A Burglar Caught by a Skeleton & Other Singular Tales from the Victorian Press

by Clay, Jeremy

  He returned to Edinburgh, where he eked out a livelihood as a hawker for many years, being in no wise troubled with the bullet, which no doubt ultimately caused his death. In fact, until within three months of his death, he enjoyed unbroken health.

  The bullet had hollowed out a cavity for itself near the apex of the lung, where it must have rolled about during life. It was encrusted with a hard white substance, and weighed about an ounce and a quarter.

  The Edinburgh Evening News, November 9, 1878

  Singular Cause of Death

  A young lady in Reading, Pa., has just died from sheer fright, produced through a foolish fancy. Having had her photograph taken, she showed a copy to her mother, who discovered the form of a skull on the pictures. Another skull having been figured out, the young lady grew pale, took to her bed, and died.

  The Edinburgh Evening News, September 7, 1876

  Sudden Death of a Lady From Being Shot at with a Toy Pistol

  On Saturday evening, as Mrs Norris, who with her two sisters have for many years kept a haberdasher’s and stationer’s shop in Brentwood, was serving some customers, some boys threw some peas at the shop window and into the shop.

  She ran to the door to drive them away, when one of them fired a toy pistol at her. She instantly dropped down dead. She had previously been suffering from a slight affection of the heart.

  The Grantham Journal, January 30, 1869

  Strange Death of a Professor

  A retired University professor, M. Louis Gerard, aged 56, met with a singular and terrible death, on Friday night, at Paris.

  A match he had struck to light his pipe set fire to his long and bushy beard. It flared up tremendously and the flames caught his hair, and then set fire to his clothes.

  Before they could be extinguished, the unfortunate gentleman had been so shockingly burned that he died from exhaustion half an hour later.

  The Cornishman, March 2, 1899

  A Mexican Chapter of Horrors

  A correspondent of the Morning Post, writing from Mexico on the 29th ult., says: One of the female scholars in one of the public schools of the city the other day found at home a packet of strychnia, and quite ignorant of the fatal properties of the drug, she brought it to the school house and placed it in the vessel containing the water for the use of her fellow-pupils.

  Eight of them drank the poisoned water, and four of them, including the author of the calamity, expired in great agony.

  The Dundee Courier and Argus, December 10, 1868

  Killed by a Coffin

  Dr Lankester held an inquest on Saturday evening at the University College Hospital on the body of Henry Taylor, aged sixty-six.

  The evidence of Mr E.J. Reading, an undertaker’s foreman, and others, showed that on the 19th instant the deceased, with others, was engaged at a funeral at Kensal Green Cemetery.

  The church service having been finished, the coffin and mourners proceeded in coaches towards the place of burial. The day being damp, the foreman directed the coaches with the mourners to proceed to the grave by the footway, and the hearse across the grass towards a grave-digger, who was motioning the nearest way.

  The coffin was moved from the hearse and being carried down a path only three feet wide, by six bearers, when orders were given to turn, so that the coffin, which was what is known in the trade as a 4lb leaden one, should go head first.

  While the men were changing, it is supposed that the deceased caught his foot against a sidestone and stumbled; the other bearers, to save themselves, let the coffin go, and it fell with great force on to the deceased, fracturing his jaws and ribs.

  The greatest confusion was created amongst the mourners who witnessed the accident, and the widow of the person about to be buried nearly went into hysterics.

  Further assistance having been procured, the burial service was proceeded with, while the deceased was conveyed to a surgery, and ultimately to the above-mentioned hospital, where he expired on the 24th instant.

  The jury recommended that straps should be placed round coffins, which would tend to prevent such accidents. Verdict – accidental death.

  The Illustrated Police News, November 2, 1872

  Choked by a Billiard Ball

  A singular death occurred on Wednesday night at a public house in Soho, London. Some men were in the billiard room, when one of them attempted to get a billiard ball into his mouth. This feat he had previously accomplished, and had successfully removed the ball.

  This time, however, he failed to extract it, and it became fixed in his throat. A cab was immediately fetched, but while being removed to the hospital the unfortunate fellow expired.

  The Sheffield and Rotherham Independent, November 4, 1893

  Awful Occurence

  On Monday morning last, a woman named Jones, at Mullahead, near Tandragee, went out of the house, leaving her two children in the kitchen with a pot of water ready for scalding the churn.

  The children began to play hide and seek, and one of them got into the churn and put on the lid. The mother came in, and in a hurry threw in the water and scalded the child to death. The other called out to her what she had done, when she took up a stool and dashed out its brains, and then ran out and is supposed to have drowned herself as she has not yet been discovered.

  The Cork Examiner, March 20, 1843

  Missing for Four Months and Dead at Home at Last

  The American newspapers report a curious case. A man named Colt, living in New York, disappeared on the second of December last, being last seen by the conductor of a car apparently going towards his home. The relatives and his wife made every exertion to find Colt, without the slightest success.

