Robert Carey, one of the wardens of the border marches, wrote in his memoirs: "The country dare not kill such thieves for fear of feud... If they be but foot loons and men of no esteem...it may pass unavenged, but if he is of a surname, as a Davyson, a Young, a Burne, a Pringle or Hall...then he who killed or took him is sure himself, and all his friends (specially those of his name) is like, dearly to buy it, for they will have his life, of 2 or 3 of his nearest kinsmen, in revenge."

This is the story of my Great, Great Uncle The legendary Bad John Hall. John was born in 1882 near the forks of Left Beaver Creek and Otter Creek. Many stories about John have stated the he was born in Wheelwright but in fact he was born in the area that is now known as Bypro KY. and was then known as Briar Bottom. Briar Bottom included the areas now known as Bypro and Wheelwright with a mailing address of Melvin KY.

John’s parents Lee Hall sr., and Eliza Hall lived in a one-room log house and it was in this house that John was born. It has been told to me many times that when Eliza was pregnant with John that there seemed to be some sort of mystic power that forced her to visit a hornets nest nearby. She said that she would get up early, build a fire in the wood cook stove, but could not begin to cook until she made a visit to this hornet’s nest. The hornets never harmed her once. When she had made her visit and rubbed the nest she would return home and start her chores.

When John was born it is said that his hair was matted just like that old hornet’s nest. Later in life the disposition and temper of the hornet began to show up in John. He was a quiet and easygoing man who would only defend himself when provoked. You could say anything that you wanted to him, but don’t try to harm him because like the hornet he would sting with all his power and that meant sure death.

In John’s younger days education in the mountains of East KY. was very limited. There were very few people with more than a fifth grade education and most of them were hired as teachers. Marion Hall and Isadore Hopkins were the two who did most of the teaching at the head of Beaver Creek. They only held school when they wanted to-maybe four to six weeks at a time, and never more than four months a year.

These terms were in late fall and winter, since farming was the only means of livelihood, it required the help of the whole family during the spring and summer. It was either work or starve, leaving little time for formal education.

John entered school at the age of seven. The schoolhouse was a one room log building near where the First Baptist Church of Wheelwright is now located. John’s first teacher was Mr. Hopkins. John worked very hard in school and soon became what we all know as the teacher’s pet. By the age of twelve he had grown into a very handsome youngster with soft blue eyes, wavy black hair and a pleasant smile, a boy with an attitude far from that of the hornet which was to dominate his temper later in life. John held his temper very well until the age of fourteen.

Back then they didn’t have school lunches or any restaurants. you had to bring you own lunch if you wanted to eat. John’s lunch mostly consisted of sweet milk and crumbled corn bread which he carried in a two pound lard bucket. On a warm fall day in Oct. of 1896 John was sitting on a rock near the edge of Otter Creek having his lunch when one of the school bullies ran by and kicked his bucket into the creek. That's when the hornet took over and the trouble started. As the bullies (Joe and Lewis little) started to run, John picked up a rock, threw it, and broke Lewis’ rib. From that day on John was harassed by these two brothers.

As John grew stronger, the time came when he was able to handle either of these two in a fistfight (and there were many).This would continue until John was about seventeen then they both would team up on him. After they had gotten the best of John a few times, they decided to leave him alone. John had a job with Cole and Crane Lumber Co. as a logger taking timber out of what is now known as Golf Hollow. Things seemed to be going along rather smooth for a couple of years until John married the girlfriend of Lewis Little, America(daughter of Ode Little). after this marriage the war began all over again.

The Little boys saved enough money to buy themselves a silver-plated, high-powered rifle. In those days rifles were used for hunting as well as protection. Handguns were not practical for hunting, and were considered a luxury. John did not own a firearm of any kind so he stayed clear of the Littles.

On Sept. 02 1903 the Littles decided to try out their rifles and scare John. On this day John and his wife went up the creek (what is now known as Branham Hollow) to help his father, Lee ,sr. strip and tie fodder (blades of corn). While they were working in the barnyard where the fodder had been transported by a team of oxen, the Little boys, who lived about a half a mile father up the creek showed up with their rifles. They began to fire them into the air and before they stopped, they were firing into the ground near John’s feet. After they had their fun, they left. This incident proved to be the last of the fun for the Little boys.

