The house at 65 Mulberry Street in Quitman, Arkansas, is haunted. Most long-time residents of Cleburne County, whether they believe in the paranormal or not, agree on that much. Built in 1891, this Victorian-era house has seen its share of tenants, many of which are said to still claim residence there in the afterlife. Its spectral inhabitants include a WWI soldier, the anguished spirit of an old man, and several others. However, the spirit of one former occupant stands apart from the rest, singularly terrifying and known to locals as the “Dog Boy.”
Jarrell “Gerald” Floyd Bettis was born to Floyd and Alline Bettis on July 23, 1958. The Bettis had been trying to start a family since they bought the house on Mulberry Street a few years earlier. When Gerald was born, it seemed their best wishes had been granted, though their joy would be short-lived.
Gerald was an abnormally large child and often endured the teasing of other children because of his size and peculiar behavior. This hazing often caused him to act out in public, drawing negative attention to himself, though in private, he was a solitary child with few, if any, friends. By the time Gerald reached middle school, he was a physically imposing figure, and his personality had taken a decidedly dark turn. He began collecting stray dogs and cats, keeping them in makeshift kennels where he would torture them for extended periods, earning him the Dog Boy moniker. Neighbors would often complain about finding the mutilated remains of his “pets” scattered around the area and were generally terrified of him. One woman described him, saying, “If you had ever seen his eyes, they seemed to glow at night.”
It was around this time that Gerald began abusing his parents, keeping them locked in an upstairs bedroom and starving them for extended periods. On one occasion, police and aid cars were dispatched when he threw his father out of the second-floor window. Reports claim that the elder Bettis clung to the window ledge until the fire department was able to bring him down. Gerald’s father died in 1981 amid a cloud of rumor. Some say he died of a prolonged bout of pneumonia; others claim it was a broken neck sustained when Gerald threw him down the stairs. The following year, Alline was treated for a fractured hip, allegedly inflicted by her son. A nurse witnessed Gerald slapping and mistreating his mother, intervening and having her placed in adult protective custody.
Gerald continued to live in the house alone, torturing animals and even going as far as building an add-on to the house to keep more of them. In 1984, he was arrested for the abuse of his mother, in addition to growing and distributing marijuana. Subsequently, he was incarcerated by the Arkansas Department of Corrections. Mysteriously, Gerald died on May 18, 1988, while in the custody of the DOC. He was 34. The listed cause of death was drug overdose, though no more specific information could ever located.
Alline Bettis died in 1995, and the house passed to her niece, who sold it to the Weaver family. The Weavers lived in the house for a couple of years, during which time they documented countless examples of paranormal activity. The most disturbing events involved a large, menacing figure with glowing eyes and a brown coat. A paranormal research team was brought in to investigate and identified this entity as Gerald Bettis. A medium on the team claims, “He cursed at us and demanded we leave!” Three members of the team also report to have witnessed the massive figure staring at them from the upstairs bedroom window at a time when the house was confirmed to be empty.
Other strange occurrences include a stack of pennies floating down the stairwell, only to fall on the floor at the witness’s feet, and the full-bodied apparition of a WWI-era soldier peering into the living room from the hall. On another occasion, a workman heard a loud crash in an upstairs room. Upon investigation, he found that a stack of two-by-fours he had laid on the floor was now leaning against the wall.
The house has since been sold several times. A glance at the listing history from 2012-2014 seems to lend credibility to prospective buyers’ claims of a hostile presence in the house. At an original listing price of $130k, the house plummeted to $68k before finally selling in September 2014. Sure, it could be a slump in the market. Or perhaps the spirit of the Dog Boy lingers on and prefers to tend his kennels in private.
Jason Roberts is a Seattle-based author noted for his acclaimed Western Horror series The Dead Wind Trilogy and other works of cosmic horror infused with historical fiction. His web-based series, Dark Distractions, examines paranormal mysteries, unexplained phenomena, and all things strange.
