The White City Ballroom Dance Marathon
The above is one of my favorite pictures that goes around the internet – a shot from one of the dance marathons that were all the rage in the 1920s… Read more »
Category: blog
The Real Mickey Finn of Chicago
In 1918, there was a scandal around Chicago’s classy hotels: employees were accused of using “Mickey Finn” powders to knock their wealthy customers out, so that they could be robbed…. Read more »
Frances Carrick, a Chicago Trans Woman Accused of Murder in 1923
This is the story of Frances Carrick, a transgender woman accused of murder in Chicago in 1923.
Monument Unveiling for William Randall, 29th USCT
A few months before release date, and my Graceland Cemetery book is already out of date – in the best way! Several of the stories in the book are about… Read more »
Chicago’s “Legally” Haunted House
In 1991, a man in New York sued the previous owners of his house for not having disclosed that the house was haunted, and the court ruled in his favor…. Read more »
The Grave of Big Thunder: A Deep Dive
The exposed corpse of Big Thunder, which was an Illinois tourist trap in the 1830s. A deep dive into first hand accounts.
Minnie Wallace and the Ravenswood House of Mystery
When you’re 49 and talk a teenage girl into marrying you, and then she kills you and takes all your money… it’s kinda on you, bro. Minnie was only 16… Read more »
Girl in Glass: The Inez Statue at Graceland Cemetery
Lots of new information on the history of Inez, Graceland Cemetery’s famous “Girl in Glass.”