941797985 Transcript:

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Crimes & Witch-Demeanors! The paranormal podcast where we go beyond rehashing wikipedia pages and delve into archival and historic resources to uncover the truth behind our favorite spooky tales. I'm your host and sardonic librarian, Joshua Spellman.

N

Today's episode has been inspired by recent personal events dealing with hospitals and nurses and the title is of course inspired by Willam. If you know, you know, if you don't, you don't. And that's fine, some of us have our own little club.

Today's topic took me on quite the journey (as good research often tends to do): you begin one place and think you know where you're going to land but you wind up in an entirely unintended location. And in this case — that's fine! I mean, that's how the scientific process works. Never try and prove your own hypothesis, be your own worst enemy — like I am in my love life.

But today I went from researching phenomenon spanning continents to zeroing in on the homes and hospitals of the beautiful coastal capital of South Australia—Adelaide,. Not a bad place to end up, if you ask me!

So settle in, buckle up, we've got a long flight ahead.

____

"Alright, you've got this" Cassie said to herself in the mirror, splashing water on her face. This was her first night on the job as an evening nurse in a new facility — and through a series of unfortunate events — she was the only one on staff. Something like this wouldn't happen back in the city, but things are different when you're in a small town…as Cassie would soon find out.

Making her way back out to the nurses station, Cassie paused to look around. The hubbub and bustling activity of the day had all but faded away. By this time, most of the patients were already asleep in their beds, leaving Cassie feeling unnaturally alone. The place felt almost abandoned. Even the smallest of sounds: a patient's distant cough, the water dripping from the leaky faucet, her footsteps on the ground, bounced and echoed through the tiled halls; rising and falling in a cacophony of silence.

BZZT!

Cassie nearly jumped out of her skin. It was only the call button of a patient requiring assistance. She made her way over to the patient's room "Hi there, I'm Cassie, the new evening nurse, what seems to be the matter" she glanced at the patient's chart "Miss Roebel?"

"Oh please dear, call me Trish" the old woman replied "I have the bladder of a small old lady despite being a spry young thing of 79" she chuckled "if you could please help me on over to the lavatory"

"Oh, of course!" Cassie replied, rushing to Trish's bedside to help her up. She walked Trish over to the bathroom and onto the toilet. BZZT! Another patient needing assistance. "Do you mind if I go and help them? It can give you your privacy" Cassie asked.

"Oh, of course!" Trish replied.

"But don't try any funny business and try and get back to bed on your own" Cassie warned, mockingly wagging her finger at Trish.

"Aye, aye captain!" Trish retorted as Cassie made her way to assist the other patient.

He was an older gentleman who, while trying to get comfortable in bed, had accidentally ripped out his IV. Cassie was still a little nervous and being new, it took her minute to locate the sterile needles. After successfully administering the IV, which took a little longer than expected since the man was afraid of needles, Cassie rushed back over to Trish's room.

And that's when she found Trish…tucked neatly into bed, ready for sleep. "Trish…" Cassie started, "I told you to wait for me so I could help you into bed. You could have fallen!"

"Oh…but I didn't!" Trish exclaimed, "the other nurse came in and helped me"

Confused, Cassie asked with skepticism "The other nurse?"

"The one in the grey uniform, with the hat"

"Ah, yes. Of course" Cassie replied, not wanting to alarm the old woman "Goodnight Trish" she said as she turned off her light.

As Cassie made her way back into the hall, the phone at the nurse's station began to ring. She rushed over to answer, "Hello, Valley County medical center, Cassie speaking"

"Oh, hi Cassie! This is Frida, the day nurse, I just wanted to check in and make sure everything is going alright before I headed to sleep, my apologies that we're so short staffed"

"Oh, hello Frida! Yes, yes, everything is going alright…but did you happen to have someone else come in to help work my shift? I just came back from a patient who-"

Frida cut her off, "Oh…so you've already seen her then?"

"Seen…who?"

"Oh, never mind." Said Frida, "Just something silly. Anyways, have a good night, please call if anything urgent comes up"

"Of course, thanks for checking in. Goodnight!" Cassie said, hanging up the phone. What was she on about? But Cassie didn't have time to mull it over as she heard the echo of shuffling of feet. Another patient out of bed?

Cassie got up from the nurses station and peered around the corner. There was someone at the end of the long hall. Cassie squinted to see clearer in the dim light, was that Trish? "Trish!" Cassie scolded, walking closer "I told you not to get out of bed on your own"

As she made her way closer to the figure she realized it was a nurse. She was dressed in grey from head to toe, with a funny old-fashioned hat. The nurse nodded to Cassie with a wry smile and winked as she tilted her cap. Then, suddenly the woman turned on her heel, walked straight into the adjoining wall and vanished.

___

Stories like Cassie's are not unfamiliar to nurses — regardless of culture or region. Benign nurse figures are often seen roaming hospitals across the world and are referred to as Grey Nurses or Grey ladies because of the color of their uniforms.

Are these apparitions the spirits of departed healthcare workers who loved their jobs so much in life that they carry on in death? Which I find hard to believe…while there are many great nurses out there on the front lines saving us from the pandemic I immediately think of all my high school bullies who can barely spell catheter let alone insert one who are now probably all angels of death…

Which is actually a great segway while throwing some subtle shade at former cheerleaders—maybe grey nurses are not ghosts at all but instead are inhuman spirits taking on a familiar form, who seek to comfort and care for our sick and dying. I guess that's literally the definition an angel? Well, not the kind that are concentric spinning rings of fire with seventeen glowing eyes that are so horrifying that gazing upon them them will wreck your feeble human mind…you know like kind of angels in the Bible. But you know, grey nurses are like the hallmark, Touched By an Angel type that Christians believe in despite their holy book describing them as horrific creatures.

But I digress.

While we may not have all the answers to these questions, we can surely try and answer them.

Despite being a worldwide paranormal phenomenon, my research kept circling back to hospitals in one city: Adelaide. Specifically, the former Adelaide Royal Hospital, now known as Lot Fourteen and Austin Hospital.

Unlike the Windsor Hotel from last week, Austin Hospital has an entire webpage devoted to stories from staff about their ghostly grey nurse.

This following story is from their former Divisional Director of Cancer and Neurosciences, Cherie Cheshire…which, by the way, is an amazingly alliterative name. If you're looking to name a character in a book you're writing I suggest you snatch that name up before somebody else takes it! Anyway, here is her story:

"We were supposed to be three nurses on night shift, but we were short staffed and only had two.

One patient named Carol had complete paralysis due to MS. She could not take a drink of water herself however suffered from terrible dry mouth. So, the nursing staff attended to her at least hourly to help her sip some water, even overnight.

On this shift we were flat out. At around 9.30pm I filled Carol's one litre jug with iced water and gave her a drink. It then got very busy and I didn't manage to go back to her room until midnight.

When I did, she only had half a jug of water. She told me the other nurse had been in several times and helped her drink. I knew this wasn't right however checked with the other nurse who said she had not been in the room. When I asked Carol about who helped her with her water again, she said it was the older agency nurse in the old-fashioned grey dress…"

This next story from the former director of Nursing and former ICU Unit Manager, Jen Hancock, served as the inspiration to the narrative portion of today's episode:

"While working nights on the old 6A in Heidelberg House, the buzzer rang and a lady needed a pan. I took it to her and asked her to buzz when finished.

Ten minutes later, there was no buzz, so l went to check. She was lying down in bed half asleep, curtains pulled back.

She told me that the other nurse in the grey uniform with a veil had taken it and made her comfortable. I was working with a male Enrolled Nurse. I asked the Registered Nurse who was between the three wards in Heidelberg House, if she knew anyone in a different uniform. She didn't.

I was later told it was a common occurrence in Heidelberg House and that patients had often described the grey nurse."

Other nurses reported ghostly occurrences like floating utensils, a hallways that is always ice cold at night, and seeing the grey nurse turn a corner and disappear.

The former Royal Adelaide Hospital, which I believe has been converted or demolished in favor of residential and commercial space, also had tales of the Grey nurse.

I tried to do some digging, but there isn't much to go on with these stories: no name, no cause of death, no era, no nothing.

However, I did manage to dig up an old newspaper article about a ghost story that has been circulating for at least a century and a half: the Grey Lady of Adelaide. This specter is known as the first ghost of Adelaide…which is a little Eurocentric considering there were probably many Aboriginal ghosts prior to the colonization of the area but I digress… the color association here is interesting. Could this Grey Lady and the grey nurses be one in the same?

The ghost of the Grey Lady was said to haunt Younghusband Mansion. I was curious where this mansion was located — was it in the vicinity of one of these hospitals? Or perhaps it was demolished and one of the aforementioned hospitals built over top.

I found my answer in the October 17, 1929 issue of The Register News-Pictorial. It reads thusly:

GREY LADY OF NORTH ADELAIDE - CITY'S BEST GHOST STORY

And There Was Another In A Castle WhoLeft Illicit Still Behind

ROMANTIC GHOST WHO SAT IN CELLAR

SHE haunted the Younghusband mansion, this Grey Lady of North Adelaide, and in the basement each night could be seen, 60 years and less ago, sitting in her chair in her own particular cellar. Memory recalls only that much of this spirit with the romantic title, but when the Nursing Sisters of Calvary Hospital became owners of the Younghusband mansion, they closed the Grey Lady's cellar. And the Grey Lady went out of memory.

The Archbishop of Adelaide (Dr. Spence), when he laid the foundation stone of a convent home for the Nursing Sisters of the Calvary Hospital, North Adelaide, revived, perhaps, Adelaide's two sole ghost stories.

He recalled that the sisters never saw the Grey Lady but the story, no doubt, added

to their discomfort. The acre on which Calvary Hospital stands was first owned by Robert Gouger, the State's first Colonial Secretary. He, too, owned land near the present Gouger street, where he built his home, and there were buried his wife and child. This is the foundation of the story of the Grey Lady, it is thought. However illogical might be the idea of the North Adelaide property being haunted, the story grew, and

was known up to 29 years ago, when the Nursing Sisters took over the property from

the Baker family. When the old house was pulled down to give place to the present modern structure at Calvary Hospital, the story gained another lease of life.

I wanted to learn a little bit more about this mansion and it led me down…quite the path. If you follow the podcast on instagram @crimesandwitchdemeanors then you already know where this is going.

The article wasn't very clear on whether Calvary Hospital was the mansion, replaced the mansion, or if the mansion was just used as a convent for the Nuns of Calvary Hospital.

In trying to answer these questions, I stumbled across the blog of a man named Allen Tiller. Who, if you've seen the original Teen Titans cartoon, is a dead-ringer for the villain Control Freak. He is quote "a historian, genealogist, author, paranormal investigator, and the 2017 emerging South Australian Historian of the Year."

Quite the decorated man! Now, although his website looks like it was plucked straight from Xanga, awful div transparencies and all, it was useful because it led me to his book, The Haunts of Adelaide: History, Mystery, and the Paranormal REVISED EDITION. The revised part is in all caps so you know it's important.

However, I'm grateful for his book because it includes a chapter on the Younghusband Mansion - for which there is virtually no digital resources on. I'm just glad I have Kindle unlimited so I didn't have to pay for it. The entire introduction read like a thread of rage-tweets lambasting the prior publisher. Maybe not the best look, Allen. Save it for twitter. Not the book. It kind of diminishes what credibility you earned. But I'm not the 2017 Emerging South Australian Historian of the Year so you know, I should probably keep my big mouth shut.

Here's what I've gleaned for his book:

The parcel of land Younghusband mansion was built on was originally purchased tin 1837 by Robert Cock during the first land sale held in Adelaide. Later, Cock sold the land to the first colonial secretary of South Australia: Robert Gouger.

Gouger bought the land because he was under the impression that its high elevation would help ease the pain of his ailing wife, Harriet, who was suffering from tuberculosis. They erected a modest wooden cabin on the land but sadly the high elevation proved to offer no health benefits and Harriet, along with her infant child, died. Gouger buried both his wife and child on the land, though they were later moved and interred at West Terrace cemetery.

This history is what led to the story of the Grey Lady as outlined in the news article. However, its legacy doesn't end there. In 1842 the land was sold to Edward Stephens and then again in 1846 to William Younghusband.

William Younghusband was an Englishman who made a killing investing in the Burra Mines and his house reflected his wealth. Younghusband Mansion at one point was once known as the finest home in Adelaide…though that may be because it was the only one of its kind in the area. The mansion was opulent and grand: it had a ballroom, ornate gardens, secret rooms, underground tunnels, a unique iron fence, and it was outfitted head to toe in cedar.

After Younghusband's death in 1865, the house changed hands quite a few times before the the lease came to rest in the hands of Miss Isabella Baker in 1883. Miss Baker had plans to convert the home into a private hospital but she could not do so until the owned the property herself. It took some time, but after six years she finally convinced the remaining trustee to relinquish the property.

The mansion became the living quarters of the nuns. The two rooms facing the streets were used as bedrooms, behind them was a box room, below a large basement, and there was another room that had been sealed up.

Behind the seal was a room that had not been finished during the Younghusband's occupation of the home. It was full of construction materials, dust, and rocks. During the time the Younghusband's stayed in the house, many people noticed the sealed up room, and because many people knew about Gouger's wife and her baby that died on the property, the legend of the Grey Lady began. The story really took off in 1869 when a newspaper published a story about a ghost spotted sitting in a chair in the basement.

Younghusband mansion was eventually torn down and Calvary Hospital was built on the grounds. Could the Grey Lady have become one of the grey nurses? Or is her entity altogether separate?

The former Royal Adelaide Hospital was one of the biggest hotspots of grey nurse encounters. Allegedly, a whole floor of the building was closed due to paranormal activity in the 1980's, though no evidence of this exists. It seems a little farfetched.

As with most grey nurses, her identity was unknown but her story follows the usual pattern: she was the wife of a doctor who died on the operating table, she died in a car accident on her way to work, she was pushed down the stairs by a mental health patient, or she accidentally delivered a fatal overdose and committed suicide.

The Royal Adelaide Hospital has moved to a new building and the old one was partially demolished and partially renovated and converted into shops, apartments, and the new location for the Australian Space Agency.

Construction workers on the site witnessed paranormal activity. Allegedly, a number of workers sent messages to our good friend Allen Tiller describing their encounters. Frequently, a "person in blue" was spotted on the upper floors watching the construction staff work. When they called security to find the person, since it's dangerous to be on an active construction site, no one was found. This happened on numerous occasions.

Now again. My brain always goes to speedy squatters, and no I'm not talking about me the day after I have chipotle. An abandoned building is the perfect place for someone to seek shelter with little risk of running into anyone.

Regardless, the construction workers believe it to be a ghost and the blue outfit could possibly be scrubs. I will say that oftentimes grey can appear blue in certain circumstances.

White ladies, men in black hats, and grey nurses…are they distinct spirits who choose to appear in these forms? Or are they archetypes that have been burned into our collective subconscious? It's safe to say we may never learn the identities of these homogenous haunts, if they are ghosts at all. But they do make for fun stories to tell in the dark.

Next week's episode is going to be my personal ghost stories and will follow a different format than usual. Next week is my birthday week, and I'm also getting the second dose of my vaccine so I'm planning on feeling icky for a few days and would rather not have to write a few thousand words with a fever! So if that interests you, you have something to look forward to!

If you know anyone who would enjoy the show — please share it with them! Word of mouth, and a pyramid scheme, is the best way to grow our family of bibli-ahh-graphers. Follow the podcast's instagram for goodies, and of course, if you're listening on overcast hit that little star icon, if you're an Apple fiend, please leave a kind review!

And remember, if you find yourself in a hospital…keep your eyes peeled for a grey nurse, never badmouth previous publishers in your revised edition..its' quite unbecoming…and as always, stay spooky. Bye~

We're making like the devil and heading on down to Georgia. Most people's minds go straight to Savanah when picturing the haunted South, but today we're setting our sights the smaller, lesser known town of Americus. Specifically, we're honing in on the historic Windsor Hotel. Among the living, many denizens of the dead are said to be checked in as permanent guests-- but are the only true spirits those on the shelf in the pub?

Follow the Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crimesandwitchdemeanors

Submit your feedback or personal stories to [email protected]

Like The Podcast on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crimesandwitchdemeanors

Episode Transcript: Available below the sources in the show notes

Visit the website: https://www.crimesandwitchdemeanors.com

Sources:

1920 United States Federal Census—AncestryLibrary.com. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2021, from https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/8354991:6061?tid=&pid=&queryId=56d4f8d41cd9be6445f55f92f41c2d2d&_phsrc=eBA312&_phstart=successSource

1940 United States Federal Census—AncestryLibrary.com. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2021, from https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/51459890:2442?tid=&pid=&queryId=56d4f8d41cd9be6445f55f92f41c2d2d&_phsrc=eBA312&_phstart=successSource

A New Hotel. (1897, November 12). The Macon Telegraph, page 3.

An Americus Horror Story. (n.d.). Https://Www.Walb.Com. Retrieved April 22, 2021, from https://www.walb.com/story/27180029/an-americus-horror-story

Assembly, I. G. (1906). Legislative Documents.

Best Western Plus Windsor Hotel—Americus, GA. (n.d.). Yelp. Retrieved April 22, 2021, from https://www.yelp.com/biz/best-western-plus-windsor-hotel-americus-4

Bevington, R. (n.d.). Georgia Ghosts: A Mother, Daughter Haunt This Hotel. Georgia Public Broadcasting. Retrieved April 20, 2021, from https://www.gpb.org/news/2018/10/29/georgia-ghosts-mother-daughter-haunt-hotel

BS Paranormal Investigations. (2020, December 8). Just the Evidence: Windsor Hotel, Americus, Georgia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdlz84xuFm4

Down the Elevator Shaft. (1894, January 7). Columbus Daily Enquirer (Published as Columbus Enquierer-Sun), page 3.

Eoghanacht. (2007). Windsor Hotel in Americus, Georgia. 32°4′20″N 84°14′1″W / 32.07222°N 84.23361°W / 32.07222; -84.23361. Own work. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Windsor-Hotel-Americus-GA-1.jpg

Fraternity, P. U. (1917). Catalogue of the Psi Upsilon Fraternity.

