Hermit Archives - Blue Ridge True Crime

State of North Carolina over beach background with a silhouette of a man in a boat. — The Fort Fisher Hermit lived by his wits and became an unintended cultural icon.

The Fort Fisher Hermit’s Enigmatic Life and Mysterious Death

In 1955, Robert Harrill left the state mental institution at Morganton, NC. He hitchhiked 260 miles (420 km) to Fort Fisher, about 20 miles (32 km) south of Wilmington, presumably traveling with only the clothes on his back. According to one account, he made a key out of a kitchen spoon and escaped into the […]

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A Vengeful Hermit of North Carolina: Fact or Fiction?

From Groom to Recluse to Murderer John Armstrong became a hermit in 1838, at the age of 22, on what was supposed to be his wedding day. The story goes that he was born near Wilmington, NC, and was the only son of a well-to-do farmer. For two years, he courted a young woman named