SKOOKY THINGS 3 EPISODE 5: I’LL BUY YOU A DRINK AT SCHAUMBOCH’S

As we near all Hallow’s Eve, we get ready with spirits and foods.. parties and get togethers.

Let’s finish our Skooky Things 3 of 2022 on Hawk Mountain. The beautiful location deep in the woods, deep in the heart of Eastern PA.. One of Hawk Mountain’s most famous heirlooms is Schaumboch’s.. A tavern where the lonely and faint of heart met.. the travelers of early America and early Pennsylvania stopped for a cold one… And vanished. Never to be seen again..

We couple the woods and a few cocktails.

So why not meet at Schaumboch’s? Why not get a drink!

MEET MATTHIAS

In 1793, a small cottage was built near the base of Hawk Mountain. It was quaintly and peaceful deep in the forest.

In 1850, Matthias and Margaret Schaumboch purchased the property for use as a tavern for peddlers and other travelers of the Appalachians.. Must have been a good time had by all.. Some jolly laughs around the cold barley, drinks on Matthias!!

Schaumboch’s was a convenient spot for people to rest the horses.. for teamsters carrying coal form nearby anthracite mines.. for the purchase of tobacco, food, and alcohol.

The proprietor Matthias was known to be a shorter, mean looking grim kind of person. Someone maybe you would not want to share a drink with.

Shortly after the tavern’s opening, the oddities of the forest took hold.. There were stories of disappearing travelers that began to circulate the local area. Many of these missing men had been last seen at Schaumboch’s tavern, and passersby began reporting hearing screams and moans coming from the tavern basement…

Could the rumors be true? Could there be a faint aroma of paranormal? Or could it be something even more frightening lurking: A killer on the loose!?

Speculation grew when Matthias began to bring articles of clothing in the town..

WARM BEER AND DEATHBED CONFESSIONS

So here is what we know of Matthias.. He ran his Schaumboch’s … travelers were vanishing. Rumors were rumoring.. And he came to his end of life in 1879 age the age of 55. It reportedly coincided with what fishwrappers at the time called a “mental breakdown.”

On his death bed, Schaumboch reportedly confessed to murdering between 11 and 14 people. Either reports at the time got it wrong, or Schaumboch was too overcome with the hops to even count how many people he off’ed in the scheme of things.

In all reality, it appears that Matthias himself lost count of the true number of deceased.

Prior to the news of this confession, people spread word of screams and moans coming from a barn on Hawk Mountain and stories of being chased away by a hatchet wielding Matthias.

Those stories of travelers and peddlers staying at his inn, and never being seen again, suddenly has some more explanation.

There are absolutely NO court documents linking Matthias to legal action.. So we are forced to used the word ‘alleged’ to describe the potential serial killer.

BODIES FOUND

So we have the mysterious vanishing acts of travelers.. the death bed confessions. But what else?

A kindly gent by the name of William Turner purchased the property after Matthias died. And when he did, Turner reported finding human remains on the property, as well as bones in three of the wells.

It would seem to lend credence to the notion that Matthias Schaumboch, and perhaps even lovely Margaret, were involved in the murders of Hawk Mountain travelers..

The spirits of Schaumboch’s

Adding to the mystique and lure of Hawk Mountain, some believe that ghosts of Schaumboch’s still exist..

The Tavern was added as a historic site in 1980..

There was no mention of the strange tales of murder and mayhem in the press at the time.

It took a few more decades and internet connection to repeat the tales of the 1800s..

HOW DO WE KNOW THIS IS ALL TRUE?

Much of the storyline of Schaumboch’s comes from Dr. Maurice Broun in the 1950s. For many years after Schaumboch’s death, and until Broun renovated the tavern in 1939, the old building was believed to be haunted.

As a matter of fact, it was reported by Broun that a Civil War vet passed through the tavern with rifles and clothing.. the man vanished but Matthias was busy trying to offer the clothing for sale to residents in the valley.

Broun reported that Mattias lured in guests–and the victims–with strong drinks until they were inebriated.

One particular story that was printed in newspapers in the 1950s stated Elias Featherolf passed through Schaumboch’s on a summer day. He heard moans and groans coming from the barn, and when he went to see why, Schaumboch was found with a hatchet in his hand. According to that report, Matthias shouted “Go away quick or I’ll sink this hatcher in your head”…

MATTHIAS’ MENTAL ANGUISH

So we spoke earlier about the death bed confession and Matthias’ mental breakdown.. why did he have one?

So here is what we know from historic accounts.

Many locals decided that Matthias Schaumboch was killing people. At that point, plants were made to actually fire several charges of explosive powder to the foundation of the building and destroy it. It was reported that a magistrate was able to stop the destruction by telling the raging townspeople to spare Schaumboch’s on Hawk Mountain. But Matthias was overwhelmed.

According to reports, Matthias suffered both a physical and mental breakdown at the chain of events.