- AI carsaib
- |
- Exalted Heroic Member
The Pale Faced Man
This is a local legend. It is widely believed as a true story
due to police reports.
First I need to describe my local setting:
My area is in the Ozark foothills. There are many trees. There is a good size river that flows in the east. Several creeks spout off of it. Now, before the 1990's this area was much, much more rural than it is now. Dirt roads instead of paved roads.
This area is also beautiful. Hills covered in trees and a river valley. It's a great place to go camping...
The Pale Faced Man
It's the 1960's. Times are changing.
The McMullen family is taking a camping trip in the beautiful Ozark foothills. The father - Michael - is helping the kids pack up the suburban after a nice two nights at the river edge. The youngest son asks, "When can we come again?" Michael replies, "Maybe next spring break, sport."
Michael closes the trunk door. He notices the dark thunderstorm clouds in the sky. 'Of course,' he thinks. 'It's Oklahoma.' He tells the kids to pile in the suburban. The kids moan as they describe how much they'll miss camping. Michael starts the suburban. However, he notices another family driving up. He rolls down his window and calls out, "It looks it's gonna storm. I'd suggest y'all come back next morning."
The father of the other family responds, "Oh, we'll be fine. Last spring we went through two straight days of storming."
Michael nods his head as he starts driving again.
...
The father of the other family smiles at Michael as he continues driving toward the campsite. "Hey honey, did you remember my 8 lb fishing line?" His wife Michelle said, "Of course, Roger. After all, you did ask me if I put it in your suitcase about nine times this morning." Roger smiles, "Thanks hon'."
After Roger finished setting up his tent - with help from his three kids - he grabbed his fishing pole and headed toward the river. Before Roger could get to the river, a pale-faced man approached him from the direction of a dirt path. The man wore a faded hunter's vest.
Roger faced the man while setting his fishing rod down. The pale-faced man proceeded to ask if Roger could spare him any money. Roger being a good fellow said, "Sure, I got a couple of bucks." Roger handed the man the money. The man took the money and stalked off with no sign of appreciation. Before the man got to the dirt path, he turned and gave Roger's family and tent a glance.
...
After a productive day of fishing, Roger and his family settled down at the campfire for food. The air had changed as the thunderstorm had really started to move in. Roger said to his family, "We should get in the tent." He gave a wink to his wife, "I'll tell ghost stories."
The kids eagerly got into the tent and waited for their father. Roger and Michelle stepped inside right as the wind and rain of the thunderstorm started. Roger pulled out a flashlight and shined it on his face...
...
After many exciting stories of children who wondered into dark places, Roger decided it was time to go to bed.
The thunderstorm was a large one. The rain pounded on the tent as lightning illuminated the campsite.
The thunder quickly soothed Roger and his family to sleep.
...
In the early morning hours the storm still raged...but not all were nested away. A single figure lurked about.
...
Roger awoke to find a puddle next to him. He drowsily thought that a branch from a tree must have fell on his tent while he slept. He took note of the neat hole the branch had created. He was curious how a branch had created such a smooth-lined hole...Roger then noticed his thirteen year-old son was gone. Roger panicked.
Then Roger began to add things up: the strange man, the hole in the tent, his missing son... Roger began to sweat. He grabbed his heavy flashlight. He stepped outside.
Roger saw, through the rain, his son behind a tree. Relieved, he approached the tree quietly muttering to himself about the stupidity of his son to pee behind a tree. In the rain.
Roger shined the light on his son. He expected to startle the teen, but he instead stood horrified. His son's corpse was hanging from the tree by a thin wire. He whimpered slightly as a primal fear overtook him. He began to run through the trees. He stopped. His family was still in the tent. He ran like a sprinter towards the tent.
He tripped.
Before Roger could get out of the puddle he heard boots splashing on the muddy ground. He froze. The steps got closer.
Roger felt the icy grip of fear claw at his heart. Then, the steps stopped. Terror kept Roger from moving.
A dagger plunged through Roger's left shoulder and into his heart.
...
