WESTERN STORIES
THE BALLAD OF JOHNNY O'DELL
Wild are the tales of the Pony ExpressAnd most of them are true if I don't miss my guess.
But wildest of all tales that they tell
Is that of fearless young Johnny O'Dell.
Johnny was little, but he was a man
Whom none could outride, outshoot or outplan.
Ride, he could ride anything that could run
And could outdo any man with a gun.
Whom none could outride, outshoot or outplan.
Ride, he could ride anything that could run
And could outdo any man with a gun.
Back in those days there were men in the West
And Johnny O'Dell was as good as the best.
Only the bravest could carry the mail
Through terrible dangers that haunted the trail.
And Johnny O'Dell was as good as the best.
Only the bravest could carry the mail
Through terrible dangers that haunted the trail.
Dangers there were on the night I describe,
For Johnny encountered an Indian tribe.
Blackie, his horse, gave a new burst of speed.
No Indian pinto could equal that steed.
For Johnny encountered an Indian tribe.
Blackie, his horse, gave a new burst of speed.
No Indian pinto could equal that steed.
Bullets and arrows whizzed over his head
As into the foe and right through them he sped.
Outlaws had raided the station ahead
The horses were stolen, his partner was dead.
As into the foe and right through them he sped.
Outlaws had raided the station ahead
The horses were stolen, his partner was dead.
Onward went Johnny over the trail.
For such was the life when you carry the mail
Rivers they forded for bridges there were none
While crossing one stream he was stopped by a gun.
For such was the life when you carry the mail
Rivers they forded for bridges there were none
While crossing one stream he was stopped by a gun.
"Halt!" cried a man on the bank of the creek-
As together they fired by the light of the sun.
Still lay the stranger whom Johnny had met,
For all that I know he is lying there yet.
As together they fired by the light of the sun.
Still lay the stranger whom Johnny had met,
For all that I know he is lying there yet.
Onward went Johnny into the West,
As a spot of crimson appeared on his vest.
Together they continued their hazardous ride,
The powerful horse with the brave man astride.
As a spot of crimson appeared on his vest.
Together they continued their hazardous ride,
The powerful horse with the brave man astride.
Into the town of Red Gulch did they go,
As blotches of blood marked their way through the snow.
This was the end of the perilous trail
Through bullets, and arrows; through blizzards and hail.
As blotches of blood marked their way through the snow.
This was the end of the perilous trail
Through bullets, and arrows; through blizzards and hail.
Johnny dismounted and cried with a wail,
"Oh, Darn it all, I've forgotten the mail!"
"Oh, Darn it all, I've forgotten the mail!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Funny Ghost Story
Sometimes it can be difficult for people to talk about the reality of paranormal happenings, but one thing that can help in dealing with that fear is to read a funny ghost story.
How a Funny Ghost Story Can Remove Fear
Most children believe in magic at a very young age. As they grow older, most begin to believe in darker things as well, such as an ugly witch under the bed or a gruesome monster in the closet. When adults are confronted by the paranormal, those childhood fears return. Even the most experienced paranormal investigatorcan fall victim to such fear. The following funny ghost stories offer situations where that fear is misplaced, or in some cases, where ghosts even have a sense of humor.
A Knife in the Grave
Tom, Fred, and John were sitting at the cafeteria table during lunchtime, discussing some of the local urban legends.
"According to my Uncle, his friend walked into the cemetery on a full moon, and at the stroke of midnight the hand of a skeleton reached up out of the ground and grabbed his leg," Tom explained as he twirled his fork around the pile of spaghetti on his plate.
"Yeah, whatever," John replied as he rolled his eyes.
"So, um, what happened then?" Fred stuttered as he stared at Tim with wide and fearful eyes.
"Well, they say that he was pulled down under the dirt and, trapped there, he died of suffocation," Tom answered, glancing back and forth at his two friends.