Afterward John said to his father “Pap, this is all I can take; I’d rather be dead than live like this". Early the next morning Sunday Sept.02. John drove a young heifer (cow) he owned back down to his Father-in Law’s ,Ode Little, and traded it to a 38 cal. WCF rifle.

Two days later on Sept. 5th, on a Tuesday John and his wife were going to her father’s house when they heard someone shooting, up the creek John and his wife met them, the Littles, about one hundred feet above where the old Branham store now stands. They passed each other and one of the Little boys made a few remarks. A few feet away the Little boys turned around and, to their surprise John, who had sensed something, had turned around also to face them. Lewis fired a quick shot and missed John, only cutting into the collar of his coat; John fired two shots and killed them both.

John was now on the run, but he didn’t run far, his wife was pregnant. He and his brother Melvin hid out in the mountains near his home, only coming out to see the Hopkins family, whom he trusted very much. Their home was located where the Wheelwright swimming pool now sits. Their only visits to the Hopkins family were to get information about John’s wife and family. The Hopkins family lived very well and always gave John a supply of food.

It is said that while they were hiding out they spent many nights in the cemetery where the Little boys were buried. This cemetery was very close to John's Father-in Law’s house where his wife was staying. He said that he wanted to be as close to her as possible when she gave birth.

On Nov. 27,1903 America Hall gave birth to a baby boy named John Melvin Hall.

Early in 1904, John left Otter Creek and went into Virginia (near Bristol). He had been told that there were a lot of timber jobs there and that he would be safe. John was accompanied by his brother Melvin— not Marion, as has been mentioned in many stories about John. These two brothers worked at timber jobs in VA. around what is now known as Big Stone Gap and the Gate City areas. In order to stay away from as many people as possible they preferred to work in the mountains - falling and trimming trees.

John and Melvin worked in this area for a few months when word came that there were several men from Floyd Co. planning to come into VA. to get jobs as timber men. When hearing this news, John and Melvin felt as if they should move on into Tennessee - near Bristol and Kingsport - to keep their identity a secret. This time they were hired as mill workers.

Once they settled down again they informed their family as to where they were. This was done by writing to the Hopkins Family under an assumed name. They had been working at this Tenn., job for only a few weeks when they received a letter informing them that their brother Marion had been shot by an unknown gunman and was in very serious condition (Jan. 1904).

Again John was on the move back to his mountain home in East KY., this time facing the danger of being killed. The time being mid-winter the weather seemed to be in favor of the Hall boys and their travel was made somewhat easy. It is known that they rode a log train into the foothills of Pound Mountain where they contacted some of John’s relatives, Big Ed Hall’s family who provided them with transportation into Letcher Co. KY. From there John and Melvin traveled through the mountains to the head of Left Beaver Creek, now known as Skull Hollow in Weeksbury, and on to the Hall cemetery. It was after dark when they arrived at the cemetery, and they saw a fresh grave near where one af their sisters was buried, they knew that they where too late to see their brother Marion.

Feeling as if it would be unsafe to visit their father at this time they went to the Hopkins family home where the were informed about the death of their brother. They were also informed that word came out of Va. that John and a friend had been hunting and John had killed a turkey and that two men attempted to take the turkey, threatening John at gun point and that John had shot and killed them both. John never confirmed nor did he deny this story his only reply was “who can blame a man for defending himself or his friends”.

Early the next morning McKennley Hopkins loaded a pig into the family wagon. They dressed John and Melvin in women’s clothes, placed them on the wagon seat beside him, and headed up Otter Creek to deliver the pig along with John and Melvin to Lee Hall, Sr.’s home. John was home again.

John tried to get as much information as he could about the death of Marion. There was not much, if any, true information to be found. Marion had been bushwhacked(shot in the back) in Otter Gap (head of Otter Creek), and he was alone at the time of the shooting. It was believed that Riley Little, a brother to the two that John had Killed, shot Marion. There was no solid proof of this but the motive was there.

As soon as John found out where Riley had moved to, he set out to avenge the death of his brother. He returned home late one afternoon and informed his parents that he had located Riley, but the only chance he had to shoot him was from the back. John said that he never killed a man without a reason and for sure never shot a man in the back, and he wasn’t going to start now. Besides he wasn’t absolutely sure that Riley had killed Marion, so he decided to wait and see what time would tell.

