Friday, October 27th, 2006.
For as far back as she could remember in her young life, sixteen year old Alison Davies loved birds, especially the Crows. She lived her whole life here in Cantorville just one and a half miles from Crows Crossing Road. She lived to watch them, lived to be near them, she lived to sit and idly draw pictures of them at every given opportunity, she even dreamed of them, and would often be found sitting near the woods on Crows Crossing Road, talking to and watching them. Unfortunately for Alison, her love for the Crows earned her the label of outcast amongst her high school peers. She was a very beautiful young girl, and a lot of the boys could be found sneaking glances at her, but most found her obsession with the birds to weird for their taste’s. Cantorville was also not far from a place born of dark legend, where young people would steal away to in the woods to try to catch glances of the supposed evil spirit that lived in the old mill. It was on this Friday that a classmate of Alison’s would approach her with an invitation to a Halloween party where some of the popular kids were going to be at. It was set to be held in the deep woods up at the old Mill, Alison against her better judgment agrees to go along. Unaware that some of the kids just wanted to play a joke on her. She knew about the disturbing legends of the Mill and all of the supposed murders that happened there, all of the kids at the High School did, but it was the season of All Hallows Eve, and the thought of seeing a ghost roaming the woods was too much for them to resist.

Touch The Sky.



Tuesday, October 31st, 2006. All Hallows Eve.
She met them there, three miles outside of town near the winding pathway that would take them another two and one half miles into the deep wooded hillside to where the supposed haunted mill was hidden from the roads view. There were three boys and two other girls going besides herself, out of the sixteen people that said they were going, the rest had chickened out. Seventeen year old Brad Downy would lead them, he was the only senior of the group, the rest were Alison’s age, except Tim Branson, a young African American boy who was one year younger. Samantha Swathert and Jennifer Rogan, were the two girls the third boys name was Mark Todd. Samantha Swathert Walked along the trail along side of Alison, but rarely spoke through most of the hike, the boys carried the backpacks with the beer and the party supplies. they made it to the Mill just one hour before dark and the boys found a place for them to set up a campsite, the boys more so than the girls obviously were there because they thought that they might get lucky, the girls however couldn’t take their thoughts far from the Mill’s legends and when the fog rolled in it did little to improve the atmosphere of the surroundings, and it didn’t take the whole group including the boys long to figure out that maybe they shouldn’t have come. They took a quick inventory and found that they also had two flashlights, but no weapons. The darker it got the more serious the mood got, every noise that they heard seemed to be more ominous than the last, and before long all six of them were sitting in a small circle back to back praying for the light to return, even Alison was a little frightened until the feeling that something was there with her took away her fears.

“They’re here.” she told her companions. “ nothing will happen to us as long as we stay right where we are until morning, they will protect us from whatever is out there if anything.” all five of them without looking to one another turned to face Alison. “Who’s here Alison?” she smiled. “The Crows.” they all backed away from her, Mark gave her an odd look up and down, “You know Alison, you’re an odd duck.. No really.. The only reason we invited you is because we wanted to see who could do you first!” she looked at the ground. They all backed away from her, “Really Alison.. What is it with you and those stupid birds. Girl, you‘re just strait up freaky.” the unpleasant mood was interrupted by the sounds of what appeared to be footfalls echoing from the woods, they arguing stopped at once, and to each the thought of ghosts came to them. Brad was the first to get brave and he took one of the flashlight’s to go investigate the sounds with Mark Todd in tow. Jennifer was the first to speak up, “When they come back we should take the flashlights and head back to the road, we could be there in about three hours.” hearing this Samantha snapped at her. “Jen? Are you nuts we could get lost in this fog.” they looked over at Alison. “They aren’t coming back.” she told them. They all disregarded her every word, that is until they heard Brads voice screaming out in the distance, it echoed through the woods like fire through dry wood. Marks voice could be heard as well shouting out Brads name from the darkness, “where are you? Brad ?? Let me-” with one final scream from Marks own voice the woods once again fell silent. the other two girls along with Tim decided from mostly fear that they would take the remaining flashlight and try to Hike back to the road.. And all three called Alison a fool when she wouldn’t go with them. “No.” she told them. “I want to live” she looked at the three of them. Whatever killed Brad and Mark is going to kill you too.” she sat back down and watched as they one by one disappeared into the foggy woods in search of the path back to the road. Though she didn’t hear anymore screams that night Alison knew that she would never see any of them again.



