In the spring of 1896, the home of Arthur Ramsay, an eccentric artist in Oil City, Pennsylvania, became the setting for a horrifying tragedy. Ramsay had recently become consumed by an intense and bizarre religious fervor that warped his perception of reality. He developed a disturbing obsession centered on his wife, 26-year-old Effie, whom he…
After serving his country in the Civil War, Robert Montgomery returned to Wanamie, Pennsylvania and began working as a pump engineer for a local coal mine. In early August 1896, Robert was down in a mine when he suddenly became freezing cold and got the strange sensation that he wasn’t alone. After looking around for…
Just a short walk from Independence Hall in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is Washington Square. While the square was laid out by William Penn in 1692, for much of the following century it was used as a public burial site for paupers, sailors, convicts, African-Americans and others considered to be of low class. It’s believed that…
