The Bunny Man of Clifton - the weird Bunny Man who likes the taste of raw rabbit and killing people who dare to stay on his bridge at midnight.

The tale of the Bunny Man goes back many many years. Originally it didn't start until 1931, after many murders had already been committed. For verification of the story, you can visit the "Old Clifton Library" located in Clifton, Northern Virginia, USA. What I am about to tell you is entirely true, although I've never seen the Bunny Man, everyone in Clifton believes it to be true.

(Quick reference to help you understand the story)
The Bridge has a 1 lane car road passing underneath a dual railroad track above it within the woods along a gravel road.

Back in 1903 deep in Clifton, there used to be an Asylum buried deep within the wilderness of Clifton. Pretty soon after the civil war people started inhabiting the area, population-wise around 300 or so. It was a very small town. Nonetheless people didn't like the idea about having an Asylum miles down the road, so they all got together and signed a petition stating for the Asylum to relocate elsewhere. The petition passed and anew Asylum was built which is now known as "Lorton Prison", a temporary facility until convicts are appropriately sentenced.

In Fall of 1904 the convicts were gathered and piled into the bus which was to transport them to Lorton. Somehow during the drive not too far from where they left, the driver had swerved to avoid something and the bus had started to tip and soon was rolling in a terrible collision course.

Most of the convicts were injured but had managed to escape the bus and had fled into the night woods. Later on the next morning a local police investigation had begun, and they had begun rounding up the escaped convicts. Hours turned into days, days into weeks, weeks into months. Every one was recovered after 4 months, except for 2 people, Marcus A. Wallster and Douglas J. Grifon. During the search for both men the police randomly found dead rabbits half eaten and dismembered every now and then along their search.

Finally they were to find Marcus dead himself by the Fairfax station Bridge (now known as Bunny Man's Bridge). In his hand he held a man-made hammer/knife like tool, made with a sharp rock and a pretty sturdy branch as a handle. They thought nothing and cared not of how he died, only that he was apprehended and no longer had to worry about him.

They had a name for Marcus, but later on they would realize they had named the wrong person the Bunny Man.

Still searching for Douglas, they kept on finding dead half-eaten bunny's every-so-often while the search went on. Finally they were to name Douglas the Bunny Man from then on.

3 Months passed by and the police had given up their search in April 7th 1905. Everybody assumed the Bunny Man was dead by now, if not gone, so they went on with their small town lives. Come October people started seeing dead bunny's reappearing out of the blue, and starting to fear the unseen.

Halloween Night came around, and as usual a bunch of kids had gone over to the Bridge that night to drink and do whatever kids their age in the 1900's did. Midnight came around within minutes and most of the kids had left, only 3 of them remained at the bridge.

Right at Midnight supposedly a bright light back from within the Bridge, where the kids were and less than a couple seconds later they were all dead. Throats slashed with that same type of tool that was found by the other Escapee Marcus. Not only were there throats slashed, but all up and down their chest's were a long slashes gutting them. To top it off the Bunny Man hung both of the guys from one end of a bridge with a rope around their neck, hanging from the overpass with their legs dangling in front of the pass of cars.

The woman were hung the same way, on the other side of the bridge. This happened on Halloween in 1905. After that, they didn't see or heard anything from him for another year.

Halloween 1906 was approaching and parents as well as the teens in Clifton still remember the incident that had occurred one year ago at the bridge, his bridge, Bunny Man's Bridge.

That night 7 teens were left remaining right before midnight at the bridge. Thinking little of it, six remained inside the bridge while 1, Adrian Hatala had remained a good distance from the bridge hoping to have enough time to escape if the same thing happened again. At midnight she witnessed only this, a dim light walking the railroad track right before midnight, stopping right above the bridge at midnight, then disappearing at the same as a bright flash was inside the bridge. She heard the deafening sounds of horrific screams coming from inside the bridge that lasted only seconds. 5 seconds later, they were all hung from the edge of the bridge, same style as the corpses a year earlier.

Horrified she ran home, she didn't tell of everything she saw, just spattered words here and there that some of the folk put together to come up with her story. No one understood it, or even believed her. They charged her with the murderer, and locked her up in the Asylum of Lorton. In 1913 the same thing happened with 9 teenagers this time, Halloween night again.

Adrian was still locked up. They dropped her sentence, but it was too late. The insanity had finally conquered her. Even if she was released, she was too far gone to have a decent life, so she spent her remaining years in the Asylum until she finally died in 1953 of shock.

No one knows what exactly she died in shock from, but supposedly she had died in her dreams, dreaming of that one dreaded night. Perhaps the Bunny Man had finally gotten to her.

More murders were to take place however, although after the murders in 1913 most people stayed clear of the bridge on Halloween. 1943 rolls around, and 6 teenagers go strolling out on Halloween night. A couple hours later, all of them dead, same way as all the others. Investigations took place, but as usual nothing was discovered.

1976 the same situation occurs, this time with only 3 people.

The only other incident that occurred since then was in 1987, twelve years ago. Janet Charletier was enjoying the night with her 4 friends. Halloween night had finally come and they had gone driving out to enjoy the night after invading the children's candy bags. They had settled around 11 at the bridge, waiting for midnight to come. They didn't believe in the myth so they decided to see it for themselves and were bound to be the only ones who actually withstood the Bunny Man. They had waited around 55 minutes or so, almost at midnight, until Janet started getting a little scared. They all had been pulling pranks on each other, (jumping out the bushes and screaming), so she was already a little worked up. Midnight hits, while she is completely freaked out. She's almost out of the bridge when the lights get really bright inside the bridge. When that happens her body is halfway outside of the bridge. She see's her skin start tearing at her chest but nothing is piercing her skin. She manages finally to exits the bridge. Completely horrified she hits a hanging body and knocks herself out. When she awakes she finds out her hair has turned white and she has been bleeding. She was lucky that the cut had just started, and wasn't very bad at all. She left and never returned to the bridge again.

She has been seen sitting on a swinging bench on her balcony every morning just staring in the direction towards the bridge a couple of miles down.

To this day, you can still find her on that bench every morning. From then on the story dwells untouched, and unmoved.

Halloween night, you will find a bunch of people hanging around the bridge, drinking, smoking up, but within minutes of midnight, everyone leaves. It's been like that for the past 5 years that I have visited the bridge on Halloween night. Even if its not Halloween night, any night you go there, you feel the presence of death awaiting, awaiting the night sky of Halloween yearning for more blood to be spilt in the name, in his name, Bunny Man.

O.k, so there's the tale. Here's the short myth. Halloween Night comes around. Nothing happens until midnight. Right before midnight supposedly a bunny or two enters the bridge. Right before midnight his soul (a dim light) walks the tracks above the bridge. When Midnight hits, his soul stops right above the bridge (dead center), and disappears, only to reappear inside the bridge. From then on it's his soul which lights up the whole area, so brightly that you can't even see him. That's when he instantly kills you by slitting your throat and slashing your chest, only to hang you at the edge of the bridge. You can even see the rub marks that have worn away at the rock where the body's were swinging. Who ever is inside the bridge ends up dead.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and remember, everything except for the actual myth has been in Clifton's records since the date it happened. The Old Clifton library still stands, containing those records on Microfish (however you spell it). I have looked it up myself, and its still a mystery. I'm thinking of taking this to unsolved mysteries. Let me know if you have any comments.

Timothy C. Forbes, Virginia, USA

The Black Cadillac Will the owner ever come to pick it up

This story was told to me by my older brother and sister. It takes place back in the early to mid-1970's. On the Southside of the court-square in my hometown (Newnan,GA), there used to be a Cadillac dealership, at the time, one of the most prominent in the county. The dealership went out of business a couple of years after the incident I'm about to relate to you took place.