She slept through the whole night peacefully, and in her sleep she dreamt of flying with The Crows. Touching the sky and being free from her earthly bindings. And when the first new rays of the sun made their way to her there at the old Mill she awaken to the sight of seven Crows all perched around her looking down on her as if smiling. She rose and as she followed the Path back to Crows Crossing Road, she thought of the fate of her classmates, and decided to tell the police what had happened at the mill when she got back to Cantorville. When reaching the road she looked back at the woods and then up at one of the crows perched on a road sign no more than six feet from her. “You know what Pretty boy? Some people just don’t know when to listen.” the crows watched her as she turned and headed down Crows Crossing towards Cantorville. She wasn’t going to make it to school today.

Scratch.© 2006.

It would usually come out only on the darkest of nights when the pale moonlight was barely visible from behind the whispers of clouds that would move across the skies above Crows Crossing Road. Aaron Conner has brought his young son here to the woodlands of Jasper County to teach him the ways of the hunter. It is deer season in Jasper, and although it is quite dark out and the father and son are not actually hunting at this time, they are both awake inside of their campsite to see the vision, that clearly has kept them awake through most of the night. There in the trees just barely within sight stands a white horse standing silent watching over them both, normally horses are not all that frightening to Aaron, but it doesn’t take him long to figure out that this animal is no longer of this world.

The Thunder Of Dreams.



It is in the late summer of nineteen hundred and ten Zackary Mostel tends to his small garden out past the trees here in on his twenty acres of property in the woodlands of Jasper County. His land though wooded heavily, is also surrounded by acres of green pastures, out beyond the woods. Something on this morning has Zackary in a fit, he has come to cultivate some vegetables and has found his garden in ruin, trod under by the hooves of a pack of wild horse’s that frequent his property. It is the fifth time that such a thing has occurred and Zackary has decided that it will be the last. He returns to the house to retrieve his rifle to find his young wife Marilyn on the back of the property feeding the horses apples from the tree in back of the house. Enraged he chases the animals away and scolds her severely for enticing them. The garden is in ruin because of them and she is forbidden to feed them ever again, he vows that he will shoot every last horse that he sees, and he leaves the house with rifle in hand. Marilyn pleads with him that they have plenty of vegetables and all is not in complete ruin but Zackary is far too angry to listen, and he storms off through the woods in search of the wild horses, completely unaware that his wife has followed him to thwart his plans he sees the horse that seems to lead them in the clearing with others from the pack and is mindful to stay down wind of the animal, it is a large male that is as black as night. He smiles to himself as he thinks, “I have you now you rotten bastard!” he trains the weapon on his intended target and as he pulls the trigger Marilyn has appeared directly in his line of fire and takes the shot intended for the horse right in the chest, she dies instantly. And Zackary becomes mortified, as he holds his dead wife, the weapon lay quiet by his side, his anger has betrayed him and he has done the unthinkable.

He buries her beneath the apple tree in back of the house, and vows to her that he will never pick up that rifle again. Weeks pass and the house and the surrounding yard are left unattended, as Zackary has become haunted by his deed, the sounds and images of thundering hooves invade his every attempt at sleep. And one night even after he actually manages to rest for an entire night he is awakened early the next morning by an odd feeling that he cannot place. And when he stands on the back porch of the house he sees it for the very first time, there beneath the apple tree, a lone white horse standing almost defiantly watching him. He begins to see it every where after that, and it too invades his sleep, life becomes unbearable and the thunder that haunts the halls of his dreams finally take their toll on Zackary’s sanity, and he ends up taking his own life with the very weapon that took his wife’s. his body is found by a concerned neighbor that had come to bring Zackary food some three weeks after his suicide, and his body is in an advance state of decay. Zackary is buried not far from his wife, and the house is never occupied by another living soul. To this day passer bys have all seen the ghost horse, and too the odd apparition of a man kneeling beneath an apple tree appearing to be silently weeping over the grave of his deceased wife. Though unattended, the garden still grows, and the haunting sounds of thundering hooves still can be heard on quiet nights as the horses run free through the property of Zackary and Marilyn Mostel.



