WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.040 --> 00:00:09.960 Here is a story from Katie from West Virginia. This 2 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:13.759 is a paranormal case or it's a series of paranormal 3 00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:16.519 stories that I really got a kick out of. And 4 00:00:16.600 --> 00:00:19.000 she writes, I've seen that you have other stories on 5 00:00:19.039 --> 00:00:22.359 your channel, and I thought these might be interesting to you, 6 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:25.600 So even if you don't read them on the podcast, 7 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:30.079 please enjoy. I grew up in the mountains of West Virginia. 8 00:00:30.519 --> 00:00:34.479 My grandpa was great at recounting stories from his childhood, 9 00:00:34.920 --> 00:00:37.119 and it was a family pastime to sit on the 10 00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:40.000 front porch or by the coal fire in the winter 11 00:00:40.520 --> 00:00:44.520 and hear him tell a tale or two. These two 12 00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:49.200 stories happened in Webster, West Virginia. It's a tiny area 13 00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:52.359 just outside of Grafton where a lot of coal miners 14 00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:56.240 and railway workers used to stay. It was between Grafton 15 00:00:56.520 --> 00:01:01.079 and Philippi. When my grandma Paul was younger, he and 16 00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:03.640 his brother slept in what was a large walk in 17 00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:08.000 closet situated near the front of their house. He said 18 00:01:08.040 --> 00:01:10.239 the wall next to their heads backed up to the 19 00:01:10.280 --> 00:01:14.319 front porch. From as far back as he could remember, 20 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:17.680 he and his brother Junior would hear footsteps on the 21 00:01:17.760 --> 00:01:21.280 porch at night he said it sounded like a lady 22 00:01:21.319 --> 00:01:26.439 wearing high heels, pacing back and forth. As they got older, 23 00:01:26.519 --> 00:01:29.280 they started playing around with it, and they were shouting 24 00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:32.680 and knocking on the wall, yelling at it. And one night, 25 00:01:32.760 --> 00:01:35.359 he said, his dad came in there and shouted, now, 26 00:01:35.400 --> 00:01:38.519 you boys, settled down to leave that alone. That thing 27 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:40.920 has been here for as long as I have, and 28 00:01:40.959 --> 00:01:46.040 it's never heard anyone. My grandpa always thought it was 29 00:01:46.079 --> 00:01:49.640 a ghost of some description, and from then on they'd 30 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:53.359 lay there quietly and listened for it every night, because 31 00:01:53.400 --> 00:01:58.439 nobody messed with his dad. My grandpa had an aunt 32 00:01:58.640 --> 00:02:02.599 named Izzy. Izzy ran a boarding house for coal miners 33 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:06.359 not far from where we grew up in Webster. Izzy 34 00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:08.520 was known to have a bit of a foul mouth 35 00:02:08.599 --> 00:02:12.560 and was afraid of nothing. The big burly guys from 36 00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:14.919 the coal mines never gave her a bit of trouble, 37 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:18.199 but she started getting annoyed with them when she found 38 00:02:18.199 --> 00:02:20.479 that there was one room none of them wanted to 39 00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:24.000 sleep in. She finally got out of them that the 40 00:02:24.039 --> 00:02:26.879 covers would not stay on the bed at night, and 41 00:02:26.919 --> 00:02:29.360 they would frequently leave the room in the middle of 42 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:34.639 the night to go sleep elsewhere. I remember finding that fascinating. 43 00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:37.840 Since these guys had to have heard and seen some 44 00:02:37.879 --> 00:02:42.719 pretty scary stuff down in those coal mines, Izzy would 45 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:45.800 have none of it. She decided she'd go sleep in 46 00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:49.199 that room and show them a thing or two. After 47 00:02:49.240 --> 00:02:51.919 a few nights of the covers coming off the beds, 48 00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:55.479 she tucked them in under the mattress, and they'd still 49 00:02:55.520 --> 00:02:58.520 fly off in the middle of the night, so she 50 00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:03.199 decided to take safety pins and pin them to the mattress. 