Life and Death of Lotta Morgan
Lotta Morgan... Actress... Prostitute... Victim.
You may have seen her story on the episode of "Most Terrifying Places" that appeared on the Travel Channel (10/1/19)… but of course, that was a 5 minute story... so you don't get to see all but the basics.
so let me walk you through what was covered in that 5 minutes, in a slightly more detailed way, so you can come to know the story better. This will include documentation from actual news articles, a write up from someone who has been called an authority on the story of Lottie Morgan, and other articles that have been written about her over the years.
Here are the finer points that were covered on Most Terrifying places.
1. Lottie was a real person.
2. Lottie was a quite the colorful character
3. Lottie met an untimely end at the hand of an axe wielding killer
4. Lottie's death had a personal motivation
5. Jack the Ripper was considered a suspect
6. Since her death, Hurley bars, especially Dawn's Never Inn (featured in the show) has been the home to Lottie's spirit.
So let's delve deeper into those 6 points. How accurate was the Most Terrifying Place episode?
1. Was Lottie Morgan a real person?
Lotta Morgan was born Laura Whittlesay. Depending on the article you would read, she was 27 to 29 at the time of her murder in 1890. that would place her birth year of about 1861 to 1863. When she came to Hurley, Wi to and became an actress, she took the stage name Lotta Morgan, and was affectionately called Lottie by those who liked her.
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2. Was Lottie a colorful character?
Lottie was a party girl according to all resources I could find. She opened the saloons and closed the saloons. She was very popular among pretty much everyone in the town, from the working class, to the upper crust. Lottie was a popular actress who always seemed to have the finest of everything... this led to the rumor that she was either a prostitute, or a kept woman. (she had a sugar daddy or sugar daddies.)
This rumor still persists. I have never found evidence that Lottie ever admitted to such... but it was the gossip of the town in that time... and even in modern times as displayed in an article from the Lake Superior Magazine (2006) and a write up on the biography of Lotta Morgan by John Ostrom.
This rumor still persists. I have never found evidence that Lottie ever admitted to such... but it was the gossip of the town in that time... and even in modern times as displayed in an article from the Lake Superior Magazine (2006) and a write up on the biography of Lotta Morgan by John Ostrom.
In the Ostrom article, he also mentioned that Lottie was considered a top dollar prostitute... likely because she serviced the likes of lumber barons and wealthy businessmen alone. She was more of a high class prostitute and not the typical painted lady of the night you'd immediately think of.
No matter what the truth along that front... Lottie didn't care what people thought of her or her extracurricular activities, whatever they were. she just wanted to enjoy life.
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3. Was Lottie murdered? Yes. On a dark, April evening, Lottie was leaving John Sullivan's Saloon in Hurley. She headed up the alley towards her residence, where someone was laying in wait. She was struck twice by an axe to the head which killed her. There was another wound on her body that some believed was a gunshot... but there was no bullet or residue. So it could be a stab, but that is my opinion. Here are two clippings from the time of her death, (April 1890).
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4. It is believed the crime was motivated by something personal... right?
When Lottie was found the next morning (some say it was behind Crocker's bar, some news articles from that time have it behind Ives' Saloon)… she was found with all of her jewelry, which were expensive... and $20 on her person, and $20 was quite a bit of money to be carrying around in the late 1800s. So Robbery was obviously not a motive. Here's from Mr. Ostrom's write up... and from the paper from the day she was discovered.
So what was the motive? There are many theories. (jilted lover, wife of a suitor, suspects in a robbery she witnessed)... but it will remain a mystery, barring any decendant of the killer who comes forward with knowledge. That is unlikely.
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5. Jack the Ripper? Seriously? This was a bone of contention with a small number of locals. But it isn't merely sensationalizm. Yes there are other more likely suspects... but again... the segment was 5.5 minutes long to be exact... so they couldn't exactly discuss every thought... and while unlikely, Jack the Ripper was not only referenced by the papers of that time when this case happened... but even today, people muse... "is it possible"? So they focused on that. Speaking of the news articles...
Now, the first article describes the grisley nature of this crime as likened to the Jack the Ripper case from 2 years prior. The second article states... "Police are working a clue, this is a "Jack the Ripper" case.
Some interpret that as them saying it was "likened" to Jack the ripper... some believe that the "clue" they were working on caused them to think it could have BEEN Jack the Ripper.
Could it REALLY have been Jack the Ripper. Obviously, that would be a LONG shot... but is it?
