Local lore has long told the story of Billy Gohl, who murdered as many as 100 men in Grays Harbor Washington from 1903-1910. But is there more to the story?
Show Notes
Looking deeper at his life and the times brings up many questions. Was he a serial killer? Or a man falsely accused and convicted for his politics? And does he still hang around the area today?
References
Bovson, Mary (Oct. 11, 2020). “JUSTICE STORY: The Ghoul of Grays Harbor,” New York Daily News, retrieved from: https://www.nydailynews.com/true-crime-justice-story/ny-true-crime-ghoul-of-grays-harbor-20201011-wlkl5ycb3zelbdfp3hq6pqljay-story.html
Goings, Aaron (June 26, 2020). “The Port of Missing Men: Billy Gohl, Labor, and Brutal Times in the Pacific Northwest,” Univ. of Washington Press.
Nixon, June (June 5, 2018). “Strange things are happening at Billy’s Bar & Grill,” AGHOST.org, retrieved from: https://www.aghost.org/post/2018/06/05/strange-things-are-happening-at-billy-s-bar-grill
Fultz, Hollis (Aug. 23, 1929). “Billy Gohl’s Crimes on Harbour Revived,” The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA)
Staff writer (no date). “History,” Sailors’ Union of the Pacific, retrieved from: https://www.sailors.org/history
Staff reporter (Feb. 5, 1910). “Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers,” The Tacoma Times (Tacoma, WA), retrieved from: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88085187/1910-02-05/ed-1/seq-1/#words=William%2BGohl
Lloyd-McMichael, Barbara (Aug. 26, 2020). “Bookmonger: Historian Debunks Maritime Murder Legend,” DiscoverOurCoast.com, retrieved from: https://www.discoverourcoast.com/coast-weekend/arts/bookmonger-historian-debunks-maritime-murders-legend/article_cfebd278-e0b8-11ea-a986-27287fc12d59.html
Editors (no date). “Billy Gohl,” Murderpedia.org, retrieved from: https://murderpedia.org/male.G/g/gohl-billy.htm
Lind, CJ (Feb. 23, 1969). “The Port of Missing Men,” The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA)
Vincent, Christine (April 8, 2021). “Serial Killer or Working-Class Hero? Dr. Aaron Going’s Book, ‘The Port of the Missing Men,’ Takes A New Look at the Ghoul of Grays Harbor,” GraysHarborTalk.com, retrieved from: http://www.graysharbortalk.com/2021/04/08/serial-killer-or-working-class-hero-dr-aaron-goings-book-the-port-of-the-missing-men-takes-a-new-look-at-the-ghoul-of-grays-harbor/
Leighton, Elizabeth (Oct. 12, 2017). “Name of Vancouver’s iconic Siwash Rock ‘derogatory’ to First Nations, Stanley Park board says,” The National Post (Toronto, Canada), retrieved from: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/siwash-rock-name-disrespectful-to-first-nations-says-vancouver-park-board
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Researched & Written by Kim Douthit
Edited & Produced by Gabi Fiore
Music by Dan Moretti