Georgia, U.S., Death Index, 1919-1998—AncestryLibrary.com. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2021, from https://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=5426&h=2141242&tid=&pid=&queryId=103c0146dc83f8afe1a4b3f5bf750d72&usePUB=true&_phsrc=eBA297&_phstart=successSource

Haunted Best Western Plus Windsor Hotel. (n.d.). Mystery 411. Retrieved April 25, 2021, from http://www.mystery411.com/Landing_bestwesternpluswindsorhotel.html

Haunted Places In Georgia: (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2021, from https://www.haunted-places-to-go.com/haunted-places-in-georgia-2.html

Historic Windsor Hotel, Americus, Georgia. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2021, from https://www.windsor-americus.com/

Historical Images—Americus 1. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2021, from https://www.americusga.us/historical_images_americus%201.htm

History | Windsor Hotel. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2021, from https://www.windsor-americus.com/history/

Hotel Spotlight: Historical Best Western Plus Windsor Hotel Americus, GA. (2017, July 27). HotMamaTravel. https://hotmamatravel.com/best-west-plus-windsor-hotel/

joshnjen010304. (2020, March 30). Ghostly Georgia. Guitars, Gear, & Ghosts. http://guitarsgearandghosts.com/ghostly-georgia/

Laura Lyn. (2014, February 17). Laura Lyn visits the historic Windsor Hotel in Americus, Georgia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_lubPaPWLU

MadeInAmerica1977. (2012, November 24). Windsor Hotel (in Americus, Georgia)—A Behind the Scenes Haunted Tour. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-FHmBAfOng

Married in Haste. (1892, March 14). The Macon Telegraph. http://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/591679561/?terms=%22windsor%20hotel%22%20americus&match=1

Nothing found for Ghostreport. (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2021, from http://www.windsor-americus.com/GhostReport.htm

Recollections of a Vagabonde: The Haunted Windsor Hotel in Americus, Georgia. (2009, October 22). Recollections of a Vagabonde. http://avagabonde.blogspot.com/2009/10/haunted-windsor-hotel-in-americus.html

Rev Richard Sutton Rust Sr. (1815-1906)—Find A... (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2021, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/79029702/richard-sutton-rust

Richard S. Rust. (2020). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_S._Rust&oldid=990829872

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Southwest Georgia city boasts haunts along with history. (2019, August 2). [Text.Article]. FOX 5 Atlanta; FOX 5 Atlanta. https://www.fox5atlanta.com/good-day-atlanta/southwest-georgia-city-boasts-haunts-along-with-history

The Windsor Hotel: Directors Select a Name for Americus Palatial Hotel. (1891, September 4). The Macon Telegraph, page 1.

The Windsor is a certified haunted hotel. (n.d.). Https://Www.Walb.Com. Retrieved April 20, 2021, from https://www.walb.com/story/5449720/the-windsor-is-a-certified-haunted-hotel

U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995—AncestryLibrary.com. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2021, from https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/690841718:2469?tid=&pid=&queryId=e8f78aa6a0edd3b8ad24b526bc678038&_phsrc=eBA302&_phstart=successSource

U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947—AncestryLibrary.com. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2, 2021, from https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/38590185:2238?tid=&pid=&queryId=68a411473ddd2b72490bc26cd63edd45&_phsrc=eBA313&_phstart=successSource

Windsor Hotel. (n.d.). GeorgiaHauntedHouses.Com. Retrieved April 20, 2021, from https://www.georgiahauntedhouses.com/real-haunt/windsor-hotel.html

Windsor Hotel—Americus, GA - Windsor Ghost Report. (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2021, from http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:I3dRut8YvvcJ:windsorhotel1.ipower.com/GhostReport.htm+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

WindsorHotel101. (2009, November 30). Americus Windsor Hotel—Haunted House. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5al8YZFU0I

TRANSCRIPT:

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Crimes & Witch-Demeanors, the podcast where we use historic and archival resources to investigate ghost stories and separate fact from fiction. I'm your host, and loveable librarian, Joshua Spellman.

I wanted to take care of some housekeeping before we get into the episode: I hope the new podcast artwork didn't spook you! I love the illustration my good Judy GiAnna Ligammari made for the podcast, and I'm still using it on the website and other branding, but I needed something that read better as a thumbnail and that is graphic and punchy for new listeners. So…I hope you don't mind the change! I did it as a stress doodle while waiting for updates about my mom who is in the hospital this last week and I fell in love with it…and I hope you do too!

But I digress!

On today's episode we're making like the devil and heading on down to Georgia. Most people's minds go straight to Savanah when picturing the haunted South, but today we're setting our sights the smaller, lesser known town of Americus. Specifically, we're honing in on the historic Windsor Hotel. Among the living, many denizens of the dead are said to be checked in as permanent guests-- but are the only true spirits those on the shelf in the pub? Let's find out. But first, here is the alleged history of the ghosts at Americus Georgia's Windsor Hotel.

The Windsor Hotel, despite being located in the small city of Americus, Georgia, is a grand and opulent structure, not unlike the castle across the pond that shares its name. Like Windsor Castle, the hotel has housed great figures of history and harbors ghosts of the past.

In August of 1888 a reporter for the Americus Recorder discovered John Sheffield and Ross Harper measuring the court square of the city. When the reporter inquired as to why, Mr. Sheffield responded simply, "because Major Moses Speer and Papa told me to." Without hesitation, the reporter rushed to the Bank of Southwestern Georgia and asked to speak with the president, Major Moses Speer to get the real scoop on the story.

Major Speer told the reporter that he planned on building a hotel and that "the hotel will be built and in short order. There is no doubt about that…it will be a building worthy of the city." And indeed it would be.

Two architects submitted plans for the hotel: W.H. Parkins and G.L. Norman. On March 21st, 1888 the selection committee for the project, which consisted of S.H. Hawkins, John Windsor, and C.M. Wheatley, favored the design drafted by Parkins.

Parkins' plan for the hotel was to erect a square, four-story wooden structure with 120 rooms. The front of the building would run the entire length of Jackson Street and the corner would house two additional floors.

However, G.L. Normann would not take no for an answer, and the remainder of the corporation preferred his design. Normann described his plan as being "a more fanciful character, greatly resembling the Hotel Alcazar at St. Augustine" (which, by the way, is the modern day Ripley's Believe it or Not? Building). Normann's design was a brick structure of three and five stories in height, contained 100 rooms, and space for ten shops on the street level.

On April 17th the committee chose Normann's proposal with an estimated budget of $80,000. Construction began in September of 1890 and was completed on June 16, 1892.

The lavish hotel would go on to house famous guests including Presidents William Jennings Bryan, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter. The hotel is the epitome of Victorian architecture. The Windsor spans an entire city block, complete with a tower, turret, balconies, and an open three-story open atrium.

The Windsor's outlook was auspicious from the start but it immediately fall on hard times. In 1893, two years after its construction, an economic depression swept the nation, decimating the tourism trade – the hotel's only reason for being. By the turn of the century, the Windsor filed for bankruptcy and was sold to Charles A. Fricker, a jeweler, for $40,000, a mere fraction of what the building was worth.

In September of 1910 the hotel was completely renovated, installing electric lights, telephones, steam heat, and new elevators…the likes of which would end up being the genesis of our first pair of hotel ghosts.

There was a maid, Emily Mae, and her daughter, Abigail, who lived in the hotel in the servant's quarters. Emily Mae served as the head housekeeper but in order to support her and her child she wasn't a stranger to offering extra services to the gentlemen of the hotel. However, Emily Mae had a jealous lover who did not appreciate the work she did to supplement her income.

One day, while working in the third floor hallway, Emily Mae's lover angrily confronted her, apparently jealous about her conducting sex work. Things got heated. Voiced were raised. Little Abigail heard the commotion and rushed to her mother's side, at first cowering behind her, but then holding her hand in a show of defiance and support. Her and her mother would no longer tolerate the abuse from this man.

"You WENCH!" the man bellowed as he shoved Emily Mae backwards into the open elevator. However, what he didn't notice…or perhaps he did…was that the elevator doors were open, but the lift was not stopped on the third floor. Emily Mae and Abigail tumbled hand in hand down the empty elevator shaft, landing in a mangled heap on the ground floor with their fingers still interlocked. They were together until the very end.

Their spirits still roam the third floor. Many people spot Abigail rushing up and down the hall, playing with her toys seemingly in good…spirits. Sometimes Emily Mae's ghost can be spotted in the mirror, but when you turn around…there's no one there, just you and an icy chill running down your spine.

Alas, Emily Mae and Abigail's accident wasn't the only treacherous tumble at the Windsor Hotel. As a young and beautiful bride made her way down the private bridal suite staircase to wed her beloved, she tripped on her gown, fell down the steep staircase, and broke her neck. Her spirit now roams the hotel, her bridal gown transformed from white to black, as she mourns the married life she never had.

As time ticked on, Windsor Hotel never fully recaptured the initial success it garnered in its first two years of operation. The property was sold once again in the 1930's to Mr. Howard Dayton, of Daytona Beach, Florida. Mr. Dayton would operate the hotel for four decades until it closed in 1974, having been open for 82 years.

Floyd Lowery, a doorman and lift operator, worked at the Windsor Hotel for the full 40 years that Dayton owned it. Lowery was a happy, chipper man, who loved his job, the guests, and the hotel. Floyd always made sure that visitors were happy and comfortable. Luckily, Floyd did not die a tragic death in the hotel. However, despite that fact, his ghost still roams the property.

Sadly, after the hotel closed in 1974, the Windsor fell to ruin, as buildings do, without living souls to inhabit it. The hotel was donated to the city of Americus in 1978 by Howard Dayton's family and it sat for decades. The only visitors being the pigeons roosting in the rafters and the rodents scurrying along the rotting floors.

The city had a big decision to make: either demolish the building and replace it with a parking lot, or funnel millions of dollars into its restoration. The residents of Americus were almost unanimous in the decision to restore the city's gem. It cost the city a lot of money to restore the hotel. However, since the city owned the property, they managed to save nearly have a million dollars by utilizing the prison industrial complex and exploiting inmates for slave labor. Construction and planning took many years, but the restoration was completed in 1991.

The Windsor Hotel is once again the opulent centerpiece to the small city of Americus. While many guests come to stay for a night, the presence of its permanent, spectral residents are strongly felt.

Guests often approach the front desk to complain about the child running around the third floor…but are disturbed to discover that there are no children currently staying at the hotel. Countless others ask to speak to the manager to complement the courteous bellhop, Floyd who carried their bags to their rooms. However, there's only one problem…that is not a service the hotel currently offers. Nor do they employ anyone by the name of Floyd.

Floyd's ghost brings positive and uplifting energy to the old hotel, even assisting the staff on occasion. While his spirit may have departed, his legacy lives on as the namesake of the hotel's restaurant, Floyd's Pub.

Ghost Hunters have come to the hotel and certified it as "haunted" and there is even a plaque that boasts this fact in the hotel's lobby. So, if you ever find yourself in Americus, book a night at the Windsor, you may be in for a ghoulish treat. And say hello to Floyd for me.

You don't know the heaps of trash I had to wade through to scrape together enough rotted crumbs to write this episode. I think this is the most amount of sources I have in the bibli-ahh-graphy, but not because they're good. I just had so much garbage to sort through. There isn't a lot to go on in these stories, even the names of the mother and daughter took a while to find…and even then they are always changing. I had to watch so many terrible shaky-cam ghost investigator videos and awful mommy vlogs…don't get me started on Hot Mama Travel…but I did manage to find out some very interesting things. Including the ghost report from paranormal investigators.

The Windsor's original name was going to be the "Alhambra" but this quote "struck a discordant note in the community" and instead the name Windsor was chosen for John T. Windsor who was one of the leading capitalists in Americus and the community decided the name was "more suggestive of the aristocratic qualities to which Americus aspired"

Honestly, in a city in the south, named Americus, I'm not surprised they'd rather go with a very white sounding name of a prominent capitalist because it was "more suggestive of the qualities to which they aspired". Aka. White. Rich. And white. But I digress.

The first thing I want to get out of the way is the date the hotel was completed. Many sources say that it was completed in June 1892. The building itself was actually completed in October of 1891. However, the hotel didn't officially open until the grand opening in June of 1892. Minor detail…but it bothered me.

So many things bothered me, honestly. Like the fact there is another librarian coming for my gig?! Fricken Lesia Miller Schnur, the Haunted Librarian! She was extremely helpful in providing some of the names applied to the mother and daughter: Emma, Abigail, and Emily Mae. Other sources say that the little girl's name was Sallie, Theresa, or Selina. Lesia reveals that John T. Windsor's name was Emily Amelia so there may be a link there to this legend.

But…other than that her post didn't reveal anything I hadn't read elsewhere despite claiming "I'm the history buff, so I still did my research…apparently other groups may not have" I have. I have, Lesia!

The story of the mother and daughter has many holes. The first is the date of the occurrence: either the early 1910's or in the 1920's. Second, is the fact that these two were poor, possibly people of color, and so their murder may not have been reported in any substantial matter. Third, is the fact there aren't actually any names to assign to it. I spent a few hours searching and while I did not find anything on this story, as great of a ghost tale as it is, I think I found something…better?

Someone did fall down the elevator shaft.

The Columbus Enquirer published on January 7, 1894 the following story:

"Down the Elevator Shaft: Serious Accident in Americus to a Wealthy Ohioan

Mr. R.S. Rust, an aged gentleman of 78, from Cincinnati, Ohio, vice-president of the Union Central Life Insurance Company of that city, fell down the elevator shaft of the Windsor Hotel today and sustained seriously injuries. His shoulder is fractured and his nose broken in three places. He fell about 10 feet from the office floor to the basement. The elevator was above but supposing it at the office floor, opened the door of the shaft and stepped into the basement below. Owing to his advanced age, serious results are feared from the shock."

Now this is something to go on. He's a man? Check. He's white? Check. He's wealthy? Check. These make up the trifecta you need to be preserved in history as anything other than a nameless stereotype!

Now using the name from article I did find an old white man from Cincinnati born around 78 years prior to the article's publication: Reverend Richard Sutton Rust, Senior. There was one problem though…no modern material identified that he had any involvement with the Union Central Life Insurance Company. You would think this would be highlighted in the book passages and articles I found about him.

Instead, these articles paint a picture of a man fully dedicated to the Episcopal Church who was a staunch abolitionist. Was this the wrong man? Nah. It turns out when you're rich and white you can pick and choose what parts of your legacy are propagated.

I did find an alumni catalogue of his college fraternity and legislative documents from 1905 which confirmed that the Reverend Richard Sutton Rust and R.S. Rust from the Union Central Life Insurance company were one in the same.

During the civil war, Rust helped found the Freedman's Aid Society which gave teachers from the North supplies and housing to teach freed slaves in the south. Rust also assisted nearly 30 colleges with educating former slaves and their children.

After the war he set up the Freedman's Bureau which was a division of the United States Department of War that provided shelter and supplies to refugees, freedman, along with their wives and children.

So it seems R.S. Rust was actually a really good guy! I kind of felt bad that I hoped he died from the elevator accident…just so we'd actually have an elevator ghost in the hotel. Turns out he lived and died in 1906 at the age of 91. Good for her.

Part of me wants to change his Wikipedia page to include his major involvement in the insurance company (it's how he got that Daddy Morebucks money after all) as well as his embarrassing tumble down the Windsor's elevator but I'll exhibit some self-control.

While the elevator ghost story is bunk I was happy to find out that Floyd Lowery was indeed a real person…which I would hope since the pub is named after him…and he did work at the Windsor Hotel for a very long time. I found a variety of fantastic records that I'll put on the podcast Instagram, @crimesandwitchdemeanors for you to look at.

Census records from 1920 to 1940 list Floyd's occupation as porter at the Windsor Hotel, the 1923 Americus City Directory (which is super cool) lists Floyd Lowery as a bellman; and I also discovered Floyd's draft cards. It appears he was drafted during the second World War.

Floyd Ardell Lowery was an African-American man and was born on February 28, 1903. I don't believe that he ever married as multiple census records show that he lived with his mother, Mammie throughout his lifetime. Floyd Lowery died on February 1, 1982 according to the Georgia Department of Health's Death Index. However, in that particular document birth is listed as 1915 and that he was 67 years old at the time of his death. However, his military records and census records corroborate another and confirm his birthdate was indeed 1903, making him almost 79 at the time of his death.

I love that Floyd is such a presence at the hotel and that his memory is able to live on through the name of the pub. However, some the ghost stories about him make me uncomfy. But racism is uncomfortable.

When we say racism is systemic, we mean it is systemic. It is so insidious that it even feeds down into the ghost stories we tell our children. Ghost stories involving marginalized people, or people of color, are often based in, and perpetuate, stereotypes. This is most apparent in the ghost tourism of the south which exploits the tales slaves but it can be observed elsewhere as well.

These types of stories served to illustrate what would happen if you dared to misbehave, stand up for yourself, or fight for your survival. These spirits often are left to suffer in the afterlife for their apparent misdeeds and act as a warning – or threat – to stay in your lane lest you suffer a similar fate.

Other ghost tales tell of those who led a life of "good" servitude, who's life didn't tragically end, but came instead to a graceful close. If you act like this you can rewarded in the afterlife, to continue to dutifully serve and labor even after death (wow—what a reward). These stories perpetuate the idea of the "good black" stereotype and further dehumanize the people they are about.

I feel like this is the kind of mold that Floyd Lowery has been put into as he is often helping guests with their luggage or working in the elevator. Never having fun, never having a drink or just kicking back to relax. But Floyd was more than his job, he was a human being. I could hardly believe that he would want to spend his afterlife working for no wages. Would you? God, no. Some of us already make ghost wages here among the living. But I digress. Onwards to more ghostly tomfoolery.

The story of the bride tripping and falling down the stairs is a strange one. I have only read about it on one article about the hotel and it's hauntings. However, that didn't stop me from investigating it for a ridiculously long amount of time.

I did find…something? While it doesn't match the ghost story, there is some piping hot 129-year-old tea.

This excerpt is from the March 14, 1892 issue of the Macon Telegraph in an article titled "Married in Haste: and now the bride is without a husband"

(continued below)

So, it only tangentially involved the Windsor but I thought it was some hot Victorian goss to share with y'all!

But enough about gossip. Back to the ghosts. The ghouls. The ghastly gremlins.

There was a big hub-bub in 2006 about how paranormal investigators claimed the hotel as "certifiably haunted". A number of articles were written about it, the hotel made a page on its website for the full ghost report and even put a plaque in the lobby boasting about it.

But now…it's gone vanished. Gone. Disappeared. Stricken from the internet. The hotel, which used to brag about it's ghosts, doesn't even mention it on their website anymore. The paranormal investigators, the Big Bend Ghost Trackers, even removed it from their website. I have a feeling that may be because they are now owned by Best Western and they want to keep it hush-hush.

Or…maybe they're embarrassed about what this "certificate of hauntedticity" contains.

So it's been deleted from the internet. They tried to cover it up. But they didn't know a librarian would be on their case.

Obviously, I found it. It's not that hard. If you're ever looking for a page that is now a 404 there are two really easy methods to see the previous page. First is just paste the URL in Google and search. When the page comes up in the search results, hit the three dots and view the cached page. Voila! But if their cache isn't old enough, go to the good 'ol internet archive and use the Wayback machine, hopefully you'll find what you're looking for!

And boy did I find what I was looking for. This oh so legitimate report was…something.

Here are the official findings from the report:

1. Out of 150 digital photos 3 yielded possible anomalies
2. 2 EMF fluctuations were documented. One between the second and third floors with a 6 degree spike, and one on the left hallway of the third floor with an 8 degree spike
3. Several cold spots have been detected…in a 129 year old building…you don't say?
4. Some anomalies caught on film
5. One of the hallway light bulbs that was completely unscrewed turned on without anyone near it
6. Through channeling one investigator picked up the names of little girls: Theresa and Sallie

Because of the above phenomena the report lists the Windsor Hotel as H-A-U-N-T-E-D. Yes. They spelled it out in the report.