It was late fall of 1904, and John didn’t want to return to VA. and face a clod winter working in the sawmill, so the family passed the word around that he had returned to VA. without his brother Melvin. They said since Melvin was the oldest boy left at home he decided to stay and help take care of the family. This plan worked, for awhile.

John and his father fixed a room in the loft of the old log home, to give John a place to hide when company came to visit. John stayed here under cover until late spring of 1905 when once again trouble found this young mountain man. Someone had let out the word that John was staying at the home of his father so the posse was on its way, not to apprehend John but to kill him. Since he had gained the reputation of being a bad man, a wild man and a killer, the posse didn’t want to take him in they wanted to kill him.

His brother Melvin was to play the part of lookout for John. On a late spring morning of 1905, Melvin was supposed to be plowing the garden while also being on the look out for any men that he saw approaching the house. If he saw anyone he was to fire one shot. He heard horses stepping on rocks as they came up the creek, he ran to the end of the garden where he could get a good view of the posse. His rifle barked twice. Once again John was on the run, and he had to run fast.

John was cleaning his guns when he heard the signal, and as he jumped from the loft his pistol, which was in the holster of his ammunition belt got caught on a peg that his father had placed in the logs so John could climb into and out of his hiding place. Not knowing how close the posse was, John left the ammunition and his side arm hanging there, and ran up the ravine behind his house. He came out of the ravine on high ground on his way to a barn located very near to where John is buried now in Branham Hollow. As he approached the barn, the posse opened fire on him. Not once did they call for him to surrender as he tried to jump the fence surrounding the barn. Joe Cable shot the fence railing off directly under John’s hand causing him to fall to the ground. Cable continued to fire as John crawled behind the barn. Once behind the barn John realized that he did not know the man who was shooting at him. He called out and told him not to come any closer and asked him to stop shooting. Joe Cable did not heed the call and continued the pursuit.That was a fatal decision. John fired from the corner of the barn hitting Cable in the heart. Cable spun around took four or five steps and fell dead.

The remainder of the posse did not know how many rounds of ammunition John had left. One thing they knew for sure was that they had found a man who would fight back against any kind of odds. Joe Cable died approximately 75 feet from where John is now buried. During the exchange of shooting about twenty five round were fired, the horses belonging to the posse got scared and ran off. The posse had to leave the scene in a run to catch their horses. Had they known John only had his rifle and two more rounds of ammunition, and had they not left chances are there would have been three more dead men on this battle ground in Branham Hollow— two of the posse and John, because John was not going to be taken alive and he was ready to take two more of them with him.

Cable and some more of the posse, maybe all of them, were from Pike Co. and they had no warrants for John, (this was proven later in court).

John feeling that some of the posse would return to retrieve the body of Joe Cable, decided to continue on up the mountain where he could safely watch the return and departure of the posse.

John’s mother was a small woman, but was a fiery woman, all of her life she had more fire than a pot bellied stove on a cold December morning. It is said that when the posse came to get Cable’s body, they found it just as he had fallen. One the posse asked why someone didn’t place a pillow or something under his head, John’s mother said that if he had been home with his family where he belonged instead of here trying to kill her boy that he could have been sleeping on his own pillow.

After the departure of the posse John came down from the mountain and asked if any of his Kinfolk had been shot or injured by the posse. After being told that everyone was safe, they said that you could see a sigh of relief and a small smile come across his face. He walked over to his mother and asked “mammy why has so much trouble come upon me and why does everyone want to kill me? It looks like I’m going to have to leave my family again”.

Once again John was on the run. This time he went alone for some reason. He did not return to VA. , maybe it was because of the stories that filtered down from from there, he was now branded as a wild man— a killer, and he was now known as Bad John a name that stuck with him until his death.

His dodging the law this time took him into the Shelby Valley of Pike Co., where he would be safe and cared for by his mothers family,(his grandfather Mose Little). He was just about as safe here as he could ever hope to be because he was sheltered by his relatives: the Littles, Johnsons, Halls and Burkes. After residing here for a few months, John learned of the birth of his daughter, Elva, a sister to John Melvin. John was tired of running and being away from his family, so he decided to make his move back to Left Beaver Creek.

