Eugene Butler: The John Wayne Gacy of North Dakota
When an eccentric old man died, a grisly discovery was made in his crawlspace.
Sleepy Niagara in North Dakota is so small that it surely barely earns its city status, accommodating only just over 50 families even today.
Despite its size though, it is home to one of the most chilling stories in true crime history — and still one of the biggest mysteries.
The classic wealthy recluse
Niagara is located around 40 miles from Grand Forks and was founded in 1882 by settlers from New York state, who moved there to make the most of the vast open land for agriculture.
One of these pioneers was a man named Eugene Butler, who came from Buffalo and purchased a 480-acre farm within the Niagara limits. He was a well-known figure around town, yet he very much kept himself to himself.
In fact, he never married and lived alone, making a good living yet sharing his existence only with the farmhands he hired as essential help during the busy summer months.
However, local people started to notice that things weren’t quite right with Eugene Butler. They noted eccentric behaviour, such as him insisting invisible people were chasing him and refusing to have his…