I do have some issues with these findings. Especially the very subjective "evidence" they found via channeling. Which was conducted thusly:

BBGT members Betty and Lisa were in states of meditation and channeling in attempting to make contact with the ghostly inhabitants of the hotel. Betty, while stationed in an adjoining 3rd floor hallway singing in a child-like voice the old turn of the century tune "A tisket a tasket", suddenly felt a cool breeze on her right side and the digital thermometer displayed asudden 6 degree drop in temperature. While continuing to sing she was clearly able to sense the presence of a young girl. After a brief time the camera recorded what appears to be orbs bouncing a short distance down the 3rd. floor hallway. The names Sallie (with an ie) and the names Theresa were very much attached to the young girl. BBGT member Lisa was also visually picking up and sensing the strong presence of an entity with the name Adams. Later, while attempting to validate our findings it was discovered that in the early 1940's there had been an employee named Adams.

But mediums aren't…a great source of reliable information. I watched videos where other mediums visited the hotel so you don't have to, and dear lord they were an hour and fifty minutes of shaky cam footage. But, for example the mediums in these videos experienced "giddy feelings" outside the bar and decided the ghost was a child definitely named "Selina" But…that's an entirely new name than the ones provided, truly a shot in the dark. And if we're experiencing a giddy feeling outside the bar…I would like to think that's good 'ol Floyd. Happy to see his name in lights and people enjoying a cocktail.

I tried to look for some first-hand encounters with ghosts at the hotel and I didn't find much. Maybe because not too many people stay at the hotel. I found a lot of Americus locals saying they've never even been inside. But here are two experiences I did find:

"I was staying in room 308 and smelled old fashioned women's perfume several times while in the shower"

Honestly…to me that just sounds like catching a waft of some awful hotel soaps and shampoo. But maybe there's an old lady who fell in the shower. The next experience…also involves a bathroom? Lending some credence to this new hypothesis.

Why is there a bath towel in the toilet?

That's what my wife asked me last Wednesday the 17th of March 2021at 2:30 AM. I was staying there on business. What a beautiful hotel. I asked the staff at Floyds if they had experienced anything. I got mixed replies. Things about the lights turning on and off occasionally. My wife who was already in GA decided to surprises me on her way back to Florida. That night she got up to use the bathroom in room 211 and quickly came back to bed asking me why a full sized folded bath towel was in the toilet. Didn't sleep well that night obviously. It wasn't till the next day that the stories of hauntings came from everyone I spoke to when I told where I was staying. Weird experience and no plausible explanation on how the towel ended up in the toilet. I slammed doors, jumped up and down and could not get a folded towel to so much as move off the rack above the toilet. If I ever go back to Americus , I surly choose the Windsor Hotel again. Magnificently strange!

So maybe investigators should spend less time singing creepy folk-tunes in the hallways at 2:30 in the morning and spend more time on the toilet.

So what do you think? Is the Windsor Haunted? Would you want to stay? Personally, I don't think it's very haunted. 2 thirds of its stories aren't even true. But I think I'd like to enjoy an Old Fashioned in Floyd's pub just for the fun of it.

Please follow the podcast Instagram to view documents, historic photos, and other scans from today's episode. If you listen on Overcast and enjoyed the episode, be sure to hit that little star icon on today's episode – it helps with the algorithm a lot! And likewise, if you're an apple fiend and you haven't left a review, please do!

So please, look before you enter an elevator, remember racism is systemic, sex work is real work, and of course, as always – stay spooky!

Located in Gambier Ohio, Kenyon College was founded in 1824, which has given it ample time…197 years to be exact…to collect its fair share of ghosts. A fraternity initiation gone wrong, a destructive dormitory fire, an elevator shaft incident, a car crash, and a diving accident are just some of the misfortunes that plague this university's past. In fact, one of these tragedies nearly destroyed its reputation, causing enrollment to plummet, and just as the college recovered, another catastrophic event threatened its continuation once more.

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Sources:

College installs bars on Bullseye windows. (2018, April 19). The Kenyon Collegian. https://kenyoncollegian.com/news/2018/04/college-installs-bars-on-bullseye-windows/ Confusion Surrounds Sophomore's Death. (1979, November 15). The Kenyon Collegian, page 1. Death on the Tracks—Alumni Bulletin—Kenyon College. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2021, from http://bulletin-archive.kenyon.edu/x3615.html Facts Point To Ghastly Crime Former Law Student Led ward Railroad Track Bound With Rope. (1905, November 1). Plain Dealer, page 1. Investigators Consider Theories and Questioins. (1979, November 15). The Kenyon Collegian, page 1. Kenyon College. (2021). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kenyon_College&oldid=1017979821 Kenyon College Ghost Stories Archives—College Bound Advantage. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2021, from https://collegeboundadvantage.com/tag/kenyon-college-ghost-stories/ Kenyon College's ominous history still survives on campus. (2019, October 31). The Kenyon Collegian. https://kenyoncollegian.com/features/2019/10/kenyon-colleges-ominous-history-still-survives-on-campus/ Kenyon College—The Haunted Kenyon Tour. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2021, from http://bulletin-archive.kenyon.edu/x2521.html Kenyon Collegian—November 15, 1979. (n.d.). 7. McCutchion, J. T. (1912, November 7). Up-To-Date College Fraternity Initiation. St. Joseph News-Press, page 1. Not Tied to Track: President of Kenyon College Derides Coroner's Theory of Pierson's Death. (1905, November 1). The Daily Times, page 1. Pierson's Death is a Mystery. (1905, November 1). Quad-City Times, page 1. r/Kenyon—Is Kenyon Really Haunted? (n.d.). Reddit. Retrieved April 19, 2021, from https://www.reddit.com/r/Kenyon/comments/begdya/is_kenyon_really_haunted/ r/Paranormal—Haunted college. (n.d.). Reddit. Retrieved April 19, 2021, from https://www.reddit.com/r/Paranormal/comments/6g4soj/haunted_college/ Ruins Hide Bodies at Kenyon College: Hope Given Up for Six Missing in Fire. (1949, March 1). The Escanaba Daily Press, page 1. Shutler, N. (2017, October 16). Opinion | My Haunted Dorm Room. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/15/opinion/haunted-college-halloween.html Snapshot. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2021, from https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/24742765/?terms=stuart%20pierson%20lunch%20basket&match=1 Top 10 Most Haunted Colleges in America. (2019, December 8). https://www.collegeconsensus.com/rankings/most-haunted-colleges/ Two Dead, Six Missing in Kenyon College Fire: Flame Destroy Historic Hall, Many Injured Escaping Blaze. (1949, February 28). The Logan Daily News, page 6. Verdict Due Today: Stuart Pierson's Death Will be Laid at Door of the D.K.E. (1905, November 11). Atloona Mirror, page 1. TRANSCRIPT:

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Crimes & Witch-Demeanors, I'm your host Joshua Spellman. On this podcast we tell tall tales as they're traditionally told and then dive into historical and archival records in order to separate fact from fiction.

Today's episode is a suggestion from a listener, Lucas, who alerted me to his haunted alma mater: Kenyon College. When he told me his college was haunted I was like "yeah okay it's a haunted college" but I was shocked to find out just how haunted and how rich the real history of this college is. It is a haunted college. Sorry for doubting you. There's a reason Kenyon College always makes its way to the top of listicles touting America's Most Haunted Colleges.

Located in Gambier Ohio, Kenyon College was founded in 1824, which has given it ample time…197 years to be exact…to collect its fair share of ghosts. A fraternity initiation gone wrong, a destructive dormitory fire, an elevator shaft incident, a car crash, and a diving accident are just some of the misfortunes that plague this university's past. In fact, one of these tragedies nearly destroyed its reputation, causing enrollment to plummet, and just as the college recovered, another catastrophic event threatened its continuation once more.

We'll investigate all of these tales today, but first, let me tell you the – alleged – story of Kenyon College's most infamous tragedy…that of poor Stewie Pierson.

October's prickly night air licked the back of Stuart Pierson's neck, goosepimples emerging from his skin like the cloaked figures surfacing from the shadows in woods around him. If it were anyone else, they might be scared, but he knew who they were and they were the reason why he was there: he was a pledging the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and this was the beginning of his initiation.

The hooded figures glided silently into the clearing, forming a circle around Stuart and the other pledges.

They said nothing. Simply stood in the dark, heads bowed, moving at a glacial pace towards the pledges. One of the other boys made a shrill sound like a mouse.

Stuart's looked at each cloaked figure in turn, knowing that beneath one of the dark robes was his father. He strained his eyes to see through the murky haze of the night but he couldn't make out a single face through the inky shadows cast by the figure's large hoods; just the occasional puff of smoke as their warm breath met the cool autumn air.

Suddenly the figures stopped in unison, mere feet from the pledges, who were now shaking. Even Stuart could feel his body hum. He told himself it was because he was cold, and not the spindly fingers of dread wrapping around his soul.

Without warning the figures leapt toward the pledges, grabbing them, separating them from each other, and they chanted "DELTA KAPPA EPSILON!" as they threw burlap sacks over the heads of the frightened boys.

The world began spinning around Stuart as he was swept up into the air and carried off into the woods. What was going to happen? He knew he was safe. He knew it. This was all part of the process. But the grip of dread around him grew tighter and tighter. He felt as he might choke.

The cloaked figures carried Stuart for what felt like hours, though it may have only been mere minutes. Stuart was disoriented and sleep deprived – having waited up all night the day before waiting for his father's train to come in. He was simultaneously alert and on the edge of sleep, which only heightened his sense of confusion.

Eventually, Stuart heard the sound of a river. The Kokosing? It must be, but where were they going? He felt now that he was being carried at an incline, they were going uphill. The soft footsteps on the soil turned to something more metallic. A bridge? Then it hit him. Clarity pierced through his mental fog – the train tracks. They were on trestle bridge.

Abruptly, Stuart was falling. Was he thrown off the bridge? THUD. Wincing in pain, barely able to breathe through the burlap, his back ached. That was his answer. No, he wasn't hurled from the bridge – the fraternity brothers merely dropped him onto the tracks. Mercifully, the burlap hood was removed and he took in large gasps of the chill October air.

Bewildered, Stuart looked around him and tried to regain his bearings, the cloaked figures formed a tight circle around him…staring…silent…unmoving…and without warning they chanted "DELTA KAPPA EPSILON!" and pinned him down to the train tracks.

They pulled ropes from beneath their billowing cloaks and began to bind his legs together. "What are they doing? Are they insane?" he thought? Then he felt a hand wrench his left arm and pin it down. Then his right. They began tying his hands to the tracks as he screamed. The cloaked figures didn't move, they just continued their knotwork, one of them stuffing a handkerchief in Stuart's mouth.

Stuart began to panic now. His face was flushed, he imagined it was steaming in the cold autumn air. Sweat dripped down his brow and into his eyes, stinging. Or were those tears? Stuart felt the dread in his soul once more, panic filling every bone in his body. He couldn't breathe, he felt like he was dying.

And then…Stuart felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. His father. His muscled eased, though he still screamed through the handkerchief. "Don't worry, son" his father whispered "there's no train coming tonight, calm down, you'll be safe. We'll return within the hour."

His father stood up as the other figures pulled their final knots. They didn't seem to notice his father tipped him off. Stuart screamed and thrashed in his bindings as the figures walked away. For show, as to not give away his father's tip.

Once he could no longer hear their footfalls, Stuart relaxed. It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay, he told himself. Now even more exhausted than before he felt his consciousness slowly slipping. He welcomed it. If anything, he could use this hour to nap before the fraternity came back to untie him.

With his eyelids too heavy to keep open, Stuart closed them and began to dream.

After some time in a deep sleep, Stuart felt himself being shaken awake. As he opened his eyes he didn't see his father but instead the bright light of an oncoming train.

If it wasn't obvious, poor Stuart Lathrop Pierson was struck by a train. It turns out that while a train wasn't supposed to be coming that night, an unscheduled eastbound train was headed to Mount Vernon for repairs. The conductor and crew didn't know they had struck anything and so it never stopped….they only noticed something was amiss once they arrived at Mount Vernon and found pieces of fabric and blood smeared on the train.

Now how much of my fictional tale was true? It's honestly very hard to say, and who you ask will tell you a different story. There was so much controversy involved in the investigation and the journalistic integrity at the time was, as we well know on this podcast…questionable at best.

When Stuart was struck, his watched stopped and so it's safe to say he was struck at 9:41pm. When his fraternity brothers, and perhaps his father, found his body around 10:00pm. it was still warm. They hurriedly removed it from the tracks before another train came. Stuart's mangled body was taken to the home of William Pierce, the College's president. Here is where things become suspicious. Instead of calling William Scarborough, the Gambier coroner, Pierce instead called a local physician to examine the body.

The next thing that undermined any hope of an investigation into the incident was Stuart's father, Newbold Pierson, who arranged for a special train to transport his son's body home before the sun rose the next day…and, conveniently, the President of the college didn't tell police about this departure until after the train had already left the station, along with Stuart's corpse and any potential clues that may have lent us clarity.

Someone must have called Gwen Stefani because the newspapers at the time went absolutely bananas. B-a-n-a-n-a-s. Some of the newspaper illustrations at the time alone were so outlandish and sensational. I found one in the St. Joseph News-Press Gazette published November 7, 1905 that shows a young main tried to a train bridge, in almost a crucifixion pose, with a skull lantern on his chest. That's only the tip of the iceberg. I went ahead and put that on the podcast Instagram along with other goodies from today's episode, so go and have a look! @CrimesAndWitchDemeanors.

In an article titled Death on the Tracks by Mark Ellis in the Kenyon College Alumni Bulletin, he describes another cartoon from the Los Angeles Sunday Times wherein a train is drawn ripping into a body with its decapitated head flying through the air. Maybe it's best that this publication isn't available online, Instagram probably would have taken my post down!

Ellis also outlines some of the outlandish headlines that came out of papers at that time such as "Stuart Pierson's Head Cut off and Placed in a Lunch Basket" In my own research, a lunch basket was a recurring theme in newspaper articles but nothing of his head being placed in it – just that his lunch basket was found on the tracks.,

There seems to have been a lot of contention between President Pierce and the coroner and detective investigating the case. The detective, who has the most amazing name of all time, Detective Grim, accompanied Coroner Scarborough to view the body and had this to say after viewing it:

"The wounds on the right wrist and the left ankle of the young man certainly seemed to have been made by cords or ropes encircling them, while he was using all of his great strength in trying to free himself."

Both the coroner and the detective made public claims about these ligature marks, oh my god, look at me using vocabulary, claiming Stuart was bound. It wasn't helped by newspaper outlets who apparently had a witness, a young farmer, who claims he saw Stuart being led to the tracks by a rope around his neck, with his hands bounds together.

Naturally, President Pierce could not have any of this. While one day a headline might say "Facts Point to Ghastly Crime: Former Law Student Led Toward Railroad Track Bound with Rope" an article the next day would boldly claim "NOT TIED TO TRACK: President of Kenyon College Derides Coroner's Theory of Pierson's Death"

The long and short is we'll never know what truly happened, the investigation is too muddied to draw any certain conclusions. Taking pledges out to remote areas and leaving them there for a time were a common initiation ritual at the time. Whether he was bound or not is a point of debate. However, it's safe to say theories involving chloroform which were purported by papers or that his own father tied him to the tracks are most likely false. His father was probably waiting in the "Kenyon Bullseye" which I can only ascertain to be this circular window in one of the college buildings where both this haunting, and others, take place, it is also where Stuart uttered the last words to his father "Goodnight pop, I'll see you after awhile"

In fact, the Kenyon's West Wing Bullseye is where Pierson's spirit is most often glimpsed and appears to be the epicenter of tragic events – as recently as 2016, a student fell out of the bullseye window, leading to metal bars being installed for safety.

Many students who have lived in that room tend to avoid staying there on the anniversary of the incident. John Hepp, class of '04 was one of the students who decided to stay in the room that night. He went out for the evening, but when he came back the bullseye window was wide open – a window that is notoriously difficult to open, so it couldn't have been the wind. Was it old Stuart Pierson?

Another night, Hepp was lying in bed with his girlfriend asleep beside him. when he felt an icy touch on the back of his neck. Thinking it was his girlfriend, he turned, but she was fast asleep. Alarmed, he jumped out of bed and turned on the light, which is when he notice the lock, presumably installed by maintenance, on the small door in his closet was unhinged. He got a flashlight and opened the door, which revealed a small crawlspace. Inside the crawlspace where countless signatures of former students, pledge books, Delta Kappa Epsilon memorabilia, and other trinkets. However, one engraving caught Hepp's attention: the initials SLP with the date of 1905.

Students also claim to see Stuart's spirit near the train tracks, waiting in the bullseye for his father, and roaming the campus. But he does not wander Kenyon College alone. He is joined by a litany of other spirits, which we'll cover briefly, including first-hand encounters of students and faculty.

Perhaps the most well-known group of ghosts is those that perished in the 1949 dormitory fire. On February 26, 1949, after attending the sophomore dance, students began returning to their dormitories in Middle Kenyon with their dates. Some had stayed awake in the Middle Kenyon parlor, burning a fire in one of the "new" fireplaces – the old fireplaces had long been covered up and would not be seen again until the following morning when the building was reduced to ash.

Stray sparks from the fireplace cut into one of the lost chimneys and fallen into an old flue. From the flue these sparks found their way into a space between the first and second floors. Here, the sparks smoldered and gases and smoke built up before erupting into the second and third floors around 4:00am.

Seven students (Erenest Ahwajee, Edward Brout, Albert Lewis, Martin Mangel, Jack McDonald, Marc Peck, George Pincus, Stephan Shepard, and Colin Woodworth) lived on the third floor of Middle Kenyon and perished in the fire. Meanwhile, two other students died from skull fractures and internal injuries after, in a futile attempt to save their lives leapt from the building.

The seven aforementioned students were not found for a few days as the ashes and ruins were too hot to search through. The building was eventually reconstructed from scratch being nearly identical to the original structure.

Since the fire, numerous reports of ghostly apparitions and phantom sounds have been heard. People have heard poundings on their doors and cries of "Get out!" or one individual who heard a knocking on his door and someone screaming "Ed, wake up! Fire!" It turns out that room had once belonged to Edward Brout.

Now my favorite sighting in regards to the fire is this one. Someone had seen apparitions in the building but…something was off. On the fourth floor, he spotted ghostly figures but they were only visible from the knees up. When he went down to the third floor he could only see feet suspended in the air. Upon investigation in the college archives, it was revealed the new structure's floors had been built 18 inches higher than the original building. It appears the ghosts are trapped in the building's old floorplan.

The ghosts feet can sometimes be seen grazing student's heads as they walk the third floor.

Now, I mentioned the university archives, which actually has a folder in their collection dedicated to the hauntings of the college. College Historian, Thomas Stamp states that the college's "haunted reputation is relatively a modern thing and that "The ghost stories are certainly fun and potentially scary but most of the stories are questionable" Conversely, the stories that are most well-known, those above, are rooted in fact.

