HGB Ep. 513 - Haunted Fort Lauderdale

Moment in Oddity - Stoneman Willie

When someone says, "I love my mummy", many people assume that the person speaking those words are referring to their mother. However in Reading, Pennsylvania, those sentiments could be referring to a mummified corpse. The Auman Funeral Home had been caring for a mummified corpse known as Stoneman Willie since he died in 1895. According to records, the mummy had been on display for 128 years. Those records show that Willie was picked up for drunkenness then released and shortly thereafter he was arrested again for breaking into a boarding house. The prison warden stated that Willie stood at 5 feet 11 inches and possessed sandy brown hair and a mustache. Willie died while in custody after his second arrest. Stoneman Willie was recently interred on October 7th, 2023 in Reading, Pennsylvania at the Forest Hills Memorial Park cemetery. The funeral home's director said that researchers are fairly certain that Stoneman Willie was actually James Murphy of New York who was of Irish decent and was in Reading for a convention. Willie's corpse, or James as it were, had become an icon of the area and attracted tourism to the funeral home. Be that as it may, he is no longer laying in state but is comfortably resting 6 feet under with a granite tombstone bearing both of his names. An informational relief will be added shortly and his whole burial story, certainly is odd.

This Month in History - Days of Our Lives Debut

In the month of November, on the 8th in 1965, the soap opera 'Days of Our Lives' premiered. The episode was titled, "Beyond Salem, Days of Our Lives: A Very Salem Christmas". This Daytime Emmy Award winning show has been broadcasted practically every weekday since that debut episode. The original show consisted of seven main characters. Tom and Alice Horton, Mickey Horton, Marie Horton, Julie Olson, Tony Merritt and Craig Merritt. Dr. Tom Horton, played by Macdonald Carey was a cast member from the shows inception until his death in March of 1994. He is still heard voicing the epigraph, "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the Days of Our Lives", as well as the outro to commercial breaks. Frances Reid played Tom's wife Alice, the shows matriarch. She was a cast member for 42 years. Fans of the show are familiar with the fondness of Alice Horton's doughnuts that always worked their way into so many storylines. Over the years many core character actors have remained. Dr. Marlena Evans and John Black played by Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn, Bo and Hope and so many more. With such a long running show and so many actors that have stayed for 10, 20 and even 30+ years one can imagine the set is more like a family than just a job. Here's to many more, "Days of Our Lives".  

Haunted Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale means fun in the sun at a beach for most people. But this oceanside town has another side. There are many haunted locations here and for good reason. The Seminoles fought with settlers, the titans of industry made this their playground and this is the Venice of America with 165 miles of scenic inland waterways. Water is a key conduit for paranormal activity. In October, we met up with our listeners Amanda and Charlotte and had some dinner and then headed off for a ghost tour. Join us as we share the history and hauntings of Fort Lauderdale!

Fort Lauderdale was originally known as New River Settlement. Before European settlers moved in, the Tequesta tribe was in South Florida and their dwindling numbers merged with the Seminoles. The Seminoles were a fiercely independent people and when the Spaniards came, they called them "maroons" or "wild, free people" because they couldn't be subjugated. The United States military built a stockade at the fork of the New River in 1838 and named it Fort Lauderdale after Major William Lauderdale. He led a detachment of Tennessee Volunteers during the Second Seminole War. Two other forts were built and named for him, one at Tarpon Bend and another at Bahia Mar. Fort Lauderdale was abandoned in 1842 and there weren't many people who lived here until the 1890s. The city itself wouldn't be incorporated until March 27, 1911. The city grew fast though and is today one of the ten largest cities in Florida.  

We had dinner at Batch New Southern Kitchen & Tap, which features scratch cooked southern culinary food and craft drinks like beer and root beer. The root beer was amazing and the food was great too! Then we walked up to the downtown area to meet our tour group under the Thrive Sculpture, which to us looked pretty creepy. It features the giant upper torso of a woman ripping her chest open. We were told it was installed after Covid. Lina was our guide. Our group walked down towards the Riverwalk and stopped at the 9/11 Memorial that is there, which was made from a piece of debris from one of the twin towers. The walk goes along the New River. A train goes through this area as well and Lina told us that people occasionally claim to see shadow figures along the tracks because people have died on the tracks.

Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale

The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale got its start in 1968. The school changed locations a few times and added buildings to campus before closing in 2018. One of the buildings was an apartment complex off Sunrise Boulevard that was used as a dormitory called Sunrise Hall. Before the apartment complex was here, there was a three-story wooden home that probably started as a boarding house and eventually became what residents of the city called a den of filth. During the 1940s it became a flophouse and this lasted through the 1960s with the police making regular stops to deal with drugs, prostitution and murder. The building became a real eyesore and finally burned to the ground in the late 1960s. A small, apartment-style hotel was built on the spot and it was quite popular in the 1970s. There were a few stories of strange happenings, but paranormal stories didn't really start coming out until the school started using the building as a dormitory. Students claimed to hear strange sounds, particularly on the second and third floors. The most regular sound was moaning, which always started around 1 am. After a few minutes, the moaning would trail off, only to start again. There is no cause found for the moaning. The sounds of metal tools being dropped had also been heard. High heeled shoes are heard clicking on the first floor around 3 am. The walking goes towards the door and then goes away. Then shortly there after, the shoes sound as if they are running back in from the door and then stop as quickly as they started. Shadow figures were seen walking the halls at night and some students claimed to see shadow standing outside the windows of their rooms and when they would look outside, they would see no one there. They go back into their room and see that the shadow was still there. The shadow would eventually go away.

Esplanade Park 

Esplanade Park is today a community center for the residents of Fort Lauderdale, but it once was the scene of some bloody attacks. This park is down by the Fort Lauderdale Riverwalk and has gardens and a pavilion. A fort had once stood where the park is now and had vast stores of ammunition and gunpowder. The Seminoles had formed a partnership with some mercenaries and this group of ten men broke into the fort and tried to smuggle out some explosives, but were caught. The commander decided to burn down the garrison with the mercenaries inside and they were killed. For years, the Seminoles and settlers fought with each other over land and this came to a head after a group of settlers assassinated the Seminole chief who was named Alabama. They then burned down his hut. The Justice of the Peace was named William Cooley and he arrested those responsible, but had to let them go because there wasn't enough evidence. Both the Seminole and Creek blamed Cooley for no justice and they planned to get revenge. The Second Seminole War broke out and on January 4, 1836, a group of Creek Indians attacked Cooley's homestead when he was away and killed his three children, his wife and the children's tutor, whom they also scalped. They then burned the house. This homestead was just a bit down from Esplanade Park.

Now it is said that the park is haunted because of the attack at Cooley's home and the killing of the mercenaries. The mercenaries appear as grotesque zombies with rotting flesh and open wounds. A man who was walking his dog along the Riverwalk felt a tugging on his shoes. He looked down to see a skeletal hand clutching his ankle from the ground and the man ran and called the police. The police actually found the bones still there when they got to the park and those bones were carbon-dated to the Third Seminole War. There are those who think this might be a mass burial site. Lina told us that a man had been walking through the park and he took a break on the bench. He tied his shoes, sat up and noticed a man was sitting next to him. He looked over and it was someone covered in blood, wearing indigenous clothing looking at him, who then disappeared.

Lucky's Tavern

Lucky's Tavern is the "Home of the 3-Legged Dog" and offers over 100 beers. Fort Lauderdale attracted mobs and gangs and one of these mobsters was standing in the doorway when he was shot and killed. The bar had been a pretty violent place. Staff members claim to feel strange things in the bar. One evening, a bouncer was laying his head down on the bar because he was tired and he felt something nudge him. He looked up and no one was near him so he laid his head back down. Then he felt another little push. He looked up again and still no one. The bouncer laid his head down one more time and was violently pushed off his chair. This time when he looked up, he saw a dark figure and it scared him. The bouncer told his boss and the boss told him that he shouldn't sleep on the job. People claim to feel cold spots and to see shadows in the bathroom. Female bartenders have been touched inappropriately by something they can't see. A woman in a long Victorian dress with her hair pulled back has also been seen here, missing her feet.

Original Fat Cat's Bar

There are really no public records about this location. Today its a dive bar with great food and live music. (43 minutes in is music) This was a residence for a time and a family was living there in the 1960s. The husband was found dead in the house from cardiac arrest, but the really strange thing is that his hair turned white. A few years later another family set up a business in the building. This was now the 1970s and they were selling clothing. Unexplained things started happening like patrons seeing shadows and being scared by something. The family claimed to hear strange chanting. They also saw a group of figures standing in a circle. Rumors circulated that something demonic was connected to the location. A group of paranormal investigators was brought in and they collected some evidence using some old experiments. A journal was discovered beneath the floor boards and as they flipped through it, they realized it had belonged to a warden and that got historians thinking that this had once been a jail. The warden wrote down his beliefs about rehabilitating prisoners and torture was the cure to him. There were forty-two prisoners under him and he would torture them every day with both physical and mental means. Neighbors finally called the police after getting tired of hearing the screams of the men. Before they shut down the jail, the warden poisoned all the inmates and then the guards, his wife, his children and himself. People claim to see shadows looking out of the windows. 

Fire Station 3

Firefighters were at Fire Station 3 for 77 years. They moved onto a new station and this one became a museum. The fire station was designed to look like the houses around it and even the interior was more home-like with a dining room, kitchen, living room and bedrooms that branched off a hallway. The only real difference was the engine bay where the fire trucks were parked. For years, firefighters at the station had weird experiences that convinced them that there was a ghost in their midst. They thought the spirit might date back to the 1940s because a firefighter named Robert Leland Knight died on his second week in the job. He stepped into a pool of water that had been electrified by a downed power line. The activity continued even after the firefighters moved out. Guides have reported seeing lights turn on and off, and locked doors and windows will suddenly swing open. This spirit likes to pull pranks. One day, a man was doing some repair work on a tile wall and he had heard the stories about the ghost. He decided to ask for his opinion so he queried, "Robert, tell me if you like what I’m doing." There was a loud noise in the other room, so he went to investigate and when he came back, almost all the tile work he had done was off the wall and neatly stacked on the floor.

Museum of Science & Discovery

This is a large building that opened in 1992 and is the most visited museum in the state of Florida. There are lots of displays, interactive programs, overnight experiences and an IMAX Theater. There was a sitting area outside the entrance and Lina invited us to sit down while she shares some legend connected to the site. A family had lived here with a three-year-old daughter. The father was an alcoholic and he would get very drunk every night. One night he didn't come home and his wife and child went out to look for him and they found him drowned in the New River. The mother went into a deep depression and she decided to take her life, but she couldn't leave her daughter behind so she threw herself and her daughter into the river and they drowned also. Staff at the museum claim to find puddles throughout the museum where there shouldn't be water and even wet foot prints. The scent of whiskey is also smelled. There are some people who believe that the spirit of the little girl haunts the New River Inn, which is right down the Riverwalk. And that brings us to Fort Lauderdale's historic village.

