The Hollywoodland News Deep Dive:
The Disappearance of Barbara Newhall Follett
Barbara Newhall Follett was a literary prodigy whose star burned brightly and then disappeared—both figuratively and literally. A celebrated child author turned Hollywood screenwriter, her vanishing in 1939 remains one of the most perplexing unsolved mysteries in literary and Hollywood history. What happened to Barbara? Was her disappearance voluntary, the result of foul play, or something even darker?
A Literary Prodigy
Born in 1914, Barbara Newhall Follett was a child genius who wrote her first novel, The House Without Windows, at the age of 12. But her journey to literary fame began much earlier. As a child, Follett was fascinated with her father’s typewriter, mastering it with the precision of a seasoned writer. By the age of 9, she had already created an elaborate fantasy world called Farksolia, complete with its own language, Farksoo.
Her first novel was born out of tragedy. In October 1923, a fire consumed her family’s home in New Haven, Connecticut, reducing her 40,000-word manuscript to ashes. Undeterred, she painstakingly reconstructed the book from memory over the next two years. The result was The House Without Windows, a story of a young girl named Eepersip who rejects civilization for a life of freedom in the wilderness.
Knopf printed 2,500 copies, which quickly sold out, leading to a second printing. The book’s success was driven not just by Follett’s age, but by the sheer quality of her writing. Critics marveled at how a child could produce such lyrical prose. But as her career gained momentum, tragedy struck again.
The Collapse of Her World
In 1928, her father, Wilson Follett, left the family for another woman. This betrayal devastated Barbara. Not only did she lose the man who had championed her literary career, but his departure also plunged the family into financial instability. To cope, Barbara threw herself into writing her next book, The Voyage of the Norman D., inspired by her time spent aboard a schooner researching seafaring life. But without her father’s influence in publishing, her career stalled.
As a teenager, Barbara and her mother traveled frequently, seeking stability. She briefly attended Pasadena Junior College but hated the structure of formal schooling. At 15, she ran away to San Francisco, an act that foreshadowed her later disappearance. After being found and returned home, she continued writing, but the world had moved on.
The Vanishing Act
By the late 1930s, Barbara had married Nickerson “Nick” Rogers, a New York businessman, and moved to Los Angeles. However, her life was far from the success story it once promised. Her literary career had faded, and she struggled with personal and financial setbacks. On December 7, 1939, she reportedly walked out of their home after an argument with Rogers—and was never seen again.
The most unsettling aspect? Her disappearance wasn’t reported to the police until 1952—over a decade later. Rogers claimed she had simply walked away, but questions arose about why no formal search was conducted at the time.
The Theories: What Really Happened?
1. Foul Play and the Suspicious Husband
• Rogers didn’t report her missing for 13 years.
• He was known to have affairs, and Barbara’s sudden disappearance was convenient.
• There was no investigation, no police report, and no publicized search for her at the time.
2. Depression and Suicide
Barbara’s life had been a rollercoaster of early success followed by crushing disappointment. Her inability to reclaim her literary fame, coupled with personal struggles, may have led to a tragic decision. However, no body was ever found, no note was discovered, and no definitive evidence exists to support this theory.
3. A Haunting Parallel
In an eerie twist, Barbara’s disappearance closely mirrors another case from just three years prior. Else Whittemore, a woman who lived near Barbara’s last known residence, vanished under similar circumstances in 1936. Nine years later, a hunter discovered human remains in the same area. The bones were assumed to be Whittemore’s, but inconsistencies in the evidence—such as the presence of eyeglasses Whittemore never wore—have led some to believe the remains could have been Barbara’s.
4. She Staged Her Own Disappearance
Another intriguing theory is that Barbara, ever the free spirit, chose to vanish. Perhaps she was fed up with her failing marriage, literary struggles, and lack of independence. Did she reinvent herself under a new name, escaping to a quiet life? If so, no known alias or evidence has surfaced to confirm this.
Why We Still Don’t Know
Barbara’s disappearance highlights how easily women—especially those outside the Hollywood elite—could vanish without a trace in the 1930s. Without social media, widespread news coverage, or modern forensic techniques, a person could simply cease to exist without widespread outcry.
Additionally, historical cases of unsolved disappearances, Hollywood scandals, and literary mysteries continue to capture public fascination. Investigating Follett’s story through these lenses reveals new insights, drawing connections to similar cases where missing persons were never found. References like Wikipedia’s page on Barbara Newhall Follett and Lapham’s Quarterly’s “Vanishing Act” help provide context and depth.
Legacy of a Lost Talent
Despite the mystery surrounding her disappearance, Barbara’s literary contributions endure. Her early works, filled with imagination and poetic prose, remain celebrated among literary enthusiasts. However, her fate remains one of Hollywood’s and literature’s great unsolved mysteries.
What do you think happened to Barbara Newhall Follett?
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