Strange History: Francis Leavy's handprint

 

On April 18, 1924, at Engine Company #107 a fire department in Chicago it began like any other day. Except on firefighter, Francis Leavy was acting strange that day. He had an air of gloominess around him. He didn't greet his coworkers, smile, or even talk. He just busied himself with cleaning and maintenance around the firehouse. He then admitted to his fellow firefighters that he felt like he was going to die. At the time some of them possibly poked fun at it, because they never thought it could be true.

After 7 p.m. while Leavy was cleaning the windows a call had come in there was a fire at the Curran Hall. Like many of the other firefighters, Leavy left to the fire that was only a few blocks away. Engine #5 and Engine #103 were fighting the fire inside. While firefighters from truck #12 were working the ladders outside.

The four-story building showed some weird anomalies. Some witnesses said that the fires went downstairs like liquid flowing and when it had gotten to the boxes on the stairwell they exploded. Those fighting inside had to take turns running to the windows to breathe fresh air because at the time they had no breathing apparatuses.

Unfortunately for all those who fought the fire inside. Thirty minutes in the fire had damaged the structure of the building too far. First, the roof collapsed and then pushed out the outer walls of the structure causing the whole building to collapse. Those within the building had been hurt or lost their life.

Within thirty minutes all recuse agencies in Chicago were called in. It was difficult to rescue those trapped beneath the building because when the building collapsed it knocked out power lines leaving the search in rescue in the dark.

20 firefighters were injured and 8 firefighters died that night 1 firefighter died 8 days later. One civilian, William Behr, died while trying to help rescue trapped firefighters. Funerals for the fallen occurred on the 21, 22, and 23 where 125 firefighters were officially detailed to honorary escorts for the services. For the first time in history a civilian, William Behr, had 6 firefighters serve as honorary pallbearers.

Truck 12 lost 6 of their firefighters, Engine #5 lost 2, and Engine #107 lost only one and that was Francis Leavy.

The fire itself was found out to be the cause of arson. The reason that the fire spread like liquid flowing was because wood alcohol was spread around the building and lit on fire. The one who started the fire was the owner of the sporting goods and novelties shop that resided on the second floor. They were convicted of arson and murder. It's sad to think all these people were injured, killed, lost their coworkers and friends just because the owners wanted to get $32,000 from the insurance company.

The next day the other firefighters noticed the half-cleaned window that Leavy was working on had a strange stain on it. In the middle of it was a handprint and when they tried cleaning it the handprint would not leave. They scrubbed, scraped with razors, and used different cleaning chemicals, but nothing would work on the window. They even hired people to clean it, but no one could remove the handprint.

It had been suggested to replace the window, but some of them working there didn't want to. They believed that they shouldn't mess with the unknown. It was also left as a reminder or in memory of Leavy and those who lost their lives that night.

On April 18, 1944, exactly 20 years after Leavy and his fellow firefighters lost their life something happened. A paperboy carelessly threw a newspaper and it shattered the window. Thus destroying the mysterious handprint that couldn't be removed.

SOURCES:

Illinois Fire Service Institute

The Paranormal Guide

Paranorms

Dancing Plague of 1518

A Copper engraving of Hendrik Hondius's based on a painting of Pieter Bruegel's believed to be about the dancing plague

It seemed like any normal day in July 1518 for the people of Strasbourg France. A woman named Frau Troffea started dancing in the street without any music. People laughed and clapped at her, but people began to worry as she not only danced to the next day, she danced for six days straight with no rest. Suddenly the dancing became contagious and 3 dozen people joined her by the end of the week. And by the time August came around 400 people had joined in the dancing.
No one really had a clue on what was happening. Physicians of the time claimed that the people were affected by hot blood and were recommended to dance the fever away. People started dying from exhaustion, heart attacks, and strokes.

In response to people dying the physicians recommended more dancing. They erected a stage and brought in music hoping that this will help people dance away the hot blood faster. Their plan didn't work as it had brought in more people to dance. During the height of the dancing mania, at least 15 people died per day. In September the dancing ended as it had started.