I was looking through various Jack the Ripper websites when I was assisting at pulling the episode together. Shockingly, I found one site that chronicled the Ripper's canon killings, as well as suspected murders outside of the canon ones... and it mentioned Lotta. (The last time this blog was maintained was the early 2000s, so this theory isn't something new that was created for the show. It's been out there for years. Even longer than that blog.) I also read an article about Jack the Ripper in America.
the Ripper blog explored the similarities between the canon murders of Whitechapel, and the death of Lotta. Lottie was an actress and prostitute. (the canon victims had a day job, and worked as a prostiute on the side), Lottie had been mutilated by 2 strikes to the head and there was a secondary wound to the body. (The canon victims were murdered in much the same way. The first victim was much like Lottie, though the Ripper grew in violence before he stopped.)
The article on the Ripper in America discussed murders in New York of prostitutes that happened in 1891 (3 years after Jack the Ripper stopped in London). The New York Police Department actually recieved a letter in 1893 that discussed the murder of one particular prostitute with details that were held so secret, only the killer would know. He claimed he was actually Jack the Ripper, and would never be found. An investigator from Scotland Yard traveled to New York to see the letter (which as of when the article was posted in 2012, the NYPD alledgely still has), and the investigator claimed it matched the script and wording of the letters they recieved from Jack the Ripper during the Whitechapel murders.
So if the last canon murder was in 1888, and Lottie was killed in 1890, and in 1891 - murders in New York where someone calling themselves Jack the Ripper took credit... it kind of lines up. from the dates to the brutality. So if the Ripper truly came to America, could he have stopped in Hurley, WI before New York? Anything is possible.
Of course there were other suspects offered. One set of suspects were bank robbers in a robbery of which Lottie was the eye witness. Though, from what I read, Lottie knew the robbers (she knew everyone) and was no snitch. She ran from Hurley to avoid testifying once, and threatned to be a hostile witness if she were forced to testify again. So would the robbers have murdered her in such a gruesome way, when she wasn't going to rat them out in the first place? And even if she were... why would they have risked adding murder to the charges by killing such a well known, popular woman in such a messy, brutal way? It wouldn't have made sense...
Of course there were also jilted lovers and wives of lovers... though it was unheard of for such violence to come from a woman. (The case of Lizzie Borden wouldn't happen for 2 years after, in 1892.)
So there were many theories... but only 5 minutes to tell the story, and while there were a lot of theories, there were little names anyone was willing to speak of, to protect the descendants of the person they suspected. And though Jack the Ripper may seem sensationalized, it has been a theory for years... and it isn't without some merit. So we decided to air that part of the story.
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6. Is Hurley Haunted? I think that depends on who you ask. I think some of those residents who were not thrilled with the Lottie episode are skeptical to downright rejecting the theory of the paranormal. I saw a few people say they didn't believe the story about how the bar stool slid off the bar in the scene near the end.
And that's fine. Me? I believe it. I've been a paranormal investigator for over a decade... and when I was looking for a lecture hall to do a paranormal question and answer... someone suggested something more intimate, at Dawn's Never Inn... and we started discussing the paranormal events that have happened there, and at other bars in the Hurley area, up and down Silver Street.
Now this was back in 2015... 4 years before I was even approached for the show... so people weren't making up experiences to get on television... they were telling me what they had experienced because they knew I was a paranormal investigator, and they felt safe from judgement.
One person told me that they saw an apparition of a woman with dark hair and eyes, in period clothing, only she didn't have a full body... she was smokey from the waist down... she just appeared, the disappeared.
A former dancer at the nudie bars next door who had since moved away, heard online about the lecture, and she told me about a woman with dark, curly hair tucked under a hat, in a black poofy dress who was standing in the dressing room, and exited through a wall.
Another person who had emailed me about the lecture, said she didn't know about Dawn's, but on the other side of Silver Street, beyond the redlight district, she and a friend were one of the last ones to leave a bar, and they both swore they saw a woman in period clothing on the sidewalk, disappear into the wall of the building. Her friend put it down to being drunk... but she said, as the designated driver... she was stone cold sober.
That doesn't include stories of phantom purfume smells, phantom touches, phantom voices, chairs being moved... I myself saw a woman, much like what was described, during my lecture at Dawn's, walking up the stairs. To be honest, I didn't think much of it because I was trying to focus on the story I was telling. It was my first lecture and I was a bit nervous. I wanted it to go over well. I thought it was just someone who had gone upstairs. However, no one ever came back down, and when we went upstairs immediately after the lecture so I could show what an investigation looks like, we found the upstairs empty.