The New River Inn

The New River Inn was one of the first hotels in the area. Philemon Nathaniel Bryan was one of the founders of Fort Lauderdale. He was born near Jasper in Hamilton County in 1844 where we investigated the Old Hamilton County Jail. Philemon married Lucy Catherine Murray in 1867 and they had seven children. He had a citrus grove that he lost to frost, so he moved the family to Fort Lauderdale to start over.  The railroad would become his focus and was given the job of supervising the laborers laying track for Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railway. The Bryans had a house across from the railroad station and they used it as a boarding house. Bryan saw the success a luxury hotel could have if it was built near the railroad station and so he replaced the boarding house with The Bryan Hotel. Contractor Edwin T. King built the hotel from hollow concrete blocks formed from beach sand. No rebar was used in the construction, rather this is considered a “gravity building” with the same kind of structure as the pyramids of Egypt where the weight of the blocks ensures its strength. The New River Inn was unprecedented in its luxury for the community and opened in 1905, featuring twenty-four rooms and two bathrooms. King also built the Bryans a concrete block house in the Colonial Revival style at 227 Southwest 2nd Avenue. That house still stands and is considered the oldest remaining example of residential masonry architecture in Fort Lauderdale. Philemon died in the house in 1925 at the age of eighty-four. Lucy died a year before Philemon after breaking her hip slipping on a pea pod on the front porch of the Bryan's former home when she was seventy-two and people claim that her spirit haunts the home. A Yoga Studio had once used the home and patrons claimed that when they would look in the mirror, they would see the image of an elderly lady with her silver hair in a bun and dressed in a black wool dress. She would give the startled patrons a friendly smile.

If you visit both the hotel and house, you will see they are made from the exact same concrete block. Eventually the name of the hotel was changed to the New River Inn. The hotel ran for 50 years before being closed in 1955. Today, it is a museum that pays homage to Florida’s past and pioneer life and still features the same wood floors and front desk. The museum has a few ghosts hanging out as well. On the tour we were told there were three spirits in the museum, but only one had been identified. They believe that spirit is Bryan himself. And we did find other claims that people see the spirit of an elderly gentleman resembling Bryan in his former hotel. But unfortunately, the story we were told behind his haunting here couldn't be more wrong. We were told that he passed away while trying to save his three children during a hurricane and that the children survived. Well, as you know from what we told you, Bryan died when he was 84. He had been ill for over a year. He more than likely is here, not because of tragedy, but because he loved the hotel. Lina went on to tell us that a tall, dark figure wearing a long coat has been seen and this figure has no face. When confronted, this ghost has thrown its arms up and asked, "What are you looking at?" There are those who think he was a visiting railroad man who died at the hotel. The third spirit seems to be a young girl of five or six. A staff member once saw a little girl kneeling down and they went up to talk to her. This person looked away for a moment and then looked back at the girl and she was gone. The belief is that she might be a girl who drowned in the river, either the daughter of the whiskey drinking man we mentioned earlier or some other child, possibly Lulu Marshall who had been a student of Ivy Stranahan - the Stranahans were a founding family of the city as well. Many died from yellow fever in the city. The girl likes to play with toys and has been seen looking out of the windows.

King-Cromartie House

Another building that is part of the historic village is the King-Cromartie House, which was moved to its location right next to the New River Inn. Legend claims that it was built from the wood of a sunken ship that was found down closer by Miami. This was built by Edwin T. King who was another early settler of Fort Lauderdale. He and his brother built some temporary homes before sending for their families. After Ed's family arrived, he petitioned the city for a school and a woman named Ivy Cromartie came to be the first school teacher. She was joined by her brother Bloxham who would end up marrying Ed's daughter Louise. The King-Cromartie house was built from Dade County pine in the four square Georgian style and completed in 1907 and was originally one-story with a dining room, living room and two bedrooms. A second-story was added later with two bedrooms and a bathroom. Eventually, Louise and Bloxham inherited the house and the couple had two children. The house stayed in the family until 1968. Louise was living in it with her brother Bird King at that time. They sold the house to a man named Stan Smoker and he deeded the house to the Junior League of Fort Lauderdale. In 1994, The Fort Lauderdale Historical Society took over the house and opened it to the public as the King-Cromartie House Museum, which we toured. Daniel Smith was our guide and he was a wealth of information. The house is filled with antiques, only a couple of which were original to the family. Daniel had maps to show us where the house had originally been built and pictures showing how the Junior League of Fort Lauderdale barged the house upriver to this site in 1971 to save it from demolition.

On a side note, we figured out what had gotten mixed up with the history about Philemon Bryan when learning about Ed King. Ed eventually moved from Fort Lauderdale to Lake Okeechobee and he died there during a hurricane in 1928. He dove into the water to save two children and lost his life. He was found after the waters receded, still holding one of the children. The house is said to be haunted by Louise King-Cromartie. Her translucent apparition is often seen looking out of an upstairs window wearing a white dress. She has also been seen walking inside the house and sometimes is in a pink dress with her blonde hair up in a messy bun. Visitors often report hearing children playing and laughing and this may be because there is a schoolhouse that is part of the historic village as well. Disembodied footsteps are heard in the house and the swing on the front porch has been seen rocking back and forth entirely on its own.

Schoolhouse

Daniel took us over to the schoolhouse, which is behind the King-Cromartie House. This is not an original schoolhouse, but a replica. Many of the artifacts inside though are authentic and people claim that they hear the disembodied sounds of children laughing and playing.

Stranahan House

The Stranahan House we were unable to visit because it was closed while were in Fort Lauderdale and we couldn't even drive past it because of construction. The house is said to be an "excellent example of Florida vernacular architecture." This was built by Frank Stranahan. Stranahan had been born in Ohio in 1864. He worked in a Youngstown, Ohio steel mill and this impaired his lungs, so he moved to Florida in 1890 seeking a better environment. He settled first in Melbourne, until a cousin offered him a job at the New River Camp at Fort Lauderdale and he arrived in 1893. That first job was managing the overland mail route. He also started a ferry service to help people get over the New River. Frank built a house for him to not only live in, but to service his enterprises, so this had a waiting area for the ferry and a post office. Frank also opened the house up as a type of trading post and he not only welcomed the white settlers, but Seminoles as well. He was liked by everybody and is seen as a founding father of the city.

We mentioned Ivy Cromartie earlier as the first school teacher in Fort Lauderdale. She was only eighteen years old when she moved to the town in 1899. Frank fell in love with Ivy, and asked her to marry him, but she said she would only accept under two conditions: he needed to shave his beard and he had to agree to not have children. She clearly liked children since she was a teacher, but it is thought she was traumatized when she helped her mother during a horrendous childbirth that didn't go well. The couple married in 1900 and Frank set about expanding the house into two-and-a-half-stories. The first floor had his office, a parlor, dining room and kitchen, while the second floor had six rooms: a master bedroom, two smaller bedrooms, a sewing room and two guest rooms and there was a bathroom up there as well. The whole house was constructed from Dade County Pine and there were verandas on both floors. The house was ahead of its time with indoor plumbing, running water and electricity. 

Ivy taught the children of Fort Lauderdale for seventeen years and she also taught the Seminole children for fifteen years. She created the "Friends of the Seminoles" Foundation and helped to establish Everglades National Park, while also championing women's suffrage. The Stranahans had a great life...and then the Stock Market crashed. It wiped out most of Frank's assets, save his farming interests. A hurricane that same year wiped out the farming ventures. Then a trip to the doctor revealed that Frank had terminal cancer. He was told he had six months to live and he fell into a deep depression. Frank tried to kill himself during a hospital and he was sent to an asylum. Ivy was desperate to have him brought home so that he could die in peace there. She petitioned the authorities and they let him go home. And then she watched him like a hawk, never leaving him alone because she was afraid he would attempt suicide again. One day, she left him alone outside for just a moment, but it was long enough for Frank to tie himself to a heavy metal object and drown himself in the New River.

Ivy turned her beloved home into a boarding house to make ends meet. Frank's suicide meant she couldn't collect his life insurance money. She eventually leased the first floor to a restaurant. Ivy died in her sleep in 1971 and the restaurant continued to run in the house until 1979. When it closed, the house was given to the 7th Day Adventist Church to which Ivy had been a lifelong member. The church sold the house to the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society. The house was restored to its 1915 look on both the interior and exterior and opened as a museum. The Stranahans had it painted white with green trim and that is what it is today. A hurricane-proof roof was put on the structure in 1996. The interior has Victorian era furniture with many original pieces to the Stranahans, including Ivy's china.

The house is said to be haunted. One spirit is believed to belong to Ivy's sister Pink. Pink's husband had gone away on what he called a business trip and Pink was pregnant and didn't want to be alone, so she came to stay at the Stranahan House. She had lost three previous pregnancies. She ended up losing this one as well after she heard news that her husband had left her for his wife, whom Pink had no idea existed. Pink hemorrhaged badly and refused to go to the hospital and she died in the parlor. Paranormal investigator John Marc Carr wrote the book "Haunted Fort Lauderdale" and he wrote in that about an investigation he conducted. EVPs that he collected made him think that Pink had wanted her husband arrested and is still seeking that in the afterlife. Pink asked where Clark was and he was the sheriff of Fort Lauderdale back at her time. Two orbs are seen traveling together at times and it is surmised that this is Pink and her unborn child.

Ivy's brother Albert was a black sheep of the family who enjoyed carousing around, gambling, drinking and sleeping with ladies of the evening. One of the latter gave him TB and he died from it in the Stranahan House six months later. His spirit manifests as a bit playful, but inappropriate at times. Albert has yelled, "Get out!" on EVPs. His spirit isn't the only family member here. Ivy's father, Augustus Cromartie, became ill and she had him move into the house where he died. This is today the gift shop and his presence is felt in there. He doesn't like change and he will throw things like books when displeased. Sometimes he will make the shop ice cold. And then, of course, Frank is here. Both visitors and staff have seen Frank's apparition in the house, but he is also seen jumping in the New River in a residual manner.

Ivy's spirit is still said to be in the house as well. Nobody is sure who the spirit is that helps out on the stairs leading up to the attic. They are narrow and can be dangerous and many times, staff have felt a cold hand on their backs steadying them on the stairs. Occasionally, the scent of a perfume that Ivy worry is in the area, so some people think that she is the helper. If Ivy gets upset with someone, she tends to blow in their ears. Otherwise, she is very pleasant. Ivy had taught Seminole children and a story claims that a young Seminole girl showed up on her doorstep one day and passed away. Her voice has been picked up on EVPs. She not only answers questions, but she likes to sing and chant. The girl has a sweet tooth and likes candy. She will take candy out of a jar that sits on Frank's desk in his office and staff will find it piled up in the attic.

Fort Lauderdale is more than just a fun Spring Break destination. Ghost enthusiasts who love history will have a great time here as well. Are these locations in Fort Lauderdale haunted? That is for you to decide!