For several weeks in a row, a certain man, always dressed totally in black, would go to the dealership and admire one Cadillac in particular, a brand new, shiny black one with all the extras. The strange thing was, when one of the salesmen saw him and started out to meet the man, he would get in his car and leave the dealership, never allowing the salesman to get close enough to really get a good look at him. Every day he came, always at the same time, and always in the same vehicle which was also a black Cadillac, only an older model. The salesmen were really getting annoyed at the man and his strange behavior, so they hatched a plan. One of them would go out the next day, just before the time the man always showed up, and get into the black Cadillac and wait there for the man's daily visit.

The one salesman, I'll call him John, went out and waited for the man to show up. He never did. Nor did he the next day, nor the next. The salesmen decided the man wouldn't be back so they stopped going out to wait for him.

In the ensuing weeks, several people stopped to admire the black Cadillac, but once they got in it to test drive it, it would never crank. It was checked from one end to the other. Nothing could be found wrong. Even more strange was the fact that the car would always crank fine when there were no interested customers about.

One morning while John was at the dealership alone, he glanced out the office window and to his surprise, there was the man in black. Remembering his experiences with the man in the past, he didn't bother to get up and go out there, for he knew what the man would do if he did. So he continued on with his paperwork and forgot about it. A few minutes later, while his back was turned, he heard the bell on the door ring, signifying someone had entered the office. He turned to greet the customer with a smile on his face, and stopped short, for it was the man in black. The man could only be described as tall, lean, mid-sixties, to early-seventies, and ghostly pale. The man sat down in the chair in front of John's desk, pulled out his wallet, and laid approximately twenty-thousand dollars on the desk. John smiled widely. "So you finally decided you wanted the car, heh?." The man never spoke a word, just shook his head in the affirmative. No smile, no nothing, just a blank look on his face. John pulled out the necessary paperwork, handed it to the man, showed him where to sign, and told him to put down where he wanted the car delivered to. When this was done, the man stood up and, without a handshake or even a grin, turned and walked out of the building, leaving the cash where he'd placed it on the desk. He got in his old car and drove away.

Later on that day, after the car was newly washed and shined up, The other salesman, John's partner, came in. He couldn't believe the man had finally come back and bought the black Cadillac! He was even further stunned upon hearing that the man had paid cash for it. John gave his partner, I'll call him James, the address where the car was to be delivered, and told him the man hadn't even test drove the car. He'd simply come into the office, laid the cash on the desk, signed the paperwork and left.

James, shaking his head in awe, told John he'd be back as soon as he'd delivered the car and left. The car cranked the first time and he was on his way. Looking again at the address on the paperwork, he racked his brain trying to remember where the particular street was at. The address was: Lot #3, Oaklawn Way. That couldn't be right, he thought to himself. The man had made a mistake on the address, for the address he'd given was right smack dab in the middle of the cemetery. He looked on the paperwork for a phone number. There wasn't one. How was he going to get in touch with the man? he wondered. He stopped at a pay phone and looked up the man's name in the phone book provided. It was not there. He got back in the Cadillac and decided to go to the only Oaklawn Way that he knew of. He turned into the cemetery, feeling foolish but somehow compelled to go there. He found Lot #3. As he'd known it would be, it was a cemetery plot. Still feeling foolish, he got out of the Cadillac looking all around the cemetery for the man who'd purchased it, thinking that maybe for some reason the man had wanted to pick it up there. Maybe as a surprise for his wife or something. He saw no sign of anyone. He dropped his head trying to figure out what to do. All he knew to do was to go back to the office and wait for the man to come back or call and give him the right address. As he was turning, he caught the glimpse of a headstone directly in front of him, and part of a name. He did a double take when he read the full name on it. A chill coursed down his spine, for the name was that of the man who'd bought the black Cadillac. He rushed over to the Cadillac and grabbed the paper he'd brought with him, just to double check it against the name on the headstone. The name matched, as did the birth date. The date of death was one week before the Cadillac had been bought. How could that be?, he wondered. It has to be a coincidence. Not knowing what to do, James got in the Cadillac and went back to the office. John of course, asked him what was the problem. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," answered James. "Try me," said John.

James told him about where the address had been and the name on the headstone. "You're right," said John, "I don't believe you. I guess all we can do is wait for him to call or come up here." The days turned into weeks. No call was ever received. No one ever came to claim the vehicle... That's the story. Hope you enjoyed it...

Cheryl

The Beautiful Young Vanishing Hitchhiking Woman - She seems to be hitchhiking the world as this story is told EVERYWHERE.

A young man had just left a party given by some of his friends. As he started down the road it was about 12:30 at night and pouring down rain. He had only driven about 2 miles when he saw this faint figure walking on the side of the road. As he got closer he realized it was a young lady, for she was wearing a long white dress. He pulled over and asked her if she would like a ride. He figured she had came from the party. She said she would and she hoped in the front seat. He noticed she was shivering from the rain so he took off his jacket and offered it to her, she gladly accepted and put the jacket on. They talked about where they were from and other basic chit chat. The young man was overwhelmed by how beautiful the girl was. When he pulled up to her house he was going to ask her out, but when he went around to the passenger side the door was open and she was gone. He seemed a little confused, but figured she had just gotten nervous and ran into her house. The following day the young man realized the girl had left in such a rush, that she forgot to leave his jacket. He remembered the directions to her house and went there since he did not have a phone number to call.

He knocked on the door and a woman answered. The young man told her he was there to pick up his jacket from who he assumed was her daughter. The woman looked at him strangely and then began to smile. She then told him that her daughter had died in a car accident ten years ago. The young man was horrified and did not belive her. The woman asked him to follow her. While they walked the woman told him this was not the first time this had happened and for him not to be upset. The woman stopped at what looked to be a family cemetery and pointed to the far right. The young walked over and there laying on a headstone was his jacket.

OTHER VERSIONS

In all the stories of the vanishing hitchhiker the woman is beautiful and dressed in the most seductive outfit you could ever imagine.

The young man was walking home drunk from a bar one night. He was hitchhiking along a country road and luckily a lady drove by and stopped and offered him a ride home. They talked and the woman told him her name. Being so drunk the woman took him back to her house where she took full advantage of the young good-looking drunk man (use your imagination on that one.......). The man woke up the next morning being shaken awake by police - the police pulled him up and asked him what the hell he was doing? He looked around him and noticed he had been sleeping naked on top of a grave - he was horrified to see the name on the grave was that of the woman that had picked him up the night before.

The girl disappears out of the car suddenly when passing a graveyard. The driver notices in the graveyard his jacket that he lent her draped over her gravestone.

Sometimes he sees a photo at the parents home of her in the same dress that she was wearing the night he picked her up.

This happened somewhere in the sixties.

One day a young couple were on their way to the girl's parents' house to tell them that they had just become engaged. The woman was fast asleep when the man lost control over the vehicle and both were killed. Her name was Maria Roux.

A while later a guy was riding along and saw a lady standing on the side of the road. He asked her whether she wanted a lift, but she didn't answer. She just climbed into the back seat of the car. The guy kept on talking to her, telling her how dangerous it was for a woman to hitchhike at night but she never said a word. While he was driving along he looked back and saw that she had disappeared. He stopped the car and searched everywhere for her but couldn't find her. He then drove to the police station in Uniondale to report her missing, never realizing that she could be a ghost. He thought that she might have fallen out of the vehicle and was lying somewhere seriously injured. The police officer on duty didn't have any patience with this guy, thinking that his story was a cover-up for hurting or killing her. After a lot of begging, the police officer eventually drove behind the guy to the spot where the girl went missing. As they were driving along, the police officer noticed the guy's back door opening and closing by itself. They both realized that it was a ghost and hauled ass out of there as fast as they could.

Somewhere in the seventies a guy came into a cafe in Uniondale, quite visibly shaken. He told the owners of the cafe that he was riding on his bike and suddenly there was a woman sitting behind him on the bike. She looked so real, he could see and feel her hands holding him, but just a while later she disappeared. He got such a fright that he almost fell off his bike. There have been many reports of this woman ever since.

People reckon that since she was asleep during the accident, and the last thing she can remember before she fell asleep was to go to her parents to tell them of the engagement, she doesn't realize that she's dead and her soul won't rest until her mission is accomplished.

