In the early days of World War II, warship construction helped the tiny fishing town of Pascagoula, Mississippi, grow from a population of 5,000 to nearly 15,000, seemingly overnight. Although a larger population meant an economic boost for local businesses, it also meant the police force was struggling to keep the larger population in line. Aside from the expected uptick in drunken brawls and burglaries, there was one menace wandering the streets that kept people awake at night: The Phantom Barber of Pascagoula. His reign of terror began on Friday, June 5, 1942, when young Mary Evelyn Briggs and Edna Marie Hydel at the Our Lady of Victories convent were shocked to find a man climbing out of their bedroom window. The two girls were unharmed, although each of them was missing a lock of hair. Briggs later described the man as “sort of short, sort of fat, and he was wearing a white sweatshirt.” The Barber struck again on Monday at the Peattie home, where he cut a slit in the window screen and crawled inside to snip the hair of little 6-year old Carol Peattie as she lay sleeping next to her twin brother. This time the Phantom Barber accidentally left a clue — a sandy footprint near the window. The next incident occurred the following Friday night, when the home of Mr. and Mrs. Terrell Heidelberg was invaded. Like before, the window screen was cut and the invader came inside. However, instead of taking his typical trophy tuft, he used a heavy iron bar to attack the couple, taking out some of Mrs. Heidelberg’s front teeth and knocking her husband unconscious. Unfortunately, it all happened so quickly that neither could describe their attacker. For two more months, residents lived in fear, though no additional attacks occurred. Then, suddenly, police announced they had caught the Phantom Barber — William Dolan, a 57-year old chemist. Despite his insistence of innocence, Dolan was quickly found guilty of attempted murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Six years later, Mississippi Governor Fielding Wright reviewed the case and asked that Dolan take a lie-detector test. Upon passing, Dolan was given a limited suspended sentence and then eventually set free in 1951. In hindsight, some modern historians wonder if Dolan was guilty of any crime at all. Was Dolan the Phantom Barber of Pascagoula, or a patsy who took the fall to quell the anxieties of a small town? We may never know for sure.
