October 3, 2021 • 44 mins
Come hear an Ohio folktale that springs forth from true crime history. The spirits of those murdered, and the murderess herself, is said to linger in this unassuming, modest farmhouse. It still stands in a state park. You can walk up to the stoop for yourself and peek in the windows. Perhaps the souls of those lost there yearn to have their story heard.
In 1896, Ceely Rose was a developmentally disabled young woman. While her mind was underdeveloped, her heart craved the love of a romantic partner. She wanted a family of her own, just as others her age were acquiring.
She would have it at any cost.
Come hear the tales of one writer, Mr. Mark Sebastian Jordan, and his nearly lifelong interest in the story. It inspired him to write a play and book on the subject. It’s inspired countless others to ponder the meaning of this history, and the hauntings which continue, 125 years later.
It seems Ceely is still looking for love…
If you enjoy this episode, please rate, review and subscribe to Ohio Folklore on your chosen podcast platform. You can find Ohio Folklore at
Ohiofolklore.com
Facebook.com/ohiofolklore
And as always keep wondering…
Special thanks to Mark Sebastian Jordan for his contributions to today’s episode. His book The Ceely Rose Murders at Malabar Farm can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/Ceely-Rose-Murders-Malabar-Crime/dp/1467146188/ref=sr_1_fkmr3_1?dchild=1&keywords=celia+rose+murders+mark+sebastian+jordan&qid=1633270527&sr=8-1-fkmr3
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Unknown (00:03):
Hello and welcome to Ohio folklore. I'm your host
Melissa Davies. Today, we'reexploring a true crime from
1896 125 years later, thisstory's impact can still be felt
among the locals. The housewhere it occurred, still stands,
and is sometimes open to thepublic for special events. Its
(00:27):
ghostly reputation has beencemented over years of
unexpected sightings of both themurderous and her victims, the
very family with whom she lived.
At the time of the triplemurder, this crime captured the
fearsome imaginations of so manyOhioans. Even today, the story
has spread wide and far, it'sbeen turned into an award
(00:52):
winning play, once performed ina barn near the property itself
is the subject of many blogs andnewspaper articles. The house
itself is a hotspot ofparanormal investigation,
drawing ghost hunting teams overwide expanses, all searching for
a trace of the restless spiritswho linger in this unsettled
(01:15):
space. The suppose that hauntedstructure is situated in what is
today a state park. In 1972, thestate of Ohio purchased the
Malabar farm once owned byformer Mansfield resident Lewis
Bromfield. In the late 1930s.
(01:38):
This Pulitzer Prize winningauthor returned home after
living abroad in France. The warwas heating up, so he decided to
bring his family home to therolling hills of Richland
County. He'd purchased a plot offarmland, more than 1000 acres
of it just outside Mansfield.
There he built a 32 room countrymansion. The sprawling estate
(02:01):
would come to attract manycelebrities of the era,
including such returning guestsas Humphrey Bogart and James
Cagney. This farm was no movieset however, it was a working
operation. While broom fieldsskills with the pen were admired
the world over his skills withthe plow had yet to be
(02:24):
exploited. Broomfield would goon to develop a practice of
conservation farming. With thesupport of programs set in place
by Roosevelt's New Deal. He wasable to rehabilitate his land,
and establish sustainablepractices that would make
Malabar farm a model for otherfarmers to emulate around the
(02:44):
world. And if that isn't allextraordinary enough, Lewis
Bromfield would come to realizethat his sprawling estate
contained get something moresomething unexpected. Something
we're still trying tounderstand. today. I'm talking
about the Sealy rose house atMalabar farm State Park.
(03:19):
Included in Bromfield originalpurchase of the land was a very
modest two storey clapboardfarmhouse white with green
shutters. When Bromfieldrealized the historical
significance of this ordinarystructure, he did what he did
best he wrote about it. Thefolklore which surrounded the
(03:39):
house was documented in hisfirst book about the farm called
Pleasant Valley. That's howwonder seekers around the globe
came to learn of a common 19thcentury home outside Mansfield.
Its troubled former residentsare rumored to remain and
spirits frozen in time.
(04:06):
To get a feel for the seed ofthe story, for the way ordinary
citizens came to hear of it.
Let's take a glimpse of adetailed article published in
the Chicago Tribune on August17 1896. This article entitled
An awful peril of a girlexamines the story of 123 year
old woman awaiting trial for thepoisoning deaths of her mother,
(04:30):
father, and brother. Thesubtitle hints at her lonesome
life, her longing for love andthe family members whom she
believed were in the way. Comehere this story, as learned by
countless readers of manynewspapers across the country in
(04:50):
August 1896Sealy sat in a cell at the
Richland County Jail. Considereda degenerate by many. This young
woman's nature was odd to saythe least. She spent her time
sewing and reading in her celland spoke freely of the deaths
(05:14):
of her family members. Shegreeted visitors in a cheerful
tone and showed little emotionwhen speaking of their torturous
deaths. When asked about guybury the 17 year old, a
strapping farm boy from nextdoor, her mood shifted to one of
giddiness born of a school girlcrush, something was off about
(05:37):
her. Some felt her insane.
Others disagreed wholly claimingthat silly wasn't crazy, just
delayed the social and emotionalskills of an eight year old.
Despite some believing that shemay not have known the
(05:57):
difference between right andwrong, this would be her first
defense of any kind. silliesfather, David had been a
disabled veteran of the CivilWar. At 70 years old, he still
managed to operate a nearbygrist mill after the family
moved to the area about 17 yearsprior. They'd hailed from the
(06:20):
Appalachian hills of southernOhio. While the business had
taken a downturn on account ofthe rise of gas powered Mills,
David eke out an existence withthe aid of his wife's small
weaving business and his adultson's employment as a farmhand
for neighbouring operations.
David Rose was known as a man ofmoral decency and strict
(06:45):
privacy, not unlike countlessother farmers of the region. The
family did what they could tokeep their heads above water,
for silly. This generally meanthelping here and there with the
housework. When directed by hermother, she couldn't work in any
gainful sense on account of hersocial and emotional immaturity.
As we'll discuss later, theroses weren't known to cause
(07:11):
trouble. But they wereconsidered outsiders on account
of their move from theAppalachian hills. Many laborers
left them to their own devices.
Although the men in particularwere known for passionate and
vindictive thinking, none of thefamily were thought is
dangerous. Odd. Yes. A littlebackward, perhaps, capable of
(07:37):
cold blooded murder. Definitelynot. The family living closest
to the Roses was the berries.
George Berry, the farmer livedwith his wife, two sons, a
daughter, and an elderly father.
Generations of this family hadlived in the area a long time,
(07:59):
they were well accepted into thesocial circles of that area, and
highly respected. Though the twofarmhouses were within shouting
distance of one another, the twofarmers had taken to a kind of
avoidance of each other. Theberries noted something peculiar
in the roses way of thinking,and perhaps behaving. And so
(08:22):
while everything was kept civil,there was also a distinct unease
when coming upon each other onaccident, a kind of awkward nod,
and then a moving along to avoidanything resembling a
conversation.
This general pattern ofavoidance between the two
families persisted until one daywhen Seeley set her eyes on the
(08:46):
young guy Barry, working in thefield. Having no real friends or
associates of her own age, sillymust have pondered what it might
be like finding a partner, beingin love. From the safe distance
of her own home, she could gazeat the 17 year old boy, and
fantasize on just what such afuture might look like. For many
(09:09):
that knew her well, silly seemeda perpetual lonely character,
starved for attention, shedelight at the smallest of
interest shown by others.
