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Historically, hermits were individuals who isolated themselves from society to devote their time to prayer and contemplation. Many religious traditions view this lifestyle as a form of spiritual dedication. Yet, there have always been those who withdrew not to deepen their faith, but to escape from others.
For some, their solitary existence arose from personal loss. For others, it was merely a chosen way of life. Here, we explore ten extraordinary hermits who lived outside the bounds of religion.
10. The Leopard Man of Skye
Tom Leppard was undeniably an unusual figure. His entire body was adorned with tattooed leopard spots. At one point, he held the world record for the most tattoos. After serving 30 years in the military, Leppard found it challenging to connect with others. To stand out, he chose to get tattooed, a decision that certainly made him unforgettable. Although he never identified with leopards specifically, he believed that his distinctive appearance would attract people willing to pay to photograph him. He also picked leopard spots because they were easier for the tattooist to create.
Leppard spent 20 years on the isolated Isle of Skye in Scotland. He constructed a ‘cave’ from the remains of an old bothy perched by Loch na Beiste. Upon his arrival, there were no windows, electricity, or gas, and he never added any. He made no effort to turn the cave into a comfortable home, allowing the thatched roof to deteriorate. The metal roof he installed was so low that he could not stand upright inside his own dwelling.
He relied on a camping stove for cooking and slept on a piece of old wood through both scorching summers and freezing winters, yet he seemed content with his solitary lifestyle. While he didn't interact much with the local community, he earned their respect for his autonomy, and they had a favorable view of him.
His troubles began when a German woman, who later claimed to be a vampire, was tried for murder in a Satanic ritual. She had stayed with Leppard a few years prior and alleged that he taught her devil worship. Leppard firmly denied these accusations, stating that she was just a teenage visitor.
In 2008, Leppard moved into a care home after growing too old to continue his weekly kayak trips for shopping. He lived there until his death in 2016.
9. The Hermit of Griffith
Valerio Ricetti moved from Italy to Australia as a teenager, just as World War I was nearing its end. Initially, he worked as a transient manual laborer, later transitioning to a gardening role. Once he settled in Griffith, he began creating his own Garden of Eden.
It is said that Ricetti started his project with a broken heart, yearning for a space of solitude. The caves he constructed within the garden became his sanctuary. Over 23 years, he built terraces, pathways, and cultivated his own food. He also created a shrine, likely dedicated to his lost love, carving inscriptions into the rocks.
Ricetti named his creation mia sacra collina (“my sacred hill”). What remains today serves as a retreat for visitors who come to admire not only the Hermit’s Cave but also the terraced gardens, stone walls, bridges, stairways, and winding paths throughout the area. His garden was undoubtedly a heartfelt project, requiring the movement of tons of earth. Ricetti worked primarily at night to keep his efforts hidden from the local community.
When World War II erupted, the Australian authorities, suspecting him to be a spy, interned him in a prisoner-of-war camp. After the war, he was sent back to Italy, where he passed away, never to see his cherished garden again.
8. The Hermit of Redcoats
James Lucas, born in 1813, was a wealthy man, though always somewhat eccentric. He was often referred to by the nickname “Mad Lucas.” Following the death of his mother in 1849, he sealed himself off inside his mansion near Redcoats Green, Hertfordshire, where he remained for 25 years, receiving regular deliveries of groceries, mainly consisting of milk, bread, and gin.
Rather than hiding from the world, Lucas took pleasure in being a source of curiosity. People from far and wide traveled to Redcoats Green to catch a glimpse of him. Dressed in nothing but an old blanket, accessorized with a shotgun, he would engage with visitors through the barred windows. He even handed out sweets and money to children on Christmas Day. Despite his openness with visitors, he never left the house, nor did he allow anyone to enter. Efforts to have him committed were unsuccessful, as witnesses attested that he remained lucid and articulate during conversations with visitors.
In 1874, after a postman failed to receive a response while delivering a letter, the police forced entry into the property. They found Lucas in a weakened state, having suffered a stroke. Despite being rushed to the hospital, he passed away later that same day. Upon inspecting the house, the authorities discovered that every door and window had been barricaded with heavy wooden planks.
Upon his death, the Hermit of Redcoats, who had subsisted on a simple diet of bread and milk for 25 years, left behind an inheritance of £120,000, which would be equivalent to roughly £9.5 million in today's currency.
7. The Ring-Road Hermit
Josef (or Jozef) Stawinoga selected one of the busiest public locations to create his hermitage. On a patch of grass dividing traffic on a heavily trafficked road in Wolverhampton, England, the Ring-Road Hermit set up his tent around 1970.
Stawinoga, originally from Poland, arrived in Britain after World War II. It is believed that he lived a regular life until the 1960s, when he withdrew from society. While little is known about his past, it is understood that he had once been married, albeit unhappily.
Stawinoga eventually became a local figure of some renown. He was honored with an honorary degree from Wolverhampton Polytechnic and was regarded as a revered holy figure by both the Sikh and Hindu communities. His fame grew so much that he amassed 6,500 followers on a website named 'We love you Wolverhampton ring-road tramp.'
The local council made sure to deliver hot meals to his tent twice a day, even providing him with a new tent when the old one became worn out. The Asian community, in particular, took him under their wing, offering him gifts of clothing and food (and on one occasion, even a live chicken, which didn't survive the traffic). However, despite their efforts, they couldn't offer him a bath, and it was said that he had gone without one for 30 years.
After Stawinoga passed away in 2007, a commemorative plaque was placed at the location of his former tent to honor the unique life of the Ring-Road Hermit.