HGB Ep. 512 - Old Stagecoach Inn

Moment in Oddity - Cannibalistic Funerals

Over the years we have covered different funerary practices, some heartwarming and others that are a bit bizarre. One such practice that falls into the latter category was performed by a group of prehistoric people called the Magdalenians. This ancient society practiced cannibalism as part of their funerary rituals. The Magdalenian remains being studied lived between 11,000 to 17,000 years ago in Northern and Western Europe. There were 25 sites where funerary behaviors were identified, 13 of which had evidence of cannibalism. Researchers say that based on the evidence found, it appears that the behavior was indeed funerary in nature, rather than supplemental to their diet. As could have been the case due to a harsh winter or something similar. The dead were clearly consumed and even the bones of the deceased were fashioned into usable items. Larger bones were found to have been broken open to access the marrow. Although evidence shows that the culture consumed large animals like deer and horses, the remains of the humans show careful preparation and even engraving on some of the bones found. From society to society there can be a wide variety of funeral practices observed, however consuming a deceased family member, certainly is odd.

This Month in History - First Patented Bra

In the month of November, on the 3rd in 1914, the United States issued a patent for the first over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder. Our female listeners probably look forward to getting home at the end of a long day and removing this article of clothing. However, during the early 19th century the corset was the usual undergarment women still needed to wear. 19-year-old socialite Mary Phelps Jacob first created a bra to avoid wearing her corset. During the time, corsets were incredibly uncomfortable not only due to the tightness hindering breathing but the garment also limited the wearers freedom of movement. Once the bra was created, most women just wore them around the house after removing their corsets. However, once World War I began the call for metal needed in the war efforts, the metal previously used in the restricting corsets was pulled for the military needs. At that time the bra really took off. Well, we still like to take them off after a long day, but just think about the corset alternative. Mary Jacob, who changed her name to Caresse Crosby, never did gain a large profit from her creation. She sold the patent to The Warner Brothers Corset Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut for the current equivalent of $21,000.

Old Stagecoach Inn

Stagecoach stops have a knack for being haunted. This isn't surprising due to the amount of activity that these locations experienced throughout history. The stagecoach was the best form of transportation across land before the railroad stretched across America. The Old Stagecoach Inn in Vermont served as a stagecoach stop as well as a tavern. Eventually, the building became a private residence and a former owner named Margaret Spencer might still be here in the afterlife. Join us as we explore the history and hauntings of the Old Stagecoach Inn! 

Do you know why a stagecoach had that name? Because they traveled in "stages" of 10 to 15 miles. The Old Stagecoach Inn is located in the center of Waterbury Village in Vermont. In 1763, the land that would become Waterbury was granted by a charter from King George III through Governor Benning Wentworth of New Hampshire. This was the Winsooki River Valley, which had been home to the Mohican and Pennacook people, tribes that were Algonquian-speaking. James Marsh was the first white settler in the area, but he was soon joined by other settlers who named the town after their original hometown of Waterbury, Connecticut. This was a strategic location for travelers going from Montpelier to Burlington or from the Mad River Valley to Stowe. Waterbury would be a perfect place for a stagecoach stop and Waterbury's first lawyer, Dan Carpenter, set out to do just that. Or it could have been a man named Mr. Allen. Or was it Mr. Parmalee? Tracking down who built this location is difficult. 

Whoever the original owner was, it is clear from paperwork that construction was done by Horace and Henry Atkins and it was completed in 1826. This ran as a a tavern and inn that was quite plain and done in the Federal style. The Main Street was turned into a toll road because of all the travel and was named the Winooski Toll Road. There was an Anti-Masonic Movement that started in 1826 and it formed America's first third political party, the Anti-Masonic Party. The catalyst for the movement was the disappearance of William Morgan who had been a bricklayer. Morgan had belonged to the Masons and apparently had written a book revealing many of the organization's secrets. Members were sworn to secrecy so this was big no-no. No trace could be found of Morgan and rumors started circulating that the Masons had murdered him. The Anti-Masonic Party put up their first presidential candidate, William Wirt, in 1831 and he managed to only win the state of Vermont. The party declined after that, but this win is an indication of how unwelcome Masons were in Vermont. So for them to have a meeting, they had to seek out back rooms in place like taverns. So the Old Stagecoach Stop became their meeting location. This was the King David Lodge.

By 1848, stagecoaches were giving way to the railroad, which arrived through central Vermont that year. There were still people taking the stagecoach on north and south routes though. The railroad was a boom for Waterbury, which attracted people who needed a place to stop on their way to new hotels being built in the mountains at Stowe, Vermont. There was a stable barn in back that had been painted lead black for a time, possibly in mourning for President Lincoln. In 1898, the electric trolley came to town and that was the last nail in the coffin for the stagecoach. It was out of business after that. The trolley would run until 1932, when people started using automobiles mostly.

A family named the Carpenters had owned the Old Stagecoach Inn for a time and they sold it to the Henry family who were very prominent in Waterbury and it came to be known as the Henry Farm. By 1890, the inn was mainly known as "Miss Annette Henry’s Home" because she kept the inn as a residence. Annette had been born in Waterbury as Margaret Annette Henry in 1850. Most people called her Nettie. Her family was very wealthy and she was described as high spirited and she was quite the character. She always wore her hair up in a bun, revealing her high cheekbones. She was very different than most women in town. Nettie loved to smoke cigarettes, which at the time was considered a sin in the town. She would often have her chauffeur take her for long rides so she could smoke in private. He claimed that she also seemed to like to chew tobacco and he often would notice tobacco stains at the corners of her mouth. Later in life, she lost her hearing and would carry an ear horn so she could hear people. She also wore a dark celluloid eyeshade in her elder years. So you can imagine she was quite the sight.

In 1903, Nettie married a rubber baron named Albert H. Spencer. The wealthy couple not only had the Waterbury inn, but also a house in Newport, a suite at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City and apartments in Paris and London. They decided to refresh the inn and update the look. The narrow profile of the Federal style was kept, but Queen Anne Victorian elements were added like a gable above the roof line, clapboard sheathing and a decorative chimney. The couple also added a third floor for an upper floor apartment, stained glass around the windows, a framed tapestry in the front hall and wood paneling throughout. The couple meant to keep the house as a private residence, but they were rarely there and eventually it reverted back to a hotel. In 1907, Albert Spencer died in London and rumors started swirling about Nettie Spencer's life. People claim that she and Albert had been having an affair before they married and a child was born out of wedlock. When Nettie returned to Waterbury, the local women snubbed her a bit perhaps being jealous over her having become a part of international high society. Some stories claimed she was active in bootlegging when Prohibition started.

One might think that Nettie caused some of her own troubles as well by flaunting her automobiles around town. One was a Lincoln Phaeton, which is an extraordinarily cool looking car. If you aren't familiar, it looks a lot like Cruella Deville's vehicle. And she made sure that it got noticed because she regularly told her driver to "Step on it!" If he responded that it wasn't safe for them to drive so fast, she would retort, "I’m paying you to drive the way I want." And she always made sure that he stopped before they got too close to the railroad overpass when a train was coming through because she didn't want to "get any of that shit on the car" referring to the smoke and cinders. Nettie was domineering and tight with her money - let's just call her thrifty - but she also could be generous as long as people followed her directions to put the money in the bank "immediately." A woman who had been a little girl in the 1930s remembered calling on Mrs. Spencer to see if she would buy bags of candy to fund a club she belonged to and Mrs. Spencer had invited her in to sit in a gold chair. Apparently, Nettie often invited the young girls in town to sit in her gold chair that many were lead to believe was solid gold. They all commented that it was like sitting on a throne. 

In November 1927, the Great Flood of Vermont occurred and hit Waterbury fairly hard. Three days of rain caused the Winooski River to flood and it was so powerful that it carried away barns, bridges, livestock, houses and even railroad tracks. Waterbury had a flood plain which helped, but houses in lower lying areas were carried off and debris piling up on one end of Main Street cause much of the property there to flood. At the Old Stagecoach Inn, waters rose to the second level, but the house survived and was repaired. It took months for the rest of the town to recover and for bridges to be rebuilt.

By the end of World War II, Nettie was approaching 100 years of age and her mind was starting to go. She needed constant supervision. A night nurse who took care of Mrs. Spencer said, "She had two favorite pastimes—singing hymns and smoking. We would share a hymnal, rock and sing with gusto for ten or fifteen minutes. She would then have a cigarette or two, and we would start all over again. She would smoke her cigarette down to the very tip and then flick it as far as she could. It delighted her to see me scamper after it. It was an old house, and I was afraid of fire. I would rush and pick up the butts and place them in a saucer. She, however, thought I was collecting them to take home to my husband and accused me of it nightly." Eventually, the need for constant care lead to Nettie moving to a nursing facility in Massachusetts. She died there in 1947 and was brought back to Waterbury where she was interred in the Spencer Mausoleum at Hope Cemetery.

Nettie's former home and undergone many changes through the years, not only to the architectural styling, but also the grounds. Much of the land that the former farm had sat upon had been sold. C.B. Norton bought the property in 1948 and used it for two businesses. He ran his office for agricultural implements  out of the house and then he and his wife rented out rooms, some of which they had converted into apartments with their own kitchens and bathrooms. Mr. Norton died in 1972 and the place basically became a run-down boarding house with many of the clientele being mentally ill people who were getting out-treatment from the nearby asylum. This was the Vermont State Asylum for the Insane and was also known as the Waterbury Asylum. It was built in 1890 by several architects in three styles: Late Victorian, Colonial Revival and Classical Revival. This facility was built to alleviate overcrowding at the Vermont Asylum for the Insane in Brattleboro, Vermont. Waterbury Asylum was originally intended to house the criminally insane, but through the years started allowing people with addictions and other mental illness to be admitted. One of the longest running superintendents was Dr. Eugene A. Stanley who was a big proponent of eugenics and he supported forced sterilization. The term "Waterbury" was used as a derogatory term for years to indicate that someone was acting insane. The hospital closed in 2011.

Mrs. Norton tried to do her best after her husband passed to keep the boarding house going and she eventually was forced to sell what little land was left on the property. Mrs. Norton passed away in the early 1980s and the once grand home was a wreck leaving the town wondering what to do with the property. They knew they didn't want to demolish it because of its historical value, but finding someone who not only had the money to refurbish, but also wanted to refurbish wasn't easy. That is when Bostonians Kimberlee and James Marcotte found out about the property. Kim had grown up in Waterbury ans was very familiar with the location. They decided to renovate the building into a country inn and take it back to its former glory. Jim was well-suited for the job as he was a contractor that specialized in restoring old houses. Kim was a decorator, which was a plus. The couple partnered with the Historical Society and got a small business loan and set about to restore the place in 1985. They gutted a first floor room and transformed it into a library and bar. The stable barn and back house were transformed into five efficiency suites for long-term stays. A commercial kitchen was added and original handhewn beams were exposed. Period antiques were added along with crafted knicknacks. It took two years to complete and opened for business in 1987.

