Lore Legends 74: Snake in the Grass
Mar 2, 2026
Tales of trust betrayed in frontier communities and the dark legends that followed. A young woman’s mysterious burial and a roadside tradition born from grief. A convict’s rise, a suspicious disappearance, and a ghostly tip that unmasked a murder. Stories of baby farming, insurance scams, and executions that turned real crimes into enduring local lore.
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Hitler's Friend Executed After Betrayal
- Ernst Rahm was a close personal friend of Adolf Hitler who was outed for his same-sex orientation in 1932 and later executed during the Night of the Long Knives.
- Rahm refused a forced suicide, taunted Hitler to do it himself, and was executed minutes later by someone else, showing intimate betrayal among allies.
Phyllis Simmons Buried Alive Near Mount Victoria Tunnel
- Sixteen-year-old Phyllis Ava Simmons ran away with 29-year-old widower George Coates, became pregnant, then disappeared and was later found buried alive in the Mount Victoria Tunnel dump.
- George dug unusually deep at the dump, claimed he was burying a dog, and after 2,000 tons of soil were searched Phyllis's body was found; motorists now honk passing the tunnel in her memory.
Neighbor Betrayal Exposed By Ghost Led To Execution
- Convict-turned-landowner Fred Fisher trusted neighbor George Worrell with power of attorney while jailed; George sold Fisher's belongings and tried to fake his departure to England.
- Neighbors discovered blood and later the ghostly sighting by John Farley led to Fisher's body found by a creek, and George was hanged after a swift conviction.