Despite her eagerness whileattending a one room schoolhouse
well into her 20s only childrenunder 10 had any interest in
socializing with her. She lackedthe social graces as they say.
(09:33):
Her thoughts seemed reduced tobasics, her reactions often
inappropriate to the tone of themoment. She was a bit
overweight, a well rounded kindof physicality. Those of her
same chronological age soon cameto dismiss her as childish and
left her out of their partiesand other events. See lose
(09:55):
attendance at the school wasbody at best, especially as her
body grew into adulthood. Shewas then left to scrounge what
kind of connections she hadavailable to her from the
isolation of her own home.
That's why one day while he wasplowing a cornfield with a team
(10:19):
of horses, silly surprise guywhen she emerged from the wooded
lot that ran adjacent to theirproperties, she'd placed flowers
in her hair. She remarked on howpleasant it was to watch him
grow into the man he wasbecoming. Although he blew her
office strange at first, he grewinclined of her admiration of
(10:41):
him, even though he returnednone of it. Although guide
didn't initiate their contacts,he entertained her multiple
trips across their property lineto pay him her flirtations. This
very one sided love affair wenton for some time. That is, until
(11:04):
one day when Celia announcedthat the two of them would be
married in three years. When shereceived his response of
indifference, she stammered outa string of lies about other
suitors who'd been pestering herfor dates. She returned the next
day, full of regret for havingsaid it, and again proclaimed
(11:26):
her undying love for guy only.
Guys little brother clawed atoverhearing the saga, took it
upon himself to unformed Seeley,that guy already had a
sweetheart. Although shocked atfirst, Sealy quickly recovered
by announcing in all sincerity,that she would then marry Claude
instead, once he came of age. Atthis, the bury family, including
(11:52):
guy grew quite tired of silliescontinued overtures. He began
avoiding her wherever he could,which wasn't easy on account of
how closely they lived. When hecouldn't take it anymore. guy
told us Father, he'd have tomove out if something wasn't
done. Not wanting to lose a son,as well as a strong set of hands
(12:16):
for working the farm. GeorgeBarry did something he didn't
want to do. He marched straightover to the Rose house and told
David all he knew of Sally'scontinued annoyances and
intrusions. She was not to comeon their property for any
reason. With George's leaving,David Rose turned on his
(12:39):
daughter to deliver a scolding,soaked in shame and
embarrassment. How had she madesuch a fool of herself and the
family name? Why couldn't sheJust act normal anyway. Through
much hurt and anguish, Sealypromised to stop going over to
the berries place, if only herfather promised not to tell her
(13:00):
mother of the whole ordeal.
Whatever promise David made tosecrecy with soon lost, or
perhaps he slipped one day andmentioned something of the
unfortunate situation. Bothsteelies mother and brother, now
new, and they added their ownscorn on top of what Sally had
(13:23):
already received from herfather. It was too much to bear
rather than given to despair.
Rather than taking to viewingherself as an object of shame
and ridicule. She turned heranger outward, she would see to
it that she would one day find ahusband and start a life of her
own, away from the oppression ofher family. She was now all the
(13:46):
more determined to make ithappen. In her mind, the real
trouble was with the feud, whicherupted between guy's parents
and her own. They were theobstacles to be overcome. With
them out of the way, she and guywould be free to unite and start
(14:07):
their own lives together.
See, these parents weresurprised to see their
daughter's mood shift from oneof hurt to obedience. Doing as
she was told she stayed awayfrom the berries farm. She
completed her chores when asked.
She had never been known as thisdutiful before. Something had
(14:32):
indeed shifted, but her parentsjust couldn't explain it. How
could they know she'd alreadycommitted to a plan of their
demise? It was the morning ofJune 24 1896. Sealy cheerfully
(14:52):
helped her mother in thekitchen, fixing breakfast. Her
job was to make the smear case,which is a German word for
cottage cheese. David and Walterboth ate heartily of it before
heading out for the day's work.
While Rebecca only took a smallportion SULI had none for
(15:16):
herself. She take what remainedafter the meal was over, and
throw it out in the backyard.
One by one. See Lee's father,brother and mother took on a
dreadful thirst. On taking afirst sip of water, a violent
wrenching in their gut led toexplosive vomiting. The thirst
(15:37):
remains, but none of them couldkeep even a swallow of water in
them. Over the next hours anddays, several local doctors were
called to assist the miserablepatients. All would come to
agree on a diagnosis of arsenicpoisoning. David would be the
(15:58):
first to die after spending sixdays in misery. His Son's death
would follow five days later,Rebecca, Sally's mother with
slowly and precariously recover.
Although Rebecca suspected thatSealy had done the deed, she
(16:21):
protected her from the pryingquestions of law officers and
the local justice system. Thisfinal act of unconditional love
as her parent created anotherwindow of lethal opportunity. On
accepting a serving of bread andmilk from Sealy Rebecca asked
for seconds on tasting thesecond helping Rebecca's eyes
(16:47):
fixed on Sealy. She noted thatit tasted sweeter than the first
she asked silly, plainly whethershe had poisoned it. Silly first
ignored, but then asked hermother why she would ask such a
question. When Rebecca told herto look at her in the face and
(17:09):
answer her silly only hung herhead low and silence and left
the room. The violent retchingsoon began, and Sally's weakened
mother was dead within a day. Alater confession silly gave to a
(17:32):
young woman pretending tobefriend her would reveal that
silly had used rat poisonpreviously purchased by her
brother. She would use it topoison and kill each of her
family members. Lab tests of thestomach's of both David and
Walter rose would indeed confirmpoisoning due to arsenic, the
(17:54):
active ingredient and ratpoison. Within two weeks, all of
the family Sealy had left. We'renow buried in Pleasant Valley
Cemetery. dead chickens laystrewn across the backyard,
having ingested what Sealy hadthrown out on the first day of
(18:14):
the whole ordeal. A long trialwould later ensue, with silly
pleading not guilty by reason ofinsanity. Despite considerable
disagreement among professionalsas to whether her condition fit
the legal definition ofinsanity. She was eventually
granted an acquittal by reasonof it. When asked if she felt
(18:39):
sorry for what she had done,Celia said to have responded. Of
course I feel bad and all that Iam all alone. When asked if she
was going to marry guy Barry,where she ever released, she
acknowledged that he wouldlikely nary another. She
(18:59):
followed up by commenting thathe had been one of the few to
once treat her with respect whenthey'd met. She would spend most
of the rest of her days in statehospitals before dying at the
Lima state hospital in 1934.
(19:21):
This true crime event in Ohio ishistory. Now, 125 years in the
making, has captured theimaginations of historians,
artists, thus viens and writers.
I've had the great fortune ofconnecting with one such person,
Mr. Mark Sebastian Jordan. Justthis year, his book on the
subject was released. It'sentitled The Sealy rose murders
(19:43):
at Malabar farm. It's easilyfound on Amazon or wherever you
buy books. I'll include a linkto the Amazon page in the show
notes. This book is the productof countless hours poring over
Historical documents, courtrecords, and newspaper articles,
Jordan has painstakinglystitched together the story as
(20:06):
it developed. He offers insightsinto the cases nuances,
including the ongoing questionas to see Lee's mental and
emotional deficiencies, affectwhich lends more ambiguity as to
her level of intention, andunderstanding and committing the
crimes. Jordan became fascinatedwith the case when he first
(20:29):
learned of it as a child. Then,when he later came upon the
story, while reading the book,haunted Ohio, he was hooked.