ANOTHER VERSION

This happened to my Sister's husbands friend, lets call the guy Tim), I don't kow his real name.

It was a Friday night , Tim went out to a nightclub with a couple of friends , when they got there they all started dancing and eventually broke away from each other. Tim found this girl and they started to dance, after a while , they decided to go home, Tim said "i'll drive you home", she said "ok" , as they were driving home the girl (lets vall here Jenny) said "stop here i'll walk the rest of the way home its only 200m to my house" , Tim said "why i'll drive you there?" , she insisted that she walk so Tim let her get out of the car. It was a cold night out, Tim says "at least take my jacket its cold outside" she said "ok ill give it back to you tomorrow here's my phone number". Handing the phone number to Tim he says "ok i'll call you tomorrow".

The next day Tim decides to ring jenny and ask about his jacket, he rings and a older women picks up the phone, Tim says "Hi is Jenny there?". The women said "Excuse me!?". Tim repeats what he said then the women says "Listen I don't know who you are and what kind of sick joke this is but how dare you" ! and she hung up. Tim was startled and so he rang again, the same women picked it up and said "Hello?". Tim asked again "Is Jenny there?" the women starts to cry and hangs up the phone. Tim rings back a third time and sais "I think we need to talk, I need to get my jacket back from Jenny". The women doesn't know what Tim is talking about and Tim says "yeah I let Jenny borrow my jacket last night !". The woman then asks Tim to come over to talk about something (she gives him the Address).

Tim goes over right away, they sit down and start to talk. Tim tells Jenny's mother his story about the jacket. She looks stunned, "My Daughter Jenny has been dead for over 5 years!" she exclaims. Tim didn't believe her so she then took him to the grave site and showed him her grave. On top of the grave lay the jacket he had lent to Jenny

Submitted from: Andy, New south Wales, Australia

I've heard another variation of this story.

In this setting the locals are aware of this phenomenon and keep an "eye out" for the ghost hoping to see her. Several teenagers go cruising together every weekend looking for excitement when one night they see her. They stop, offer her a ride, which she accepts. She gets into the backseat with the boys sitting on either side of her and away they go. When they near the lonely intersection where she was killed she asks to be let out here please. They refuse to stop and drive through the intersection. She starts screaming and disintergrates before their eyes. The story ends with screeching brakes, car doors flying open, screaming boys diving out of the car, and a slightly teed off father who has to sell the car because he can't get the faint but nagging smell of decay out of the vehicle.

Soap Sally - Ever wondered what that strange coloured soap you've been using is made of.........

This is a story which was used years ago around my hometown to scare small children when they misbehaved.

Back in the 1950's, before I was ever born, there was this ancient black lady. She was a soap maker and it was said that she walked the streets of the mill villages kidnapping children who were unattended by an adult, then murdering them and using the fat in their bodies to make her soap. After she died, it was said that when a small child misbehaved, soap sally would visit them in their dreams that night, and if they didn't wake up before she grabbed them in their dream, they would die before the morning, another victim of many. There were even reports of people having seen her many times for years, knowing full well that she was dead. Every time a child would go missing, two or three days later, the soap sally could be seen, carrying her knapsack full of soap, scoping out the villages for another victim.

In those days, children seldom misbehaved more than once, for they were scared to death that the soap sally would get them if they didn't behave...This is a classic ghost story from my hometown. The story, even today, is still used by some to keep children in line when they get out of hand.... Thank you for reading this classic tale. I hope you enjoyed it, and remember, if you have small children, this is a surefire way to keep them straight.

Cheryl, Georgia, USA

Small Woman In Grey A dead woman keeps a buried baby alive.

This story happened on a cold mid-autumn day somewhere in the mid-western states.

Two gentlemen were working in the town's small general store. The store was quiet and no customers were shopping until she walked in. A small frail woman dressed in grey entered the store, and proceeded toward the dairy section, saying nothing. She picked up a glass container of milk and, without paying for it or even glancing at the gentlemen, walked out of the store.

The men, surprised by the woman's thievery, hurried out of the store after her...but she was gone.

A few days later, the incident occurred again.

The same small woman dressed in the same grey dress entered the store, grabbed a glass container of milk, and left without paying. Again the men tried to follow after her, but found her nowhere to be seen.

After a few weeks, the woman appeared once again.

The same small woman, dressed in the same grey dress, entered the store, paid no attention to the men, snatched a glass container of milk, and vanished out the door. The men, slightly more prepared this time, quickly followed the woman out of the store. She hurried down the town's main street and the men found themselves having to run to keep up with her. She hastily turned down a dirt path, just at the edge of the woods. This is where the men lost her.
They trekked on further and came to a small cemetery neither of them knew existed. Suddenly, they heard a small noise. Concentrating, they identified it as a baby's cry...it was coming from the ground. The ground from which it was coming from was in front of a gravestone marking the death of a mother and her infant who were buried together. Unsure of what else to do. the men quickly found shovels and exhumed the coffin. The crying became louder as they dug. When they reached the coffin, they pried off the lid and inside found the small, grey-dressed woman...dead...with a live, crying infant in her arms...and three empty glass containers of milk. The poor child was mistakenly buried alive and the spirit of her deceased mother kept her alive until she was found.

Submitted From: Sara, New York, USA

Shadows In Mirrors Watchout for those mirrors - you never know who's living in one.

There was once a woman who lived by herself in a quaint house in the country. Her husband had passed away about 5 years back and she was planning on moving soon.

One day, while packing up some of her husbands things, she noticed that the temperature dropped really low. She walked down the hall to check the thermostat, but when she got there it showed no difference in temp. She thought about it but figured that it must be broken. She decided that she would call someone the next day to fix it. When she passed the mirror on the wall on her way back she thought she saw a movement of shadows in the reflection. Then the temperature soon returned returned to normal and when she looked back at the mirror nothing was there. She shrugged and went back to packing.

A couple of days later the temperature dropped again. Again the woman went to the thermostat and again it showed no change. She remembered that she had forgotten to call some one to repair it. She promised herself that she would call after her show on T.V. that she had been watching. When she passed the mirror she again saw the movement of shadows. She stopped. In the reflection she saw a shadow, nothing but a shadow. Slightly translucent but visible. The shape was indescribable. It changed shape, like water, flowing, about the size of a tall person. It stepped out from the wall behind the woman, but when she turned around to face it there was nothing there. Now she was scared. She began to tremble. Slowly she turned back to the mirror. The figure was still there, and closer. She screamed out "HEEEEELLPPP!!!" but no one came.

Closer and closer IT came.....

* * *

A few weeks later a friend of the woman's stopped by to say Hi. she knocked and knocked but there was no answer. The next day a cop came out to investigate, but he found nothing but a few empty boxes and the TV on. It was put down as unsolved. The house was soon cleaned out and put out on the market.

* * *

For years the house was empty, what with all of the stories going around about it. But one day a small family consisting of a mother, father and daughter- moved in from the city.

All was well for a while until one day when the temperature dropped. The daughter went to her parents and asked them what happened. They said they didn't know and they went to the thermostat to see. It showed no change in temperature. They decided to call someone. The daughter went back to playing with her dolls in her room. Had she looked up into her mirror she would have seen a shadow peeking from behind the reflection of her bed. But just then her parents come in to tell her that someone was coming the next day to fix the thermostat and that she'll have to deal with it for a while, but when they finished saying this the temperature went back to normal. The parents said never mind.

A few weeks later the temperature dropped again. The girl was brushing her hair at the time, in front of her mirror. She saw the shadow behind the reflection as it started to creep towards her. She screamed. Her parents came in asking what she saw. She told them but they didn't believe her. She tried to make them believe her but it was of no use. They took her to a psychologist for a few months to get her help.

When she came home she believed it was all a figment of her imagination. She probably would have kept believing that except that about a year later the temperature dropped once again. The girl was by herself because her parents had gone to the store and left her alone, since she was 11 years old. She was experimenting with make-up at the time, in front of her mothers mirror. She stared in terror as the THING crept out from behind the bed. She trembled but didn't call out, she knew no one would come. And now, as done before, the THING came closer and closer, closer and closer.....