This event sounds like it's a legend, but it was a true event. There is no doubt that this Dancing Plague did happen as it was well documented in the town. It wasn't even the only one to have had happened in the 16th century either as events like it happened in Switzerland, Germany, and Holland. None of the others were as extreme as this one though.
There are many theories on why this event happened. One of the bigger theories is that it was all due to mass hysteria. This time it was extremely stressful for the people of Strasbourg. there was a famine happening and many of the residents were suffering from malnutrition due to t it.

Other theories are that they could have ingested Ergot which is a fungus that grows on Rye and grasses like Wheat. When ingested it can cause poisoning and or death. Some of the side effects are hallucinations, spasms, and convulsions which would be a cause for the dancing. It is known as nature LSD. Another theory is that they were part of a religious cult causing them to dance.

SOURCES:

BBC

Historic Mysteries

Discovery

History

Web MD

STRANGE HISTORY: Agnes Bowker Gave Birth to a Cat

 

157 years before the case of Mary Toft was the case of Agnes Bowker. A 27-year-old woman claimed to have given birth to a cat.

In 1568 Agnes Bowker got pregnant which was looked down upon at the time. At the time she was a 27-year-old house servant that worked in Leicestershire, England. On Jan. 17, 1569, Agnes went into labor and gave birth to the supposed cat.

A midwife Elizabeth Harrison talked of a being that would visit Agnes. It would come in the likeness of a bear, or dog, or even sometimes a man. Before Agnes gave birth she told Elizabeth of a Dutch woman she walked by in the countryside who had told her she would give birth to a mooncalf (A monstrous creature).

There were several women present at the birth, but most claimed to have seen nothing. One witness Margret Roos claimed to have been pricked by the beat while it was still in the womb. The women were sent to go get essentials for the birth and came back the monster was laying on the ground and they believed Agnes gave birth to it.

A midwife Elizabeth Harrison talked of a being that would visit Agnes. It would come in the likeness of a bear, or dog, or even sometimes a man.

Local men were suspicious of the supposed birth. The cat has dissected it and found hay and bacon inside. It was known Agnes had tried to borrow a cat and neighbors ended up disappearing. It was not something that was carried by Agnes, but a cat that was killed and skinned.

The tale was spread around and eventually Anthony Anderson, the Archdeacon's Commissary, decided to investigate it. The courts suspected that infanticide may have been committed. But it's possible it was investigated out of curiosity and may have possibly done it to stop the story from spreading any further.

It's unknown what her motives for claiming she gave birth to a cat. It's thought that maybe she wanted to be seen as a victim as her stories for how she got pregnant portrayed her. At the time it was seen as it may have been shameful for her to have become a mother before a wife.

Agness was also examined and told tales of her pregnancy. It's unknown whatever happen to her own baby as it was known she was in fact pregnant.

She told several stories about what had happened to it. She claimed a schoolmaster seduced her and gave her epilepsy. She said that he told her the only way to be cured is to give birth. She claimed the schoolmaster sent the demon that Elizabeth Harrison claimed she saw. So Agnes slept with it and got pregnant.

She first claims that she gave birth and the baby was being nursed at Guisborough. There was another that she gave birth before Christmas and the child was stillborn and buried in Little Bowden. She would then claim she didn't know what had happened when she gave birth other than the midwife saying it was a monster she gave birth to. It's possible she may have committed infanticide and that's why the story of her giving birth to a monster came to be.

SOURCES:
Tudor Society
Historic Mysteries
Mysterious Universe 
Neatorama

Strange History: Case of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas B Cumpston

 In early December of 1873, a couple Mrs. Martha Ann and Thomas B. Cumpston experienced a strange occurrence at the Victoria Hotel in Bristol, England. They were staying at Clifton but wanted to proceed to Weston-super-mare in the morning.

