I can trace one of the most fascinating ghost stories in American history to Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It involves a beautiful young lady murdered by an unknown killer. Today, she continues to roam the Earth in search of answers unknown by the living.

Marc Hoover

In 1898, Ella M. Cropsey, affectionately called Nell by her friends and family, had moved from Brooklyn to Elizabeth City with her wealthy family. Nell’s beauty immediately attracted attention from several male suitors.

She settled on a local man named Jim Wilcox. Although the couple courted for three years, Nell had become disgruntled with Wilcox because he wouldn’t marry her. She tried to make Wilcox jealous by flirting with other men thinking it might encourage Wilcox into a marriage proposal.

The relationship between Nell and Wilcox ended on November 20, 1901. Nell and Wilcox had gotten into a heated argument at the Cropsey home. It was so loud that family members heard them fighting. The argument likely involved Nell’s flirting or her unhappiness about not becoming Mrs. Wilcox. Another possibility is that Nell was thinking about leaving Wilcox.

The couple eventually made up during the evening. Sometime before midnight, Wilcox and Nell went outside to talk. It would be the last time anyone ever saw her alive. After going to bed, Olive Cropsey, Nell’s sister, heard a loud noise in the back. She went outside to investigate; someone had broken the back screen door. Olive went upstairs and checked on Nell who wasn’t in her bed. Although concerned, she assumed Nell was still with Wilcox.

In the early morning, a neighbor yelled from outside to alert the Cropsey family that someone had tried to steal their pig. The family came downstairs to find someone had broken the front door. But they didn’t see who had broken it or observe anyone outside. Strangely, Wilcox’s umbrella had mysteriously appeared near the doorway.

The family realized Nell was missing and alerted the police. The town began frantically searching for Nell.

No one found her.

Authorities and family members immediately suspected Jim Wilcox as the obvious suspect since he was last seen with her. Not only had the couple argued earlier, Wilcox didn’t help search for Nell. Police arrested Wilcox and placed him in jail.

The mystery of Nell’s disappearance ended on December 27. Mrs. Cropsey had spotted something large floating in the Pasquotank River. She had located Nell’s corpse. Oddly, a mysterious letter postmarked from New York had arrived before Nell’s body was found. It was from an anonymous person and provided details about her murder. It stated a vagrant had tried to steal the Cropsey’s pig. After Nell had walked in on the crime, the vagrant beat Nell with a stick. He then took her out to the Pasquotank River and dumped her body.

Wilcox was tried twice for Nell’s murder. In 1902, the first trial ended in a conviction, but a higher North Carolina court overturned the decision and declared a mistrial. A second trial was held in 1903. Again, a jury convicted Wilcox. He was sentenced to thirty years in prison.

Again, Wilcox didn’t testify in his second trial either. But Governor Thomas Bickett pardoned him in 1920. If Wilcox killed Nell, he never admitted it. And what about the letter? Was it from the real killer? Another unsolved mystery.

In 1934, Wilcox contacted W.O. Saunders, the editor of the Elizabeth City newspaper. Saunders was writing a book about Nell’s death. Wilcox told Saunders he wanted to share some more information about Nell’s death. Two weeks later after the meeting, Wilcox committed suicide by shooting himself with a shotgun.

The conversation remains a mystery as Saunders died in a car accident before publishing their conversation. Today, no one knows what Wilcox told Saunders. Had he admitted to the murder?

This true story is one of North Carolina’s most mysterious mysteries and will remain unsolved. I also wanted to add another unproven theory. It has also been said that Nell’s father William accidentally killed her after mistaking her for the vagrant who tried to steal the family’s pig. Again, this was an unproven theory circulated by some residents. But this story doesn’t end with Nell’s death. The Cropsey home remains at 1901 Riverside Drive in Elizabeth City. Although the Cropsey family has all died, Nell remains behind.

Former residents claim the house is haunted. Lights turn off and on by nonhuman hands, doors open and close and people claim they have felt cold air moving throughout the house. People have also seen the ghost of Nell Cropsey inside the home while people outside have seen her peering outside from an upstairs window. Nell Cropsey’s ghost has become a part of Elizabeth City folklore. Although Nell died more than a century ago, she has refused to leave North Carolina.

What does she seek?

Marc is a longtime resident of Clermont County and avid reader. He can be contacted through his website at www.themarcabe.com, through Facebook: www.facebook.com/themarcabe or his Twitter account @themarcabe. And be sure to listen to his podcast at www.spreaker.com/show/the-marcabe.