Strange Lights Along Eagle Rock Road
By the autumn of 1896, many travelers whispered about a glowing figure near Eagle Rock Road in West Orange. Some saw a flickering light at the roadside that never moved like an ordinary lantern. Others felt a sudden chill when they passed that stretch of road at night. Soon, rumors spread that the spirit belonged to a girl named Phoebe Jane Paullin.
One evening, John Beach guided his buggy along that lonely path with his wife and daughter. They noticed a pale glow ahead and assumed it was a lantern in the distance. The horse halted and began to tremble. John tried to calm the animal, but it refused to budge. His daughter peered into the darkness and saw a faint shape. She shrieked and clutched her mother’s arm. The shape looked like a young woman who stood silently near the brush. The horse bolted in terror, nearly throwing the family onto the ground.
When they reached home, they spoke of a ghostly presence that hovered in the darkness. Neighbors listened in awe. Others came forward with similar stories. Some claimed the ghost vanished when they tried to approach. A few heard soft cries on the breeze. Local newspapers carried these accounts of a phantom haunting a spot tied to a tragedy from thirteen years earlier.
A Harrowing Discovery in 1883
In late November of 1883, the region was shaken by grim news. A father and son walked near the Orange Hills and spotted a bundle of clothing in the brush. Drawing closer, they found the body of a teenage girl. Her throat had been slashed so deeply that one cut severed her trachea and carotid artery. She wore a black velvet suit, a gold watch and chain, and still carried money. Investigators believed the killer had dragged her over a hundred feet from the roadside.
Her name was Phoebe Jane Paullin. She had left her home in West Orange to run errands in Orange. If it became late, she might stay with friends. By the next morning, when she failed to return, her mother grew anxious. Officials learned that Phoebe was last seen walking along Eagle Rock Road. The brutality of the crime stunned everyone who heard about it. Robbery did not seem to be the motive. Detectives from Newark and New York arrived quickly, determined to track down whoever did this.
An inquest followed. The coroner’s hearing drew crowds so large that the room nearly overflowed. Neighbors wanted answers, and newspapers craved every detail. Some reporters described wagon tracks near the scene. Others mentioned footprints and a small pool of blood in the road. Most believed that Phoebe faced her attacker just before dark.
Suspects and Stray Clues
Authorities pursued several leads. They discovered a bloody shirt hidden under sand a few miles away. A stranger who asked for fresh clothes on the night of the murder seemed suspicious. Two brothers, Chet and Martin Williams, were questioned after witnesses placed them near the area. Their stories conflicted, but police never gathered enough evidence. They were released.
A traveling salesman named Henry Mahon was arrested, then freed when his passbook showed he was elsewhere. Another rumor involved a missing son whose mother swore the bloody shirt was his. That angle disappeared when he never surfaced. The investigation moved on without a clear suspect. Public anxiety grew with each dead end.
George Franck Under Suspicion
Many believed the true killer was George Franck, a beer bottler in Orange. He admitted that he passed Phoebe on the road. He offered an uncertain alibi and stumbled over details. Locals claimed to see his wagon at odd times. He tried to end his life more than once, which fueled suspicion that guilt weighed on him. Some newspapers reported that he confessed during one suicide attempt. Others said he mocked all accusations once he recovered.
Franck faced earlier charges for assaulting another woman. People wondered if he had a pattern of violence. Yet the authorities never found enough proof to indict him for Phoebe’s murder. He walked free, watched warily by neighbors who believed he knew more than he shared.
Unanswered Questions
Phoebe’s family held her funeral on November 28, 1883, at Pleasant Valley German Church Cemetery. Crowds attended, grieving for a bright life cut short. A reward of fifteen hundred dollars produced no decisive tip. The case slowly went cold. Some pointed to a mother who identified the bloody shirt as belonging to her vanished son. Others suspected a powerful local figure who avoided scrutiny. Many stayed focused on Franck.
Phoebe’s official cause of death was hemorrhage from incised wounds. She was either sixteen years, 6 months, and 17 days old. No one was brought to justice for her murder. Over the years, certain newspapers tried linking her case to outlaws like Anton Bolak, but those connections never panned out.
Rumors and Ghostly Encounters
By 1896, the ghost stories around Eagle Rock reached a peak. Witnesses spoke of a faint, silent figure on that lonely road. They thought it was Phoebe’s spirit, tied to the place of her final terror. John Beach’s encounter, with his horse panicking and his wife and daughter collapsing in fear, became the most famous account.
Others described flickering lights or distant sobs. Many tried to approach the glow, only to see it vanish at once. These stories caught the imagination of the wider region. Newspapers played up the idea that Phoebe’s ghost lingered to seek justice or peace. Investigators of the paranormal turned their attention to West Orange, hoping to solve a supernatural mystery that also involved an unsolved crime.
New roads and developments eventually altered Eagle Rock. Some said the ghost sightings tapered off. A few insisted that Phoebe’s presence could still be felt on dark nights. Visitors who ventured there claimed to sense a chill or spot a fleeting outline in the trees. Townspeople told them that the restless spirit belonged to a girl who had never received justice.
The Lasting Legacy
Phoebe’s name appears in old clippings, scattered across archives. She was buried with her dignity intact, her valuables untouched by her killer. No court ever tried anyone for the crime. Over time, her story blended true-crime tragedy with eerie legend. People still wonder if George Franck was guilty, or if someone else escaped into the night.
Those who investigate the history of West Orange learn that Phoebe’s story is both heartbreaking and haunting. The official death certificate reveals her parents’ names, David and Ann Elizabeth. Her watch and chain remained untouched, a chilling contrast to the brutality of the attack. The coroner’s inquest drew huge crowds, yet no single piece of evidence unraveled the mystery.
The ghostly sightings that began in 1896 became part of Phoebe’s enduring lore. Some see them as proof that her spirit roams the place of her final moments. Others believe these tales sprang from the community’s grief and fear. Either way, the legend continues to captivate.
Late at night, when the wind blows over Eagle Rock Road, a few passersby claim they still hear a faint sob or glimpse a glimmer of light. They say the girl once seen by John Beach and many others never truly left. Phoebe’s ghost remains a powerful symbol of unresolved grief, silently asking why no one ever answered for her death.