Renter Leaves Human Skull In Apt.

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. And he’s so full of jest and fancy some renter left his skull in an apartment.

While cleaning out an apartment on South 49th Street — A-ha! A Penn grad student, perhaps? — a Campus Apartments manager found the skull sitting on a counter. One might have simply thought it was a message to the landlord from disaffected tenants, but the manager decided to call the police. The medical examiner’s office confirmed that it was, in fact, a human skull.

Did a student just take the skull from a school building somewhere, like my freshman year roommate did? Perhaps. The Daily Summer Pennsylvanian reports it’s unclear if a crime has been committed, but Campus Apartments did confirm the tenants were college students. I guess if it is Penn kids, it could be a case of Econ curve competition turned deadly.

Human skull left on kitchen counter [Daily Pennsylvanian]

Tales From The Crypt

Okay, I know some people really, really love their jobs, but John Hopkins — I’d go by Jonathan — really loves his work.

As a hoisting rig slowly removed the 1,200-pound ledger tombstone - cobwebs dangling from the marker’s ends - John Hopkins could barely contain his excitement today at the Christ Church Burial Ground. Hopkins is the church’s burial ground coordinator, and workmen were opening vaults in the church’s allee, a narrow section of the burial ground that contains 20 large vaults built in the early 19th century and the remains of numerous prominent Philadelphians interred in them.

As the stone rose higher - accompanied by a strong musty smell - Don Smith, executive director of the Christ Church Preservation Trust, exhorted onlookers: “Go ahead, be the first person to look inside for more than a hundred years.” Hopkins’ eyes lit up as he looked down into the 36-foot-deep, hand-dug brick vault.

“I see a skull right there!” he shouted.

No, no, it’s “Is this a skull I see before me?” Wait, I think I’m getting confused, too. But, hey, Mr. Hopkins is happy.

“I feel like I can give tours on a more personal basis now that I’ve been able to see into the graves of people I talk about every day,” he said.

Hmm. Maybe this is what Blondell Reynolds Brown was talking about when she championed tour guide regulation. How can we adequately ride the ducks if the drivers haven’t seen the crypts of our founding fathers?

19th-century vaults opened at Phila. cemetery [Inquirer]
March 29: City Council To Improve Citizens’ Lives Again

Alas Poor Yorick — He Ran The Ferris Wheel

Jellyfish, seaweed, trash, syringes and now skulls.

Yes, you never know what you’re going to find on the beaches of Wildwood.

Britt Wetzel found a human skull — likely an adult female — yesterday in North Wildwood while fishing. Another beachgoer called police. Wetzel gave this account to the Press of Atlantic City:

“There was definitely a creep factor. My reaction was definitely creeped out.”

Police are investigating the crime, but Wetzel has his opinions:

“The first thing we thought was, ‘This is definitely something from an unsolved mystery,’” Wetzel said.

Thanks, gumshoe.

Human skull found on Cape beach [Press of AC]

Quickies: Who you gonna call?

• Be warned if you purchase a unit in this condo on the 1200 block of Arch Street: It will be haunted by the ghost of the skull found there yesterday. [NBC 10]

• Speaking of skulls, Schools head Paul Vallas has ruled out an old playground as a school site since there are some graves underneath. Looks like he knows that ghosts are totally distracting to students. [DN]

• It turns out a missing woman from the Northeast worked for an escort service. Since Philly.com doesn’t have the photo up, here’s a photo at NBC 10. [Inky]

• The Flyers blew a two-goal lead but ended up winning in a shootout. They’re still fifth in the NHL Eastern Conference. Fortunately, the top 200 teams make the playoffs, so they’ll be okay. [AP/Yahoo!]