Some ghost stories, however, are purely legend, while some are real but have been embellished by students over the years as Kenyon's reputation for being haunted has become a major draw…or deterrent to potential students. A reddit user expressed concern in the r/Kenyon forum about the college's reputation for being haunted and wanted to ask current and past students if they believed it was or not. Here are some of my favorite answers:

"Yes"

"Lemme put it this way. I, like you, don't really believe in magic/the supernatural. That being said, if anywhere is haunted, Kenyon is."

Another student states, "A buddy of mine and I decided to stay in a dorm room where a murder homicide occurred. The girlfriend apparently stabbed her boyfriend and tried to hide the body in an elevator shaft. After that she took a plunge out of her 7th story dorm room window." And goes on to talk about a ghostly encounter of a slamming window.

This version of the story…is largely false. It does involve an elevator…but that's about it. In 1979, a pair of friends was coming home to Caples from a party late one night around 2:30am. One of the friends decided to take the stairs up to their room, while the other opted to take the elevator up to his girlfriend's room. The elevator ended up getting stuck between the seventh and eighth floors, and the student pried the doors open and attempted to jump to the floor below. Unfortunately, they missed and he fell down the elevator shaft where he was found by a security guard the next morning. The student later died of his injuries in the hospital.

Many women Caples experience waking up in the night with someone on top of them or the feeling of someone on their beds. However, the best story to come from Caples is recounted in Wendy MacLeod's article The Haunted Kenyon Tour in the Kenyon College Alumni Bulletin.

In the summer of 1995 after all students had gone home, there was one very eventful night in Caples. Safety Officer Dan Turner was working this particular night and was told he should keep an eye on Caples in particular because showers and lights had been found on while there was no one in the building. Around 5:00am Dan got a call over his radio "All units to Caples!"

The switchboard operator had received three calls in a row from rooms 511, 611, and 711 respectively. Each phone call was the same: a woman screaming into the receiver and hanging up.

Dan was the first to arrive at Caples and waited for the others to arrive. He positioned himself so that he could keep an eye on both entrances and say no one enter or exit the building. Once the other officers arrived, one of them stayed in the lobby while the others searched every room in the building for an intruder, locking the doors behind them. They were so thorough in their search they even checked the trap door that led to the roof and made sure it was padlocked. There was no one in the building…but things were just getting started.

They found a shower was running on the fifth floor, with steam was wafting out into the hall. When the officers searched the three rooms where the calls had originated they found the lights were on and the phones were unplugged. The officers plugged the phones back in, turned the lights off, locked the doors, and prepared to leave the building.

But, before they could begin to leave, another call, just like those before, scream and all, came from room 811. One of the officers rushed to the room and the light was turned on, but the door was still locked. He opened the door to find the phone in this room was also unplugged. Before the officer could voice his confusion he heard the elevator begin its descent.

The elevator in the building stays on the last floor it visited and will only move if it's called on another floor. The officer asked the others if they had called for the elevator. Negative. Who was going down in the elevator?

All the officers raced down the stairs trying to catch the perpetrator. When they reached the ground floor, they found the officer who was supposed to be in the lobby outside, with his face pressed against the glass saying to the others he wasn't going to wait for the elevator door to open by himself! No one was found that night and the incident was listed as an "unexplained event"

Now this story is still rather modern, so it's interesting that so many legends surround it. I found the college newspaper from the time of the incident and the mystery surrounding the events of that night. This article explains in detail all the possible ways that the accident could have happened, complete with diagrams of how the elevator was stuck and the boy's rationale for doing what he did (…why did he try and drop to the seventh floor when the eighth floor was easily and safely accessible? Why did no one hear him scream? Why was his coat found stuck in the doors of the elevator?). Long story short? A mystery. But the murder-suicide theory by the reddit poster is at least debunked by this news story. Some people suspect foul play, others suspect a prank gone wrong, while others think it was just a tragic accident.

There are more ghosts, but I'm running out of time! So we're doing a lightning round!

There's a ghost in Schaffer dance studio, which was once Schaffer pool and known as the "Greenhouse" because of its glass roof. Versions of the story vary, but essentially an air force cadet during World War II died in a diving accident, which led to the removal of the diving board. Accounts vary, some say he bounced too high and broke through the…literal glass ceiling…broke his neck and drowned. Other versions leave him decapitated. Either way—man dead, diving board gone.

Ghostly wet footprints leading to the locker rooms are still found at night in the dance studio, despite there not being a pool in the building for decades. Schaffer is known as the creepiest place on campus to safety officers and maintence workers.

The truth? World War II did host cadets enrolled in the Air Force Meteorology Program but there are no records of anyone dying. The three-tier diving board was removed in the 1950's – not because of an accident but because the new coach discovered the pool was only 9 feet deep instead of the required 12 and there was a dangerous ledge between the deep and shallow ends of the pool where kids would often come up from a dive covered in blood from crashing into it.

The Gates of Hell are two pillars that if you walk between them at midnight as the church bells chime, you'll be transported straight to hell. Do…I even need to debunk this? That is…I mean…Ohio is as close as you can get to hell on earth aside from Florida, so maybe it's not too far off.

Lastly, we have Hill theatre which is apparently haunted by a car crash that took place on the site of the theatre in 1937, before it was built. However, old maps say there was never a road in that spot.

However, that doesn't stop weird things from happening – most notably the ghost light (lights left on stages to repel…ghosts…or help them see? No one knows which is which and that's confusing) inexplicably becomes unscrewed or the light is blocked out by a light passing by.

And ohmygod that's the end of today's episode. When Lucas told me his college was haunted I was like "Oh yeah, sure it is" but I did not expect the journey through time I was put on! There is so much I didn't get to cover, this could have easily been two parts but that feels like torture.

As always, view historic images of the stories and documents mentioned in this episode on the Instagram page, leave a review on iTunes if that's your listening platform, and just a huge thank you for listening and accepting me back into your life!

So, please, don't join a fraternity…for so many different reasons, always take the stairs, and of course…stay spooky. Bye!

So much history surrounds Niagara Falls it is near impossible to dive into: from initial exploration by white folk, exploitation of the falls and indigenous peoples, to the history of hydroelectric power, strange mortuary science experiments, and daredevils who have ridden down the falls in barrels (only some who have survived) – like the water over the crest, the history seemingly never ends. However, while Niagara Falls is heralded for its natural beauty, booming tourist trade, and rich history -- behind its bridal veil lies something sinister, brooding beneath the foam.

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Episode Transcript: Available below the sources in the show notes

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Main podcast illustration by GiAnna Ligammari: https://gialigammari.wixsite.com/portfolio

Sources:

Cave of the Evil Spirit. (n.d.). Roadtrippers. Retrieved April 13, 2021, from https://maps.roadtrippers.com/us/lewiston-ny/points-of-interest/cave-of-the-evil-spirit Devil's Hole Cave—Niagara County, New York. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2021, from http://falzguy.com/devils-hole-cave.html Goat Island (New York). (2021). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Goat_Island_(New_York)&oldid=1004636526 Luna Island. (2020). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Luna_Island&oldid=953221872 May 12, R. R.-L. S. C. & 2017. (n.d.). Facts About Niagara Falls. Livescience.Com. Retrieved April 13, 2021, from https://www.livescience.com/59099-niagara-falls-facts.html Niagara Falls. (2021). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Niagara_Falls&oldid=1017113129 Niagara Falls USA. (n.d.). Niagara Falls USA. Retrieved April 14, 2021, from https://www.niagarafallsusa.com/directory/three-sisters-islands/ Niagara Falls—Devil's Hole Massacre. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2021, from http://www.niagarafrontier.com/devilhole.html Official guide to Niagara—Cave of the Evil Spirit, Devil's Hole—Details. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2021, from http://www.nflibrary.ca/nfplindex/show.asp?id=91217&b=1 Szczepaniec, K. (2018). Indigenous People of Western New York. FACT SHEET, 23. The Cementation of the Dead; the story of Theodore Graves Hulett's most curious work in Oakwood Cemetery. (n.d.). Oakwood Cemetery | Niagara Falls, NY. Retrieved April 14, 2021, from https://oakwoodniagara.org/kratts-korner/2012/3/15/the-cementation-of-the-dead-the-story-of-theodore-graves-hul.html Three Sisters Islands (New York). (2020). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Three_Sisters_Islands_(New_York)&oldid=956552156

TRANSCRIPT:

Hello, hello, hello! Long time no see, you may have thought I became a ghost myself! My name is Joshua Spellman, and I'm your – very much alive – at least on the outside– host of Crimes & Witch-Demeanors. The podcast where we get to the good old fashioned truth behind our favorite ghostly haunts using archival and historic resources.

Maybe you care where I've been. Maybe you were even happy to hear me go. Long story short – I was creatively and emotionally burnt out. I was pouring myself into this podcast, my drag, sewing garments, and cultivating my TikTok…and with things going on in my personal life I just crashed. I stopped doing everything. Had some health stuff to worry about but I digress! We're here. We're back. I'm going to do my best to stay motivated and on top of things, but this pod is a lot of work!

Today's podcast episode is something new. And something I'm excited about. I don't want to give too much away… but we're going to investigate the satanic underpinnings of a famous worldwide attraction and city, that just so happens to be in my back yard: Niagara Falls. And also, one of my favorite hiking spots at the aptly named Devil's Hole. But be sure to stick around for the truth, as always it is much more interesting than the myth. So, for lack of a better word: let's dive right in.

Niagara Falls – one of the seven wonders of the natural world, is a group of three waterfalls (the bridal veil falls, horseshoe falls, and American falls, respectively) that spans the border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the state of New York. Located on the Niagara River, which drains into both Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, the combined Niagara Falls has the highest flow rate of any waterfall in North America. More than 168,00 square meters, or six million cubic feet, of water goes over the crest every minute.

So much history surrounds Niagara Falls it is near impossible to dive into: from initial exploration by white folk, exploitation of the falls and indigenous peoples, to the history of hydroelectric power, mortuary science experiments, and daredevils who have ridden down the falls in barrels (only some who have survived) –it seemingly never ends. However, while Niagara Falls is heralded for its natural beauty, booming tourist trade, and rich history -- behind its bridal veil lies something sinister, brooding beneath the foam.

At first glance, it seems innocent enough – if you discount historic atrocities to its indigenous inhabitants – but as you peer a little closer a pattern emerges. Perhaps most glaringly, is Devil's Hole state park. Named as such for…no discernable reason. It is a park that overlooks and descends into the Niagara river gorge, a 6.8 mile long canyon with cliffs as high as 1200 feet, carved by the Niagara River. The hiking in this particular area can become quite hazardous. In fact, the current of the Niagara River in the gorge is one of the most powerful river currents in the world: which, unsurprisingly has taken many lives. Perhaps this is where its hellish name originates.

Perhaps it is partially due to the famed cave halfway down the steep escarpment: the Cave of the Evil Spirit. While not a clever name, it sums up its origin quite well. Long ago, the Great Spirit who created man, sealed away the Evil Spirit within the walls of the Niagara Gorge. However, over time as man turned evil and began waging wars, the walls of the gorge began to split. Eventually, the cave opened and the Evil Spirit was once again free, cursing all those who entered the cave.

Famously, the explorer Robert Cavalier de LaSalle ignored the warnings of his Seneca guide. Upon entering deep into the cave he heard a voice tell him

"Return" said the voice, "to your home in Canada, and wealth, honors, a long life and usefulness will be yours, and when death comes, generations of your descendants shall follow you to your grave, and history shall transmit your name to prosperity as the successful founder of a great empire. Proceed to the West, and although gleams of hope may, at times, shine in your path, in gratitude and disappointment will be sure to meet and follow you, until a treacherous murder shall end your days remote from human habitation, without the shelter of even a wigwam of a friendly red man. The Eagles of the desert shall strip the flesh from your bones, which shall lay bleaching under the tropical sun, unburied and unprotected by the cross you now so devotedly cherish."

LaSalle foolishly disregarded the warning of the Evil Spirit. LaSalle's fortune eventually dwindled and he became poor and desolate. In a last-ditch effort to regain his wealth and fame, he decided to go out west to Louisiana to begin a colony – doing exactly what the spirit warned him against. Even LaSalle's precious crucifix of his Christian god could not save him from the curse of the Evil Spirit. LaSalle was eventually murdered by his own men and left to rot in the woods near the Mississippi river.

But the city's connection to the crowned prince of hell and malevolent spirits do not end at the mouth of the Niagara Gorge, instead we must look to the Niagara rapids at the top of the falls and turn our attention to five innocuous islands.

Bisecting the Bridal Veil Falls and the Horseshoe Falls is an island known as Goat Island. It is the location of the famed Terrapin point observation area and is large enough that it carries not only pedestrian traffic, but car and trackless train traffic as well. Goat Island is largely wooded with many nature trails. The island also provides access to the Cave of the Winds tour, which takes you down the escarpment to the foot of the falls.

Just off the southern shoreline of Goat Island are the Three Sisters Islands. These small islands provide an excellent view of the upper rapids. They are connected by a series of bridges and consist solely of nature trails. Biologically speaking they are fascinating: each sports a variety of microhabitats and possess its own unique floristic character. However as is the nature of…well, nature, it is not all pretty petals.

It is easy to access the raging rapids from these islands, which spell certain death for those unlucky enough to be swept into the current and hurled over the falls…that is if the large boulders hiding in the cataracts or the undertow don't do you in first.

The Three Sisters islands were home to mysterious rituals before European settlers came to the area. Iroquois shamans would offer sacrifices and gifts to the spirit that dwells inside the mist shrouded cave at the base of the falls. Mediums and psychics who visit these islands in modern times can hear the voices and screams of spirits long gone.

Lastly, there is Luna island. Which, like, Goat island, bisects two of the falls but unlike its larger counterpart it is situated between the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls.

Aside from sacrifices – you may be asking – how are these satanic? Let's take a closer look at the names. Devil's hole is quite obvious in its own right. And while innocuous at first glance you may now realize…Goat Island. The goat has long been a symbol of the horned demon Lucifer. Luna island. The moon. Where dark rituals take place beneath. And, the most insidious of these names: Bridal Veil Falls and the Three Sisters. It's subtle, but for those who know satanic lore, the Devil married Three Sisters.

Niagara Falls has always been a nexus of spiritual and physical power: as evidenced by its hydroelectric powerplants and numerous malevolent hauntings and the spirits that Native tribes worshipped and feared. The city was erected and planned around these power sources, built to exploit them and harness them. Niagara Falls was created in the same fashion as Washington D.C. Both hiding occult symbols in their streets and place names, used to exploit the negative energies they draw forth, and route them to areas of their choosing.

Next time you visit the falls, remember to hold that crucifix tight. Or don't…it didn't quite help LaSalle…did it?

Wow, it's so crazy this isn't talked about more! All these satanic connections…that…I just made up? Yeah. I made it up. Kind of? All the place names are real but they're not satanic in origin. With all the crazy conspiracy theories flying around I wanted to illustrate how easy it is to draw lines between seemingly unconnected things and create a new narrative.

To be clear: to my knowledge no one has drawn up these satanic connections before me. I did it while researching something else entirely and was like "wow these names really all have a connection to the devil" until I learned the real origins of these place names. The three sisters, goat island, luna island, the bridal veil falls, and devil's hole are all very real names. But they don't have any connections to satanism or the occult. But what they do have are really interesting and unique histories.

Devil's hole and the Niagara gorge are two of my favorite places in the world. I have spent countless hours alone on those treacherous trails. The trails can be narrow and precarious, made from silty, crumbling rock, overhead you have the risk of huge boulders falling down, and directly below you is one of the most powerful river currents in the world. Of course my favorite time to go is when it's raining…which is pretty reckless. Probably the only reckless thing I like participating in willingly. But I do love it. I have a deep personal and spiritual connection to the area and learning it's history has definitely made me appreciate it even more.

Sadly, people do die there. I know one individual personally who has. As with many things in nature it's to be both revered and feared. Nature has many sides, and sadly nature can also destroy.

That being said let's talk about the history of Devil's Hole itself and the state park named after it.

Devil's Hole

The area surrounding Devil's Hole has a lengthy indigenous history long before white settlers came into the area. Devil's Hole received its name from either the story told earlier of the Evil Spirit or from the area's inhabitation by the Neuter Nation.

When white settlers first appeared in the area the area was mainly inhabited by what the French called the Neuter Nation of Indians. It was used as a hiding place during times of war or conflict, and in order to keep their hiding place secret they would kill anyone who entered the gorge. These people would never return to tell of the location and this is possibly the root of the tale of the Evil Spirit.

However, the same friend/medium that saw the Red Lady at my old house before I ever talked about her, which I still haven't told this story to y'all, came on a hike with me to Devil's Hole State Park. He was not from the area at all, not even from the region of the state, but he did mention he sensed a very old, angry spirit in the area. I didn't think anything of it…but now knowing of the Evil Spirit, I can't help but wonder…but again, I digress.

What made Devil's Hole such a great hiding spot was not only that it is set in the cliff face but a rock, known as ambush rock was positioned perfectly above the cave that nothing could be shot down into it. The area is prone to rockslides…or boulder slides really, it's made of of massive limestone boulders. You would honestly be amazed by how large they are…but I digress. Ambush rock was removed for safety reasons, though a rock fall in the 1990's left a similar rock, albeit much, much smaller, at the entrance to the cave.

According to an old brochure for the area published in 1890, at the top of the park, before you begin your descent into the gorge there is a large boulder, one of many, known as Council Rock. It was shaped like an arrow, but centuries of weathering slowly changed its shape, and it is now believed to have been removed since the brochure is over 120 years old.

Council rock was a meeting place where yearly councils of Native people would take place. Others claim that it was a "worshipping stone" that was connected with indigenous "religion". Legend has it that due to the way the Seneca Chiefs would stand on the rock during meetings, with one hand on the rock, that anyone who touches the rock can drive the devil away for a year.

Of course, this narrative comes from white folk.

Also just a great time to remind everyone that indigenous people are still around. They are not bygone people of history! History likes to act like they are ancient, mysterious, and extinct. The Seneca Nation still has a strong presence in the area, so it is possible that stories of council rock still exis within their traditions and oral histories.

There was a massacre known as the Devil's Hole massacre that occurred on September 14, 1763 during the 7 Year's War, also known as the French & Indian War. A supply train of 350 British soldiers that were making their way from Fort Niagara to Fort Schlosser stopped to rest for dinner on a large flat rock near Devil's Hole. While enjoying their supper they were attacked by a group of Senecas. There was a massive loss of life, and those not killed directly by the ambush jumped off the precipice to have a chance at survival. But those that did so, if they survived the steep jump, did not survive much longer as the Senecas sent the wagons, baggage, and horses of the supply chain off the edge, crushing and killing those that remained. There were only two survivors.

Sadly, modern day Devil's Hole cave bears no resemblance to what it once was. It is covered in graffiti and often littered with trash as it has become a favourite place for wayward teenagers to party.

There is a large cave at the bottom of the gorge that many people think is Devil's Hole cave…but it's not. In fact there are many caves in the area, some of which aren't true caves but just massive boulders that have fallen on top of one another.