This intrigue would go on toinspire him to write a play on
the subject, one which wouldcome to be performed in a barn
at Malabar farm, a stone's throwaway from the Sealy rose house
(20:50):
itself. Jordan has graciouslyshared his passion for the
history. But that's not all.
During the plays production,unexplained experiences kept
occurring, especially aroundemotionally charged scenes. A
master storyteller, Jordanshares what he knows of the
(21:11):
documented history. But morethan this, he shares something
of the spiritual experiencesfelt by him and others as they
worked to bring this tale tolife through theater. Come hear
his story.
(21:31):
name is Mark Sebastian. And I ama writer. I have been involved
with lots of various differentkinds of writing over over the
years, sort of have aninsatiable curiosity and where a
lot of different hats. So I'm apublished dramatists,
(21:53):
playwright, I have publishedpoetry, I have written humorous
books, I do a lot of journalism.
And I have had an avid interestin history for a long time. That
goes all the way back to when Iwas in high school and all my
(22:14):
classmates had all these placesboring, nothing interesting ever
happened here, I took the simplestep of designing the checkout
and see if that was actuallytrue. And it turns out, it's not
there's actually a lot ofinteresting stories if you dig
into history. And so the Sealyrose case first came to my
attention actually quite young.
(22:38):
I was a even as a child, I had agreat interest in spooky,
strange or McCobb stories. Andmy mother recognize this about
me. And when I was 12 years old,there was an article in the
newspaper talking about ghostsin Ohio State Parks. And she
(23:01):
pointed me toward the articlesthat I think this is something
you'd be interested in. And Iwas surprised to find that the
bulk of the article was about analleged haunting in Malabar farm
State Park, which is in the verysame county where I live. So
that caught my attention there.
And later, we had a school tripthat went to Malabar farm. I
(23:22):
heard about the story againthere and visited the park later
on, heard about it some more.
And then finally, in the mid1990s, I read a book by Chris
Woodward called haunted Ohiothat has a version of the story
(23:43):
in there with your went back,and some of the original
documents to flesh out what isknown about story a little more,
and it's funny, I left the job Iwas working at to go get some
lunch one day. But I while I wasthere, getting lunch, I stopped
in at a bookstore and found thatbook and Brad took it back. I
(24:07):
got very little work done thatafternoon. As soon as I read
with your story of Sealy rose, Ithought this could be done as a
play could bring the story tolife on the stage. So I jumped
in researched it further wrote adramatic version of it. And then
(24:27):
you know, I had to develop andimprove that script for a few
years. But eventually, Iapproached Malabar farm State
Park and said is it possible forus to actually present this play
here and we decided to do it inthe big barn. Alabbar CO
production between the Malabarfarm Foundation and the
Mansfield Playhouse a localtheatre through and we started
(24:51):
that in 2003. I later wroteother historical dramas, invited
another writer in to do Anotherdrama. So we had these shows
going for over a decade, we didit as dinner theater, people
loved it. I decided at somepoint, I needed to take all my
research and put it in a properin depth history. And that's
(25:14):
what was published this summer.
By the history press. It'scalled The Sealy rose murders at
Malabar farm the house is tuckedin against the hillside. If it
had a little more light, itmight seem like up pleasant,
(25:35):
little, you know, nestled inplace. But as, as it is, the
places kind of dark just becauseit doesn't get much sunlight
during the day because it'snestled in against the ridge.
And there's trees surrounding soit's a place that that manages
(25:56):
to feel a little isolated,okay, isolated and in shadow, as
well. You know, which, yeah, Ican see how that would maybe
cast somewhat of a pall in away. And in the times that
you've been in the house, wouldyou say that you've noticed
(26:16):
anything unusual, or I've hadany encounters, so to speak,
that you can't explain?
It's remarkable how consistentthe place has felt to me over
the years, every time I walk inthe place, the first floor
feels, there's just a feeling ofheaviness, a sad, heavy sort of
(26:41):
feeling. You know, it'scertainly not helped by the
current condition of the place,you know, it's a kind of musty,
and an old carpet on the floorand such. But it has this heavy
sort of feel to it. Now, when Igo upstairs, there's a similar
(27:03):
feeling throughout most of thearea until I stepped into the
front bedroom, which we believeI mean, there's no solid
documentation on this, we thinkthat was probably the room where
Seeley and her brother slept.
Every time that I walk into thatroom. It's like walking into a
(27:24):
field of static. In a way, it'seven harder to think clearly in
there just because you're sortof bombarded by this energy of I
don't know how to describe itother than the call, like
Baddeck, or like noise in a way,except that that's silent.
(27:48):
There's no literal sound.
And I could see where it wouldbe hard to put that into words.
And it kind of interrupts yourthinking, your concentration?
Yeah, it's it's hard toconcentrate in that way.
And that's been prettyconsistent for you the times
that you've beenbeen remarkably consistent,
(28:08):
which is interesting, becauseI've been in other places that
are said to be haunted, andsometimes I might pick up on it
more other times, not so much.
But in the Rose farmhouse, itvaries in intensity from time to
time, but it's always there.
(28:31):
Does that seem to be in linewith other people's accounts as
well? And their experience ofit? Or have you talked much with
other people?
Oh, I've talked a lot. In line,a number of people. One of the
things that has happened overthe years is that a lot of
(28:52):
people have taken pictures andcaught what seems to be you
know, faces in the window. A lotof people have Durbin buying
claim, they saw someone lookingout the windows of that, that
room upstairs, though there's along tradition of things
(29:14):
associated with that. Andthere's lots of stories as well.
There's one from a park employeewho lives in there with his
family. And I think this tookplace at some point in the
1970s. They sent their theirchild a toddler to bed one
(29:38):
evening, and the kid came backdown stairs and said, you know,
they asked the child whatthey're doing. Actually don't
know if it was a boy or girl.
They asked the child what theywere doing. And the child said I
can't get to sleep that womankeeps talking and could only
describe some sort of woman whokeeps talking to them or giving
(30:03):
them away. I have a report thatI really want to talk to the
person, it happened to actuallybriefly spoke with his wife. And
they promised to talk with memore at some later point. But
apparently, someone who grew upin the house at some point there
(30:26):
in the past, was actually pushedout a window as a child. badly,
badly hurt by that. So I'mhoping to talk with him at some
point. Because at this point,I'm starting to try to gather
these various stories. So I cando that as a follow up book,
because the history of the casein itself is, is one entire book
(30:50):
in itself will be another way.
I think that's a great way tolook at the whole situation from
multiple angles. And you dowonder sometimes, or at least I
do, whether these kinds ofevents that are laden with
(31:13):
emotions, leave us some somekind of imprint, right,
like a residue was the veryfirst year that we were
producing the play 2003. Onething that happened during one
of the rehearsals is a vividmemory in the actual case,
(31:38):
seemly poisoned for familybecause she thought they were
preventing her from gettingtogether with the boys she
loved. The boys she lovedactually was not interested in
her this was just an obsessionand feelings of mine. When she
poisoned the family she usedrough on rats brand rat poison
(31:58):
mixed into cottage cheese thatshe served them for breakfast.
Father died within a day, herbrother died a week later, her
mother started to recover. Soshe poisoned her a second time.
