The mysterious Circleville letters were explicit, threatening in nature, and revealed some of the darkest secrets of people living in Circleville. These letters were anonymous and did not include the sender’s name or the return address. The letter writer’s identity remains shrouded in the garb of mystery, to date!

Strange Letters

Circleville is a small town in Ohio, a place where everyone knows everyone. However, in 1976, strange letters started to plague the residents of Circleville. These letters, explicit and threatening in nature, included personal information that only the recipients of the letters were aware of.

The letters were postmarked from nearby Columbus, Ohio, and had no return address. The Circleville letters were written in block letters and in a similar style to cover up the letter writer’s handwriting.

Letters target Mary Gillespie of Circleville, Ohio

Even though the mysterious writer targeted many Circleville inhabitants, Mary Gillespie was singled out and troubled the most. 

Mary Gillespie was a school bus driver in Circleville, Ohio. Life was going on smoothly for her until one day when she received her first anonymous letter – The mysterious Circleville letter!

The letter writer expressed anger that she was having an affair with the local school superintendent, Gordon Massie. The letter also warned Mary to put an end to her alleged illicit affair with Gordon immediately. Within the next few days, Mary received another letter. Mary kept these letters hidden from her family for as long as she could. 

Mary’s husband receives the vile letter

Two weeks after the previous letter, Mary’s husband, Ron Gillespie received a similar letter addressed to him. The letter stated, “You have had two weeks and have done nothing. Make her admit the truth and inform the school board.” Before ending, the writer also threatened the Gillespies to go public with the alleged affair on TV, radio, and billboards until the truth comes out.  

Gillespie couple share the letter with Paul Freshour

Mary and Ron Gillespie shared the letters with Ron’s sister and her husband, Paul Freshour.

Mary had an idea about who could have written these letters. She made Ron write letters to the suspect mentioning he knew the identity of the secret letter writer. The letter asked the alleged suspect to put a stop to these anonymous letters immediately.

The ploy seemed to work initially as the mysterious Circleville letters stopped for some time. The Gillespies heaved a sigh of relief. Their life was returning back to normal until one afternoon on August 19, 1977, when Ron received a mysterious telephone call. 

Ron Gillespie receives a mysterious phone call

Ron believed the caller was the same person who was behind the anonyms Circleville letters. The call infuriated Ron. Soon after the phone call, Ron grabbed his pistol and left his home in a fit of anger. Before leaving, Ron told his children that he was going to confront the vile letter writer. Then he drove away in his pickup truck. Unfortunately, Mary was not home at the time. 

Ron is found dead under mysterious circumstances

Later that evening, Ron was discovered dead inside the truck, which had smashed into a tree. Strangely, his gun had been fired but the reason for the gunfire remains a mystery. At the time of death, he had almost twice the legal limit of alcohol in his blood. However, according to the family and close friends, Ron was not a heavy drinker.

Ron’s death is ruled out as an accident by the police

Sheriff Dwight Radcliffe controversially ruled it as an accident caused by alcohol. Soon after the Sheriff ruled the death an accident, Circleville residents began receiving antonyms letters accusing the Sheriff of a cover-up. 

Mary Gillespie and Gordon Massie acknowledge their affair

After Ron’s death, Mary Gillespie and Gordon Massie, the superintendent of the school, confirmed the affair. However, they claimed their relationship started only after the vile letters began. 

The anonymous Circleville letters continue

The letters continued unabated throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. Some letters were addressed to Mary’s daughter as well. 

Mary has a close shave

In 1983, the mysterious writer even took to installing signposts along Mary’s school bus route. One day, having had enough, Mary pulled over, disembarked her bus, and tried to rip down the sign. But to her utter shock, Mary found a box tied with a string to the signpost. After a close examination, Mary realized that it was a crude booby-trap designed to fire the gun at her. 

Was Paul Freshour behind the Circleville letters?

Mary reported the incident to the police. Upon investigating, the police traced the firearm to Mary’s brother-in-law, Paul Freshour. Freshour insisted on his innocence and stated that his gun had gone missing a long time ago. Nevertheless, Paul was found guilty of writing the anonymous letters and attempting to murder Mary via a booby-trap-rigged pistol.

Even with Freshour in prison, the letters continued. Paul even received a letter for himself. 

Paul served a decade in prison after finally being released in 1994. By then, mysterious letters had stopped.

Paul Freshour never confessed to writing these anonymous letters. Paul maintained his innocence until his death in 2012.

The Circleville Letters Documentary by CBS

The identity of the infamous Circleville letter writer remains a mystery and, even after 45 years, no one knows who wrote these creepy letters! 

You may also like to read other unsolved cases of all time – Dyatlov Pass Incident, Jack the Ripper, Voynich Manuscript, Mysterious Pan Am Flight, Mysterious Hijacker.

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