There was a lot of hope for success here, but the recession in the 80s and a need for the Marcottes to split their time between the inn and their business interests in Boston caused the couple to shutter the business in 1992. The inn stood empty for over a year. Another ray of hope came in the form of a father and son, John Barwick and John Barwick, Jr. They both were businessmen in New York City looking for a more relaxed way of life. When they approached the Small Business Administration to say they wanted to take over the inn, they were met with skepticism. They had no experience as innkeepers. The SBA finally agreed and the sale was closed on September 2, 1993 and the Old Stagecoach Inn opened for business again on September 25, 1993. The father and son had filled the place with antiques they had collected over 50 years and they opened at prime time, foliage season. That first month was a booming success. The inn runs primarily as a bed and breakfast and all the reviews we read rave about the gourmet breakfast, service and the rooms. The Barwicks were able to buy back the original expanse of land in the rear of the property adding to the beauty of the property. This is the perfect place for hosting private luncheons, parties and weddings.

And this is a location that isn't shy about their haunting. They proudly talk about it on their website and they provide journals for guests to write down their experiences. John Barwick wasn't much of a believer when he bought the place, but he is less skeptical now. There are claims that a rocking chair will rock on its own, sometimes in what appears to be an agitated manner. Furniture moves on its own. Housekeepers claim to get help from someone unseen who strips the beds and neatly folds the sheets. Despite the help, some of the cleaning staff is reluctant to work alone upstairs. A paranormal investigator and psychic walked through the inn and said that there seemed to be a strong energy field in the building. Using dowsing rods, he found the the strongest sensations came from Rooms 2 and 8. Interestingly, most of the ghosts stories center on Room 2, which had been Nettie's room.

The Old Stagecoach Inn website shares the following story, "It was a busy summer weekend and all rooms had been booked, although the reservation for room three had been canceled unexpectedly the previous evening. Mr. Barwick had taken the cancellation himself, and he alone knew about it. So here it was, Sunday morning breakfast was being served, and the dining room was still mostly full. Mr. Barwick was helping the waitress by keeping the coffee urn and orange juice pitcher full, and by removing dishes. As he was standing at the dining room entrance, two people came down for breakfast. They were unfamiliar to him. He had registered all the other guests and chatted with many of them, so he had a pretty good idea who was staying there. He thought perhaps this couple had come in off the street looking for breakfast, which occasionally happens. But it was odd that they had come down the stairs instead of through the side door.

To make sure, he asked if they were guests of the inn.
“Yes,” they replied. “We’re all in room three.”
“How many of you are there?” Mr. Barwick asked.
“Three,” they answered.
“Three,” said Mr. Barwick. “That room accommodates only two. Where did you all
sleep?”
“Oh, we managed,” they replied. “We couldn’t find a place to stay. This was the only one.”
Still puzzled, Mr. Barwick asked, “Well, what time did you come in?”
“Oh,” they said, “it was around two-thirty this morning.”
“Well, who let you in?” asked Mr. Barwick. “Why, it was a lady, an older lady. Very nice.”

More puzzled than ever, thinking it might have been one of the other guests who had been unaccountably awake at that hour, he now asked, “What did she look like?”
“Gray hair, kind of in a bun, and wearing a long dress,” they replied.

That didn't match any of the other guests. But even if she had been a registered guest, it would have been highly unusual for someone to have unlocked the door and allowed three people to come in for the night. And how could she have known that the room was available? After the newcomers had been seated and their orders taken, Mr. Barwick queried the other guests as they left the dining room, to see if anyone had any knowledge of the incident. No, no one did. He thought for a long time about this. There was probably a logical explanation, but he couldn't think of it then, and still can’t think of one now."

UM1997 wrote on TripAdvisor, "So we head back to the Inn and get ready for bed. It had been a long day of walking around and sightseeing so we were all beat so everyone fell sound asleep. Around midnight, I woke up because I just had a strange feeling that something was in the room with us. I sat up and looked around the room and didn't see anything, but you know when you just get that creepy feeling and all the hair stands up on the back of your neck? Yeah, that's what I felt. There were also some really old pictures on the bureau that didn't help my feeling of uneasiness. I figured that I just had a bad dream that woke me up and since my parents were still sound asleep, I tried to push it out of my head and go back to sleep. I think I stayed awake for a few hours after that still looking around for something to pop out at me." 

The inn keeps a journal of guests' personal experiences. This picture was snapped at the inn:

We imagine a character like Nettie Henry Spencer would be hard to tamp down even after death. She seems like a prime candidate to be a mischievous ghost. And this inn was a part of her life for many years. One would think she would want to be around now that the place has such new life within it. Is the Old Stagecoach Inn haunted? That is for you to decide!

HGB Ep. 511 - Haunted Quincy, Illinois

Moment in Oddity - Mount San Nicola Theatre

In the province of Caserta (Cass-EH-rrrr-ta) in the Campania region of Italy, there is a theatre complex long lost and forgotten for centuries. The Theatre of Mount San Nicola (nee-CO-lah, like coke) is situated at the top of Mount Nicola some 450 meters above sea level. The path leading to the complex is a steep journey. The structures show evidence of Roman construction dating to the 1st century BC, however, the Samnites were the people known to occupy the region for hundreds of years. The complex was abandoned in the 2nd century AD and was largely forgotten, probably due in part to its inaccessibility. Over the centuries the Theater Temple Complex was taken back by the mountain's vegetation. It was not rediscovered until 2001. After a brush fire in 2000, Professor Nicolina Lombardi, a Campania historian, was flying over the region when he noticed bits of exposed ruins. Excavations began in 2002 and the theater's design was decided to be of Greco-Roman styling. By 2015 many additional details had emerged. There was an upper and lower cavea (CAH-vea), which are tiered semicircular seating typically found in ancient outdoor theatres. At this location the cavea accommodated approximately 2,000 spectators. An orchestra pit was also revealed as well as vaulted entrances to the theatre. Experiments were conducted to determine the best methods of restoration to preserve the theatre seating. By 2020, 12 of the cavea tiers had been restored. The goal is to reopen to spectators for future productions hosted at the Mount San Nicola Theatre. A 2,000 spectator capacity theatre being lost for centuries only to be rediscovered after a brush fire, certainly is odd.

This Month in History - The Lincolns Get Married

In the month of November, on the 4th in 1842, lawyer Abraham Lincoln married Mary Anne Todd. Mary, or Molly as she was nicknamed, had wealthy and politically connected parents which encouraged her interest in politics. When she met Abraham she was a mere 21 to his 31 years. She fell in love with the kindhearted, lanky man and accepted his proposal of marriage. Despite Lincoln's lack of political prospects and poverty at the time, Molly's parents supported his marriage to their daughter. Unexpectedly, Lincoln broke off their engagement in early 1841, but the romance reconvened in the fall of 1842. It's been said that they actually reconnected much sooner but kept the relationship a secret. It is said that on the date of November 4th, Lincoln went to a minister's home and told him he was going to get married by the end of the day. Mary's family was surprised by the sudden nuptial plans but wanted Mary to be married in her family home. Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln would go on to live in Springfield, Illinois for almost two decades before Abraham was elected President. 

Haunted Quincy, Illinois

Quincy, Illinois became a thriving riverfront featuring steamboats and trade due to its location along the Mississippi River. Many Germans settled in the town and one of those people was a man named George Metz. He built his mansion, Villa Katherine, here and it seems that his beloved dog has stayed on there in the afterlife. That isn't the only haunted location in Quincy. There are many legends connected to this historic city. Join us as we explore the history and hauntings of Quincy, Illinois!

Quincy, Illinois was known as a "gem of a city" to people who visited and so it took on the nickname Gem City. The French were the first Europeans to arrive in the region and they set up fur trading as the main form of commerce. By 1763, the British had taken over what was called New France, but they lost their claim after losing the Revolutionary War. Illinois was part of the Northwest territory and became a state in 1818. A man named John Wood founded Bluffs, Illinois in 1819, which officially became Quincy in 1825. The town was named after President John Quincy Adams and became very prosperous with steamboats and railroads linking the town to the west. German immigrants flooded into the town from 1829 to 1870 and the city continues to recognize its German heritage to this day.

Villa Katherine

One of the German immigrants to come here was George Metz. He had become a very wealthy man and had traveled extensively. During his travels, he fell in love with Islamic architecture. He sketched many of the buildings he saw and so when it came time to build his own mansion, he wanted something Mediterranean. His main inspiration was the Villa Ben Ahben in Morocco. Metz chose a high bluff overlooking the Mississippi River as the site for his home. He hired architect George Behrensmeyer who built the unique home in 1900. The interior featured a courtyard, reflecting pool and harem and the exterior was brick with white plaster veneer. Other Islamic influences are seen in the miniature minaret from the Mosque of Thais in Tunisia. The interior court is surrounded by columns like the Court of Dolls in the Alcazar in Seville and the capitals were inspired by the Alhambra in Granada. The house is often referred to as a Moorish castle. Metz filled the home with the exotic souvenirs and furnishings he had collected.

Not much was known about Metz personally, so people started telling stories about the man. They tried to figure out why he called his home Villa Katherine. Was it named for a woman he had loved? A story started spreading that Metz had met a "fair-haired, blue-eyed" woman in Germany. The two traveled together and George decided he would like to bring her back to Illinois with him. The woman refused to relocate and Metz returned broken-hearted and became mostly a recluse in his newly-built castle, although he occasionally entertained friends and he hosted a wedding in 1904. Metz lived as a bachelor in the villa for twelve years with his dog Bingo. Bingo was a 212 pound Great Dane Metz had gotten in Denmark. A special addition was built for Bingo off the kitchen. Bingo eventually died and was buried on the property and Metz fell into a deep depression. He sold Villa Katherine in 1912. The people who bought the house worked for the Alton-Quincy Interurban Railroad and they planned to tear down the house and build a railyard, which fortunately never happened. The house did fall into ruin and when Metz saw it again in 1932, he told a reporter who accompanied him that he wished he still owned the villa so he could tear it down. He was devastated to see the state of his beloved home. Metz died from pneumonia in 1937.

Villa Kathrine passed through various hands through the years, including musician and nightclub owner Bob Moore and his wife and children and Harold C. McCoy who modernized the house, and was finally saved for good by the Friends of the Castle. They leased the building from the Quincy Park District and began restoring the property. The house was transformed into a tourist and cultural center. Stories of Villa Katherine being haunted have been told for decades. People who had lived there claimed that odd things happened in the house, like lights turning off and on by themselves and doors slamming all on their own. Some people thought that George Metz had returned to his former home. Disembodied footsteps were heard pacing, especially around the reflecting pool. Staff at the center believe that not only is the spirit of Metz here, but also his beloved dog Bingo. The sound of Bingo's toenails clicking on the tile floors of the house is heard often when the house is quiet. River Town Paranormal Society investigated the villa in the spring of 2009. They captured several EVPs. One EVP sounded like a lady yelling in German from the basement area. One investigator asked, “Mr. Metz are you there?” while in his bedroom and they captured a "yes." There were also EVPs that said, "Oh sweet dog," "I’ll watch the door" and "Mary?"