So one of the key plays in fact,really the emotional climax of
the entire play is this scenewhere Seeley and her mother are
(32:21):
talking after the others aregone. You his mother clearly
figured out what her daughterdid, that made the decision to
try and protect her because shewas the last family she had
left. But then once dealyrealized that the mother
intended to move them away, thatwould take her away from the boy
(32:42):
she had a crush on. Therefore,she decided to poison her mother
a second time. So one evening,we're rehearsing. And they got
so intensely into the scene,they would be in tears. Every
time they perform this, the onenight we're rehearsing the
scene. And I'm walking around inthe barn looking at the scene
(33:06):
from different angles to makesure that everything can be seen
well from different points ofview in the audience. At which
point I noticed, there is alight in the barn, the light
closest to them, you know, thisis rehearsal. We don't have the
bright stage lights yet. We'rejust using the regular lighting
in the barn. And I know this,the light closest to them is
(33:31):
pulsing on and off. It's notflickering, like you know the
way in an incandescent bulb usedto flicker before it would burn
out. There wasn't that at all.
There was a steady pulsing ON,OFF, ON OFF. No other light was
was doing this. And it was thelight Moses to them on stage. I
thought wow, that's reallyinteresting. Oh, yeah, I made us
(33:56):
split second decision that thatmoment not to tell the actresses
about that. Because they were inthe midst of this intense scene
factor intensity was so great. Iwas pulled back into watching
them and I forgot about thelight. They finished the scene
where Rebecca dies. And I lookback at the light it had gone
(34:16):
off completely did not come on.
Again. The rest of the evening.
Came in there. The next eveningto rehearse the light was on as
normal stayed on as normal. Infact, I ended up not telling
Shar and Ghandi about that lightuntil after the production was
done and they thanked me forknowing that the light was
(34:41):
signaling at them as they wereperforming that scene. Another
memorable incident that happenedwas Tuesday, I think of tech
week. You know there's so muchinformation in the store I had
to condense it down toparticular scenes in order to
(35:02):
tell the story on stage to aplay unfold is like a series of
snapshots between each scene. Iuse old recordings from the
1920s and 30s of both music andsuch. So the sound design was a
really important part of theproduction, it set the mood and
Terry Vermeer made thetransition from one scene to the
(35:26):
next. So it was a very importantpart of the whole design. Well,
about halfway through Act One,the Tuesday night of tech week,
two days before we opened,because we opened on Thursday.
And we had already sold out allof the performances before even
opening the show. So two daysbefore we open, we're going
(35:49):
through rehearsal, we have allthe lights, costume, set out,
all this stuff going on. Andabout halfway through Act One,
suddenly the sound startsmalfunctioning it. You can hear
faint, goes to sound in thedistance. But the actual full
volume sounds.
(36:13):
Well, my tech director hadalready left because everything
was set up. And once again, hehad to work early the following
day. So he had just left andsaid, let me know if there any
any problem. I did the CPU Iplugged in, unplug, unplug, and
replug. The various connectingcables made sure everything
everything was working,everything appeared to be
(36:34):
working just fine. But the soundwas almost completely inaudible.
It just it made no no sense thatwe we couldn't get the sound.
And here's this importantelement of the design. And we're
just two days from opening thesold out crowds. And I suddenly
have no sound. So I called danin a panic after the rehearsal
(37:00):
and said, What are we going todo, we've got a fiasco on our
hands now that sellout crowdscoming in two days, and my sound
design has disappeared.
Everything appears to beworking. But I've gotten no
sound. Dan said, Don't worry,thumbs down. It obviously,
obviously has to be one piece ofequipment has failed in the
chain of the quick boardamplifier, the speakers,
(37:22):
something was still coming outof the speakers. So we knew at
least that they were functional.
We just weren't getting thesound to the speakers in an
adequate manner. They said, Iwill bring a new piece of
equipment. And I will come intorehearsal early tomorrow night,
I'll figure out which thing hasscrewed up. And we'll fix this,
(37:45):
this is a simple fix, do notworry. So that settled me down
for the evening, comes in wellbefore rehearsal The following
night and starts testing out thepieces of equipment, trying
different stuff and gettingnothing. And this goes on and on
and on. And he's over therestarting to cuss at the
(38:07):
equipment. Because one by one hetries each piece of equipment.
And it's still doing the samething. He unplugged and
replugged all the connectorseverywhere the same
troubleshooting that you'dnormally do. And we're still not
not getting the sound. He'sgetting frustrated. And
meanwhile, I have all the actorsstanding around wanting to know
(38:29):
when we're going to startrehearsal because we're already
late getting started. And thisis the day before we open. This
is terrifying in a productionsituation. So I felt crazy about
it as I did again, and I alwaysfeel crazy now whenever I tell
this story. But at that point, Ihad nothing to lose. Because we
(38:55):
were in a desperate situation.
So I went over to the side ofthe barn away from everyone
else. And I whispered out loud,really. We are just trying to
tell your story so that peoplecan see what happened. And maybe
something like this would neverhave to happen again. If we get
(39:18):
this story out there. And wecannot tell this story without
your help. Please let the songgo. Within 30 seconds of me
whispering that in cornersuddenly found flared forth from
that system that looked backover a dam and he's just looking
(39:39):
at the equipment shaking hishead because it wasn't something
he had done at that point. Tothis day, we don't know But
within that, that's just the wayit went. What about work fine.
After that you We keep on thesafe side, I actually made it
(40:00):
part of the stage managersbusiness in the productions to
always invite family to come tothe shows. After that. There
were further incidences I talkedyour ear off and things like
this.
Now I really appreciate yousharing Especially that last
one, it was such a kind ofnatural thing that you did
(40:23):
probably led in a more out ofsome desperation, but also just
like a kind of spiritual moment.
And I think it's it's a powerfulexperience what you're
describing. Certainly, it'sstuck with you all this time.
Because some life experiencesstick with us for obvious
(40:48):
reasons. Like the day you gotyour driver's license, or
perhaps your wedding day. Otherexperiences, like the kind that
reveal a glimpse of the spiritworld can change us in ways we
never imagined. Sometimes wefind ourselves brushing up
against forces beyond ourselves.
(41:08):
And in that moment, we connectwith what cannot be seen or
measured, but felt those luckyenough to have such experiences
walk away transformed, andforever altered. Most of our
connections are with humans ofthe living variety, our family,
(41:30):
friends and neighbors.
Participation in the largercommunity shields us from the
damages of isolation andlonesome nest. While much
remains uncertain, as to Seeleyroses intentions and murdering
her entire family, one thingseems pretty clear. She was
different from others, in someway disabled in her mental
(41:53):
capacity. She was lonely, andfeared a life of isolation as
her parents aged. Fear, as theysay, is the root of all evil. It
drives our worst impulses. Itconvinces us that selfish
actions are justified. Itunderlies pain, division, and
(42:16):
disconnection from one another.
To borrow a passage from FirstCorinthians, love is indeed
patient and kind, the antithesisof fear, it does not insist on
its own way. It rejoices in thetruth. While we can never know
(42:41):
the full truth of Sally'sintentions, given her apparent
mental deficits, we can assumethat her impulse to kill was out
of fear of losing love. Herassumption that love could be
manipulated, that it could bestrong armed, drove her to kill
those closest to her. As humans,our need for love is a driving
(43:05):
and universal force. It's theone power that transcends death
that keeps us connected to lovedones who have gone before us.
