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Storyteller's Cabin |
adapted from folklore by
Craig Dominey
Now this story happened long before there were cars, or highways, or motels. Back in the old days, folks would travel or haul things by wagon, riding miles down long dirt roads to get from one place to another. And the wagoners - that's what the old folks used to call guys who hauled things - would get mighty tired after being on the road so long, and were always looking for a place to sleep.
That's the dilemma Joe Bates found himself in. For two days, he'd been steering a wagon full of farm equipment destined for Red Springs, Alabama. Night was falling fast - as were his drooping eyelids. The last thing he wanted was to fall asleep and steer his team of horses into a ditch. So he figured he better find a place to catch a wink or two, even if it was on the cold, hard ground.
As luck would have it, Joe passed an old farmer walking home from a long day in the fields. Joe stopped him and asked where he might find some lodging. "There ain't nothin' between here and Red Springs," the farmer said. He then pointed toward a small dirt path that split away from the main road into a dense pine forest. "That there's a short cut that'll git you there in half the time. But I wouldn't travel on that road at night."
"Why's that?" Joe asked.
The old farmer spit a stream of tobacco juice into the bushes and said, "'Cause ever'body knows that road is haunted."
Well, Joe had been traveling through Alabama long enough to know that country folk made up a lot of tall tales to pass the time. So Joe grinned, patted the old man on the back and said, "Thanks, old timer, but I'll take my chances, ghosts or no ghosts." And with that, he steered his wagon into the forest.
A couple of hours went by, and Joe was starting to think that this so-called "short cut" wasn't so short after all. All he could see around him in the darkness was thick, impenetrable forest. His lantern cast eerie shadows on the stark pine trees. Strange night creatures chattered amongst themselves in the shadows, as if waiting for the forest to swallow Joe alive.
