Samuel Patton

There's an interesting case from just after the civil war, most of it taking place during the years where the village of Lake View was becoming a suburb of Chicago. Samuel Patton, with raging PTSD had a mental collapse after all five of his kids died before the age of 8. He started having severe delusions, self harmed a lot.

### Region (current)

Lake View, Illinois, USA
Chicago, Illinois, USA

### Main Card or Side

O
Main

## Description

### Death Date

September 3rd 1833
February 3rd 1912

## More Info

### Date Exhumed

Tuberculosis
Wasn't

### Known Aftermath

None

The neighbors noticed and actually tried to help him. They humored him by visiting and listening to him rant about "people made of cones and bubbles" and how the ghost of one of his dead kids was helping him fight off attacks from a vampire.

He 'invented' a sorry of balmy grease that he claimed, of put on glasses, would allow people to see the spirits and the invisible vampire and the cone and bubble people.

They all bought some of it and for about 3 years he seemed to stabilize and even get a little better. It seemed the more he was leading 10 year olds on 'vampire hunts' in the neighborhood, (no harm or damage was ever documented and everyone seemed rather amused by it) the better he got. But in 1889-1900 he had a massive relapse and the military doctors had him committed during a pension meeting. He died in an asylum in 1912. Of tuberculosis.

There is a tertiary connection to a Civil War ghost story some call the Chickamauga Demon and others call Old Green-Eyes or Green Eyes.

## Brief Timeline

(Please note that the annotations in parentheses stating possible ages were added by Cinnamon, who did them via the provided years and has not looked more closely into it.)

* Born Brook County VA September 3rd 1833.
* 5 brothers, 1 sister
* age 10 (1843) claimed to see a fairy light (described as lantern) that rose into the air and became a star
* age 10 (1843) claimed to have precognitive dreams of people who would visit the home and would die soon after
* age 18 (1851) training as a blacksmith and machinist
* age 25 (1858) Albert Thalstrom born -- they'll meet later
* age 26 (1859) moved to Chatsworth Ill. First blacksmith of the town.
* age 28 (1861) married first wife; Ellen (Nellie) Desmond
* age 29 (1862) daughter born - Minnie
* age 29 (1862) enlisted with 1st Illinois Battery M Light Artillery
* age 30 (1863) Minnie died (at probably age 0 or 1)
* age 31 (1863) Battle of Chickamauga
* age 31 (1863) Battle of Lookout Mountain
* age 32 (1864) Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
* age 32 (1864) Northern arm of Atlanta Campaign
* age 32 (1865) mustered out July 25
* age 33 (1866) Hattie born
* age 34 (1867) Hattie died (probably 0 or 1)
* age 35 (1868) Willie born
* age 37 (1870) Patents Corn-Husking Machine (US103362A Improvement in combined corn-harvester and huskee)
* age 40 (1873) Frankie born
* age 41 (1874) Frankie died (probably 0-1)
* age 42 (1875) Daisy born
* age 42 (1875) Daisy died (0)
* age 43 (1876) Willie died (probably 7-8)
* age 49 (1882) Claimed to have been held prisoner in an insane asylum.
* age 52 (1885) Willie 'came out of his grave and came home' (probably 9 years after death)
* age 53 (1886) Meets Albert Thalstrom and the two begin holding seances
* age 54 (1887) claims semi-demonic attacks begin, with letters words and names "appearing" on his forehead and arms. Claims he's tormented by cone and bubble people, who poke him and sing to him.
* age 55 (1888) Begins selling 'Patton’s Clairvoyic Varnish for Glass' for 10 cents
* age 55 (1888) Doc who treated him says he was a patient, not a prisoner. Said Patton had believed he was channeling Ezekiel to prophesize an earthquake would destroy Chicago in 1883
* age 55 (1888) Albert is now "Judge" Thalstrom and fully backs up Samuel's claims of vampires as it's bringing in a hell of a lot of business to to his "weird books" shop.
* age 55 (1888) Vampire story fully formed: The cone and bubble people sent the vampire to kill him and his family. They've been trying to kill him since the war. Vampire hunts begin, though mostly a curiosity and a bit of fun for the neighbors.
* age 55 (1888) writes SPIRIT LIFE AS IT IS
* age 55 (1888) most of the neighbors bought the varnish and he seems to be calming down
* age 55 (1888) Leads a horde of children on a "Vampire Hunt" in Lincoln Park Cemetery
* age 55 (1888) Claes Larsen goes out for a drink and his wife cries vampire, leading a small mob of child vampire-hunters on a search for him
* age 56-57 (1889-1890) approx. Declared insane and committed to the Military Hospital for the Insane in Washington DC
* age 57 (1891) Albert Thalstrom died of tuberculosis, aged 33
* age 79 (1912) dies Feb 3rd in the Government Hospital for the Insane in Washington DC of tuberculosis

## The Vampire

Described as invisible, a definite human shape - not in any way shaped like a bat, though a later clipping claims the vampire could assume the shape of a bat on occasion.  It was able to fly, and working in concert with the 'cone and bubble' people as a sort of supernatural hit-man.   It 'fed' from Samuel by enclosing its mouth around Samuel's own mouth and nose and sucking either the life or blood out of him.  And there is some confusion with one of the newspaper clipping on the nature of a certain poison. I've seen some write ups that state the vampire could exhale a poisonous gas, though the clipping states Samuel Patton himself learned how to exude a poison from his third eye as a defense against this vampire.