Although the apparition does not seem to be malicious, it does fill Aaron Conner and his young son’s hearts with a terrible feeling of sadness and dread. It is morning now and although they have not bagged themselves a deer, Aaron decides that his son’s hunting education will just have to wait, they pack up their camp site and begin their trek back to Aaron’s truck so they can go home, when they arrive the boy notices that the horse seems to have followed them. They pack the truck and soon exit the woods where the spirits roam free, and the Crows look on in silence. Here on Crows Crossing Road.

Scratch. © 2006

Whispers Fall Silent.
Life passes.
For true believers.
Love is eternal.

Heaven holds a place..



It is 6:30 pm at junction thirty three of Crows Crossing Road, James Osgood and Lila Peterson have been driving all of fifteen hours to get to Newport City. With just one hundred and fifty miles to go they decide to stop and get something to eat it begins to rain as they sit in the Mercedes, they are both young and very much in love with each other, in spite of all of the objections of each ones family and friends. They have decided to elope and get married in Newport City, where James uncle Larry has promised him employment, and they will begin their new life together. The rain is falling harder as the gas station attendant warns James about hazardous road conditions, James swears that he will be careful and the young couple drives away. they don’t speak a word between them for several miles, when Lila places her hand on James inner thigh, and smiles knowingly. Finding it difficult to concentrate the young mans foot slowly pushes hard down on the gas pedal, out of the corner of his eye he sees something flying towards the windshield of the Mercedes, and he abruptly slams on the breaks. Shaken, he sees to Lila and she says she is alright so he gets out to see what has happened. In the middle of the rain storm across the road he sees a lone Crow, perched almost defiantly on a broken down fence post staring right at him. James stammers. “Man!! You scared me fella!! What are you doing out in this rain anyways? You better find some cover your gonna take sick!” he returns to the car where Lila is waiting they both laugh nervously before going on. Three miles later and she has her hands on him again, and this time he is struggling to pay attention, but failing miserably. The throttle is pushed harder when the second bird comes flying at the windshield, once again forcing him to slam on the breaks. This time when James leaves the vehicle, he sees the bird perched on a road sign, and as he moves almost right in front of it , his heart almost stops when young James realizes it’s the same bird as before.

It cocks its head to one side and ruffles its feathers at the falling rain, and James slowly backs away. Back in the car he stomps on the gas.. Lila is concerned, “Jimmy? What is it? What’s wrong? He stares at the Crow in the rear view mirror. “It was the same bird Lila. The same one as before.” he slowly increases his speed. “we have to get to Newport City now.” the rain falls harder. He is up to 70 mph driving conditions quickly deteriorate, and around the next bend, James has no way of knowing that a logging truck has jackknifed in the middle of the road. He slows down to take the bend but not nearly enough to stop in time, and when he sees the jackknifed truck he slams on the breaks and pulls hard on the steering wheel. The Mercedes turns to sharply and begins to rollover several times before coming to a complete stop on its side, he feels nothing as he rises to his feet. he doesn’t see Lila right away and moments later the fire truck and ambulance that were already en route to the jackknifed truck arrive to the scene and begin to try to administer aid to Lila. But as they finally cover her face James tries to scream when he realizes that she is dead, the rain falls harder now, they load the second body, and he sees her standing there. Now he is more confused than ever but nonetheless relieved to see her. They come close to each other and watch silently as the wreckage is removed and the road is cleared. Above them in a tree amidst the falling rain sits a lone Crow who silently watches them try to understand what has happened. just two young people that wanted to start a wonderful new life together, and now they would be together forever here on Crows Crossing Road.



Scratch © 2006

It is twelve pm on the road of Crows, and Lester Cavanaugh has been hitchhiking through the area when he comes across the small community of 4000 people known as Badders Bluff. It offers little in the way of tourism to travelers, but the one café that sits on the side of the road on the way out of the small township, offers a warm place to eat and drink hot coffee on a cold rainy day. To Lester Cavanaugh it is the very thing he needs at the moment, so he enters and takes a seat at the far end of the counter, he places an order for a sandwich and a hot cup of coffee, aside from a chatty waitress named Thelma, he is presently the only patron in the café. Thelma and he strike up a conversation and she wastes no time in giving him a brief history lesson of Crows Crossing Road and Badders Bluff. Perhaps Since the time of prohibition, the two most haunted places in the whole country. Lester Smiles politely as Thelma relates to him a story from that time, a time of young love that ends horribly in the tree covered hills just past the town limits. Lester will not be smiling long.

