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Strange Tales 8: Which Story is False?

(cont'd)

By

Story 2: The Case of John Doe

On an April morning in 1968, a maintenance worker named Charlie Brant made a disturbing discovery as he was sweeping out the seating area of the train station in New Buffalo, Michigan. He found a man dressed in a large, dark overcoat slumped over in one of the seats. Charlie thought the man was asleep and assumed he had been there all night since no passenger trains were scheduled to pass through until much later that day.

Charlie also assumed the man was probably a vagrant who had found a warm place to spend the night, since there was no luggage nearby. Charlie attempted to nudge the man awake, but it readily became apparent that the man was in fact dead. Charlie went to the station office to report what he found and the station agent called the police.

What the police and the coroner found in their investigation is most baffling and has never been fully explained:

  • The man, estimated to be 28 to 30 years old, seemed to die of natural causes, but the coroner could not determine exactly what.
  • He seemed to be in normal physical condition, was clean-shaven and had no significant marks of distinction except for a small bruise on his left arm.
  • He was dressed in clothing from the early part of the century – around 1905 – although the clothing seemed to be relatively new: a dark blue pinstripe suit, white shirt, vest, black shoes, and a wool overcoat that seemed too heavy for the current weather. It was determined not to be a costume, but authentic clothing from the period – down to his socks and underwear.
  • He carried no wallet or identification of any kind.
  • In his vest pocket was a pocket watch, still ticking, although not set to the correct time. The date of its manufacture was stamped on the back: 1888.
  • In his pants pockets were two vintage coins – a 1904 "Indian head" penny and a 1902 Liberty nickel, both of which looked new – and a small box of licorice circa 1905. There were also small traces of tobacco.
  • The man was never identified or claimed, and was buried as "John Doe" in a local cemetery.

It has never been explained how or why “John Doe” – an apparent resident of the year 1905 – came to be found dead in a Michigan train station in 1968.

Story 3 > Unexplainable, My Dear Watson

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