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Horrifying injuries of poor 'Charlie No-Face' bogeyman who 'glowed green' after accident

For those who live in a certain part of the US, the story of the Green Man, or Charlie No-Face, is a familiar one. But the mysterious figure was not just a bogeyman - he was a real person with a horrific past

[Raymond Robinson lost his eyes, nose and right arm as a result of an electrical accident, aged 8, and became the figure of an urban legend]

Raymond Robinson lost his eyes, nose and right arm as a result of an electrical accident, aged 8, and became the figure of an urban legend(Image: All That's Interesting)

According to urban legend, he was either a ghost who wandered the highway with a head that glowed green, or some lurid creature who grew up in squalor after his features melted away.

But in actual fact, the Green Man, or Charlie No-Face, wasn't just a bogeyman used in stories to scare children and adults alike. He was a real person with a harrowing story.

In Koppel, a small borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, people would go on late night adventures in the hope of catching a glimpse of the fabled phantom.

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The story, dating back 100 years, has been passed through generations, but those raised on tales of Charlie No-Face are often surprised to learn the truth.

In a twist, the so-called Green Man was actually said to be a "beautiful, kind man".

Born in 1910, Raymond Theodore Robinson was reportedly left disfigured as the result of a freak childhood accident.

Subsequently, he spawned an urban legend after years of nighttime walks.

[Robinson would go for long walks at night, on a quiet stretch of the highway]

Robinson would go for long walks at night, on a quiet stretch of the highway

At the age of eight, Ray was walking with his sister and some friends when they spotted a bird's nest in a tree next to the abandoned Morado Bridge, outside Beaver Falls.

Eager to get a closer look, he set about climbing up. But on his ascent, he touched a wire that used to power the trolley on the bridge. Unfortunately for him, it was live.

Ray got an almighty electric shock. His nose, lips, ears and eyes were either destroyed or left severely disfigured. He also lost a hand that was blown clean off.

With badly injured arms in addition to his melted face, Ray wasn't expected to survive - but he did.

[Robinson would sometimes exchange a short conversation or a photograph for beer or cigarettes]

Robinson would sometimes exchange a short conversation or a photograph for beer or cigarettes(Image: All That's Interesting)

Defying doctors, he lived - but life was never the same.

While the Charlie No-Face moniker is self explanatory, the Green Man nickname was given to him on account of his face, which appeared to glow after the electric shock.

Some believed the radioactive hue came from working at a power plant, while others thought the electricity from the shock had caused it.

But Tisha York, a documentarian who spent three years researching Ray's story for a movie, has another theory.

She told Thrillist.com: "His nose was basically an open wound his entire life. It would get infected quite often and that would make it turn green."

[A tunnel in Piney Fork Road is named as The Green Man Tunnel, where people have claimed to see a ghostly figure]

A tunnel in Piney Fork Road is named as The Green Man Tunnel, where people have claimed to see a ghostly figure(Image: All That's Interesting)

As a result of his disfigurement, Ray retreated to a hermit's life, rarely venturing out in the day, for fear of causing alarm. Instead, he went on long walks at night, on a quiet stretch of the highway between Koppel and New Galilee.

Ray spent his days at home with relatives, making doormats, wallets, and belts to sell.

At night, though, groups of locals fuelled by morbid curiosity would go searching for him.

Ray usually hid, but he would sometimes exchange a short conversation or a photograph for beer or cigarettes.

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Some were friendly, others cruel, but none of his encounters deterred Ray from his nightly walks, despite him being struck by cars more than once.

His nephew said: "He never discussed his injuries or his problems at all. It was just a reality, and there was nothing he could do about it, so he never spoke about it. He never complained about anything."

Ray stopped his walks during the last years of his life, and retired to the Beaver County Geriatric Center, where he died in 1985 at the age of 74, just one week short of the 66th anniversary of his life changing accident.

York said: "People need to understand: this was a human being, a real person. And someone who endured one of the most tragic lives I've ever encountered. Underneath it all, was this beautiful, kind man."

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