* * *

When the girls parents came home they had no one to come home to. SUBMITTED FROM: Kelly, Maryland, USA

Red Eyes This is a variation on the Little One story, not it's in a graveyard though

At the time this occurred I was 16. My girlfriend and I usually made out at this one spot, but the police had closed it down and fenced it up because of vandalism and such, so I decided that we should go to a graveyard that was close to being out of town. She didn't like the idea too much, but she couldn't think of any other private place, so she agreed.

So I drove out there, with the ink on my driver's license still fresh (not literally). I drove around the back (there weren't fences, it was so old) and parked there. We were making out when I heard a noise. I didn't know what it was so I kind of pushed it to the back of my mind but it kept nagging me. Then I heard it again. It sounded like it was coming from the back of the car. It was like a quick thump thump. I pulled away from my girlfriend and stepped out of the car. I stepped out into the bitter cold. I could see my breath billowing out in front of my face, but even through the steam I could see the red eyes hovering towards the back of the car. I gasped in shock. I couldn't see very well because of the darkness, but I could see enough. It was a little pale demon-thing standing on the back of my car. Every few seconds it would do a quick double jump. I stood watching it in fascination for about a minute. I didn't know what it was doing or why, but it apparently hadn't seen me. Then my girlfriend rolled down the window and stuck her head out and asked me if I was ok. The demon-thing noticed her loud voice and glared at me with its red, hateful eyes. It hissed and bared its teeth at me. They were tiny and sharp. I screamed and tried to open the car door. I opened it and my girlfriend fell out halfway. She started to complain, but I grabbed her shirt and tossed her back into the car. I went to get in but the demon jumped at me. When it should of hit me it went through me. It landed on the ground and sank into it. I stared at the ground for a moment then got into the car, locked the door.

My girlfriend never even saw it. I asked her later on if she had heard the thumping. She hadn't.

All that happened five years ago. And still, whenever I remember that night, and those red eyes, I shudder.

Out Past The Shadows Edge

Every time I think of this story it still gives me the chills even after all these years. I remember that night very vividly...

This happened to me about sixteen years ago right after I had gotten my drivers license and got to use my dad's car by myself for the first time.

My girlfriend and I were excited to go to a dance at our high school that Saturday night - and I was more then a little nervous about driving the stick shift without Mom or Dad in the car with me as I had a habit of killing the engine when I tried to start it.

It was early October, but the air was still warm and the moon was yellow and in a sickle form. There were dark storm clouds looming over the Wasatch Mountains and moving closer into the Salt Lake valley.

My girlfriend and I went to the dance and had a great time - staying way into the night. When the dance was over and after everyone had been sent away by the dance/school staff we moved on. We drove around looking for some place to go - as the newness of being on our own with the car would not wear off for several more months.

I picked the old grade school that we had both gone to when we were children. We were fairly close to where we lived so we felt safe and there was nothing to worry about except the looming rain clouds. We parked in the parking lot behind the school and walked into the huge grass playing field and the play ground behind the school. The field was lit by one huge stadium type lamp that cast a circle of dim light on the playground and playing field surrounding it.

She and I sat on the swings talking WAY late into the night. It started raining a cool mist that was very pleasant. But after an hour or so it was enough rain to make the ground under us muddy - so we were careful not to stick our feet in the mud (this is important in a minute).

It became quite and we were both very tired by then. We suddenly looked up at the same moment... the hair stood up on the back of my neck... as we both felt the need to look back and over our left shoulders. Something had caught the corner of our eye. About two hundred feet or so away there was SOMETHING crawling on it's stomach out past the shadows edge of the light that the giant stadium bulb gave off.

We both stared in horror not saying anything. We watched as the thing MOVED towards us, just keeping on the boarder of the light shadow. It was humanoid looking - a dark color with no clothes on. It was laying flat on it's belly... it's arms down, held close to it's waist.

But what frightened me the most (besides the fact that it had been coming up behind us) was the way it moved and the structure of it's legs... It was inching forward moving NOTHING but it's feet to push it forward. And the legs... If you look at a normal humans knees - the knees bend forward... This things was reverse - the joint bent BACK and away. (Imagine laying flat on your stomach with your hands pulled in at your sides to your waist and your knees are UP OFF the ground instead of against it.)

We stared for several seconds... we both had stopped breathing and the only sound was the rain falling. The head of the thing looked up and I saw nothing but black pools where the eyes should be...
My girlfriend and I JUMPED off the swings onto the wet grass and lunged into the car about 50 feet away. There was several seconds of panic when I couldn't get the car to start - and I was terrified to look up. I didn't want to see "IT" closing on us - I didn't want to see those knees bending in the wrong direction and the black, soulless eyes. I was afraid I would pop the clutch in the car and not be able to start it again. I kept my head down and looking at the steering wheel. The car engine turned and caught - we tore off into the night.

I called my folks from my girlfriends house and told them about what had happened. They allowed me to stay there with her and her Mom until the sun came up in a few hours. We waited and passed the time by telling her Mother our story - which scared her (as well as my parents) badly.

When the sun came up early that Sunday morning - we drove back to see if "it" was still there. This time bringing weapons. But there was nothing as we searched the field. As we poked around the swings we had been sitting on earlier... there were large bare foot prints that had tracked through the mud ALL AROUND the very swings we were on. We both had - had our shoes ON and as I said before, we were careful NOT to get mud on them. And we HAD NOT walked around and around like these tracks had. We found nothing but those bare tracks.

Every once in a while I get brave enough to go back to that field late at night (never alone though). I sit by the school field side in my truck with the high beams on searching the area, but I've never seen "IT" again...

Submitted From: David Tester, UT, USA

Next of Kin

The old man longed for children. But he and his young wife had none, so he invited his nephew to live with them. This infuriated his wife, who had a vile temper. When her husband welcomed the young man with great affection, she turned pale with jealousy. Her eyes narrowed and her head flattened. And when she licked her lips, her nephew saw that her tongue was forked. From that day on, the young man spent as much time as possible with his uncle and tried to avoid his aunt. But she seemed to enjoy startling him, suddenly appearing when he least expected her.

One evening, the nephew returned to the house quite late. He lit a candle and started up the stairs. Halfway up, he tripped on what seemed to be a coiled rope. Imagine his horror when that rope uncoiled and slithered up the steps in front of him! Then he saw it glide across the hall and under the door of his uncle's bedroom.
"Wake up! Wake up" the young man shouted, and he knocked on the door until his knuckles hurt. But when his sleepy uncle finally let him in the bedroom, there was no snake in sight.

His aunt seemed to be sleeping, so the young man whispered in his uncle's ear. "I saw a snake." But his uncle was too groggy to respond, and he slid back under the covers. The young man searched the room quietly, looking into drawers and cupboards and corners. He peered under the bed and behind chairs. He was beginning to think he was going mad when he suddenly his aunt sat up in bed, narrowed her eyes, and gave him an evil look that made his flesh creep.

"I'm sorry to bother you," he cried, racing to his bedroom and firmly shutting the door.

When he awoke the next morning, he noticed that the bottom of his bedroom door was arched up in the center, leaving just enough space for a snake to slither through. He bolted out of bed trembling. When he went downstairs, he was shocked to see that every door in the house had a snake-sized arch beneath it.

His aunt was sitting at the table, eating. "Your uncle left for the day," she said, licking her lips with her forked tongue. The young man was too terrified to speak, but his silence only made matters worse.
"I don't like the way you treat me," she said and grabbed his arm. Then she pressed her fingernails so deeply into his skin that he felt as if he were being bitten. He rushed outdoors and saw the his arm was swelling. His hand and fingers were biginning to throb. He knew he must seek help, so he ran into the forest to find the wise old hermit who lived there. The old man examined him carefully and handed him some leaves. "These are best for snakebite," he said "Bind them around your arm and keep them wet."
"But I wasn't bitten by a snake," said the young man. "Those marks were made by my aunt's fingernails."
The old hermit shook his head in despair. "The touch of a snake-woman is even worse," he said, "but try these leaves. They should help"
The young man was appalled. "Is my aunt really a snake- woman?" he asked.
"If you want to find out," the hermit replied, "stay awake tonight, and if a snake enters you room, cut off the tip of its tail."

