100 - The Sable Terror
03/29/22 • 36 min
1 Listener
The “woman in black” stalked the streets of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and other towns and villages in Pennsylvania's Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties in the winter of 1886-1887 and into the 1930s.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PodcastDarkness
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agable_fd/
Part of the Straight Up Strange Network: https://www.straightupstrange.com/
Opening music from https://filmmusic.io. "Dark Child" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Closing music by Soma.
SOURCES
Philadelphia Inquirer, November 8, 1886.
Scranton Republican, December 15, 1886.
Wilkes-Barre Record, January 5, 1887.
“Attacked For the Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre Evening News, December 27, 1886.
“Caught At His Tricks.” Wilkes-Barre Sunday Leader, February 6, 1887.
“Caught the Woman in Black.” Scranton Republican, November 6, 1886.
“He Wasn't Afraid.” Carbondale Daily News, December 9, 1886.
“Lackawanna's Mystery.” Wilkes-Barre Evening News, November 30, 1886.
“Local Brevities.” Carbondale Daily News, December 4, 1886.
“Local Gleanings.” Pittston Evening Gazette, December 18, 1886.
“Plymouth.” Wilkes-Barre Record, December 25, 1886.
“Plymouth.” Wilkes-Barre Record, December 27, 1886.
“Plymouth.” Wilkes-Barre Record, December 28, 1886.
“Scared by a Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre Record, December 30, 1886.
“Slammer Coleman as the Woman in Black.” Scranton Republican, December 9, 1886.
“The Bunko Men.” Wilkes-Barre Sunday News-Dealer, October 31, 1886.
“The Woman in Black.” New York Times, November 10, 1886.
“The Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre Evening News, November 23, 1886.
“The Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre Dollar Weekly News, December 25, 1886.
“The Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre News, December 30, 1886.
“The Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre News, December 31, 1886.
“The Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre Sunday Leader, January 2, 1887.
“The Woman in Black.” New York Times, January 7, 1887.
“The Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre Weekly Dollar News, January 22, 1887.
“The Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre News, February 5, 1893.
“Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre News, December 27, 1886.
“Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre Sunday News-Dealer, January 2, 1887.
“Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre Dollar Weekly News, January 15, 1887.
Peter VON WEISENFLUE - Facts (ancestry.com)
Wright J. Horton - Facts (ancestry.com)
Ancestry.com - U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 – Scranton 1886
Ancestry.com - U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 – Wilkes-Barre 1882
Luzerne County 1873 Pennsylvania Historical Atlas (historicmapworks.com)
Coal mining in Plymouth, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia
In the passage describing the attack on Wright Horton, the name of the sheriff's son is incorrectly given as Jules. His name was actually Julius, and I've corrected it to such.
The “woman in black” stalked the streets of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and other towns and villages in Pennsylvania's Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties in the winter of 1886-1887 and into the 1930s.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PodcastDarkness
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agable_fd/
Part of the Straight Up Strange Network: https://www.straightupstrange.com/
Opening music from https://filmmusic.io. "Dark Child" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Closing music by Soma.
SOURCES
Philadelphia Inquirer, November 8, 1886.
Scranton Republican, December 15, 1886.
Wilkes-Barre Record, January 5, 1887.
“Attacked For the Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre Evening News, December 27, 1886.
“Caught At His Tricks.” Wilkes-Barre Sunday Leader, February 6, 1887.
“Caught the Woman in Black.” Scranton Republican, November 6, 1886.
“He Wasn't Afraid.” Carbondale Daily News, December 9, 1886.
“Lackawanna's Mystery.” Wilkes-Barre Evening News, November 30, 1886.
“Local Brevities.” Carbondale Daily News, December 4, 1886.
“Local Gleanings.” Pittston Evening Gazette, December 18, 1886.
“Plymouth.” Wilkes-Barre Record, December 25, 1886.
“Plymouth.” Wilkes-Barre Record, December 27, 1886.
