The Archive
Every story on the porch
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Pull up a tale
Street classic — 1900s to today
THE PIGEON DROP
"A stranger 'finds' a wallet or envelope stuffed with cash and offers to split it — right after you put up a little 'good faith' money of your own."
c. 1580 – present
THE SPANISH PRISONER
"A wealthy stranger writes from a foreign jail, begging a small favor to unlock a great fortune. Four centuries later, the same letter still arrives — now by email."
Ancient Greece – street corners today
THE SHELL GAME
"Three cups, one ball, and the promise of easy money. The ball is palmed before your eyes and the crowd cheering you on is in on it."
1900s – immortalized in 'The Sting'
THE WIRE CON
"A fake betting parlor with rigged race results lets the mark 'win' a few times — until one enormous bet on the wrong horse takes everything."
Post-Civil War America – early 1900s
THE GREEN GOODS GAME
"Marks were lured to a back room to buy 'counterfeit' bills so perfect they'd fool any bank. Then the swindler swapped the sample crate for one full of newspaper before the mark could count."
Street classic — 1900s to today
THE MELON DROP
"A grifter deliberately bumps into a tourist, drops a cheap piece of fruit, and shouts that a priceless family heirloom has shattered. The frightened mark pays 'damages' on the spot."
Long-con era — immortalized on film
THE MATCHSTICK MEN
"Two polished grifters run a slow, patient long con — a fake investment, a fake friendship, a fake future. By the time the mark realizes, the men have vanished like a struck match."
Frontier and carnival era — 1800s onward
THE GOLDEN FEATHER
"A traveling stranger produces a feather he swears was plucked from a mythical golden bird — and offers to sell it cheap before someone richer sees it. The feather is dyed, the bird is a fable, and the buyer is left holding a trinket."
Street classic — 1900s to today
THE LUCKY WATCH
"A well-dressed stranger in a bind offers his gold pocket watch as collateral for a small loan he swears he'll repay by morning. The watch is brass, the man is gone, and the loan is the con."
Carnival and sideshow era — 1800s onward
THE CURSED EGG
"A traveling showman displays a jeweled 'cursed egg' said to bring fortune to whoever unlocks its secret — for a small deposit and a signed promise. The egg is hollow, the curse is real, and the deposit is gone by dawn."