51 00:03:03.240 --> 00:03:06.319 Still in the middle of the night, all the pins 52 00:03:06.360 --> 00:03:08.960 had come undone and the covers were on the floor. 53 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:12.919 The boys staying there said that they could hear her 54 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:16.919 cussing whatever it was, you damn sons of bitches. She 55 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:21.919 wasn't afraid of nothing. And I don't know whatever happened 56 00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:25.159 after that, but I've always wished I had known old 57 00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:30.520 Aunt Izzie. And finally, having moved away from West Virginia 58 00:03:30.680 --> 00:03:34.599 a long time ago, I now live in Scotland. My 59 00:03:34.680 --> 00:03:37.680 friends and I like to watch podcasts like yours and 60 00:03:37.800 --> 00:03:41.719 freak ourselves out from time to time. My friend Jen 61 00:03:41.879 --> 00:03:45.879 recounted a story from a man in her village near Pennicook. 62 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:49.560 She said many years ago when he was a young man, 63 00:03:49.719 --> 00:03:52.639 he would walk home around midnight from a local pub 64 00:03:52.960 --> 00:03:56.800 up on an old country lane, and on occasion he 65 00:03:56.840 --> 00:04:00.719 would see a big black dog with red eyes sitting 66 00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:04.240 on one of the rock walls in the area. He 67 00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:07.000 said he never paid it any mine, because the legend 68 00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:09.639 had it that the dog would show up to protect you. 69 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:14.080 As creepy as that was. Once we all finished shuddering 70 00:04:14.199 --> 00:04:16.680 at the thought of a spectral dog in the middle 71 00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:19.759 of nowhere in Scotland, we looked at each other and 72 00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:24.000 we said, what on earth is that dog protecting you from? 73 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:28.000 And I hope I'll never find out anyway, there you go. 74 00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:31.040 I hope I've provided some good fodder and I love 75 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:34.279 your podcast and the interviews you've done. Keep them coming. 76 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:38.480 Signed Katie, Katie, that was so such a good little 77 00:04:38.680 --> 00:04:42.480 series of stories. I really appreciate you saying that I've 78 00:04:42.519 --> 00:04:45.680 had this for a long time and I've neglected some 79 00:04:45.800 --> 00:04:49.439 of these paranormal stories, but they are so good and 80 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:51.639 I'm just going to do them on this channel like 81 00:04:51.720 --> 00:04:54.839 it or not. Paranormal stories are just as good as 82 00:04:54.839 --> 00:05:02.720 bigfoot stories. Thank you, Katie. Okay, this is a story. 83 00:05:02.759 --> 00:05:05.839 This is a little bit of a non typical story. 84 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:12.360 There's no huge theme here or any kind of point 85 00:05:12.639 --> 00:05:15.839 climax in the story that will shock you. But it's 86 00:05:15.879 --> 00:05:19.959 a really fun email from a gentleman in Atlanta that 87 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:21.959 I read a couple of weeks ago, and I thought, 88 00:05:21.959 --> 00:05:24.120 I'm gonna put this in a podcast because it's really 89 00:05:24.199 --> 00:05:26.680 kind of fun. It's serious, but it's kind of fun. 90 00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:28.639 So let me just read it and let's see if 91 00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:32.519 you enjoyed as much as I did. Let's see the 92 00:05:32.519 --> 00:05:37.439 man rights. Welcome to my first night on Battlefield Avenue. 93 00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:40.759 My stories don't have anything to do with bigfoot. I've 94 00:05:40.800 --> 00:05:44.360 never had that experience. But the stories about my house 95 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:49.480 are true events that I have experienced. My friend Raj 96 00:05:49.639 --> 00:05:53.600 owns this house and he's from India. He raised his 97 00:05:53.720 --> 00:05:56.199 son's here and when I told him about the spirits 98 00:05:56.199 --> 00:05:59.279 that live here, he just laughed at me laughter. A 99 00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:01.839 few minutes he ask if it bothered me. I had 100 00:06:01.879 --> 00:06:06.160 to say, no, haven't had any negative experiences. So let 101 00:06:06.199 --> 00:06:08.120 me jump in and tell you a little bit about them. 102 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:12.399 My name is of no concern to the readers or listeners. 