Four Even Rings: The Bell That Kept Erin's Secret

Four Even Rings: The Bell That Kept Erin's Secret

The bell at Saint Anselm's rang four even times, then stopped - with the rope knotted inside a locked church and no mechanical explanation on record. Greaver's Hollow still warns children away from that church every April; what really happened the week Erin Tillman died, and why was crucial evidence removed before anyone looked?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events in early April 1913 in Greaver's Hollow, the discovery of Erin Tillman's body at the base of the belfry stair, the rapid official closure, and the odd actions taken inside the church afterward - and ask whether the truth was erased or simply overlooked.

Person: Erin Tillman Date: April 5, 1913 Location: Saint Anselm's Lutheran Church, Greaver's Hollow, western Virginia Coroner: Dr. Alton Webb Sexton: Curtis Prall

- Erin Tillman was 22 years old when her body was found at the base of the belfry stair on April 5, 1913. - Coroner Dr. Alton Webb's report totaled two paragraphs, listing cause of death as a fatal fall and manner as accidental; the file was closed in four days. - The bell rope in use since 1901 was removed on April 7 on Reverend Cobb's order and disposed of by parishioner T. Nell before any official church examination. - Vestry minutes on April 16 recorded a motion to repair a loose riser board - the fourth step from the bottom - and the repair was completed on April 19. - Residents reported the bell ringing on its own the nights of April 11 and 12, settling into a pattern of four even rings with the rope hanging still on its iron hook.

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