Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the many facets of Fool Killer lore. FOR PART ONE, INCLUDING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT, CLICK HERE
JANUARY 1910 – James Larkin Pearson, poet and newspaper man, carried on the Fool Killer tradition from 1910 to 1917, then again from 1919 into the 1920s. Pearson’s fellow North Carolinian Charles Napoleon Bonaparte Evans had written the Fool Killer Letters of the 19th Century so it’s appropriate that another Tar Heel continue the lore for so many years of the 20th Century.
Pearson’s Fool-Killer was the mascot of the entire publication, which was merely 4-6 pages anyway, not simply the supposed author of letters regarding his body count of “fools.” Think of this Fool Killer (I prefer no hyphen) as the written word equivalent of Puck (1876-1918), the political cartoon mascot of the humor magazine of the same name.
The targets of Pearson’s Fool Killer in this debut issue from January of 1910:
*** A flim-flam artist called Grammar who was selling bogus “eternal youth” treatments via his book Perpetual Life, or Living in the Body Forever.
*** Frederick Cook, who, the previous December, had seen his claim to have reached the North Pole ruled invalid and possibly fraudulent by the University of Copenhagen. (The Fool Killer was unable to locate Cook, however.)
*** Notoriously controversial and possibly corrupt Federal Appeals Court Judge Peter S. Grosscup.
*** A Professor Pickering who wanted to raise 10 million dollars to send a message to the planet Mars.
*** The “Idle Rich” who had never worked a day in their gilded lives. One memorable line: “A good deal of ‘the cream of society’ ought to be churned.”
*** People who believed in psychic phenomena, including the newest enthusiast, Thomas Edison of all people!
*** The Pope, for blessing the pens of reporters recently at the Vatican. Like other European targets of the Fool Killer, the Atlantic Ocean kept him safe.
*** Spiritualists who claimed to be able to contact the dead.
As I always say, it’s fascinating to read this old publication and its odd mix of viewpoints – even the ones you disagree with.
FOR THE NEXT PART CLICK HERE
Balladeer's Blog 
Great posts as always. The Fool Killer definitely seems to be a fascinating character with a larger-than-life nature. The character reminds me a lot of classic killers I have seen in movies. For instance, the character brought to mind the villains in “Killers of the Flower Moon”. Martin Scorsese’s mesmerizing masterpiece told the true story of the Osage tribe that faced murder. The Osage were a tribe of Native Americans that were killed by wealthy tycoons seeking oil wealth. If you have an interest in the fool killer, this is a movie you may enjoy.
Here’s why I recommend it strongly:
Thanks for the kind words!
Tar heel?
Gwen.
Hello! Tar Heel means someone from North Carolina. Tar Heels dates back to at least the Civil War when it was used as a nickname for one of more military units from North Carolina. Over the decades it became a term for people from that state and especially for the sports teams of the University of North Carolina.
I didn’t know about this but how interesting. Thank you.
Gwen.
You’re more than welcome!