The Candy Lady

This is a guest contribution from Dusty Davis. Learn more about him in the About section below.

Did you hear the urban legend where candy was left for children on their bedroom window sills at night. After a few nights, the candy wrappers would have messages written on them asking the children to come and play. The wrapper was signed The Candy Lady. The children would then vanish, never to be seen again, taken by the Candy Lady.

This legend dates back to 1903 in a small rural town in Texas and is based on something that did happen. It is believed that Clara Crane was the Candy Lady.

Clara Crane

Clara Crane was born in 1871 and grew up to marry an older man named Leonard Gilbert Crane. The couple would have a daughter who they named Marcella. In 1893, Marcella was killed in a farming accident with Leonard who had been drinking at the time. She was only five years old. Clara blamed her husband for her daughter’s death.

Two years later Clara poisoned her husband with a caramel. She was convicted of the crime and sent to the North Texas Lunatic Asylum.

In 1896, one of her Doctors noted that the staff had found a doll that Clara had made from old bed sheets. The other inmates claimed that she would sing and talk to the doll.

There was also a letter found that was sent out to her sister, telling her that her and Marcy were fine and they couldn’t wait to get back home.

After four years inside the Asylum, Clara Crane was released from the hospital due to overcrowding. It was believed that she returned to her hometown but nobody knows for sure. Around that time, children started to go missing from their homes.

The Missing Children

Over a decade, a handful of children went missing and a member of law enforcement, either a deputy or sheriff, was found in a ditch with a fork jabbed in his eyes. He also had his pockets stuffed with candy. A farmer also found rotten children’s teeth in his field that were wrapped in candy wrappers.

Was Clara Crane really responsible for those missing children? Did she stab an officer of the law in the eyes with a fork and leave him in a ditch?

Nobody knows for sure but when a child goes missing in that small Texas town, they blame it on The Candy Lady.

About

Dusty Davis is a horror writer living in East Liverpool, Ohio. When he is not frightening his readers, he can be found at home hanging out with his wife and two children. Readers can follow Dusty at facebook.com/dustydavis21 or @dustydavis21 on Instagram and Twitter. Most of his work can be found at www.amazon.com/author/dustydavis.

Dusty Davis