Many think this is Lottie, traveling from Saloon to Saloon, trying to make the best of her afterlife while she waits to find some justice to help her rest in peace.
In the basement of Dawn's however... there's something a little darker. One of the bartenders, who wanted to participate in the mock investigations, said she always felt weird downstairs and didn't like to go down alone. She found it hard to breath often.
I suggested we do a quick prayer circle before we got started, just to make everyone feel at ease. As we began... a chair jutted out from where it was sitting, and tipped back. Later, the bartender got scratched on her back. This scene was actually reenacted in the show, but it was left on the cutting room floor. I heard, however, there is a possiblity it will be left in the European cut. I guess in Europe they have less commercial breaks than we do... so they need a longer version of the show than we would.
but yes... many for YEARS, people have experienced hauntings, both negative and possibly of the spirit of Lottie Morgan. Some may not believe that... but it's a matter of opinion. Your lack of belief does not negate the feelings of the person who believed they had an experience.
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For the most part, the reception has been quite positive. And I'm very pleased to hear about all of those who are now interested in Lottie Morgan. That was my ultimate goal. I wanted people to know about her, and want to learn more, so that her story is never forgotten... and maybe knowing she will be known far beyond Hurley, and memorialized, will bring her spirit some peace.
Of course, the small few detractors not only take issue with mentioning Jack the Ripper, and with the paranormal... but they also claim that the research was poorly done because they used a clip where one participant stated, "Lottie was found in the alley behind Dawn's Never Inn."
and as this small group was quick to point out... "That's wrong! Dawn's Never Inn didn't even exist back then! The building was built in 1929!! She was found right behind where the Brite Spot now stands." "No it was closer to Hwy 51.", "My mom always said it was behind where the Bell Chalet was"... "You're all wrong, it was behind what is now the Smoking Gun bar and grill." (soon she'll have been found 2 towns over if they keep going up Silver Street)
So - as you can see... for people who insisted the research was poorly done... lol
but here was my "poor" research.
Here is what the paper from 1890 laid out. Lottie left John Sullivan's Saloon and walked up the alley just outside towards her residence. Whoever killed her was likely laying in wait in that alley. her body was then found (either behind Crocker's Saloon or Ives' depending on what resource you read.)
now, I couldn't find anything on Ives'... but I did locate a census that places John Sullivan's Saloon between 1st and 2nd Avenue just off of Silver Street. It didn't say which side of the street... however that means...
it was either directly across, or immediately next door the property where Dawn's Never Inn NOW STANDS. (No it wasn't there... yes it was built sometime in the 1920s... but the PROPERTY, the AREA where it now stands is where John Sullivan's Saloon once stood and where Lottie's blood may have soaked into the earth.)
If next door rather than across the street, the alley she would have used could likely have been behind what is now Dawn's Never Inn. (Dawn's Never Inn is just before 1st avenue... and J Sullivan's was between 1st and 2nd avenue.)
Again, 5 minute episode, can't exactly do a schematic... it would have to have been a 1 hour solo special to get every detail in... so they just used the cut "She was murdered in the alley behind Dawn's Never Inn." and based on the census that places John Sullivan's either next door or directly across the street... that could be likely. I think it would have been less confusing if they would have said, "She was killed leaving a Saloon called John Sullivan's, in an alley that intersects the property where Dawn's Never Inn stands today." that may have been more specific.
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So there you have it. The tragic story of Lottie Morgan. As you can see, it's even more involved than the 5 minute story could show... but in that 5 minutes... the gave an amazingly accurate depiction.
Lotta Morgan lived, she was a party girl... maybe a prostitute, she was brutally murdered with an axe, she wasn't robbed so it seemed a more personal motive, jack the ripper was mentioned and has been mentioned ever since as a suspect (both seriously and jokingly)… and her spirit may still haunt the saloons in Hurley, looking for justice... and maybe a little old time fun.
I'm quite proud of the episode and the fact Lottie's name will now be remembered. and I do hope that brings her some peace. That was the sole purpose I decided to suggest her story above many other stories I could have suggested.
I'm quite proud of the episode and the fact Lottie's name will now be remembered. and I do hope that brings her some peace. That was the sole purpose I decided to suggest her story above many other stories I could have suggested.
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