The young man wasn't sure how this would help, but he thanked the hermit for his advice and returned to his uncle's house. By afternoon, he was happy to see that the wet leaves had reduced the swelling.

He watched his aunt closely that evening, but he didn't notice anything strange until she tasted her soup. She said it needed more "ssssseasoning" and lingered on the "s" as if she were hissing. Her nephew felt gooseflesh rise from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. He excused himself from the table and went up to his bedroom. But not to sleep.

He planned to watch for the snake all night long.

There was just enough moonlight for him to see the bottom of his door, so he blew out his candle and unsheated his sword. Then he stood waiting.

He watched for hours wondering what the snake might do. What if it slithered through the window instead, crept up behind him, and struck him with it's venomous fangs? What if it slithered to the top of the wardrobe and dropped down from above? He was thinking of fleeing for his life, when he finally saw the snake glide under the door-first its head, then its body, then its tail.

Slash! He swung the sword so quickly that the snake had no warning. And the tip of its tail began writhing, all by itself, there on the floor. The snake raised its head as if to strike, but then it hissed viciously and slithered out of the room. And when he looked down the hall, he saw it disappear under his uncle's door.

The young man couldn't stand looking at that quivering tail, so he scooped it up with his sword and flung it in a drawer. He hardly slept all that night, and when he did snakes chased him through his dreams.

The next morning, he opened the drawer a crack to look at the snake's tail and was amazed to see that it had turned into human toes.

He raced back to the forest to tell the hermit what had happened. "And now my aunt is staying in bed, but do you know what my uncle said? She told him she hurt her foot while sleepwalking!"
"Either she will fear you now," said the old man. "Or she wil try to get rid of you. Listen carefully. If you think you are in danger, you must search her bedroom for her snakeskin, and when you find it, burn it."

The young man thanked the hermit, but he was concerned. What would happen if he burned the snakeskin? He decided to give his aunt one last chance.

While she was recovering, she caused no trouble, but as soon as her wound healed, she resumed her nightly slithering about the house.

Sometimes, when the young man was lying in bed, he saw the snake slip in and out of his empty boots or up the sleeve of a coat he had worn. One dreadful night, he felt the snake wiggling under his pillow, and he jumped out of bed in a cold sweat.

His dreams grew worse. He had a terrifying nightmare in which his aunt was trying to choke him. He awoke gasping for breath and realized that something was coiled tightly around his neck.
It was the snake.
He pulled it off and threw it across the room. And after he caught his breath, he knew he had to follow the hermit's advice.

The next day his aunt said her back was sore, but this didn't keep her from going for a walk with his uncle.

As soon as they left the house, the young man slipped into >their bedroom to look for the snakeskin, but he couldn't find it. He was about to give up when he noticed dusty footprints on a chair. He stepped up on the seat and looked on top of the wardrobe, and there neatly coiled, lay the shiny snakeskin. But just as he picked it up, he heard the door open downstairs, and he knew that his aunt and uncle were home. He rolled up the snakeskin tightly and hid it in his fist before he raced back to his room. And that's when he heard hideous sounds coming from the lower hall.

His aunt ws shrieking, "Something is crushing me!"

When her nephew heard her cries, he almost lost his resolve. But then he remembered how he felt when the snake wrapped itself around his neck and tried to choke him.

He threw the snakeskin into the fire and watched it burn.

By the time he went downstairs, he was startled to see his aunt lying dead on the floor. He thought he was getting rid of the snake, but now his aunt was gone too.

"I'm sorry," he said to his uncle.

But the old man seemed relieved. "It'ssss only the poisonousssss onessssss who are dangerousssssss," he said, and he licked his lips.

Miss Maples From Naples - She's looking for her rings - and she's supposedly from Naples

Back in the early sixties there was an elderly woman who lived in Naples and her name was Harriet Maples. She lived in a large beautiful house down-town. She was very religious and went to church every Sunday, so when she had been missing for a few Sundays her neighbours got concerned. A few of them decided to check on her, because when they really thought about it they hadn't seen her any where else in town for the past few weeks.

When the three of them approached the porch they realized the front window was broken and there was a dark substance smeared on the door knob. When they tried to enter the door was unlocked and easily creaked open. As soon as they entered the smell of death hit them full force. They made their way up the stairs and laying on the bedroom floor was the body of Miss Maple. She was horribly decayed and her dog was eating her. The worst part was that her fingers had been cut off. No one could figure it out. Then they realized she must have been a victim of a robber because things were missing and he had cut off her fingers to get her rings. They never found the robber.

Some people say that on the anniversary of her murder Miss Maples ghost can be seen inside the old abandoned house, with bleeding hands. They say she will be there until the robber is caught and her rings are returned.

Submitted by: Chandra, Florida, USA

Man Size In Marble

Although every word of this story is as true as despair, I do not expect people to believe it. Nowadays a "rational explanation" is required before belief is possible. Let me then, at once, offer the "rational explanation" which finds most favour among those who have heard the tale of my life's tragedy. It is held that we were "under a delusion," Laura and I, on that 31st of October; and that this supposition places the whole matter on a satisfactory and believable basis.The reader can judge, when he, too, has heard my story, how far this is an "explanation," and in what sense it is "rational." There were three who took part in this; Laura and I and another man. The other man still lives, and can speak to the truth of the least credible part of my story.

I never knew in my life what it was to have as much money as I required to supply the most ordinary needs of life good colours, canvases, brushes, books and cab-fares and when we were married, we knew quite well that we should only be able to live at all by "strict punctuality and attention to business." I used to paint in those days, and Laura used to write, and we felt sure we could keep the pot at least simmering. Living in town was out of the question, so we went to look for a cottage in the country, which should be at once sanitary and picturesque. So rarely do these two qualities meet in one cottage that our search was for some time quite fruitless. We tried advertisements, but most of the desirable rural residences which we did look at, proved to be lacking in both essentials, and when a cottage chanced to have drains, it always had stucco as well and was shaped like a tea-caddy. And if we found a vine or rose-covered porch, corruption invariably lurked within. Our minds got so befogged by the eloquence of house-agents, and the rival disadvantages of the fever-traps and outrages to beauty which we had seen and scorned, that I very much doubt whether either of us on our wedding morning, knew the difference between a house and a haystack. But when we got away from friends and house-agents, on our honeymoon, our wits grew clear again, and we knew a pretty cottage when at last we saw one.

It was at Brenzett a little village set on a hill over against the southern marshes. We had gone there, from the seaside village where we were staying, to see the church, and two fields from the church we found this cottage. It stood quite by itself, about two miles from the village. It was a long, low building, with rooms sticking out in unexpected places. There was a bit of stone-work ivy-covered and moss-grown, just two old rooms, all that was left of a big house that had once stood there and round this stone-work the house had grown up. Stripped of its roses and jasmine it would have been hideous. As it stood it was charming, and after a brief examination we took it. It was absurdly cheap.

The rest of our honeymoon we spent in grubbing about in second-hand shops in the county town, picking up bits of old oak and Chippendale chairs for our furnishing. We wound up with a run up to town and a visit to Liberty's, and soon the low oak-beamed lattice-windowed rooms began to be home. There was a jolly old-fashioned garden, with grass paths, and no end of hollyhocks and sunflowers, and big lilies. From the window you could see the marsh-pastures, and beyond them the blue, thin line of the sea.

We were as happy as the summer was glorious, and settled down into work sooner than we ourselves expected. I was never tired of sketching the view and the wonderful cloud effects from the open lattice, and Laura would sit at the table and write verses about them, in which I mostly played the part of foreground.

