The Humbugs of the World · Chapter
The Twenty-Seventh Street Ghost explained
Barnum recounts the widespread public frenzy over the 'Twenty-Seventh Street Ghost' in 1863, a sensational story published in the Sunday Mercury that sparked mass hysteria, police intervention, and international media coverage.
What happens
Barnum recounts the widespread public frenzy over the 'Twenty-Seventh Street Ghost' in 1863, a sensational story published in the Sunday Mercury that sparked mass hysteria, police intervention, and international media coverage. Despite being accused of orchestrating the hoax, Barnum denies involvement and notes how the craze eventually faded.
Themes in this chapter
Gullibility and Human Nature
The public's eager belief in the ghost story despite lack of evidence, and the mass hysteria that followed.
Advertising and Showmanship
The Sunday Mercury's sensational reporting and the commercial exploitation of the ghost by news dealers, theaters, and Barnum himself.
Universality of Deception
The ghost hoax as a widespread deception that fooled people across classes and countries, including spiritualists and the press.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Barnum
Narrator and accused progenitor of the ghost hoax; denies involvement and reflects on the public's gullibility.
Key passages
“I must, at the outset, remind my readers that there was no little accumulation of what is termed 'respectable' testimony, as to the reality of his ghostship in Twenty-seventh Street.”
Barnum notes that many credible people claimed the ghost was real.
Highlights the theme of gullibility and the power of testimony.
“The news dealers and street-carriers caught up the novelty instanter, and before noon not a copy of the Sunday Mercury could be bought in any direction.”
The story sold out immediately, showing the public's hunger for sensational news.
Illustrates advertising and showmanship.
“I was continually beset, and frequently, when more than usually busy, thoroughly annoyed by the innuendoes of my visitors, that I was the father of 'the Ghost.'”
Barnum was repeatedly accused of being behind the ghost hoax.
Shows Barnum's association with humbug and public perception.