The Hartford Circus Fire was a tragedy that turned into a head-scratching mystery. The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus was the largest in the country, but in 1944 its show became the sight of one of the worst fire disasters in the history. Sixty-seven people were killed and more than seven hundred were injured.But a lot of questions were never answered, like what (or who) started the fire in the first place.

"The Greatest Show On Earth" was actually had headquarters in Bridgeport.
Magnus Manske/Wikimedia
The circus was part of everyday life and had become a spectacular summer tradition. The idea of "catching a circus train" was showing up in literature and film. People were especially fascinated by the well trained elephants.
The rich history is preserved at the Barnum Museum, where you'll find an extensive collection of artifacts.
James Spurrier
Circus owner and self proclaimed oddball P.T. Barnum was a state local. The museum is located at 820 Main Street, Bridgeport, CT 06604

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But on July 6, 1944, something went wrong.
Русский/Wikimedia
It's estimated that nearly 7,000 people were in attendance, mainly women and children.
A hail storm was enough to shred them.
CharmaineZoe's Marvelous Melange/Flickr
A popular waterproofing technique of the time involved covering the tent walls in wax and gasoline. So it's no surprise how quickly the tent was engulfed in flames.
But nobody knows how the fire started. Or who some of the victims were.
CharmaineZoe's Marvelous Melange/Flickr
There were body parts, such as lone foot, that didn't seem to belong and several bodies were never identified. The most famous of which was a young girl the press named Little Miss 1565, named after the number assigned to her body at the city's makeshift morgue.

Here you see the big top being consumed by flames as attendants flee from the tent in fear:

And here is all that was left the next day as workers searched through the rubble:

The Hartford Circus Fire made national headlines and caused residents to be weary of circus events. PT Barnum’s show didn’t return for years after the incident. People continue to search for answers to this unsolved mystery, just as investigators look for the truth behind these haunted Connecticut locales. Maybe it was a lack of technology, or maybe something strange was happening. What do you think?

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