We got a tall old peasant woman to do for us. Her face and figure were good, though her cooking was of the homeliest; but she understood all about gardening, and told us all the old names of the coppices and cornfields, and the stories of the smugglers and highwaymen, and, better still, of the "things that walked," and of the "sights" which met one in lonely glens of a starlight night. She was a great comfort to us, because Laura hated housekeeping as much as I loved folklore, and we soon came to leave all the domestic business to Mrs. Dorman, and to use her legends in little magazine stories which brought in the jingling guinea.

We had three months of married happiness, and did not have a single quarrel. One October evening I had been down to smoke a pipe with the doctor our only neighbour a pleasant young Irishman. Laura had stayed at home to finish a comic sketch of a village episode for the Monthly Marplot. I left her laughing over her own jokes, and came in to find her a crumpled heap of pale muslin weeping on the window seat.
"Good heavens, my darling, what's the matter?" I cried, taking her in my arms. She leaned her little dark head against my shoulder and went on crying. I had never seen her cry before we had always been so happy, you see and I felt sure some frightful misfortune had happened.
"What is the matter? Do speak."

"It's Mrs. Dorman," she sobbed.

"What has she done?" I inquired, immensely relieved.

"She says she must go before the end of the month, and she says her niece is ill; she's gone down to see her now, but I don't believe that's the reason, because her niece is always ill. I believe someone has been setting her against us. Her manner was so queer". "Never mind, Pussy," I said; "whatever you do, don't cry, or I shall have to cry too, to keep you in countenance, and then you'll never respect your man again!" She dried her eyes obediently on my handkerchief, and even smiled faintly. "But you see," she went on, "it is really serious, because these village people are so sheepy, and if one won't do a thing you may be quite sure none of the others will. And I shall have to cook the dinners, and wash up the hateful greasy plates; and you'll have to carry cans of water about, and clean the boots and knives and we shall never have any time for work, or earn any money, or anything. We shall have to work all day, and only be able to rest when we are waiting for the kettle to boil!"

I represented to her that even if we had to perform these duties, the day would still present some margin for other toils and recreations. But she refused to see the matter in any but the greyest light. She was very unreasonable, my Laura, but I could not have loved her any more if she had been as reasonable as Whately.
"I'll speak to Mrs. Dorman when she comes back, and see if I can't come to terms with her," I said. "Perhaps she wants a rise in her screw. It will be all right. Let's walk up to the church."

Keep The Lights Off !!!!

They say there is this problem going around. No one knows what it's called and no one knows the cure. But it always occurs with a certain someone. That certain someone is a young girl....sometimes boy...but mostly girl.

And as all young girls do....it takes place at a sleep over or get together. The story I've heard about is a girl named Macy, who has her friends Lexie, Briget and Meagan over to spend the night. She gathers them into her room to tell ghost stories. But she demands they keep the light on at all times. She has this problem and knows about it from recent happenings. But yet, they finally talk her into turning the lights off. She shudders to think what is coming...but agrees.

See this problem is a strange one. Whenever the lights are off......she will get uncontrollably scared..I mean screaming crying kind of scared. But when she goes to turn the lights on...the other people in the room will be standing there with empty black holes, staring at her. Or mutilated bodies...still freshly cut open and bleeding. Or think of your worst nightmare...and have it in the room with you. Could you imagine? Turning on the lights and seeing that?

Well back to the story...As Lexie was telling her story...she suddenly turned her flashlight out.....so that the room was now in total darkness. Macy started whimpering for she knew what was coming. Then she heard a little girl's voice....and she knew it couldn't be one of her friends....ring around the rosies.....pocket full of posies...ashes ashes......we all.....fall...down... And Macy got so scared she just had to turn the light on. She jumped up and fumbled for the light switch. But as her hand found it....she didn't want to turn on the light. Then all of a sudden lightning flashed from the storm outside...and in the split second of light she could see her three friends with empty black sockets....standing there with smiles on their faces....and then the room launched into total darkness again. And as Macy screamed and screamed...You could faintly hear........ring around the rosies.......................

Submitted by: Kristy Przepis, FL, USA

Contact: pepsidog17@att.net

Humans Can Lick Too - this story is rapidly becoming well known everywhere.

A young teenage girl lived at home with her mother, father and her much loved pet dog.

Being 16 years old her parents decided that she was now old enough to be left alone without a minder while they went out for the evening. Although there was some concern about leaving a young girl in a house all by herself, they knew she was sensible and would behave. And besides, she did have the pet Alsatian dog to look after her and keep her company.

The parents left for the night, leaving Emergency phone numbers and supplies for the night. The girl was thrilled to be spending her first night alone in her parents house and mainly watched TV until 11.00 rolled round.

Deciding she was tired she moved upstairs to her comfy bedroom to retire for the night. Her trusty Alsatian dog following her all the time.

After being asleep for a short time she awoke to a dripping noise coming from the bathroom. Not afraid, but curious as to what the noise was she lowered her hand down beside her bed to gain a little comfort from the Alsatian. She felt the warmth of his soft tongue as he licked her hand, showing her that he was O.K and that everything would be alright. Feeling assured she drifted off to sleep once more.

Waking once again to the sounds of the dripping tap, or whatever it was, in the bathroom she instinctively dropped her hand down to pet her dog. Once again her dog offered up the loyal companionship that only a much trusted and loved pet can, and licked her hand and she once again fell asleep.

For the last time she woke up again, that annoying noise was still going, she reached for her dog but found he wasn't there. Wondering where her parents were at this time of night (it was about 3.30am by this time) and looking for her dog she walked out into the bathroom.

A horrifying sight met her, the dog had been mutilated and was creating the dripping noise, as blood slowly fell and pooled on the floor below. Screaming she ran back through the house and attempted to call the police. The phone was dead, and she turned to suddenly see her parents also mutilated behind her. Her screams could be heard as she looked down at a note written in blood, it read:
"Humans Can Lick Too My Beautiful".

She then runs madly for the stairs only to see a black figure waiting with open arms to catch her.

Variations on this story:

The girl is baby sitting some children for the night, she walks outside to throw out the garbage. The parents have left the home pleading with the young babysitter to beware if the air sirens sound as this is warning that a criminal has escaped from the local asylum.

While throwing out the trash the siren sounds, the girl runs inside locking the doors and windows. She takes comfort from the dog licking her hand on the couch. Same ending.

Written on bathroom mirror beside dog is "Maniacs like hands".

She views long haired, insane type man under her bed when lightning flashes as she is petting him. After police arrive they find he was living in his own room in the attic.

Girl ends up being pulled under the bed by maniac and killed.

Hook - No he's not a pirate!

This Story has been told to me time and time again. Rather it be at old slumber parties or from grandparents. If ever ghost stories are being told, this one is always one of them. It may got be the exact wording, but its all the same!

The story begins with two high school kids out on a date. The two kids had gone to see a movie that had ended early, so instead of going on home they decided to go parking. The drove way out into the country. As they drove they listened to the radio. About half way to their destination the radio broadcasted that a convict had escaped from the local prison, and that he had been in prison for the murders of several people. The radio then went on to warn people that on the convicts left arm, instead of a hand he wore a hook, and that if anyone saw him to please contact the local authorities. Well, hearing this, the girl became very frightened and wanted to go home. However the boy just laughed at her and said he would take care of her and that no convict would come this far out into the country. The girl wasn't completely put to ease, but she agreed to go on. When they got there, they talked and soon began making out. Not long after, the girl heard a scrapping sound on her car door, she told her boyfriend, but he told her she was just hearing things and to stop being paranoid.

They started making out again, but the girl kept on hearing the noise. Soon she became so afraid the boy agreed to leave. He was very annoyed and took off spinning his tires. When they got to her house, the boy got out to let his girlfriend out of the car, and as he went to open the door, hanging off the hinge was a HOOK!!!

Thanks to: Tara Howell, North Carolina, USA

Hoofprints - One of those milder stories.

This story may not be known everywhere, but it's told a lot where I come from.

I'll start out by telling you about the setting.
It's in the Arizona desert, mainly on a secret path that only two girls knew about. Their names were Janice and Susan.

usan was a really good horse back rider. She had her own horse and rode it every day. She mostly rode with her best friend Janice, on a path only the two girls knew about.

