Crystal Ponti

Crystal Ponti

Crystal Ponti is a freelance writer from New England with a deep passion for exploring the intersection of history and folklore. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, A&E Real Crime, Washington Post, USA Today, and BBC, among others. Find her @HistoriumU, where she also co-hosts the monthly #FolkloreThursday event.

Latest from this author

The Wellfleet Drive-In in Cape Cod, New York

The man behind the first drive-in, opened in June 1933, was inspired by his tall mother who felt cramped in movie theater seats.

Elmer McCurdy's mummified remains in an upright coffin.

When outlaw Elmer McCurdy died in a shootout in 1911, his mummified remains started on a long, dark, curious journey.

A microwave oven, released in 1978 by Amana Refrigeration Inc.

While standing near a magnetron in an aerospace research facility, an engineer noticed that a chocolate bar in his pocket melted—and he got an idea.

Rather than expressing love and affection, these cards were designed to offend.

New Madrid Earthquake

When the New Madrid earthquakes rattled the Midwest in 1811 and 1812, William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, convinced the government to step in.

Henry VIII's Wives

The monarch’s chaotic love life led to an unstable succession, foreign policy changes and a break with Rome.

Gettysburg battlefield at dusk.

For more than a century, people visiting Gettysburg have claimed to hear phantom footsteps, ghostly drumbeats and echoes of musket fire.

Jamestown

Explore surprising facts about America’s first permanent English settlement.

A milk bottling plant, circa 1950.

From contaminated raw milk to tainted meat, outbreaks have spread rapidly through the country's food supply chain, with deadly consequences.

Victorian Christmas Cards

Santa kidnapping children and murderous mice were par for the course in the Victorian-era Christmas card tradition.

One side of the Standard of Ur, depicting scenes of prosperity.

These seven artifacts show us that even ancient civilizations couldn’t escape taxes.

As families lost one loved one after another in the 19th century, some believed the undead were preying upon them.

The History of Toilet Paper

Among tools people used in the past were moss, sponge on a stick, ceramic pieces and bamboo 'spatulas.'

Slavery in Jamestown

The arrival of the first captives to the Jamestown Colony, in 1619, is often seen as the beginning of slavery in America—but enslaved Africans arrived in North America as early as the 1500s.