103 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:16.439 My house is in such a geographically specific place that 104 00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:20.439 it is easy to find if you research any history 105 00:06:20.480 --> 00:06:23.639 about General McPherson and his death, you will find a 106 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:29.480 treasure trove of information. This is the history of Battlefield Avenue. 107 00:06:30.120 --> 00:06:34.000 It's only three blocks long now. When I twenty plowed 108 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:39.079 through Atlanta, my street was significantly shortened. I live here 109 00:06:39.079 --> 00:06:42.199 by myself with two crazy cats, and I have lots 110 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:44.519 of work to do on this old house, and I 111 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:48.959 don't get lonely. I'm retired from the movie industry. Now 112 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:51.319 get a check from Social Security, and I try to 113 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:54.240 get to the end of each month. I was a 114 00:06:54.279 --> 00:06:57.720 special effects fabricator, so if you drive down my streets, 115 00:06:57.720 --> 00:06:59.800 you'll see my cats and my work in the front 116 00:06:59.800 --> 00:07:03.319 of the house. I never call it my house. I'm 117 00:07:03.360 --> 00:07:06.000 not here alone, and the spirits that call this home 118 00:07:06.040 --> 00:07:08.800 have been here, and we'll be here after I'm gone. 119 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:12.839 The work is never ending here. There's not a single 120 00:07:12.920 --> 00:07:16.639 miter joint in the whole house. Nothing is up to code. 121 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:20.000 The first time I took the cover off the electrical panel, 122 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:23.079 I thought I was going to die. There were ground 123 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:26.519 wires that were barely attached, and everything had the appearance 124 00:07:26.519 --> 00:07:29.480 of being hand tightened or just in place, ready to 125 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:33.240 be locked down and tightened from the installation. There was 126 00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:36.079 no master breaker either, so I put on my rubber 127 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:39.519 gloves and grab what I hoped was a well insulated screwdriver. 128 00:07:40.439 --> 00:07:43.720 Needless to say, I learned something about electrons when I 129 00:07:43.800 --> 00:07:47.160 was younger, so a lot of my mystery circuits started 130 00:07:47.199 --> 00:07:51.680 working a whole lot better. There's an LED strip over 131 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:55.600 my couch, and it still didn't work. It has two switches, 132 00:07:55.839 --> 00:07:58.160 one by the door for a light and a separate 133 00:07:58.199 --> 00:08:01.120 switch for the ceiling fan that I wanted to put in. 134 00:08:02.439 --> 00:08:04.879 I took the ghost lights down and I tossed them, 135 00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:07.759 and when I came in from the trash, the kitchen 136 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:11.920 lights blinked. And when I say blinked, I should say 137 00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:16.360 strove like a disco. I thought the door closing might 138 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:19.319 have just helped me find another loose wiring problem. So 139 00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:22.399 I slammed the door several times, but it didn't blink anymore, 140 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:25.040 and I replaced the bulb with a new one, and 141 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:28.959 I went back to work. My cats are so funny. 142 00:08:29.160 --> 00:08:32.279 One is black. His name is Merlin because he thinks 143 00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:35.879 he's invisible. He is most of the time when I'm 144 00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:40.440 not wearing my glasses asleep in my black chair. His 145 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:44.360 brother's name is Mervin. Mervin. Mervin is huge and he 146 00:08:44.440 --> 00:08:47.480 weighs fourteen pounds and has weird spots on his back 147 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:51.120 like a bobcat. His tail is like a small chain 148 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:54.159 which he uses to clear off my desk when it thunders. 