One day, Janice had to go to the doctor and Susan was left to ride alone. She took the path, even though she knew it would be difficult without the two of them together. When Janice got home she called Susan only to be answered by her frantic mother who told Janice that Susan had not returned home and was missing.

At five o clock, cops searched the area, but Susan was nowhere to be found. Janice saw one way she could help. She snuck away and went on the path.

The path was long, and it was almost impossible to make it by herself. It was soon getting dark, and having no way to see, Janice went home to find a flashlight. When she got there, her parents refused to let her go outside again. She eventaully went to bed and then fell into a deep sleep, and had a disturbing dream.

She saw a beat up figure that looked like Susan, with her horse nearby. She couldn't make out where she was at, and a familar voice said ," Janice! This wasn't an accident. All the evidence is right here. I don't know where I'm at, but I think I'm leaving......" Janice was suddenly jerked out of her sleep. It was still night, but she grabbed her jacket and a lantern and ran towards the path in hopes that she could still save her friend.

When she got there, it was raining hard, but a set of hoofprints where still visible, as plain as day. She followed them until she reached an old burnt down building with a fireplace still intact. It fell with a sudden crash and the horse Janice was riding threw her to the ground. She painfully got up and rode further. Towards another old shack that had also been burnt down, Janice closed her eyes in hope that this was all a dream. As she did that, Susans voice said," Don't give up! If you can find the person that did this to me, I can go peacefully."

Janice opned her eyes and rode to a dried up river bed. She heard the whinney of a horse and realized it wasn't hers. A track of hoofprints ahead of her suddenly stopped. She saw a horse standing and a sprawled out body in front of her. She got off her horse and ran to the body. It was the same person in her dream. She put the body on Susans horse and led both horses to Susans house where the police were still swarming the area.

Janice fell off her horse from exhaustion and went into another deep sleep. Susan came back, only this time, Janice could sense a feeling of warmth and peacefulness. She saw Susan smiling and was woken up by the sherriff. He took her to an awaiting ambulance and called another one to take away Susans body.

It turned out that some strange devil worshippers was responsible for Susans death.

In the newpaper Janice asked everyone not to mourn, because Heaven gained and angel.

Submitted from: Betsy, Arizona, USA

Harold

This is an urban legend from my part of the country told all around the farms in the state. My uncle told it to me one night at my dad's ranch when I was 12. Funny how it happened at "my Dad's ranch".

Thomas and Alfred were two best friends. Whenever it got hot, they would take their cows up to a cool, green pasture in the mountains. Usually they stayed there with the cows all summer. The work their in the mountains was easy, but really boring. All they did was tend their cows all day. They would return to their tiny hut and night. Every night they ate supper, worked in the garden, and went to sleep.

Then one day, Thomas said "Let's make a life-size doll. We can put it in the garden and use it as a scarecrow." There was a farmer they both hated named Harold, so they decided to name the doll Harold and make it look like him. They made it out of straw and gave it a pointy nose and tiny eyes, like Harold's. Day after day, they would tie Harold to a pole in the garden to scare away the birds. They brought it in the house every night. Sometimes, they would talk to it, saying things like "How's it going?" And the other would say in a weird voice "Not good." Of course, Harold wouldn't appreciate it. When they were in a bad mood, they would even curse at him or kick him.

A while later, when Thomas was taking out his anger on Harold, Alfred swore he heard the doll grunt. "Did you hear that? Harold grunted!" "Impossible, he's just a sack of straw," replied Thomas. Alfred dismissed it, but they both stopped talking to it, kicking it, or even touching it, they just left him neglected in the corner of the room.

After a while, they decided nothing was to be feared. Maybe a few bugs or rats were living in the straw. So they went back to their old routine. Every day, they would take it outside, and bring it back in at night. Then they even started treated him badly again.

One night, Alfred noticed something that scared him. "It looks like Harold is growing." "I was thinking the same," answered Thomas. "Maybe it's just our imagination. I think the elevation is getting to us." The next morning, they saw Harold stand up and walk outstide, climb onto the roof, and he stayed there all night. In the morning, it came down and stood in the pasture. They got very scared and decided to flee. They took their cows and started heading back down for the valley. After going only a mile or so, they realized they had forgotten the milking stools. They knew they didn't have the money to replace them, so Alfred forced himself back to get them. "I'll catch up with you later. You just keep moving." After walking for a while, Thomas looked back at the hut and did not see Alfred. What he did see,however, horrified him. He saw Harold, on the roof of the hut, stretching out a bloody piece of flesh to dry in the sun.

Copied and submitted to Castle of Spirits by Leonardo Garza TX, USA

GECKO! GECKO! - Some pets just can't eat enough sometimes!

In downtown New York, at a somewhat trashy apartment, there lived a man named Howard. He was a young man, in his mid-twenties, and had a terrible fear of cockroaches. Well if you've been to New York, and maybe live or stayed in a rundown hotel, you know how many cockroaches there are. Too many to count!

Howie had just come home from work and was looking for a bit of relaxation. All he wanted to do was get a bowl of ice cream, sit down and read the newspaper. He started raiding the messy cabinets and sink to look for a bowl and a spoon. He found the bowl, got out the ice cream and opened a drawer to get the spoon when, Surprise!! Out jumps a big juicy cockroach. After jumping twenty feet in the air and grabbing a spoon out of the drawer, he sat down to calm himself. "God forsaken roaches!" he yelled, while slowing his heartbeat, just as another cockroach crawled between his feet. " There's got to be something I can do to get rid of them." Just then, as he was getting his ice cream and reading ads in the paper, one specific ad caught his eye. "Got Roaches? We have a solution! Come down to Sam's Pet Club today and get yourself the natural predator of the roaches, a Gecko!"

"What in the world?" Howard thought. He read on: "That's right! A gecko! Follow the directions below to get your very own live cockroach eliminator! Then ask our friendly staff how to care for and what to do to get rid of your cockroaches." "Ya right. That gecko will probably eat me while I sleep." he said as yet another roach scuttled across the floor. He felt sick. He thought it was worth a try, so the very next day he followed the directions on the ad to the pet store.

He asked about the geckos and the staff told him what to do with a gecko and how much they were and, soon enough, he was driving home with his very own gecko. "Great," he thought "yet another little critter that is going to be loitering around in my house."

He got home and did just as the woman at the store told him to do, and let the gecko go. He saw the gecko run under the refrigerator after the nearest cockroach it saw. "Well, at least he is doing his job." he said after he heard the loud "GECKO, GECKO," sound that geckos make when they swallow.

Days went by, and Howard saw fewer and fewer roaches. He didn't like the gecko running around his house all the time, but what's one gecko to a thousand roaches? He shrugged it off, and tried to suck it up. One thing he did do, however, was close the door before he went to bed. But no matter what he did, somehow the lizard always got into his room.

One day after work, he was getting some dinner when he saw the gecko chase one of the last cockroaches on the house under the refrigerator. He saw the cockroach scurry under it with the gecko far behind struggling to go under. That's when Harold realized. It was getting bigger. That night he did everything he could to keep the Gecko out of his room. He fell into a deep sleep.

All the police found the next morning was a small stain on the bed that looked like blood. They searched everywhere in the house for Harold after a worried neighbor herd a slight scream and a haunting "GECKO, GECKO," that morning, but no one could find anything. No Harold, No Gecko, No cockroaches, nothing. They left that house confused and wondering, never to see Harold again. The only place they didn't check was under the bed, where the gecko was - big as ever, and full at last.

Submitted by: Constance, TN, USA

Gates of Hell - The Old Haunted House that's been abandoned after a murder - every town has one !

This story is based upon encounters of people other than me. However, the legend of the place is well known in my area.

For many years, the high school kids in Chester County have talked about a place called The Gates of Hell. As legend would have it, the name refers to the very large, supposedly blood red, cast iron gates at the entrance to an old, secluded mansion. This mansion is also abandoned, having been vacated shortly after a family was murdered there around the turn of the century. Currently, one cannot see the gates from the road as they are in the middle of a long driveway and a chain-link fence guards the entrance to the driveway. The yard is overgrown with grass to a height of about three feet.

