Bay St. Louis, MS (WGNO) – Today we’re heading to one cafe that even the owner won’t enter at night, all because of a man named Silas Richardson.
This haunting story begins with a carjacking. In 1929, Silas Richardson stole a car and was arrested. He escaped from the jail shortly thereafter, and the hunt was on. A $650 reward was put on Silas’ head, and the whole town was searching for the man. Two men caught Silas, but he shot them both. after months of searching, the city finally recaptured Silas.
He was sentenced to death for his crime and was the last person hung in Hancock County. He was hung in the jail cell located in the Bay St. Louis City Hall, which has since turned into Cypress Cafe. Sue Forstall, the owner, says that Silas has just never left.
Although Silas is normally a silent spirit, he occasionally likes to make himself known. Head Chef Sherry Prater tells us, “I was here by myself one morning, opening up the restaurant and out of the corner my eye I saw a black shadow… I ran out here and I said ‘Hello, is anybody here?’ Nobody was here.”
Forstall says that when she’s at the cafe in the early morning, she isn’t comfortable, but she would never go at night, “I don’t want to meet him personally…I don’t mind him staying here.”