To find the real Devil's Hole cave you have to make your way partially down the gorge precipice and veer off to a path that backtracks partially back up the cliff. The cave is made up of DeCew Dolostone, a fine crystalline dolostone that is dark grey in color. The cave's entrance is 10 feet wide and 8 feet high. The initial passage of the cave is at a gentle incline, and after making your way about 12 feet into the cave the ceiling is only 4 feet high. However, if you continue onward the ceiling will reach a height of 9 feet. At this point one will find a manmade wall, beyond which there is a drop in floor level of about three feet. Beyond the wall the 6 foot tall passage continues at a very narrow width of 6 inches. It continues for about 10 feet before veering off to the east where you lose sight of its path.

There was once a mineral spring in the cave but it seems to have since dried up, much like the now defunct stream known as Bloody Run.

And that's the short and long on Devil's Hole! Not demonic, but definitely a hole. What?

Chile, anyway.

Now, back to the city of Niagara Falls. There are so many actual haunted locations in Niagara Falls which you may have seen on television like the Red Coach Inn that I could cover another time if you'd like – just let me know!

But I do need to set the record straight on Goat and the Three Sisters Islands. Especially with the bridal veil falls my fake conspiracy makes so much sense, but no, the Three Sister Islands did not get their name from the three brides of Satan. Instead, they are named after the daughters of General Parkhurst Whitney: Celinda, Angelina, and Asenath Whitney. Although…that does sound demonic. Asenath Metrione Zinthos? Azarath Metrione Zinthos? No? Okay, I need to bury that one just like the three sisters are in the famous Oakwood Cemetery. Well, maybe infamous as it is the only place in the world where individuals are interred using a unique form of corpse preservation known as cementation. Essentially bodies were encased in cement for years, and the "watery portions" of the body would be absorbed, leaving behind a well preserved body along with a perfect cast of the original corpse.

The story behind this is fascinating and the inventor (and I'm not joking here), Judge Theodore Graves Hulett was quite the kook. But I digress!

Offerings were presented at this island by the Iroquois, that is true. But no sacrifice or anything sinister was involved. More along the lines of gifts and presents.

Goat Island! Not demonic, though a part of H.G. Well's 1908 novel The War in the Air is set on Goat Island. During the novel the United States is iinvaded by Imperial Germany and the protagonist is left stranded on the island with two German soldiers and must fight for survival. Exciting stuff…but sadly, the origin of its name is much less exciting.

Goat Island is named such because John Stedman, who was an earlier pioneer, kept a heard of goats on the island. SO…yeah…very descriptive, very literal. The island officially obtained the name in 1780 when he returned after a terrible winter to find all but one of his goats dead. And if you know anything about Western New York winters…wow. I…yeah. Niagara Falls can literally freeze in place, that's how cold it can get.

Other than the fact there is a very cool Nikola Tesla monument on the island gifted by the government of Yugoslavia, it's rather unremarkable. I do have rather flamboyant picture of myself in Daddy Tesla's lap, as I call him, from a few years ago when I scaled the statue. Shh. It didn't happen. I'll slap it up on the gram for you to see.

Abandoned for well over a decade, the Winderbourne Mansion in Boyds, Maryland is a decaying reminder of a tragic past. Once belonging to the wealthy Totten family, things quickly took a turn as their children died. Is this property cursed?

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Sources:

6 Jun 1915, 14—Evening Star at Newspapers.com. (n.d.). World Collection. Retrieved February 8, 2021, from http://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/332078312/?terms=%22Winderbourne%22%2BNOT%2BKennels&pqsid=x3NN_YD5pyhW_nx6SDusZg:1063000:1697821625

7 Nov 1901, Page 15—Evening Star at Newspapers.com. (n.d.). World Collection. Retrieved February 8, 2021, from http://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/207674218/?terms=%22Edith%2BTotten%22&pqsid=x3NN_YD5pyhW_nx6SDusZg:489000:332569778

17 Nov 1927, 1—The Times Dispatch at Newspapers.com. (n.d.). World Collection. Retrieved February 8, 2021, from http://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/615380246/?terms=Dr.%2BEdith%2BTotten&pqsid=x3NN_YD5pyhW_nx6SDusZg:12000:1740180449

22 Mar 1908, 6—Evening Star at Newspapers.com. (n.d.). World Collection. Retrieved February 9, 2021, from http://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/330817925/?terms=%22edith%2Btotten%22&pqsid=9JF4FvyGyHeayxOjkNzP5g:84000:1858908365

1880 United States Federal Census—AncestryLibrary.com. (n.d.). Retrieved February 8, 2021, from https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/35148805:6742?tid=&pid=&queryId=77426bcee4ef96704997c9b6b70ace89&_phsrc=eBA275&_phstart=successSource

1900 United States Federal Census—AncestryLibrary.com. (n.d.). Retrieved February 8, 2021, from https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/33891257:7602?tid=&pid=&queryId=77426bcee4ef96704997c9b6b70ace89&_phsrc=eBA275&_phstart=successSource

Alice Crosby Totten (1869-1884)—Find A Grave... (n.d.). Retrieved February 8, 2021, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38919506/alice-crosby-totten

Coleman, Peg, et al. (1978). Winderbourne ACHS Summary Form. https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/stagsere/se1/se5/016000/016900/016957/pdf/msa_se5_16957.pdf

Document | America's Historical Newspapers | Readex. (n.d.). Retrieved February 8, 2021, from https://infoweb-newsbank-com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/apps/readex/doc?p=EANX&sort=YMD_date%3AA&fld-base-0=alltext&val-base-0=%22alice%20crosby%20totten%22&val-database-0=&fld-database-0=database&fld-nav-0=YMD_date&val-nav-0=&docref=image/v2%3A11BE946A9536E73A%40EANX-11C7E39797D27AF0%402409458-11C7E397DEA90B78%402-11C7E3988129E5B8%40Mortuary%2BNotice&firsthit=yes

Elias Howe. (2021). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elias_Howe&oldid=1005648130

Elias Howe | American inventor. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved February 8, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elias-Howe

http://www.facebook.com/johnfranciskelly. (n.d.). For sale: The faded grandeur of the Winderbourne mansion. Washington Post. Retrieved February 7, 2021, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/for-sale-the-faded-grandeur-of-the-winderbourne-mansion/2016/04/18/2138eeda-0568-11e6-a12f-ea5aed7958dc_story.html

The Strange, Fascinating History of This Abandoned Mansion Gave Me Goosebumps. (2016, November 30). Definition.Org. https://definition.org/strange-fascinating-history-abandoned-mansion-gave-goosebumps/

Winderbourne Mansion. (n.d.). Atlas Obscura. Retrieved February 7, 2021, from http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/winderbourne-mansion

TRANSCRIPT:

Hello and welcome back to your regularly scheduled Crimes and Witch-Demeanors programming; I'm your host – Joshua Spellman! Last week we took a small detour and discussed the Deuel House, the site of one of my personal paranormal experiences and switched meandered around history with no clear direction. However, while this week we are covering yet another haunted Victorian, a Queen-Anne to be precise, it has a much more unified and chilling history and yet again, somehow it circles back to me…I knew the name sounded familiar. However, as we have found out with most ghost stories on this podcast – the information that is perpetuated in the modern day is not often truthful or accurate.

This week we are headed to Boyds, Maryland to investigate the Winderbourne Mansion. Now, I am saying Winderbourne because that's what everyone says and it sounds enchanting and like something from a Neil Gaman novel…but through my research I have my suspicions it's actually supposed to be pronounced Winder-bourne…even if it doesn't quite roll off the tongue or make any phonetical sense whatsoever. You'll have to let me know what you think. This legend is interesting, and I thought it had to be true since one of my sources is a government source but – spoiler – I don't think it is. This mansion has seen its fair share of tragedy and has been left abandoned for well over a decade. It was on the real estate market for probably just as long, but now it seems it is no longer for sale, so its future is uncertain, as is its past. Join me now to learn the alleged history of our Windy…or Windy…mansion.

Winderbourne Mansion was built in 1884 at the behest of Enoch and Mary Totten. The Tottens lived in Washington DC but wished for a summer home to escape the hustle, bustle, and stifling heat of the city. The couple decided on a plot of land near Little Seneca Creek, where the B&O railroad line gently curved around the property on two sides. Access to the parcel of land was from Clopper Road, which the Tottens also purchased. Eventually, the railroad expanded from a single track to a double track and needed to cut off the road. The Tottens and the railroad came to a compromise, each paying half the cost of a bridge that went over the track and the railroad agreed to maintain the bridge in perpetuity.

Enoch Totten did well for himself, as he was a prominent lawyer in DC and was a Civil War Veteran…he even managed to survive being shot four times at the Battle of Spotslyvania Court House…in fact, one of these shots may have been his own fault as a projectile bounced off of his sabre and hit his right hand. Regardless of this strange mishap and his career as a lawyer – the capital for the construction of Winderbourne mansion came from his wife, Mary.

Mary was the daughter of a Wisconsin senator named Timothy Howe who was the cousin and heir to the massive fortune of Elias Howe, the inventor of the Bobbin-Winder. This device is what inevitably inspired the name of Winderbourne.

When Winderbourne was completed it was painted a pale pink with dark rose trim and shutters of a deep plum – a vibrant contrast to its current pallid, moss-covered facade. It's architecture was unique, sporting a triangular fireplace, a room suspended above the foyer, and hidden rain spouts that directed water to an underground cistern.

The Tottens hosted elaborate formal affairs on their lawn, landscaped with rare and exotic plants imported from around the world. And while Winderbourne acted as the Totten's summer home, it was staffed all year long, with increased staff during their stay.

In addition to the parties on their lawn, they also hosted extravagant dinner events. However, the food was never set upon the table; instead maids would carry around silver platters and bowls and served those who were seated at the table.

Sadly, the Totten's life was soon struck by tragedy. The three Totten children contracted typhoid fever from drinking contaminated water. Two of the children survived, while one of their sons died from the grisly disease.

This tragedy soured the Totten's love of the Winderbourne property. However, they kept the property and it stayed in the family. One of the Totten daughter's, Edith, inspired by her tragic childhood experience became a physician and came into ownership of Winderbourne sometime before 1915. She did not marry but adopted a daughter.

The little girl loved Winderbourne, exploring its every nook and cranny, running through its magic halls that seemed to never end. One of her favourite activities was to slide down the bannister of the massive staircase that led to the foyer. However, one day when she slid down the bannister as always, she gained a little bit too much speed, lost control, flew off, and fell to her death.

The curved railroad track around the home was straightened and the bridge that was supposed to have been maintained by the railroad company was demolished. Leaving the Tottens with no access to their home. The Tottens took the case to court and the home and surrounding property was sold off to the railroad.

Not long after, Edith Totten dropped dead unexpectedly after giving a lecture at John Hopkins University at only 48 years old.

Winderbourne Mansion was repurchased by the Pickrell family in 1929. Edward and Beulah Pickrell raised their two sons, Edward Jr. and Paxton on the property. Both Edward and Beulah passed away, leaving the property to Edward in their will. During Edward Jr.'s ownership the house began to fall into disrepair, and he eventually passed away in 2004, leaving the responsibility of the quickly decaying property to Paxton.

To this day the house remains abandoned. Vines and the surrounding vegetation have completely engulfed the property. Blending in more and more with Black Hills regional park that sits against the estate. Winderbourne Mansion, once elegantly groomed, now appears like a map from a post-apocalyptic video game with several old muscle cars left abandoned in the yard and furniture, clothes, books, and magazines still left inside. While the house has decayed and succumbed to the elements, the ghosts of its past still roam its halls in opulence; ignorant to the passing of time and the erosion of their beloved mansion.

This story continues to befuddle me. I've spent so much time trying to confirm parts of this story, that as of now seem impossible. Let's see…where should we start? There are a few articles on this house and its history, they all seem to refer back to an article from the Washington Post. I dug a little deeper and hit the jackpot! Or what I thought was the jackpot: a 1978 report on the home's history available through Maryland's government website. It is an ACHS summary form, I cannot figure out what it stands for but I'm guessing it's a historical site or historical society.

This form seems legitimate, I had no reason to doubt it. It compiles the history and it seems this is where most of the information available on the home and the Tottens stems from.

When I started doing my own research though…I found some conflicting information. All sources say that Enoch and Mary Totten had three children and that they lost a son to typhoid fever after all the children fell ill after drinking some contaminated drinking water at Winderbourne. The historic report also details this while also saying that all drinking water there was boiled prior to use and that the cisterns that collected the water were regularly cleaned. Still, there is always room for error, this is not what I found strange.

Instead, I found that the Tottens had four children: Edith, Howe, Gerald, and Alice. Even stranger still only one of them died…a daughter…but before the house was ever built. Alice Crosby Totten died at the age of 16 on October 6, 1881 according to Washington D.C.'s Evening Critic and her tombstone. Both of the Totten sons outlived Edith by decades and died in their seventies.

Now, I did find the obituary for Edith Totten. Which…goes to show the stupidity of machine reading or people, I haven't decided. Some databases let you "clip" stories for collections and you can add information. For whatever reason her one obituary in the Richmond Times Dispatch was clipped with her name being recorded as "Edith Tettea Saeeamba" while her siblings names' were recorded accurately. This happened because of the title: Lecturer Dies: Dr. Edith Totten Succumbs at John Hopkins. I'm assuming this is yet another OCR issue but luckily the search picked up Edith and the Totten of her brothers and I was able to locate it. But I digress. Edith passed away after she completed a lecture on "Imagination and Thought" of a cerebral hemorrhage. So it appears this story is true.

I was not able to find any record of her adopted daughter but it is entirely possible it happened. I am really curious about Edith's story as she never married, inherited Winderbourne, and became a doctor and professor at John Hopkins. For a woman produced of the Victorian age I find that so fascinating and impressive. However, there isn't too much on her. I was also surprised there were no pre-researched family trees for the family. Her father, mother, and brothers all had some historical significance and I found it odd.

The name Winderbourne or Winderbourne or Winterbourne sounded so familiar to me and I found out that is because one of Howe Totten founded Winderbourne Kennels who bred Great Danes. Now you're probably like…why…does that make the name familiar to you? For those of you who don't know I used to serve as the librarian for the American Kennel Club; and a lot of my time was spent researching pedigrees or dog genealogy for various researchers as well as digitizing and archiving old photographs. I spent a good time with Great Danes and yes, this was a prominent kennel name I had seen time and time again! They bred a lot of champions and if I'm not mistaken were one of the more foundational kennels for the breed. I just always thought it was pronounced Winderbourne. So the more you know! It really is a small, small world. But I digress! Enough about dogs.

So how did all this information about the family's three children and a son dying get so…wrong? I looked into the report a little deeper. All the stories about the Totten family tragedies were not from written record but were instead from a 1978 personal interview with a Hershey Ayton. While I love oral histories and I think they're great for personal experiences, preserving indigenous languages, and folklore…I do not believe they're great for accurately recording events before your lifetime from another family. Now, perhaps Ayton was some type of authority on the subject and they have information we're not privy to…that cannot be known. But, insofar as the documents available to me, since I cannot access a lot of paper records without visiting institutions in Maryland, it doesn't seem like their accounts are wholly accurate. Alice Totten surely died very young but it was before the home was built and she was not, to my knowledge, a son.

Another fascinating facet of this story is how Mary Totten got her money. I won't go into it but Elias Howe does not get enough credit in these news stories. Elias Howe while he was not the inventor of the sewing machine per say, he is the one that perfected it, creating the lockstitch sewing machine. He was awarded the first patent for the device in 1846. His machine included the three foundational mechanisms of modern sewing machines: a needle with the eye at the point instead of the back, an automatic feed, and a shuttle beneath the fabric to form the lock stitch. However, despite being awarded the patent he could not find investors in the United States and so went to England. There were some business disputes and so despite selling the machine, he did not make any money. Upon his return to the United States he found that many other entrepreneurs were selling and manufacturing sewing machines using his methods. Most famously, he became embroiled, or maybe we'll say embroidered, in a court case lasting from 1849 to 1854 with none other than Isaac Singer of Singer machine fame. Isaac Singer and Walter Hunt had perfected a version of Elias Howe's machine and were selling it with the exact lockstitch that Howe had invented and patented. In the end, Howe won the lawsuit and gained a rather amazing deal in the process: he was able to collect royalties on all lockstitch sewing machines sold by not only Singer, but a number of other manufacturers as well. This is how the Howe's became filthy, filthy rich. Howe also patented the zipper, or as he called it, "automatic continuous clothing closure" which doesn't have the same ring to it. He never pursued it seriously so he is not credited with its creation.

Elias Howe died at age 48 of a massive blood clot in 1867. So how did Mary Howe Totten receive his fortune? Elias' first wife died, leaving him no children and Howe's brothers also died. While Elias' did remarry, his cousin, Timothy Howe, Mary's father, became the heir to the fortune, which is eventually passed down to Mary herself. Very convoluted, very confusing. But extremely interesting nonetheless.

Insofar as the ghosts of the mansion…if there are any…you could technically visit yourself. But I do not recommend it, at least physically speaking. It is still private property as Paxton Pickrell has been trying to sell it since 2004. It was originally listed at 2 million dollars, dropping to 1.5, and then to 895,000. It never sold. It's very tragic since it is such a unique home, described by the Maryland historical document as "the only grand and elegant structure in the simple rural town of Boyds" However, elegant it is no longer. The gardens are overgrown, with some of the rare vegetation from the Totten's exotic gardens still flourishing.

Many people still come to the property, trespassing, I may add. But lucky for you, if you're interested you can find many urban explorers who have recorded their visits. Some of their personalities are grating while others are not, but you can explore the whole of the property through these videos. Some people come because it's creepy, strangely many people visit for the abandoned muscle cars on the lawn. Regardless of their motivations, it surely looks quite haunted…but I have not been able to locate any tales of real ghost sightings or encounters. The real horror here is the home's history…or…the urban legend of it, rather.

However, Paxton Pickrell, who grew up in the house said "That place to me was just a wonderful home" and was rather perturbed when the home was first published on a list of "the spookiest, creepiest old houses for sale in America" on a real estate website. The house is dilapidated, the local government has purchased all the land surrounding it. According to Pickrell, the county has been trying to take the 9 acres of the property and that his defiance in selling it is standing in the way of progress. I stand with Pickrell on this one.

While the property itself may not be haunted, what remains is a skeleton of the past. Once a place of grandeur and wealth, it sits covered in vines looking more like the home of the Addams family or the set of a Scooby Doo cartoon. Daring urban explorers frequent the site to catch a glimpse into the past, and I recommend checking it out. I will post some images of its current state on the podcast Instagram, @CrimesAndWitchDemeanors, but I also recommend checking out some of the videos. It's eerie how many objects are still left in the house.

But that is all for today's episode. Please, if you enjoy the podcast, tell a friend or two, force them into listening by any means necessary. Leave a review if you're particularly cool. And until next time; don't slide down the bannister, adamantly defend your patents, and of course, stay curious, and stay spooky. Bye~

Doing things a little differently this week and investigating the history behind one of my personal paranormal encounters at the Deuel House in Buffalo, New York. Belonging to my friend, we have not known who may haunt the halls...until now!