149 00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:57.960 I call it my accessory. It doesn't matter what you 150 00:08:58.039 --> 00:09:00.360 name your cats. They only come to you when they 151 00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:08.120 want something. They are part of this eyewitness story. One afternoon, 152 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:09.960 I was about to climb up on the roof from 153 00:09:10.039 --> 00:09:13.120 the back patio and I heard a lady's voice and 154 00:09:13.159 --> 00:09:17.200 she plainly called my name. Well, I was shocked, and 155 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:20.159 I turned and I expected to see someone on the porch, 156 00:09:20.519 --> 00:09:23.600 and there was no one there. The hair stood up 157 00:09:23.639 --> 00:09:26.440 on my arms when these things happened, and I have 158 00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:29.159 that feeling now as I type this into my computer. 159 00:09:29.799 --> 00:09:32.879 It's like electricity or static. I don't know how to 160 00:09:32.919 --> 00:09:37.639 describe it. I just go with the energy. The lady 161 00:09:37.799 --> 00:09:41.360 is plainly only one of my roommates, unless she also 162 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:45.320 pulls on my shirt. One afternoon, I was working on 163 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:48.080 a guitar and I felt a tug on my sleeve. 164 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:51.840 I turned, expecting to see Merlin on the arm of 165 00:09:51.879 --> 00:09:54.559 my chair, and there he was asleep on the chair 166 00:09:54.600 --> 00:09:58.519 behind me. Mervin likes to climb up to the highest 167 00:09:58.519 --> 00:10:00.039 point in the room, so he was on the the 168 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:03.480 arm wy. He says he doesn't know how to spell it. 169 00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:06.240 I don't know how to smell that either. I think 170 00:10:06.279 --> 00:10:13.080 it's a RMS maybe anyway, armoy and he was fast 171 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:17.399 asleep again. The hairs on my arms stood up once. 172 00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:19.159 When I tried to get up from the chair. I 173 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:21.639 felt like my shirt was caught on something right behind 174 00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:24.600 my back, like a hand pulling me back down or 175 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:28.240 a bungee cord. The shirt tug was just the beginning 176 00:10:28.279 --> 00:10:32.559 of a lot of physical manifestations. Also have a big 177 00:10:32.600 --> 00:10:35.919 attict tin roof and a fireplace that heats the kitchen 178 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:38.600 in the bedroom. I've heard a lot of noise from 179 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:42.919 the attic, mostly squirrels. One day I was in the kitchen, 180 00:10:43.399 --> 00:10:45.759 Merlin was laying in the exact middle of the room 181 00:10:45.799 --> 00:10:49.679 licking his butt. Sorry, that's what cats do when they're bored. 182 00:10:49.720 --> 00:10:51.480 They always have to be right in the center of 183 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:55.200 my way. Well, I heard footsteps from the attic, and 184 00:10:55.279 --> 00:10:58.480 it was no mistake. Someone was walking just above my head. 185 00:10:59.559 --> 00:11:02.679 Above the kitchen. The roof is low, there's no way 186 00:11:02.720 --> 00:11:06.519 to walk, not upright on two feet. I looked down 187 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:10.279 at Merlin and he had stopped licking his blood, and 188 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:13.039 he was staring at the ceiling, just like I had been. 189 00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:17.600 That's when I realized I wasn't hearing things. The light 190 00:11:17.639 --> 00:11:21.159 flicker is my other roommate. He rings the doorbell and 191 00:11:21.240 --> 00:11:23.759 makes me think I have a bad bub by making 192 00:11:23.879 --> 00:11:27.039 it get dim or flash. He seems to be the 193 00:11:27.080 --> 00:11:29.960 one with a sense of humor. It's funny as hell 194 00:11:30.039 --> 00:11:32.639 to turn off or just flash the bathroom light when 195 00:11:32.679 --> 00:11:35.200 it's dark and I'm in the shower. Does it all 196 00:11:35.240 --> 00:11:39.240 the time. Sometimes I think he's acting like a little kid. 197 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:41.799 Now I wonder if this is also the middle of 198 00:11:41.840 --> 00:11:46.120 the night doorknocker too. Oh yeah. I have two doors 199 00:11:46.120 --> 00:11:49.440 in the front. The patio has tools in my solar 200 00:11:49.480 --> 00:11:52.639 system battery, so I keep the outside door locked at night. 