They never expected to experience something terrifying that night.

When they settled down around midnight they began hearing strange noises. They let the landlady know and reassured them that it was nothing and not to worry about it.

About 4 in the morning they heard noises again. When they spoke the words they said echoed back to them.  Thomas seemed to more affected by the noises than Martha. The floor felt like it was giving away and then bed opened up beneath them and they fell in a pit. They believed that they were in a den of rogues and thieves and were in fear of their lives.

Thomas fired his revolver at the ceiling when Martha asked him to. To scare off whoever was there.  They were so terrified for their lives they jumped from the window that was twelve feet from the ground. Martha had stated she didn't even remember how they were able to out the window. The two rushed to the railway station finding somewhere away from the room.

The couple was charged with disorderly conduct and firing a firearm. When they spoke in front of the magistrate the charges were dropped. The way they spoke made it seem like they both believed what they were saying. The Magistrate believed that the young couple was suffering from a shared hallucination.

SOURCES:
Cool Interesting Stuff
Scary Carries
Phantoms and Monsters 
Strange Company
The Bradford  Observer 
The Morning Post
Birmingham Daily Post
The Times

STRANGE HISTORY: Ghost Ship of S.S. Baychimo

 

Baychimo crew bringing supplies to the shore. 

In 1914 the cargo ship SS Ångermanelfven was built in Sweden. It was initially used on trading routes between Hamburg and Sweden until August of 1914 when WWI started. After WWI the boat was transferred to the U.K. as a part of Germany's reparations. In 1921 The Hudson's Bay Company bought the ship and renamed it the S.S. Baychimo. It was used it to trade pelts in Inuit settlements along the Victoria Island coast of Canada Northwest Territories and back to Scotland.

On October 1, 1931, the cargo vessel S.S. Baychimo was heading to Vancouver but became icebound in the waters near Barrow, Alaska. It was towards the end of a trade run, but the crew couldn't do anything about it. They tried their best to dig the ship out, but it was no use they weren't able to do it.

They decided that the best thing to do was to wait out the winter so that the ship would be free. They hiked over to the closest Alaskan City. They waited a few days and it did break free, but then got stuck again a week later. 

The Hudson Company decided to airlift 22 or 19 of the crew member and 14 or 17 of them stayed to keep an eye on the ship. They made a small camp on the shore near the ship. They anticipated they'd stay until the end of winter. 

On November 24th there was a massive blizzard that blew in. The blizzard caused the men to stay inside. When the storm was over they came out and found that the ship was gone. The crew initially believed that the ship just collapsed and sank due to the storm. 

A few days later an Inuit seal hunter had told the group that they saw the S.S. Baychimo around 45 miles off-shore. This was the beginning of the S.S. Baychimo becoming a ghost ship. The ship was reported missing spanning over 3 decades. The last sighting of the ship was in 1969. 

SOURCES.

The Vintage News

Canadas History

Travel Channel

STRANGE HISTORY: Mary Toft Gave Birth To Rabbits

 

Mary Toft was a short and stocky woman. She lived an impoverished life as she was an illiterate servant and her husband, Joshua Toft, was a clothier. They did She resided with her husband and three children in Goldaming, England. She was creating one of the biggest hoaxes in 1726.

In 1726 Mary was in her mid 20's and was pregnant with her fourth child. In April Mary had seen a rabbit while weeding a field. She had chased it and tried to catch it, but had failed. During the pregnancy, she craved foods that featured rabbit meat. Unfortunately, in August of that year, she miscarried.  Into September some reported that Mary still looked very pregnant.

On September 27th Mary had gone to her neighbor and reportedly given birth in front of her. Her neighbor had gotten her mother in law and they'd seen what Mary had given birth to. It wasn't a child, but a liverless cat.

The family decided to call obstetrician  John Howard for help. Her mother presented to him more animal parts Mary had given birth to over the night.  The next day when he had arrived she gave birth to more dismembered animals. Over the next month, she had given birth to more creatures. The animal parts include pig bladder, cat head and paws, and rabbits. It was mostly rabbits that Mary was giving birth to.