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Submit your feedback or personal stories to [email protected]

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Episode Transcript: Available below the sources in the show notes

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Main podcast illustration by GiAnna Ligammari: https://gialigammari.wixsite.com/portfolio

Sources:

[sources are pending! -- a lot to create a bibliography for this one!]

The story of the Witches' Tree is often underplayed as a whimsical tale of how a strange tree in Louisville's historic district came to be. However, the truth is much more disturbing and horrifying involving the deadliest tornado event in the history of the United States.

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Episode Transcript: Available below the sources in the show notes

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Main podcast illustration by GiAnna Ligammari: https://gialigammari.wixsite.com/portfolio

Sources:

3 Apr 1890, 2—The Greenville Journal at Newspapers.com. (n.d.). World Collection. Retrieved January 18, 2021, from http://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/652924466/?terms=%22tornado%22%22Louisville%22&match=1

28 Mar 1890, Page 20—Logansport Pharos-Tribune at Newspapers.com. (n.d.). World Collection. Retrieved January 18, 2021, from http://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/4266239/?terms=%22storm%20demon%22&match=1

29 Mar 1890, 1—Memphis Daily Commercial at Newspapers.com. (n.d.). World Collection. Retrieved January 18, 2021, from http://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/586983136/?terms=%22storm%20demon%22&match=1

29 Mar 1890, 1—The Buffalo Commercial at Newspapers.com. (n.d.). World Collection. Retrieved January 18, 2021, from http://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/269471310/?terms=%22storm%20demon%22&match=1

29 Mar 1890, 5—The Morning Post at Newspapers.com. (n.d.). World Collection. Retrieved January 18, 2021, from http://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/409953020/?terms=%22tornado%22%22Louisville%22&match=1

29 Mar 1890, Page 1—The Record-Union at Newspapers.com. (n.d.). World Collection. Retrieved January 18, 2021, from http://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/85658032/?terms=%22tornado%22%22Louisville%22&match=1

A Scene of Ruin. (n.d.). ArcGIS StoryMaps. Retrieved January 22, 2021, from https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/a98efe3cb3f340b88d10079e10299e87

Dominé, D. (n.d.). Ghost story | The wicked witches' tree. The Courier-Journal. Retrieved January 18, 2021, from https://www.courier-journal.com/story/entertainment/2015/10/29/ghost-story-wicked-witches-tree/74680150/

Fujita scale. (2021). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fujita_scale&oldid=998728230

KET - Kentucky Educational Television. (2019, October 31). The Witches Tree in Louisville | Kentucky Life | KET. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lAQ3pfiwIc

Limke, A. (2020, May 22). Bizarre Circumstances, History, And Mystery Combine At The Witches' Tree In Kentucky. OnlyInYourState. https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/kentucky/witches-tree-ky/

Lumber truck, Louisville, Kentucky, 1928.: Caufield & Shook Collection. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2021, from http://digital.library.louisville.edu/cdm/ref/collection/cs/id/3489

March 1890 middle Mississippi Valley tornado outbreak. (2020). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=March_1890_middle_Mississippi_Valley_tornado_outbreak&oldid=976255968

US Department of Commerce, N. (n.d.). Tornadoes of March 27, 1890. NOAA's National Weather Service. Retrieved January 22, 2021, from https://www.weather.gov/lmk/tornado_climatology_march271890

Witches Curse Louisville, the Tale of the Witches' Tree. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18, 2021, from https://spectrumnews1.com/ky/lexington/news/2019/10/30/witches-curse-louisville--the-tale-of-the-witches--tree

TRANSCRIPT:

Hello and welcome to another episode of Crimes & Witch-Demeanors, I'm your host, Joshua Spellman. I feel like every week this year has felt like a month…how is it only the end of January? Sorry there was no episode last week—my computer broke and I had no way of recording. So suffice to say that last week was a whirlwind and I cannot even begin to imagine what this week will bring. Oh, that's right, a whirlwind! Because on today's episode we're covering the legend of Louisville's Witch Tree and the storm that sprouted it: the Storm Demon. But we'll talk more about that name and poor reporting later.

This is a case where the truth is stranger than fiction…or at least more disturbing. The articles I've read about the legend of the witch tree made it seem like the Storm Demon was this little itty bitty tornado that swept through Louisville destroying one neighborhood and all was well…but all of the articles about the Witch Tree left out that this tornado was part of a mass casualty event with hundreds dead. So, without further ado let's hear the legend as it's typically told and then learn the horrifying truths of what really transpired.

On the corner of Sixth and Park, in Louisville, Kentucky, stood a large, tall maple; straight as a pole. It had been there for centuries and provided shade to the citizens of Louisville by day…but by night, below its leafy crown that stretched upwards towards the stars, witches would gather to cast their spells and worship their old gods. Or, as some may mistakenly believe: the devil. However, in 1889 a chain of events would be set into motion that would topple not only this sacred maple, but half the city of Louisvile.

Mr. Mengel, of the famous Mengel Lumber Company, was head of the city's planning committee and was scouting for trees to be used for Louisville's May Day celebration when he laid his eyes upon the majestic maple. He knew that he had to have that tree, it was so tall and so straight, it was born to be a May pole. The news quickly reached the ears of the witches, perhaps even before the thoughts formed in Mr. Mengel's mind.

One night, under the cover of darkness and a velvet hood, the priestess of the coven knocked on Mr. Mengel's door. He answered, displeased, and she implored him not to cut down their beloved maple.

"I will do no such thing!" he bellowed.

"Please sir, I beg you to consider your actions very carefully. I will ask once more for you to please not fell our sacred tree."

"And I will tell you once more that I will be chopping down that tree"

"Very well," the priestess said calmly, looking up from beneath her hood, "I asked you nicely and you refused, now you shall face the consequences."

Before Mr. Mengel could even ask what she meant dozens of cloaked figures emerged from all directions: from behind the trees, around the street corners, and some even seeming to appear out of thin air. They slowly began to gather together, holding hands as they chanted:

This tree shall stand and not be cut,

We've fed her with our laughter.

Our leafy haven you'll not gut.

Or pay forever after.

But if you, Wooden King, prevail,

And Mother Maple dies,

The force of Fate shall strike this town

And right between the eyes.

If our tree falls, yes, Fate will call

To teach you, heartless Dunce,

That all man's work can disappear.

BEWARE ELEVENTH MONTH!

And just as quickly as they appeared, they were gone. Leaving only the head witch on Mr. Mengel's doorstep. "Don't say I didn't warn you Wooden King. Remember, wood burns." She smiled a wry smile, swept her cloak, turned on her heel, and disappeared into the night.

Mr. Mengel paid no mind to the witches' warning, and he proceeded with his plans. The tree was chopped down, and as its heavy trunk smashed to the ground horrid shrieks could be heard echoing through the city.

However, the May Day celebration went off without a hitch. The trunk of the maple was adorned with ribbons and decorations of all kinds as men, women, and children danced about it. Afterward, it's carcass was tossed into the Whitsuntide bonfire where to was turned to ash. Everyone had forgotten about the witches' warning, but 11 months later, to the very day, the curse would take effect.

On March 28, 1890, the witches whipped up a hell of storm to terrorize the city of Louisville. They first sent it down Maple Street, proving it was their craftwork, and into downtown. Here, the storm flattened buildings, killing and injuring many – and among them were the members of the May Day committee and two members of the Mengel family.

And then, according to eyewitnesses, the twister made a bizarre right-hand turn down sixth street. As it barreled down Sixth Street toward Park, the storm hurled a lightning bolt straight into the stump where the sacred maple had once stood. From this charred base grew what is now known as the witches' tree: a gnarled wretched thing with great burls and thin branches like the bones of a witches' hand.

Since the day of the storm it is said that coven has returned to cast their spells beneath the twisted branches of the witches' tree. Visitors to Louisville place flowers at the base of the tree and hang beads and charms from its branches as gifts to the city's witches, in hopes that they may cast a spell in their favor. Meanwhile, the citizens of Louisville have never dishonored the wishes of a witch since in fear that their city may once again fall to ruins.

What a cute little story, right? Wrong. The articles about the witches' tree make it sounds like there was this little twister that rolled through Louisville but no…on March 27, 1890 there was a tornado outbreak and it was the most deadly tornado event in United States history. I didn't know that a tornado outbreak was a thing? But now that I know it is, I am absolutely horrified.

You may have caught that I said March 27th and not March 28th. This is another case of modern journalism recounting the date that an event was reported, not the date that it occurred. Much like the Carnegie medal situation in episode one.

So, on March 27th 1890 there was a massive outbreak of tornados, dubbed the Storm Demon by some papers, though it appears tornados may have just been called this as I saw newspapers for years after and prior calling them storm demons. Which may be more errors in modern journalism, but I digress. This outbreak created a number of storms ranging in intensity from F2 to F4 on the Fujita scale (which goes to 5 by the way).

The tornado that hit Louisville was an F4 storm with winds ranging from 207-260 miles per hour and it destroyed 766 buildings totaling 2.5 million dollars (the modern equivalent of $71 million dollars) in damage. The storm killed an estimated 74-120 people though initial estimates were around 800, with most of the victims being those within the Falls City Hall building.

The newspapers at the time had a slew of eyewitness accounts. Now, I will be forthright to say the sources I acquire historic newspapers from did not have the newspapers from Louisville for this time range. But, fortunately, many newspapers back in the day would run columns verbatim from other areas if it was major news and I was able to acquire them this way.

Now, one of the newspapers I read listed off all of the confirmed dead at the time, and I was not able to find the name "Mengel" anywhere within them. Two of Mr. Mengel's relatives were said to have died. This at the moment is unconfirmed. Also, before we get into the real horror, because I want to read eyewitness accounts, I wanted to talk about the witches' warning. It has been told many ways – the way I told it was much more dramatic. The chant I said was said to have been left on a note nailed to the tree, but other sources, or should I say the same exact source said that the warning had been uttered as a simple warning of "Beware 11th month" to Mr. Mengel. This same source I am talking about is the author and historian David Domine who gives haunted tours. It is hard to take his word for it when he has been quoted with two distinct stories, and I don't know what his book on Louisville says occurred…I didn't want to buy a physical copy and I can't get the e-book version from the library. He's a professor, so I'm sure things may be cited in his book but I have to stay the story is a bit crumbly.

Like Falls City Hall.

An excerpt from the Greenville Journal from Thursday, April 3 that describes what happened at the city hall:

"The great center of death is the Falls City Hall where more than two hundred men, woman, and children are entombed. It is situated on Market street, near Twelfth. The structure was three stories in height and when struck by the tornado, several meetings were being held within it. The loss of life at this place far exceeds that at any other one locality and of the great numbers known to be under the debris it is certain that none will be recovered alive. The ruins are now scarcely one story high so thorough was the work of the wind."

It goes on to detail some of what was going on in the building at the time:

"On the second floor of this building Miss App was teaching a dance class of young children, and there were present the mothers, fathers, and other attendants of the gay juveniles. In one of the rooms on this floor the executive body of the Roman Knights was in session. Of the seven members present all escaped but one.

On the third floor Jewell Lodge No. 2, Knights and Ladies of Honor was holding a meeting. This was one of the largest lodges of the order, and there were 150 members present when the building fell. A mere handful of these escaped."

It describes more in attendance and recounts the tale of A.J. Reed the Past Grand Master LOOF of the State (I don't know what that is) said:

"I was entering the hallway when the tornado struck the building at the southeast corner. There were several crashes and the structure began to rock, whereupon the men and women from the Knights of Honor meeting began pouring out of their lodge room adjoining shrieking in terror. It was only for a moment though for the building collapsed and I found myself on top of the great pile. I was stunned and blinded by the dust, but recovered myself and crawled out. The agonizing shrieks of others were terrible. I was finally taken away by a rescuing party."

So I know that was a lot of reading, but this is the main building where the most life was lost. I'm unsure if the children in the dance class were okay. There are some pretty terrible accounts from the Sacramento Daily Record from Saturday the 29th.

Lewis Simms Jr.'s wife and four kids were in the dance class and he paced outside city hall for hours while workers searched the ruins. Eventually the dance room was reached and his wife was found fatally wounded. Three of the four Simms children were recovered unconscious and not expected to live. To make matters worse, before his fourth child could be found, a fire erupted in the wreckage and no more bodies were able to be recovered.

Poor Miss App, the schoolteacher, was one of the bodies recovered before the blaze broke out.

I'm going to read a few more stories, I hope you don't mind. I know this episode is really depressing and heartbreaking. But I feel like this particular legend is another example of a city attempting to cope with a horrible tragedy.

Today we're headed down to the wetlands of east Florida, just outside of Jacksonville, and investigating the spirits that haunt Kingsley Plantation: the princess turned slave, turned slave-owner, Anna Kingsley; the vengeful and malevolent entity known as "Old Red Eyes"; and the ghostly white peacocks that scream in the night are just some of the known apparitions. However, are these truly the ghosts that haunt the plantation? Or is the true haunting the racial tropes that persist within these ghostly stories, paired with the bloody imprint of slavery on our history?

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Episode Transcript: Available below the sources in the show notes

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Main podcast illustration by GiAnna Ligammari: https://gialigammari.wixsite.com/portfolio

Sources:

AncestryLibrary.com—Florida, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1810-1974. (n.d.-a). Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/imageviewer/collections/8993/images/005886187_00016?usePUB=true&_phsrc=eBA241&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=120668

AncestryLibrary.com—Florida, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1810-1974. (n.d.-b). Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/imageviewer/collections/8993/images/005886196_00104?usePUB=true&_phsrc=eBA241&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=288588

AncestryLibrary.com—Florida, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1810-1974. (n.d.-c). Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/imageviewer/collections/8993/images/005886081_00271?usePUB=true&_phsrc=eBA241&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=173533

Anna and Zephaniah Kingsley. (2018, September 22). Celebrating Our History. https://uncoveringjax.wordpress.com/anna-and-zephaniah-kingsley/

Anna Kingsley A Free Woman.pdf. (n.d.-b). Retrieved January 11, 2021, from http://latinamericanstudies.org/slavery/Anna-Kingsley-Free-Woman.pdf

Black History Month: The Ghosts of Kingsley Plantation. (2011, February 25). Haunt Jaunts. https://www.hauntjaunts.net/black-history-month-the-ghosts-of-kingsley-plantation/

Card, M. (n.d.). Guest column: The amazing inter-racial story of Anna and Zephaniah Kingsley. The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved January 11, 2021, from https://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/20191103/guest-column-amazing-inter-racial-story-of-anna-and-zephaniah-kingsley

Groove, B. (2019, November 29). The Spiritual Significance of Peacocks. Balance. https://blog.buddhagroove.com/the-spiritual-significance-of-peacocks/

Jacksonville, M. A. 12713 F. C. R., & Us, F. 32225 P. 904-641-7155 C. (n.d.). Anna Kingsley: A Free Woman - Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve (U.S. National Park Service). Retrieved January 11, 2021, from https://www.nps.gov/timu/learn/historyculture/kp_anna_freewoman.htm

Jaxson, T. (n.d.-a). Old Red Eyes And The Ghosts Of Kingsley Plantation. Retrieved January 9, 2021, from https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/old-red-eyes-and-the-ghosts-of-kingsley-plantation/

Jaxson, T. (n.d.-b). Old Red Eyes And The Ghosts Of Kingsley Plantation. Retrieved January 9, 2021, from https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/old-red-eyes-and-the-ghosts-of-kingsley-plantation-page-2/

Kingsley Plantation. (2020). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kingsley_Plantation&oldid=965199923

Kp_freedomandslavery.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2021, from https://www.nps.gov/timu/planyourvisit/upload/kp_freedomandslavery.pdf

leral, L. rédaction de. (n.d.). ANNA KINGSLEY... Ou ANTA MADGIGIN NJAÏ - ANTA MADJIGUENE NDIAYE. Leral.net - S'informer en temps réel. Retrieved January 11, 2021, from https://www.leral.net/ANNA-KINGSLEY-ou-ANTA-MADGIGIN-NJAI-ANTA-MADJIGUENE-NDIAYE_a263761.html

Weird Florida. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2021, from http://www.weirdus.com/states/florida/road_less_traveled/old_red_eyes/index.php

Zephaniah Kingsley. (2021). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zephaniah_Kingsley&oldid=998872813

TRANSCRIPT:

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Crimes & Witch-Demeanors. I'm your host, Joshua Spellman. Last week we covered the burning of a Capitol building…which happened to air on the day our Capitol was attacked…am I prophet? Maybe. Today we're headed down to the wetlands of east Florida, just outside of Jacksonville, and investigating the spirits that haunt Kingsley Plantation: the princess turned slave turned slave-owner, Anna Kingsley; the vengeful and malevolent entity known as "Old Red Eyes"; and the ghostly white peacocks that scream in the night are just some of the known apparitions. However, are these truly the ghosts that haunt the plantation? Or is the true haunting the racial tropes that persist within these ghostly stories paired with the bloody imprint of slavery on our history? Join me today to find out.

I was getting a little tired of telling the same old story of rich white folk, as ghost stories often tend to be…and the story of Kingsley Plantation is still often told as one. Instead of focusing too much on the owner of the plantation, Zephaniah Kingsley, a rich, white polygamous slave-owner; I wanted to focus in on the story of one of his wives, Anna Kingsley, or Anta Madjiguene Ndiaye. Her story is that of tragedy and triumph, overcoming being sold into slavery and even once freed, overcoming societal norms and the oppression of Jim Crowe. For the history portion of the podcast, let us delve into the life of Anna Kingsley so that we can better understand her afterlife and the phantoms that lurk on the grounds of Kingsley Plantation.

On June 18, 1793 princess Anta Madjiguene Ndiaye of the Wolof people was born in modern-day Senegal. At this time, this portion of West Africa was a home to conflict between the Wolof and the Fula and villages in the area were often lain waste to by slave raids. The crisis only intensified and in 1806, Anta was captured by Tyeddo raiders from the Futa Toro.

She was taken by force to Goree Island, a slave debarkation point. She was kept prisoner for days with little to no food. However, on the first occasion she was presented to European buyers, she was sold. Unfortunately, this catapulted Anta from one horrific situation to another.

The journey across the Atlantic was long and arduous. The enslaved were shackled to wooden boards, confined to tight quarters, and were malnourished and over-heated. Those who had died from heat stroke or another malady were simply thrown overboard like rotted meat. Some people managed to escape and threw themselves overboard, as death by drowning was preferable to the horrid conditions on the ship and what awaited them once they arrived at their destination.

The ship landed in Havana, Cuba and the passengers were immediately forced into isolation. This was done to help prevent the spread of any diseases that may have been brought with them and to make them presentable to potential buyers.

In the autumn of 1806, it was time for Anta to be put up for sale. As it would have it, luck was on her side. 43 year-old Zephaniah Kingsley, an English merchant, had been in Cuba to purchase rum, molasses, and of course, as was the fashion of the day, slaves. It was at this auction that he laid eyes on 13 year-old Anta and had to have her. He desperately outbid every other slave trader and merchant there, winning ownership of Anta, soon changing her name to Anna.