The leader of the cone and bubble people would torment Samuel with a series of needles and knives and would sing to him during the poking. “Over there, Where all is prayer, I’ll sit and swear. Whoora for me, Whoora for me, Whoora for me.”

Although both Albert and Samuel both died of tuberculosis (consumption) there are NO reports of either becoming vampires so Samuel is more of a tertiary hunter with Albert acting as a sort of Obi-Wan.

## Clipping 1 Excerpt

**THE LAKE VIEW VAMPIRE SAMUEL PATTON TELLS HOW THE DEMON VISITS HIM.**

* *See the Dedicated Page for the Full Article 1888 Sept 30 CDT Lakeview Vampire Samuel Patton*

It Has Followed Him for Many Years. He Has Invented a Glass to Enable Other People to See the Spirit. The Residents of Chicago's Northern Suburb Greatly Excited. Judge Thalstrom Tells How the Evil May Be Averted.

A MURDERED PEASANT.

Silence fell on the little gathering in the Judge's inner room. It was broken at last by the blacksmith, who’s forge lies over the way.

"Are there authentic instances of Vampires?" he asked.

MR. PATTON’S GLASS.

“Stories for children,’ said the man from the lumber-yard.

The rest took the matter more to heart. They appointed a committee of investigation. Mr. Patton, as the principle witness, testified that the Vampire could not be seen with the naked eye. He thereupon handed a piece of glass to each member of the committee and also a card with the inscription:

PATTON’S CLAIRVOYIC VARNISH FOR GLASS

Develops a finer sight, that enables a person, when looking though it, to see objects which are invisible to the naked eye. There is a thin covering of the eye which is thrown outward when we look steadily for an object. When this covering strikes the varnish on the glass it becomes clear, and people in spirit life may be seen dimly moving about.

A MYSTERIOUS SIGHT.

“I was born in Brooke County, Virginia, Sep. 3, 1833,’ he says. ‘When I was about 10 years old I saw what looked like a lantern in the fields. As soon as I called my sister’s attention to it, it began to rise in the air until it looked like a star of the first magnitude. I watched it about two hours.”

EFFECTS OF THE GLASS

“Do they succeed {illegible}”

“Hundred of people have succeeded! Or if they have not seen the Vampire, they have seen spirits. If you fail to see anything at first, try again. But mind, the glass must be kept dry.”

## Clipping 2 Excerpt

**VAMPIRE OF LAKE VIEW. IT RUNS AWAY WITH CLAES LARSEN OF NO. 1538 OTTO STREET.**

* *See the Dedicated Page for the Full Article 1888 Nov 4 Vampire of Lakeview Claes Larsen*

His Friends Occupy Several I Mays In a Vain Effort to Find Him Saloonkeeper Says He Seemed to Have a Foreboding of His Doom His Coat Found on North Halsted Street Complaint Made to the Police After the Search Is Given Up He Returns.

The vampire of Lake View, originally covered by Mr. Samuel Patton, author of "Spirit Life as It Is," and inventor of a glass through which you can see the ghosts of departed friends, is up to its old tricks again.

TRACING HIM UP.

An investigation was at once set on foot. The missing man was traced to a beer saloon on North Clark street. The proprietor stated that Mr. Larsen had seemed to him maudlin, as though oppressed with a sense of his coming doom; that Mr. Larsen had had trances or visions, sometimes taking the form of stakes; and that Mr. Larsen had repeatedly expressed his intention of going "on a bat"

SEARCHING FOR CLOTHING

These conclusions of the Historical Society excited the citizens of Lake View to a remarkable degree. All Saturday afternoon the search for articles of Mr. Larsen's clothing continued.

IN SHORT

Claes Larsen had come home. The vampire had given up its prey.

And yesterday the hero of this adventure was seen at his house. He was meek and contrite, and his wife, who was busy in the kitchen, kept looking at him sadly but affectionately. "I don't know nothing," he observed. with a Swedish wealth of negatives, "about no vampire. I was out two days on a shpree. Dot is all."

## The Varnish

Most of the description comes from a newspaper clipping describing the information card that came with the stuff.

