A Spooky Case of Mistaken Identity

I love today’s Throwback Thursday vintage news article. It’s a funny story about mistaken identity, and is even illustrated! The story was published in the September 6, 1907 edition of the Daily Telegram, a Clarksburg, WV newspaper. (The original is available on Chronicling America.) However, the incidents took place in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Since the text is a little hard to see, here’s the full transcription:

GHOST ON A BICYCLE
Turns Out to Be a Girl Asleep in Her Nightgown

The ghostlike apparition of a girl astride a bicycle flitting about the streets after midnight will not startle residents in the east end of Fort Dodge, IA any longer.  For weeks pedestrians abroad late at night have been scared.

On a recent night a policeman, attracted by a crash and a scream, ran around a corner and solved the mystery.  He found a young and pretty girl clad in a thin nightdress, which had suffered severely when the wheel she riding struck a brick.  The girl was dazed, but told the policeman where she lived.  He escorted her home and startled her father, a well known merchant, who thought his daughter was safe in bed.

The girl said she had no recollection of her midnight rides.

*Theresa’s Note:  I found this story especially interesting because my own mother is a huge sleepwalker, or somnambulist, if you want the fancy title. My biggest fear is that she will attempt to drive off somewhere while in her sleep, but luckily that hasn’t happened. The worst she’s done so far, to my knowledge, was sleep-order a bunch of crap off a home shopping channel. Usually she just walks around, mumbles about some weird stuff, and eats. Thank goodness she doesn’t own a bicycle!

So tell me, are you a sleepwalker or is someone in your family prone to these nighttime escapades? What is the weirdest thing YOU’VE ever done while asleep? What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen a sleepwalker do? Let me know below!