Join us this week as Kim takes us through Elma Sands’ well murder in the middle of Manhattan over 200 years ago, and hear about the first ever murder trial in US history, as well as the spirit that still haunts the well today.
“Murder is bad. Just don’t do it.”
Kim Douthit, Maven of Murder
Elma Sands’ story is an unfortunate one, and is infamous by the title of the Manhattan Well Murder. Who really murdered her? And did her untimely death cause her to haunt the place where the well still stands today?
Research:
Furman, John, “The Report of the Trial of Levi Weeks,” Memory.loc.gov, Library of Congress, 2 April 1800, http://memory.loc.gov/service/gdc/scd0001/2005/20051214001re/20051214001re.pdf.
Scout, “There’s a 200-Year-Old Haunted Well in This SoHo Clothing Store,” ScoutingNY.com, Scouting New York, 5 January 2015, http://www.scoutingny.com/theres-a-200-year-old-haunted-well-in-this-soho-clothing-store/ .
Melton, Jr., Buckner, “Levi Weeks Trial: 1800,” Encyclopedia.com, Cengage, 30 November 2019, https://www.encyclopedia.com/law/law-magazines/levi-weeks-trial-1800 .
“Wells Are Deeper Than You Know: Elma Sands,” InsideOutTours.com, InsideOut Tours, 22 April 2019, https://insideouttours.com/2019/04/22/wells-are-deeper-than-you-know-elma-sands/.
Roberts, Janey, “Manhattan Well Murder & The Ghost Stories That Followed,” ClassicNewYorkHistory.com, ClassicNewYorkHistory.com, 2017, https://classicnewyorkhistory.com/manhattan-well-murder-the-ghost-stories-that-followed/.
n.a., Newspapers.com, Farmer’s Museum or Literary Gazette (Walpole, NH), 20 Jan 1800, https://www.newspapers.com/image/404975381/.
Lanigan-Schmidt, Therese, Ghosts of New York City, Schiffer Books, 24 July 2003.
Mandresh, Jason, “Former Chancellor John Lansing Vanishes,” Founderoftheday.com, Founder of the Day, n.p., https://www.founderoftheday.com/founder-of-the-day/lansing.
Kuntzman, Gersh, “Haunted Bistro Serves Spirits,” NYPost.com, NYP Holdings, Inc., 5 November 2001, https://nypost.com/2001/11/05/haunted-bistro-serves-spirits/.
“The People v. Levi Weeks: The Aftermath Part 3,” Statuesandstories.com, Statues and Stories, 17 August 2019, http://www.statutesandstories.com/blog_html/the-people-v-levi-weeks-the-aftermath-part-3/.
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Edited/Produced by Gabi Fiore
Research/Execution by Kim Douthit
Music by Dan Moretti