Calarogu Shark Media, Hello and Welcome to Ghost. This episode is titled Bear
Squatch. Deep within the verdant wilderness that skirts the edges of the sleepy town
of Elderwood, a legend as old as the pines whispers through the leaves.
It tells of a creature affusion of man, spirit, and beast, known
to the townsfolk as Bear Squatch. Elderwood, once a thriving settlement during the
gold Rush era, had long been the heart of tales so grim and ghastly
that they were seldom spoken aloud. The town's history was as rich as the
veins of ore that once ran beneath it, and the story of Bear Squatch
was the darkest of these veins. The creature's origin lay with a man named
Jeremiah Blackthorn, a solitary figure with an imposing stature and a heart as kind
as the dawn. A trapper by trade and a woodsman by birth, Jeremiah
was as much a part of the forest as the ancient oaks. His understanding
of the natural world was unparalleled, and his affinity for the bears that roamed
the woods was well known. He could walk among them as one of their
own. Jeremiah's bond with the creatures he called brethren was born of a tragedy
that had unfolded many years prior. His family. Settlers seeking prosperity in the
untamed wild had perished in a brutal winter that showed no mercy to the ill
prepared. Jeremiah, the sole survivor, was taken in by an old hermit,
who taught him the ways of the woods. Years passed, and Jeremiah
became a legend in his own right, a guardian of the forest, But
his tail took a twisted turn when gold was discovered near Elderwood. Greed seeped
into the town like a poison, and with it came men who saw the
wilderness not as a living entity, but as a resource to be pillaged.
One fateful day, a group of miners, blinded by avarice, encroached upon
a sacred grove where Jeremiah had found solace among his ursine companions. In their
recklessness, they slew a bear that Jeremiah had known since it was a cub.
Enraged and stricken with grief, Jeremiah let out a mournful cry that echoed
through the valley, a sound that melded the fury of man with the roar
of a bear. That night, under a blood red moon, something within
Jeremiah snapped. He ventured into the heart of the forest, to a place
where the veil between the natural world and the realm of spirits was said to
be thin. There Jeremiah performed a ritual of old, one that would bind
his spirit with the bear he had lost, seeking vengeance upon those who had
desecrated his home. The ritual was a success, but at a terrible cost.
Jeremiah's form twisted and contorted, his humanity, Merging with the raw essence
of the bear. He became a specter of retribution, a creature of fur
and phantom, known thereafter as Bear Squatch. For days that turned into weeks,
the miners found their camps ravaged, their equipment destroyed, and their comrades
missing. The legend of Bear Squatch grew with each disappearance, a tale to
frighten children and a warning to those who would harm the forest. But Bear
Squatch's reign of terror came to an abrupt end when a cunning trapper seeking the
bounty on the creature's head, laid a trap laced with silver and etched with
ancient runes. Bear Squatch, driven by the same grief that had fueled his
transformation, fell for the ploy and was ensnared. The trapper's trap did more
than capture bear Squatch, it cursed him. The runes bound Jeremiah's tormented spirit
to the earth, his form forever caught between the worlds of the living and
the dead. Bear Squatch was no more, and Jeremiah's ghost was left to
wander the forest, his howls a chilling reminder of the price of revenge.
In present day Elderwood, the legend of bear Squatch was more than just a
tale to scare children. Campers spoke of an eerie presence in the woods,
a feeling of being watched by unseen eyes. Hunters would find their prey already
torn asunder, as if by the claws of a massive beast, and sometimes
a dusk a silhouette that was neither man nor bear could be seen moving through
the trees. The ghost of Jeremiah, trapped within the curse of bare Squatch,
sought release from his eternal pain. His mournful cries would sometimes merge with
the wind, a sound so sorrowful that even the bravest souls would shiver.
The solution to Jeremiah's curse lay hidden in the very grove where his transformation had
occurred. A descendant of the hermit who had once taught Jeremiah the ways of
the forest, a young woman named Eliza, held the key. She had
studied the old ways and understood the language of the land. Eliza ventured into
the woods to the sacred grove and performed a ritual of unbinding. Under the
light of the full moon. She called out to Jeremiah's spirit, offering him
forgiveness and a passage to peace. As she spoke the ancient words, the
wind carried her voice across the forest, and the ghost of Jeremiah, drawn
to the sound of hope, emerged from the shadows. Eliza's ritual untangled the
webs of Jeremiah's curse. The ghostly form of bear Squatch dissipated, leaving behind
the peaceful spirit of Jeremiah. With a final grateful glance towards Eliza, Jeremiah's
spirit ascended, his silhouette, blending with the moonlight until it was no more.
Elderwood was never the same after that night, the hauntings ceased, and
the forest reclaimed its calm. Jeremiah's sacrifice became a lesson to the townsfolk,
a reminder to respect the wilderness and the spirits that dwell within it. Squatch
was no longer a name that evoked fear. Instead, it became a symbol
of the balance between man and nature, and the tale of Jeremiah Blackthorne lived
on a ghost story that taught the importance of harmony and the redemptive power of
forgiveness. Ghost is a Calorogus Shark Media production written and hosted by Alexander Ian
McIntyre, produced by Mark Francis. Executive producers Mark Francis and John McDermott Calaroga
Shark Media.