"Wow," Fred said as he broke a corner off his cornbread and popped it in his mouth.
"Get real. That's one of the oldest stories about Greywood Cemetery. Everyone knows it's a bunch of baloney." John said, looking at Tom with disdain.
"Okay then. Tomorrow night is a full moon. I dare you to stick a knife in the ground at midnight and leave it there. We'll check in the morning to see if you really did it." Tom answered, matching John's look with a smirk.
"Fine."
"Fine," Tom said as he shoved his hand across the table. John reached over his plate, grasped his friend's hand firmly, and shook it. The deal was made.
The next night, John crept silently into the dark end foreboding cemetery. It was far spookier than he remembered it seeming during the day. Finally, he found a fresh plot that had recently been filled in. He quickly removed the jack-knife from his jacket pocket, and unfolded the blade. As he watched the moon's reflection dance on the silver blade, he realized that his hand was shaking.
Whatever...it's just a story, just do it.
He squatted down, closed his eyes, and slammed the blade into the freshly packed earth. He waited a few moments.
Nothing.
Phew...
He went to stand up, and at that moment he felt a tug on his jacket. He tried harder to stand up and realized that something had a firm hold on his jacket and was pulling him down toward the ground. His heart froze and he screamed at the top of his lungs until all of his breath was expended, and he passed out.
The next morning, his friends found him asleep by the grave. As they woke him, he started to tell the story, and then they all quickly looked down at his jacket where he'd been grabbed and pulled. Immediately, Tom and Fred burst into hysterical laughter. John just sat there staring at his jacket, with a corner pinned to the ground by the blade that he, himself, had thrust through it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Full Moon
A paranormal investigative group in Connecticut were called to a haunted house. The homeowners warned the group that the house was haunted by an especially "evil" spirit that enjoyed playing pranks. The team leader of the paranormal society invited along a friend from Massachusetts. He was a physicist, and amateur paranormal investigator, who everyone called "Doc". Doc believed that there were no such things as ghosts or poltergeists, and that every type of haunting or unusual phenomenon had a reasonable, earthly explanation.
They traveled across the State of Connecticut in three vehicles filled with team members and equipment. Upon arriving at the home, the team immediately started setting up the monitoring equipment as the team leader and his friend, Doc, received a tour of the home from the homeowner.
At one point in the tour, as the three men approach the staircase that led to the second floor, very loud footsteps could be heard on the upstairs landing.
"Is anyone else home?" Doc asked the homeowner.
"No, my wife's at work and we have no kids," the homeowner replied.
Excited to have his first opportunity to confront an alleged ghostly spirit, Doc walked to the foot of the stairs.
"Come on! You can do better than that you lousy ghost!" Doc yelled up the stairwell.
"Doc, I wouldn't do that if I were you," the paranormal team leader advised. Doc ignored him. Instead, he stepped up onto the bottom step.
"If you're really a ghost, why don't you show us what you can really do, you lousy, no-good prankster!" Doc yelled.
The moment the last word came out of his mouth, his pants flew down around his ankles. The homeowner and the team leader burst into laughter as Doc, terrified, struggled to pull his pants back up. He then stumbled as fast as he could out the front door of the house. He refused to re-enter the house or to talk about the episode ever again. However, the episode went down in the records as one of the most humorous moments the paranormal team had ever witnessed in a haunted home. They still tell this funny ghost story to every new team member
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Short Scary Halloween Stories
Short, scary Halloween stories are frighteningly good fun to share with friends and family. These storiesare great to tell during parties, or you can simply curl up by candlelight and enjoy a spooky tale on your own.
Share These Short Scary Halloween Stories
The Peace and Plenty Inn
The Peace and Plenty Inn was once a tavern and stagecoach shop before the Revolutionary War. Later, it was converted to a private residence. The sprawling red-clapboard home has welcomed many families in its almost four-hundreds years, yet some people have felt very unwelcome indeed. One night just before Halloween, Ann came to the old inn to baby sit for the Armstrong family. The three little girls had done their homework, and were already in their pajamas and ready for bed. The Armstrongs left for their dinner engagements. Around nine o'clock, with all three girls tucked safely into bed, Ann settled in front of the television to watch a movie.