“Plymouth.” Wilkes-Barre Record, December 28, 1886.
“Scared by a Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre Record, December 30, 1886.
“Slammer Coleman as the Woman in Black.” Scranton Republican, December 9, 1886.
“The Bunko Men.” Wilkes-Barre Sunday News-Dealer, October 31, 1886.
“The Woman in Black.” New York Times, November 10, 1886.
“The Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre Evening News, November 23, 1886.
“The Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre Dollar Weekly News, December 25, 1886.
“The Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre News, December 30, 1886.
“The Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre News, December 31, 1886.
“The Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre Sunday Leader, January 2, 1887.
“The Woman in Black.” New York Times, January 7, 1887.
“The Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre Weekly Dollar News, January 22, 1887.
“The Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre News, February 5, 1893.
“Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre News, December 27, 1886.
“Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre Sunday News-Dealer, January 2, 1887.
“Woman in Black.” Wilkes-Barre Dollar Weekly News, January 15, 1887.
Peter VON WEISENFLUE - Facts (ancestry.com)
Wright J. Horton - Facts (ancestry.com)
Ancestry.com - U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 – Scranton 1886
Ancestry.com - U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 – Wilkes-Barre 1882
Luzerne County 1873 Pennsylvania Historical Atlas (historicmapworks.com)
Coal mining in Plymouth, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia
In the passage describing the attack on Wright Horton, the name of the sheriff's son is incorrectly given as Jules. His name was actually Julius, and I've corrected it to such.
Previous Episode
99 - The Bowery Slasher
In the winter of 1891-1892, a series of slashing attacks - and one murder - took place in the rough streets of the Bowery in Lower Manhattan, barely a stone's throw from the seedy hotel where “Old Shakespeare” was slain only a few months before.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PodcastDarkness
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agable_fd/
Part of the Straight Up Strange Network: https://www.straightupstrange.com/
Opening music from https://filmmusic.io. "Dark Child" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Closing music by Soma.
SOURCES
“Arraignment of the Slasher.” New York Sun, January 20, 1892.
“Carson's Slayer.” New York Evening World, January 18, 1892.
“Caught Cutting a Throat.” New York Tribune, January 18, 1892.
“Dowd Was Mad, the Jury Say.” New York Sun, January 30, 1892.
“Jack the Slasher Again.” Passaic (NJ) Daily News, January 16, 1892.
“Jack the Slasher in Court.” New York Evening World, January 28, 1892.
“Masterson a Roundsman Now.” New York Sun, January 20, 1892.
“Men Whom Dowd Slashed.” New York Evening World, January 29, 1892.
“Murder or Suicide?” New York Evening World, January 15, 1892.
“Red Revenge Day By Day.” Pittsburgh (PA) Dispatch, January 18, 1892.
“Saloon Keeper Flynn's Frenzy.” New York Sun, July 6, 1887.
“Slasher Dowd's Defense.” New York Evening World, January 21, 1892.
“Slasher Dowd's Trial Put Off.” New York Evening World, January 25, 1892.
“The Slasher's Brother Sane.” New York Evening World, January 28, 1892.
“The Weather.” Brooklyn Times-Union, January 18, 1892.
“Who Killed Lawyer Carson?” New York Evening World, January 16, 1892.
Dekle, George. The East River Ripper. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2021.
New York, U.S., Sing Sing Prison Admission Registers, 1865-1939 - Ancestry.com
Next Episode
101 - The Mystery of J.C.R.
An unidentified, mostly noncommunicative man in a Minnesota mental hospital, known as J.C.R., was the plaintiff in a case to prove his identity as a North Dakota rancher's son. Who was J.C.R.? Will we ever know?
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PodcastDarkness
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agable_fd/
Part of the Straight Up Strange Network: https://www.straightupstrange.com/
Opening music from https://filmmusic.io. "Dark Child" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Closing music by Soma.
SOURCES
“Accused of Writing Bogus Checks.” Washington Post, January 7, 1905.