One young lady I knew years ago claimed that friends of hers went to the house and peered in the windows. She said that they could seen shadowy shapes moving within. I kind of poo-pooed her story, but it spooked me a little as I'll relate at the end of my story.

More recently, like 1 month ago, one of my wife's young co-workers went to see the house with a group of college-aged friends. They climbed the chain link fence, walked through the high grass, which even covered the drive-way and looked into the house. Amazingly, candles and lanterns were lit throughout the house, dimly showing antique furniture covered with tarps and sheets. Also, there was an epitaph, detailing the birth and death dates of a girl named Molly. They didn't see anything within, but became spooked over the lights and decided to leave. As they walked away, their pace became more frantic and then they realized they were being chased by two large doberman-type dogs. They all barely got over the chain-link fence in time to escape. The question remaining is how could the dogs and the lights be there if the place was abandoned and there was not sign of anyone being near the place in ages?

Myself, I had only one experience connected with the Gates. One night, the previously mentioned young lady, another friend and I tried to drive out to see these fabled gates. As we drove down the dirt road leading to it amidst dense woods (Blair Witch type), we noticed something in the branches of a tree on the side of the road. As we got closer, we saw that it was a fairly large teddy bear with the branch stuck through its neck! Laugh if you will, but it spooked the living daylights out of us and I did the quickest three-point turn of my life!

Anyway, that's what I know of the Gates of Hell of Chester County, PA

Waterford City and County has a lot of ghost and horror stories which fit into every other classic ghost story in the Castle of Spirits but there is one that seemed to play back my memory. The Gates of Hell.

There's a place in Waterford County called Passage, and old river side town with probably the best example of a real haunted town. On the road to Passage there is bridge with a train track over it. Near this bridge is or should i say was a fairly large house. The house was surrounded by a small wood and a long lane way from the road up to it. You can see most of the the house from the road but locals say you cant see the road from the house. The font gate is big enough but easy to get over. There is an old sign on the gate which is so rusted that you cant read the writing, but locals say it contains the name of the house and the date it was built. Anyway, a family used to live there (I've been told they were O Briens) and they were very popular in the town. The daughter was named Molly and she had a lot of friends who lived in the town. One day Molly met a young man who worked in a the harbour bringing in fish and cargo and so on. Well Molly fell in love with him strainght away. As time went on the two became very close and decided to marry. Unfortunatly Molly's father wes having none of this and (like most suicide stories) Molly hung herself from the landing. The family moved out and was never heard from again. In the 70's people started to talk about the house and some secondary school students decided to brake in. As they got up to the house the wood seemed 100 times bigger than from the road (like i mentioned before). They looked in the window and saw only an empty room with a huge marble fireplace. As they looked across to the door a thin dark figure walked past the door. If that wasnt enough the fireplace lit up. The kids got so scared that they ran down the road. But they were getting nowhere the wood now seemed like a forest they ran and ran until they finaly reached the gate. They scaled the gate and ran home. When they got home they were greeted crying familys who had reported them missing. In the town records the news papers show that the kids had been missing for two weeks. This story was never explained. But in 1996 a company bought the lad and knocked down the house. During the construction the workers had to cut down most of the trees to clear space. (this part is compleatly true) The workers cut down about 1/3 of the forest by the end of the week which was a friday. On monday they returned to find all the trees had grown back and the workers from there on in refused to cut down any trees. The people who work in the house now still say they see dark figures, fireplaces lighting by themselves and voices coming from the bridge which people say is where Molly lives now since her house is no longer there.

Submitted from: Ireland

Didn't Turn on the Lights A warning for all college girls - don't go turning on lights unless you know what's hiding in the dark !!!!

Two college girls named Miranda and Louise shared a dorm room together. One night Louise told Miranda she had a mild case of the flu and felt pretty lousy, and wanted to be left alone. Miranda was sympathetic and took her books to the library to study so Louise could have the room to herself.

Later that evening, Miranda met a very nice guy who wanted to take her to a bar. But she remembered she had left her ID back in the dorm and would need to get it to prove she was old enough to get into the bar. Remembering that Louise was sick and not wanting to disturb her, Miranda didn't turn on the lights when she went into the room. She just walked in, fumbled on the dresser for her card, and left.

Miranda had a good time at the bar with the boy. At midnight he drove her back to the dorm. Police cars were everywhere. Frightened college students huddled in shivering groups. Yellow crime-scene tape was blocking the door to the one of the dorm rooms. Miranda panicked, screamed that the room was hers, and pushed past detectives to get inside.

Louise's mutilated, dismembered body was sitting on her bed in a lake of blood. She had been stabbed repeatedly and hacked to pieces. Sickened by the sight, Miranda ran into the bathroom and vomited. After she emptied her stomach, she went to the sink to wash her face. Scrawled on the mirror in blood was a message from the killer written just for her: "AREN'T YOU GLAD YOU DIDN'T TURN ON THE LIGHTS?"

This is a version of the "Aren't You Glad You Didn't Turn On The Lights" story that I heard as a child.

Cindy and Mary shared a dorm room at college. Cindy was more into partying than into school, while Mary spent most of her time studying. Mary hummed under her breath a lot while she was studying, something that really bothered Cindy. One night Cindy came home late from a party, and Mary was already in bed with the lights off. Cindy was kind of hung over, and when Mary started humming "Oh Susannah" she got really mad. She yelled at Mary and told her to shut up. The humming stopped for a while, then started up again just as Cindy was drifting off to sleep. She yelled at Mary to shut up again, and this time she listened.

The next morning when Cindy got up, Mary was still asleep, with the covers completely over her. Cindy went to her closet, to get dressed and just then Mary started humming "Oh Susannah" again. Cindy had had enough, and whirled around screaming "Shut up Mary or..." but she stopped in midsentence when she saw a big black man standing in the corner, holding a machete in one hand and Mary's head in the other. He was humming "Oh Susannah" as he started walking toward Cindy.

I've heard a different version of didn't turn on the lights. Here it is.

There is a girl named Leslie and she shared a dorm with another girl named Arline (Arline was kinda a slut). So Leslie wouldn't be suprised if she came home and heard Arline doing it. So one night after she comes in from studing from the library she hears Arline being murdered but she thinks shes just with another guy again. So she just puts on her headphones and goes to sleep. The next morning she wakes up and there's a puddle of blood on Arlines bed. On the wall behind the bed the killer wrote Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light's? In Arline's blood. So there it is.

Click-Clack - better watch your back - keep away from War Veterans with long nails!!!!

This story was told to me by friends and grandparents.

In a small town of Kentucky there was this old war veteran. His legs were blown off in the war, and so the only way he could move around was by dragging himself around by his long long long nails. He was also a psycho. He would come around the town and disembowel people with his long long nails. So, because of this, the people were ordered to go inside at exactly 6:00 pm and lock their doors.

Well, one night a little girl asked her mom if she could go play at her friends house. The mother looked at the clock, it was 4:00. She told the little girl to be home by 5:45 because thats when "click-click" came out. The little girl agreed and was on her way. She played and played and I guess she lost track of time because when she headed home, it was already 5:48. She thought, no hurry, ill make it home on time. But that was when she saw the ice cream man. She bought one and by the time she really started to go home was 6:00. She observed people locking their doors and calling in there kids.
"Shoot, I'd better run". she thought. Finally she reached her street. But thats when she heard the noise, click click drag click click drag. It got louder and louder. She turned around to make sure he wasn't there but he was. Meanwhile, her mother was inside getting ready for bed, she figured her daughter was already asleep so she decided not to wake her. Then she heard knocking and pounding on the door, she figured it was the click click an paid no attention. It was really her daughter though, wanting to come inside. The next morning, the mother opened the door to get her newspaper only to find her daughters body and in blood written on the tree was, "Mom why didn't you open the door?"