The Hartford Circus Fire

Morbid

08/01/24

•

73m

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On July 6, 1944, an estimated 7,000 people, mostly women and children, gathered at the Barbour Street fairgrounds in Hartford, Connecticut to see the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Baily Circus. Inside the big top tent, the lion show had just ended, and the Flying Wallendas were getting ready to begin their performance when the tent caught fire, sending the large audience into a panic as the spectators and performers rushed to get to safety. The tent, which had been coated in paraffin wax, was quickly engulfed in flames and by the time the fire was put out, 139 people were dead and hundreds were badly injured. In the weeks that followed, another twenty-eight would die from their injuries. At the time, the Hartford circus fire was one of the worst fires in American history, and it remains one of the biggest tragedies in the state’s history.

Thank you to the incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research!

References

Cavanaugh, Jack. 1994. "The Hartford fire, 50 years later." New York Times, July 3: CN1.

Daily Boston Globe. 1945. "7 Ringling officials held responsible by coroner for Hartford circus fire." Daily Boston Globe, January 12: 12.

—. 1950. "Circus holocaust, 4 N.E. murders laid to N.H. man." Daily Boston Globe, Juky 1: 1.

—. 1950. "Psychiatrist to examine youth who thinks he set Hartford circus fire." Daily Boston Globe, May 21: C29.

Davis, John. 1944. "Circus Fire is described by witness." Hartford Courant, July 7: 3.

Ensworth, Bob. 1944. "Quick-witted show folks saved many, soldier declares." Daily Boston Globe, July 7: 1.

Glaberson, William. 1991. "Our towns." New York Times, August 2: B2.

Hartford Courant. 1944. "113 children, mothers not yet located." Hartford Courant, July 7: 1.

—. 1944. "'Flying Wallendas' on high wire when flames swept through tent." Hartford Courant, July 7: 1.

—. 1944. "Negligence facts found says Alcorn." Hartford Courant, July 8: 1.

—. 1944. "Panic and blaze trap hundreds." Hartford Courant, July 7: 1.

—. 1944. "Thousands attracted by circus here." Hartford Courant, July 6: 1.

—. 1944. "Tossed cigarette blamed for fire by ushers, police." Hartford Courant, July 7: 1.

Kelley, Robert. 1945. "The strange case of Little Miss No. 1565 still baffles police." Daily Boston Globe, July 16: 1.

Linscott, Seymour. 1944. "136 die in circus fire." Daily Boston Globe, July 7: 1.

Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. 1950. "Quiz firebug suspect in '44 circus tragedy." Los Angeles Evening Citizen News, May 19: 1.

Morning Edition. 2007. Remembering the Horror and Heroes of a Circus Fire. July 6. Accessed July 2, 2024. https://www.npr.org/2007/07/06/11768511/remembering-the-horror-and-heroes-of-a-circus-fire.

New York Times. 1950. "Arson killer sane, psychiatrists find." New York Times, November 2: 47.

—. 1950. "Arsonist imprisoned; admitted 172 deaths." New York Times, November 4: 34.

—. 1944. "Children caught in frenzied mass." New York Times, July 7: 11.

—. 1950. "Some doubts raised in arson confession." New York Times, July 2: 27.

Ross, Leonora. 1944. "Hartford tragedy leaves cricus artisits staggered." Daily Boston Globe, July 8: 2.

Skidgell, Michael. 2019. The Hartford Circus Fire. Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing.

Smith, John Henry. 2024. 80 years ago, a gas-soaked roof and WWII created a perfect storm for the Hartford circus tragedy . July 1. Accessed July 1, 2024. https://www.ctpublic.org/news/2024-07-01/80-years-ago-a-gas-soaked-roof-and-wwii-created-a-perfect-storm-for-the-hartford-circus-tragedy.

Tuohy, Lynne. 2004. "Back to the circus." Hartford Courant, May 16: 69.

United Press. 1942. "Scores of animals killed in $125,000 circus fire." Brooklyn Citizen, August 4: 1.

Wallenfeldt, Jeff. 2024. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. May 31. Accessed July 1, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ringling-Bros-and-Barnum-and-Bailey-Combined-Shows/Ringling-Bros-and-Barnum-Bailey-Combined-Shows.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Previous Episode

The Murder of Bessie Darling

July 29, 2024

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44m

On the morning of October 31, 1933, a gunman burst through the door of Bessie Darling’s home in Foxville, Maryland and shot the woman to death. Police quickly arrested George Schultz, Darling’s boyfriend and business partner, who’d unsuccessfully attempted suicide after shooting Bessie. George confessed to the murder, claiming his actions were motivated by jealousy and a fear that Bessie was seeing other men, and he was sentenced to eighteen years in prison.

In many ways, the story of Bessie Darling’s murder is a straightforward and unfortunately common story of domestic violence. Yet beneath the basic facts of the case is another story of rural development and economic inequality at a time when many in the nation were facing serious economic struggles. These aspects of the story, mostly ignored by the press, shaped how Bessie was portrayed by the media and how people have told and retold her story since her death.

