Time
was going by as the church sat vacant, the once loud bell which signaled time
for service was now quiet as it hung in its special place in the tower.
It
had been almost five years when in the middle of the night, the church bell
rang. The neighbors all got out of their
beds to go see what was going on.
The
church was dark and sat silently and yet it had been the distinct sound of its
bell just a few moments ago.
Lights
coming down the street were of the local police who thought vandals had broken
into the old building and were ringing the bell.
As
the policeman got out of his car and shone his flashlight around, he could see
no evidence of a break in and slowly made his way to the main doors. Checking them, he found them locked.
He
walked around to the side of the building looking for broken windows or perhaps
the side door had been broken into, but there was nothing.
As
he returned to his police car, one neighbor asked, “What did you find? Did someone break in?”
“No,
it must have been the wind or something.” It
was a mystery as the townspeople talked about the bell ringing in the middle of
the night.
It
had been a week when again the bell began to ring in the middle of the night
and again the police checked the building but could find no evidence of someone
breaking in.
Being
late at night, they decided to wait until the morning and get a key from one of
the deacons so they could enter the building to find out if someone was coming
in from some other source.
The
police chief and the deacon met at the church the next morning and went
inside. They could see that the dust
covered floor and pews had not been bothered and the cobwebs hung everywhere
intact.
They
went to the back of the church where the rope to the bell was tied off and
could find nothing that would give them a clue as to how the bell could ring by
itself or that someone had been there to ring it.
There
soon was a pattern, every week the bell would ring just once in the middle of
the night. It became so common place
that people quit getting up to look out to see what it was and the police quit
driving by to check on the place.
There
were all kinds of theories as to why the bell would ring, was it the wind or
perhaps the bats which had taken up residence in the tower or mice climbing the
rope that led to it. It remained a
mystery.
For
six months the bell had rang once a week.
Then one evening when a neighbor had come home late, he thought he saw a
light from inside the church. It was
only momentarily but he called the police to come out to check it.
Nothing
was found and the officer told him, “It must have been a reflection.”
But
as time went on, more people complained of seeing a light inside the church and
the bell began to ring more. Sometimes
it would ring two or three times a week.
Word
began to spread through the small town about the unusual goings on at the empty
church. No one wanted to believe it was
haunted as some had suggested. Houses
might be haunted but not a church, they claimed.
The
bell had been removed from the tower spire and the wooden slats were nailed
down to keep out unwanted birds and even the bats.
For
a while, there were no complaints about the empty church. The bell was silent now and with the windows
boarded, no one could see inside.
But
then one Halloween, pranksters decided the empty church would be the ideal site
for some pranks. They ripped off the
boards on two of the stained glass windows and one young man picked up a rock
and threw it at the glass breaking it.
As
the four young man stood there laughing at what they had done, one of them
froze. “Look!”
They
all looked at the broken window and began to run as fast as they could away
from the church. The mist hovered near
the broken glass moving in and out while the boys scattered, scared out of
their wits.
Later
as they sat on a curb, the one who had broken the window, “Tell me that wasn’t
a ghost.”
One
of the others laughed, “No stupid, there are no such things as ghosts. I think someone was inside though and I just
hope they didn’t recognize any of us.”
They
all agreed that it had to be that. But
as they parted to go to their homes, they each remembered the vision they had
seen and secretly didn’t think it was human.
The
church deacon discovered the removed boards and broken window and with help
boarded the window up again. “Darn
kids. I don’t know why they have to
cause so much mischief and trouble.”
It
had been a year since the four young men had gone to the empty church on
Halloween. They hadn’t gone back as they
didn’t want to admit they might have seen ghosts.
But
the old church had been empty for too many years and was showing signs of
neglect as well as the weather. The
slats in the spire were broken and missing allowing the bats to use it as their
resting place along with other birds.
The window casings were paint bare and deteriorating and no one seemed
to care.
Even
the front doors were beginning to sag and one was rotting away at one of the
hinges. The windows were nailed securely
now but even then the rotting wood underneath allowed them to be loose and
easily could be pried off.
The
neighborhood children all laughed at the haunted church as they would pass by
but no one would linger in front of it or want to go by it at night.
There
were still reports of strange noises coming from the church and through the
cracks in the shuttered up windows, light could be seen and some said it
appeared to be the flickering of candlelight.
Even
the police and the deacons didn’t go inside any more. The old church was disintegrating and no one
seemed to care.
But
on this Halloween night, there was a new curiosity by another group of young
men who had heard the stories but didn’t believe in ghosts.
There
were three of them who stood outside the old church looking up. They’d seen the bats fly out right after dusk
and knew they would be gone if they could get inside.
The
hooting of an old hoot owl gave them a start but laughing at the old owl, they
proceeded to walk up the steps to the front doors.
With
the rotting wood, one door moved slightly, enough that the lock was dislodged
and the three could open it enough so that they could walk inside.
Armed
with their flashlights, they shone them around the sanctuary and remarked about
the cobwebs being so thick they were like a wall.
One
young man rubbed his hand along the back side of the pew and said, “I think
someone forgot to dust. I don’t think
this place is haunted. I think someone
is just saying that to keep people away.”