Perhaps it's true that somewherebehind the veil, Sealy laments
her selfishness. Perhaps it wasindeed her energy that haunted
those working to bring her storyto life. Perhaps she longs for a
(43:28):
chance to write these seriouswrongs. While that may be my own
wishful thinking, I do you thinkthis story offers valuable
lessons on love, and life? Ifyou wish to find love, you must
give it if you wish to seeklove, you must show it through
acts of selflessness, and selfsacrifice. Had Sealy felt more
(43:53):
love and acceptance from thosewithin her community. She may
not have given into the despairof never having it. Perhaps her
spirit anguishes over her deedslong done. May we be mindful of
our own choices made in fear orlove? The choice is ours.
(44:20):
This concludes today's episodeon the Sealy rose house at
Malabar farm. I hope you'veenjoyed it. If so, please
consider writing a review onApple podcasts or wherever you
listen. It helps people find theshow. You can find Ohio folklore
at Ohio folklore.com And onFacebook. And as always, keep
(44:42):
wondering
Hello and welcome to Ohio folklore. I'm your host
Melissa Davies. Today, we'reexploring a true crime from
1896 125 years later, thisstory's impact can still be felt
among the locals. The housewhere it occurred, still stands,
and is sometimes open to thepublic for special events. Its
(00:27):
ghostly reputation has beencemented over years of
unexpected sightings of both themurderous and her victims, the
very family with whom she lived.
At the time of the triplemurder, this crime captured the
fearsome imaginations of so manyOhioans. Even today, the story
has spread wide and far, it'sbeen turned into an award
(00:52):
winning play, once performed ina barn near the property itself
is the subject of many blogs andnewspaper articles. The house
itself is a hotspot ofparanormal investigation,
drawing ghost hunting teams overwide expanses, all searching for
a trace of the restless spiritswho linger in this unsettled
(01:15):
space. The suppose that hauntedstructure is situated in what is
today a state park. In 1972, thestate of Ohio purchased the
Malabar farm once owned byformer Mansfield resident Lewis
Bromfield. In the late 1930s.
(01:38):
This Pulitzer Prize winningauthor returned home after
living abroad in France. The warwas heating up, so he decided to
bring his family home to therolling hills of Richland
County. He'd purchased a plot offarmland, more than 1000 acres
of it just outside Mansfield.
There he built a 32 room countrymansion. The sprawling estate
(02:01):
would come to attract manycelebrities of the era,
including such returning guestsas Humphrey Bogart and James
Cagney. This farm was no movieset however, it was a working
operation. While broom fieldsskills with the pen were admired
the world over his skills withthe plow had yet to be
(02:24):
exploited. Broomfield would goon to develop a practice of
conservation farming. With thesupport of programs set in place
by Roosevelt's New Deal. He wasable to rehabilitate his land,
and establish sustainablepractices that would make
Malabar farm a model for otherfarmers to emulate around the
(02:44):
world. And if that isn't allextraordinary enough, Lewis
Bromfield would come to realizethat his sprawling estate
contained get something moresomething unexpected. Something
we're still trying tounderstand. today. I'm talking
about the Sealy rose house atMalabar farm State Park.
(03:19):
Included in Bromfield originalpurchase of the land was a very
modest two storey clapboardfarmhouse white with green
shutters. When Bromfieldrealized the historical
significance of this ordinarystructure, he did what he did
best he wrote about it. Thefolklore which surrounded the
(03:39):
house was documented in hisfirst book about the farm called
Pleasant Valley. That's howwonder seekers around the globe
came to learn of a common 19thcentury home outside Mansfield.
Its troubled former residentsare rumored to remain and
spirits frozen in time.
(04:06):
To get a feel for the seed ofthe story, for the way ordinary
citizens came to hear of it.
Let's take a glimpse of adetailed article published in
the Chicago Tribune on August17 1896. This article entitled
An awful peril of a girlexamines the story of 123 year
old woman awaiting trial for thepoisoning deaths of her mother,
(04:30):
father, and brother. Thesubtitle hints at her lonesome
life, her longing for love andthe family members whom she
believed were in the way. Comehere this story, as learned by
countless readers of manynewspapers across the country in
(04:50):
August 1896Sealy sat in a cell at the
Richland County Jail. Considereda degenerate by many. This young
woman's nature was odd to saythe least. She spent her time
sewing and reading in her celland spoke freely of the deaths
(05:14):
of her family members. Shegreeted visitors in a cheerful
tone and showed little emotionwhen speaking of their torturous
deaths. When asked about guybury the 17 year old, a
strapping farm boy from nextdoor, her mood shifted to one of
giddiness born of a school girlcrush, something was off about
(05:37):
her. Some felt her insane.
Others disagreed wholly claimingthat silly wasn't crazy, just
delayed the social and emotionalskills of an eight year old.
Despite some believing that shemay not have known the
(05:57):
difference between right andwrong, this would be her first
defense of any kind. silliesfather, David had been a
disabled veteran of the CivilWar. At 70 years old, he still
managed to operate a nearbygrist mill after the family
moved to the area about 17 yearsprior. They'd hailed from the
(06:20):
Appalachian hills of southernOhio. While the business had
taken a downturn on account ofthe rise of gas powered Mills,
David eke out an existence withthe aid of his wife's small
weaving business and his adultson's employment as a farmhand
for neighbouring operations.
David Rose was known as a man ofmoral decency and strict
(06:45):
privacy, not unlike countlessother farmers of the region. The
family did what they could tokeep their heads above water,
for silly. This generally meanthelping here and there with the
housework. When directed by hermother, she couldn't work in any
gainful sense on account of hersocial and emotional immaturity.
As we'll discuss later, theroses weren't known to cause
(07:11):
trouble. But they wereconsidered outsiders on account
of their move from theAppalachian hills. Many laborers
left them to their own devices.
Although the men in particularwere known for passionate and
vindictive thinking, none of thefamily were thought is
dangerous. Odd. Yes. A littlebackward, perhaps, capable of
(07:37):
cold blooded murder. Definitelynot. The family living closest
to the Roses was the berries.
George Berry, the farmer livedwith his wife, two sons, a
daughter, and an elderly father.
Generations of this family hadlived in the area a long time,
(07:59):
they were well accepted into thesocial circles of that area, and
highly respected. Though the twofarmhouses were within shouting
distance of one another, the twofarmers had taken to a kind of
avoidance of each other. Theberries noted something peculiar
in the roses way of thinking,and perhaps behaving. And so
(08:22):
while everything was kept civil,there was also a distinct unease
when coming upon each other onaccident, a kind of awkward nod,
and then a moving along to avoidanything resembling a
conversation.
This general pattern ofavoidance between the two
families persisted until one daywhen Seeley set her eyes on the
(08:46):
young guy Barry, working in thefield. Having no real friends or
associates of her own age, sillymust have pondered what it might
be like finding a partner, beingin love. From the safe distance
of her own home, she could gazeat the 17 year old boy, and
fantasize on just what such afuture might look like. For many
(09:09):
that knew her well, silly seemeda perpetual lonely character,
starved for attention, shedelight at the smallest of
interest shown by others.
Despite her eagerness whileattending a one room schoolhouse
well into her 20s only childrenunder 10 had any interest in
socializing with her. She lackedthe social graces as they say.
(09:33):
Her thoughts seemed reduced tobasics, her reactions often
inappropriate to the tone of themoment. She was a bit
overweight, a well rounded kindof physicality. Those of her
same chronological age soon cameto dismiss her as childish and
left her out of their partiesand other events. See lose
(09:55):
attendance at the school wasbody at best, especially as her
body grew into adulthood. Shewas then left to scrounge what
kind of connections she hadavailable to her from the
isolation of her own home.
