The wave of fear began in June 1942 at a Pascagoula convent, where two girls awoke to find their hair had been cut. The intruder escalated, attacking a couple in their bed and beating the husband with an iron pipe. Authorities deployed bloodhounds and offered a $300 reward. William A. Dolan, a German-educated chemist with local disputes, was arrested after human hair was found on his property. He was convicted of assault and served ten years, but he always denied being the 'barber.' With his arr