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The Maryland Curiosity Bureau

What’s With The Abandoned Coffin Of Mathilda Lorenz?

The casket, resting next to Stony Run Creek in Wyman Park. (Photo credit: Taneen Momeni, The Baltimore Banner)
The casket, resting next to Stony Run Creek in Wyman Park. (Photo credit: Taneen Momeni, The Baltimore Banner)

It appeared one day, inexplicably. An empty coffin, nestled in the woods on the bank of Stony Run Creek in Wyman Park. An engraved nameplate read, “Mathilda Lorenz, died July 26, 1882, aged 18 years, 2 months, and 1 day.” The neighbors were baffled. And then, a few weeks later, just as strangely, the coffin disappeared. Baltimore Banner reporter Julie Scharper became obsessed with this stubborn local mystery, she followed a winding trail of breadcrumbs, and she joins us this episode to reveal what she’s discovered.

This episode, we hear from:

Julie Scharper of The Baltimore Banner

Greg Hatem of Bazaar

Shelley Arnold, Archivist at Zion Church of the City of Baltimore

Environmental artist Ashley Kidner

Aaron creates and produces original radio programs and podcasts for WYPR. His current project is The Maryland Curiosity Bureau. Aaron's neighborhood documentary series, Out of the Blocks, earned the 2018 national Edward R Murrow Award. His past work includes the long-running weekly cultural program, The Signal, and the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings series, Tapestry of the Times. Aaron's stories have aired nationally on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered.