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66 stories matching prank

  1. The Ballard Ghost Case

    A morbid prank involving a 'dummy corpse' in Ballard sends the local coroner on a wild goose chase, leaving the town laughing at his indignation.

    Sep 24, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMeadow Point, Seattle, King CountyTrue Crime

  2. The Library Hatchet Prank

    An unknown intruder bypassed the Kennewick public library's security, but left with nothing to show for it.

    Aug 19, 1915The Kennewick Courier-ReporterKennewick, Benton CountyTrue Crime

  3. An April Fool’s Joke Gone Wrong

    A local office prank involving 'hard-boiled' eggs and croton oil turns into a bitter lesson in Seattle workplace etiquette.

    Apr 5, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

  4. The Good Templars' Uninvited Guest

    A mischievous prank involving a ladder, a window, and a large black dog sent the River Park Good Templars' meeting into chaos.

    Sep 29, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

  5. The Salmon Fishing Prank

    A Tacoma society woman finds herself at the center of a Sunday prank involving a 27-pound skatefish.

    Oct 23, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerOld Town, Tacoma, Pierce CountyStrange But True

  6. The Tragedy of Martin Ware

    A quiet citizen driven to suicide by the relentless taunts and cruel pranks of his social circle.

    Dec 28, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerBlack Diamond, King CountyScandal

  7. The Garden Prank That Sour-Ed a Marriage

    A husband’s elaborate scheme to fool his wife with gilded pebbles backfires, leaving the household in a state of icy tension.

    Apr 17, 1890The Yakima HeraldYakima, Yakima CountyScandal

  8. An Infernal Machine on the Editor's Step

    Someone left a dynamite bomb at the office of the Springdale Reformer. It was spotted before the mechanism could be tripped — and Editor Burrows shrugged it off as a joker's prank.

    Nov 12, 1908The Newport Miner (Newport, WA) 1899-CurrentSpringdale, Stevens CountyTrue Crime

  9. Dormitory Pranks and Faculty Feuds at Pullman

    Agricultural college students torment their professor with snow-filled beds and carpet tacks while an editorial war over college management brews.

    Feb 19, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerPullman, Whitman CountyWork & Pay

  10. A Giant Among the Yakima Hops

    A tall man's visit to the Tacoma Exposition leads to an irrigation marketing prank.

    Oct 6, 1892The Yakima HeraldTacoma, Pierce CountyBoom & Bust · Strange But True

  11. The Terrors of Belltown: Youth Gangs and Civic Chaos in 1870

    Before it was a bustling neighborhood, Belltown was a site of 'villainous' youth pranks and neighborhood disturbances that left residents clamoring for order.

    Aug 17, 1876The Daily IntelligencerBelltown, Seattle, King CountyCity Hall

  12. A Dangerous Practical Joke

    A man is hospitalized after a prank turns into a violent confrontation, landing his three attackers in legal trouble.

    Apr 12, 1894Aberdeen HeraldAberdeen, Grays Harbor CountyTrue Crime

  13. Halloween Mischief Causes Chaos in North Yakima

    A night of Hallowe'en pranks spiraled into dangerous territory, leaving residents missing carriage wheels and a local man injured after a run-in with a wire trap.

    Nov 3, 1892The Yakima HeraldYakima, Yakima CountyStrange But True

  14. A Dangerous Train Prank Near Ritzville

    A rock hurled at a passenger train nearly strikes a woman, sparking an unsuccessful manhunt.

    Apr 27, 1898Adams County NewsRitzville, Adams CountyTrue Crime

  15. The Night the Billings Hall Boys Stacked a Professor’s Room

    A dorm prank at Whitman College turned into a discipline case after beds were overturned, lights broken, and a bureau jammed against the door.

    Dec 2, 1903The Evening StatesmanWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyStrange But True

  16. The Great 'Chicken Hunt' Hoax Exposed

    A reported runaway incident during a chicken hunt near Eureka Flat turned out to be a manufactured prank on a local reporter.

    Aug 21, 1903The Evening StatesmanEureka Flat, Walla Walla, Walla Walla CountyTrue Crime

  17. A Soggy Fourth of July at the Ballpark

    Rain and firecrackers dampen the spirits at a lackluster match between the Maroons and Bellingham Bay.

    Jul 5, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMadison Street Park, Seattle, King CountyNightlife

  18. The Schoolhouse Mutiny

    When an empty Seattle schoolhouse became a playground for neighborhood boys, a mild prank turned into a local spectacle of adolescent mischief.

    Jun 13, 1885Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

  19. The Telephone Dust Prank

    A creative hoax in a small town fooled local housewives into wrapping their telephones in rags to 'blow out the dust.'

    Jun 17, 1915The Kennewick Courier-ReporterKennewick, Benton CountyStrange But True

  20. The 'Bear of Third Street' Prank

    A group of rowdy boys in 1880s Seattle found a cruel way to terrorize women walking home alone at night.

    Nov 2, 1880The Daily IntelligencerThird Avenue, Seattle, King CountyStrange But True

  21. A Dangerous New Year's Prank

    Drunken revelers lure firefighters to a ghost blaze, nearly wrecking the department's equipment in the chaos.

    Jan 1, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyNightlife

  22. The Prize Apple Was Stuffed With Shot

    A judge's suspicion at the Spokane fair exposed a prank that briefly put a Wilbur exhibitor's reputation on the line.

    Oct 14, 1897Ranche and RangeSpokane, Spokane County

  23. The Great Tidal Wave Prank of 1893

    A fake official weather warning triggers panic and sends nervous citizens scurrying to the hills of Aberdeen.

    Sep 14, 1893Aberdeen HeraldHoquiam, Grays Harbor CountyTrue Crime

  24. The Prank Gone Wrong

    A festive church fair collection turns into a masked highway robbery—or does it?

    Dec 22, 1892Aberdeen HeraldWishkah Street, Aberdeen, Grays Harbor CountyStrange But True

  25. The Ticking Gas-Pipe Scandal

    A fearful day in the Burke building as an office worker discovers a 'bomb' left by a disgruntled typist.

    Sep 10, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerState-Burke Building, Seattle, King CountyWork & Pay · True Crime

Download all 66 as a spreadsheet (CSV)