URECAT - UFO Related Entities Catalog

Constable Blincoe Will Lead Ghost Hunting Party Tonight

The date for ghost to be prowling about passed eight days ago, but Constable Wilmer Blincoe, convinced that a "ghost" that has aroused residents of the Wilson Ferry section for the last few days is a person masquerading for a "spirit" will lead a ghost hunting party tonight.

Numerous persons, including Harry Sapp, Owensboro automobile mechanic who resides at 2424 West Third street, have told Constable Blincoe they have seen the ghost of a woman that transforms itself into a large white dog, and on the basis of their statements he plans an attempt to get at the bottom of the case.

The ghost has been seen between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. the last three or four nights, the story goes. some versions of the tale have it that the "ghost's" face is horribly mutilated, but Sapp said he couldn't verify that for he didn't see the face.

Sapp had heard the ghost story, and curiosity lead him to the old Wilson Ferry landing, west of Owensboro on the Ohio river, Thursday night.

"I wish I hadn't gone," he said today. "My hair stood on end when I saw it."

Sapp said he was walking toward the river bank when he saw the "ghost" walking away from him. After it had taken about five steps "all at once it was a big white dog," he declared. He was unable to see the dog's legs and as it continued to walk "it looked like it was sailing through the air."

Sapp wasn't the only one who saw the "ghost".

"There was a crowd there, and a lot of them saw it," he said.

Constable Blincoe expressed the belief that persons parking their automobiles near the old ferry landing had caused some irate resident of the section to create the "ghost" to frighten them away.

If he finds a real ghost he will be unable to jail it, but if he finds a human being disguised as a ghost he weill arrest him or her and prefer a charge of breach of the peace, the constable declared.

Constable Aided By 3,000 Persons Fail To find Sign of Wilson Ferry "Ghost"

The date for ghost to be prowling about passed eight days ago, but Constable Wilmer Blincoe, convinced that a "ghost" that has aroused residents of the Wilson Ferry section for the last few days is a person masquerading for a "spirit" will lead a ghost hunting party Friday night.

Constable Blincoe stated that a crowd estimated at around 3,000 took part in the "ghost" hunt, but the "spirit" must have had a bad night on his previous "outing" and failed to show up.

Numerous persons, including Harry Sapp, Owensboro automobile mechanic who resdies at 2424 West Third street, have told Constable Blincoe they have seen the ghost of a woman that transforms itself into a large white dog, and on the basis of their statements he plans an attempt to get at the bottom of the case.

The ghost has been seen between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. the last three or four nights, the story goes. some versions of the tale have it that the "ghost's" face is horribly mutilated, but Sapp said he couldn't verify that for he didn't see the face.

Sapp had heard the ghost story, and curiosity lead him to the old Wilson Ferry landing, west of Owensboro on the Ohio river, Thursday night.

"I wish I hadn't gone," he said today. "My hair stood on end when I saw it."

Sapp said he was walking toward the river bank when he saw the "ghost" walking away from him. After it had taken about five steps "all at once it was a big white dog," he declared. He was unable to see the dog's legs and as it continued to walk "it looked like it was sailing through the air."

Sapp wasn't the only one who saw the "ghost".

"There was a crowd there, an a lot of them saw it," he said.

Constable Blincoe expressed the belief that persons parking their automobiles near the old ferry landing had caused some irate resident of the section to create the "ghost" to frighten them away.

"Nothing To It" Says Constable After Failure Of Ghost Hunt

Ghosts either read newspapers, listen to the radio, or don't like crowds, Constable Wilmer Blincoe was convinced Saturday after the Wilson Ferry "ghost" refused to show itself Friday night after having reportedly appeared on several consecutive nights previously.

A crowd of approximately 3,000 persons flocked to the former ferry landing Friday night after reading newspaper publicity of the ghost hunt and hearing of it on the radio. Whether the "ghost" also read the story of heard of the hunt on the radio, or whether it just refused to appear in such a crowd couldn't be answered, but Blincoe remained convinced Saturday that "there is nothing to it."

His "nothing to it" conviction has not lessened the belief of persons who claimed to have seen the phantom, however. Numerous residents of Owensboro made pre-hunt trips to the ferry landing after having first heard of the appearance of the ghost of a woman with an horribly mutilated face and said they saw it when there was comparatively fewer visitors present.

Blincoe was convinced before the hunt, as he is now, that there is no such thing as a ghost, that of there was something there resembling one it was a human being masquerading as a spirit, ot that it was a projected image. He said his search on the river bank a quarter of a mile both upstream and downstream of the old ferry landing revealed nothing - not even so much as a ghost footprint.

The constable conducted the search and his intent watch for the apparition from 7:15 p.m. to 9:10 p.m. and when it failed to appear in that time returned to Owensboro. He had intended to make an arrest if he had found the ghost was a human being instead of an ectoplasmic manifestation.

Included in the crowd of curious were persons from Indiana as well as several counties in Western Kentucky. There automobiles were there is such great numbers that many had to park as much as a mile away from the river.

Around the Office

John Eschrich, who covers the Federal Building for the courier-journal. has a scientific explanation of the Owensboro ghost which Ed Edstrom wrote up in these pages during December. He opines that the ghost was probably as visible as the witnesses claimed it was, because it was likely the pale flame of flickering marsh gas, called variously will-'o'-the-wisp, jack-o'-lantern and ignus fatuus (Latin for "foolish fire"). The pictures we got of the scene showed a lot of decaying plant matter, the usual source of such spontaneously burning gas.

