In this episode, we examine the lives of two legendary North Carolina hermits: David Greer, the Hermit of Bald Mountain, and Robert Harrill, the Fort Fisher Hermit.
David Greer became a hermit due to unrequited love and became famous for the murder of Holland Higgins.
Robert Harrill left a state mental institution in 1955 and hitchhiked to Fort Fisher, where he lived for 17 years. His mysterious death in 1972 may have been a murder. Some saw him as a modern-day Henry David Thoreau.
00:00 Intro
01:36 The Murder of Holland Higgins
03:50 A Deranged Trial
05:48 David Greer Facts and Folklore
06:30 The Poll Tax Incident
07:18 Greer’s Life on the Mountain
09:17 The Death of David Greer
11:25 The Fort Fisher Hermit
13:53 Surf, Sand, and the Wild Man
15:15 Hurricanes
16:16 People Problems
17:46 The Hermit Business
19:40 The Hermit’s Mysterious Death
22:13 Harrill’s Legacy
23:16 Epilogue
Shout out to Listener Cheryl W for suggesting the change in intro music.
Sources
Blue Ridge True Crime Sources & Links
For more info, click the links below:
William Holland Higgins Find a Grave Memorial
The Fort Fisher Hermit: Enigmatic Life and Mysterious Death
Explore More Content
Blue Ridge True Crime Substack
Blue Ridge True Crime YouTube Channel
My Book
Blood on the Blue Ridge on Amazon (written with Scott Lunsford)
This is a year old but very interesting. Holland Higgins grave is in my front yard and does indeed say “Holland Higgins shot by David Greer 1824”. I had heard Greer shot Higgins because Higgins wouldn’t sell him his beloved horse. The story goes Higgins horse named Cloud, escaped the ambush after Greer killed Higgins, ran home and lost his mind to grief. He escaped his pen, ran all the way back to Greer’s shack and tried to kill him. Greer escaped and left the area for good. After Cloud died people say his ghost comes back to his grave and can be seen on the route between his grave and the Higgins farm.
Of course, your story has official records and I am sure is the real truth. Folks in East Tennessee love a good ghost story.
There are a many stories about David Greer, and some of them have changed over time. I was unable to find Silas McDowell’s writings about Greer. I may take another try at that. Thanks for reading and please check out my Substack and YouTube channel.