PEARL RIVER, LOUISIANA– Here’s a hometown horror story a little frightening with razor sharp teeth. If you have the right stuff with you, he’ll… come up from beneath. It’s the legend of Onionhead.
Misunderstanding is what plagues much of societies errors. If a wrong doing festers, it can grow into monster of a problem. One legend that haunts Louisiana is the tale of Onionhead.
A beloved artist in New Orleans and owner of Dr. Bob’s Folk Art, Dr. Bob, is master of the visual arts, known for his bottle cap styling. One day he made a piece dedicated to his childhood nightmare, Onionhead.
“We lived in a mixed neighborhood and these creole kids with blue and green eyes told me a story. This story was my introduction to the neighborhood as the new kid on the block. I knew there was something going on in Louisiana; it is a very exotic state and as soon as I get down here I start hearing stories of Onionhead,” said Dr. Bob.
The Legend often begins as follows:
Many decades ago, an albino African American gentleman with a disfigured face was persecuted by the townsfolk; accused of murdering a young girl. One day the people of the town caught him and killed him. As an act of revenge, the young man’s mother placed a hex on the land that her son would return from the grave as the monster the townsfolk believed him to be.
“I’ve had that feeling in the woods when i’m by myself,” said Dr. Bob. “I was at a bar one night and these young kids ages 20 to 25 said, come on man, we got to get to Slidell. I had been drinking and I turned and yelled Onionhead! Those kids froze in their tracks. He’s out there. Everybody knows who Onionhead is,” said Dr. Bob.
Legend has it, that in small ancient burial ground in Pearl River called the Haaswood Cemetary, you can find Onionhead with a peculiar lure of day-old-donuts and dog food.
Onionhead is a fright that is the embodiment of a life’s lesson to remember to always treat others with kindness.
Dr. Bob says, “Onionhead was the original victim of bullying and no justice. That’s enough fuel to fire his anger!”