That's why one day while he wasplowing a cornfield with a team
(10:19):
of horses, silly surprise guywhen she emerged from the wooded
lot that ran adjacent to theirproperties, she'd placed flowers
in her hair. She remarked on howpleasant it was to watch him
grow into the man he wasbecoming. Although he blew her
office strange at first, he grewinclined of her admiration of
(10:41):
him, even though he returnednone of it. Although guide
didn't initiate their contacts,he entertained her multiple
trips across their property lineto pay him her flirtations. This
very one sided love affair wenton for some time. That is, until
(11:04):
one day when Celia announcedthat the two of them would be
married in three years. When shereceived his response of
indifference, she stammered outa string of lies about other
suitors who'd been pestering herfor dates. She returned the next
day, full of regret for havingsaid it, and again proclaimed
(11:26):
her undying love for guy only.
Guys little brother clawed atoverhearing the saga, took it
upon himself to unformed Seeley,that guy already had a
sweetheart. Although shocked atfirst, Sealy quickly recovered
by announcing in all sincerity,that she would then marry Claude
instead, once he came of age. Atthis, the bury family, including
(11:52):
guy grew quite tired of silliescontinued overtures. He began
avoiding her wherever he could,which wasn't easy on account of
how closely they lived. When hecouldn't take it anymore. guy
told us Father, he'd have tomove out if something wasn't
done. Not wanting to lose a son,as well as a strong set of hands
(12:16):
for working the farm. GeorgeBarry did something he didn't
want to do. He marched straightover to the Rose house and told
David all he knew of Sally'scontinued annoyances and
intrusions. She was not to comeon their property for any
reason. With George's leaving,David Rose turned on his
(12:39):
daughter to deliver a scolding,soaked in shame and
embarrassment. How had she madesuch a fool of herself and the
family name? Why couldn't sheJust act normal anyway. Through
much hurt and anguish, Sealypromised to stop going over to
the berries place, if only herfather promised not to tell her
(13:00):
mother of the whole ordeal.
Whatever promise David made tosecrecy with soon lost, or
perhaps he slipped one day andmentioned something of the
unfortunate situation. Bothsteelies mother and brother, now
new, and they added their ownscorn on top of what Sally had
(13:23):
already received from herfather. It was too much to bear
rather than given to despair.
Rather than taking to viewingherself as an object of shame
and ridicule. She turned heranger outward, she would see to
it that she would one day find ahusband and start a life of her
own, away from the oppression ofher family. She was now all the
(13:46):
more determined to make ithappen. In her mind, the real
trouble was with the feud, whicherupted between guy's parents
and her own. They were theobstacles to be overcome. With
them out of the way, she and guywould be free to unite and start
(14:07):
their own lives together.
See, these parents weresurprised to see their
daughter's mood shift from oneof hurt to obedience. Doing as
she was told she stayed awayfrom the berries farm. She
completed her chores when asked.
She had never been known as thisdutiful before. Something had
(14:32):
indeed shifted, but her parentsjust couldn't explain it. How
could they know she'd alreadycommitted to a plan of their
demise? It was the morning ofJune 24 1896. Sealy cheerfully
(14:52):
helped her mother in thekitchen, fixing breakfast. Her
job was to make the smear case,which is a German word for
cottage cheese. David and Walterboth ate heartily of it before
heading out for the day's work.
While Rebecca only took a smallportion SULI had none for
(15:16):
herself. She take what remainedafter the meal was over, and
throw it out in the backyard.
One by one. See Lee's father,brother and mother took on a
dreadful thirst. On taking afirst sip of water, a violent
wrenching in their gut led toexplosive vomiting. The thirst
(15:37):
remains, but none of them couldkeep even a swallow of water in
them. Over the next hours anddays, several local doctors were
called to assist the miserablepatients. All would come to
agree on a diagnosis of arsenicpoisoning. David would be the
(15:58):
first to die after spending sixdays in misery. His Son's death
would follow five days later,Rebecca, Sally's mother with
slowly and precariously recover.
Although Rebecca suspected thatSealy had done the deed, she
(16:21):
protected her from the pryingquestions of law officers and
the local justice system. Thisfinal act of unconditional love
as her parent created anotherwindow of lethal opportunity. On
accepting a serving of bread andmilk from Sealy Rebecca asked
for seconds on tasting thesecond helping Rebecca's eyes
(16:47):
fixed on Sealy. She noted thatit tasted sweeter than the first
she asked silly, plainly whethershe had poisoned it. Silly first
ignored, but then asked hermother why she would ask such a
question. When Rebecca told herto look at her in the face and
(17:09):
answer her silly only hung herhead low and silence and left
the room. The violent retchingsoon began, and Sally's weakened
mother was dead within a day. Alater confession silly gave to a
(17:32):
young woman pretending tobefriend her would reveal that
silly had used rat poisonpreviously purchased by her
brother. She would use it topoison and kill each of her
family members. Lab tests of thestomach's of both David and
Walter rose would indeed confirmpoisoning due to arsenic, the
(17:54):
active ingredient and ratpoison. Within two weeks, all of
the family Sealy had left. We'renow buried in Pleasant Valley
Cemetery. dead chickens laystrewn across the backyard,
having ingested what Sealy hadthrown out on the first day of
(18:14):
the whole ordeal. A long trialwould later ensue, with silly
pleading not guilty by reason ofinsanity. Despite considerable
disagreement among professionalsas to whether her condition fit
the legal definition ofinsanity. She was eventually
granted an acquittal by reasonof it. When asked if she felt
(18:39):
sorry for what she had done,Celia said to have responded. Of
course I feel bad and all that Iam all alone. When asked if she
was going to marry guy Barry,where she ever released, she
acknowledged that he wouldlikely nary another. She
(18:59):
followed up by commenting thathe had been one of the few to
once treat her with respect whenthey'd met. She would spend most
of the rest of her days in statehospitals before dying at the
Lima state hospital in 1934.
(19:21):
This true crime event in Ohio ishistory. Now, 125 years in the
making, has captured theimaginations of historians,
artists, thus viens and writers.
I've had the great fortune ofconnecting with one such person,
Mr. Mark Sebastian Jordan. Justthis year, his book on the
subject was released. It'sentitled The Sealy rose murders
(19:43):
at Malabar farm. It's easilyfound on Amazon or wherever you
buy books. I'll include a linkto the Amazon page in the show
notes. This book is the productof countless hours poring over
Historical documents, courtrecords, and newspaper articles,
Jordan has painstakinglystitched together the story as
(20:06):
it developed. He offers insightsinto the cases nuances,
including the ongoing questionas to see Lee's mental and
emotional deficiencies, affectwhich lends more ambiguity as to
her level of intention, andunderstanding and committing the
crimes. Jordan became fascinatedwith the case when he first
(20:29):
learned of it as a child. Then,when he later came upon the
story, while reading the book,haunted Ohio, he was hooked.
This intrigue would go on toinspire him to write a play on
the subject, one which wouldcome to be performed in a barn
at Malabar farm, a stone's throwaway from the Sealy rose house
(20:50):
itself. Jordan has graciouslyshared his passion for the
history. But that's not all.
During the plays production,unexplained experiences kept
occurring, especially aroundemotionally charged scenes. A
master storyteller, Jordanshares what he knows of the
(21:11):
documented history. But morethan this, he shares something
of the spiritual experiencesfelt by him and others as they
worked to bring this tale tolife through theater. Come hear
his story.
