Tags: Carbon County, Monument, Unique Grave

I often looked at maps and wondered why there was a town named Jim Thorpe and just who the guy was. Now that I live only about 20 minutes away from the town, I decided to find out.
Turns out Jim Thorpe was a very prominent athlete in the early part of the 20th century, so prominent that Sweden’s King Gustav V said to Mr. Thorpe at the 1912 Summer Olympics, “You, sir, are the greatest athlete in the world.”

Jim Thorpe died in 1953. Also during this time, the town of Mauch Chunk, PA, was struggling to attract tourists. A deal was struck between the town and Thorpe’s widow. Jim’s remains were moved to Mauch Chunk and a memorial was built for him. In addition, Mauch Chunk was renamed to Jim Thorpe.
There has been controversy over the years because some of his descendants and his home state, Oklahoma, want his remains sent back home.

Jim Thorpe (the man) had an impressive athletic career involving numerous sports, Olympic titles, controversy, and stripping of said titles, among other things. I’m not going to get into all of that here; look it up if you’re interested. Let’s get on to the memorial.

The area of Jim Thorpe’s memorial is decent-sized, but it looks neglected. Some of the signs are showing wear, and I don’t know how popular the spot was in the past, but I’ve driven by it numerous times since my initial visit and have only ever seen one other person there. Jim’s grave is in the middle, and to its sides are a statue of him and many signs telling his history and achievements.

I’m not sure just how effective it’s been as a tourist attraction (from the looks of it not much), but it’s still a quirky roadside attraction.

Popularity: 42% [?]

Tags: Bucks County, Folklore

In all the years I’ve been doing this, the first time I ever had anything happen to me that I could not explain was in this house. I won’t say it’s supernatural; I will say I cannot explain it. That’s all you’re getting out of me for now, ghost lovers. Maybe some day.

The town of Riegelsville, PA, is supposed to be very, very haunted. I met a local author who wrote Ghosts in the ‘Vllle and More Ghosts in the ‘Ville, and he and his friends were kind enough to let me tour one of the more famous sites in town. This particular house is between the town’s library and a church, the very church where the author just happens to be a pastor.

From what I was told, a few entities take up residence at this house. One, a woman whose name I forget, is quite friendly and also makes her presence known in the adjacent church. Supposedly there is a malevolent, older man here as well. I don’t remember much of his backstory, unfortunately.

The church uses the house as storage and the first floor is somewhat of an office, so the building isn’t completely abandoned. So needless to say, the first floor was rather tame. The second floor was slightly creepier I guess, with darker rooms and random things lying around. The third floor was just eerie, and that’s also where I had my ‘experience.’ While going up the stairs to the third floor, I suddenly became dizzy and felt nauseous for a few seconds. My guide told me it happens to a lot of people and that it’s the ‘bad guy’ I mentioned earlier.

Stairs leading to 2nd floor.

Rooms on the 2nd floor.

Stairs going to the 3rd floor. At the top of these is where the sickness feeling tends to strike people, including me.

The author of the aforementioned books also has an official website: Ghosts in the ‘Ville.

Popularity: 45% [?]