> PATTON’S CLAIRVOYIC VARNISH FOR GLASS
>
>

> Develops a finer sight, that enables a person, when looking though it, to see objects which are invisible to the naked eye. There is a thin covering of the eye which is thrown outward when we look steadily for an object. When this covering strikes the varnish on the glass it becomes clear, and people in spirit life may be seen dimly moving about.
>
>

> Try persistently and you will succeed. The glass must be kept dry. Specimens sent by mail on receipt of 10 cents. Address:
>
>

> SAMUEL PATTON 1297 N. Paulina Street, Chicago, Ill.
>
>

## Willie's Ghost

No one is quite sure just how involved the supposed haunting was. Several of the lesser credible Ghost Hunting groups - no I have not linked to them - have really embellished the story. The reliable description is a few brief quotes  Samuel Patton gave to an unnamed reporter.

> Willie was the last to go. He died Jan 19, 1876, aged 8 years. I am told that came out of his grave a week after he was buried. At any rate, I attended a circle held for the purpose of obtaining spirit manifestations. I had seen evidence that there was something in the mind which we have not fathomed. Spirit photography staggered me. If they could give us human faces on the plates, why could not friends come to us in this way? I had no faith in the holy books. I wanted facts. I could found belief on nothing else. One night I felt a stinging sensation on my forehead. The letter W was imprinted there as if with a needle. The name “Willie Patton” was then formed in about the style of letters that Willie had learned to make before he died. ... After that, the spirits wrote messages on my forehead. I procured a covering of thick silk to wear on my forehead. I understood that the spirits had killed Willie and tortured my other children. I did not know to what race they belonged, but afterwards found that they were made from cones and bubbles. One of them use to sing as he thrust a sharp instrument through the silk covering on my head.
>
>

## The Book

Despite repeated efforts by a great many people over the years, no copy of the book has turned up.

Titled *Spirit Life As It Is,* it was likely written in 1888, though possibly in late 1887, and probably self-published via Albert Thalstrom's book store on Claybourn street near to the intersection with Fullerton.

## References

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 https://filsonhistorical.org/research-doc/pattonfamily The Filson Historical Society 1310 S. 3rd St., Louisville, KY 40208 | T: (502) 635-5083
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 1888 Nov 4 Vampire of Lakeview Claes Larsen Chicago Sunday Tribune, page 25, No author given.
3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 1888 Sept 30 Chicago Daily Tribune Lakeview Vampire Samuel Patton, page 7, No author given
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 February 2019), memorial page for Albert A. Thalstrom (24 Mar 1858–31 Jul 1891), Find A Grave Memorial no. 182281927, citing Graceland Cemetery, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA ; Maintained by Saratoga (contributor 46965279)
5. ↑ Cumming, Kevin. "Legend of Green Eyes: A Local Ghost Story." Rome News-Tribune, October 31, 2003. http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/legend-of-green-eyes-a-local-ghost-stor-loca/article\_b2f67e4a-f911-5afc-b375-414141310ef3.html.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 February 2019), memorial page for Pvt Samuel Patton (3 Sep 1833–3 Feb 1912), Find A Grave Memorial no. 63565839, citing Chatsworth-Charlotte Cemetery, Chatsworth, Livingston County, Illinois, USA ; Maintained by SMB-1010 (contributor 47019932) .
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 February 2019), memorial page for Willie Patton (1868–Jan 1876), Find A Grave Memorial no. 95331009, citing Chatsworth-Charlotte Cemetery, Chatsworth, Livingston County, Illinois, USA ; Maintained by My Family United (contributor 46590689) .
8. ↑ Patton, Samuel, Pvt. Improvement in Combined Corn-harvester and Huskee. US Patent US103362A No. 103,362, filed May 24, 1870, and issued May 24, 1870. https://patents.google.com/patent/US103362A/en
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Mysterious Chicago: History at Its Coolest By Adam Selzer Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., Oct 25, 2016 pp 73-75. Print.
10. ↑ “Samuel Patton’s Case,” Chicago Daily Inter Ocean, April 12, 1888. page 9

## Additional Links

* http://www.deadinchicago.com/post/99139175712/4-october-the-lakeview-vampire
* http://www.lakeviewhistoricalchronicles.org/2011/06/police-fire.html
* http://mysteriouschicago.com/the-vampire-hunt-in-lincoln-park-1888/
* https://ghostresearch.org/Investigations/city.html
* http://trrcobb.blogspot.com/2010/12/old-green-eyes.html
* https://civilwartalk.com/threads/chickamauga-military-park-tn-old-green-eyes.1506/
* https://cryptidz.wikia.com/wiki/Old\_Green\_Eyes
* https://ckc4me.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/old-green-eyes-the-green-ghoul-of-chickamauga/