The Ghostly Burglar of Main and 12th
A Seattle household tried everything to stop a persistent intruder—from chair barricades to tin-pan alarms—but the culprit bypassed every obstacle, leaving the family baffled.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Two or three weeks ago, burglars entered the residence of Mrs. Joseph Frankland, on Main and Twelfth streets, by removing a pane of glass and raising a window. In order to be prepared to receive the burglar, should he return, the members of the household armed themselves, and fearing lest he should enter unheralded, every night before retiring they erected all sorts of burglar alarms, piling chairs up against the doors, placing tin pans on the window sills, stretching cords attached to tinware all over the house, etc. Notwithstanding all these precautions, the burglar eluded them; he would look out a window, study all obstructions, glide over the floor, fill his pockets with plunder, and depart as easily as he entered.
“Not withstanding all these precautions, the burglar eluded them; he would look out a window, study all obstructions, glide over the floor, fill his pockets with plunder, and depart as easily as he entered.”
This 1887 report of a 'ghostly' burglar haunting a Seattle home echoes the modern frustration of property crime in the city, where residents feel helpless against repeated break-ins despite personal security measures. It serves as a reminder that the tension between private property and public safety has been a staple of Seattle news for over a century.
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