The Phantom Killer - Four Months of Terror in Texarkana

Jack the Ripper. Ted Bundy. John Gacy. These are the names of just a few of the most infamous serial killers who ever lived. One name that not a lot of people are familiar with is the Phantom Killer. If you live outside of the city of Texarkana and are under the age of 60, there is a good chance you have never heard of the Phantom. Sixty years ago in Texarkana, the Phantom terrorized the citizens for four months. Just as quickly as he began, his crime spree he stopped.

The Phantom has inspired articles, books and even a low budget 1976 movie called “The Town That Dreaded Sundown,” starring Ben Johnson. It’s a lousy B movie that has a few creepy moments mixed in with far too many scenes of comic relief that simply don’t fit. The definitive movie of the Phantom has yet to be made.

Here is a look at the crime spree that instilled fear into the residents of Texarkana in 1946.

February 22, 1946 – The night was like any other for nineteen-year-old Mary Jeanne Larey and her twenty-four year old boyfriend Jimmy Hollis. After an evening of double dating, which started with taking in the movie “House of Dracula” at the local theater, the pair dropped off the other couple and raced out to the lover’s lane for some harmless intimacy before Mary Jeanne had to go home. At approximately 11:45 the two were involved in some serious kissing when, suddenly, a shadow fell over them obliterating the moonlight that was illuminating the area. Jimmy glanced up half expecting to see the familiar face of a buddy who was parked nearby or that of a policeman there to move them on. Instead he saw something he couldn’t quite explain. Later described as a “thing,” he said this “thing” was bent over, peaking inside the driver’s window. This “thing” was wearing a hood made of white canvas with holes for the eyes and mouth. The “thing” tapped against the window and Jimmy immediately knew it wasn’t a person’s hand. The loud tapping was caused by only one thing – a pistol. The “thing” motioned them out of the car.