About fifteen minutes later, Ann suddenly felt chilled to the bone. She set her cola on the end table and checked the thermostat. The room temperature was set to 70 degrees, and she could hear the oil burner chugging along in the basement. "Hmmn, that's strange," she thought. "It's freezing in here." She found an afghan on the back of the couch and settled back to watch television.
A few minutes later, she heard heavy footsteps on the stairs leading from the kitchen to the second floor. "Katie? Elizabeth? Laurel?" she called out the three children's names. The footsteps seemed to be coming closer. "Are you girls playing a trick on me?" Abruptly, the light on the end table flickered, flared and went out.
Ann checked the kitchen and the hallway. It was even colder back there than in the living room. Nobody was there. She shook her head and went upstairs. All three girls were sound asleep. She returned to the living room.
"Hmmm, that's funny," she said as she looked at the television. "I thought I left it on Channel 2. It's on Channel 4 now." These were the days before remote controls, so she walked over to the television and put it back on Channel 2. She sat back in the chair.
Suddenly the knob began to turn on its own switching to channel 4, 7… and then static.
A voice whispered through the TV, "Get out."
With a shriek, Ann pulled the plug from the television. Mrs. Armstrong found her upstairs, curled in her afghan, asleep at the foot of the children's beds. "Ann, are you all right?"
"T-t-take me home," Ann cried. "This place is haunted!"
The Face on the Tree
Gloria and her friends Sarah and Megan enjoyed riding their horses through the woods next to the riding stable. Many of the old timers at the stable warned them not to pass Black Woods at night on horseback. The haunted woods often spooked the horses - as well as the riders.One particularly beautiful night close to Halloween, the girls rode out further than they intended. The crisp leaves crunched under the horses' hooves, and the girls spent more time than usual exploring an unused trail. The sunset faded, and the girls suddenly realized they would have to pass by Black Woods in pitch darkness. The horses knew the path and picked their way carefully through the woodland trail. As they came to the fork in the trail that led left past Black Woods toward the stables or right towards the road, all three horses balked and refused to turn left.
Gloria said, "Let's dismount and walk them the last little bit. We're almost home."
"You go," Sarah said. She shivered. "I want to ride towards the road and walk on the road back to the stable."
Gloria persisted. "We're going to get in trouble if we walk the horses on the road at night. It's too dangerous. Besides, we're almost back. We just have to get through Black Woods."
Sarah and Meg had already turned their horses and headed towards the road. "Fine," Gloria fumed. "I'll go straight."
She urged her horse forward. As they rounded the last turn into Black Woods, an eerie glow suddenly lit the path in front of her. Gloria urged her trembling horse forward. As she turned the last corner through Black Woods towards the riding stable, the glow became stronger and centered on a huge, lightning-struck oak tree. On the trunk of the tree a woman's face appeared. She glowed with a white light as her lips moved.
"Tell them…," she whispered. "Tell them I'm innocent."
Gloria kicked her horse, but the horse needed no urging. He flew through the woods and stopped at the stable door trembling in fear.
The next day, one of the stable owners, Tommy, stopped by while Gloria groomed her horse. Tommy had heard that Gloria had ridden alone through Black Woods after dark, and so close to Halloween. As she curried her horse, Gloria worked up her courage and asked, "Tommy, why do people say we shouldn't go into Black Woods at night?"
"Because of the Hanging Tree," Tommy said.
"The big oak." It was a statement from Gloria, not a question.
"The very one," said Tommy.
The apparition's words echoed in Gloria's mind. "Tell them I'm innocent." She shivered.
She never rode anywhere near Black Woods or the old Hanging Tree ever again.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment