The Circleville Letters

Better story than the new Ryan Murphy Netflix show.

I'm surprised anyone in Circleville can spell.

The "Eye of the Tiger" letters, Tulle, France, 1917-1922

This one again. Unsolved Mysteries did the best piece on this. The show even received a sinister letter. One of the women was a school bus driver. She saw a sign hanging on the side of the road calling her a whore. She got out and took the sign down and behind it was a gun that was supposed to go off when the sign was removed but didn’t.

Just watched the 48 Hours episode on this case. I'm originally from Columbus and never remember hearing about it growing up

OMG if I could have been old enough to have been in on that! That would have been right up my alley!!

Anyone intrigued by poison pen letters who hasn't seen Henri-Georges Clouzot's "Le Corbeau" should check it out.

Thanks, r7!

R7 I love to write poison pen letters

What a crazy story! Scratch the surface in any Suburban Town, and you'll find all kinds of sordidness. This reminds me of an Unsolved Mysteries episode, where some older people said they were being harassed by someone unknown. They never found out who was behind it, but I felt like it was the people ( who were being harassed) themselves. It was probably the Bus Driver in OP's story who was behind this. Crazy.

R10, I remember that story and this story was also featured on UM. The show even received a threatening letter that they read on air. About that other story…

R10, people have concluded it was the husband who was then arrested and put behind bars. The letters continued but they showed how similar his handwriting was to all of them.

How he was able to continue writing and mailing the letters while in prison is anyone’s guess.

It was Addie Ross!

Yes, R11, that's the one. In the other case that OP posted. I read that the handwriting was similar to the guy they arrested, but the Cops had him replicate the handwriting, not just asked for a sample. The Cops themselves might have been involved.

It’s sounds like the husband had motive and his handwriting matched.

What would be in it for the cops?

I didn't think that "Poison Pen Letters" existed in the late 20th Century.

Or didn't exist outside of murder mysteries.

r7, I love that movie

Put Miss Marple on the case

“I know you have 3 dildos in your nightstand….”

I agree: I think it was the husband who was later imprisoned

This is very similar to the plot of one of my favorite Shirley Jackson short stories ('The Possibility of Evil'), about a DL'er whom Ms Jackson refers to as 'Miss Strangeworth'. It was published only a decade earlier.

"Miss Strangeworth is described prominently as a harmless old lady in the beginning of the story. Through conversations with the people in her town, it is evident that Miss Strangeworth often believes that she owns the town, never having left it for longer than a day, and has great interest in its townspeople. She also takes great pride in the orderliness of her house, as well as her family roses. However, Miss Strangeworth is not such a quiet figure in her town; she often writes anonymous letters to her neighbors, which are rarely based on fact and more on what gossip she has heard during her walks down the streets. When she is mailing some of them, one is dropped on the ground and one of her neighbors (whom she had once made a subject of her uncouth letters) notices, and, feeling kind, delivers it to the intended recipient (unaware the letter is meant to be anonymous). The next morning, Miss Strangeworth receives a similarly written letter, informing her that her roses, a source of her familial pride, have been destroyed."

[quote] "I didn't think that "Poison Pen Letters" existed in the late 20th Century. Or didn't exist outside of murder mysteries."

Or 18th Century France.

Another poison pen movie that came to mind

It couldn't have been the husband because the letters kept arriving while he was in jail.

Thank you, R7, for the movie tip. I am totally going to check it out. Apparently the film was also remade in 1951 as "The 13th Letter" by Otto Preminger. Guess if I'm doing this, I gotta watch that version, too! Have you seen the remake?

I never heard of this case. Thanks for the heads-up.

I just searched "Circleville Letters" in YouTube and about half a dozen videos come up.

“Your bitch of a wife has become a master in her art and an expert in satisfying the whims of her male clients. If your kidneys weren't so worn out, your wife wouldn't have to resort to the services of the municipal sweeper!"

“You know she’s faking it. The mechanic makes her scream louder. I saw it. I know.”

[quote]Apparently the film was also remade in 1951 as "The 13th Letter" by Otto Preminger. Guess if I'm doing this, I gotta watch that version, too! Have you seen the remake?

Yes! It's dark and atmospheric, as you'd expect of Preminger, but for me "Le Corbeau" is in another league. Preminger fans should check it out on YouTube before it gets yanked.

Circleville is Appalachian refugee white trash, known mostly now for missing women. Google 'missing woman Circleville'.