  About the time her husband disappeared, Mrs Colt noticed that the outhouse door, which fastened with a spring lock, was shut, and as she had no key, she was unable to open it. The natural grief and anxiety attending the fruitless search for her missing husband, caused Mrs Colt to pay no special heed to the circumstance, and she made no effort to open the door.

  Mr Colt still continuing to be missing, his wife and children were finally compelled after an interval of some three weeks, to leave their residence and seek another more suited to their changed circumstances. The second floor which they had occupied was not re-let and still remains untenanted.

  On Tuesday, several boys residing in the neighbourhood engaged in a game at ‘hide and seek,’ and one of them in the course of his play peered through a knot-hole in the side of the outhouse already spoken of, and was surprised to see the form of a man therein.

  The police were subsequently notified, and broke open the door, and discovered that the man was quite dead and slightly black in the face. It proved to be the missing Colt. The process of decomposition had in some unexplained manner been greatly retarded.

  The Grantham Journal, May 7, 1870

  A Strange Discovery

  A box was sent from Tynemouth to Canterbury a fortnight ago, but the person to whom it was addressed could not be found. The box has just been opened, and the dead body of a child found in it.

  The Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette, January 22, 1886

  Lost in a Fog.

  Twenty Persons Drowned

  A fog of extraordinary density prevailed at Amsterdam, on Thursday night, compelling the suspension of vehicular traffic and rendering it highly dangerous for pedestrians to make their way from one part of the city to another.

  It is stated this morning that no fewer than seventy-nine persons, who were out last night, missed their way and fell into the water of the various canals which intersect the city. Of these twenty at least were drowned, while several others are still missing.

  The Evening News, Portsmouth, December 30, 1893

  An Incident of the Influenza

  A peculiar incident is reported from Strood-next-Rochester. An elderly lady died from influenza, and the funeral was to have taken place a week ago. On the day appointed for the interment, however, all the mourners were down with the s
ame malady, and the body was consequently removed to the mortuary.

  Since then the deceased’s two sisters, who had resided with her, have died from influenza, and a sister-in-law is lying dangerously ill. A triple funeral will take place to-day.

  The Devon and Exeter Daily Gazette, March 14, 1895

  Born in a Grave

  A Vienna correspondent telegraphs: The Pester Lloyd reports a horrible story from a village near Szegedin, in Hungary.

  The wife of a landed proprietor, Michael Gouda, died before giving birth to a child. The village doctor confirmed her death, and she was buried. Three days afterwards the husband began to entertain doubts as to the certainty of her death, and would not rest until the police had caused his wife to be exhumed.

  The body was found lying on one side, and when the clothes were removed the corpse of a new-born child was found lying beside its mother. The local doctors assert that the child was born from the dead woman, but in Budapest it is believed that she was buried alive in a cataleptic condition. The husband is frantic.

  The Evening News, Portsmouth, September 20, 1890

  Delicacy and Drowning

  The Hampshire Telegraph, in its ‘Naval Section,’ relates the following curious story from Bermuda: ‘A party of blue-jackets were returning from Hamilton by steamboat, having just been on general leave, when a quarrel took place. According to my information one of the parties to this quarrel struck the man with whom he was contending, the result being that the latter went overboard.

  ‘A marine, having observed what had taken place, immediately peeled to jump in; but as he was just dropping the last article of attire and preparing for his spring, an officer ordered him to dress, as there were ladies in a boat close by.

  ‘A life-buoy was thrown overboard, and the ladies in the boat manifested every description of sympathy with the unfortunate man, who was now some two or three hundred yards astern, but seemed altogether opposed to the idea of an ordinary man springing into the sea unless duly and sufficiently attired in the garments which fashion rather than common sense has decided to be proper.

  ‘A sudden sweep of the boat brought the position of the unfortunate swimmer into view, and his frantic efforts to keep afloat at last created in the minds of those who were watching some idea of his imminent danger. Now the officer thought it necessary to ask if anyone could swim, and hardly were the words uttered when over went five men to the rescue, including the marine.

  ‘The action taken, however, was too late, and the poor fellow sank and was drowned. From this moment it seemed to occur to this young officer that he had been guilty of, to put it mildly, an act of false delicacy interwoven with a spice of inhumanity. Boats were now sent out and everything done that should have been done very much earlier. A coroner’s jury has assembled, and a verdict of “Found drowned” has been returned.’

  The Western Daily Press, Bristol, June 9, 1892

  The Dead Sailor and His Dog.

  A Terrible Discovery

  A most extraordinary discovery was made a few weeks ago by two sailors belonging to a vessel named the Prairie Queen. The mariners in question landed on one of the cluster of small islands in the Indian Ocean known as the Maldives. Most of these are uninhabited. They are situated south-west of Cape Comorin. The sailors’ leave of absence did not extend beyond the brief space of two hours.

  In less than half that time they came upon an object the sight of which transfixed them in a state of speechless astonishment and horror. They observed the ghastly remains of a human being hanging across the branch of a tree which one hand of the figure still grasped.