“Aphasia Victim May Be Naval Officer.” New York Tribune, May 26, 1913.
“Are Positive of Identity.” Long Beach Telegram (California), May 23, 1913.
“Bullets Write New Chapter in 'J.C.R.' Mystery.” Leavenworth Times (Kansas), May 4, 1917.
“Caldwell Will Case Postponed.” Grand Forks Herald (North Dakota), August 27, 1917.
“Dorothy Harris Claims to be Daughter of 'J.C.R.' and Heir to a Large Fortune.” Minneapolis Star-Tribune, November 16, 1919.
“Famous Identity Case Concluded Late Last Week.” Dickinson Press (North Dakota), January 20, 1917.
“Found Paralyzed.” La Crosse Tribune (Wisconsin), July 13, 1907.
“Four Others Identify 'Aye-Hee' as Ramsey.” Oregon Daily Journal, May 23, 1913.
“Girl, 18, Claims 'J.C.R.' Mystery man as Father.” Maurice Times (Iowa), December 11, 1919.
“Hopes of Fortune Depend on Flute.” Spokane Daily Chronicle, November 17, 1919.
“Insane Prisoner Attacks Sheriff.” Billings Gazette (Montana), August 10, 1917.
“Is He? Or Is He Not? Week of Court Serves to Deepen Mystery of 'J.C.R.'.” Dickinson Press (North Dakota), January 6, 1917.
“'J.C.R. Again in Our City.” Dickinson Press (North Dakota), July 31, 1915.
“'J.C.R.' Face to Face With Lost Identity.” Chicago Inter Ocean, January 17, 1914.
“J.C.R. Identified as James Harris Now Making Home with Former Wife.” Ward County Independent (Minnesota), August 26, 1920.
“'J.C.R.' in Visit to Dickinson.” Bismarck Tribune, November 14, 1921.
“'J.C.R.' on Co. Wants to Let Go.” Dickinson Press (North Dakota), April 10, 1915.
“'J.C.R.,' the Man of Mystery, Declared Seen in Spokane.” Spokane Chronicle (Washington), January 24, 1920.
“'J.C.R.' Walks to Dickinson.” Williston Graphic (North Dakota), August 5, 1915.
“Man of Mystery Found.” Seattle Star, January 27, 1920.
“Mrs. Pitkin Has an Unenviable Record.” Fargo Forum and Daily Republican (North Dakota), December 14, 1914.
“Mysterious 'J.C.R.' Identified as Man Missing since 1906.” St. Louis Star and Times (Missouri), November 19, 1914.
“Mystery Man for 13 Years is Brought Home.” Minneapolis Morning Tribune, August 18, 1920.
“Mystery Man of Stark is Paralyzed.” Bismarck Tribune, January 31, 1921.
“Noted Murder Case in North Dakota.” Rapid City Journal (North Carolina), June 19, 1917.
“Says She is Wrong.” Long Beach Telegram (California), May 22, 1913.
“'Silent Man' an Oklahoman?” Oklahoma Weekly Leader, May 29, 1913.
“Slayer of Two Caldwells Held Insane by Jury.” August 14, 1917.
“State News and Comment.” Bismarck Daily Tribune (North Dakota), April 10, 1915.
“Strange Case of 'J.C.R.' the Man of Mystery Who Has Apparently Lost All Track of Himself.” Asheville Citizen-Times (North Carolina), November 9, 1913.
“Trial of Mike Chumack Likely to be Postponed.” Hope Pioneer (North Dakota), June 14, 1917.
“Wife Looks for Jas. P. Harris.” Tampa Times, January 13, 1920.
Burnett, W. Fulton. “The Case of the Mysterious J.C.R.” North Dakota Law Review, volume 25, number 4 (1949).
Callahan, Edward W. List of Officers of the Navy of the United States and of the Marine Corps, from 1775 to 1900. New York: L.R. Hamersly & Co., 1901.
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