Buzz
Historically, it seemed like there was always a body found in a well almost every week. This dark subject of bodies in wells gained much attention in Australia's early 20th-century newspapers, with reports there far outnumbering those from the United States.
There were numerous reasons why bodies ended up in wells, ranging from hasty disposal to madness. While some incidents were accidental, many old reports point to the possibility of murder. After all, throwing a body into a well often led authorities to conclude the death was self-inflicted rather than something more malicious.
10. The Water Had a Strange Taste
In 1915, a group of workers in Bearbong, New South Wales, noticed an odd taste in the well water, prompting them to halt their work. Suspecting a sheep had fallen into the well, they decided to investigate further.
The well was deep, its bottom hidden from view. One of the men volunteered to descend into the well to uncover the source of the strange taste in the water. Upon reaching the bottom, he was horrified to find the badly decomposed body of a man.
The police were alerted, and the body was hauled up from the well. It was concluded that the body had been there for around three weeks, belonging to a local worker. No signs of foul play were found, and after a short investigation, it was determined that the worker had likely fallen into the well one night by accident.
9. Murder Exposed
Not only is there no honor among thieves, but crime ultimately leads to ruin, as two members of a horse-stealing gang soon discovered.
Ben Tasker and Old Man Lund once enjoyed a close friendship, but after a series of legal disputes and courtroom betrayals, they became bitter enemies. Lund had foolishly lent Tasker money, and when Tasker refused to repay, Lund took him to court. As the lawsuit neared its conclusion, Lund confided to friends that Tasker had threatened to kill him.
Soon after, Lund vanished without a trace. No one knew if he was dead or alive until, while Tasker was serving time in prison for an unrelated offense, he boasted about murdering Lund and throwing his body into a well in Bingham, Utah.
Word of the murder reached the authorities, and Tasker was arrested in 1876. The police then sent a team to the old well. At a depth of about 27 meters (90 feet), beneath layers of earth and stone, they discovered the remains of Old Man Lund. Despite the severe decay, his clothing and other evidence made it possible to identify him.
8. Headfirst
Reports from old newspapers, particularly those from Australia, suggest that many people chose wells as their means of suicide. Not only did they jump into the wells to drown, but they also seemed to approach the act in highly creative ways, raising questions about their state of mind or whether something darker was at play.
For example, in 1927, Thomas Hutchings, aged 55, was found dead after plunging headfirst into a well in Yamba, NSW. He had tied one end of a long rope to a tree stump and wrapped the other end around his ankles. It seemed he had measured the well and rope perfectly, as when he jumped, only his head submerged in the water.
The authorities determined his death to be a suicide, as he had shown signs of depression to those around him.
In 1938, Mrs. Harriet Barclay's body was found in a well in her backyard in East Maitland, NSW. At 44 years old, she was married with three children. She disappeared one day, and six hours later, her body was discovered. The police had to drain more than 6 meters (20 feet) of water to recover her body, which had a heavy object tied to her neck.
7. Abandoned Wells
Forgotten and abandoned wells still pose a serious threat today. They are hazards for livestock, pets, children, and even adults, who may fall in and remain undiscovered for hours or even days.
In South Dakota, 1912, the landscape was dotted with old, neglected wells where Clem McDaniels lived and worked. As he operated a threshing rig, he was often away from his family for days, making it easy for him to vanish without anyone noticing.
One Sunday evening, as Clem walked to the threshing rig, he fell into one of the old, abandoned wells. Days passed, and his family, including his widowed mother, thought little of his absence. His colleagues assumed he might have been unwell and taking time off to recover.
Eventually, someone was sent from the rig to check on Clem at his mother's home. When it was discovered that he had left for work days ago, a search began to find him.
Tragically, Clem's body was found in the well, but he had only been dead for a few hours. Evidence inside the well suggested that he had managed to survive for days in the water, but eventually, the cold, hunger, and exhaustion took their toll.
