Category Archives: Urban Legends

Angry Ghosts

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On a calm winter night in 1892, Edward Wallace was sitting with his wife and their five children in a room in their small log house near the railroad tracks in Waynesville. The night was peaceful and relaxing as they busied themselves with their own tasks. The quiet was interrupted when a ghost suddenly appeared before them. At once, the spirit blew out their lights and demanded they leave the house and never return.

Confused, the family members protested this idea. When they did, the ghost grabbed the nearest child, the oldest, Cora. He quickly shoved her facedown onto the nearby table and started beating her. In shock, the family members could only watch in horror, glued to their seats. They recognized the ghost as that of Joe Lynch, who was murdered in 1878 in Waynesville by James Buckner. Before they had time to wonder why he showed up or react to his actions, another ghost appeared and rescued Cora.
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Seven Daschunds

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Dave Dye of Yellow Springs didn’t hesitate when an old German man appeared at his door asking for food. The man didn’t give his name but seemed so exhausted that Dye didn’t think twice before inviting him in for the night. The two shared a meal and beers while telling stories and talking all evening. The man told Dye he had come all the way from Germany that day. He was getting more agitated as the night advanced. Finally, he asked Dye if he had good locks on his door. Dye asked him if he was afraid of robbers. “No,” the German replied, “dogs.”

Dye himself was an avid dog lover and was surprised at this answer. He mentioned that he had a dog of his own, a greyhound. To this, the German replied that the dogs he was worried about were faster and said that they were dachshunds. Dye roared with laughter at this response, imagining the tiny dogs racing past his greyhound. Indignant, the German replied that he had killed a man in Germany and immediately took the first boat out of the country. The dead man’s seven dogs followed him onto the boat, and he hadn’t a moment’s peace since. In the distance, the men heard the faint sound of dogs barking. Dye was still laughing at the story. The German retorted that he would fool the dogs that night. The pack barked and snarled outside Dye’s home all night. In the morning, when Dye went to wake the old man, he was gone. It appeared he had climbed out of the second-story window. From there, he climbed into a tree, then presumably leapt onto a passing wagon heading out of town—all to elude the dogs tracking his scent. He was never seen again, but the dogs remained outside Dye’s house for six nights before giving up on their target.

Read this and other tales of Bizarre Beasts in Sar’s book Dayton Ghosts & Legends, available through Amazon and major book retailers. Autographed copies available directly from the author on SaraKaushal.com

Dead and Gone

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It was a typical morning at the Reed family home in August 1891 when the oldest son, twenty-five-year-old Charles J. Reed, walked into the house. The family house in Xenia was not very large, containing two bedrooms, the dining room / kitchen area, and one sitting room. The family was gathered around the table eating breakfast when Charles entered. He had walked just a few steps past the table when he suddenly collapsed. He fell to the floor in a heap and never woke up.

Immediately, the father sent a boy to fetch a doctor while the remaining family members carried Charles’s body into the bedroom and laid him on the bed. Efforts to resuscitate him failed and he was positioned and covered with a sheet until the doctor could arrive.

The doctor walked into the home within twenty minutes of the collapse. He noticed that the door to the bedroom was closed and the entire family was sitting in the room outside it. When he noticed the arrival of the doctor, the father jumped up to open the bedroom door for him. The doctor walked into the bedroom with the grieving members of Charles’s family (mother, father, two sisters) close behind. He noticed the rigid outlines of the body under the sheet and a cloth over the face. Through the cloth, the doctor could see facial features and the profile of Charles’s face.

When the doctor approached and lifted the cloth from the corpse’s face, he was stunned to see nothing under the cloth. He quickly pulled the sheet away from the body and saw only empty space. Despite having seen the outline of a body through the cloth, there was nothing on the bed. Stunned, the family members and doctor simply looked from one another to the bed, speechless. It took a moment for the three ladies present to react, swooning onto the floor. While the doctor attended to the ladies, the father stood in a dumbfounded state, muttering incoherently and staring unseeing into the distance.

Once the ladies were brought back to consciousness, the doctor walked to the only window in the room and studied it. The window was locked from the inside and had clearly not been opened for a while. Since there was no body, no coroner’s inquest was held. An investigation into the disappearance was made but no answers have ever been found. Charles J. Reed was dead and gone

Read this and other tales of the weird in Dayton Ghosts & Legends, available through Amazon and major book retailers. Autographed copies available directly from the author on SaraKaushal.com

The Stranger

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When a small family disembarked from a stage coach on a bitterly cold day in January 1851, nobody paid them much mind. The man, woman, and young boy walked into the old Phillip’s Tavern (replaced in 1852 by Phillip’s Hotel) and rented a room for the night. They were tired and covered with dust, telling the proprietor they were on a long journey and intended to stay one night and be on their way the next day. Despite her tired and dirty state, the woman has consistently been described as extraordinarily lovely in recountings of the story.

