He is a fearfully different type of troubled night apparition and is most likely a revenant or rare type of semi-visible poltergeist that roams around Avilla and haunts the Death Tree itself. Rotten Johnny is described as a similar shadowy figure but is not a true shadow person. This is the famous Halloween ghost story for the old town. But sightings of the Avilla Shadow Folk should not be confused with the "Avilla Phantom Bushwhacker" of the "Death Tree Legend", also known as "Rotten Johnny Reb". The old village streets, abandoned buildings and fields surrounding Avilla, Missouri are said to be known haunts of the Shadow People, who are dark shadowy types of ghosts or shadow-beings. Legend of the Avilla Death Tree and Rotten Johnny Reb, Avilla Missouri