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Gruesome Playthings
Vintage postcard of Scranton hospitalThroughout history, young boys have found countless ways to keep themselves entertained. This story, which appeared in the March 25, 1895 edition of the Scranton...
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Murderer Sells Own Body to Showman
Grave of Hummel's victims, at Christ Lutheran Stone Church Cemetery near Allenwood.Of all the murder trials that have occurred in the history of Lycoming County, few became as famous as the murder of...
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Strange Drowning
The Susquehanna River, upstream from Catawissa.To the casual observer, the Susquehanna River is a scenic wonder, lazily meandering through the Keystone State. Yet this majestic river has snatched away...
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Sunbury man wore shoes made of human skin
Shoes made from skin of outlaw George Parrott, on display in a Wyoming museum.All kinds of materials have been used to make shoes, from blue suede to alligator skin. In 1907, one man from...
View ArticleTruly bizarre ghost story
The September 24, 1903 edition of the Bloomsburg Columbian featured a short but interesting story about ghostly images which appeared on one family's ceiling in the village of Otto, in Northumberland...
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Spontaneous Human Combustion?
Photo of John Bentley, who died from spontaneous combustion (also in PA) in 1966.According to this story, published by the Scranton Tribune on December 16, 1896, Sarah Mullen's unusual death was caused...
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How many balls can you fit in your mouth?
It's amazing the types of stories that were newsworthy in small towns before the age of radio and television. Take the following article, for instance, which appeared on page five of the Thursday,...
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The Deadly Umbrella Duel of 1912
Since time immemorial, duels have been fought with all kinds of weapons, from swords and knives to muskets, revolvers, and... umbrellas.Yes, that's correct. Umbrellas. Worst of all, the two men...
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Bedford County Man Lost His Head
Coal miners near Hazleton, circa late 19th centuryA stark reminder of just how dangerous everyday life was back in the 19th century. From the Huntingdon Journal, February 13, 1871:On Friday last the...
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Gowen City Ghost
The old Gowen City HotelIn 1907, newspapers across Northumberland County published a story about a haunted oak tree in Gowen City. According to reports, the locals believed that the mysterious lights...
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Gator Caught in Penn's Creek
The October 3, 1895, edition of the Middleburgh Post (Middleburg, PA) featured a short but peculiar blurb about a man who caught a two-foot-long lizard while fishing near Centreville. For the record,...
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Practical Joke Gone Awry
19th century blacksmiths at workOne of the reasons I started this blog is because I love reading old newspapers. It's amazing how much times have changed; things that happened in everyday life a...
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The Mob and Marion Heights
Abandoned Catholic school, Marion HeightsTo the casual observer, the borough of Marion Heights is a sleepy coal mining town, one of hundreds of similar soot-stained villages dotting the landscape of...
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Body in a Well
The St. Nicholas coal breaker, not far from New BostonThe sad tale of Anthony Konitskuski, whose killer has never been caught. Just one of the hundreds of unsolved murders which plagued the Coal...
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Mutilated Baby Found in Creek
Indian Ridge colliery, between Lloyd and Centre streets, Shenandoah.Disclaimer: This blog was created to share some of the more shocking and unusual stories from Pennsylvania's past, and even though we...
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School for Murderers
Undated photo of Italian mobstersPennsylvania has a long history of organized crime, from the Molly Maguires of the 19th century to the violent street gangs of today. In the early 1900s, there was the...
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A Sea Monster in Milton
As an avid runner as well as a resident of Milton, my evening jog takes me down Golf Course Road to Route 405, down Front Street, across Locust, and back to Golf Course Road- a course that's 5...
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Skeleton Found in Tree
In 1902, two woodsmen in northern Pike County made a rather unusual discovery- the remains of a murdered man inside of a tree trunk. From the November 20, 1902 edition of the Bloomsburg Columbian:Two...
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Mother Whacks Baby with Hatchet
On the South Side of Pittsburgh in July of 1891, Mrs. Mimmer struck her eight month old baby on the head with a hatchet. While this crime may seem unbelievable, wait until you read about the reason...
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Young Lad's Head Cut Off by Train
From the June 22, 1910 edition of the Reynoldsville Star:John Allison, the eight-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. William Allison, of Punxsutawney, was struck by the B.R.&P. flyer Thursday afternoon...
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