Wildly Bizarre Decisions that Shaped Early America

Shouting “Fire!” in a Crowded Theater is OK if There is an Actual Fire

Flames swiftly spread backstage in the Brooklyn Theatre. However, some crewmembers decided that the greater danger was not the fire, but panic among the audience. So the actors continued their performance, and downplayed the risk. As the fire spread, two actors urged the audience to stay in their seats. As the smoke and flames became obvious, a theatergoer yelled: “Fire! Fire! The house is on fire!” Lead actress Kate Claxton tried to calm things down, and stated: “There is no danger. The flames are part of the play“. No sooner did she say that, than a piece of burning wood fell at her feet. Claxton screamed in terror as she jumped back. The audience reacted with the very panic that the crew wanted to prevent. Those in the balcony stampeded for the stairs, and many were crushed in the process.

The Brooklyn Theatre did not have enough exits to swiftly evacuate a thousand panicked theatergoers. To relieve the pressure, an usher opened a rarely used backstage door. Some managed to escape that way, but it worsened the disaster: it increased the airflow to the stage and fed the fire, which swiftly grew in intensity. Those in the cheap seats highest up had it worst of all. They were trapped in dark foyers and difficult-to-navigate stairs. Backstage, some actors made it out, but others stopped at the dressing rooms to change, were trapped, and perished in the disaster. Many fell to their deaths from the balconies, were crushed, suffocated from the smoke, or were burned to death. The official tally was 278 deaths, but some accounts reported more than 300 fatalities.

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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading

American Battlefield Trust – Lincoln Rejects the King of Siam’s Offer of Elephants

Atavist – American Hippopotamus: A Bracing and Eccentric Epic of Espionage and Hippos

Avrich, Paul – Sacco and Vanzetti: The Anarchist Background (1991)

Brooklyn Eagle, December 20^th, 1876 – The Inquest: How Three Hundred People Met Their Death

Cannato, Vincent J. – American Passage: The History of Ellis Island (2009)

Cracked – 3 Small, Random Decisions That Shaped America in Insane Ways

Damn Interesting – Davy Crockett: King of the Atomic Frontier

Dickinson College – Benjamin Rush, Race, Slavery, and Abolitionism

Dunninger, Joseph – Inside the Medium’s Cabinet (1935)

Encyclopedia Britannica – Gouverneur Morris