Shirtwaist Ghosts Chapter 7

7

Hector opened the door to Ruli’s and called out, “The usual!” He spotted the Paranormal Posse at the farthest table from the front door and walked over to them. Marcos was Hector's partner and Bev and Tony were paranormal investigators that helped out when needed.

“I thought there had been an accident in that building.”

“What did you find out?” said Bev, between swigs of Moosehead Lager.

“The Harris family, John Harris Sr., built the building and used the top three floors as a shirtwaist factory until 1920.”

“What is a shirtwaist?” asked Tony before popping a french fry in his mouth.

“It’s what they used to call a woman's shirt back then.”

“I thought Farrah was the only clothing factory,” said Bev.

“Farrah made pants and shirts for men and was much bigger. This factory was tiny compared to them, but they still had about 100 or so young women working for them. I’m talking young, most between 15 and 18, but a couple as young as 11.”

“So when Allen told us he only saw women, that matches your research,” said Marcos.

“Yes, there was a fire and the workers were trapped in the building. In those days people worked long hours under dangerous conditions. The machines were open and you worked on them while they were running.”

Bev shuddered. “Did people die in the fire?”

“Oh, yeah. The owners locked the doors so workers couldn’t sneak out.”

“They were locked in?” Tony asked.

“It was a common practice back then. When a fire broke out on the eighth floor, most of the workers were trapped. Management was on the tenth floor, so they were able to escape to the roof.”

“Which explains the women on fire,” said Marcos, leaning forward.

“It gets worse. The elevators only made a couple of runs before the fire got too hot and people started jumping down the shaft. So many women jumped from the building, the newspaper described the bodies as being stacked up like wood.”

“Jesus,” whispered Tony.

“Over half the workers died. But it’s still not the worst part. The owners, Harris and Blanc, were charged and the case went to trial. The judge found them guilty.”

“That’s the worst part?” exclaimed Bev, taking another swig.

“But... they were only fined $20 by the court.”

“Twenty bucks?” Marcos, Bev, and Tony chimed up.

Marcos gave a low whistle. “Most people don’t know the U.S. has a nasty, bloody, labor history. There’s a reason labor unions were formed.”

“Later, they settled out of court during the civil lawsuit and paid $75 per person killed,” said Hector, leaning back in his chair.

“That still sucks,” Bev said.

“It sucks and blows. Bottom line, we have a tragic event, new construction, and plenty of reason to think there will be activity - mostly residual, but with a good EVP session we might find something intelligent. Above all, we need to be respectful while we’re investigating.” Everyone nodded.

Hector leaned close to Marcos, “I need to talk to you for a second.” To the others he said, “Be right back.”

After they exited to the patio, Marcos said, “Yeah?”

“Allen said his father didn’t talk much about the building. Well, his grandfather was there.”

“At the fire?”

“Yeah, according to the trial, both Harris and Blanc were on the tenth floor. They made it to the roof - along with their children.”

“Holy shrimp! You think Allen knows his family was there during the fire?”

“Maybe. Well, not Allen. You met him. What do you think?”

“He seemed genuinely confused by all this, but you're right, his family might have witnessed the whole thing.”

“This is going to be an interesting evening.”