June 21 – August 25, 1885
The Ghost of Lake Washington
Reports trace Lake Washington 'ghost' wails to a discarded patent-medicine bottle.
17 reports in Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer, June 21 – August 25, 1885.
The story
Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer reports dated June 21 through Aug. 25, 1885, describe an unnamed homesteader, squatter, or pioneer near Lake Washington hearing mournful nighttime wailing near a “haunted” spring and investigating it. The reports say the source turned out to be a bottle or bottles tied to patent medicine—one account mentions a message in a bottle and another rheumatic medicine—with some calling it an advertisement or marketing scheme. The accounts vary in details, including the settler’s label, the dog’s reaction, and one report’s reference to thirty years of disturbance.
Told from the 17 reports below. The reports are the record.
The archive grouped these reports automatically, by date, place and subject.
The reports 17
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerHomesteader Investigates Wailing Near Haunted Spring
A lonely settler discovers a long-hidden message in a bottle near a 'haunted' spring.
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerThe Ghost of Haunted Spring
A lonely homesteader near Lake Washington discovers the source of a terrifying, mournful wail that had been disturbing his cabin nights.
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerHomesteader Investigates Wailing at Lake Washington's Haunted Spring
An early Seattle settler recounts a terrifying, night-long vigil at a 'haunted' spring that kept his dog trembling and the local Indigenous community at bay.
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerHomesteader Investigates Wailing at Lake Washington Spring
A lonely homesteader chases a supernatural wailing into the woods, only to discover a surprisingly commercial origin for his ghostly disturbances.
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerThe Haunted Spring Mystery
A lonely Lake Washington homesteader risks his life to find the source of an uncanny, mournful wailing in the woods, only to discover a bizarre piece of litter at the center of the phenomenon.
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerThe Haunted Spring Mystery of Lake Washington
A lonely squatter in the dense forests of early Seattle hears a terrifying, otherworldly wail that threatens his sanity until he discovers the source in the brush.
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerHomesteader Tracks Wails to Lake Washington's Haunted Spring
A lonely homesteader discovers the source of the eerie wails and mysterious shadows that had terrorized his cabin for thirty years.
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerA Homesteader Investigates Wailing at a Haunted Spring
A pioneer’s harrowing encounter with mysterious, unearthly screams near Lake Washington turns out to be a clever advertisement for a patent medicine.
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerA Homesteader Tracks Wailing to Haunted Spring
A terrified settler stalks a supernatural wailing in the woods near Lake Washington, only to find the culprit is far more mundane.
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerThe Haunted Spring and the Swamp Angel
A terrified homesteader stalks a mysterious, inhuman wailing in the woods near Lake Washington, only to find a very modern solution to his suffering.
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerHomesteader and Dog Trace Wailing to Haunted Spring
A lonely homesteader at Lake Washington uncovers a 'supernatural' mystery that turns out to be a very human, 19th-century marketing scheme.
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerThe Ghost in the Willow at Lake Washington
A lonely homesteader’s terrifying encounter with an 'uncanny wailing' near the shores of Lake Washington ends in a discovery that speaks more to the era’s aggressive patent medicine marketing than the supernatural.
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerThe Ghostly Wailing of Lake Washington
A lonely homesteader’s terrifying nocturnal encounter leads to a discovery that reveals the ‘supernatural’ horror was nothing more than a discarded medical bottle.
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerThe Ghost of Haunted Spring Was Just a Bottle of Rheumatic Medicine
A pioneer camping near Lake Washington finds his dog paralyzed with terror by a 'weird, unearthly wailing,' only to discover the source was a discarded bottle of cure-all tonic.
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerA Homesteader Hears Wailing at the Haunted Spring
A local homesteader hunts a terrifying, wailing spirit near Lake Washington, only to find a very earthly culprit.
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerThe Ghostly Wails of Lake Washington
A pioneer’s terrifying nightly ordeal near a 'haunted' spring ends not with a supernatural discovery, but with a piece of patent medicine marketing.
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerA Homesteader's Dog Fears the Wailing Lake Washington Spring
A lonely homesteader near Lake Washington discovers the source of the mysterious, discordant sounds that have been terrorizing his nights—and his dog.
From the pages8 of 17
Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer · Jun 21, 1885
Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer · Jun 25, 1885
Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer · Jun 30, 1885
Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer · Jul 2, 1885
Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer · Jul 16, 1885
Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer · Jul 17, 1885
Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer · Jul 18, 1885
Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer · Jul 23, 1885
Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Public domain.