He traveled up the valley to the Robinson Creek Gap, and from there he went down to the mouth of Indian Creek, where he spent the night with his grandfather, Mose Little. John told his grandfather what he was going to do. He said that he was tired of running and being away from his family, and "that it just wasn’t right to have to run and dodge the law the way he was doing because every man that he had killed was trying to kill him".

At daybreak the next morning, John set out for home accompanied by his grandfather and his mother’s brother, Ben Little. They crossed Indian Creek Mountain over into what is now known as Abner Fork of Beaver Creek. They traveled down Abner Fork to Beaver Creek then up Otter Creek until they reached his father’s home. John told his father that he was tired of running and that he was going to stay close to home until he decided as to what would be best for him to do. He said that if the law came for him in a peaceful way that he would go with them, but if they came a shooting‘, like before that he would shoot back and more men would die.

It didn’t take but a few days until John had a small army of friends who were willing to fight and die for him if cause came. Two of John’s older brothers, Melvin and Sill, and the youngest one, Lee Jr. were all ready to fight. So were some of his uncles and cousins, Talt, Evan, and Nick Hall along with Marion, and Miles Little, John Lee Hall, Ben Little , Albert Little , Willard Little and Calloway Osborne. They all stayed close to where John was and they all were ready to fight.

The posse came a number of times and there were sometimes as many as twenty men. They came in peace, always traveling the same road and searching the same places, knowing that they would not find John. John spent some time hiding out in the mountains range dodging the law, but this was not too much of a problem for him since the law wasn’t really interested in catching this mountain man, because they themselves felt like most of John’s troubles were caused in self defense.

John spent time with friends such as the Jim Hopkins and Hiram Osborne families. He became very close to these people and they to him, especially McKennley Hopkins, Corbet Osborne, and Calloway Osborne. There grew a special friendship between the Halls, Osbornes and McKennley families that has lasted for more than four generations.

Then in early March 1906, John made up his mind that he should turn himself in to the law. He was accompanied to the courthouse by the Osbornes and the McKennleys. Upon arriving John discovered that he was charged with two counts of manslaughter instead of three, since there had never been evidence other than that John was trying to save his own life when he killed Joe Cable.

As to the killing of the Little brothers, the evidence was very light since John and the Little boys were cousins and the two families being very close and neither wanting to cause any more trouble between them. Had John not made the statement to his mother and father that he was tired of being pushed around by these two brothers, and had he not traded for a rifle on the same day that the shooting took place and had John’s mother not been an honest woman and testified as to the remarks made by John at the fodder stripping, John would not have had to spend a day in prison.

The trial ended with John being sentenced to three years in prison, but after serving sixteen months he was pardoned. Once again he returned to his mountain home to settle down without the worry of having to look behind every rock and tree for someone that was trying to shoot him. During this time John worked on the family farm gardening, raising cattle and looking after all of the other daily chores.

John’s wife America had become very jealous of all the time that John had been spending with the Hopkins and Osborn families, maybe rightfully so, but this is an area that I’m not going to venture into, because I don’t know enough about the facts to say what was really going on. I do know that John made the statement that no woman was going to keep him away from his friends especially friends that were ready to die for him. John and his wife quarreled over this matter for about another year and a half, before John finally left her and went to Pike Co. to work.

John relocated in the Robinson Creek area where he went to work for Cap Branham, once again doing timberwork. It was here that John met and married Belle Roberts sometime around 1910. To this marriage was born two children, Hatler and Gertrude. some time after 1912, Belle died and I am not sure about the cause of death but I have heard that is was possibly during childbirth. John wanted another wife to help raise the children so he married again, for the third time. This time he married Kate Branham, early in 1913. Into this union was born two children, John Jr. and Gladys. Kate had a daughter, Sarah Mae, who was very young at the time of their marriage, and it is said that John treated her just like she was his own child.

John’s stay in Pike Co. ended in 1916, when the Elkhorn Coal Co. began to buy property in the head of Otter Creek. they began to cut and clear timber in preparation to build the town of Wheelwright. John moved his family back to Otter Creek and was hired by Elkhorn Coal. He helped clear land and fall timber until Elkhorn got equipment such as a sawmill and planer moved in. John had gained experience running a sawmill and a planer when he was on the run in Va. so this work was not new to him. He was a good worker and soon became a favorite of the company officials.