201 00:11:53.480 --> 00:11:57.080 The doorbell is also on the inside door. Usually the 202 00:11:57.120 --> 00:12:02.039 knocker comes around four am. Sometimes it's three soft knocks 203 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:04.240 and that's all. But a couple of times it's been 204 00:12:04.279 --> 00:12:07.639 followed by five or six loud bangs. And one time 205 00:12:07.879 --> 00:12:12.399 the doorbell wouldn't stop and the alarm system went off. Well, 206 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:15.360 that would be okay, but the alarm system is not 207 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:18.919 wired up and it does not work. So I'm glad 208 00:12:19.000 --> 00:12:21.399 my life is filled with the knowledge that when my 209 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:24.440 physical shell is gone, I can come back and mess 210 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:28.360 with a living There's more to come from Battlefield Avenue. 211 00:12:29.279 --> 00:12:32.080 That was just a short email, and I thought it 212 00:12:32.120 --> 00:12:35.200 was kind of comical, and this man has a great 213 00:12:35.240 --> 00:12:38.039 attitude towards this stuff and he's having fun with it. 214 00:12:38.200 --> 00:12:42.120 And you know, we always tend to be afraid of 215 00:12:42.200 --> 00:12:45.080 these things, and maybe sometimes we don't need to be. 216 00:12:45.799 --> 00:12:48.200 Maybe sometimes we just need to keep a good light 217 00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:52.360 attitude toward the things like this gentleman on Battlefield Avenue 218 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:54.240 is going through and just kind of roll with it 219 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:57.000 and have fun with it and just assume these things 220 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:00.559 are not evil or not assumed that they're evil, and 221 00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:02.320 just kind of wiged him out. And he seems to 222 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:04.799 have found out that these things aren't evil or bent 223 00:13:04.879 --> 00:13:07.960 on hurting him yet he hasn't figured that out yet, 224 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:10.720 or hasn't discovered that yet. So I thought it was 225 00:13:10.759 --> 00:13:12.519 a great story and I wanted to share it with you. 226 00:13:16.519 --> 00:13:19.559 All right, Here is a story from my friend Gerald. 227 00:13:19.720 --> 00:13:22.080 Gerald has sent I bet he sent me a half 228 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:26.279 a dozen stories and he takes. I've never talked to Gerald, 229 00:13:26.360 --> 00:13:30.320 but we just kind of communicate via email, and he 230 00:13:30.440 --> 00:13:35.159 writes stories about his local area and a lot of 231 00:13:35.159 --> 00:13:38.600 folklore and things that are true, things he's heard. I 232 00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:42.679 guess through the years or has researched Gerald. If I'm wrong, 233 00:13:42.759 --> 00:13:44.679 you can email me and tell But he was a 234 00:13:44.679 --> 00:13:48.639 good writer, and he recounts stories that he knows about. 235 00:13:49.320 --> 00:13:53.960 This one is called I can't remember the name of it. 236 00:13:54.440 --> 00:13:56.399 I can't remember what he called it in the email, 237 00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:59.000 but I'm just going to read it. It was a 238 00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:04.039 breathless day and Walnut Run, Iowa. Sunlight fell like a 239 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:08.399 golden lance. Bud de Young jounced up and down in 240 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:11.720 the tractor's hard seat. That's the only thing wrong with 241 00:14:11.799 --> 00:14:15.399 this John Deere forty twenty. He thought, this open cab, 242 00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:20.399 he ran a brown arm over his forehead. Damn this 243 00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:25.039 dusty work, he thought. Behind him, the plow blades turned 244 00:14:25.080 --> 00:14:28.559 over thick scabs of earth, and he steered deeper into 245 00:14:28.600 --> 00:14:32.480 the mound. De Young had bought his land last autumn 246 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:36.000 from Irwin Path. As the old timer began disposing of 247 00:14:36.039 --> 00:14:40.759 his life, cancer would kill him. In December, Path was 248 00:14:40.840 --> 00:14:43.399 reduced to his holdings so as to have something to 249 00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:46.960 leave his wife and children. His son was in an 250 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:49.679 accountant in Des Moines, and his daughter had married a 251 00:14:49.720 --> 00:14:53.000 young dentist and moved to Colorado with him, and neither 252 00:14:53.159 --> 00:14:57.120 was interested in taking over the large farm. De Young 253 00:14:57.200 --> 00:14:59.720 felt a small pang of guilt for having driven such 254 00:14:59.720 --> 00:15:03.240 a ho bargain with old Path, but only a small pang. 255 00:15:04.919 --> 00:15:07.840 Path was one of the old timers, the old fogiese 256 00:15:07.879 --> 00:15:11.519 who sat in their ways and so superstitious about farming. 