Fascinated by the discovery John Howard sent letters out to the best-known doctors and scientists about what was happening.  In the next month news of a woman giving birth to rabbits reached the ears of the court of King George I. The King being curious about this woman sent two men to check it out. He had sent out Nathaniel St. Andre a Swiss surgeon-anatomist to the Kind and Samuel Molyneux who was secretary to the Prince of Wales. They had arrived at Howard's home in Guildford on November 15th where Mary had been sent to be watched.

By this time though Mary had become a local celebrity. When St. Andre and Molyneux arrived at Howard's home they were informed that Mary was in labor with her 15th rabbit. She had given birth to several more rabbits in their presence and none of them survived.

These rabbits were inspected by the doctors. It was concluded that they more than likely didn't develop inside her womb. St. Andre was convinced otherwise, that her case was genuine. He believed that the births were due to the supernatural and took specimens back to London to show the King and Prince of Wales.

Mary Toft soon became popular through London. The King wanted more definite answers sent a German surgeon, Cyriacus Ahlers, and his friend Mr. Brand to Howard's home to inspect Toft. Ahlers examined Mary and witnessed several rabbit births. He was not convinced though. He brought back to London rabbit parts to inspect.

Ahlers suspicions were confirmed when he inspected the rabbit parts. In one rabbit he was able to find fecal pellets inside the rabbit that contained corn, hay, and straw. This proved that the rabbits weren't developing inside of Toft's womb. On November 21st Ahlers reported back to the King about it being a hoax. He showed the specimens as evidence again Toft and Howards.

At the same time a famous doctor and midwife among upper-class London, Sir Richard Manning, was contacted by St. Andre to check Mary Toft. He witnessed her give birth to a hog's bladder and was convinced it was a fraud. However, so that St. Andre and Howard could keep their reputation they asked Manning to keep his doubts to himself till there was definitive proof.


On November 29th, Mary Toft was brought to Lacy's Bagino, a bathhouse, in London's Leicester Fields. This was so that she could be observed more closely. St. Andre was determined to have it to be true. St. Andre contacted many doctors and scientists to look and watch the rabbit births at the bathhouse. One of the doctors was Dr. James Douglas a respected anatomist and midwife. St. Andre wanted Douglas to validate the rabbit births but was disappointed when he wouldn't.

Between the 30th of November and the 3rd of December, the opinions were split between the doctors that gathered to watch Mary. It had become popular among the public also and some even refused to eat rabbits because of Mary being able to give birth to them. They believed she was creating the rabbits due to "Maternal Impressions". This theory is when certain emotions and events could cause the baby to have deformities or abnormalities. On December 3rd St. Andre's released a 40-page pamphlet on this.

Mary had such a bad infection that she had fits which made her lose consciousness.  On December 4th a porter of Mr. Lacy's was caught trying to bring in a rabbit to Mary. He admitted to Douglas and Manningham that Margret Toft, Mary's Sister in Law, asked him to do it.

They waited for Toft to go back into "labor" so they can get a confession from her. Like they thought she had gone into labor, but provided no rabbits. They called Sir Thomas Clarges, Justice of the Peace, to the bathhouse. The porter swore a deposition and admitted that he was sent to get a rabbit for Mary. They took her into custody, but nothing came from it for 2 days.

On December 7th Mary admitted that she had faked the whole thing. She was threatened to have a painful and experimental surgery on her to see if she was formed differently from other women. She admitted because of the recent pregnancy/miscarriage she was able to place dead rabbits inside of herself. She would also carry dead rabbit pieces inside her skirt. She would wait till no one was looking before she would insert it.

She had initially done it to become a part of a freak show and earn money from it. She never intended for it to become as big as it did. She never even got to earn the money she initially wanted to. She was charged on December 9th with being a "Notorious and Vile Cheat" and was sent to Bridewell prison for five months. But she was presented to big curious crowds during her stay.

