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The Phantom Killer

A Fear You Can Hear Podcast

By Ophelia BlackPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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Podcast link: https://anchor.fm/ophelia-black/episodes/The-Phantom-Killer-embagq

All info found on thelineup.com

Hello ghosts and ghouls, and welcome back to "The Fear You Can Hear" podcast. I am your host, Ophelia Black and today we're going back in time to 1946, back when dating was more simple and innocent, aside from the fact that there was a horrifying masked killer on the loose. The small town of Texarkana got a rude awakening during the time of The Phantom Killer. Due to some of the graphic content, listener discretion is advised.

Very little is known about the Phantom. To this day, all most people know is that The Phantom was a person dressed in a white sac like mask, would terrorize the town during the night. The targets of the Phantom were parked at the ends of dark, diet roads. Even though neither side of the police department would work with each other, it's believed The Phantom killed a total of 5 people during the course of 10 weeks. The most surprising thing was that 3 people actually survived the Phantom's attacks. The mystery remains unsolved for over 70 years, and some people even link The Phantom Killer to the urban legend of The Hook!

The Phantom's first attack was on February 22, 1946. Jimmy Hollins and Mary Jeanne Leary were parked on a secluded road, enjoying the night. The Phantom came up to the car, blinding the couple with a flashlight. Using a gun, The Phantom forced the couple out of the car, and told Hollins to remove his pants. Hollins was beaten severally by The Phantom, fracturing his skull. When he was done with Hollins, he turned his attention to Leary and ordered her to run. Screaming at her to run towards the road when she started down towards a ditch. The Phantom chased her down, and sexually assaulted her with the gun, before letting her run off again. Surprisingly, even after all the abuse and trauma, both Leary and Hollins survived the attack.

Though these victims weren't the luckiest, there were others even less fortunate. On March 24th, victims Richard Griffin and Polly Ann Moore, were found dead in their car, at the end of another secluded road; both shot fatally in the back of the head. Griffin and Moore had only been dating for 6 weeks, and were last seen coming back from a dinner date with Griffin's sister and her boyfriend. Griffin was a 29 year old, retired war vet, who was now doing carpentry and painting for houses. Moore was only 17, and was living in a boarding house with her cousin.

The horror of The Phantom didn't stop there. Sometime in April, two more victims were found. Paul Martin and Betty Jo Booker had just started a relationship after having known each other since kindergarten. Martin was picking Booker up from local band practice, where she played the saxophone. Martin's body was found first, roughly five hours after the incident. Booker's wasn't discovered until nearly six hours after Martin's body, and only two miles away. At only 15, Booker was The Phantom's youngest victim.

The last known attack of The Phantom was during the first week of May. Virgil and Katie Stark's were a married couple, living in their farmhouse. The Phantom was able to see clear enough through the window to actually shoot Virgil in the back of the head, twice, thus killing him. Katie however, managed to escape to a neighbors. Sadly not without a few marks of her own. She was shot twice in the face, and had to go to the hospital. She had facial reconstructive surgery and didn't die until 1994.

Through terror and pain, The Phantom Killer left his mark on the small town of Texarkana. People became more aware of the dangers and did what they could to stay safe, whether it be getting extra locks, or even a gun. The Phantom changed the way people saw the world. The craziest part is, that the killer literally could have been anyone....

You can find more of our podcasts on Anchor, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. You can also follow us on instagram and facebook, under "The Fear You Can Hear". Don't forget to join in on the horror and tell us what unsolved mysteries you'd like to hear next.

As always, stay safe! You never know what kind of things might go bump in the night! (Scream)

urban legend
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Ophelia Black

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