The Phantom Ghoul of the Whitmire Cemetery

        On the morning of July 12, 1957, at the Roberts Cemetery, also known as the Gull Point cemetery, located off Creighton Road, the caretaker was making his rounds when he discovered an open grave.  The 3-inch-thick, 1000-pound slab had been removed, and the casket opened. The remains of Ruby Lee Robinson were lying exposed. She was a 22-year-old who had died in childbirth the previous November.  The caretaker immediately contacted the police who quickly arrived at the scene. They first thought robbery to be a motive, but after learning from her husband that she was not buried with any valuables it was ruled out. One neighbor reported hearing a loud howl at about 2 am but did not see anything that could have caused it.

        Three days later, on the 15^th, a man visiting his wife’s grave at the Whitmire cemetery discovered his late wife’s grave open and her body exposed with her pajamas pushed down. She had been buried the month before. The authorities never released the identities of the man or his wife.

        (Research of all obituaries from June revealed the death of one young married woman who was buried at Whitmire, but since I don’t know for sure if it is the same young lady, I will keep it to myself.)

        Seven months later on the 22^nd of February, 1958, Mrs. Thelma Wendt of Ferry Pass, was visiting the Whitmire cemetery when she discovered the disturbed grave of 14-year-old Joan Danley. Miss Danley had been killed on Nine Mile Road when she was struck by a car the previous October. A 1200-pound slab had been removed, and the casket opened. Plaster casts were made of numerous footprints in the immediate area. Sheriff Emmett Shelby offered a $500 reward for information.  Later the reward grew to $1500. The city council contributed $500.

        At 8:30 am on the 8^th of March, Mrs. Thom Holmes was at the Whitmire Cemetery to visit her husband’s grave. She discovered the open and empty grave of eleven-year-old Suzette Parker. Police arrived and began to make plans for a search.  Helicopters from Ellyson Field and bloodhounds from the state prison would be utilized in the search. About 2:30 pm, mounted County Patrolman Roy Sherer on a horse named Trigger, found the remains of the missing girl about 250 yards from the entry to the cemetery. She was lying on her back still in the pink dress she had been buried in. 

        Suzette had passed away after a long illness on the 28^th of February and was buried next to her first cousin Daniel Paul Parker who had died the previous day in Groves Texas. There had been a double funeral on March 2^nd. His grave was undisturbed.

        The locals started patrolling the streets in the area, and the mood was ripe for vigilante justice if the ghoul was ever captured. 

        No more incidents occurred in the Whitmire or Roberts Cemeteries. The person, or persons were never identified.  Even if they had been, grave desecration was a misdemeanor and would not have resulted in much, if any, jail time. Maybe they were arrested for something else and went to prison. Maybe the increased patrols led to him moving somewhere else.  The events seemed to be escalating and I can’t imagine that he or they just decided to stop.  I guess we will never know.