(21:31):
name is Mark Sebastian. And I ama writer. I have been involved
with lots of various differentkinds of writing over over the
years, sort of have aninsatiable curiosity and where a
lot of different hats. So I'm apublished dramatists,
(21:53):
playwright, I have publishedpoetry, I have written humorous
books, I do a lot of journalism.
And I have had an avid interestin history for a long time. That
goes all the way back to when Iwas in high school and all my
(22:14):
classmates had all these placesboring, nothing interesting ever
happened here, I took the simplestep of designing the checkout
and see if that was actuallytrue. And it turns out, it's not
there's actually a lot ofinteresting stories if you dig
into history. And so the Sealyrose case first came to my
attention actually quite young.
(22:38):
I was a even as a child, I had agreat interest in spooky,
strange or McCobb stories. Andmy mother recognize this about
me. And when I was 12 years old,there was an article in the
newspaper talking about ghostsin Ohio State Parks. And she
(23:01):
pointed me toward the articlesthat I think this is something
you'd be interested in. And Iwas surprised to find that the
bulk of the article was about analleged haunting in Malabar farm
State Park, which is in the verysame county where I live. So
that caught my attention there.
And later, we had a school tripthat went to Malabar farm. I
(23:22):
heard about the story againthere and visited the park later
on, heard about it some more.
And then finally, in the mid1990s, I read a book by Chris
Woodward called haunted Ohiothat has a version of the story
(23:43):
in there with your went back,and some of the original
documents to flesh out what isknown about story a little more,
and it's funny, I left the job Iwas working at to go get some
lunch one day. But I while I wasthere, getting lunch, I stopped
in at a bookstore and found thatbook and Brad took it back. I
(24:07):
got very little work done thatafternoon. As soon as I read
with your story of Sealy rose, Ithought this could be done as a
play could bring the story tolife on the stage. So I jumped
in researched it further wrote adramatic version of it. And then
(24:27):
you know, I had to develop andimprove that script for a few
years. But eventually, Iapproached Malabar farm State
Park and said is it possible forus to actually present this play
here and we decided to do it inthe big barn. Alabbar CO
production between the Malabarfarm Foundation and the
Mansfield Playhouse a localtheatre through and we started
(24:51):
that in 2003. I later wroteother historical dramas, invited
another writer in to do Anotherdrama. So we had these shows
going for over a decade, we didit as dinner theater, people
loved it. I decided at somepoint, I needed to take all my
research and put it in a properin depth history. And that's
(25:14):
what was published this summer.
By the history press. It'scalled The Sealy rose murders at
Malabar farm the house is tuckedin against the hillside. If it
had a little more light, itmight seem like up pleasant,
(25:35):
little, you know, nestled inplace. But as, as it is, the
places kind of dark just becauseit doesn't get much sunlight
during the day because it'snestled in against the ridge.
And there's trees surrounding soit's a place that that manages
(25:56):
to feel a little isolated,okay, isolated and in shadow, as
well. You know, which, yeah, Ican see how that would maybe
cast somewhat of a pall in away. And in the times that
you've been in the house, wouldyou say that you've noticed
(26:16):
anything unusual, or I've hadany encounters, so to speak,
that you can't explain?
It's remarkable how consistentthe place has felt to me over
the years, every time I walk inthe place, the first floor
feels, there's just a feeling ofheaviness, a sad, heavy sort of
(26:41):
feeling. You know, it'scertainly not helped by the
current condition of the place,you know, it's a kind of musty,
and an old carpet on the floorand such. But it has this heavy
sort of feel to it. Now, when Igo upstairs, there's a similar
(27:03):
feeling throughout most of thearea until I stepped into the
front bedroom, which we believeI mean, there's no solid
documentation on this, we thinkthat was probably the room where
Seeley and her brother slept.
Every time that I walk into thatroom. It's like walking into a
(27:24):
field of static. In a way, it'seven harder to think clearly in
there just because you're sortof bombarded by this energy of I
don't know how to describe itother than the call, like
Baddeck, or like noise in a way,except that that's silent.
(27:48):
There's no literal sound.
And I could see where it wouldbe hard to put that into words.
And it kind of interrupts yourthinking, your concentration?
Yeah, it's it's hard toconcentrate in that way.
And that's been prettyconsistent for you the times
that you've beenbeen remarkably consistent,
(28:08):
which is interesting, becauseI've been in other places that
are said to be haunted, andsometimes I might pick up on it
more other times, not so much.
But in the Rose farmhouse, itvaries in intensity from time to
time, but it's always there.
(28:31):
Does that seem to be in linewith other people's accounts as
well? And their experience ofit? Or have you talked much with
other people?
Oh, I've talked a lot. In line,a number of people. One of the
things that has happened overthe years is that a lot of
(28:52):
people have taken pictures andcaught what seems to be you
know, faces in the window. A lotof people have Durbin buying
claim, they saw someone lookingout the windows of that, that
room upstairs, though there's along tradition of things
(29:14):
associated with that. Andthere's lots of stories as well.
There's one from a park employeewho lives in there with his
family. And I think this tookplace at some point in the
1970s. They sent their theirchild a toddler to bed one
(29:38):
evening, and the kid came backdown stairs and said, you know,
they asked the child whatthey're doing. Actually don't
know if it was a boy or girl.
They asked the child what theywere doing. And the child said I
can't get to sleep that womankeeps talking and could only
describe some sort of woman whokeeps talking to them or giving
(30:03):
them away. I have a report thatI really want to talk to the
person, it happened to actuallybriefly spoke with his wife. And
they promised to talk with memore at some later point. But
apparently, someone who grew upin the house at some point there
(30:26):
in the past, was actually pushedout a window as a child. badly,
badly hurt by that. So I'mhoping to talk with him at some
point. Because at this point,I'm starting to try to gather
these various stories. So I cando that as a follow up book,
because the history of the casein itself is, is one entire book
(30:50):
in itself will be another way.
I think that's a great way tolook at the whole situation from
multiple angles. And you dowonder sometimes, or at least I
do, whether these kinds ofevents that are laden with
(31:13):
emotions, leave us some somekind of imprint, right,
like a residue was the veryfirst year that we were
producing the play 2003. Onething that happened during one
of the rehearsals is a vividmemory in the actual case,
(31:38):
seemly poisoned for familybecause she thought they were
preventing her from gettingtogether with the boys she
loved. The boys she lovedactually was not interested in
her this was just an obsessionand feelings of mine. When she
poisoned the family she usedrough on rats brand rat poison
(31:58):
mixed into cottage cheese thatshe served them for breakfast.
Father died within a day, herbrother died a week later, her
mother started to recover. Soshe poisoned her a second time.
So one of the key plays in fact,really the emotional climax of
the entire play is this scenewhere Seeley and her mother are
(32:21):
talking after the others aregone. You his mother clearly
figured out what her daughterdid, that made the decision to
try and protect her because shewas the last family she had
left. But then once dealyrealized that the mother
intended to move them away, thatwould take her away from the boy
(32:42):
she had a crush on. Therefore,she decided to poison her mother
a second time. So one evening,we're rehearsing. And they got
so intensely into the scene,they would be in tears. Every
time they perform this, the onenight we're rehearsing the
scene. And I'm walking around inthe barn looking at the scene
(33:06):
from different angles to makesure that everything can be seen
well from different points ofview in the audience. At which
point I noticed, there is alight in the barn, the light
closest to them, you know, thisis rehearsal. We don't have the
bright stage lights yet. We'rejust using the regular lighting
in the barn. And I know this,the light closest to them is
(33:31):
pulsing on and off. It's notflickering, like you know the
way in an incandescent bulb usedto flicker before it would burn
out. There wasn't that at all.