Once Elkhorn had acquired the land, the clean up began. John’s younger brother Lee Jr. was hired as a foreman, or straw boss, to supervise the moving of fences and the builing of things that were necessary for developing the town of Wheelwright. Once this clean up was completed and the building of houses, railroads, and opening of the mines had started, Consolidated Coal Company ran a high-voltage power line from Jenkins, to Wheelwright. Once the power lines and railroad made their way into Wheelwright things really began to boom.

Workers of all nationalities made their way to Wheelwright. At this point in time it became necessary to hire a city policeman, so John's brother Lee Jr. was hired as the first Wheelwright city policeman. Charlie Klien took Lee Jr.s, place as forman of outside mountains and clean up. As the town grew, more people came, blacks and whites, Hungarians, Polish, Russians, and Czechoslovakians. The blacks and whites came from Alabama and Georgia, mostly while most of the foreigners migrated from Ohio.

John continued as the saw mill and planer operator. His brother Lee Jr., was still policeman, but he was having problems with some of the outsiders that had migrated into Wheelwright. He was also having more trouble the he thought he should have with a company foreman by the name of Reese, and the young son of one of the mine foremen by the name of Elihew Mitchell.

Elihew was a mean and rough fellow who liked to drink and fight. Lee, Jr. had put him in jail more than a couple of times for disturbing the peace and using profanity in the soda fountain.

On a Friday afternoon Elihew came into the poolroom and started knocking pool balls off into the floor and saying that he was going to wreck the place. Mrs. Charlie Klein, who ran the poolroom, sent for the police. Lee, Jr., came in, arrested Elihew and put him in jail for a few hours and then released him. The next day Elihew entered the pool room again making remarks that he was tired of being pushed around by them "damned Halls", and that he and his friend Bill Reese were going to run everyone of the Halls out of town — everyone except Bad John and they were going to carry him out ,(dead).

Charlie Klein, who was a good friend of Lee and John, came and told Lee to watch Elihew and Reese. He also said that if he needed help he would be there. Lee talked to John who had long since stopped carrying a firearm because he wanted to stay out of trouble if he could, but once again it looked like he would have to defend himself or run. He didn’t run.

John told Lee that he didn’t have a pistol and asked him to get him one, Lee sent Tilton Hall to his house on #79 hill to tell his wife to send a pistol for John. The pistol that she sent was a single action Colt that used 38 cal. ,Winchester center fire cartridges. John didn’t have a holster so he placed the pistol under his belt near the center of his stomach, and pulled his vest down to conceal the weapon as best he could.

Elihew told the people in the poolroom to stick around and watch the big show. He walked out of the poolroom and up the porch to the southeast end of the building, and crossed the street to the clubhouse where he started talking to some young ladies who worked in the company office and boarded in the clubhouse. John and Lee gave no indication that they knew Elihew was anywhere near, but they were watching every move that he made. The plan was for Lee to watch Reese, and John was to keep an eye on Elihew, since he was the one who said they were going to carry John out of town.

After a short time at the clubhouse talking with the ladies Elihew told them that it was time for the show, and he started on his way back toward Lee and John.

It was a warm spring evening and on his way back toward the Hall boys he stopped and picked a flower from the side of the road, he then acted as if he was going to put the flower into a button hole on his shirt, he unbuttoned one button, then two, and on the third his hand went into his shirt and came out with a German Mauser, pistol, . The Mauser didn’t clear his shirt before John flipped up his vest and came out with the Colt. He fanned it western style, with the bullets hitting Elihew in the chest(three of them) , dropping him in his tracks. When this happened Lee turned to check on Reese. Sure enough, he was at the far end of the porch (in a crowd) with his pistol out. Lee, not wanting to take a chance on hitting some innocent person, fired over the head of Reese, and that was all it took to scare him off.

On the Monday following the shooting, Lee and John boarded the train headed for Prestonsburg, to tell their story to the judge. They had several signed statements from witness’ to prove that the story was true. One statement was from M.B. Mitchell, Elihew’s father, and he said after learning what his son was up to that he begged him not to try it because he would get killed. John and Lee returned home Monday evening, both free men.

Elihew’s father M.B. Mitchell, was a mine foreman for Elkhorn and lived in house # 403. Mr. Mitchell had taken the body of his son to his home and Lee and John on their way home from the railroad station had to walk within three feet of his front door. They saw a number of men on the porch, so they decided that one should walk by while the other watched for any activities. This they did............ And the only activity , or words were friendly.