Now, there is nothing about slavery that is good, but the fates were looking out for young Anta; rescuing her from a destiny that could have been much more dire. While still a slave trader, and still a slave owner, Zephaniah held views on slavery that were atypical for the time and would benefit Anta until her death.

Although not ideal, and though it raises many modern day concerns: Anta was wed to Zephaniah in an African ceremony in Havana. This ceremony was certainly not a catholic ceremony and therefore was not legally recognized by Spanish Florida or the United States during their lifetimes.

After this unconventional marriage, the couple made the voyage to Zephaniah's plantation, Laurel Grove, located in present-day Orange park. However, Zephaniah and Anta did not arrive alone, as by the time they landed, Anta was with child. Despite still being a slave, instead of relegating Anta to the paltry slave quarters – Zephaniah invited her to stay with him in his home. This was a welcome change from the gruesome living conditions Anta had been subject to for the last several months.

Laurel Grove was home to over 100 slaves working to produce cotton, oranges, peas, and potatoes. As mentioned earlier, despite being a plantation owner, Zephaniah's views on slavery were unique. Make no mistake, he was still a slave master, but he was more humane than most.

Zephaniah employed a system where the slaves were appointed certain tasks for the day. They were allowed to work as quickly or as slowly as they wished and when their day's work was completed they were allowed to use their time as they wished. Zephaniah also allotted slaves their own fields to grow their own crops. Some slaves spent their free time creating crafts, which Zephaniah permitted them to sell along with their own produce if they so wished. Instead of segregating his slaves, Zephaniah preferred that they live together as families, rather than being split up. However, despite this treatment his motivations weren't altruistic: he believed that if you treated slaves better that they would be more productive and less likely to rebel.

Apparently his system worked, as the plantation made up to $10,000 annually, or nearly half a million dollars today. This was impressive, especially for a plantation in a secluded area of Florida.

Visitors to the plantation assumed that Anna was a free woman: after all, she ran the plantation along with a freed slave who acted as the manager while Zephaniah was off on business. Though Zephaniah had other wives, Anna was always recognized as his primary and most beloved. By 1811, when Anna was 18, she had bore three children: George in June of 1807, Martha in July of 1809, and Mary in February of 1811. It was also this year that Zephaniah granted Anna full and legal emancipation, reinforcing her important position and place of power at the plantation.

In 1813, Anna petitioned the Spanish government, which still ruled Florida, for land. She was granted 5 acres in Mandarin, just across the river from Laurel Grove. Anna purchased equipment and goods to start her farm, including 12 slaves of her own. Now, it may seem unusual for a freed slave to then go and purchase her own. However, the concept of slavery was a part of her culture in Africa – including the model that female slaves often married their masters to gain freedom. However, Anna was dead set on becoming an independent businesswoman, selling goods, produce, and poultry.

However, this particular business venture would not last long. During that same year, Zephaniah was kidnapped by the Patriot Rebellion; American insurgents who were attempting to annex Florida by force. The rebels attacked and raided towns and plantations and all blacks they captured into slavery—regardless of their legal status. This put Anna at great risk.

The patriots soon arrived to pillage Laurel Grove, taking 31 of its slaves in the process, and using the plantation as their headquarters as they looted nearby areas. To avoid capture and being re-sold into slavery, Anna negotiated with the Spanish for her escape, bringing her children and 12 slaves with her. As she left, she burned Laurel Grove and her newly acquired homestead to the ground so that the insurgents could no longer use them as a base. For this, the Spanish government awarded her 350 acres of land. 70 times what she had purchased earlier that year.

In 1814, now reunited, Zephaniah and Anna moved to a plantation on Fort George Island—what is now known as Kingsley Plantation near Jacksonville, Florida. The plantation was looted and vandalized during the rebellion and every building aside from the main house was destroyed. Here is where Zephaniah took his other three wives, all slaves, who gave him a total of 9 children. These women were all freed, along with his children.

To say that the family dynamic was complex would be an understatement, but Anna was the one named in his will as his wife. These other women were considered "co-wives" of Anna, but not quite matching up to her in terms of importance or power. His wives and his children lived in luxury and were educated with the best schooling he could afford. When the plantation had company, Anna would sit at the head of the table and the walls of the home were decorated with paintings of African women.

In the 1820's the Kingsley's built a separate kitchen connected to the main house by a walkway. Above the kitchen was a room where Anna resided with her children and this building was dubbed the "Ma'am Anna House"

A total of 32 slave residences were built not far from the main house. They were arranged in a peculiar semicircle pattern. Some historians believe that Zepheniah did this to keep a closer watch on his slaves, but others believe it was Anna's doing as many African villages were arranged in similar patterns. In 1824, Anna bore her fourth and final son, John.

Spain eventually ceded Florida to the United States. This transfer of power led to significant changes in how slaves and free blacks were treated. Interracial marriage were considered to be invalid and children of mixed descent were not allowed to inherit property. While all those born free slaves prior to 1821 were not subject to these new laws, their youngest son was born in 1824 and would not receive these same protections. Worried that his family's rights may be taken away, in 1835 Zephaniah, moved to Haiti, in a location that is now part of the Dominican Republic. He transferred all of his holdings to his three eldest children who stayed behind, while Anna and their youngest son, John, followed Zephaniah to Haiti in 1838.

In total Anna and Zephaniah brought 60 slaves, family members, and freed employees with them. Since slavery was illegal in Haiti, those who were not yet freed acted as indentured servants who would earn their freedom in 9 years' time. Anna and Zephaniah lived together on the island rather peacefully until in 1843, on a trip to New York, Zephaniah died at age 78.

Because of the new laws in Florida, none of his children were able to inherit his property and his sister, Martha, and her children challenged his will, claiming it was "defective and invalid" Under Florida's new laws it was illegal for black people to own property and Martha claimed that when they moved to Haiti to remain free, they also abandoned their right to the property.

Despite the racial tensions boiling in Duval County at the time, neing the powerhouse of a woman that she was, Anna returned to Florida in 1846 to participate in the legal battle for the property that was rightfully hers. Miraculously, the court upheld the treatise between the United States and Spain decreeing that all free blacks born before 1821 had a right to the same privileges they had under Spanish rule. This was an extraordinary achievement for a black woman before the Civil War.

Naturally, when the Civil War did break out, Anna and her children were Union sympathizers. Jacksonville was captured by the union in 1862 and Anna and her children were briefly evacuated to New York. She returned to Florida, taking up residence in Arlington, to be nearer to her daughters who were married to white planters in Florida. Anna passed away in 1870 at the age of 77 after living a full and eventful life.

Anna's ghost can still be seen on Kingsley plantation and is known as the "Woman in White". She is usually spotted on the back porch of the main house, and can often be photographed there. However, she is not alone, her husband, Zephaniah can also be seen on the plantation from time to time.

Anna's descendants remained part of the African-American upper class for more than a century. One of her descendants even includes Florida's first black millionaire, Abraham Lincoln Lewis. Though Anna is long dead, her spirit, and her legacy, will live on for generations to come.

A few parts of Anna's story are disputed, but it was widely factual. Anna did not appear to burn down her property to save it from the insurgents as she was already on a boat away from the area at the time. Additionally, it is not confirmed if she truly was a princess. Her lineage is widely debated and whether or not she descended from royalty. She shares part of her name, Ndiaye, with a mythological ruling figure from Jolof culture. Additionally, her mother also held royal blood from Wolof culture and Anna may have been the daughter of ruling royalty at the time of her birth, but there is no proof on the matter.

I was able to find a number of primary sources about Anna, which was surprising given that she was a black woman in the 1800's. However, the material I did find doesn't help us tell her story as it mainly pertains to her will.

I was devasted that I couldn't find a photograph of Anna. Websites have pictures that claim to be her, but when you reverse search them it turns out they are other famous black women in history. The woman on the episode image, for you Spotify listeners, and the one on the Instagram are not of Anna, but another freed slave from the plantation.

We do have a descriptions of Anna. One from Zephaniah says that she was "a fine, tall figure, black as jet, but very handsome. She was very capable, and could carry on all the affairs of the plantation in my absence as well as I could myself. She was affectionate and faithful, and I could trust her." And in his will he says "She has always been respected as my wife and as such I acknowledge her, nor do I think that her truth, honor, integrity, moral conduct or good sense will lose in comparison with anyone."

Her niece described her a little differently, though she still greatly admired her beauty:

I remember her very distinctly. She was not black, and had the most beautiful features you ever saw. She was a most imposing and very handsome woman. Her smooth, light brown skin, her dark-eyes and wavy [sic] made her outstanding, and I would not keep my eyes away for admiration. She was quiet and moved with regal dignity—I have never seen anything like her, before or since. Her daughter was there also, and she was very light in color, but not as good-looking as her mother. I was six or seven years old at the time. I was Kingsley's niece. The next morning my aunt, Mrs. Gibbs, sent two servants for us with a horse and buggy, and we were carried over to Newcastle. My mother was furious that we had spent the night at Ma'm Anna's, but it could not be helped.

In fact no letters, photographs, or personal effects of Anna's are known to exist. Even her grave is unmarked. It is sad, but as we've discussed in other episodes, not out of the ordinary for a woman, specifically and especially a woman of color.

Now, let's get into the ghosts. There are a lot of fun sightings on the Kingsley plantation, which was converted to a state park in 1955 and later incorporated into a national park. This designation has allowed the property to welcome many visitors who have seen strange things.

As I mentioned Anna's ghost is often seen on the property and captured in photographs. Maybe these are the only photographs of Anna Kingsley to exist. However, it should be noted that she's spotted in the main house…where she did not live. As we know she had her special residence known as Ma'am Anna's House. She didn't die on the property, and she hadn't lived there for nearly 30 years when she did. But it is still possible that she loved the property on Fort George Island. Although a account from one of her white friends, Susan L'Engle, says that she seemed quite lonely but her work on the plantation and running the house kept her busy.

I wasn't able to find any firsthand encounters of her ghost. In fact, I discovered this story through reddit, where I was asking if anyone knew of any ghost stories of people of color because I was sick of talking about old white people. For black ghosts it's hard to search since shadow figures are described as black and will often show up, and when searching African-American it's usually metaphoric ghosts that appear such as "The Ghosts of Slavery" or the "Ghosts of the Jim Crow Era" Now, the thing I found sad, annoying, and frustrating is that my post was constantly downvoted. I thought it was just me…but even the comments, one saying "Black ghosts matter!" was also heavily downvoted. It's just sad to see that happening.

And even though I did uncover this story about Anna, it is typically only discussed through the lens of her white, slave-owning husband. But I digress.

There is another presence on the island that isn't the powerful, inspiring woman that was Anna Kingsley. Instead, it is a dark, malevolent entity that seeks to harm: Old Red Eyes.

Legend has it that Old Red Eyes was once a slave on the plantation. This man raped and murdered girls on the island – both the daughters of white planters and fellow slaves. Once the other slaves on the island discovered who was behind this brutal attacks, they banded together and lynched Old Red Eyes from an oak tree. Now, Old Red Eyes lurks on the property, spying on visitors from the trees, looking for his next victim. Some say if you say his name three times…he just may appear.

Old Red Eyes manifests as a pair of red, glowing eyes in the woods and was first spotted in 1978. After the recounting of a tale by a local in 1993, he has been spotted much more regularly.

For me, the interesting thing about this story is that it is full of stereotypes and idiosyncrasies. Namely the trope of a black man being portrayed as a murderer and a rapist is one that still pervades today, and these types of stories, whether true or not, were used to spread fear and rationalize lynching in the south. However, during the plantation era, lynching was not common and was mainly seen in the Jim Crowe era.

Interestingly, the take on the Bloody Mary myth—chanting his name three times, seems to coincide with the 1992 film Candyman: a film where the son of former slaves and a lynching victim is conjured in a similar fashion. This would also explain the increased sightings beginning in 1993. Old Red Eyes is also a colloquial name for the devil in some parts of the south.

Emily Palmer, one of the Park Rangers at Kingsley plantation, has another explanation for Old Red Eyes. She says, "Interestingly enough, along Palmetto Avenue we do have something hanging from the trees that would reflect bright red eyes if a brake light was shining in them. They're called possums. I believe that people have probably seen something of that sort… but I think it may have been a more natural explanation than what people are looking for."

In addition to natural inhabitants like the possum, ghostly animals are also seen on the plantation. At night you can hear the screams of a young girl, and if you follow the sound, you may be presented with a jarring sight: a ghostly white peacock. Is it an omen? In early Christian lore the peacock represents Christi's resurrection and the soul's ability to live on after death.

Again, Palmer is a downer, quoted as saying "If you're unfamiliar with the fact that there are albino peacocks, and if you are not familiar with the sound a peacock makes when it's doing its mating call, you might take that for a little girl screaming. It's a pretty unique noise."

Okay, fine, Emily! Stop being such a downer. What about the ghost alligator that sits at the bottom of a stairwell? Do you have an explanation for that? No. I didn't think so.

A quick rundown of some of the ghostly encounters includes the smell of gingerbread in Anna's kitchen, furniture that moves on its own, a crying child in the well, the apparition of an African man in a turban, and old Zephaniah himself. There is a tradition that you must never say "Goodnight, Zephaniah" while locking up for the night because it can cause "bad things" to happen. What this mean, I don't know. But I wouldn't want to chance it. Though it seems rude on Zephaniah's part because you're just trying to be nice and courteous. But…he was a polygamist slave-owner who had to buy his wives so maybe he's not very rational.

Kingsley plantation remains one of the most haunted places in Florida. And whether or not its ghosts are real or simply spooky wildlife…the land is an important part of a freed black woman's story and her family's legacy. I'm honored to have been able to tell it and I hope you enjoyed listening.

You can find historic documents and photographs are on the podcast Instagram @crimesandwitchdemeanors and sources are in the show notes. So, please, beware of possums hanging in the trees, watch out for the ghostly crocodile at the bottom of your stairs, and as always, stay curious and stay spooky. Bye~

This week we investigate the spirits of New York's State Capitol Building in Albany and the ghosts that reside there. However, the scariest ghost of all may be the lost history that resulting from the 1911 library fire. Learn about William Hunt, Samuel Abbott, and listen to uncover the names of two previously unknown ghosts!

Follow Us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crimesandwitchdemeanors

Submit your feedback or personal stories to [email protected]

Like Us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crimesandwitchdemeanors

Episode Transcript: Available below the sources in the show notes

Visit the website: https://www.crimesandwitchdemeanors.com

Main podcast illustration by GiAnna Ligammari: https://gialigammari.wixsite.com/portfolio

Sources:

1911 Capitol fire remains seared into city's history. (2011, March 27). Times Union. https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/1911-Capitol-fire-remains-seared-into-city-s-1308984.php

Albany State Capitol. (2020, June 12). Haunted Houses. http://hauntedhouses.com/new-york/albany-state-capitol/

Body is Found in Albany Ruins: Samuel J. Abbott, a Watch-man, Discovered in West Wing Under Debris. (1911, March 31). Brooklyn Daily Times, page 1.

BUILDING BIG: Databank: New York State Capitol. (n.d.). Retrieved January 5, 2021, from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/ny_state_capitol.html

Capitol Fire of 1911: Online Exhibits: New York State Library. (n.d.). Retrieved January 5, 2021, from http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/mssc/capitolfire/

Crimes and Casualties. (1878, October 29). The Buffalo Courier, page 1.

Find No Trace of Mr. Abbott: Searchers Believe Syracuse Man Perished in Capitol Fire. (1911, March 30). The Post Standard, page 7.

Fire at the New York State Library. (n.d.). New York Genealogical & Biographical Society. Retrieved January 5, 2021, from https://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/blog/fire-new-york-state-library

Fire Destroys State Capitol: Cigar or Cigarette Causes $600,000 Damage. Started in Assembly Library. (1911, March 29). The Oswego Palladium.

Important River News: Items from our Exchanges ; Two Accidents At The Capital—Died From His Injuries—The Body of Eagan Found In The River—Fires—A Pet Dog Roasted In An Oven—Strange Disappearance Of An Aged Lady—Sad Accident in Troy. (1878, October 30). Poughkeepsie Eagle News, page 1.

John, T. S. (n.d.). With History Comes Hauntings – The New York State Capitol Has Its Fair Share. Retrieved January 3, 2021, from https://www.milesgeek.com/hauntings-new-york-state-capitol

March 27, T. A. P., & Pm, 2011 12:59. (n.d.). 100th anniversary of 1911 Capitol fire. Newsday. Retrieved January 5, 2021, from https://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/ny-marks-100th-anniversary-of-1911-capitol-fire-1.2785318

Pudney, T. G., & Editor, A. (n.d.). Ghosts, legends and lore come to life in "Capitol Hauntings" tour – The Legislative Gazette. Retrieved January 3, 2021, from https://legislativegazette.com/ghosts-legends-and-lore-come-to-life-in-capitol-hauntings-tour/

Snapshot. (n.d.-a). Retrieved January 3, 2021, from http://hauntedhouses.com/new-york/albany-state-capitol/

Snapshot. (n.d.-b). Retrieved January 3, 2021, from https://legislativegazette.com/ghosts-legends-and-lore-come-to-life-in-capitol-hauntings-tour/

State Capitol Wrecked By Fire; One Life Lost. (1911, March 29). The Standard Union, page 1.

Ten Million Loss When Fire Wrecks the Capitol: Priceless Documents are Destroyed: 400,000 Volumes Cannot Be Replaced; Defective Electric Button the Cause. (1911, March 29). Buffalo Evening Times, page 1.

The Capitol. (n.d.). Retrieved January 5, 2021, from https://www.albany.edu/museum/wwwmuseum/statestreet/thecapitol.html

U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995—AncestryLibrary.com. (n.d.). Retrieved January 3, 2021, from https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/1411739262:2469?indiv=1&tid=&pid=&queryId=c5a29b04d2d96924c8babf14bd6ecc9a&usePUB=true&_phsrc=eBA227&_phstart=successSource

Young, M. (2020, June 5). Behind the Scenes Look Inside the New York State Capitol in Albany. Untapped New York. https://untappedcities.com/2020/06/05/behind-the-scenes-inside-the-new-york-state-capitol-in-albany/

TRANSCRIPT:

Hello, and welcome to Crimes & Witch-Demeanors! I'm your host, Joshua Spellman. We're starting the year off right with something we should have covered earlier…a haunted library! Or…at least a haunting that was caused by a library.

The New York State Capitol Building, in Albany is home to three known spirits: the artist William Morris Hunt, a night watchman named Samuel Abbott, and a fruit vendor. There was a death of a construction worker at the site that may contribute to the hauntings, but it is not confirmed. Both the fruit vendor and the construction worker have remained nameless in all the internet articles I've read…until now. Join me in discovering their identities and learning more about the tragic fire that erased centuries of history and caused billions of dollars of damage…which of course lets us touch briefly on the importance of libraries, preservation, and the dangers that digital and physical records pose to the preservation of our history and culture.

BUT…before we get to our main ghost story we have to talk about the building itself because not only is it impressive, it is integral to the spirits that haunt it.