Old Rebel House

There was a house located on the corner of Second and Vermont Streets that was nicknamed the Old Rebel House. This became a hideout for Southern sympathizers and spies during the Civil War. In the 1880s, a woman lived there with her three younger children on the upper floor, while her married daughter lived downstairs. The second floor had a long balcony that stretched from one end of the house to the other and there was no way to reach the balcony other than going through a room and each room upstairs had a door to the balcony. The mother left for work one morning and placed her infant son in the care of her two younger daughters. At some point, the two girls fought over who would get to rock the baby, but they were interrupted when the door to the balcony sprung open and a sinister looking man stepped inside the room. He stumbled across the room and out into the hallway where he fell against some quilts that were hung over the stairway railing. The strange threw the quilts on the floor and then picked them up and rearranged them on the railing. The man then turned and started walking back towards the girls and then he lurched to the side and headed out the door that he had come through originally. The girls claimed that he "looked just like the picture you see of the devil." After the man left, the girls began screaming for their sister. When she got upstairs they told her about the man and pointed to the door. The older sister found it locked. Her sisters had to be lying and for that, she spanked them. When the mother returned home, she heard the story from her older daughter and gave the younger ones another licking. Through the years, other people who lived in the house claimed to have encounters with ghosts, so possibly that is what the girls had seen. The house no longer stands.

Madison Grammar School

The Madison Grammar School was located at 2435 Maine Street. It was closed and sold in 2019 and is being renovated into apartments. A house had stood here before the school and a legend claims that a woman was brutally murdered in the house. The murder was never solved. People who moved into the house later, found that they couldn't get the blood out of the oak floorboards. They would hear the sounds of a body being dragged down the stairs. That is what happened to the woman. She was killed on the second floor, dragged down the stairs and stuffed in a closet. The house was eventually torn down and the school was built in 1890. A mysterious fire that nearly destroyed the school in 1982 was thought to be paranormal in origin.

Quincy Junior High School

Quincy Junior High School is located at 100 S. 14th Street and has been ranked the seventh most haunted school in Illinois. The school opened in 1933 and started as a high school that eventually converted to a junior high school. A major renovation was completed in 2022. There could be a couple of reasons why it is haunted. The first is that a story claims a student hanged himself inside a school bathroom after his girlfriend broke up with him. The other reason is that student drowned in the swimming pool. A student named Nathan Hoebing said, "Former students and teachers tell me that on the anniversary of the students death that they have heard footsteps and mumbling coming from the bathroom of where the student died. In my three years I have never personally heard the voices. Some of my former classmates have claimed to have heard the strange noises but I haven’t."

Harrison Hills

Harrison Hills is a housing community that is also known as Indian Hills because there had been Indian mounds here before. These mounds were thought to be burial in nature, which explains why residents claim to see the apparitions of Native Americans in the wooded areas around the community. Native American chanting is also sometimes heard. 

Burton Cave

Burton Cave is located around ten miles east of Quincy and named for the town of Burton, which was founded in 1825. The cave was said to have been discovered by some locals during a snake hunt and not the good kind. This was to actually get rid of them and it was said that several hundred were killed by settlers in one day. Two men named Tilford Hogan and Perry Klingingsmith discovered the cave, which more than likely formed during an ice age when water made its way through cracks in the bedrock and dissolved limestone. The cave became a popular picnic spot and is today a nature preserve that features cool formations like The Devil's Hitching Post, which is a pillar formed from stalactites and stalagmites that met in the middle. There is also a round column with a depression in the top that catches water that is nicknamed The Spring. There is also a natural bridge. The Herald Whig reported in a June 1947 article, "Burton Cave is interesting. It tends to be cozy but its crooks and changes provide a sense of the mysterious necessary for any cave worthwhile. Its walls, carved from the earth by water long ages ago, are rugged. The ceilings vary, in some places smooth with the appearance of sandstone, in some places hobnailed with tiny stalactites as the water carrying the lime from the rock drips to the floor. In other places the rocks form convolutions overhead." A local farmer named W. H. Tandy owned the cave until the 1960s and then Quincy University leased it to study its biology. Then the Nature Conservancy held it for a time and now the Illinois Department of Natural Resources oversees it. The endangered Indiana Bat lives here and is protected by a barrier that was built about thirty-eight feet inside the entrance. And apparently is currently closed to the public because a fungus was found growing here that causes white nose syndrome.

All caves seem to have legends connected to them and this one is no different. A family decided to have their picnic here one day in the 1880s and they came upon a horrifying scene. There was a woman in a white dress, who appeared to be lifeless, lying on some kind of altar and a tall hooded figure in a black robe was standing over her. The family left quickly and got the sheriff. When they all returned to the area, there was no altar, no dead woman and no hooded figure.

Quincy University

Quincy University is a private Franciscan university that was founded in 1860 by a group of Franciscan friars who left Germany to help serve on the frontier in Illinois. The school was originally called St. Francis Solanus College and Seminary and then it became Quincy College in 1917 and finally Quincy University in 1993. Women weren't welcome at the college until the 1920s. People of all faiths are welcome to study here. One of the most beautiful buildings on the campus is Francis Hall, which has a tower at the front of the building and features a very German influence in the architecture. It was built in 1871 and expanded in 1898. A chapel was built in 1911 and more modern residence halls and classroom buildings were built in the 1950s. A notorious person who graduated from Quincy University is serial killer Michael Swango. He was a doctor who became a very prolific killer as he poisoned countless patients with arsenic or overdoses of prescription drugs. He also, more than likely, killed his wife and other people around him. Swangos crimes stretched into several states and over into Africa, where he ran away to keep from being charged. The FBI estimates that he may have killed at least 60 people. He was only convicted on three counts of first degree murder and is serving three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Several areas on campus are said to be haunted. Francis Hall has the MacHugh Theater inside of it. This had once been a gymnasium and a professor named Hugh "Fitz" Fitzgerald worked hard to get the theater up and running. After he passed away, it seems he returned to the theater. His apparition has been seen in the light booth both during performances and after hours. Students and staff have both claimed to see him. The namesake for the theater was Professor Charles Persico MacHugh who came to Quincy College in 1904 and was the college’s Professor of English. His apparition is also believed to be in the theater. A security guard at the theater named Terry Hagerbaumer told qumedia.net, "You’ll feel someone pull your hair and breathe on your neck." And a cleaning lady at the school for 35 years named Sandy Schutte told the same outlet that she had experienced doors opening and closing on their own many times. A graduate named Kyle Lyon said, "Evan and I were in the front of the MacHugh Theater. There was nobody on campus at that time. We could hear footsteps around us and somebody whispering something into both of our ears. After that, we both ran." And another student reported that many people have seen the ghost of a little girl who smells like smoke.

Solano Hall, which is home to the university's school of music, was named for St. Francis of Solanus because he was a musician. Before the university owned the building, it was St. Aloysius Orphanage, which burned down many years ago. Stories claim that several children were killed in the tragedy. The orphanage was rebuilt and later sold to Quincy College for use as a dormitory for football players. It then became Solano Hall. For years, there have been reports of the spirits of children being seen throughout the building and when not seen, their disembodied running is heard. Disembodied laughter is also heard, along with the occasional scream. MacHugh Theater is near this location and so it is thought that the children could be venturing over there too.  

Washington Theater

The Washington Theater is located at 427 Hampshire Street. This was originally called The Washington Square Theater and was built in 1923 and 1924 by Pete Pinkelman and Albert Cory. The theater was designed by renowned Chicago architect Edward P. Rupert in a Mediterranean Renaissance style with a Byzantine influence. Rupert was known for his theater architecture - he designed ten other theaters - and this was said to be his most elegant. The building was brick with terra cotta tiling of multi-colors on the exterior and terra cotta detailing in the trim, cornices and wall panels of the interior. There was seating for 1,500 people with a stage surrounded by a proscenium arch and a lighted ceiling dome. Music came from a Barton 3 pipe organ. The theater opened on June 19, 1924 with its large marquee announcing some vaudeville acts.

The Washington Theater joined several other theaters that already existed on Hampshire Street, all of which hosted vaudeville acts. The original owners operated the theater for two years and then they sold to Balaban & Katz, Chicago based theater entrepreneurs. They decided to remodel the theater to handle more patrons and they lowered the stage and added a swamp cooling system. New stage lighting was added and the dressing rooms were enlarged. Silent movies were added to the offerings and in 1929, Washington Theater became the first “talking picture house” in Quincy. By the 1940s, the theater was only working as a movie house. It remained that way until 1971.

Kerasotes Showplace Theaters LLC, a Chicago based movie theater chain, bought the Washington Theater and they ran it for the next eleven years, closing the doors in 1982. The theater was then donated to the City of Quincy. In the late 1980s, another group came in and bought the theater and held it until 2000, using it for storage and allowing it to fall into disrepair. The city bought it back and a Redevelopment Commission decided to restore it back to the way it was in 1924 and run it as a multi-purpose entertainment venue.

Chris Koetters and Travis Hoffman conducted an investigation at the theater here in October of 2023. They saw shadow figures, the Ovilus gave them several words and the K2 went off repeatedly. They captured several EVP: a breathy "yes," a child's voice that we couldn't understand, but could've been singing and a distant female child voice that was hard to hear, but seemed to be reacting to a Boo Bear. During a previous investigation Chris asked, "Would you like the theater to be fixed?" and an EVP said, "You bet I would."

There is a Ghost Hollow Road here in Quincy with all the standard legends like hidden cemeteries and disappearing houses, but we didn't find anything substantial in any stories we read or heard. But the name sure is cool! The question is, are these locations in Quincy, Illinois haunted? That is for you to decide!

Halloween Special 2023

It's Halloween! Welcome to our CarnEvil! Step right up and test your degree of coulrophobia - fear of clowns. Clowning is an ancient performing art dating back to the 24th century BC. Every culture whether it is a tribe of indigenous people, a medieval kingdom or a modern day circus has had some version of clowning. Clowns have played significant roles in society, bringing humor and laughter, but also bringing fear. It's that last piece that makes clowns the perfect subject for a Halloween episode. Join us as we explore the history and creeps of clowning! 

The beginning formulation of the clown took place, as best as historians can guess, sometime during the 24th century BC in Egypt. Throughout the centuries, people have taken on the role of the court jester, public jokester and entertaining mime. Clowns have been able to use their humor to hit at off-limits subjects like the monarchy, politics, religion and such. The clowns of yore have become the comedians of the comedy clubs today. But beneath all the fun lies sadness and terror. French literary critic Edmond de Congourt wrote of clowns in 1876, "The clown's art is now rather terrifying and full of anxiety and apprehension, their suicidal feats, their monstrous gesticulations and frenzied mimicry reminding one of the courtyard of a lunatic asylum.” It is no wonder that clowns have become a popular horror theme. So let's look at a brief history of clowns, working our way from early performers to the terrifying clowns of cinema that haunt our dreams today.

Pierrot

Pierrot (pee uh row) is a clown character of French origin. The standard look was a large white blouse with large buttons and wide white pantaloons. The face was mainly painted white and facial features were sad. His first appearances were in the 1600s, but it wouldn't be until the early 18th century that he would come into his own. Through the years, many societal movements have used him as a representation of their cause. David Bowie himself once said, "I'm Pierrot. I'm everyman." Jean-Gaspard Deburau (John gezpard Debayrew) was the most famous Pierrot. He took on the character in a small Paris theater in 1816 and performed him as a Bohemian-French mime. He performed as the clown until his death in 1846. Deburau would become our first killer clown. In 1836, a young boy taunted him on the streets and Deburau hit him with his cane and killed him. He was later acquitted.

