A few years ago, on a Friday night, Chad Benefield called me at work and said he'd heard a rumor that Johnny Depp was in Owensboro. I was prepared to write about it, but I couldn't substantiate the visit.

The truth is, Johnny Depp's visits to Owensboro are a thing of citywide folklore. How many times have we heard that "somebody I know told me that somebody SHE knows saw him at so-and-so." Or how about "I heard Johnny Depp was at Owensboro Health Regional Hospital visiting his grandmother." And then there's my favorite..."Simon's Shoes in Henderson is the only place Johnny Depp will buy his shoes." They all may very well have been true but, again, no substantiation.

Well, that all changed Friday night, October 21st.

On Saturday, Owensboro's Jeff Day posted a series of images from a surprise visit Depp made to the city; he stopped off here on his way to Louisville where he would be performing with rock legend Jeff Beck.

I'm not exactly sure what neighborhood this is, but they'll probably be talking about it for a long time. About the hush-hush visit, Day said:

Hanging out with the neighbors last night out front when a group of 5 or 6 people made their way across the street right in front of us. Amongst that group was none other than Johnny Depp himself! He agreed to take a few pics if we didn't tell anyone he was here until he left today. His dad owns house across the street from us and his aunt & uncle live a few houses down.

You'll notice more folks showed up for subsequent photo ops with the silver screen icon. And I can't blame him for wanting to keep the visit on the Q-T until he left.

Over the years, and throughout many rumor cycles regarding Depp coming to town, I've been deeply skeptical. With family still living here, it has always made sense that he would, from time to time, swing through for a visit. But since no one ever REALLY saw him at any of those times, it made you wonder. This photo has circulated on Facebook quite frequently accompanied by speculation that it was taken in Owensboro. Again, though, that story couldn't be authenticated.

Then there's this; he's very good at going incognito. I doubt it would be easy to spot him if he was wearing the right hat and rocked out a little facial hair.

But this time, there were no disguises; it was just a trip back to his hometown and a gracious gesture with some neighbors.

Talk about a memorable Halloween...10 days early.