entries. Attraction Robert Harrill became the second largest tourist attraction in the state of North Carolina, trailing only the USS North Carolina in terms of numbers of visitors. Visitors to Carolina Beach would routinely take time to call on the hermit, and he would talk about his philosophy, which he termed the "School of Common Sense". He told people who came to see him that he was writing a book entitled A Tyrant in Every Home. Alongside the curious, Harrill met drunk youths and developers who wanted to evict him; two men even kidnapped and robbed him. Once, after falling asleep on the beach, Harrill was arrested and charged with vagrancy, defending himself in court. Harrill also attracted a large number of journalists to his bunker interested to write about his lifestyle and beliefs. He explained his popularity in 1968: Death After living as a hermit for 17 years, Harrill died under mysterious circumstances on June 4, 1972. The New Hanover County coroner pronounced the cause of death as a heart attack, yet local rumours suggested Harrill may have been killed after a violent attack by a group of three men, a fisherman alleging that he saw them speeding away in a car. However, there was no autopsy and the case was closed as a natural death. When Harrill's son agreed to a second autopsy in 1984, the body was exhumed but the test results were inconclusive. Harrill was first buried in a cemetery off River Road near Fort Fisher, and then later moved to the Federal Point Cemetery at Dow Road, Carolina Beach. Memorial and legacy Harrill's life has been remembered with books, films and a theatre production. A documentary film directed by Rob Hill and narrated by Barry Corbin was released in 2007. It was called The Fort Fisher Hermit: The Life and Death of Robert E. Harrill. Hill filmed 35 hours' worth of material and interviewed 16 people who knew Harrill. Fred Pickler knew Harrill and with Anne Russell co-authored the book Life and Times of the Fort Fisher Hermit, Through the Lens of Fred Pickler. A local theatre company produced The Hermit of Fort Fisher, written by David Wright. It premiered in July 2014 at the Cape Fear Playhouse and had a sold-out run. The Hermit Society was founded to commemorate the life of Harrill; president Michael Edwards wrote The Battle for Independence: The Story of