When we first began taking groups around the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, in the Media Gothic Walking Tour, one of the first questions we had to answer was "Is Media really Gothic?" It is, after all, Everybody's Home Town, and the first Fair Trade town in the United States. This makes Media sound lovely, wholesome, and pleasant-and it certainly is that, but we think it's pretty Gothic too. Are we suggesting Media is like goth music fans-pale, gloomy, dressed in black, and wearing dark eyeliner? Not so much. Is Media like Gothic architecture-sturdy, no-nonsense, and built to last? That's a little closer to the mark. Is Media like Gothic literature-dark, fantastical, full of madness, riddled with supernatural ghostliness, and rife with undertones of violence and death? Well, on occasions, yes it is. And that's why we named our tour-and this book-Media Gothic. This book is a collection of historical accounts, true crime stories, and paranormal happenings from the Borough of Media. Each story here is tied to a place you probably walk past all the time. Each of these stories is the result of in-depth research and interviews. We pored through books, archives, newspapers, and libraries. We spoke to dozens of people to get a balanced account. And thanks to the good people of the Media Historic Archives, we also unearthed some fantastic old photographs to illustrate them. In the pages that follow, you will learn about some of Media's most notorious burglaries, murders, executions, crimes both large and small, plus madness, guns, ghosts, and one really large explosion. Buckle up and brace yourselves: Media's dark history is a wild ride.
