They Died Crawling & Other Tales of Cleveland Woe - 9781886228030

“A rollicking, no-holds-barred account of the facts (and continued speculation) about some of the darkest events and weirdest people in Cleveland’s history.” — Youngstown Vindicator

The foulest crimes and worst disasters in Cleveland history are recounted in these 15 incredible-but-true tales, including:

• A no-holds-barred account of the infamous and sensational Sam Sheppard murder trial;

• The apocalyptic East Ohio Gas Company explosion and fire of 1944 that destroyed the entire east-side Norwood–St. Clair neighborhood;

• The chilling 1919 Dan Kaber murder, in which three generations of Lakewood women—mother, daughter, and grandmother—conspired to dispose of an inoffensive husband with arsenic and knife-wielding hired killers;

• Genius inventor Garrett A. Morgan’s dramatic gas-masked rescue efforts during the gruesome 1916 waterworks collapse;

• Cleveland Electric Railway Car 642’s horrifying plunge off the Central Viaduct into the Cuyahoga River in the Flats;

• The weird tale of industrialist Joe Gogan’s trial for murdering his wife—by hitting her in the face with a bag of rat poison;

These gripping narratives deliver high drama and dark comedy, heroes and villains, obsession, courage, treachery, deceit, fear, and guilt—all from the streets of Cleveland.