As a result of this many of the medical profession suffered. St Andre and many other doctors tried to save their reputations. It wasn't only the doctors involved whose reputation suffered it was the profession as a whole. Many people saw the doctors as gullible.

SOURCES:
https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2016/07/05/an-extraordinary-delivery-of-rabbits/
https://publicdomainreview.org/2013/03/20/mary-toft-and-her-extraordinary-delivery-of-rabbits/
http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/exhibns/month/aug2009.html
https://www.urbo.com/content/heres-how-mary-toft-convinced-doctors-shed-given-birth-to-rabbits-and-why-she-did-it/

STRANGE HISTORY: Sylvester the Mummy

 

Sylvester the Mummy is a nickname of a mummy displayed in the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop in Seattle Washington. He was purchased in 1955 and showed off at the Seattle World Fair in 1962. Before that, though he was used as a traveling sideshow attraction.

Legend has it that two cowboys stumbled across the half-buried mummified body of a man in the Gila Bend Desert in Arizona in 1895. That he had died of a gunshot wound to the chest. That the body belonged to some unknown gunslinger. This, of course, is just a legend.

It was found that the act of Sylvester preservations wasn't done naturally. He was injected with arsenic-based embalming fluid right after death. This allowed the body to dry out and mummify. It's possible it was done so his body would be used as a sideshow attraction.

The gunshot wound that supposedly killed him was at some time actually drilled into him and paint was used as blood. At the same time, the one thing that was kind of true was that he was shot at one point. It wasn't his cause of death and he had been shot way before he had died, but his right cheek, body, lungs, and neck had shotgun pellets. It was indicated his cause of death was tuberculosis.

It's still unknown who Sylvester was and why he was chosen to be part of a traveling attraction.


SOURCES:
Seattle Times
Mummipedia 
Smithsonian Channel
Strange Remains

STRANGE HISTORY: Swedish Spheres

 On May 16, 1808 something strange was seen in a little town called Biskopsberga, Sweden. The village was located near Skanninge in Ostergotland, Sweden. The town at the time housed 300 people, but in the present doesn't exist anymore. The unusual phenomenon that was seen that day is remembered.

That afternoon was described as cloudless and warm. A hard wind was blowing from the west. Weirdly enough without any clouds in the sky, the sun began to grow dim. It turned their village a dim brick red. It was so dark that people could stare at the sun and not feel pain.

It was noticed that in the western horizon round spheres appeared. The spheres weren't very big. The spheres headed towards the sun and turned from a dark brown to a black color as they got closer. They slowly began losing speed, but by the time they passed the sun they sped up again. They seemed to have disappeared when it reached the East. The event lasted for around two hours. During which it seemed like millions of similar spheres appeared to do the same thing.

K.G. Wettermark was a respectable citizen and secretary of the Swedish Academy of Sciences. He was there to witness the spheres. He had claimed that one of the spheres fell near him. He claimed that before it fell to the ground that it looked similar to soap bubbles. The kind children created when playing with soapsuds and reeds. The place where the bubble had fallen left a gelatinous film. It was described as thin and fine like a cobweb. It was still changing colors but had soon dried up.

SOURCES:
How Stuff Works

STRANGE HISTORY: Blutfahne (Blood Flag)

 

The Blutfahne or the Blood flag was a sacred item of Nazi Germany. It was used in ceremonies sanctioning other Nazi flags during Hitler's reign.

It started at the Beer Hall Putsch on November 8 and 9 1923.  The Nazi party attempted to take over the government in Bavaria.  The Men were stooped by the Munich police and they fired upon them.

Heinrich Trambauer was carrying a Nazi flag when he was shot he fell dropping the flag. Andreas Bauriedl, who was marching next to Trambauer, was shot in the stomach and automatically died. When he fell to the ground he landed on the flag and soaked it with his blood.

