THE URBAN LEGEND

One of New York City’s more famous urban legends tells the strange tale of a time traveler. According to the story, a 30-year-old man was spotted in Times Square at around 11:15 p.m. on a random day in June 1950. No one knew how he had gotten there. He was also dressed in late 19th century clothes and appeared to be dazed and confused.

Shortly following this incident, the man was accidentally hit by a taxi and killed. At the morgue, the following items were found in his pocket:

- Business cards belonging to someone named Rudolph Fentz.

- A letter sent from Philadelphia in 1876 to an address on Fifth Avenue.

- Old banknotes.

- A copper token for a beer, which bore the name of an unknown saloon.

- A bill for the care of a horse drawn by a stable that was not listed in any address book.

Strangely enough, none of the items were aged.

Following the incident, an investigation was supposedly carried out by Captain Hubert V. Rihm of the NYPD's Missing Persons Department, which revealed that a man with the same name had disappeared without a trace back in 1876.

THE HISTORY BEHIND THE STORY

In the 1970’s and 80’s, the tale was actually spread and published as fact on numerous occasions. Eventually, it was linked back to a short story entitled "I’m Scared," which was written by science fiction writer Jack Finney.

Today, most people have accepted the story to be purely fictional. However, there are still pieces of the puzzle that have yet to be explained. Researchers, for example, have actually found proof of a real person named Rudolph Fentz who mysteriously disappeared at the age of 29 in 1876.