Joseph Grimaldi

Joseph Grimaldi is the godfather of clowning as he is the one to have created the rendition of the clown we all know. Grimaldi was born in 1778 to Italian parents and spent his life entertaining people, starting at the age of two. He was one of the most popular actors at the Drury Lane Theater and Sadler's Wells. In 1806, Grimaldi created the classic clown we know today with painted on eyebrows, red lips and cheeks and he wore oversized and colorful clothes. He was declared the "King of Clowns" and perfected the pantomime clown. Grimaldi retired in 1823 due to declining health and quickly fell into debt and began drinking heavily before he passed in 1837.  

Tom Belling

Tom Belling was an American acrobat who developed what is known as the red clown or Auguste clown in 1870. Auguste clowns were more playful then earlier clowns with more expressive make-up. This is when the big red nose came into play. Each clown would choose their own look and in more modern times, their look is registered.

Dan Rice

During the mid-1800s, Dan Rice was the circus' most famous clown. Rice had joined the circus in the 1840s and his comedic performances earned him the title of "The Great American Humorist." He did not employ much physical comedy, which is what clowns later become known for, but his sexual allusions, jokes and ad-libs had audiences in stitches.  The costume he wore was a red and white striped suit with a top hat and then he had chin whiskers, but no clown make-up. He called himself "Uncle Sam" and yes, that is where the idea for Uncle Sam came from. Rice eventually died in obscurity in 1900, even though he had once been so famous and was also more than likely the model for Mark Twain's clown in the book "Huckleberry Finn." 

Grock

One of the most highly paid entertainers in Europe was once a Swiss clown named Grock. Grock was born as Charles Adrien Wettach in 1880. He ran away with a traveling circus and eventually after creating Grock, moved his act into music halls. His acts became a mixture of pantomime and musical blunders and he eventually performed throughout Europe and the United States. Grock wore the make-up of an Auguste clown and oversized clothes. He died in Italy in 1959 at the age of 79.

Emmett Kelly

Emmett Kelly was the Hobo Clown and known by the name Weary Willie. He played a sad clown with a big bulbous nose and face paint that gave him a mournful mouth surrounded by a five o'clock shadow. He wore tattered clothes and floppy shoes. He didn't start out as a clown and Weary Willie actually started as a cartoon character he drew. His work with the circus started as a trapeze artist and then in 1923, he brought Weary Willie to life as a clown act. One of his favorite things to do was to sweep the spotlight away and then get surprised when it appeared again. He worked for numerous circuses. He joined Ringling Bros. in 1942 and stayed with them until the late 1950s. He would star in a couple of films. He died in 1979 of a heart attack while taking out the garbage and I'm sure he could have found great comic use for that. Kelly was a hero. He helped to save people during the Hartford Circus Fire and was featured in a picture in Life magazine about the tragedy as he was running with a bucket of water. This was one of the few times people saw him cry.

Lou Jacobs

Lou Jacobs was probably the most famous clown to work with Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey and is the one our listeners are probably most familiar with as he was used in lots of marketing and appeared on a 1966 U.S. postage stamp. Jacobs was a German immigrant. He played the part of a clown for 62 years and 60 of them were spent with the Ringling circus. His parents had a song and dance act and he got into gymnastics as a child, which lead him into barrel-jumping and contortionism. Jacobs came to America in 1923 and he found work as an acrobat. He started working for The Greatest Show On Earth in 1925 and it was there that he moved into clowning. He modeled his clown make-up on Europe's greatest circus stars, the Fratellinis - three brothers who worked mostly in France from the 1900s to the 1920s. Rather than white-face, they used a flesh-colored base. Jacobs had many gags including not only his 2'x3' small car, but also a self-propelled bathtub and a couple of little dogs. He wore a costume that was a pink and lavender checked suit with 12 inch collars and his shoes were really big. He married Ringling showgirl Jean Rockwell and they had two daughters, Lou Ann and Dolly. Jacobs retired in 1985 when he was 82 years old, although he continued to teach at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. In 1987, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He died of heart failure on September 13, 1992, in Sarasota, Florida at the age of eighty-nine.

Bozo the Clown

Alan W. Livingston created Bozo the Clown in 1946 as part of storytelling record album for children. Bozo soon was so popular that he became the mascot for Capitol Records. He got his first TV show in 1949 and was portrayed by Pinto Colvig. Bozo wore a blue and red costume, oversized red hair that stuck out on the sides of his bald head and whiteface clown make-up with the standard large eyebrows and red lips and the big red nose. The hair was actually yak hair that was heavily lacquered. Rather than being a syndicated show, Bozo was a franchise, so different markets had their own portrayal of Bozo. Williard Scott was Washington D.C.'s Bozo for 3 years. Other TV clowns were inspired by Bozo like the one Diane grew up with in Denver, Colorado, Blinky the Clown. Blinky was portrayed by Russell Scott who has the distinction of holding the record as longest-running television clown in history, performing as Blinky for 41 years. Blinky was more of a tramp clown. He lived a long life and died at the age of 91 in 2012. Ronald McDonald was also inspired by Bozo and he made his first appearance in 1963.

Captain Spaulding from House of 1000 Corpses

Captain Spaulding was portrayed by the incomparable Sid Haig. This character was the owner of a gas station and roadside haunted attraction. The role was reprised in Zombie's sequels “The Devil’s Rejects” and "3 From Hell." Spaulding wears smeared grease paint on his face with white face paint, red cheeks, blue eyeshadow and black lips. He also had a beard and moustache.

The Joker

The Joker is a supervillain in the DC Comic universe with his main foe being Batman. He made his first appearance in 1940 and was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson. The most common backstory for the Joker is that he fell into a tank of chemical waste and this bleached his skin white and turned his hair green and his lips bright red. Thus his appearance is that of a clown and this drove him insane, leaving him with a sadistic sense of humor and he becomes a psychopathic killer. The design of the Joker was inspired by Conrad Veidt's character Gwynplaine in the 1928 movie The Man Who Laughs. The character jumped from the comic book pages to television and the movies with Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix both giving iconic portrayals of the character, performances that earned each Oscars.

Pennywise

Pennywise is the villain in Stephen King's 1986 horror novel It. Pennywise is a shapeshifter with his main presentation being a clown, which is the way he lures children into his traps. It's unclear what Pennywise really is, but whatever he is, its something ancient and evil. He wears white face paint with a red nose and red lips. Tim Curry portrayed him in a colorful outfit with bright red hair around a skullcap in the television adaptation of the novel. The 2017 and 2019 films featured Swedish actor Bill Skarsgard playing Pennywise and he wore a white outfit with very distinct face paint, which was mostly white broken by red lips with the corners of the mouth continuing up the face all the way to the forehead, bisecting the eyes. His eyes are a creepy translucent yellow. Pennywise has been deemed one of the scariest clowns in film and pop culture and The Atlantic wrote of him, "The scariest thing about Pennywise, though, is how he preys on children's deepest fears, manifesting the monsters they're most petrified by."

Killer Klowns from Outer Space

This is a cult classic and a fun movie. Diane happened upon it one day while switching through channels and the costumes immediately caught her attention. They were as outlandish as the movie title. And these clowns weren't humans dressed up in clown costumes, these were aliens! They crashed to Earth during Halley's comet and ravage a nearby town, killing people and drinking their blood for sustenance. The movie was written, produced and directed by the Chiodo brothers and came out in 1988. The macabre humor and circus-theming make this a definite must-see and the clowns look creepy as hell. It was wildly successful, costing $1.8 million to make and earning $43 million at the box office.

Poltergeist Clown

For Diane, the clown in the 1986 Poltergeist movie was the scariest. This clown doll went from just being your typical child's toy to a sinister strangling machine with arms and legs that grew in length and the pleasant countenance morphed into a maniacal grin and scowl. The doll from the movie just sold in June of 2023 for $650,000! 

Billy - Saw Movie Clown

Billy is technically a mechanical ventriloquist puppet, but he has all the markings of a clown with the white face paint, red lips, red spirals painted on his cheeks and a skull cap with messy hair. Billy was used by John Kramer, the Jigsaw Killer, to inform the victims of his deadly games about the rules and instructions they had to follow in order to survive.

Twisty the Clown from American Horror Story: Freak Show

Twisty started off as a Pierrot clown who took great joy in entertaining children and then something just snapped for him and he became delusional, committing atrocities without much awareness for what he was doing. The backstory for him had his mother dropping him on his head which couldn't have helped matters. Twisty's appearance is quite hideous because he tried to commit suicide with a gun and ended up disfiguring his face. Now he wears a partial mask that seems to have become part of his face and features a broad grin. There are also scars all over his face and he wears a skull cap that seems to have come from one of his victims. He wears a dirty clown suit and carries a sack that holds his juggling pins.

Art the Clown from Terrifier Franchise

It's fitting to have Art on this list for Halloween not only because he is a terrifying clown, but because his feature film debut was in the 2013 movie All Hallows' Eve. The clown first appeared in a couple of short films before launching into four Terrifier films and was created by writer/director Damien Leone. Art wears white face with arched and thin eyebrows and overdrawn black lips. He is bald and his costume is black and white. Art is always covered in blood as he is a mass murderer who likes to use weapons like a hacksaw, cleaver and cat o'nine tails. This clown is a thoroughly unpleasant one.

Pogo/John Wayne Gacy 

The fictional clowns are bad enough, so imagine having a real clown that is a serial killer. Most of you listeners are probably pretty familiar with Pogo the Clown who was a character created by serial killer John Wayne Gacy. John Wayne Gacy was born in 1942 and was thought of by many people to be a friendly man. He seemed to love children and would frequently dress-up as a clown he named Pogo and host parties for his entire neighborhood. Pogo wore white face paint and had overly large red lips and blue paint around his eyes. He wore a standard clown costume that was red on one half and red and white striped on the other. He also wore a pointed hat with several large puff balls on it. The first chinks in Gacy's reputation came in 1964 when he was found guilty of sodomizing two young boys and spent 18 months in prison. His wife divorced him and he relocated to Chicago where he founded a construction business. This became a way for him to recruit young men to come help him. Gacy remarried, but it was more than likely a cover for his predilection for young men. In July of 1975, one of the young men who worked for him disappeared and his parents asked the police to investigate Gacy. The pleas were not heeded. Gacy and his second wife divorced and this set him on a reckless course of murder. He would invite young men to his house and then pretend that he was going to show them a magic trick using handcuffs. The trick was that he was going to lock the boy to the bed and rape and sodomize him before strangling him. The bodies were then buried in the crawlspace of Gacy's home. One young man escaped from Gacy in 1977 and went to the police, but they didn't follow up on the report. The police did finally investigate Gacy after a 15-year-old boy who had gone to Gacy's home looking to get hired, disappeared. The investigation found a class ring and clothes that wouldn't fit Gacy. A witness came forward and said that Gacy had admitted that he had killed 30 boys. The police found 29 bodies at Gacy's house, but it is believed that he killed at least 33 people. Gacy was arrested and tried to plead insanity, but he was found guilty and sentenced to die, which occurred on May 10, 1994, via lethal injection.