257 00:15:12.360 --> 00:15:17.559 It was nineteen seventy one, the twentieth century. Farming was 258 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:21.360 now scientific, and there's no room for sentimental worries of 259 00:15:21.399 --> 00:15:26.480 an old man. Agriculture Secretary Earl Butts was advocating all 260 00:15:26.519 --> 00:15:30.960 out fence post to fence post cultivation. De Young had 261 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:34.919 never understood why Path had let this fat land lie fallow. 262 00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:38.600 There was a lush, loamy soul under the grasses and 263 00:15:38.679 --> 00:15:45.559 wildflowers pay dirt Iowa stall. Incredibly, the young Path had 264 00:15:45.559 --> 00:15:49.559 cautioned him that mound over there by Walnut Creek, that's 265 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:53.600 an old one, that mound. Searching lee Path had looked 266 00:15:53.679 --> 00:15:57.279 up into the younger man's face. That's from the Kahokia 267 00:15:57.399 --> 00:16:01.480 people before the Mandans before the pawn. Who knows what 268 00:16:01.639 --> 00:16:05.120 lies under that mound. It's best just to leave it alone, sun, 269 00:16:05.480 --> 00:16:10.039 he said. De Youong smirked at the thought. What an 270 00:16:10.039 --> 00:16:14.600 old goat good land like that, just wasting it. You 271 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:18.000 find those airheads and bits of pottery every spring, cast 272 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:20.600 up by the winter frost, and they don't mean anything. 273 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:24.639 These Indians had this land for a long time. They 274 00:16:24.759 --> 00:16:29.279 just wasted it. Yeah. He concentrated on plowing down the 275 00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:33.519 distinctive mound, and in the distance a small plane was 276 00:16:33.559 --> 00:16:37.399 silhouetted against the sun. Was too early for crop dusting, 277 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:41.639 he thought, must be just general aviation. It's a perfect 278 00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:46.000 day for flying. Three passes later, the mound was no more, 279 00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:49.519 and approvingly, Deyong looked back over his shoulder at the 280 00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:54.279 rutted furrows corn. He decided, this whole section will be 281 00:16:54.360 --> 00:16:58.039 in corn. He was trying to compute what his potential 282 00:16:58.080 --> 00:17:01.080 return on the investment might be when a dark shadow 283 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:04.720 crossed over him. He peered up, but there was nothing there, 284 00:17:05.960 --> 00:17:08.559 and then in the distance he saw it. It was 285 00:17:08.599 --> 00:17:12.480 a small plane canted at an impossible angle, and then 286 00:17:12.519 --> 00:17:16.880 it banked upward. He stared, and the plane flapped its wings. 287 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:21.640 Bud de Young break the tractor to a halt, and 288 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:24.799 he blinked. It was so far and so high now 289 00:17:24.839 --> 00:17:27.559 that it was difficult to see. But the plane soared 290 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:32.480 lazily against the sun again. Its wings flapped two, three, 291 00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:37.559 four times. And it wasn't an aircraft. It was a bird, 292 00:17:38.359 --> 00:17:42.680 some fantastic bird. What the hell? De Young thought as 293 00:17:42.680 --> 00:17:46.880 he watched the giant bird turn toward him. Its wingspan 294 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:51.400 was easily thirty feet tip to tip, maybe longer. The 295 00:17:51.480 --> 00:17:55.079 improbable bird was larger than the cessnas, than pipers to 296 00:17:55.200 --> 00:17:57.960 Young had seen in the Elewa sky all this life, 297 00:17:58.599 --> 00:18:01.079 and now the bird was diving toward him at an 298 00:18:01.079 --> 00:18:07.680 incredible speed. Clean sunlight illuminated brilliant red and gold coloration, 299 00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:12.759 and the bird's beat gleamed like a gemstone. De Youong 300 00:18:12.920 --> 00:18:17.319 ducked involuntarily as the impossibly huge bird careened toward him, 301 00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:20.960 and it passed just missing him. And in his peripheral 302 