Screaming Bloody Moonshine..



Welcome to the newly formed township of Badders Bluff population 800. It is in the fall of nineteen hundred and twenty nine, it is October 3rd of that year when a beautiful young lady of the vicinity named Amy Clay, makes the acquaintance of a handsome young high school boy named Tyler Heldon, and although the teenagers form a fast friendship, it soon becomes obvious that their backgrounds and families would get in the way of any budding romance. The two of them come from two very different backgrounds and when it is discovered that they have been keeping their relationship a secret the parents of both forbid them from ever seeing each other again, Amy’s father is the local sheriff and watches her closely, but has little time nor patience in communicating with his wife and daughter, as he busies himself with the tasks of tracking down and stopping the flow of illegal liquor that has been in his area for the past year. He has found people in possession of what is called moonshine on several occasions, but has yet to find the source of its flow. It is Friday afternoon at the home of Amy Clay, her mother is away playing bridge with her friends, Amy is packing a small bag of clothes, she and Tyler have decided to run away together. They are going to meet outside of town and travel along the tree line so they won’t be seen by passing autos, they know that it will be past dark before any serious suspicions are raised. When Amy reaches the edge of town she proceeds to the place where she knows Tyler will be waiting. When arriving the two young lovers share a passionate kiss before embarking on their journey together.

They travel for the first hour along the tree line so they will not be spotted, three miles from the city limit’s the pair decide to head further into the woods, to find a place to rest, when Tyler Realizes that they have found their way to Milo Hattley’s property, he knows that the dangers that now surround them. Milo Hattley guarded his land and property fiercely, and has been known to actually shoot at people that trespassed here. It is nearing dusk when the Happen upon the strange looking apparatus hidden deep in the woods of Milo Hattley’s property. It starts to rain when the young teenagers first realize that they have found a still, and they have now put themselves at a terrible risk if Hattley had discovered them. They turn back towards the path that bought them there and begin back down the way they came, when Amy hear the terrible sound that she at first believes to be thunder. But when Tyler falls face down into the rain soaked leaves, she realizes that he is bleeding terribly from the back and is not moving, behind her she sees the hulking form of Milo Hattley moving towards her through the trees with his shotgun in hand, he is reloading when Amy tries to revived the now deceased Tyler. She knows that her love is dead, and if she has any chance of survival she must try to run, she is screaming now as Milo closes in on her. One hundred feet from Tyler’s body, he cuts her down from behind with his second blast from the shotgun, Milo Hattley buries the bodies of Tyler Heldon and Amy Clay together in the same shallow grave there in the deep woods of his property. Ten days later a search party being led by Amy Clay’s father while looking for the missing teenagers, happen upon the still of Milo Hattley during a brief confrontation Sheriff Clay shoots Milo Hattley dead. The bodies of the two young lovers are never found.



As Lester makes his way along the deserted stretch of road, in spite of the thick clouds and billows of distant rolling thunder, the afternoon rain has briefly stopped. He thinks it is a bit strange the way the birds here do not seek shelter from the stormy weather, the Crows seem to follow him along the road and see his every move. And as Lester Cavanaugh walks along, the clouds slowly become fewer and fewer, and he stops to watch a peculiar ray of sunlight that has escaped and fallen down into one area of woods up on the mountain side. He ponders a new sound that rings almost like thunder but slightly different, once and then seconds later twice. He pulls the collar of his coat up around his neck, as the ray of light disappears back into the clouds, the thunder falls silent as the rain returns, and Lester speaks to the Crows. “That was a little too close for me guys.. See ya.” he tells them, and the Crows watch him walk away, each Crow knowing that the thunder never falls silent for long, here on Crows Crossing Road.

Scratch.. © 2006.