2016 Mass Clown Sightings

Many of you may remember that in 2016 there was a spate of clown sightings in various places around the world. Sightings began as early as 2013 in Northhampton, England with the sighting of a creepy clown in the months of September and October. It was eventually found that three filmmakers named Alex Powell, Elliot Simpson, and Luke Ubanski were behind the clown and they had used it to drive traffic to their Facebook page. But something had been started. A YouTuber started dressing as an evil clown in 2014 and pranking people and then he posted the videos, which got millions of views. That same year, the Wasco Clown started showing up in Wasco, California. In 2015, a clown was videoed at night in the Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago. 

A proliferation of videos started making the rounds, which increased in 2016. These clown sightings were in lots of different locations. Some were in forests, while others were in city areas. A mass hysteria started to develop as sightings were reported in many cities in the United States, in nine Canadian provinces and 18 other countries like Britain and Australia. Reports out of Green Bay, Wisconsin turned out to be a marketing ploy for a horror movie. While this kind of sighting could be fun, stories coming out of South Carolina were scary. These seemed to be clowns trying to lure children into the woods by offering money. A clown in Winston-Salem, North Carolina offered candy to children and ran when police showed up. A 16-year-old boy was stabbed to death in Pennsylvania by what was at first reported as someone wearing a clown mask, but later it was found that the victim was wearing the mask. Over time, twelve arrests were made and even McDonald's decided to pull back Ronald McDonald for awhile. That Halloween in 2016 had some Floridians packing heat while trick-or-treating. Several countries started pulling clown costumes from store shelves and Target stores pulled clown masks from its website and stores. 

News outlets started warning people in October of 2016 of alleged attacks by clowns on Halloween that year. The reports said that these were going to be Purge like attacks. There was only one attack that actually materialized on Halloween in Florida when a family was attacked by a group of approximately 20 people in clown masks. Nobody was arrested. The 2016 incidents came to be known as the Great Clown Panic of 2016 and were chalked up to mass hysteria.

Clowns are meant to be fun, but there is always that piece of them that exudes mischief. That side of mischief causes some to think of clowns as impish. Add in real-life stories of homicidal clowns and then a dash of the fictional malevolent clown and you have a recipe for clown fear. Are clowns really something to fear? That is for you to decide!

HGB Ep. 510 - Legend of the Grim Reaper

Moment in Oddity - Soldier Carries Eyeball

During World War II there was a skirmish on Mount Croce, in central Italy. The temperatures were freezing but the Winter Line of German Field Marshal Albrect Kesselring was to be held at all costs. But in November of 1943, U.S. paratroopers forced the Germans off the mountain top. The Germans brought an onslaught of weaponry against the American Infantry with almost a constant barrage of bullets, mortar and artillery shells exploding all around them. The American troops held their ground  with small firearms. The conditions were terrible with frozen rations and shallow trenches lined with ice. Many wounded would not make it out alive and the wounded who could travel had to make it down the steep mountain to medical aid. One such wounded was Sergeant Robert Akers. The man had a flurry of shrapnel hit him in his face. One piece had popped his eye out which he retrieved and was carrying in his hand. The eye was intact and still attached to its cords. The journey down Mount Croce was precarious at best, slipping and sliding down the nearly perpendicular incline traveling where even goats would slip and fall. Akers did in fact make it to the base of the mountain and to medical aide. He was rushed to a field hospital where his eye was popped back into the socket and reattached to the cords. Incredibly, the Sergeant would regain 100% of his sight and he returned to active duty before the end of the war and that certainly is odd.

This Month in History - The Gateway Arch

In the month of October, on the 28th in 1965, the last piece of the Gateway Arch was fitted into place in St Louis, Missouri. The Arch was founded by the National Park Service in 1935 to celebrate Thomas Jefferson's vision of a transcontinental United States. However, it wasn't until 1948 that a nationwide competition took place to determine what the shape of the memorial would be. Then in 1963 construction began on the stainless steel arch, designed by architect Eero Saarinen (Eh-row Sah-ruh-nuhn). The expansive arch stretches from the Old Courthouse in Downtown St Louis to the riverfront steps of the Mississippi River. 2022 saw 1.6 million tourists visit the Gateway Arch and a tram ride can take ticket holders for an incredible journey to the top of the arch for an amazing city view. The St Louis Gateway Arch stands as a symbol of the national westward expansion of the United States, as well as an engineering triumph and example mid-century modern design.

Legend of the Grim Reaper

There is a pretty standard description of the Grim Reaper. Generally speaking, people envision a cloaked skeleton carrying a scythe. But there is so much more to this figure that has become the personification of death. On this episode, we are going to explore the centuries of mythology around the embodiment of death and explore whether this is an actual entity. And is this someone or something that we should fear?

A computer scientist named Randy Pausch was dying from pancreatic cancer when he wrote a book entitled The Last Lecture and in it he said, "We don’t beat the Grim Reaper by living longer, we beat the Reaper by living well and living fully, for the Reaper will come for all of us. The question is what we do between the time we are born and the time he shows up. It’s too late to do all things that you’re gonna kinda get around to." The listeners have probably also heard the sentiment expressed about the dash line on a gravestone between the birth and death dates: It's what you do with the dash that matters. Blue Oyster Cult in their song (Don't Fear) The Reaper sing, "All our times have come, Here but now they're gone, Seasons don't fear the reaper, Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain, We can be like they are." Death is a complicated thing and something we all face. Perhaps that is why humans have created stories around death and the various figures that legends claim come to us to guide us through. There is some comfort in the notion that after death we will be accompanied by someone who knows the ropes.

The entity that was named "The Grim Reaper" popped up sometime in the 15th century, but clearly, cultures throughout the centuries have personified death. Humans seek ways to make the transition from life to death easier. We'll never know what the earliest people thought about death because there was no written form of language, but surely they shared verbal stories. The Greeks were some of the first to write down death mythology. The term "psychopomp" comes from them. A psychopomp is a guide whose primary function is to escort souls to the afterlife, but they can also serve as guides through the various transitions of life. The term originates from the Greek words pompos (conductor or guide) and psyche (breath, life, soul, or mind). Every culture has their own version of psychopomps. In many mythologies, Death is personified in male form, while in others, Death is perceived as female. Since we get psychopomp from the Greeks, let's begin with them.

Greeks

In Ancient Greece, Death was portrayed several different ways, sometimes as a bearded and winged man and others as a young boy. They gave Death the name Thanatos and he was thought to be cruel and carried a sword. He was the son of Nyx, the goddess of night. Thanatos had a twin named Hypnos who was the god of sleep. Thanatos guided the dead to the underworld until they reached Charon who was a boatman that would take them over the River Styx to the underworld. Charon expected payment for the trip and if he didn't receive it, he would dump the person on the shores of the Styx where they would wallow for a hundred years. Thanatos had sisters as well who were called the Keres and they appeared as these females who had fangs and talons and they always wore bloody garments. Probably because they feed on the bodies of the dead  brought into the underworld, particularly those who died violent deaths. The god Hermes was also given the role of psychopomp. He was not only a messenger, but he was a god of border-crossings and he would also guide the dead to Charon.

Romans

The god Mercury is the Roman equivalent of Hermes, so he too is a psychopomp. There is a crater lake in Italy called Lake Avernus and one of Mercury's duties was to guide souls there because it was thought to be the entrance to the underworld. Roman writers used Avernus and Hades interchangeably. Virgil writes about it in his Aeneid and Odysseus also ventures to the underworld from here. One of the people Mercury guided to the underworld was a beautiful nymph named Larunda. He fell in love with her and sired two children with her along the way. So clearly, this was a bit of a long trip.

Etruscans

The Etruscans were from ancient Italy and had a significant influence on the Romans who eventually defeated the Etruscans at the end of the 3rd century BC. Their death figure was named Charun and was known as the "Demon of Death." Charun would come upon a person who was set to die and beat them over the head with a hammer until they died. he would then be joined by the goddess of the underworld, Vanth, and they would take the soul to the underworld. There, Charun would administer punishment to those who were evil in life.

Celtic

The Celts had a creepy form of the Reaper in the Breton region and they called it Ankou. Ankou appeared as a tall, haggard figure with long white hair. It wore a wide hat and drove a cart with a creaking axle that was piled high with corpses. Ankou generally appeared in the form of a skeleton and its head swiveled so it could see everyone, everywhere. If Ankou and his cart stopped outside of a house, it meant instant death for someone inside. The Irish had a creature known as a dullahan that tucked its head under its arm. This creepy creature had large eyes and a broad smile that reached to the ears. The dullahan would ride a black horse or a carriage pulled by black horses making stops at houses and calling out the name of the person who was going to die. The person would die the moment the name hit the air. Now, don't go looking for the dullahan because it doesn't like to be watched and will use a whip made from a spine to lash out your eyes. Or it could throw a basin full of blood at you and that means that you are the next to die. The Irish also have the Banshee, which is a female spirit who serves as an omen of death by wailing outside the home of someone who is going to die. If you hear the wailing it means she is coming for you shortly. References to the Banshee began in the 14th century, slightly before the Grim Reaper showed up in mythology. She usually wears a black cloak. The Scottish had a dog as their psychopomp. They called it Cù Sìth and it could be black, white or dark green in color. This dog would take dying souls to the afterlife. The Scottish also have Bean Nighe, which is an ugly entity with one nostril, one big protruding tooth and webbed feet. She usually wears a green dress and is found near deserted streams where she toils away at removing the blood from the clothes of people who are going to die.

Poland

The Polish have a figure that is similar to the Grim Reaper that they call Śmierć. This figure is actually a woman though who is skeletal and rather than wearing a black robe, she wears a white one. 

Scandinavia

Norse mythology's goddess of death was Hel and she ruled over hell where she received a portion of the dead. The Norse also had Pesta who was known as the "plague hag" and she was depicted as an old woman who wore a black hood and carried either a rake or broom. People wanted to see her carrying a rake because that meant some people would survive the plague, but if she brought a broom, everybody was going to die. There were also the Valkyries who were flying females that chose which soldiers would live or die in battle. Men chosen to die would be carried by the Valkyries to Valhalla, where they’d await the epic battle of Ragnorak. 

Hindu

The Hindu word for death is Mrityu and the lord of death in Hindu is called Yama, or Yamaraja. Yamaraja is depicted riding a black buffalo and he carries a rope lasso to capture souls so that he can bring them to Naraka or Yamaloka, the place of the dead or Hell. Yama is also the King of Dharma or justice, so punishment is dished out in Hell by him. And the decision where a soul will reside in the next life due to reincarnation is also decided by Yama. An entity named Chitragupta keeps track of a soul's good and bad deeds.

