A Haunting
Bobby Mackey’s Music World is
a nightclub in Kentucky. It is often billed as the most haunted bar in the USA. |
| Pearl Bryan |
It is stated that two
murderers and their victim haunt this building.
The victim, Pearl Bryan was
murdered in 1896. This crime was touted by newspapers of the time as “The Crime
of the Century.”
A Gruesome End
Early in the morning of
February 1, 1896 seventeen year-old Jack Hewling was walking along an abandoned
lane on the Locke farm where he worked in Wilder, Kentucky. This area was right
across the river from Cincinnati, Ohio.
Through the morning mist he
spotted what he thought was a bundle of clothes. As he drew closer he saw the
outline of what appeared to be a person.
He then realized he was
looking at the body of a dead woman. A sense of horror overcame him as he saw
that just above the shoulders of this corpse was a bloody stump. The head was
missing.
Hewling had just stumbled
upon one of the most heinous murders of the 19th century.
Residents who lived in the 3
mid west states involved in this crime: Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio became
obsessed with newspaper reports that described every gruesome detail.
Unfortunately, a lot of these
reports were more “myth” than reality.
Below are some examples of
these sensationalized myths and rumors along with some true facts that
newspapers across the U. S. fed to the American public.
Prominent Families
Pearl Bryan was the twelfth
child of a prosperous farmer who lived in the small town of Greencastle, Indiana.
By the age of 22 Pearl was considered “a catch.”
 |
| Scott Jackson |
Scott Jackson was a student
but he was much older than Pearl.
He came from a prominent family
so her folks did not object to his courtship.
In a whirlwind romance Jackson managed to seduce Pearl. She found herself pregnant and hiding this fact from family and friends.
She did confide in her cousin, William and he then alerted Jackson to the fact that he had “a problem.”
Secrets
Newspaper reports mentioned Jackson was not a typical dentist.
They mentioned he was a
member of an occult group that met in a former slaughterhouse in Wilder,
Kentucky.
In these reports it was
stated that this group often sacrificed animals to pay homage to the devil and
then threw their bloody bodies down an old well located in the basement of this
building.
Rumors stated that this group also sacrificed mentally delayed children.
It was on this slaughterhouse site where Bobby
Mackey’s Music World would be located years later.
Jackson upon hearing the news
Pearl was pregnant told William to arrange for Pearl to come to Cincinnati to have
an abortion.
Pearl told her parents that
she was going to Indianapolis. She then met Jackson and his roommate, a man by
the name of Alonzo Walling in Cincinnati. Walling was also a member of the
occult group.
Pearl was 5 months pregnant. This
would be the last time Pearl’s parents would see her alive.
A Botched Abortion
More sensationalism…
Unbeknownst to Pearl, Jackson
intended to perform the abortion. He first gave Pearl chemicals hoping this
would work--when it didn’t he took some of his dental tools and went to work.
But this second attempt did
not work either. Pearl was now frightened and bleeding.
The two men then took her
across the Ohio River into Kentucky where they murdered her in a secluded area
near Fort Thomas and the abandoned slaughterhouse.
Using dental tools they
ruthlessly severed her head from her body while she was still alive. This fact
was determined later because of the presence of blood at the murder scene.
Her mother identified her
body later by her clothes.
 |
| Depiction of Scott Jackson murdering Pearl Bryan |
The Trials
The investigation led to the
arrests of Scott Jackson and Alonzo Walling.
Their trails were two of
the most bizarre trials in U.S. history.
During these court cases thousands
of citizens from far and near stood outside the courthouse clamoring to gain
entrance.
Many of these spectators
believed all the myths and rumors that had been reported.
William “Will” Wood, Pearl’s
cousin, was arrested as an accomplice to this murder but when he agreed to
testify against the other two men the charges were dropped.
Walling testified that it was
Jackson that had the idea to cut off Pearl’s head so they then could dispose of
it in the Cincinnati sewers.
Another myth put forth was
that Jackson kept a morbid souvenir of the murder. During the investigation
Pearl’s long beautiful blonde hair was discovered in his valise in his room.
Her head was never found.
Jackson and Walling were
quickly found guilty and sentenced to death in 1897.
At one point, “life
sentences” were offered to both men if they would tell where Pearl’s head was
located. Both refused.
Both Jackson and Walling were
hanged behind the Newton Courthouse in March of 1897. These were to be the last
two public hangings in Campbell County.
 |
| Jackson and Walling's gallows |
More Bizarre Myths
Many speculated that Jackson
used Pearl’s head in a satanic ritual at the slaughterhouse. When he was
finished he dumped it down the old well in the basement of this building.
Because of this it was stated
that Jackson went to his death rather than to stir up the “devil’s wrath” by
revealing this sacrifice.
Along this same line people
felt if he had revealed the location of her head he would have also been forced
to reveal the names of other members of the occult group and their secret
meeting place--the slaughterhouse.
After the trial one Kentucky
newspaper account stated that an “evil eye” or curse had befallen several of
the police officials and attorneys that were involved in the case.
It seems that they all had a
great deal of bad luck and met with tragic ends.
In Part ll of The Murder andGhost of Pearl Bryan, information is shared that the newspapers at the time
glossed over. As well as an account of the murder closer to the truth.
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