Legends, lore and curses surround many paranormal and supernatural
phenomena and stories of the past. From glowing tombstones to patches of grass
that won’t grow on the a grave to bloodstains that will never wash away all are
connected to a death of the unjustly accused and either killed to hide
something or killed while they were proclaiming their innocence. These stories
have been around for many years and in fact I am sure we must have heard
stories such as these around camp fires or in books of strange but true
stories. This is simply just one of those type of stories that involve a man, a
crime he didn’t commit and a type of curse to prove his innocence for all
eternity.
Located in the mountains of Pennsylvania there is a small
little town called Jim Thorpe. This town as small as it is, is very buys now a
days with the upper class establishing it as the best place to be and the local
wineries given the upper crust snobs a place in the mountains to call their own.
Now I enjoy going to Jim Thorpe because it is peacefully and actually very
relaxing. There is a small little bar there called Molly Maguire’s where you
can get a pint of Guinness and a fantastic crab dip. Now through all the stores
and tourist traps up there, there is a old run down jail known as the Carbon
County Jail that boasts a story of innocence and cursed legend. You see there
is a hand on the wall of one of the cells that will never go away.
In the 1800’s a group of local Irish coal miners known as
the Molly Maguire’s were imprisoned here because of false accusations of the
wealthy and powerful to remove them and claim the mines for their own profit
and greed, it was very union based as well. This group that was currently
imprisoned at the Carbon County Prison at the time included a man who stated
over and over again that he was innocent of all charges that had been filed against
him by the untrustworthy wealthy and lying fellow prisoners, who had testified
just so they could be released whether their accusations were true or not. This
man was named Alexander Campbell was on 1877 was sentenced to “hang from his
neck until dead”. As Alexander was being led away from his prison cell he
placed his hand on the wall and stated that his hand print shall remain there
for all eternity no matter what, he was then hanged only a few minutes later.
Now while Alexander’s life had ended, his curse/legend and his
handprint had just begun for his handprint had in fact remained there and would
continue to remain there to this very day.
You can take a tour of the prison and see this handprint on
the wall, this handprint to mark the innocence of a man unjustly hung, with your
very own eyes. Now the story goes that the prison has tried to paint over it,
wash it away and even tear down the wall and build a new one, but to no avail
the hand print returns each and every time. Now there are other fanciful ghost
stories connected to the prison, but none such as the handprint.
Do I believe that this handprint legend to be true??? To be
honest Im not sure, I would love to have a team of actual scientists
investigate the handprint to see if there is any basis behind the legend. Could
the stone itself be able to hold the oils from the hand like a photography, but
then since the wall had supposedly been replaced could it just be a fake in
order to keep the tourists and legend of the Molly Maguire’s alive. It’s a good
story and the town of Jim Thorpe is a good one to visit to get a way and you
can enjoy the local Ghost Tour as well.
Be safe and remember that finger painting is always fun,
John Cannon
Follow me on twitter @JohnCannonTBS
for up-to-date randomness and odd crazy adventures I have along the way.