East Asian 

The Chinese have Yanluo as their god of death and he is the ruler of Di Yu, which is the underworld. Yanluo derives from the Hindu Yama and Yama actually spread into all Asian countries. The Chinese version wears a Chinese judge’s cap and traditional Chinese robes. Korean mythology has the Netherworld Emissary who works for Great King Yŏmna. This is a stern figure who escorts all people whether they were good or evil to the netherworld. Japanese mythology has the goddess Izanami as the goddess of death. She didn't start out this way. She died while giving birth to the fire god Hinokagutsuchi and goes to the perpetual night realm called Yomi-no-kuni, which is the underworld. Her husband attempts to rescue her and they have this big argument, which leaves Izanami promising that she will take a thousand lives every day. This, of course, makes her the goddess of death then. The Japanese also have  death gods called shinigami, which are similar to the Grim Reaper. They are called monsters and creatures of darkness. Buddhists refer to one of the shinigami as Mara, which is a demonic entity responsible for suicide ideation. Shinigami can also be oni, which are demons that are ox-headed or horse-faced. Buddhism also has Jizo who greets people after they die and guides them into the afterlife. Jizo especially looks after children since they are too young to understand the teachings of the Buddha and this could mean they would become stuck on the banks of the river Sai.

Latin America

Let's start back with the Aztecs. The Aztec underworld was called Mictlan and the god of lightning and death was named Xolotl. He appears as a man with a dog's head, but also sometimes is just a skeleton. He carries the dead to the underworld with his most famous transportee was the sun, which he protected when it ventured into the underworld at night. The Aztecs also had Mictecacihuatl as Queen of Mictlan and Mictlantecuhtli as King of Mictlan and they watched over the bones of the dead and presided over ancient festivals of the dead. The Queen had a defleshed body and her jaw was agape so she could swallow the stars during the day. In South American countries like Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil, there is San La Muerte, which appears as a skeletal figure holding a scythe. Mexico has the similar figure of La Santa Muerte, which is a feminine skeletal folk saint. Both of these figures have been blended into a type of Folk Catholicism. Mexico also has La Calavera Catrina, which means the "skull of Catrina." She is a representation of death that is supposed to be less threatening than the Reaper, so she wears bright colors and usually is seen smiling and dancing.

Australia

The Aboriginal people of Australia had Barnumbirr, also known as Banumbirr or Morning Star. In the Yolngu culture, she was a creator spirit who brought humans to Australia, but she also had a strong association with death. She showed the way across the waters to the distant Island of the Dead.Dolphins were also thought of as psychopomps guiding the dead to the underworld.

Egypt

The Egyptian underworld is Duat and the jackal-headed god Anubis guided the dead there, specifically dead kings. Anubis was the son of Osiris and Nephthys and he would place the hearts of kings on the scales of judgement before his father Osiris. A feather would be placed on the other side of the scale. The result would decide whether the king could enter the afterworld. Ammit was a demon who would devour the heart if the king was found lacking.

Canaan

The Canaanites of the Ancient Near East had a god of death named Mot. They believed that Mot was one of the sons of El, who was the creator god and above all gods. He was the favorite son of the god El, and the most prominent enemy of the god Baal, a god of springs, sky, and fertility. Mot was the god of sterility and the master of all barren places. Traditionally, Mot and Baal were perpetually engaged in a seasonal struggle in which Baal, like many similar harvest deities, was annually vanquished and slain. Mot, however, was also annually killed by Baal’s sister Anath, who thus aided Baal’s resurrection.

Azrael

Azrael is the angel of death in Islam, Judaism and Christianity. While he plays a role in the latter two, Islam gives Azrael a significant place as a psychopomp. He guides each and every soul directly to Allah. His appearance depends on the person’s life. If they were good they would see a beautiful being, but if they were evil they would see a horrific monster. In Talmudic lore, the Angel of the Abyss is named Abaddon, which literally means "The Destroyer." There is also an archangel named Samael who is said to be both good and bad, but he works as a seducer and accuser and is nicknamed "The Venom of God" and is the executioner of death sentences decreed by God, so that doesn't sound good. Some traditions have the archangel Michael as a good angel of death. The Bible also uses the term memitim, which means destroyer to identify destroying angels. Proverbs 16:14 uses the term "mal’ake ha-mavet" for destroying angels. For most Christians, tradition holds that an angel comes to guide the dead to the afterlife. This could be an angel of death or a guardian angel.  

One of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse show up in the Bible in Revelation 6 and the fourth is the one representing Death. Verses 7 and 8 read, "When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, 'Come!' And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth." The pale horse could signify illness, but we've also heard that the word has been mistranslated and actually means green. There is a crossover here with Greek mythology in that it is believed that this is Thanatos. Weapons carried by Thanatos include the sword, hunger, death and beasts. Or it could be another entity entirely since this one seems to be more of a figure bringing death, rather than just guiding the dead.

The Grim Reaper

And this brings us to the star of this episode, The Grim Reaper. This figure usually appears skeletal and shrouded in a dark, hooded robe with a scythe to help him "reap" human souls. The name fits perfectly as the term "grim" describes someone who is ghastly and sinister in appearance and character and has a stern disposition. And reaping is gathering together. There is a lot of symbolism around the depiction of the Grim Reaper. The skeletal figure represents the decay of the body and what is left when the flesh is gone. Many people not only feared death, but the obliteration it brought. The skeleton is that obliteration. The black cloak that is worn not only represents the clergy who officiated wakes, but black was long associated with death and mourning. The cloak gives the Reaper an air of mystery and menace too. The scythe wasn't what the Grim Reaper originally carried. He first held arrows, darts, spears or crossbows and these were used to cut down his victims. The weapons were traded in for the scythe, which was a farmer's tool for cutting down and gathering grain and this better depicted the job of the Grim Reaper. The scythe fit better with an agrarian society who were focused more on the harvest, rather than war. Many times an hourglass is depicted with the Reaper and this symbolized that the days of humans are numbered. When the sand runs out, our time is up.

The Grim Reaper showed up during the Black Death in the 14th century. One third of Europe's entire population perished during the Plague, so death was at the forefront of people's minds. Artists struggled for a way to depict all the death around them. The Grim Reaper fit the bill and the entity started showing up in sculptures and paintings, usually looking as though it were waiting in the wings to take people away. The naked skeleton eventually hid away in the black cloak in artistic renderings. Artwork shows the Reaper to be both a travel companion to the afterlife and the bringer of death, which is sometimes depicted as a skeletal finger reaching out to kill a person with a single touch. Lore that went along with the Reaper claimed that if a person could provide a good enough reason to be allowed to live, the Reaper would leave them be. Other stories claimed that the Reaper could be tricked and a person could then live longer. 

And this brings us to stories of people encountering the Grim Reaper and living to tell about it. There are many stories set in hospitals. Nurses have reported seeing what they described as a figure in a long cloak. One nurse reported in 1997, "I was running down the hall to my patient’s room so I could relieve the nurse in charge. I ran past this room, across from the central floor nurses’ station and had run past five rooms before it registered what I saw. I did not believe it! I went back down the hall and stopped at the room. I glanced into it. On the bed was a little gray-haired lady dressed in lace, propped up with pillows. Beside the bed stood this tall figure dressed in a monk’s robe with its head covered. It looked up at me when I appeared in the door. His face was a skull with tiny red fires for eyes. His hands, skeletal, were patiently folded over each other inside the dark sleeves. My impression was he was just patiently waiting."

A man named Ralph claimed to have an encounter with the Grim Reaper after having a heart attack and being admitted to the hospital. He was lying in bed and had a sudden chill come over him that felt below freezing. Then, a figure appeared at the foot of his hospital bed. Ralph described it as being a dark, gray, cloaked stranger with no face. When asked how he knew it was the Grim Reaper, Ralph replied, "I don’t know. I just knew. The other thing I knew was I wasn’t bad enough or sick enough to go with him."

Username itsaboutpeople wrote on Reddit in 2021, "Last night I was having a bad night, tossing and turning. I woke up, fully able to move (so I'm guessing no sleep paralysis) and looked around the room. The light in the hallway was on and I looked at the doorway. I saw what I can only describe the Grim Reaper looking at me. He had a gold Scythe and what is strange a gold/yellow skull or face. It was blurry but I would say more that it was his skull. He was in his dark black robe. I looked around a bit scared but he didn't come towards me. After a minute or so he disappeared. It took me an entire day to get over this feeling. I don't think he was evil or there to take me."

Rosie wrote in 2019, "I knew in September of 2016 that my mother was close to death. She was 85 years old and had been chronically ill for over 30 years. The last 15 years of her life, she lived with my husband and I. It was about a month away from her 86th birthday and I came home from work one day and the whole atmosphere of my home felt different. The house felt gloomy, depressing and sad. I didn't figure out exactly what it was that had changed until my husband said that he caught glimpses of a dark, hooded figure going into my mothers room. I knew instantly that death had come for my mother. I would find a quiet place in the house and address it verbally. I'd say things like, "I know you're here and I know why you're here. If you've come for my mother all I ask is that you take her as quickly and painlessly as possible. If you could take her in her sleep, that would be even better because I don't want her to be afraid." Over the holidays, we made several trips to the emergency room and a couple of weeks of hospital stay. When they released her from the hospital the last week of January, 2017, they told me they were going to send her home on hospice care. Every day she was home after that I'd hug her, I'd sing to her and took extra special care to let her know how much I loved her. At 11:53 P.M. on February 7, 2017, my mother drew her last breath. She'd been sedated so she would sleep through the night but around 11:30, the night nurse woke me up to let me know she was breathing her last. If she had passed 7 minutes later, she would have died on my 56th birthday. At the moment she passed, I felt death leave my home. My husband had seen it and I had felt it. When she passed, the heavy depressing, sad feeling seemed instantly lifted."

Theoreo wrote in 2014, "I am psychic, I see people on the other side, I have lived past lives. I remember them all, especially the years leading up to my death or how I died. So here I am, I have had a lot of crazy things happen to me lately. Has anyone ever seen the Grim Reaper before? Because I have on multiple occasions before someone dies. The first time it happened was years ago, just before my cousin died. I saw the Grim Reaper standing in my grandparents bedroom, he woke me up during the night and there he stood. A dark cloaked figure, in the corner of the room. He held what I believed was a scythe in his hand and since I was young I buried under the sheets to hide. I swore the room temperature dropped and then after a few minutes of rocking under the sheets I looked up to see the Grim Reaper to be gone. It repeated over the years in several episodes where he would come see me and someone would die. One such episode happened in September of this year when I was at this play. I felt the chills and I looked to my right to see the Grim Reaper standing over a man. I was at the end of the aisle and this man was sitting in the aisle across from me. The man went into a seizure and the Grim Reaper looked up at me and brought his dark finger up to his lips or face if it were there as if saying "hush." People around me began screaming and rushing to help the man who had gone into a seizure. I was frozen stiff because I was horrified, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Anyways the man was unconscious from what I believe after his seizure, but after the mans spasming stopped the Grim Reaper or whatever the hell he was vanished. And paramedics took the man away. Now I feel like the progression has gotten worse, I can now sense when death is close for someone. I have predicted before and both had happened in this past year."

Is the Grim Reaper just an escort who takes the departed from this world to the next or does this figure bring death? Are these legends and myths merely a way that people have tried to comfort themselves when it comes to death? Or could some of these entities be real? We guess none of us will really know for sure what will greet us on the other side. The answer to that question is for you to decide!