The Haunted Logging Deck

Back in the 1970s when logging was a common thing in the woods of California there was a logging deck that was deeper in the woods than any other. This deck was rumored to be haunted by an old logging crew that got blocked from the main road 20 years before because of a landslide and they all starved to death before anybody could get them out. That's why 20 years later no crew ever agreed to come and log the good wood. Year after year lots of companies would send their best crews out to see if they could log the old deck, but time and time again the crews would come back half the size they started out as and the only thing they said was that half the crew was dragged out of their beds in the dead of night. 

One time, a very brave crew went out and came back unharmed and boasting about how they got through even though all the other crews never made it out completely, so the next week the new crew started out for the old logging deck. Everything went smoothly accepting the odd joke the crew played on the unsuspecting newby. Then one day Tom,  one of the choker setters was walking up the hill with a box of choker holes. Choker hole jokes are commonplace in that crew, so Tom opened the box and looked inside t0 see if there were any rocks in there, but all there was was the choker holes that he had asked for. So he kept going but it just kept getting heavier still. Two days later the crew was taking a hike because they got the day off from work but it was not worth the time to go into town so they just took a hike to find a good place to eat lunch. Twenty minutes after they had started Fred, the other choker setter was walking in the back of the line, heard a low, loud growl coming from the direction of the camp but he didn’t say anything because he didn’t want to be called a scaredy cat for spooking at a growl. Later that night when everyone was in bed the growl came again, this time everyone heard it, low and loud.Tom was the only one who stayed calm, he just calmly got out of his sleeping bag and put his work clothes on so he could see if he could scare the big growler away from the camp. Now, Tom was by far the bravest of the bunch, so when the crew gathered around in the middle of camp to get a plan in order. They finally came to an agreement: Tom would go into the woods in the direction that the growl was still coming from to scare away the animal. Tom went into the woods with a flashlight and an axe, 30 minutes later he still hadn't come back. Now that Tom was not with them and it was 5 minutes to midnight and they all knew that midnight was the worst time to be outside in the woods. While the crew was disagreeing on what to do, Tom had located the direction the sound was coming from and ran through the woods towards the sound, the funny thing was that he didn’t want to, he was being dragged by an invisible power completely against his will. 10 minutes of this and Tom started to get really scared, soon Tom came to a clearing he had never seen before. It was calm but eerie and dark in the clearing. Something was wrong and Tom knew it, suddenly a low hissing accompanied by a funny squelching as if something was walking through mud. Back at camp the crew began to hear loud screaming that sounded just like Tom’s scream.

Ten years later the entire crew was in a madhouse for old people, but poor old Tom was never seen again, but if you were lucky  there is this old ranch that two people live at and if you listen closely you can hear old Tom screaming in the woods near the cabin. 

So one day I went to this cabin in the woods, and at midnight I saw a small shriveled face at the window. I almost screamed when I saw that it had no eyes and was covered in fresh blood. To this day I will never forget Tom’s face that attacked me that night. That's why, if you look closely you will see a ghost of a scar on my face.

Posted in response to the challenge Gather.

Bella-The-Goat

VT

13 years old