The New York State Capitol is an incredibly large and imposing structure that fills two whole city blocks. Five architects had worked on its design and it was heralded as one of the most beautiful buildings in America…though others criticized it for being an oversized and costly spectacle. Which…they weren't wrong about. Construction took place between 1867 and 1899 at a cost of over 25 million dollars, or the modern equivalent of 768 million. It was built by hand using white granite from Maine and in places the walls are four to five feet thick.

Its style is unique…and that is in part because of its five architects that did not work on the project simultaneously leading to what historians refer to it as the "Battle of the Styles". It also has led to some interesting mishaps, not all stemming from its numerous architects, but they are major oversights nonetheless. Some highlights include the building initially being built on top of quick sand! Not sure how that happened! They had to dig out all the sand and replace it with clay and concrete. Another major mistake was that the original cornerstone of the building, which contains a time capsule, has been lost because the builders forgot to mark it.

The first architect, Thomas Fuller, designed the first floor in a Classical and Romanesque style. However, from 1875-1883, Henry Hobson Richardson and Leopold Eidlitz worked on the building and continued the design in a Renaissance style. During this time, Frederick Law Olmstead, who was a frequent collaborator with Richardson, was hired for the landscape architecture. The final architect on the project was Isaac G. Perry, assigned to the project by Grover Cleveland. He became the first New York State architect and is known for many institutional buildings and asylums across the state.

While the exterior itself is impressive the interior is absolutely breathtaking. In particular, the Western Grand Staircase is a testament to the intricacies of this bold design. Initially begun by Richardson, it was completed by Perry who kept his design but added even more carved elements than originally planned. The Grand Staircase lacks a dome, and in fact the New York State Capitol is one of only 10 US Capitol buildings without one, but in its place is a magnificent 3,000 square foot skylight. Which is…bigger than any house I've lived in. I cannot even fathom it. The vaulted ceilings and sandstone walls are carved with intricate acanthus leaf designs around 77 famous faces of the day. The sandstone carvers were also allowed to carve a memory into the sandstone, many choosing to carve the faces of their wives or children. However, one of these artisans had a dark side as he chose to carve the face of a demon tucked between some leaves in a dark hallway. It is so small and tiny that it is said if you can find the face on your own, you yourself are a devil.

The devil is surely in the details and the capitol building is full of them. One of the lost details are the murals of artist William Morris Hunter. Hunt was commissioned to paint two 45 foot long murals directly onto the sandstone walls of the Assembly Chamber. They were titled "The Flight of Night" and "Discover" and Hunt considered them to be his magnum opus. Sadly, the ceiling of the Assembly Chamber was deemed unstable and had to be lowered significantly, permanently obscuring the artwork. Future murals that were planned were deserted due to a lack of funding. The destruction of these works are largely attributed to the deepening of his depression and eventual suicide. His ghost still haunts the capitol today, mourning the loss of his greatest works.

The lowered ceiling was intended to be made of solid oak. However, the contractor cheated the state to line his own pockets and instead used oak paneling filled with paper mâché. While this was a contentious issue at the time it ended up saving the Assembly Chamber in 1911 when true tragedy struck.

"Good evening, what are you still doing here?" and old man asked, a lantern in one hand and a silver-handled cane in the other "Working late?"

"Good evening, Mr. Abbott! Oh, well you know…a librarian's work is never done!" the man replied, "Plus the Tammany caucus didn't wrap up until," he glanced at his pocket watch "nearly one o'clock this morning. So I'm just closing up the State Library now. I believe they're still in the Assembly Library up to God knows what! I just worry, I hate that the Assembly uses their library as a social venue…always drinking and smoking…even with their wives around!"

Old man Abbott chuckled, "Well I'll make sure they don't get into too much trouble, that's my job after all!" he said, patting the small firearm on his side.

"I will sleep a little better knowing you're on the lookout" the librarian sighed, "I suppose I'm just a little on edge about it all. With the Triangle Shirtwaist fire last week, I can't stop thinking about what would happen if something like that were to occur here with all the cigarettes flying about"

"Well," Abbott said, thoughtfully, "they say this building is fireproof and I'm sure we'd be able to put out a blaze before it got too serious. Remember the fire a few years ago in the cellar from the electrical? That wasn't a problem. We just shut the doors at it burned itself out."

"You're right, you're right" the librarian replied, "I'm just being overly anxious. Well, goodnight Samuel" the librarian said, waving his hand as he exited the library.

"Goodnight!" Abbott shouted back as he resumed his patrol of the stacks.

Samuel smiled, looking toward the intricate ceilings, drinking in the newfound silence of the library. What a job he had. What a life he had. The relative stillness of the State Capitol at night was a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of the capitol during the day, not dissimilar to the cacophony of the Civil War that oftentimes still rang through his ears

But at night. The night was different. A peaceful, cool stillness that only being surrounded by marble and stone could impart. There was nothing like wandering the corridors alone at night, absorbing the artistry all around him; every night finding some new detail tucked away into the sandstone by some coy artisan.

Despite being an old man of 78, Samuel was happy to be working. He loved being in awe every day. There was always something new, something exciting. The State Library itself, with its hundreds of thousands of books, or even more exciting…the artifact collection. Unique items and treasures from all over the world, and he was able to spend time alone with them. And it was his job to protect them and the employees of the capitol. There was never a night that he didn't find something to excite him, and this night was no different.

"FIRE! FIRE!" a panicked voice shouted from somewhere in the hall. Samuel rushed out of the library as quickly as he could, and he found the man in the hall, looking around, frantic.

"What's going on?" Samuel asked, concerned.

"There's a fire. A fire in the assembly library. It was just a small fire on the desk it could have been put out with just a bucket of water but we couldn't find any…" the man breathed heavily "we thought we'd shut the door and let it burn out while we got something to extinguish it but…but…now it's engulfed the whole library. We have to get everyone out!"

Samuel didn't say a word. He just nodded in understanding and rushed back into the library. He had to do something, "Is anyone in here?!" he shouted through the library, his voice echoing. He just performed his rounds and didn't see anyone, but he had to make sure "There's a fire and we have to evacuate!" He listened. The only thing he could hear was the distant commotion in the Assembly room.

Glancing around at the thousands of books and records around him, Samuel was overcome by the importance of these volumes. Family genealogies, state records, even materials from the founding fathers were in this library. Without a second thought, Samuel made his way around the library, flinging open windows in hopes that it could save the material.

"What are you doing?" someone gasped from the doorway of the library "We have to go!" they shouted before running off.

"I'll be out in a moment!" Samuel grumbled back, continuing his crusade to save the library.

First, smoke began to pour in from one of the other entrances. Then flames leapt out, licking the nearest shelf of books, setting them ablaze. Quickly, the fire spread down the stacks. The smoke was so thick that Samuel could hardly see.

Wheezing, he hobbled on his cane out into the hall. He could hear voices in the distance, but he seemed to be the only one around, everyone else had made it safely out the area of immediate danger. Samuel made his way as quickly as possible to the Grand Staircase but what he saw was a scene out of the ninth circle of hell.

The fire was burning so hot that the staircase was…melting. The staircase was turning into a molten slurry and Samuel could hear cracks forming in the massive skylight above. He pivoted and made his way down a narrow corridor. He knew this building like the back of his hand, this was the closest way out, just through this claustrophobic hallway.

The smoke seared his lungs. He couldn't see. He reached for the keys on his belt, he knew the door would be locked. It was only a hundred feet or so. CRACK! The sound was deafening. The skylight above the Grand Staircase, had shattered. And though it was far behind him, it sounded as though it was just above him. The walls of the corridor were crumbling, the ceiling was falling down. Just 40 more feet. A large chunk of stone fell next to Samuel, just missing him. 30 more feet. He coughed. His eyes were feeling heavy. 20 feet. He grabbed the keys from his belt. 15 feet. The glass of the door he was headed to shattered in front of him, which was fortunate in case he couldn't get the lock. 10 feet. His feet felt heavy, he was losing consciousness. But he was almost there. 5 feet.

Blackness.

Poor Samuel Abbott perished just 5 feet from safety. His body being buried by debris, it would not be found for days. Samuel Abbott was the sole human casualty of the 1911 Capitol Fire. Despite his brave actions, much of the Library's collections and State records were lost. 500,000 books, over 300,000 colonial manuscripts, state census records, revolutionary war records, were destroyed alongside another 10,000 archaeological and ethnographic artifacts. It's said that miraculously, the only items left unscathed by the inferno were the Native American artifacts. Were they protected by ancestor spirits?

The blaze was eventually put out, completely destroying about a quarter of the capitol. Unfortunately, none of the material, not the building were insured. Which was especially detrimental since the fire caused anywhere from 8 million to 12 million dollars in damage. The modern equivalent of 209 to 314 million today.

In a strange twist of fate, the paper mâché paneling in the assembly room that covered up William Morris Hunt's artwork may have helped save the day. If the ceiling in the Assembly was made of solid oak as planned, it would have been destroyed in minutes. However, the filling of the paneling absorbed the water from the firefighter's hoses and slowed the progress of the fire. Saving the Assembly room from total wreckage, and preventing the spread of the fire to the rest of the Capitol.

The jangle of keys can be heard late at night. Locked doorknobs turn and are tugged at. It appears that Samuel's ghost is still wandering the halls. Not in pain, but happily carrying out his nightly duties, ensuring that everyone in the building is safe. Helping to avoid any future tragedy that may befall the Capitol.

For a story about a library fire the accuracy of the articles out there are astoundingly poor. In more than one article William Morris Hunt is called William Morris Hunter. Luckily he's a larger figure in the art world and this is easily remedied but it had been Samuel Abbott that was misnamed it would make research on him much more difficult.

I feel so bad for Samuel Abbott, especially because he was so close to escaping. His body was lost in the ruins and wasn't discovered until March 31st. Here is an excerpt from the Brooklyn Times Union titled "Body is Found in Albany Ruins":

"About 7:30 o'clock this morning, as the men tackled the debris near the entrance, they discovered a charred leg protruding upwards. Shortly after the body was uncovered and taken from the ruins. The head and trunk were not burned, but the four limbs were charred.

Had Abbott been able to continue on his way he would have found safety within five feet. The door, although locked, is partly glass and would have broken easily. It is supposed the smoke drove him out of the library proper, and he was overcome on his way to safety."

This is also the main excerpt I based the narration on, since (naturally) not much is available on what happened to him specifically that night. Though accounts of other staff members are plentiful.

However, I weaved facts in the rest of the narration. Parts of the sandstone did melt under the heat of the flames and the giant skylight completely shattered from the heat. The amount of damage to the building and the records inside it is astounding. While the cause of the fire is still debated, today it's usually attributed to a cigar or cigarette that was discarded improperly during the caucus. However, all the newspapers I read said it was due to faulty wiring, which was the cause of the previous fire in the cellar. There were reports of electrical issues in the Assembly room and the Assembly Library prior to the fire so it is a possibility. Reports on this differ and it's impossible to know now what truly started the blaze. The damage was incredible, and the descriptions of how the building essentially acted as a chimney for flames to shoot through and carry to other parts of the building is horrifying. You can see pictures of the damage on the podcast Instagram. It's worth a look.

This fire still impacts research in the modern day as so many historical records, even those dating to colonial times were destroyed. However, this leads me to address a major part of this story that has become legend: that none of the indigenous artifacts were damaged in the fire.

This obviously is an ominous and spooky fact that has spread over the last century… but it's only partially true. The night of the fire many brave librarians, archivists, and archaeologists did what any of us would do – attempt to save our cultural heritage.

Arthur Parker, the first New York State archaeologist ran the length of the fourth floor hallway brandishing a tomahawk that was passed down through generations of Seneca natives. He used the tomahawk as a fire ax and rescued as many artifacts as he was able. He managed to only save 50 of the 500 Iroquois artifacts on display, but it was better than having them all perish in the flames. So…yes. Some of the indigenous materials were saved, but it was due to human intervention, not the spectral.

Other librarians managed to save rare volumes and artifacts including the original manuscript of George Washington's farewell address and the copy of the Emancipation Proclamation that Abraham Lincoln had written by hand.

One of the more heartwarming things I read in the newspapers were the other librarians from across the world lending assistance and condolences. In an article in the Syracuse Post Standard, Mary J. Sibley, the librarian at Syracuse University, offered the use of the library to the Capitol Building's State Library School. The head librarian from the Imperial University in Tokyo also send kind words and support via telegram.

We'll get back to paranormal ghosts in a moment but the true ghosts of the fire is the hundreds of thousands of lost records that were vital to learning our country's history. However, this fire and the famous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire that happened only days prior, led to major fire safety reforms. Library fires have destroyed many important records: most famously the 1921 fire that destroyed almost the entirety of the 1890 census, or more recently the 2018 museum fire in Brazil that destroyed over 200 years of records and artifacts.

One of the most annoying things I hear surrounding these fires is "Why didn't they have all of it scanned and digital?" And there is so much to unpack here, it would probably take another hour of explaining the intricacies of not only digitization but digital preservation. But here's the cliff notes: most of the world's knowledge is on paper. Well over 90% of it, in fact. Why is it not digital? There's a number of factors—the largest being that digitization is expensive. It takes a lot of manual labor that libraries, museums, and archives do not have the funding or manpower for in addition to storage and maintenance costs. Digital records are also a lot more volatile than paper ones. How many times have you opened a file and it was corrupt? Or you accidentally deleted something from your hard drive? Things like this can wipe out thousands of records in an instant. Also, digital records need constant upkeep as file formats become obsolete and as they suffer from bitrot…yes, digital files do rot…there's a lot. The long and short of it is that paper records are typically easier to preserve. Ideally you would have the paper copies and numerous copies of digital surrogates stored in different geographic locations with different natural disaster threats. But I digress.

The moral of the story is digital media is more prone to destruction and requires constant upkeep while paper records can be managed with benign neglect.

Okay, sorry for the lecture. Let's talk about the ghosts we haven't met yet—the unnamed fruit vendor and the construction worker.

The spirit of the vendor was said to be discovered when a female tour guide was locking up for the night when she saw a large, black mass fall from one of the upper floors to ground below. To her surprise, there was nothing there. After telling her fellow tour guides they were confused because there had never been ghost sightings in that portion of the building. It was later discovered that in 1890 a depressed fruit vendor flung himself from the fourth floor Senate Chamber staircase and died. There are numerous reports of people seeing something fall from the staircase and when they look they have seen a man bleeding out on the stones. However, once they go to get help there is nothing there upon their return.

Surprisingly, no articles name this fruit vendor which had me doubting his existence. I came across the story on a fluke and I would never have found this information if it wasn't for some faulty OCR..which if you don't know is optical character recognition. Essentially computer readings of scanned images. I was searching for fruit vendors in 1890 using modern spelling "v-e-n-d-o-r" but luckily the OCR on a newspaper was incorrect and I still go the hit. It turns out in 1890 it was spelled "v-e-n-d-e-r" and for some really odd reason, the story of the fruit vendor's suicide was exclusive to this Brooklyn newspaper. Brooklyn is nowhere near Albany but again, I digress.

The story is honestly super graphic and surprising for a Victorian-era article, but the article from the Brooklyn Citizen reads as follows:

An Unusual Suicide: A Fruit Vender Kills Himself in the State Capitol (special to the citizen)

Albany, April 17th: At about 8:45 this morning Jacob Thorne, a sidewalk fruit vender, jumped or fell down the Senate staircase, a distance of eighty-five feet, to the second floor and was instantly killed, his head being crushed to jelly. He was about 65 years of age, and had been in ill health for some time, and was supposed by many to be slightly deranged. The suicide theory is accepted, as the body lay almost in the centre of the court"

So, now we know that his name was Jacob Thorne. Why he's never mentioned by name anywhere is beyond me. I tried to do more research into him, and I thought I came across him…a farmer named Jacob Thorne in the Albany area. At first it appeared that he was still alive after 1890 but when I saw he was listed on a census for no reason, his wife was listed as widowed, I thought it may be him. But alas, it was not. I searched for a good amount of time through numerous resources and only came across the Jacob Thorne that was not him. This leads me to believe either the records were destroyed or perhaps he was black. But I'm just glad that his name is out there now, because the dead should be remembered.

This includes the construction worker who's spirit may or may not haunt the grounds. In all the stories it is said that a man who was plastering the ceilings in the Senate Assembly room in 1878 fell on a Saturday night and he wasn't discovered until Monday morning, still alive. Doctor's attempted to save his life but he died two days later. Is this story the truth?

According to the Buffalo Courier and the Poughkeepsie Eagle, on Monday, October 29, 1878, two men had fallen while working on the capital building on the same day, at different times, and were both seriously injured. So there's one discrepancy, there were two men: Patrick Stanton and John Hunt. Stanton fell from the scaffolding while Hunt fell through a ventilation hole in the ceiling when removing its co ver. Yet another inaccuracy is that this incident occurred on a Monday and not over the weekend as the story goes. They were both immediately taken to the hospital for medical attention.

Neither of them appears to have died. Though there was a John Hunter that died the same day who was a mason. However, he's buried in Brooklyn. It's possible it was him, but the name isn't an exact match. The articles title…which I must read since it is…something else does say that there was a death from injuries. The title is "Important River News: Items from our Exchanges ; Two Accidents At The Capital - Died From His Injuries - The Body of Eagan Found In The River - Fires - A Pet Dog Roasted In An Oven - Strange Disappearance Of An Aged Lady - Sad Accident in Troy"

This…is a sidebar we need to touch on. I come across so many bizarre stories when reading newspapers. The dog story…I just need to share. I shouldn't laugh but it's so weird!

"A lady living on Front Street, west of Swan, had a favorite little pet dog about the house up to Thursday last. On that day he mysteriously disappeared, and Sunday, when the lady had occasion to open for the first time since Thursday, the oven door of the kitchen stove, the roast remains of the per were found" WHAT. I need to know more. But that's not why were' here.

Curiously, the article also mentions that there was a fatality of someone by the name Riley in the Assembly room due to ventilation holes which had been covered at this point. Is this the ghost of the worker who fell? Or is this an additional death not mentioned previously. Either way, this is a mystery that I unfortunately spent over an hour trying to figure out and one that for now, will remain unsolved. If either of these men were to die it seems it would have been John Hunt as he was suffering from "intense internal pain" that they couldn't find the cause of.

The ghost of William Morris Hunt is said to be felt in the Assembly Chamber where his prized works were covered up and then later destroyed. No one has ever seen his ghost, but instead he has been "felt" and the lights will occasionally flicker. Which could be his ghost…but it makes me think of the faulty wiring that may have ignited the blaze. The doorknobs in the room also rattle and doors slam shut and open on their own.

However, I like to think this is the ghost of Samuel Abbott, making sure doors are locked and shut as he makes his nightly rounds. The idea that Mr. Abbott is still trying to keep people safe, that this building has a guardian spirit makes me smile. And on this smile-worthy note we shall close.

There is so much history that was lost and so much history to uncover at the New York State Capitol, an hour could be dedicated to all the information I couldn't fit in. I'm recording this episode on Tuesday night because I spent way too much time investigating some of these ghosts!

If you have any places you want me to investigate, please let me know! Tell a friend about this podcast if you think they'd like it. So please, stay away from scaffolding, say thank-you to your local librarian, and as always stay curious and stay spooky. Bye~