In January of 1926, Ed Rinebold was driving his normal newspaper deliver route in western Illinois when he had a strange feeling. The car at the railroad crossing had just been in an accident. He hadn’t heard or seen anything, but just knew that’s what happened. When he went back, the flaming ruins of the […]
Ed Rinebold drove his delivery truck carefully down the icy roads toward the railroad tracks at Poppy Crossing, about twelve miles from Moline, Illinois. He had driven that route dozens of times as a driver for the Daily Times, a local newspaper. But he wasn’t taking any chances. The last thing that he wanted to
The fire had started at around 2 a.m. in the early morning hours of January 7, 1950. Half an hour later, St. Elizabeth’s Mental Hospital would be engulfed in flames. Firemen and other rescuers hacked at the iron bars covering the windows to the patient’s rooms. Many of the patients screamed desperately into the
Beyond Recognition: What Started the St. Elizabeth’s Fire? Read More »
In this, the second part of the tragic story of the St. Elizabeth’s Mental Hospital Fire of 1950, people across America were shocked by the disaster that had claimed the lives of 41 people. Fire and police investigators were eager to find out what had caused the blaze. When they did, the truth was almost
Episode 100: Beyond Recognition: What Started the St. Elizabeth’s Fire? Read More »
In the early hours of January 7, 1950, flames illuminated the night sky around Mercy Hospital. An orderly was one of the first to see a mental hospital on the grounds engulfed in fire, but he would be far from the last. By the next morning, it would be one of the worst hospital fires
Episode 99: Plain Hell: The St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Fire of 1950 Read More »
Lucille Kalloway checked the clock. It was just before 11 p.m. The patients had been safely in their rooms since about 9 p.m., which was the normal time for them to turn in. Mentally, she ticked off her responsibilities for the end of shift. Lucille had started working at the facility in the summer
Plain Hell: The St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Fire of 1950 Read More »
Mary Stewart had died too young, and her husband, William, couldn’t stand the grief. Buying a gun, he set into motion plans of murder and suicide. But after telling a neighbor, nothing went the way he expected, resulting in an unbelievable conclusion. Sources Police Block Father’s Plot to Slay Babes. The Davenport Democrat and
Episode 95: Depths of Despair: A Murder/Suicide Plot in Iowa Read More »
Mary was gone, and there was no bringing her back. William Stewart stared out the window, letting his mind wander through the past. Mary and her family had come from Germany and settled in the area around LeClaire, Iowa, in the eastern part of the state. When he had met her, Mary’s name had
Depths of Despair: A Murder/Suicide Plot in Iowa Read More »
The Rock and Roll Mansion in Davenport, Iowa, is a former mortuary that’s been converted into the current home of many popular local radio stations. Employees over the years swear they have experienced everything from phantom footsteps to full apparitions. Do some spirits remain after their funeral was held in the building? Sources Entertains
Episode 93: Is This Former Iowa Mortuary Now a Haunted Radio Station? Read More »
Emma Harvey had lived a good life, but now it had come to an end. Born in New York, she and her parents had moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, during her childhood. In 1874, Emma had married Edward Shaw, a Davenport, Iowa, man who worked as a carpenter with his father, George. About a
Is This Former Iowa Mortuary Now a Haunted Radio Station? Read More »