I might also mention that John and Lee’s brother “Sill” owned a general store in Hall Hollow, and M.B., traded with him. After the death of his son Mr. Mitchell continued to do business with Sill. The fact is that Mr. Mitchell was always friendly with all of the Hall family.

John and Lee returned back to their regular jobs, Lee as policeman and John as planner operator, but there was one change that Elkhorn did make. Reese was fired and he was replaced by a Mr. D.L. Coulter from West Virginia.

The planning mill was located where the old Wheelwright bath house is now. The side walk ran directly in front of the mill and all day long people would stop and talk to John and ask him how many men he had killed, how many times he had been shot and if he thought that he would kill again. This situation become to be somewhat of a problem for John and Elkhorn, so the company transferred John to the repair shop near the mine #79 opening. He worked at this job for about a year and a-half when one day he went to the “head house” where coal was dumped on conveyer belts and carried to the tipple for processing. While there a trip of coal care got lose , to avoid getting hit by these cars John had to jump over the railings that enclosed the platform. In doing so he went 15—20 feet straight down, severely spraining his ankle. He was off work for aprox. four weeks.

He never returned to this job, his brother Lee had been placed on the tipple as foreman and John was hired as City Police , this took place in 1923. Lee did not stay as tipple foreman very long, he resigned and took over ownership of the general store that Sill had in Hall Hollow , (it has been rumored the Lee won the store in a poker game but I have been told that he paid Sill $6,000 for it).

By the year 1924 the town of Wheelwright had begun to grow. With the holding’s Elkhorn had , such as the movie theater, general stores , recreational facilities , and 400 + houses and millions of dollars worth of equipment and supplies, the company decided to hire a deputy to assist John. They hired a man by the name of Joe Cook.

Joe was a native of upper Beaver Creek and had married John’s first cousin ( a sister to Talt Hall who was later killed in the shoot out at the Martin train depot.). Joe had only been on the job a few short weeks when he was called to a house in Branham hollow, where there was a disturbance going on, a lot of men were drinking and generally raising cain, and playing poker.

When Joe arrived at the house he told the men about the complaint and asked them to break up the game and go home. Instead of doing as he had asked they began to make fun of him and one even roughed him up some , so Joe left and went straight to John’s house, woke him up at 3.AM., and told him what had happened. He asked John to go back to Branham Hollow with him and help arrest the men, John got dressed and acompainied Joe back to the house.

When they arrived around 4.AM, the situation was still the same. John (no doubt angered by what the men had done to his friend) didn’t even got into the house; instead he rapped on the porch railing with his pistol and informed them of who he was, and asked them to come out and told them that if they didn’t he would be coming in. The men , five of them, all came out. Once outside John lined the men up on the sidewalk and asked Joe which one of them had roughed him up. Joe walked around behind the men and said “this one here in front of me”. John walked over and hit the man Joe had singled out on the head with his pistol. The pistol accidentally went off and killed his friend Joe.

Once again tragedy had come John’s way, just as it had many times in his forty-three years of life. But this was almost more than John could take, Joe was not only family but one of John’s best friends. My grand father has told me that he has heard John say many times “I have killed many men , men that were trying to kill me and I have lost no sleep over them but Joe’ death should have never happened.

Joe Cook had been killed on a Sunday morning, the following Sunday two of the gamblers were found shot to death in Hall Hollow, one was lying between the sidewalk and the church and the other on the creek bank beside the church. No one seemed to know anything about the killings , of if they did they weren’t telling. The next Sunday morning another of the gamblers was found dead on his back porch, he too had been shot, again no one knew anything and no one was talking. The other two gamblers who were in the house in Branham Hollow the night Joe was killed just disappeared, when or where to no one knows.

Had John made the full payment for the death of his friend Joe? Maybe he had ,for his own personal satisfaction, But surely it was not a healer for the pain that he held inside.

Many times John made the statement that he had killed seven men that he counted, but some that he didn’t count. Could the two men in VA. be among the ones he counted? Could the ones he didn’t count include the gamblers? No one will ever know for sure because the answer to these and many more questions lay buried in a grave in the Branham Cemetery und the Head stone marked John W. Hall born 1881———died 1932. This marker keeps watch over the many secrets of this legendary man called “Bad” John Hall.