6. Pulled Up in a Bucket
In the early 1900s, there were many reports of babies and young children falling into wells. Some crawled unsupervised and ended up in the wells, while others went missing only to be discovered later in one. Even more heartbreaking were the stories of unwanted babies found in wells. While some reports mentioned stillborn infants being discarded in abandoned wells, more often than not, a baby in a well was the result of infanticide.
In 1931, in Red Range, NSW, E. Scott went to a nearby well and lowered a bucket. When he pulled it back up, he was horrified to find a part of a small, decomposing body inside.
The police were alerted and investigated the well, where they found a weighted bag containing the remains of a small girl. Due to the era, no additional details were disclosed, and the case was likely deemed unsolvable, as were many cases of infanticide at that time.
5. Curiosity Killed the Cat
Curiosity can be both a blessing and a curse. Take, for example, a disturbing case from 1940.
Mr. A. Cowling of Woodford Island, NSW, took his horse to a nearby trough for a drink. While waiting for the horse to finish, Cowling wandered over to a well and peered down. To his horror, he saw a man's body lying at the bottom, with a black snake coiled around its torso.
The authorities were notified and arrived at the scene to recover the body. The cause of death was determined to be drowning, and the body was identified as that of a local timber worker.
The police classified it as an accidental death. They theorized that the man had stopped at the well to wash his clothes, noticed the black snake in the water, leaned over to inspect it, and tragically fell in. No signs of struggle or injury were found on his body, leading them to conclude it was simply an accident.
4. No Evidence Left Behind
This incident occurred in Kentucky in 1905. A body was discovered in an old well, its remains badly decomposed.
When the police arrived, the body was so badly decayed that they had to use a hook to retrieve many of the body parts before recovering the remaining remains from the bottom of the well. The body was identified as male, but the authorities had no idea who it was or how it ended up in the well.
In the past, it wasn't uncommon for migrant workers or those forgotten by society to end up in an old well. Often, no one noticed they were missing or took the time to claim their remains.
As for the cause of death, without any witnesses, it was impossible to determine, as the bodies were typically too decayed. The remains were often buried in unmarked graves in potter’s fields.
3. A Sudden Break from Reality
The circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. H.C. Braswell in North Carolina in 1906 were puzzling. There was a broken window, a distance to the well, and Braswell had drowned in less than 1.2 meters (4 ft) of water.
As the police examined the scene, they concluded that in a moment of madness, Braswell had leaped through his window, ran to the well, and jumped in headfirst.
His death was determined to be a suicide, attributed to a temporary bout of insanity. The case was closed.
2. A Possible Murder Turned Into A Simple Accident
In 1936, Jack Conway’s body was discovered in a well behind the Farmers’ Arms Hotel in Matong, NSW. At first glance, it appeared to be a homicide. Who else would climb into a well and seal it afterward? Moreover, his pockets were empty, even though he was known to have had money before his body was found.
However, after an investigation, the police concluded it wasn't a murder. Conway, 55, had apparently drunk too much and, being blind in one eye, had stumbled into the well. In his drunken state, he likely emptied his pockets and accidentally closed the lid over himself, ultimately leading to his tragic fall.
1. The Man Was Already Dead Before Being Thrown In
When attempting to conceal a body, the local well is rarely the ideal hiding spot. This proved to be the case in a dramatic incident in 1904 involving a couple from Ohio.
Isa Matthews, a 17-year-old domestic worker, had a quarrel with her boyfriend, Joseph Kelcher, and returned his engagement ring. Joseph wasn’t ready to let her go, and a few nights later, he arrived with his buggy. The two set off into the night, never to be seen alive again.
The following day, Joseph’s buggy was discovered abandoned by the Ohio River, with blood found inside. Eventually, Isa’s body was found dumped in a nearby well, showing clear signs she had been murdered beforehand.
Joseph's body was never recovered, but it was assumed he had jumped into the river and ended his life. No further efforts were made to search for him.