6. The Hermit Of Gully Lake
Willard Kitchener MacDonald embraced the life of a hermit for nearly 60 years. After evading military service during World War II by jumping off a troop train, he sought refuge in the wilderness of Nova Scotia, where he remained for the rest of his life. Even though Canada offered an amnesty for deserters in 1950, MacDonald feared imprisonment for his past and chose to remain isolated.
Once a month, MacDonald would make the 12-kilometer (7.5 mi) journey to the nearest store, buying supplies with money earned from trapping animals and selling their furs. For the majority of his life, he lived in a small shack, but as he aged, the local community, concerned for his well-being, helped fund the construction of a cabin for him.
Despite the new cabin, MacDonald couldn't adapt to it and soon returned to his old shack. In November 2003, he fell ill, and despite his reluctance, someone went to fetch a doctor. However, when they returned, MacDonald had vanished, seemingly to avoid the doctor. Extensive searches were carried out, but no trace of him was found. His remains were discovered in June 2004.
Around 100 people attended MacDonald's funeral, and his ashes were scattered by the shores of Lake Gully, the place he had called home for most of his life.
5. The Hermit Of Seychelles
Not all hermits reside in simple huts. In 1962, Brendon Grimshaw purchased an island in Seychelles called Moyenne. Over the next 50 years, he transformed the previously barren island into a thriving national park worth $50 million. It’s said that he bought the island impulsively while vacationing there.
Grimshaw planted an impressive 16,000 trees and developed 5 kilometers (3 mi) of walking paths. As a result, the island became a sanctuary for wildlife, now home to a rich variety of birds, 500 turtle doves, and 120 giant tortoises, nearly extinct in Seychelles since the 1900s.
His residence on the island was a modest single-story house. Though tourists were welcome as long as they respected the local wildlife, Grimshaw didn’t permit anyone to stay overnight on the island.
Grimshaw, a former newspaper editor, rejected all offers for Moyenne Island, stating that he didn’t want the island to become a resort for wealthy vacationers. In 2008, the island was officially designated a national park. Grimshaw passed away in 2012.
4. The North Pond Hermit
In 1986, at the age of 20, Christopher Knight walked away from his job as an alarm engineer, leaving behind his tools and paycheck. He wandered for a while before eventually settling by Moosehead Lake in Maine.
With no particular reason for his retreat, Knight decided to vanish into the deep woods with only minimal camping gear. He struggled to forage for food and, after several weeks of hunger, began stealing vegetables from nearby gardens under the cover of night. Eventually, he discovered the place where he would remain for the next 20 years. Despite the scarcity of food, Knight could not tolerate even the briefest interactions with other people. He resorted to breaking into nearby vacation cabins, often unoccupied, to find food and other necessities.
He began monitoring the cabins and their owners to determine the best moments to break in. He would approach the homes through the forest or sometimes by canoe. Once there, he’d pick the lock, take what he needed, and lock the door behind him. The police observed that the break-ins were carried out with ‘exceptional neatness,’ which led some to speculate that the thief was a master burglar.
Knight was eventually caught stealing food, 27 years after his disappearance. His capture sparked widespread curiosity about his life and story, and even led to a marriage proposal.
After his arrest in 2013, Knight was sentenced to seven months in prison. Following his release, he moved in with his brother.
3. The Hermit Of Costa Da Morte
Manfred Gnadinger, simply known as “Man,” is believed to have had his heart shattered by a beautiful young Spanish woman. This may have been the catalyst for his decision to create a modest cabin on a beach along Costa da Morte.
Choosing a life of simplicity, Man lived without water or electricity, cultivated his own food, and ran daily along the beach dressed only in a loincloth. He crafted sculptures from stones and debris washed up on the shore and charged visitors a small fee to explore his ‘museum home.’
Man peacefully resided in his cabin for 40 years until a tragic event occurred in 2002, when an oil tanker ran aground, spilling oil into the sea, polluting his beach, and destroying his art and home. Heartbroken, Man hung a ‘keep out’ sign and locked himself inside his cabin.
Several days later, his concerned neighbors broke down the door and discovered he had passed away.
Though the official cause of death remains uncertain, locals believed that upon witnessing the destruction of his life’s work, Manfred Gnadinger succumbed to a broken heart.
2. The Fort Fisher Hermit
Robert Harrill arrived at Fort Fisher in North Carolina in 1955 at the age of 62. He settled in an abandoned World War II bunker nestled amidst marshlands, where he spent the following 17 years fishing and scavenging along the beach. It is said he never worked again after moving there, though his life might have been simpler had he chosen otherwise.
Harrill had faced a difficult childhood, and in 1913, he married and eventually had five children, though one tragically passed shortly after birth. Many considered him disturbed, and in the 1930s, his wife left him, taking the children with her. The years between then and his arrival at Fort Fisher remain unclear.
He became an unintended tourist attraction at Fort Fisher, a situation that greatly irritated him. He was often quoted saying, 'How am I going to be a hermit, when all these people keep coming to see me?'
In June 1972, Harrill was discovered dead in his bunker. The exact cause of his death remains unclear, but it is suspected that he may have been murdered.
1. The Hermit Of Cold River
In 1929, at the age of 46, Noah John Rondeau made the decision to live in a secluded area of New York’s Adirondack Mountains, which he named Cold River City. He meticulously documented his life as a hermit in journals written in cipher, though the code wasn't cracked until 1992. Once deciphered, it was revealed that the content was largely mundane, consisting mostly of comments on the weather and a list of chores like 'get few loads of wood.' It’s unclear why Rondeau chose to write in cipher, though perhaps it was simply to frustrate those who might try to pry into his life.
For nearly 20 years, Rondeau hunted and fished in the wilderness, becoming a legendary figure and a well-known landmark for hikers. In 1950, the Cold River area was closed to the public, which forced him to relocate to other areas including Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, and Wilmington. Rondeau passed away in 1967.
