Hannah Bradshaw's Fiery Death
The Legend:
Sometime previous to 1835 (when an account of this event was published in Theodric and John Beck's Elements of Medical Jurisprudence), 30-year-old Hannah Bradshaw's cremated remains were found in a hole burnt in her floor, lying on the ground about a foot below.
Theories
Joe Nickell gives this account from Beck's Elements of Medical Jurisprudence (1835) in his book Secrets of the Supernatural; I will locate a copy of Beck's book to double-check the information. Nickell states that Bradshaw's death was reported by a W. Dunlop of New York, and that her remains consisted of most or all of her bones, an intact right foot burned off at the ankle, portions of her skull and shoulders, and her bowels; some skin remained on her skull and on one shoulder. These remains were found in a four-foot hole in the floor, and part of a chair "within compass of the hole" was burned. A portion of her head was on the wooden floor near the hole; the rest of her was in the hole. Near the hole and portion of head was a candlestick with a portion of candle in it. Nickell also describes Bradshaw as "intoxicated," and states that "apparently the druken woman had set her clothes afire with the candle."
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