Hannabill Lecter ensemble hailed as 'art'. Meet the Corning Bills fan behind the mask

Most days, Frank Barber is a principal patrolling the halls at the Corning-Painted Post Middle School.

On Buffalo Bills game days, though, Barber becomes “Hannabill Lecter,” one of the most recognizable faces of Bills Mafia.

Barber’s signature look — blue face paint, Hannibal Lecter-style mask, intimidating shoulder pads on his 6-foot-6-inch frame, a chain around his neck — is hard to miss.

Amazon Prime cameras zoomed in on Barber during the Oct. 26 broadcast of the Bills-Buccaneers game in Orchard Park. The shot prompted Good Morning Football host Kyle Brandt to fire off a tweet describing Barber’s appearance, concluding “This is art.”

A host of knowledgeable commenters quickly pointed out Barber’s background in education. Barber — and Hannabill Lecter — have reached celebrity status within Bills fandom.

“That was fun. I found out at the game as people started to text me and retweet it, which was cool,” Barber recalled. “I really like Kyle Brandt. I respect what he does in his industry for the NFL Network.”

The spotlight was nothing new for Barber, who has been profiled by the Bills media team and television stations from the Southern Tier to Buffalo over the years. A few days after a new wave of social media attention, though, Barber was surprised to learn a Steuben County child, Easton Swank, chose to dress up as “Hannabill Lecter” for Halloween.

Swank, 12, has seen Barber at Bills games and wanted to emulate Corning’s No. 1 Bills fan.

“That might be the coolest thing since I’ve started to do this,” said Barber. “All the attention is pretty cool, but that young man decided to be me for Halloween. That was something that kind of took me back a little.”

The birth and evolution of Hannabill Lecter

Barber has been a Bills season ticket holder for more than 25 years. He started making pilgrimages to Buffalo during the early 1990s before leaving New York state for college and his first job in education. He moved back to the Corning area in 1999 and has been a fixture at games ever since.

Barber has attended more than 250 Bills games, home and away.

He put on the face paint and donned the signature mask for the first time about 14 years ago. Barber wanted “something that would stand out and be recognizable” while not obscuring his vision. The Hannibal Lecter mask made famous by Anthony Hopkins in "Silence of the Lambs," a thriller that includes an antagonist called Buffalo Bill, checked all the boxes.

“It kind of evolved over time,” said Barber. “There’s a lot that goes into it and there’s times I’d just rather go and sit and watch the game, but it does mean a lot to me when people come up and take photos and post photos on social media.”

Barber’s Hannabill Lecter persona is now among the most recognizable fans in franchise history, joining the likes of Ken Johnson (“Pinto Ron”), Ezra Castro (“Pancho Billa”), John Lang (“Bills Elvis”) and 26 Shirts founder Del Reid in Bills lore.

Barber has met them all. He also serves on Buffalo’s small Fan Advisory Board providing feedback to the franchise. On those trips, it's Frank Barber, educator, not Hannabill Lecter at One Bills Drive.

“I do it for fun and I don’t take it too seriously,” Barber said of his alter ego on game days. “I really don’t use the term super fan. I think anybody who stuck with the Bills over the 20 years we suffered through during the drought is a super fan. I don’t think I’m any better than any of those guys.”

Hannabill Lecter makes an impact in Steuben County

Barber has been around long enough to see the Bills transition from Super Bowl favorite to perpetual underdog, and back to annual Super Bowl contender in the Josh Allen era.

Primetime games used to be a rarity; this season, Buffalo will play at least six night games in the national spotlight. The Bills have just a single 1 p.m. kickoff left on the schedule, creating some late nights for Barber. That includes Monday night, with the Bills hosting Denver on Monday Night Football.

It takes Barber two hours to travel from his home in Steuben County to Orchard Park, but the Bills have never made him tardy to his duties at Corning-Painted Post.

“I’ve been really fortunate to have two superintendents who allow me to do this,” said Barber. “The reaction from the school community has always been positive. I’m sure it’s kind of a head scratcher for some people, but it’s really just in fun.”

Barber has used the notoriety to encourage students to make a positive impact in the community. Last winter, he made a deal with them — hit 4,000 items donated to the Painted Post Food Pantry, and Hannabill Lecter will walk the halls the next day.

“They hit the target and I held up my end of the bargain. The kids and staff had a fun time with it,” said Barber. “It really impacted our food drive. If I can turn some of this into something positive for the community, I’m going to do it.”

What’s next for the Bills and Hannabill Lecter

Buffalo’s 2023 season has been a roller coaster ride, with some exhilarating wins and horrifying losses. That’s okay with Barber. He simply wants the Bills to be playing their best football in December and January.

“I would love to win the AFC East again and have some home playoff games, which are always fun, but I don’t think this team needs that for the overall goal, which is a championship,” said Barber. “It’s not the team with the best record, necessarily. It’s the team that gets hot and is healthy at the right time. I really want that for the Bills.”

Barber will be front and center for it all, watching from the front row in section 136. Now 51, he plans to keep Hannabill Lecter around long enough to christen Buffalo’s new stadium in 2026.

Barber isn't ready to retire the mask and blue paint quite yet.

“I think Bills Mafia is in great hands,” said Barber. “Anytime I decide to stop doing it, there’s plenty of characters who will gladly take my place. Some of the people who have mirrored what I do or how I do it is flattering. At some point I’m sure I’ll walk away from it but right now I’m still having a good time.”

This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: Buffalo Bills' 'Hannabill Lecter' is this school principal's alter ego