It is the rainy season on Crows Crossing Road it is near the mountainous area near the twenty forth turn where Jake and Ansel Cabbot have stopped to scope out a hunting area. They have ventured into the deep woods about a half of a mile in, there is mist and fog mixed with drizzling rain, it is difficult to tell if there is any sign of legitimate game because of the conditions, two steps further, and Jake hears the first screams coming from the deep woods up on the hillside. It raises the hair on the two brothers necks, but they come to believe that someone is in trouble, so the make a decision to proceed up in the tree infested hillside, never dreaming for a second what waited there hidden just out of sight. Away from the light.

Leonard.



October twenty sixth nineteen hundred and thirty eight, near turn twenty four, three miles from Templeton’s general store and gas station. Lies the cabin home of Bernard Lawrence and his young son Leonard and his daughter Annabelle, Lenny and his sister have no mother and throughout the entire area Bernard Lawrence is known as a brash two fisted alcohol swilling bully, and the only food and care for the small family is provided by the hunting and parenting skills of thirteen year old Leonard, he cooks, he cleans, and he cares for his little sister all the while being constantly beaten on a daily basis by his drunkard of a father. It is seven pm in the evening and as per usual it is raining . Leonard knows that his bastard father has been away at Templeton’s gas station and general store doing mechanical work all day, he also knows that the money made would be spent on liquor. And Bernard would come home and take to getting mean with his children because they were in his opinion the one thing holding him back. But this time, things would be different, because young Lenny has had enough, so to protect his nine year old sister he has taken her to a neighbors house two miles down the trail where she would be safe, leaving Leonard to deal with daddy in his own way. He waited for two hours past twilight and then he could hear Bernard lumbering up the walkway to the cabin, drunk off of his ass. He kicks the door in only to be met by silence, he bellows for Leonard and Annie to get their asses in there to feed him, but when neither comply he becomes angry and slowly moves through the cabin knocking over objects as he goes, stopping at the back porch, where Leonard is waiting.

He has a long piece of timber in his hands, and he is crouched below the porch when he strikes the first blow hitting Bernard in the right knee. The older bigger man rears back and bellows in severe pain. And it is then that Leonard realizes that now he has to see it through. Now there will be no turning away from this. He runs but not too fast, so that Bernard can follow him as he leads the way into the dark woods, and Bernard does. deeper and deeper into the woods Lenny leads his father until he has him confused as to where he is, he is stumbling down the path yelling out Leonard’s name cursing him, Leonard however has planned it all so very carefully and has lead his father to where he has a hunting knife hidden, and is waiting to make his next move. he comes up behind the older man stabbing at him two times, the second time raking the knife across the side of his belly cutting him open. Leonard runs deeper down the path and the wounded but very enraged father still follows. He stumbles and falls. Now bleeding badly, “LENNY!! You little Bastard!!” The rain falls harder now, his angry shouts echoing through the trees through the down pouring rain. “Lenny! You think this makes you a Man? You ain’t never gonna get rid of me! Not now.. Not ever!!” he has stopped right where Leonard wants him to, on a Thirty five foot cliff overlooking the rapids of the Saddlehorn river. he stumbles but does not fall as Leonard has hoped that he would, instead he stands almost defiantly bleeding slowly to death while taunting his young son, Leonard can not stand anymore, he comes at him on a dead run down the path still wielding the bloody knife, and almost to the very edge of the cliff he leaps at his father violently stabbing him as they both fall over the edge and into the rapids of the Saddlehorn river. Young Annabelle Lawrence never sees her father or brother Leonard again.


Crow painting "Against The Wind." by Sherries Cherries..

Jake and Ansel Cabbots hunting excursion has been rudely interrupted by the screams of a man in the deep woods. They move closer to try to pinpoint the exact direction of the strange screams, and when they see the figure of a bloody man standing on the cliff they begin to have serious question’s concerning their own courage, and when the ghostly figure turns and begins to move towards them they beat a hasty retreat back down the trail the way they came. they reach their vehicle several minutes later and don’t even stop to check it over before they jump in it and speed away , neither one of them even notices the old bloody hunting knife sticking out of the spare tire in the back of the truck, with the letters L.L. carved into the handle.. The rain is still falling here, It will be a long wet season, for the true hunters that wait here on Crows Crossing Road.

Scratch.. © 2006.