When the fire gets low and the voices quiet, she always comes up. The lady with the lantern. Now the stories often vary: She lost her baby and searches these woods looking for it; crying and wailing. Some hear the woman while others hear a baby. She was murdered and is trying to warn others to save them from a similar fatal end. She was a woman scorned and is seeking revenge on all way-ward men...it doesn't matter. She will scare the shit out of you. This I know.
We had just put the last log on and were slumped back in our chairs; happily buzzed and a little sleepy. One by one friends drifted off to the house and warm beds. I stayed. I watched the stars and steadied my gaze for satellites. I have no idea what time it was; late. I began to drift. Having been in the woods for most of my life, I am not a scaredy-cat. Usually, a shift in the brush is a deer. The dark splash in the lake, a beaver or a restless duck. Coyotes and bear make their own special kind of debuts. But a light? Well, that's different.
I really thought I was dreaming. It was small and "faded" but make no mistake it was a light and it was moving toward me. The other thing you need to know (or reminded), is that I live within shouting distance of about four houses. I simply thought someone was out "prowlin". What got my Spidey senses tingling was the location of this light. It was out in the water. Our lake is small and no motors are permitted so you can hear the gentle slapping of paddles against the water. This was not true. Silence. Still it kept coming. I sat up and forward in my chair glaring at the dark for a shape to appear. Nada. Having had enough to drink and not enough sleep, I wiped my eyes, gruffed at the dark and headed up the yard toward my house and my own comfy bed.
I got to the porch and felt cocky enough to turn around. The light was just along the shore which is brightly bathed in the lights from several porches. Still, there was no shape or object to see. I stared at it and it simply crept closer. I dismissed the nip of fear in my gut as leftover margarita but stepped in and for the first time in years, locked the door. I even found myself leaning back into the drapes and watching ~ waiting for someone to head up to the house. The light seemed to fade into the brush.
"Stupid chicken shit" I mumbled to myself and wandered through the kitchen to my office facing the lake.
The light was suddenly in front of me and there was a thick thud as a form pressed itself against the glass.
It's fingers were long and bony, like a piano players' and it was dressed in a filmy white nightshirt/gown. The hair on it was long but matted with silt from the bottom of the lake and the brown slimy roots of dead lily-pads. The eyes. My God, the eyes...they were watery grey gaping holes surrounded by peeling clumped flesh. Its mouth gaped and dark water spilled from it with invisible syllables as it choked at me. I leaped back, stumbling into the side table. I rounded its corner and tried to convince myself it would save me somehow. I looked to the left and right seeing that those sliding doors were still open. All I wanted was to lock them. I scrambled around and flipped their locks. Each time, the figure met me at the entrance but never came in. It stood, pressed and "spoke". I stumbled back and fell into the couch. It stopped and watched me, tilting its head as if confused. Its shoulders slumped and it lowered the light it seemed to be carrying. Then it dragged away, looking sadly back at me, heading down the yard and back to where it started my nightmare.
I sneaked back to the window peering from the curtain like a child in a mother's skirt. It wasn't looking but steadily heading back to the water. I don't know why I went to the door or why in God's name I stepped out. I walked behind it ~ far behind it, all along the shore, through my neighbors' yards to the dead end. The woods. Its soft little light was never out of my sight. I saw its nightdress trailing behind, tattered and goopy with filth. I heard a soft tread and smelled stale, dead water. I followed it to a clearing; an old, failed development site where it stopped and turned. Everything in my body went numb. Without warning and with incredible speed it raced toward me stopping inches from my face. I was paralyzed. It studied me, shifting its head back and forth, leaning in, seeming to take in the smell of me. It touched my hair. The tears rushing from my eyes were hot and salty. I felt bile in my throat. It reached up and like a frustrated parent, cupped my jaw ~ an icy grip and turned my head sharply to a dark patch of overgrowth. It leaned in and put its lips to mine whispering something into my mouth, my soul. The screaming was raw and raspy as I broke free and ran blindly back to my house where I puked and sobbed until light peeked above the trees promising me it was over. I sat balled up on the sofa twirling my hair. My eyes wide and staring; not really seeing anything.
"What the fuck?" one housemate claimed handing me their coffee. "I told you to stay out of the tequila. When will you listen? Did you barf on the window? Duuuuuude...no bueno."
I remained stoic. Everyone gathered and poked. Good humor and ribbing from those who know me best. But when I began to cry, they changed their tunes and I recanted my story.
No one spoke I'm pretty sure no one believed me. So I challenged them to take a walk with me. Down the road, into the old clearing and over to the clump of tangled briars. I stepped right in it and began to rip at it. I was unstoppable and my head was filled with shouts, voices all unintelligible...but I had..to...dig...
"Ew Don't that's ivy!!!"
I couldn't stop myself, I heard a low grunt and growl as I ripped away to the worthless, dead earth. I dropped to my knees and began to shovel with my bare hands.
No one spoke but all stared.
At the tattered white cloth blowing gently in the wind.
Help me.
And a Happy Halloween to you all. I hope you have shared a shiver with me. Be safe. Eat candy for breakfast and enjoy!! I thank you for your visit. I am glad for the time we share.
