Jun 4, 2026 · 27 min · 10 segments
On this episode of Anomalous Waves \*\** Amalia explores the haunting of a jail cell from 1873. Written, Researched, and Narrated by Amalia A. Edit, Original Music, and Sound Design by Jon…
Amalia AHost
John McEdwardHost
A few years ago, I was digging through old articles, looking for anything and everything related to ghost encounters.
I found your usual haunts, stories of a woman in white haunting railroads, a weeping spirit tied to a lake, but one of my favorites and the oddest came from September 4th, 1873, and it was published by The Sacramento Record.
The earth is for the fleshly mortal, and any supposed intruders upon the globe of the spook order in these days are either the results of vivid imagination or preconcerted imposture.
You know, who was Mortimer? What did he do? So I immediately started digging, and I combed through newspapers using the keywords 1873 Mortimer Sacramento.
He was a miner, farmer, teamster, carpenter, tailor, before he ultimately chose a different path, that of a career criminal and brutal killer.
In 1862, Mortimer was sentenced to a year in San Quentin State Prison for stalking and attacking a saloon keeper by the name of Conrad Feister.
On September 2nd of 1864, Charles L. Wiggin, a mayoral clerk and prospective California state assemblyman, caught Mortimer's eye at the Pony Express Saloon.
Mortimer followed him home, chloroformed him, and stole money and jewelry valued at $1,500.
According to historical crime detective, in late summer of 1864, Detective George Toby Rose, a seven-year veteran who had once survived a cleaver attack, was tasked with recovering the money Mortimer had buried on a secluded rancho in Santa Clara County.
It was around 9:00 PM when the pair reached the area that Mortimer claimed he had buried the stolen items.
Mortimer devised a plan to try and take Rose's hands off the pistol around his waist.
Rose removed his hand from his pistol to assist Mortimer, and as soon as he did, Mortimer grabbed Rose and started to strangle him.
Mortimer grabbed the detective's pistol and began beating him over the head with it.
A few years ago, I was digging through old articles, looking for anything and everything related to ghost encounters.
I found your usual haunts, stories of a woman in white haunting railroads, a weeping spirit tied to a lake, but one of my favorites and the oddest came from September 4th, 1873, and it was published by The Sacramento Record.
The earth is for the fleshly mortal, and any supposed intruders upon the globe of the spook order in these days are either the results of vivid imagination or preconcerted imposture.
You know, who was Mortimer? What did he do? So I immediately started digging, and I combed through newspapers using the keywords 1873 Mortimer Sacramento.
He was a miner, farmer, teamster, carpenter, tailor, before he ultimately chose a different path, that of a career criminal and brutal killer.
In 1862, Mortimer was sentenced to a year in San Quentin State Prison for stalking and attacking a saloon keeper by the name of Conrad Feister.
On September 2nd of 1864, Charles L. Wiggin, a mayoral clerk and prospective California state assemblyman, caught Mortimer's eye at the Pony Express Saloon.
Mortimer followed him home, chloroformed him, and stole money and jewelry valued at $1,500.
According to historical crime detective, in late summer of 1864, Detective George Toby Rose, a seven-year veteran who had once survived a cleaver attack, was tasked with recovering the money Mortimer had buried on a secluded rancho in Santa Clara County.
It was around 9:00 PM when the pair reached the area that Mortimer claimed he had buried the stolen items.
Mortimer devised a plan to try and take Rose's hands off the pistol around his waist.
Rose removed his hand from his pistol to assist Mortimer, and as soon as he did, Mortimer grabbed Rose and started to strangle him.
Mortimer grabbed the detective's pistol and began beating him over the head with it.
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