Unfortunately, the journey did not continue for the lovely woman. The man roused the innkeeper in the middle of the night and told him to fetch a doctor quickly, there was something wrong with his wife. Despite medical treatment, she died that night.

During this time period, it was not customary or required for guests to register or identify themselves to get a room for the night. Despite renting the room and receiving medical treatment, this woman’s identity was not revealed, nor was her husband’s. As the undertaker prepared for the funeral and presented the bill to the husband, he asked for their names. The traveler remarked, “I will pay you, but I will not tell my name.”

At every turn, he was asked again for her name, but again he declined to reveal their identities. Although they were certain he’d reveal her name for the tombstone, they were again denied. Instead, her tombstone was simply inscribed with:


A Stranger
Died Jan 4, 1851
Aged 24
Her kind and gentle spirit’s gone,
To a world of light above.

The unidentified woman was buried at Old Greencastle Cemetery, located at the intersection of South Broadway and Miami Chapel Road. Shortly after the funeral service ended, the man and child quickly left the cemetery. Nobody reported seeing them after that day.

Adding to the mystery, flowers started appearing on her grave every Memorial Day. This tradition continued for years and was still occurring 81 years later in 1932 when Dayton Daily News reported on this story. The groundskeeper for Old Greencastle Cemetery, where she is buried, reported the flowers would mysteriously show up at the grave, but he never saw a person leaving them. A man with gray hair and long gray beard had been frequently spotted walking through the graveyard. Some speculated he was the husband, long since dead but making an appearance from beyond the grave to leave flowers. Could it have been the son leaving flowers on his mother’s grave? The question remains, who was this woman and why wouldn’t they identify her?

Coming Soon: Murder in Victorian Dayton, the Tragic Story of Bessie Little

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Sara’s next book will have a publication date! Murder in Victorian Dayton, the Tragic Story of Bessie Little will be available March 4, 2025. You can order directly from Sara’s Website, Amazon, or buy on March 29 2025 at the Paranormal Gathering at The Windamere in Middletown. Sara will be selling her books and speaking at the event.

The Morehouse Family

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Most in Dayton know the story of Johnny Morehouse. But what about his family?

Johnny Newton Morehouse was born in 1855, the youngest son of John Newton Morehouse Sr. and his first wife, Mary Margaret (Browning) Morehouse. John and Mary were married December 23, 1851. Johnny’s older brother Horace Morehouse was born in 1852, also in Ohio.

John Newton Morehouse was born in 1828. He was a shoe cobbler until his death in 1903. In 1851 he married Mary, his first wife and mother to Horace and Johnny. They divorced and by the time Johnny died in 1860, John was married to his second wife, Barbara. After Barbara died in 1878, John lived a low-profile life as both a shoe cobbler and an active member of his church. He never remarried and remained in Dayton until his death in 1903.

Mary Margaret Browning remarried on October 25, 1870, to Nathaniel B. Young. Together, Nathaniel and Mary had two children, Jack Diamond Young (1870) and Nathaniel B. Young Jr. (1876). Eventually Mary, her husband, and the kids moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana. Nathaniel Sr. and his stepson Horace went into business together but had to declare bankruptcy in 1877. Mary and her family eventually moved to Washington where she lived until her death in 1927.

Horace moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana with his mother, stepfather, and half siblings and worked in the clothing business as a tailor. On January 8, 1889, he married the recently widowed Alice Wood (Van Phul) after a brief and secret courtship, which caused a major scandal and led to the Cincinnati Sun writing a smear article about it. (Read about it here).

By the end of February 1889, Alice alleged that Horace had abandoned her and filed for divorce. After three years of “abandonment” Alice was granted her divorce. Years later, Horace married Kitty Gilbert and shortly after, they had a son. A few years later, Horace moved his family to Seattle, where he became advertising manager for the Seattle Post Intelligencer. Horace died in 1898 after a 5-week illness.

Dayton Ghosts & Legends Comes out August 14th!

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Sara’s second book Dayton Ghosts & Legends is being released this coming Monday, August 14th! You can buy the book directly from Sara at one of her many upcoming events (check our Events Calendar for dates), or from Sara’s website.

Please join us in celebrating Sara’s book release on Saturday, August 19th in the Oregon District.SKK Book Celebration

Phil the Werewolf

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Recently the City of Piqua asked Halloween Loving Mary Simmon’s to take down her “seasonal wolf decoration”. The statue, which Mary named Phil, is a 10-foot werewolf statue Mary didn’t take down after Halloween.

Although most of her neighbors and the commenters online love the statue and want it to stay, a few complainers have reported her to the city. The complaints prompted the notice, but Piqua has also said that Simmons can keep Phil up if she wants.

To continue with the “seasonal” label, Simmons is looking into dressing Phil for holidays, including a Thanksgiving outfit.