This lead to Hitler's less than a year stay in prison and the creation of Mien Kampf. After Hitler was released the flag was essentially given to him and it became a symbol and ceremonial item.

Trambaur had taken the flag and had hidden it until he was able to give it to Karl Eggers. Eggers then gave the flag to Hitler once he was out of Landsberg Prison. The flag then was fitted for a new staff and a silver sleeve was dedicated to the martyrs from Putsch was placed upon it. It had the names of Bauriedl, Trambauer, and Von Stransky on it.

On July 4, 1926, the flag was presented by Hitler to the SA at the Party Rally in Weimar. The flag was given the name Blufahne. Hitler used it to consecrate new Nazi colors by holding it in one hand and Blufahne in the other.

Trumbauer was selected by Joseph Berchtold, leader of the SS at the time, to be the bearer of the Blutfahne. Due to poor health and later a skull injury, it was shared with  Jakob Grimminger until his death in 1942. Then Grimminger was the sole bearer.

The last time it was publicly seen was in April of 1944 at the funeral of Adolf Wagner. It was kept at the warehouse of Brown House in Munich but may have been destroyed during the Allied bombings in Munich.

It is unknown what had happened to the flag and if it even still exists.

SOURCES:
Axis History
History Extra
Wikipedia

Murder of Daniel Awety and the Death Curse of Thomas Busby's chair

 

Picture of Thomas Busby's chair thanks to unsolved mysteries.

The favorite chair of Thomas Busby has an eerie and terrifying past. For over 300 years this chair has been a sight for many, but misfortune for those who actually sit in it. It has even developed the name the chair of death. And it all started in 1702 with a man named Thomas Busby.

Thomas Busby was a man who would take any chance to drink. It was well known in the community about Busby's favorite pass time. This barfly was not a rare sight in his favorite pub. The only thing that would be rare as if he wasn't sitting in his favorite chair. Busby was not a man to be messed with as he was a thief with a bad temper. If someone said anything he didn't like a fight would ensue.

Busby's father-in-law was Daniel Awety a successful coin forger. The two were partners in petty crime.  Daniel Awety decided after earning a lot of money through his "business" to splurge out and buy a farm near Kirby Wiske. He had renamed it, Danotty Hall, after himself of course.

One summer day in 1702 Awety and Busby had a meeting that ended in a heated argument. Busby went back and found his father-in-law sitting in his favorite seat. Busby demanded Awety to get out of his chair and a fight broke out.

In response, Awety told Busby he was going to take his daughter back to Danotty Hall with him. Later that night Busby went to Danotty Hall and killed Awety with a hammer and placed his body in the woods.

Awety's remains were soon found and the authorities found Busby in his favorite chair. Busby went to trial and was found guilty his punishment was hanging and Busby was granted one last request. He was able to take one last drink in his chair.

"Death will come swiftly to whomsoever sits in my chair." Was Busby's last words before he hung. Surprisingly enough his words rung true.

A chimney sweep sat in Busby's chair and he was unfortunately fell off a roof and had died. This was the first time the chair had been used in decades and this unnamed chimney sweep was the first noted victim. He was not the only one. People were always dared to sit in the chair, but most refused. Some lost their lives doing so.

Some of the most noticeable was when in WWII the place became a hot spot for Members of the Air Force. Few were not afraid to sit in the chair and it was noticeable that those few did not make it home. In 1967 a couple of RAF  sat in the chair and later that night hit a tree head on in their car and died. A lot of daredevils from all around wanted to see the chair. The landlord his it in the basement in hope no one would get hurt.

That didn't help because a roofer sat on the chair to rest and his death soon came after. A cleaning lady who stumbled over the chair had died and even more had died. In the 1970's the chair was donated to the Thrisk Museum where it now resides six feet off the ground so that no one will ever die from it again.

SOURCES:
Historic Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries Wiki
Thirsk Museum
Profiling the Unexplained
Real Unexplained Mysteries
Unexplainable