In the late 1870s a reclusive hermit known as Ol’ Pete lived near a creek in Beverly, New Jersey. Even though Pete was a peculiar fellow it was believed that he had hidden a large amount of gold in his cabin. Some outlaws got wind of the rumor and surrounded the shack in the middle of the night. A signal was given, and the desperados stormed the hut. Pete was savagely beaten, and when he tried to fight back one of the men began stabbing him. In the melee Pete’s head was completely severed from his body. A few days later a concerned neighbor found Pete’s bloody remains lying in his ransacked home.
Strangely, in the years that followed, those that lived in the area claimed to see a headless man roaming the woods and pathways near the old hermit’s shack.
In the spring of 1909 Edward Calhoun, a prominent farmer that lived in the area began seeing what appeared to be a man without a head near his property on several occasions. One night as he was riding his horse, the mysterious figure stepped out into the road. Thinking he was about to robbed, Edward shouted at his attacker to move. The phantom quietly refused so he pulled out his revolver and began firing. Surprisingly, the bullet went right through the entity as he stood there blocking the horse’s path. The frazzled farmer prompted his horse to go but it was frozen with fright and would not move. Fright or flight set in prompting Edward to jump into the road and attack the shadowy headless form. Yet, when the farmer lunged at Ol’ Pete, he disappeared into thin air.
Some say the old hermit still roams the area near his former property even though it has long since been developed. Have you seen him?