Image via Unsplash.com- Richard Burlton. Stock photo- not actual image from topic.

The 8-Year-Old Who Burned Down a Barn and Tried to Burn Down a Jail to Escape a Doctor’s Visit

A child was so terrified of doctors that he went to extreme criminal lengths to avoid seeing them

Even though doctors are there to support and assist us when it comes to maintaining our health, many people have a strong fear of physicians. This phobia often starts early, with visits to the hospital or doctor’s office putting patients in fear or flight mode. The terror can reach such highs that the resulting behaviors and reactions defy logic. Such was the case for one young boy who burned down a barn and then tried to do the same to a jail in order to avoid seeing his doctor.

Eight-year-old Harry McDonald was having a very difficult time in the autumn of 1909. The boy from St. Louis had recently had a local doctor operate on painful adenoids (located above the tonsils). His mother had arranged a follow up appointment but once was enough for the child, and he did everything possible to escape what he anticipated as unimaginable torture.

As he walked down a road towards his doom, he came across an unattended horse and buggy. Seeing his chance, he jumped in and quickly drove the rig away. During his travels, he was asked on multiple occasions what he was doing out driving by himself. However, he was able to divert suspicion by explaining he was simply out giving some exercise to the horse.

It was later determined that he traveled some 16 miles before he stopped in the countryside and left both the wagon and animal inside of a barn. Locking it from the outside, he set the structure on fire, burning it to the ground and killing the helpless horse.

Authorities were summoned, as the owner of the barn caught Harry in the act and held him in her house until help arrived. Police took him into custody, placing him in a cell in the women’s portion of the county jail in Clayton. Within five minutes of the lock clicking in place, smoke was seen billowing out of a window. Harry had managed to set one of the straw tick mattresses in his cell on fire.

Fortunately, quick-thinking officers were able to evacuate the building and extinguish the flames before it took the building down, which would have included not only the jail but also the sheriff’s home. However, some of the constables suffered burns in bringing the situation under control.

When the sheriff was able to ask Harry why on earth he’d light his mattress on fire, the boy simply answered that he wanted to break free so he could go home. That wasn’t going to happen, and in response to his fire-starting ways, he was relocated to a steel cell that was impervious to further vandalism.

When the entirety of the story was figured out, the carnage was simply unbelievable. In order to avoid seeing his doctor, Harry had killed a horse, damaged a jail and burned down a barn that included 15 tons of hay and other valuable equipment valued at $1,500 (more than $55,000 in modern value).

An examination of the child showed no signs of mental illness or him even being incorrigible. He was simply scared out of his mind at returning to the doctor.

Although the police wanted to prosecute the case, Harry’s mother insisted that her son didn’t know right from wrong and wasn’t responsible for what he had done. A judge allowed him to be released to his parents’ custody on a $2,000 bond.

It appears that Harry didn’t receive any harsh punishment for his extreme actions. We don’t know what became of him after his reign of terror but one thing is a near certainty — he probably didn’t grow up to become a doctor.

If you have enjoyed reading my work, I greatly appreciate donations from those who might be so inclined to support my writing. If you’d like to leave me a “tip,” I have an account set up HERE. Thank you!