Ever hear a dead child scream? I have, it isn’t pleasant.
As a child I grew up in the small town of Greenfield, Wisconsin. It was a small rural town full of friendly people and a thriving community. The one downside to Greenfield was that there was a number of kids that have been reported missing and often found dead within a week. Just last week three little girls were found dead deep in the forest with their bodies in shreds. That has the town on high alert for a gruesome murderer but that isn’t what this is about. Along with the countless murders, Greenfield’s past becomes even more dark. People believe that the paranormal roams this town in the dead of night, haunt the citizens and drive them mad. This town has been considered one of the most haunted towns in America. My first encounter with the paranormal was sometime last summer.
My family use to own a restaurant and I would work late shifts to make sure that no one would break in and to satisfy late night costumers. It all happened on that one night July of 1983. It was a stormy night as I sat, eagerly awaiting my shift to end at 12:00 AM because that night was a particularly slow night. I was alone in the restaurant because my sister who normally would work alongside me to this hour was too sick to show up. I didn’t mind, it was nice having the place to myself. Only problem was that it had an eerie silence when it was just me. It didn’t normally bug me except on that night. Ever had that feeling where you feel like you’re being watched constantly? That night I did. I felt an eerie presence among me, as if somebody was watching me from the shadows. Eventually I shook the feeling off and went to the back to make myself a midnight snack. I fired up the barbeque and put a frozen beef patty on it. I kept cooking till I heard the sound of chimes going at the door, it notified us if someone showed up. I went to the front desk to greet the customer and noticed nobody was there. The storm outside however became something fierce. I found it strange that nobody was there but shrugged it off thinking that I heard something. I returned to the kitchen to finish making my midnight burger only to notice that I burnt it, I could’ve sworn I turned off the oven. I was known for my clumsy mistakes but even I knew I turned it off. Oh well I thought to myself.
After a while my body ordered me to the washroom to briefly urinate. Like usual there was no customers so I decided to make a quick trip. I entered the washroom and started to pee. I finally finished and the lights went out. This startled me because this never happened. I found the lighter in my hands and flicked it on. I stared into the mirror and what I saw scared me. Looking at my reflection I saw myself and behind me was a small child with pure black eyes. I immediately turned around and saw nothing. I quickly dashed out of the washroom and into the main room. To my surprise there was a customer there waiting at the front desk. I apologized and asked for his order. The man asked for a medium fries and a cheeseburger. He then asked if he could borrow the phone and I saw no problem with it. I handed him the phone and went to make his order. The clock currently read 10:49, I found it odd that someone would want a meal at this hour but then thought he could’ve been on a long drive or vacation. I cooked his meal and walked out to give it to him. I didn’t see him anywhere. I called out for him and noticed that there wasn’t a car in sight. I then turned to see the phone resting on the desk. It started ringing.
I wondered who would call at this hour and finally answered. I immediately put the phone back down. What I heard sounded like 100 raspy voices, whispering my name over and over again. After hanging up I looked down at the meal. Hunger started to tug at my mind. I still had a feeling that I was being watched but thought it was due to my hunger, I was wrong. I eventually looked in the corner to see a black figure watching me. It looked like the silhouette of a 8 foot man. It watched me until out of the corner of my eye, a child ran into the washroom. I was terrified at this point. I decided to investigate the washroom to see what was in there. I went over to the door and turned on the light only to see a little girl crying. The girl was sitting in a criss cross position facing me with her face in her hands. She wore a white gown and had pale skin.
“Little girl are you alright?” I asked in a soft voice.
“They’re all dead…” she responds.
“Pardon?” I asked.
“Their corpses on beneath that dwell will suffer for eternity in a wretched hell,” she recited multiple times.
Suddenly the girl lifted her face up, still reciting her poem revealing two pure black eyes. She started to smile and multiple rotten fangs appeared. She started giggling a tiny bit until it blew into a kackle.
“They’re all dead!” she screamed as her head tilted sideways and tears of blood fell from her eyes. At that moment a clawed hand covered my mouth, muffling my screams. I felt four claws run down my back, cutting me deep. Tears clouded my vision as my life flashed before my eyes. Finally I slipped away from consciousness.
I awoke after what seemed like an endless night finally came to an end. I looked around and noticed that I was in the washroom, lying face first in a pool of my own blood. I tried to get up but was ravaged by sharp pains all over my body. I coughed up more blood adding to the pool. After what seemed like an eternity of attempts to rise to my feet, I gave up and dragged my body to a nearby wall. I sat up against the wall with my agonizing pain. As I sat there I started noticing details that I missed when I was lying in my blood. All the bathroom stalls were open, each covered in red stains. The mirrors were all shattered and the sinks had rusted significantly since the previous night. The lights flickered in syncopation with my own heartbeat. I looked down at my arm only to see scratch marks covering the entire length of my arms and legs, my chest was all clawed up and my clothes were stained red with blood.
Suddenly I heard a banging on my door, a hard pound of someone or something on the other side. It grew louder and louder, until I heard a familiar voice, my dad. He was on the other side of that door trying to get in as if it were locked. I tried calling back for him but immediately choked on my own blood. Finally the door burst open and I passed out.
I awoke in a hospital bed with my family at my side. I never thought I would see them again. I tried to shoot out of bed but was immediately crippled by agonizing pain. They told me that I was in a coma for approximately 6 weeks. They told me about how they found the place in ruins, tables flipped, food everywhere and they found a white gown. They wanted to know what happened but I decided to wait for that, I didn’t think they would believe in ghosts.
So ever since that fateful night, I’ve never worked a single night shift. Since that night, I have constant recurring nightmares of the events that took place. I still occasionally see them, the black eyed kids. They haven’t left, they’re just waiting for the next time I’m alone and vulnerable.
So if you’re reading this mom and dad, just know that I will forever love you two for giving me a life so great. I just was unlucky. As I write this I have grown tired of living with the ghosts that forever haunt me. Fare well.