The Phantom Barber of Pascagoula is one of the creepiest stories to come out of Mississippi
With Halloween right around the corner, it seems appropriate to recount one of the creepiest and strangest events in all of Mississippi’s history: the Phantom Barber of Pascagoula.
The strange story begins around midnight on June 5, 1942, in Pascagoula, a Coastal Mississippi city preoccupied with shipbuilding to support the war effort.
Within the Convent of Our Lady of Victory, two young girls, Mary Evelyn Briggs and Edna Marie Hydel, were startled awake by an unsettling noise. They both sat up in time to witness a man jumping out of their bedroom window.
Upon turning on the lights they both realized that they were physically unharmed but were shocked by the realization that the man had cut and stolen several locks of their hair.
After contacting the police, the girls provided a brief description of the intruder and claimed that he also shushed them as he escaped. Bloodhounds followed a scent to the nearby woods, and tracks revealed that the man may have made his escape on a bicycle.
Before the police could begin searching, another incident occurred in which 6-year-old Carol Peattie awoke to discover her hair also cruelly cut. The police investigation noted that the man had sliced through her bedroom window screen and managed to cut her hair and escape without waking her or her brother.
Pascagoula was plunged into a wave of fear as the town grappled with a serial intruder who broke into homes, leaving behind unwanted haircuts. While the intruder had done no physical harm so far, Police Chief A. W. Ezell was concerned that the man may escalate his crimes at some point. Meanwhile, residents began alluding to the strange criminal as the Phantom Barber of Pascagoula, which caught the attention of media across the nation.
The terror continues
Even with German U-Boats stalking the coast, the military allowed Pascagoula residents to light up their homes at night in hopes of catching the culprit. Chief Ezell ordered an increased number of nightly patrols and even called for support from state police. Chief Ezell also put out a warning that “every man in town is armed. I would advice strangers to proceed with caution.”
A few days later on June 13, Terrell Heidelberg and his wife were assaulted by an intruder in their bed while they slept. Mr. Heidelberg was viciously attacked with a lead pipe, even losing a few teeth in the brutal attack before the intruder managed to escape. While some believed this to be the work of the Phantom Barber, others questioned if it could be an unrelated crime.
However, Mrs. R.E. Taylor became the next victim, as she was incapacitated with chloroform before her hair was cut and stolen. Over the next week, another dozen people would report that they had experienced a break-in.
The phantom barber finally caught?
Suspicion soon fell upon a German-born chemist residing in Pascagoula at the time, William Dolan. His national origin and vocal sympathies for Germany, coupled with the wartime tensions along the Mississippi coast, led many to believe he was a German spy or saboteur. It did not take long before suspicious neighbors began claiming that Dolan was the Phantom Barber, something he vehemently denied.
Pascagoula police uncovered a recent altercation between Dolan and Mr. Heidelberg, raising questions about a possible motive. While investigating the incident, police found several locks of hair outside Dolan’s window, prompting Chief Ezell to arrest him on the charge of attempted murder.
While DNA testing was unavailable at the time, most breathed a sigh of relief, convinced they had captured the elusive culprit. Notably, the surge in break-ins came to a screeching halt after Dolan’s arrest.
The phantom’s identity
Debate still lingers as to whether Dolan was indeed the Phantom Barber of Pascagoula. The evidence suggests his guilt, but some speculate that he might have been set up, possibly by Mr. Heidelberg. Others maintain that the true Phantom Barber might have eluded capture, with Dolan merely entangled in a separate incident.
Dolan was never convicted of the break-ins or late-night haircuts, but he was found guilty of attempted murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison. In 1951, Mississippi Governor Fielding Wright had the case reviewed and granted Dolan a limited suspension before having him released from prison.
The spree of strange break-ins still remains hotly divided by residents in Coastal Mississippi today, with many still blaming Dolan while others believe the Phantom Barber of Pascagoula escaped. Regardless, Pascagoula endured one of the creepiest crimes in all of Mississippi history, leaving residents with an unsettling memory that lingers to this day.