00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:26.720 vision he saw intensely dark hooded eyes. There was no grace, 303 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:32.279 no mercy in those black eyes. Distracted and alarmed, he 304 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:35.400 had lost concentration in driven the deer out of the 305 00:18:35.400 --> 00:18:39.359 field and down the creek bank. The diesel engine chugged 306 00:18:39.359 --> 00:18:42.880 and barked and restarted, but the tractor wheels were firmly 307 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:47.559 mired in the sodden ground. De Young shifted into reverse, 308 00:18:47.640 --> 00:18:50.240 but the heavy plow behind him had bitten deep into 309 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:52.680 the earth and it was lodged, and he couldn't go 310 00:18:52.839 --> 00:18:57.119 forward or back. Distantly, he could see the bird turn 311 00:18:57.160 --> 00:19:01.119 and again another plummet toward him. Seperately, he shook the 312 00:19:01.160 --> 00:19:04.359 steering wheel from side to side, but to no avail. 313 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:09.039 He was stuck. De Young jumped down from the tractor 314 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:11.480 and scrambled up the creek bank and began to run 315 00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:16.519 for his life. The bird was closing quickly. He looked 316 00:19:16.599 --> 00:19:19.079 up in time to see the bird swooping toward him 317 00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:22.880 at astonishing speed and so large it blocked the sun 318 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:28.039 and all possibilities of escape. Its huge talons opened wide 319 00:19:28.200 --> 00:19:32.279 like gutting knives, leveled out toward him, and he opened 320 00:19:32.279 --> 00:19:37.880 his mouth to scream. This was written by Gerald Gustafson, 321 00:19:38.079 --> 00:19:43.279 October twenty twenty one. Great story, Gerald, I'd be curious 322 00:19:43.279 --> 00:19:46.960 to know if this is folklore around that area in Iowa, 323 00:19:47.079 --> 00:19:49.319 or if it's some piece of fiction you made up. 324 00:19:49.319 --> 00:19:52.720 But it's a really good story. I loved it when 325 00:19:52.759 --> 00:19:56.559 a writer can take a thought and an action and 326 00:19:56.680 --> 00:19:59.279 condense it down to a story like this and tell 327 00:19:59.319 --> 00:20:01.440 the whole story and and have an impact on the 328 00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:04.960 listener or the reader. He's done a good job in 329 00:20:05.039 --> 00:20:11.799 Gerald's a great writer. Thanks Gerald. So I'm a hunter, 330 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:15.759 gatherer and all around out dorseman. I decided to head 331 00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:18.920 out to a state forest here in southern New Jersey 332 00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:22.279 to hunt for some mushrooms after a few days removed 333 00:20:22.279 --> 00:20:25.720 from heavy rains. It was a large track of land 334 00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:28.559 and it's known as the Pine Barrens, and it's over 335 00:20:28.599 --> 00:20:32.200 a million acres of pine forests and plenty of wetlands 336 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:36.440 that snake their way through the sandy barren land. It's 337 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:39.359 a rich ecosystem nestled in the southern part of the 338 00:20:39.400 --> 00:20:42.920 most heavily populated state per square mile in the Union. 339 00:20:44.440 --> 00:20:47.359 The recent rains gave the forests a renewed green as 340 00:20:47.440 --> 00:20:50.240 autumn approached, and this was certainly one of the last 341 00:20:50.319 --> 00:20:54.240 real humid, warm days before the cold weather arrived. And 342 00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:56.960 I pulled my truck over to a sandy shoulder on 343 00:20:57.000 --> 00:21:00.079 a sugar sand road, and I began to search the 344 00:21:00.119 --> 00:21:03.599 sandy ridges and road banks that the mushrooms grew on 345 00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:07.960 the day went on, and my bag got heavier and heavier, 346 00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:12.559 with shan trails, black trumpets, and I even scored some 347 00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:15.519 chicken of the woods on an old oak tree. We 348 00:21:15.640 --> 00:21:18.319 cut that off an oak tree right behind this office. 