He
hadn’t any more than said it when he felt something brush by him. He wiped at his shoulder, “Did you feel
that?”
“Feel
what?” the other two asked.
“I
don’t know. It felt like someone brushed
by me.”
They
started laughing, “Maybe it was the ghost,” one of them told him.
“I’m
not kidding. It felt like someone
brushed by me.”
Then
suddenly the three boys were surrounded by misty images and just as they had
appeared, candles were lit and seemed to be floating with the images as they
surrounded the boys.
Huddling
together, they began to look for an escape route. One said, “Let’s just run for it.”
But
as they took a step, the figures closed in tighter around them with the
flickering candles inches away from them.
They
seemed to float in mid air and one of the boys said, “This is a trick. This can’t be real.” He took a step forward towards the door when
a large mist appeared before him.
He
stepped back, “I think it is trying to tell us something.” He didn’t mean to be funny or joke but at the
same time he didn’t want to show fear.
The
mist seemed to become one large mist as it surrounded the young men and the
candles floated around in a circle.
The
boys still huddled together decided to try to break through and make a run for
it. As one began the countdown, they
started running, right through the mist in front of them, barely missing the
candles.
They
made no hesitation as they shoved against the door causing it to lean from the
hinge that had given way. They continued
to run until they felt they were safe back on the Main Street with stores and plenty of
light.
It
was late and most people had gone home.
The trick or treaters were finished for the night and the only ones out
roaming around were the ones like these boys, young people looking for
adventure or maybe trouble.
They
saw some of their friends and went to tell them what had happened. As the group listened, they all began to talk
and thought it would be fun to go back and scare the ghosts.
As
the three young men joined with five of their other friends, boys and girls
this time, they all went back to the church.
The
door that had been ajar was tightly closed as they approached and the three
young men looked at one another. One
said, “Someone must have seen it and closed it.”
They
went up and it was unlocked so they opened it causing it to slip from the hinge
and be crooked. But it was enough that
everyone could get inside.
They
moved as a group towards the altar keeping a vigilant eye out for the so called
ghosts. As they got near, the candles
appeared in front of a large misty cloud.
The
girls screamed and started to run away but then screamed again as they saw
their exit was blocked with another misty cloud and candles.
The
young people huddled between the two clouds. As the flashlight were shone on them, they
could see through them and soon it seemed there were more mists and even more
candles.
The
noises began; a chanting like sound with a low murmur.
The
young girls screamed for help while the boys were trying to figure out how best
to avoid the mist
The
chanting was getting louder as the mist seemed to be inching its way closer to
the young people. As the boys joined in
with the girls in screaming and yelling for help, the mist was closing in
almost touching them.
They
could smell the wax burning from the candles and a musty smell emitting from
the mist. They had no way out. The mist was larger and was overtaking them.
During
the night as the police officer made his rounds, he noticed the door ajar on
the church. Taking his flashlight, he
walked up to it and peered inside. He
saw a figure lying on the floor and his first thought was to go to them but
then he thought someone might still be inside.
He went out to his car and called for help.
Soon,
the police chief, who had been awakened from his sleep along with another
officer, arrived. The three men went
inside and discovered the 8 young people lying on the floor. Feeling for a pulse, they could find
none. They looked at their faces and
could see the horror on them.
Calling
for help, the young people were removed and the chief ordered that the church
be secured by any means and that someone would stand guard so that no one could
go inside.
The
story soon spread around the town about the 8 young people who had been found in
the old sanctuary and it was unexplained what had happened to them.
They
were taken to the local hospital, where they began to revive, each one telling
the same story about how they had been overcome by a mist and were in a deep
sleep.
It
was a miracle that they had survived and after being checked over, the doctors
found no evidence of any lingering effects.
They were released to go home.
Later
when the eight young people gathered, they each related to one another how they
had felt. They said it was a peace, but
one that brought a deep sleep to them.
They each said they had felt a presence but didn’t know what it was
until one of the young men said, “It was the keepers of the church. I heard them talking. They said they hoped no one would disturb the
church again.”
“I didn’t hear anything,” said one, another
said, “Neither did I.” One told him,
“You are just making that up.”
“No,
I really heard them. They didn’t hurt
us, they just wanted to scare us and then let us know why they didn’t want us
there. They hoped the people would come back and make
the church active again.”
The
story was told over and over but the deacons and remaining members of the
church had met and made a decision. The
church would not be opened again. With
all the stories of it being haunted, no one wanted to come to it.
They
decided to tear the building down. With
the neglect from sitting empty all those years and the cost of restoring it,
the old church was finished.
The
wrecking crew came in to start knocking down the brick walls.
Some
say as the walls crumbled, there were waifs of mist that flew from the remains
up over the church site and lingered before disappearing into thin air.
Others
claim it was only the dust that had been disturbed, but for eight of the town’s
young people, they knew it was the keepers of the church.
The
site was cleared but no one would buy the lot where the church had stood and to
this day it remains vacant.
Only
on Halloween if you walk by or are near enough to see, there are several misty
clouds floating over the ground and occasionally some have said they’ve seen
the flicker of candlelight in the mist.
Barbara Foster
Copyright (c) 2013 revised
Winner of the Eufaula Memorial Library Scary Story October 2013
