Welcome to a bonus episode of American Hauntings, the podcast dedicated to the history,

hauntings, legends, and lore of America's past.

Compiled by Troy Taylor, that's me, and produced by Cody Beck, our occasional bonus episodes are a look at

strange stories, weird crime, astonishing legends, and ghostly tales that are not

a part of the ongoing seasons of the podcast.

We hope you enjoy them. On the night of November 20th,

a young North Carolina woman named Nell Cropsy vanished from her family's home in Elizabeth City.

After a frantic search that lasted for more than a month, Nell's body was discovered floating in a nearby river.

She had been brutally murdered, but by who?

Her lover spent more than a dozen years in prison, proclaiming his innocence before being

pardoned by the governor.

Did he kill Nell?

And if not, then who did?

And why did he commit suicide soon after getting out of prison?

The story of Nelcropsy remains one of the strange tales of murder in the state's history, and perhaps the unanswered questions that still surround the case are the reason why

Nell's ghost still haunts her family home today.

Nell Maud Cropsy was born in July 1882.

Her parents William and his wife Mary Louise lived in Brooklyn, New York,

but in 1898 left the city for the southern community of Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

They moved on to a 65 acre farm and William became a judge in the local county.

They happily settled into their new home, and Nell and her younger sister, Olive, became quite well

known in the area. They were both

...