'Spectre of Wilson's Ferry' To Initiate Series On Ghosts

EDITOR'S NOTE: Come October and the turning of the leaves, thoughts naturally turn to Halloween and tales of ghosts and goblins. Two Owensboroans, Ralph Dorris and Stan LeMaster, have compiled a series on area phenomena. Both have had a long-time interest in the supernatural, but just recently started collaborating on ghost yarns. The following tale of the "Spectre of Wilson's Ferry" will initiate the series, edited by Frankie Hager.

The balmy, late summer evening of 1947 held no fear for the group of gay Owensboro teenagers on their way to a party.

They went laughing and joking as they approached the old Wilson's Ferry landing, just west of the city.

Suddenly, their laughter ceased. They froze in their tracks as the apparition of a tall woman in white clothes rose before them.

Frank Bollinger, one of the boys, collapsed and his friends had to drag him a half-mile up the lane. They stopped at the farm of Mr. and Mrs. Elmo McKay, who revived Frank with cold towels applied to his head.

News of the eerie phenomenon spread like wildfire for "it had been too real and weird to have been faked..."

The curiosity of two brothers, Harold and Harry Sapp, auto mechanics, was aroused and they decided to visit the old ferry landing. As they approached the onely site, once the busiest sectionin that region, Harold glanced back over his shoulder.

Luminous Figure

A luminous feminine figure atired in a flowing, long-sleeved white gown stood in the road. Harold saw a white, misty shawl covering her head, but he wasn't able to see her face. The figure did not utter a sound. He looked away to speak to his brother, and when he looked again he saw only a white dog that disappeared behind a clump of weed. He noticed the dog seemed to glide rather than walk, and his legs were not visible.

Harry Slapp also saw the dog and reported that it was about three feet long and glowed as though it was coated with phosphorus.

"I wish I hadn't gone," Harold told a reporter. "I wish I hadn't seen it. There's no man I'm afraid of, but I'll never go back to that landing again."

The story continued to spread throughout Owensboro and a young milkman, Shirley McLimore, 16, decided that he, too, would like to see this changing ghost. With a number of older friends he went to Wilson's Ferry. This is what McLimore told a reporter:

"...It was all in white and it took about eight steps, not on water, but in the air. It walked like an old woman. It never moved its arms. Then it turned into a white dog that floated away a few feet over the surface. I watched until the weeds his it. Man I was scared...

As a result of the publicity, a great many people went to see the ghost; also the local constable and men from the sheriff's office investigated. However, on these nights, the ghost failed to put in an appearance.

Nothing has been heard of the ghost in recent years, but local residents have two explanations for the phenomena:

1. It was a farmer who had grown tired of the "sparking" and had donned a sheet to frighten the lovers away.
2. It was a prank perpetrated by young boys who draped sheets about themselves and ran up to the bank - either one at a time of separately. Upon reaching the bank, they would take off the sheets, tuck them under their shirts and disappear.

One of the men at the sheriff's office said he knew the boys - but no charge was ever filed.

9. "Was it the Ghost of a Woman, or That of a Dog?"

The balmy, late summer evening of 1947 held no fears for a group of Owensboro teenagers on their way to a party. They were laughing and joking as they approached the Old Wilson's Ferry Landing, just west of the city.

Suddenly, their laughter ceased, and they froze in their tracks as the apparition of a tall woman in white clothes rose up before them, And were they ever scared! Frank Bollinger, one of the boys, collapsed. His friends had to drag him a half-mile up the lane. They stopped at the farm of Mr. and Mrs. Elmo Mckay, who were able to revive Frank with cold towels applied to his head.

News of the eerie phenomenon spread like wildfire. as it had been too weird, yet too real to have been faked. The curiosity of two brothers, Harold and Harry Sapp, who were auto mechanics, was aroused. So they decided to check things out by visiting the old ferry landing.

As they approached the lonely site, once the busiest section in that region, Harold glanced back over his shoulder, A luminous, feminine figure attired in a flowing, long-sleeved white gown stood there in the middle of the road. Whatever it was did not move. Harold saw a white, misty shawl covering her head, but he wasn't able to see her face. The figure did not utter a sound. Harold looked away to speak to his brother, and when he looked again he saw only a white dog that disappeared behind a clump of trees. He noticed that the dog seemed to glide rather than walk, as its legs were not visible.

Harry Sapp also saw the dog and claimed that it was about three-feet long and glowed as though it were covered with phosphorus.

This story continued to spread throughout Owensboro, and a young milkman, Shirley Mclimore, sixteen, decided that he, too, would like to see this changing ghost. With a number of older friends, he went to Wilson's Ferry. This is what McLimore told a reporter:

"It was all in white and it took about eight steps, not on water, but in the air. It walked like an old woman. It never moved its arms, Then it turned into a white dog that floated away a few feet over the surface. I watched until the weeds hid it. Man, I was scared... "

As a result of the publicity, a great many people went to see the ghost; also the local constable and men from the sheriff's office investigated. However, on these nights, the ghost failed to put in an appearance...

August 1947. Evening.

OWENSBORO (KENTUCKY : USA)

A group of teenagers driving near Old Wilson’s Ferry Landing saw a white luminosity that reminded them of a woman in a long dress. One of the boys was so shaken he collapsed. Other teenagers went to the site and saw the white luminosity, which some interpreted as a woman wearing a hood and long dress and others as a white dog.

Montell 2000 p26 citing Stan Lemaster