I LOVE YOU
A good friend of mine, Delano, a professional
photographer, had rather an unusual experience in
his own home. His home, I might add, has
absolutely nothing "spooky" about it and he and
his wife had lived there for many years when this
incident occurred.
Delano and his wife were sitting in their living
room one evening in early September. She was
reading the Reader's Digest, and he had been
going over some photographs he had taken in the
old section of town, of a historical house which
was about to be demolished. (Whether this has
anything to do with what happened, I don't know,
but it's worth mentioning.) The room was getting
chilly as night fell, so Delano got up and went
to turn up the thermostat. The thermostat was in
the hall that ran from the living room to the
kitchen. He didn't bother to turn on the hall
light, as he carries a pocket flashlight. Delano
was standing at the thermostat with his little
flashlight, peering at the dial, when he felt
someone behind him and a soft voice whispered in
his ear, "I love you." Thinking his wife had
followed him down the hall, he said absent-
mindedly, "I love you, too, sweetheart," and
finished adjusting the thermostat. He turned
around and no one was there. He went back to the
living room, and his wife showed no signs of
having left her chair. When he questioned her,
she said she had been sitting right there reading
for the past hour, and she hadn't seen or heard
anything unusual. Delano wasn't frightened or
upset by the incident -- in fact, he thought it
was rather neat -- but he was a bit sorry that he
hadn't given a more caring response to whoever or
whatever had whispered affectionately to him in
the dark hallway.
BLOODY BRIDGE
(This part of the story is apparently based on
fact; I've seen the plaque and the bridge
myself. The names have been changed to protect
local families.)
At the side of a two-lane road in rural Ohio is a
pull-off with a historical plaque. Near the
plaque is a crumbling old metal bridge across a
stream; the bridge is now blocked off so it is
unusable.
The plaque is titled "Bloody Bridge," and gives a
very brief outline of the following story, which
I heard in full from an old gentleman at the
local library.
In the late 1800s -- early 1900s, a beautiful
young woman named Jenny was courted by two young
men, John and Arthur. She cared deeply for both
of them, but being undecided she led both of them
on for several months while she tried to decide
whom she would marry. John viewed the situation
as something of a friendly competition, but
Arthur seemed annoyed at the knowledge that he
had a rival for Jenny's affections.
Eventually Jenny realized that she truly loved
John. She tried to let Arthur down gently when
she told him that John was her choice, and Arthur
seemed to accept her decision with grace.
John and Jenny had no idea Arthur was so upset.
The summer days were unpleasantly warm that year,
so the two lovers had taken to meeting on the old
metal bridge at dusk to sit on the bridge railing
and enjoy the cool evening air as they planned
their future together. They didn't realize that
Arthur was watching from the shadows of a nearby
grove of trees, consumed with growing jealousy
and rage.
One evening, darkness had fallen while John and
Jenny sat on the bridge rail. John leaned over
and kissed Jenny tenderly. Suddenly, with a
horrific shriek, Arthur charged onto the bridge,
swinging an axe. Jenny screamed as he chopped
John's head off with one stroke. The head fell
into the water with a splash. Arthur then turned
on Jenny, and killed the sobbing girl with
several ferocious strokes of the axe. He then
ran off the bridge and vanished into the darkness.
The authorities and a number of local people
searched for Arthur, but he was never seen again.
The general opinion was that he had taken to his
heels and left the state.
About 20 years later, an old, unused well near a
deserted farmhouse was drained prior to filling
it in. In the well were found a skeleton and an
axe.
(Now for the myth...)
It is said that if you stand on Bloody Bridge at
midnight and look down into the water, you can
hear Jenny sobbing and see John's eyes looking
back up at you from his severed head.
Submitted from: OH, USA
[Home]
They still live there, and it
has never been repeated.
Secretly, however, he was distraught, and as the
days went by he brooded more and more.
[Story Page]
[October 2000 Ghost Stories]