Narrative and Confessions of Lucretia P. Cannon

This brief biography of Delmarva's infamous kidnapper and serial killer Patty Cannon, published in 1841, might contain more fiction than fact-even the name Lucretia is questionable-but it is one of the earliest sources of information about her life, crimes, and death. Perhaps the sensational scenes depicted in the text, such as Cannon's killing of a screaming child in an open fire, were based on genuine rumors in circulation during the decade after her death, whether they were true or not. There is no doubt that Cannon kidnapped, enslaved, and murdered innocent people, and she remains the most sinister figure in Eastern Shore history and folklore nearly two centuries after her death.