  At their approach a flock of vultures flew off in all directions. The figure was nearly reduced to a mere skeleton, but the remnants of garments that partially clothed it served to show that the dead man was either an English or an American sailor. This was more clearly demonstrated upon closer inspection. On a branch of the tree the following name and date were carved –

  S. PARKER. 1872

  Near to the tree and its ghastly burden was a retriever dog, the howlings of which had attracted the sailors to the spot. They forthwith induced the captain and crew to witness the sad spectacle, and the general impression on the minds of all on board the Prairie Queen was that the strange figure was all that remained of a ship-wrecked sailor, who had sought the island in question as a haven of rest, and found thereon a grave.

  Whether the ill-fated man died from want and exposure, or from the effects of lightning, or a sunstroke, it is not possible to say. The dog was doubtless saved with him from the wreck. How the poor animal managed to find food can be readily understood. The two sailors, before they left the island, dug a shallow grave, in which they deposited the remains. The dog they took with them and the faithful creature soon became a great favourite with every man and boy on board the Prairie Queen.

  The Illustrated Police News, January 3, 1874

  A Strange Will

  A well-known citizen of Brooklyn, U.S., alike renowned for his wealth and eccentricity, died a few weeks ago, and his last will and testament was found by his sorrowing relatives with whom he had been at odds during his life, to contain the following curious bequests: ‘I own seventy-one pairs of trousers. It is my desire that they be sold by public auction after my death, and that the product of their sale be distributed among the deserving poor of my parish. They must, however, be disposed of severally to different bidders, no single individual being permitted to purchase more than one pair.’

  These directions were duly carried out by the heirs-at-law. The seventy-one pairs of trousers were successively knocked down to seventy-one purchasers, and their price was handed over to the parochial authorities.

  A few days after the sale one of the buyers took it into his head to make a careful examination of his newly-acquired property, and found a small canvas bag neatly sewn up in the waistband. Upon opening this bag an agreeable surprise met his gaze, in the shape of ten one hundred dollar notes.

  The tidings of this amazing discovery spread like wildfire throughout Brooklyn and New York, and each fortunate possessor of a pair of these precious pantaloons was rejoiced to find his investigations rewarded by the acquisition of a sum equivalent to two hundred pounds sterling.

  It seems that the eccentric testator’s heirs have instituted proceedings to recover the amounts secreted by him in the linings of his trousers from the present proprietors of those garments, on the ground that he was obviously out of his mind when he made such an insensate will.

  The Star, Guernsey, February 24, 1880

  An Extraordinary Will

  A cabman has committed suicide in Paris in a fit of disgust at things in general. In his pocket he left a most singular will. It directs that in the left pocket of his trousers will be found a ten-franc piece, which is to be given to the doctor who signs the certificate of his death. The body is to be carried to the Jardin des Plantes and dissected. The flesh is to be cut into slices and divided among the lions, tiger, and bears. The testator adds, ‘I intend that these animals shall regale themselves upon my flesh.’

  The Western Daily Press, Bristol, August 23, 1888

  The Astonished Photographer

  A well-known artist of the camera, says the London correspondent of the Sheffield Daily Telegraph, was lately called in to photograph the body of a young lady who had just ‘died’ under peculiar and distressing circumstances.

  The body was laid out on the sofa in the drawing-room. The photographer, who was left alone in the room with the body, took a negative. After inspecting it, he took another. And then, to his amazement, he discovered that the two negatives were not alike. The body must have moved!

  He instantly summoned the nurse and a doctor, when it was ascertained that the poor girl had never departed this life. Her sleep had been only that of a trance.

  The Hull Daily Mail, March 19, 1889

  Incredible Carelessness

  A tragic occurrence is reported from Widnes. On Saturday night, a youth
named Hague was sent by his master, a wholesale draper named Birchall, to his lodgings for a four-chambered revolver, which the master intended presenting to a policeman going to Australia.

  At the lodgings Hague shot himself through the mouth with the revolver, it is supposed while inspecting it. The domestic servant was showing a neighbour how it occurred, when the firearm again went off, and shot her through the mouth. Both are dead.

  The Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette, October 10, 1881

  Strange Attempt at Suicide

  On Thursday morning a strange attempt at suicide was made by a gentleman named Isaac House, aged sixty-five years, residing at No. 16, The Grove, Stockwell Green.

  About nine o’clock he went up to his bedroom, and having procured a toy cannon, loaded it with powder, placed it on the dressing table, and procured a match. He then stooped down, placed his mouth over the muzzle, and with his right hand fired the cannon. Mrs House, hearing a heavy fall, rushed upstairs and found her husband bleeding.

  Assistance was procured, and Mr House was immediately removed to St Thomas’s Hospital, and attended by the surgical officials, who found the roof and other portions of the mouth frightfully lacerated, having no less than sixteen irregular gashes. These were successfully stitched up, but in consequence of not being able to stop the haemorrhage, little hopes are entertained of Mr House’s recovery.

  The Western Daily Press, Bristol, January 1, 1876