There was a steady pulsing ON,OFF, ON OFF. No other light was
was doing this. And it was thelight Moses to them on stage. I
thought wow, that's reallyinteresting. Oh, yeah, I made us
(33:56):
split second decision that thatmoment not to tell the actresses
about that. Because they were inthe midst of this intense scene
factor intensity was so great. Iwas pulled back into watching
them and I forgot about thelight. They finished the scene
where Rebecca dies. And I lookback at the light it had gone
(34:16):
off completely did not come on.
Again. The rest of the evening.
Came in there. The next eveningto rehearse the light was on as
normal stayed on as normal. Infact, I ended up not telling
Shar and Ghandi about that lightuntil after the production was
done and they thanked me forknowing that the light was
(34:41):
signaling at them as they wereperforming that scene. Another
memorable incident that happenedwas Tuesday, I think of tech
week. You know there's so muchinformation in the store I had
to condense it down toparticular scenes in order to
(35:02):
tell the story on stage to aplay unfold is like a series of
snapshots between each scene. Iuse old recordings from the
1920s and 30s of both music andsuch. So the sound design was a
really important part of theproduction, it set the mood and
Terry Vermeer made thetransition from one scene to the
(35:26):
next. So it was a very importantpart of the whole design. Well,
about halfway through Act One,the Tuesday night of tech week,
two days before we opened,because we opened on Thursday.
And we had already sold out allof the performances before even
opening the show. So two daysbefore we open, we're going
(35:49):
through rehearsal, we have allthe lights, costume, set out,
all this stuff going on. Andabout halfway through Act One,
suddenly the sound startsmalfunctioning it. You can hear
faint, goes to sound in thedistance. But the actual full
volume sounds.
(36:13):
Well, my tech director hadalready left because everything
was set up. And once again, hehad to work early the following
day. So he had just left andsaid, let me know if there any
any problem. I did the CPU Iplugged in, unplug, unplug, and
replug. The various connectingcables made sure everything
everything was working,everything appeared to be
(36:34):
working just fine. But the soundwas almost completely inaudible.
It just it made no no sense thatwe we couldn't get the sound.
And here's this importantelement of the design. And we're
just two days from opening thesold out crowds. And I suddenly
have no sound. So I called danin a panic after the rehearsal
(37:00):
and said, What are we going todo, we've got a fiasco on our
hands now that sellout crowdscoming in two days, and my sound
design has disappeared.
Everything appears to beworking. But I've gotten no
sound. Dan said, Don't worry,thumbs down. It obviously,
obviously has to be one piece ofequipment has failed in the
chain of the quick boardamplifier, the speakers,
(37:22):
something was still coming outof the speakers. So we knew at
least that they were functional.
We just weren't getting thesound to the speakers in an
adequate manner. They said, Iwill bring a new piece of
equipment. And I will come intorehearsal early tomorrow night,
I'll figure out which thing hasscrewed up. And we'll fix this,
(37:45):
this is a simple fix, do notworry. So that settled me down
for the evening, comes in wellbefore rehearsal The following
night and starts testing out thepieces of equipment, trying
different stuff and gettingnothing. And this goes on and on
and on. And he's over therestarting to cuss at the
(38:07):
equipment. Because one by one hetries each piece of equipment.
And it's still doing the samething. He unplugged and
replugged all the connectorseverywhere the same
troubleshooting that you'dnormally do. And we're still not
not getting the sound. He'sgetting frustrated. And
meanwhile, I have all the actorsstanding around wanting to know
(38:29):
when we're going to startrehearsal because we're already
late getting started. And thisis the day before we open. This
is terrifying in a productionsituation. So I felt crazy about
it as I did again, and I alwaysfeel crazy now whenever I tell
this story. But at that point, Ihad nothing to lose. Because we
(38:55):
were in a desperate situation.
So I went over to the side ofthe barn away from everyone
else. And I whispered out loud,really. We are just trying to
tell your story so that peoplecan see what happened. And maybe
something like this would neverhave to happen again. If we get
(39:18):
this story out there. And wecannot tell this story without
your help. Please let the songgo. Within 30 seconds of me
whispering that in cornersuddenly found flared forth from
that system that looked backover a dam and he's just looking
(39:39):
at the equipment shaking hishead because it wasn't something
he had done at that point. Tothis day, we don't know But
within that, that's just the wayit went. What about work fine.
After that you We keep on thesafe side, I actually made it
(40:00):
part of the stage managersbusiness in the productions to
always invite family to come tothe shows. After that. There
were further incidences I talkedyour ear off and things like
this.
Now I really appreciate yousharing Especially that last
one, it was such a kind ofnatural thing that you did
(40:23):
probably led in a more out ofsome desperation, but also just
like a kind of spiritual moment.
And I think it's it's a powerfulexperience what you're
describing. Certainly, it'sstuck with you all this time.
Because some life experiencesstick with us for obvious
(40:48):
reasons. Like the day you gotyour driver's license, or
perhaps your wedding day. Otherexperiences, like the kind that
reveal a glimpse of the spiritworld can change us in ways we
never imagined. Sometimes wefind ourselves brushing up
against forces beyond ourselves.
(41:08):
And in that moment, we connectwith what cannot be seen or
measured, but felt those luckyenough to have such experiences
walk away transformed, andforever altered. Most of our
connections are with humans ofthe living variety, our family,
(41:30):
friends and neighbors.
Participation in the largercommunity shields us from the
damages of isolation andlonesome nest. While much
remains uncertain, as to Seeleyroses intentions and murdering
her entire family, one thingseems pretty clear. She was
different from others, in someway disabled in her mental
(41:53):
capacity. She was lonely, andfeared a life of isolation as
her parents aged. Fear, as theysay, is the root of all evil. It
drives our worst impulses. Itconvinces us that selfish
actions are justified. Itunderlies pain, division, and
(42:16):
disconnection from one another.
To borrow a passage from FirstCorinthians, love is indeed
patient and kind, the antithesisof fear, it does not insist on
its own way. It rejoices in thetruth. While we can never know
(42:41):
the full truth of Sally'sintentions, given her apparent
mental deficits, we can assumethat her impulse to kill was out
of fear of losing love. Herassumption that love could be
manipulated, that it could bestrong armed, drove her to kill
those closest to her. As humans,our need for love is a driving
(43:05):
and universal force. It's theone power that transcends death
that keeps us connected to lovedones who have gone before us.
Perhaps it's true that somewherebehind the veil, Sealy laments
her selfishness. Perhaps it wasindeed her energy that haunted
those working to bring her storyto life. Perhaps she longs for a
(43:28):
chance to write these seriouswrongs. While that may be my own
wishful thinking, I do you thinkthis story offers valuable
lessons on love, and life? Ifyou wish to find love, you must
give it if you wish to seeklove, you must show it through
acts of selflessness, and selfsacrifice. Had Sealy felt more
(43:53):
love and acceptance from thosewithin her community. She may
not have given into the despairof never having it. Perhaps her
spirit anguishes over her deedslong done. May we be mindful of
our own choices made in fear orlove? The choice is ours.
(44:20):
This concludes today's episodeon the Sealy rose house at
Malabar farm. I hope you'veenjoyed it. If so, please
consider writing a review onApple podcasts or wherever you
listen. It helps people find theshow. You can find Ohio folklore
at Ohio folklore.com And onFacebook. And as always, keep
(44:42):
wondering
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com