The Phantom Barber of Pascagoula

In the summer of 1942, with World War II raging abroad and the Gulf Coast on edge about potential enemy attacks, the small city of Pascagoula, Mississippi experienced a different kind of terror. A mysterious intruder was breaking into homes at night and cutting locks of hair from sleeping residents. Over several months, the “Phantom Barber” struck repeatedly, eluding police and terrifying a community already anxious from wartime fears. The eventual arrest raised as many questions as it answered, and the case remains one of the strangest crime sprees in American history.

The Crimes Begin

The first known incident occurred on June 5, 1942. A family awoke to discover that someone had entered their home during the night and cut hair from two sleeping daughters. There were no other signs of disturbance—nothing was stolen, no one was harmed. The intruder had simply cut a lock of hair from each girl and departed.

In the following weeks, similar incidents occurred throughout Pascagoula. The intruder gained entry through windows, apparently with considerable skill—victims did not wake during the cutting. The Phantom took only hair, leaving everything else undisturbed.

The targets were not random. The Barber seemed to prefer female victims, particularly young women and girls, though at least one male victim was reported. The crimes occurred across different neighborhoods, showing no obvious pattern.

Community Terror

Pascagoula was a shipbuilding center, critical to the war effort. The community was already tense from blackout drills and fears of German submarine attacks in the Gulf of Mexico. The Phantom Barber added a new dimension of fear—an enemy within who could enter homes undetected.

Armed patrols formed. Residents installed additional locks and slept with weapons nearby. Some families sent children to stay with relatives elsewhere. The local newspaper covered the crimes extensively, spreading fear throughout the region.

The Phantom Barber became a subject of intense speculation. Was it a mentally disturbed individual with a hair fetish? A spy gathering genetic samples? A supernatural entity? Theories multiplied as police struggled to identify the culprit.

The Investigation

Police investigated dozens of incidents. The consistent methodology—skilled entry, precision cutting, no other disturbance—suggested a single perpetrator with considerable stealth and control. The Phantom was careful, leaving few traces.

Investigators interviewed known criminals, mentally disturbed individuals, and anyone with access to potential victims. They staked out neighborhoods and followed up on countless tips. The Phantom eluded them all.

The crimes continued through June and into July. The community’s fear intensified. People demanded action.

An Assault

On July 14, a crime occurred that seemed connected but was dramatically different. Someone broke into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Terrell Heidelberg and assaulted them, striking Mr. Heidelberg on the head. Unlike the hair-cutting incidents, this was violent.

Police were uncertain whether this was the Phantom Barber or a copycat. The methodology was different—the Heidelberg attack involved violence while the hair cuttings were stealthy and non-violent. But the community assumed the Phantom had escalated.

The Arrest

On August 11, 1942, police arrested William A. Dolan, a 57-year-old German-American chemist who worked at a local shipyard. Dolan was charged with the assault on the Heidelbergs and, by implication, suspected of being the Phantom Barber.

The evidence against Dolan was circumstantial. A human hair was allegedly found in his home that matched the Heidelbergs. He had access to chemicals that might aid in sedating victims. He had a history of mental health issues. And he was German at a time when anti-German sentiment ran high.

Trial and Questions

Dolan was tried for the assault on the Heidelbergs, not for the hair-cutting crimes. He was convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison. The hair cuttings stopped after his arrest, which seemed to confirm his guilt.

But questions remained. Dolan always maintained his innocence. No direct evidence connected him to the hair cuttings. His conviction was for the assault only—the other crimes were never formally charged or proven.

Some researchers have noted that the assault pattern was so different from the hair cuttings that they might have been committed by different people. The hair cutting required stealth and control; the Heidelberg assault was violent and clumsy. If Dolan committed the assault, was he also the Phantom? Or was he a convenient scapegoat in a fearful community?

Possible Explanations

Various theories have been proposed about the Phantom Barber’s identity and motivations.

The most common explanation treats it as a case of hair fetishism—a psychological condition in which hair becomes an object of sexual or obsessive interest. Such cases are documented, and the careful, non-violent nature of the crimes fits this profile.

Wartime paranoia produced theories about espionage. Hair could theoretically be used for identification purposes. The German heritage of the man eventually arrested fed these theories.

Some have suggested the crimes were exaggerated or even fabricated in some cases, with a few real incidents spawning copycats or false reports.

Legacy

The Phantom Barber case faded from national attention after Dolan’s conviction but has remained a subject of local legend and true-crime interest. The combination of wartime setting, bizarre methodology, and uncertain resolution makes it an enduring mystery.

Was William Dolan the Phantom Barber? He served his sentence and was released in 1951. He died in 1956, never having confessed to the hair cuttings. The answer died with him—or with whoever the real Phantom Barber was.

The case remains one of the strangest crime sprees in American history, a reminder that terror can take unusual forms and that not all mysteries are solved.