William Wortham Poole
Encyclopedia
William Wortham Pool was an American
bookkeeper
. His name and burial site became synonym
ous with legend
and folklore
surrounding the supernatural
due to a railroad
tunnel cave-in that occurred in the Richmond, Virginia
, district of Church Hill
on October 2, 1925.
He was born in Mississippi
, the son of Samuel Pool (1806-1872) and Nancy Rose Wortham (1819-1873). His siblings were John R. Pool (b. 1840); Thomas Pool (b. 1844); Albert Pool (b. 1847); and Dirdus Pool (b. 1850). His father was a merchant and, in 1860, William was a clerk in Jackson
.
In the 1860s, Pool moved to Virginia
. He was a clerk in a tobacco factory in Manchester
, in 1870. In 1880 and 1900, he was a bookkeeper. He was working as a private secretary in 1910; then as a bookkeeper again in 1920 in Richmond.
He and Alice Purdue (b. December 1842) were married ca. 1866. They had four children, Lawrence P. Pool (b. ca. 1867); Annie W. Pool (b. October 1872); Samuel Pool (b. March 1875); and Mary L. Pool (b. July 1881). His wife and children were all born in Virginia.
William W. Pool died at age 80. He is interred in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond.
's Church Hill Tunnel
in Church Hill, burying a handful of rail workers alive. Legend has it that shortly after the cave-in a creature emerged from the hole covered in blood with jagged teeth and rolls of skin hanging from its muscular frame, fresh from a flesh feast.
The being then raced off toward the James River and was pursued until it disappeared in a tomb carved into a hill in Hollywood Cemetery, labeled W.W. Pool. William Wortham Pool was an accountant who died twelve years earlier, and his name became synonymous with the fabled Richmond Vampire
.
Documents and periodicals confirm that the tunnel collapsed and a living being crawled from the wreckage. But it was a burly C&O Railway employee, Benjamin F. Mosby, who was loading coal into the firebox of a train when the accident occurred and the boiler ruptured.
Mosby's upper body was badly burned and several teeth were broken before he made his way to the cavern's opening. Witnesses reported that the man was in shock and some layers of his skin were hanging off his body.
He died at Grace Hospital within the next day and from there the story took on a life of its own through decades of oral history.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bookkeeper
Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions. Transactions include sales, purchases, income, receipts and payments by an individual or organization. Bookkeeping is usually performed by a bookkeeper. Bookkeeping should not be confused with accounting. The accounting process is usually...
. His name and burial site became synonym
Synonym
Synonyms are different words with almost identical or similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes from Ancient Greek syn and onoma . The words car and automobile are synonyms...
ous with legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
and folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
surrounding the supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
due to a railroad
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
tunnel cave-in that occurred in the Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, district of Church Hill
Church Hill
Church Hill, also known as the St. John's Church Historic District, is an Old and Historic District in Richmond, Virginia. This district encompasses the original land plat of the city of Richmond. Church Hill is the eastern terminus of Broad Street, a major east-west thoroughfare in the Richmond...
on October 2, 1925.
He was born in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, the son of Samuel Pool (1806-1872) and Nancy Rose Wortham (1819-1873). His siblings were John R. Pool (b. 1840); Thomas Pool (b. 1844); Albert Pool (b. 1847); and Dirdus Pool (b. 1850). His father was a merchant and, in 1860, William was a clerk in Jackson
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
.
In the 1860s, Pool moved to Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. He was a clerk in a tobacco factory in Manchester
Manchester, Virginia
Manchester, Virginia is a former independent city in Virginia in the United States. Prior to receiving independent status, it served as the county seat of Chesterfield County, between 1870 and 1876...
, in 1870. In 1880 and 1900, he was a bookkeeper. He was working as a private secretary in 1910; then as a bookkeeper again in 1920 in Richmond.
He and Alice Purdue (b. December 1842) were married ca. 1866. They had four children, Lawrence P. Pool (b. ca. 1867); Annie W. Pool (b. October 1872); Samuel Pool (b. March 1875); and Mary L. Pool (b. July 1881). His wife and children were all born in Virginia.
William W. Pool died at age 80. He is interred in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond.
Legend
In 1925 there was a massive tunnel collapse on the Chesapeake and Ohio RailroadChesapeake and Ohio Railway
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P...
's Church Hill Tunnel
Church Hill Tunnel
Church Hill Tunnel is an old Chesapeake and Ohio Railway tunnel extending for approximately 4,000 feet under the Church Hill section of Richmond, Virginia. Built in the early 1870s, in 1925, the tunnel collapsed on a work train killing four and trapping a steam locomotive and some flat cars...
in Church Hill, burying a handful of rail workers alive. Legend has it that shortly after the cave-in a creature emerged from the hole covered in blood with jagged teeth and rolls of skin hanging from its muscular frame, fresh from a flesh feast.
The being then raced off toward the James River and was pursued until it disappeared in a tomb carved into a hill in Hollywood Cemetery, labeled W.W. Pool. William Wortham Pool was an accountant who died twelve years earlier, and his name became synonymous with the fabled Richmond Vampire
Richmond Vampire
The Richmond Vampire is an urban legend that began soon after a collapse on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad's Church Hill Tunnel at Church Hill, a district of Richmond, Virginia, which buried several workers alive on October 2, 1925....
.
Documents and periodicals confirm that the tunnel collapsed and a living being crawled from the wreckage. But it was a burly C&O Railway employee, Benjamin F. Mosby, who was loading coal into the firebox of a train when the accident occurred and the boiler ruptured.
Mosby's upper body was badly burned and several teeth were broken before he made his way to the cavern's opening. Witnesses reported that the man was in shock and some layers of his skin were hanging off his body.
He died at Grace Hospital within the next day and from there the story took on a life of its own through decades of oral history.