When the “Ghouls” came to Mississauga

From Globe and Mail, Oct 13, 1937

A rather macabre and disturbing case grabbed newspaper headlines across the country in October of 1937, and it took place right here in historic Mississauga. Throngs of curiosity seekers came to Streetsville to see for themselves, and the spectre of the unsolved case haunted the community for years after. Flash forward to 2001 when I first started working with Heritage Mississauga – it was one of the first things I recall being asked: “Have you heard of the story of Hayden Pope?” I am certainly not the first to write about this story, and it still grabs attention more than 84 years later. 

1937 was a year of losses for the Pope family of Streetsville. Patriarch Lewis Albert Pope, a Streetsville blacksmith, passed away on August 13, 1937 at the age of 77. At the time of his passing, his grandson Hayden was ill. Hayden was suffering from cancer (abdominal fibro sarcoma), and at the young age of 20 years old he passed away on October 7, 1937. He was laid to rest in Streetsville Public Cemetery on Sunday, October 10, 1937, and was buried beside his grandfather. 

Hayden Pope gravestone, Streetsville Public Cemetery

Hayden was the son of Anson and Rhea Pope. His father was a gardener and blacksmith by profession. His siblings included Sinclair (1911-1964), Aubrey (1912-1996), Rosemund (1915-1995), Bernard (1919-1984), and Beverly (1920-2001). Hayden’s older brother Aubrey rose to fame with multiple sports, including lacrosse, soccer, football and lawn bowling, amongst others. The Pope family was well-known in the Streetsville area, and Hayden’s passing at such a young age resonated within the village. 

From the Streetsville Review, Oct 21, 1937 - courtesy of Mississauga Library System

Toronto Star Headline, Oct 13, 1937

After his burial on the Sunday, life returned to normal in Streetsville. At least it was normal for two days. On the Tuesday (October 12, 1937), around 4 pm, a horrific discovery was made. Earl Raine found that Hayden’s grave had been dug up. A subsequent search of the disturbed grave showed that the coffin had been opened and Hayden’s body was missing. In the exposed coffin was a note requesting $100 “before your boy will be returned”. The authorities were alerted. A second note sent to a newspaper was signed the “Streetsville Ghouls” (well, actually, the note was signed “Stretsville Gouls” – spelling was not their forte apparently), although it is unclear if the perpetrator(s) or the newspapers coined the “ghouls” reference first. The case was horrifying and bewildering, as the Pope family was far from wealthy (although one wonders if Aubrey’s rising fame as an athlete might have had some connection to the ransom demand). The story of the missing body robbery made headlines in The Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star. 

Toronto Star, Oct 14, 1937

On October 13 over 100 volunteers searched the immediate area around the cemetery, including the river valley, in hopes of finding Hayden’s body. The next day, on October 14, Margaret, the daughter of farmer Andrew MacDonald of nearby Churchville, came running home and told her father of a dead boy in a ditch. Police Inspector Palmer and Constable Owen responded. The body was examined by Doctor Montemuro of Streetsville and confirmed it to be that of Hayden Pope. Police were now convinced that they were searching for a “maniac”. 

From Toronto Star, Oct 14, 1937

Streetsville Council offered up a $100 reward, and an additional $100 was raised by local citizens. The Province added $200 and Peel County offered another $100, bringing the reward, by mid-November, up to $500. Other letters were sent referencing the ghouls, and the names of “Chuck” and “Buzz” were also used in the notes. The ghouls also claimed responsibility for robbing the grave of William Thomson of Woodbridge in early November of 1937. Responding to increasing public fear, Ontario Premier Mitchell Hepburn swung the full resources of the Ontario Provincial Police and the Attorney General’s department towards finding the culprits. The hunt for the ghouls of Streetsville reached a fevered pitch and the community was on edge. There was some confidence that arrests were imminent. 

Hayden Pope death certificate

Only they weren’t. The trail went cold, and the letters (and grave robbing) stopped. No one was ever arrested or charged, and 84 years later we still do not know who removed the body of Hayden Pope from his grave in Streetsville.

Hayden Pope was reburied shortly after his body was found. Only this time his coffin was placed within a sealed concrete vault. But the macabre story of the Streetsville Ghouls sent shudders through the community for years afterwards.