The following morning, Barry, a U.S. Marshall, got a call from the Tahlequah Police. They said that a Scenic River Commission Officer had found a scene of slaughter at one of the campsites. Barry agreed to come and take a look at it ASAP.
When Barry arrived at the campsite he was horrified. The skins of a family of five were all hanging from a large tree. Gore and blood polluted puddles and mixed with mud. A tent had been torn to shreds.Police officers were reluctantly trying to place the skin of a grown man into a body bag.
Barry asked one officer, "Could a Cougar do this?" The officer shook his head and said, "No, the bodies were cut open and removed of all innards. We think it might have been a planned attack. Heck, maybe it's related to those hikers that went missing over by Sparrowhawk Mountain. My guess is that some deranged family member got angry over inheritance or something." Barry nodded and started investigating the local area.
Barry headed to the nearby Sparrowhawk Village where he would ask some questions about any crime happening. He asked many people. Several people said that they had pets that had gone missing. Barry took note of all these things. He then started on the paperwork.
...
After a several weeks of investigating incidents, another family had been slaughtered. This time, at a different campsite. Even after investigating this new murder scene, Barry still had no leads. He decided he would do something out of the box. Determined, Barry decided he would sleep several nights at one of the campsites near the original murder scene.
...
Two days later....
Barry had finished setting up his tent when he spotted a man watching him. Barry started to question the man, but, before he could speak, the man asked for five dollars. Barry said he didn't have any money. The man stalked off.
Immediately after the incident with the strange man, Barry became very suspicious. After eating soup for supper Barry retired to his tent...but before he went to sleep he grabbed his gun and set it right next to his right hand.
...
That night...
A calm wind was rustling the trees. The new moon cast no light in the woods...
Barry awoke to hear nylon tearing. He saw a blade sticking through the side of his tent. Frightened, he pulled his pistol and shot in the direction of the knife. He heard a grunt pain. Barry quickly left his tent and saw the same man who had approached him earlier rolling in pain. Barry kicked the man in the ribs and proceeded to bind his hands and legs.
...
The pale-faced man had been sentenced to life in a insane asylum. There he was fed two meals a day.
Everyday the female nurse would bring food to the pale-faced man. She would slip a plate through a slot in the door. She never got a plate back.
One day, the nurse brought the man's second meal to his door. However, when she tried to slide the plate through the slot it hit the other plate that she had brought for the man's lunch. Curious, she called out. She received no answer. Resolute, she retrieved a guard and told him to unlock the door. She thought that the man had finally died.
The guard unlocked the door only to find that no one was in the cell. The nurse told the guard, "Stay here, I'll go get Daryl."
The nurse hurried back to the eastern hallway of the relatively small facility. She saw no sign of Daryl. She looked for him inside the storage room where the medications of the prisoners are kept. What she saw inside the storage room horrified her. Daryl had been killed by what looked like a knife. A somewhat dull one.
The nurse sprinted back to where she had left Bill. As she rounded the corner she saw him slumped against the wall. His throat slit.
Crying, the nurse ran as fast as she could toward the main entrance to the small facility. She stopped at her desk and frantically grabbed for her keys.
-she hears a noise-
The nurse spins around, expecting to be eye to eye with the pale-faced man. However, all she sees is the door to the staff kitchen swinging on its hinges. Like it always does.
But, when the door opened, a stench came from it. She dare not investigate as she remembered the third guard who had been eating only minutes ago.
As fast as she could the nurse began to run towards the entrance again.
The lights go out. The nurse stops in terror. She whimpers quietly as a blade is brought to her throat.
...
Years later, several deaths had been left unexplained. Many think it is the pale-faced man. However, unexplained murders in the Ozark foothills stopped in the late '70's.
Recently residents of Sparrowhawk Village have reported missing pets and attempted break-ins. The mutilated body of a Tahlequah resident was found on the edge of town...after several large thunderstorms had moved through.
...
Took me quite a bit of time to type this. Whoa.
[Edited on 02.22.2010 4:54 PM PST]