You may not need those wooden stakes after all.
The Dispatch and several other publications previously reported that Netflix was planning to air a documentary "Vampires in Gem City" this fall touching on the 1994 disappearance of the then-26-year-old George Phillip Gall near the goth-themed Asylum nightclub in Dayton.
His wife, Helen Gall, and maternal uncle, Dan Phelan, have said that producers told them through emails that Netflix has decided not to air the show without explanation.
The director, Joshua Rofé, has not responded to The Dispatch to confirm whether the streaming giant shelved his project.
Phelan said producers began working with the family roughly three years ago on a documentary about Phil Gall's mysterious disappearance and his mother's, Kathy Gall, relentless efforts to get answers.
Helen Gall said no matter what the show was about, she was happy anyone wanted to bring attention to her missing husband's case.
"I was hoping they would air it so people know what has happened to my husband so we could get the word out there," Helen Gall said. "I need answers as to why they did this."
Phelan said the documentary changed gears to focus on a community of vampires when director David Holthouse was replaced 10 months ago by Rofé. Dayton is said to be home to "the largest coven of vampires outside of New Orleans," according to What's on Netflix.
'These rumors aren't true'
Phelan shared an email exchange that began on Aug. 2 with M. Elizabeth Hughes, a producer on the project, stating the show would not air.
"We were finishing the documentary early this year with the hopes it would premiere in 2024," Hughes wrote in the email shared with The Dispatch. "To our surprise and deep disappointment, Netflix let us know that they aren't planning to air the documentary. That decision became official only recently and I didn't want to share until I was certain."
Hughes also has not responded to The Dispatch to confirm her email or comment about the status of the documentary.
In the email, Phelan said that the attention generated by the February story from What's on Netflix, followed by a string of media coverage of the supposed release date of the documentary, led to a flood of phone calls and media inquiries.
"We are currently fielding inquiries from everywhere including the UK...Is there anything to all these rumors? I have seen it while I browsed google for current news," Phelan wrote in an Aug. 13 email.
"I’ve seen the stories, and I’m as confused as you are," Hughes wrote in response. "The documentary isn’t coming out, so these rumors aren’t true. I’m sorry this is so confusing."
Netflix has not responded to Dispatch inquiries to confirm whether the show is airing on their service."
What we know about Dayton's urban legend
Phelan said he became an uncle to Phil Gall at the age of eight when his older sister gave birth at a young age. The two had been close because of this, which made Phil Gall's sudden disappearance all the more devastating.
"It felt more like I lost a friend or a brother than a nephew," he said.
When Phil Gall went missing, Phelan said the Dayton Police might not have been in a hurry to search for the middle-aged man who could have left on his own. Phelan says this couldn't have been further from the truth as he had an infant child and an upcoming signing on a new house five days after he was reported missing. Phelan said Kathy Gall found clues to her son's disappearance on her own— including the bus driver that took him to the Asylum nightclub—and continued searching until she died in 2016.
Now an urban legend, Phelan said many Dayton residents have claimed to have seen a headless man approaching them in tunnels to ask where his head was. Phil Gall, who is believed to have been decapitated, is said to be this headless man.
Phelan said producers flew him and his family to Los Angeles three years ago to interview him about whether he believed the urban legend is a myth.
"The answer is absolutely not," Phelan said. "If he's here wandering the streets, that means he and my sister aren't together."
Though the family has given up hope of finding any lasting remains of Phil Gall, they still want to bring attention to his case.
"Any way we can shine light on the issue would be positive," Phelan said.
But with mixed signals of whether or not the show is actually airing, the family said they're not sure what to believe.
ABayo@dispatch.com