349 00:21:18.440 --> 00:21:20.920 We get a big slab of it every year, and 350 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:24.400 we eat every bit of it. It's good stuff. I 351 00:21:24.440 --> 00:21:27.400 had plenty for supper and much more, but I wanted 352 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:30.039 to enjoy the perfect day a little longer, so I 353 00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:33.319 took a hike down an old indoor bike trail that 354 00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:36.440 spit me out at the headwaters of an old bog. 355 00:21:38.680 --> 00:21:42.640 I was overheated from the ninety plus degree weather, so 356 00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:45.200 I decided to hike into the dark throes of a 357 00:21:45.240 --> 00:21:49.759 cedar swamp just below the bog. After wrestling with tangles 358 00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:53.079 of briar and thorns and stickers, I finally stumbled into 359 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:55.799 a dark swamp and began to saunter my way along 360 00:21:55.839 --> 00:21:59.839 the tann extream. I felt my boots sinking the moss, 361 00:21:59.839 --> 00:22:02.359 and I listened to the birds and the tree frogs 362 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:05.960 and the distant gun and cannon fire at a nearby 363 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:09.799 bombing range. And I gazed over the forest floor, looking 364 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:12.759 for any sign of orchids. I know of a few 365 00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:15.640 types that bloom this type of year, and I wanted 366 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:19.000 to see if I could get a photograph my days 367 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:22.039 from my senses coming together in harmony that put me 368 00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:26.000 in a spiritual nirvana that was interrupted by a low, 369 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:30.359 guttural growl that cut through me. My heart dropped to 370 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:33.559 my belly like a bobber dropping into a lake, and 371 00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:36.440 at the same moment, a stench filled the air that 372 00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:41.799 I can only describe as I can only describe as 373 00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:45.480 stew of chicken livers left out in the sun for weeks, 374 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:49.400 a truck stopped bathroom, and a sprinkle of burning tires 375 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:52.839 for good measure. I was tearing up and gagging at 376 00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:56.559 the smell, and I began to lurch backward the way 377 00:22:56.599 --> 00:22:59.519 I came, knowing whatever growled at me from the bushes 378 00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:02.960 wasn't how happy to see me. I stumbled my way 379 00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:06.720 across the swampy landscape, while at the same time hearing 380 00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:10.920 large limbs breaking behind me as someone or something pursued me. 381 00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:15.279 My boots were concrete as I continued to sink into 382 00:23:15.319 --> 00:23:18.519 the muck. As the light from the surrounding pitch pine 383 00:23:18.599 --> 00:23:22.599 forest grew larger. I didn't dare look back behind me, 384 00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:26.519 as I knew that would probably slow me down. I 385 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:29.119 burst through the opening like a sprinter running through the 386 00:23:29.160 --> 00:23:32.319 finish line, and I high tailed it out to my truck. 387 00:23:33.480 --> 00:23:35.839 I knew the thing was not far behind me, so 388 00:23:35.960 --> 00:23:38.319 I got in and I peeled off, leaving a rut 389 00:23:38.359 --> 00:23:43.440 from skidding off that's still there today. As I drove off, 390 00:23:43.640 --> 00:23:46.839 a loud screech that sounded like a woman being murdered 391 00:23:46.839 --> 00:23:49.240 filled the air. As I flew down the trail to 392 00:23:49.319 --> 00:23:52.799 the main route that cuts through the pines, I believe 393 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:57.440 I may have encountered the Jersey Devil that day. To 394 00:23:57.559 --> 00:24:00.240 this day, I've only been back a few times to 395 00:24:00.319 --> 00:24:03.759 my little gathering spot. Each time I go back, I 396 00:24:03.799 --> 00:24:07.759 always remember not to walk far from the truck. Also, 397 00:24:07.960 --> 00:24:11.000 I always try to bring along someone for extra safety. 398 00:24:11.720 --> 00:24:14.440 If there's anything that I've learned over the past few 399 00:24:14.519 --> 00:24:17.119 years is that there's much more out in the woods 400 00:24:17.160 --> 00:24:20.680 than we think. I was a skeptic for years, and 401 00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:23.039