Thank you to the incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research!

References

Associated Press. 1933. "Autopsy is held in Darling case." Baltimore Sun, November 1: 5.

—. 1934. "Mrs. Darling's slayer guilty; given 18 years." Baltimore Sun, March 13: 20.

—. 1940. "Gov. O'Conor invokes new parole plan." Cumberland Evening Times, May 29: 2.

Baltimore Evening Sun. 1934. "2 say Schultz was drinking on day of murder." Baltimore Evening Sun, March 12: 30.

—. 1916. "Ax for Kelly man." Baltimore Evening Sun, August 9: 12.

—. 1933. "Maid says man shot woman and himself." Baltimore Evening Sun, October 31: 1.

Baltimore Sun. 1933. "Alleged slayer admits jealousy." Baltimore Sun, November 2: 5.

Bedell, John, Gregory Katz, Jason Shellenhamer, Lisa Kraus, and Sarah Groesbeck. 2011. The People of the Mountain: Archeological Overview, Assessment, Identification, and Evaluation Study of Catoctin Mountain Park Maryland. Historical survey, Washington, DC: National Park Service.

Clay, K.C. 2018. Bessie Darling: A Brief Report on the Life of a Catoctin Mountain Proprietress. Historiography , Catoctin Mountain Park, MD: National Park Service.

Hagerstown Daily Mail. 1933. "Schultz has good chance of recovery." Hagerstown Daily Mail, November 2: 3.

—. 1933. "Schultz says shooting was self-defense." Hagerstown Daily Mail, December 4: 1.

National Park History. 2003. A New Deal for the Mountain. November 21. Accessed June 6, 2024. http://npshistory.com/publications/cato/hrs/chap5.htm.

—. 2003. Chapter Four: The Eve of Acquisition . November 21. Accessed June 5, 2024. http://npshistory.com/publications/cato/hrs/chap4.htm.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Next Episode

The Disappearance of Delimar Vera

August 5, 2024

•

54m

On December 15, 1997, ten-day-old Delimar Vera died in a tragic housefire when the Philadelphia home of Luz Cuevas and Pedro Vera caught fire unexpectedly. After a brief investigation, the fire department identified a faulty heater as the cause of the fire and deemed the baby’s death an accident and claimed that the girl’s remains had been completely destroyed in the blaze. Luz Cuevas was skeptical of their explanation and struggled to accept her daughter’s death.

Six years after the fire, Luz was at a party where she ran into Pedro’s cousin, whom she hadn’t seen in several years. The woman, Carolyn Correa, had with her a little girl named Aaliyah, whom she claimed was her daughter, though Luz didn’t remember her having children or being pregnant six years earlier. Even more suspicious was that six-year-old Aaliyah bore a striking resemblance to Luz herself and she couldn’t shake the feeling that Aaliyah was in fact her own supposedly dead daughter, Delimar.

Had Luz Cuevas been right all along? Had Delimar somehow managed to survive the fire? And if so, why was she now in the custody of a strange woman she hadn’t seen in six years?

Thank you to the incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research!

References

Benson, Clea, and Rusty Pray. 1997. "10-day-old baby dies in N. Phila. fire." Philadelphia Inquirer, December 16: 38.

CBS News. 2004. New twist in baby ID case. March 9. Accessed June 28, 2024. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-twist-in-baby-id-case/.

CNN. 2004. Mom finds kidnapped daughter six years later. March 2. Accessed June 28, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Northeast/03/01/girl.found.alive/.

Cuevas v. City of Philadelphia. 2006. 05-3749 (United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania, August 11).

Egan, Nicole Weisensee. 2005. "Her side of the story." Philadelphia Daily News, October 13: 3.

Frisby, Mann. 1997. "Heater blamed in fire that clais infant." Philadelphia Daily News, December 16: 10.

George, Jason. 2004. "Girl found and woman held after a ruse lasting years." New York Times, March 3: A13.

Gregory, Sean. 2004. Back from the blaze. March 15. Accessed June 28, 2024. https://time.com/archive/6737931/back-from-the-blaze/.

Pompilio, Natalie. 2004. "Kidnapped girl returned to birth mother." Philadelphia Inquirer, March 8.

Pompilio, Natalie, and Joel Bewley. 2004. "Case of child once believed dead is far from over." Philadelphia Inquirer, March 6.

Pompilio, Natalie, and Thomas Gibbons. 2004. "Woman suspected of kidnapping girl 6 years ago turns." Philadelphia Inquirer, March 2.

Soteropoulos, Jacqueline. 2005. "Abductor of infant gets 9 to 30 years." Philadelphia Inquirer, September 24: 1.

Tampa Bay Times. 2004. Daughter lost in fire returns, but questions swirl in family. March 7. Accessed June 27, 2024. https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2004/03/07/daughter-lost-in-fire-returns-but-questions-swirl-in-family/.

The Record. 2004. DNA testing helps mom find only daughter. March 2. Accessed June 28, 2024. https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/2004/03/03/dna-testing-helps-mom-find/50702564007/.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.