Ruth D. Hein - Ghostly Tales of Minnesota

Except for brief quotations embodied in reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher.

Edited by Hazel Retzlaff

Cover design by Jonathan Norberg

Book design by Patricia Wagner

Copyright 1992 by Ruth D. Hein

Published by Adventure Publications, Inc.

820 Cleveland Street South

Cambridge, MN 55008

1-800-678-7006

www.adventurepublications.net

All rights reserved

Printed in the U.S.A.

ISBN: 978-0-934860-79-6 (paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-59193-328-1 (ebook)

Acknowledgments

In the preface to Ghostly Tales of Southwest Minnesota (1989), I admitted that there were more ghosts lurking in this area than I could fit into that book. I didnt know then that I would be the one to record them before they are forgotten or that I would find ghost stories from other parts of the state.

But this new collection, Ghostly Tales of Minnesota , would not have materialized without the help of the storygivers. I needed to know about their experiences so that I could build my stories around them.

My sincere thanks to all who either told me a story or told me where to find one. Special thanks to correspondent Diana Anderson, who let me use her story that appeared in the Worthington Daily Globes Halloween issue as the core of my story Serenity Disrupted. And many thanks to the publisher and editors who helped to perfect this book.

With the help of library and historical society materials and personnel, historians and newspapers, I was able to research settings and backgrounds. Some names and locations are disguised to respect the wishes of the storygivers.

Finally, thanks to my husband and family for not putting me on trial for being, once again, so preoccupied with ghosts.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to...

The Ghosts

without whom

this collection of stories

would not be possible.

A Hovering, Smothering Spirit

Grandma Emma was glad that the day had come to an end. Tidying up had taken a while. The grandchildren had hauled out all the toys as they thought of them. Bingo and Checkers had to be put back on the shelf; Slap and Crazy Eights and the other card games had to be put back in their basket.

Usually that was done before they left. They were good about that. But this time was different. There was the call saying the sheep were out on the road and everyone, including Grandpa Will, left in a hurry. Emma had everything straightened up by the time Will came home. Well, that should be the last time now. We fixed the fence while we were at it, he said.

Did they just push it down, or what happened, Will?

They got to rubbing their backs and necks on the barbed wire. You know how they do. You can tell by the wool caught in the wire. That strained the stakes until they tipped, and the sheep just walked the fence down and got out. But we took care of it.

Good. Im tired. Ill bet you are, too. I think Ill just call it a day and crawl in.

See you later, then, Will said. Im gonna watch the news and weather first. And so Emma crawled in, pulled the covers up, and settled in for sleep.

Their home was on a farm on the edge of a town not far from Worthington. They werent farming the land anymore. They said they had retired. It was a quiet place, and sleep came soon enough that night. But it didnt last long.

Emma began to struggle and hit out toward somethingshe didnt know what it wasbut she felt as though she was being smothered. Her actions woke her. She looked around the room. Nothing there. She felt foolish as she realized she must have been dreaming.

Another night, about a week later, Emma again struggled in her sleep. This time the feeling was the same, but she also saw a gray, indefinite mass coming down toward her. Will! Will! she cried out. Will snapped awake and turned on the lamp. He looked at his wife there beside him. She was all right, but she looked and sounded all washed out when she told him she must have had a nightmare.

This went on for a long time. It didnt happen every night, but off and on. At first, Will tried to tell Em she was just tired out and sleeping poorly and having dreams. But Emma wasnt convinced. The more she thought about it and tried to relive the feeling or the happening or to tell someone else about it, the more it troubled her. Each time it happened, it was as though a gray mass came down to smother her. When it seemed to bear down upon her shoulders and neck, as if closing in on her, shed wake up and scream. Will always quieted her and comforted her. He put his arm over her and told her, It was just another dream. Try an get back to sleep.

That only helped temporarily, and after many restless nights for both of them, Will told a neighbor down the road about the dreams. Henry listened carefully and spoke up after Will finished. Now Will, Em might just be having dreams. But on the other hand, there may be something more to it.

What dya mean, Henry? Why, they might not be dreams at all. Do you believe in spirits?

Ya mean, like good spirits an evil spirits, an stuff like that? Yahor the spirit of someone who died and is still hanging around.

Still hanging around! What on earth...! Theres no one rattling around in that old house but the two of us and I dont want to hear nothin more bout spirits!

But, Will, didnt you know that there was a murder in the house you bought? It happened a long time ago. Most of the neighbors just got used to knowing it and sort of forgot about it, I guess. Matter of fact, so did Iuntil you told me about Ems dreams, or whatever.

You might as well tell me the rest of the story now. Even if I might not be able to sleep because of it!

All I know is that someone was murdered in that house, long ago. Come to think about it, it seems to me it was a woman. Say, what room are you two sleeping in?

We took the one on the second floor, back in the northwest corner.

Why, I believe thats the room where the murder happened. But thats all I do know about it. And I gotta get for home now. Sorry I had to be the one to tell you.

Henry, thanks for telling me. It makes more sense now. If the spirit of that person is hovering in her old room, maybe shes upset. We just have to do something about it. We have to confront it, I guess.

The next time the dream or the hovering gray mass or the gray ghost or whatever it was appeared to be closing in on Emma, Will spoke up. He emphatically announced to everyone present, meaning him and Em and the ghost, that there was no need to be upset or jealous or angry or anything else. That Emma had nothing whatsoever to do with the murder. That she didnt even know it had taken place. And now, be so kind as to leave us in peace! were his final words that night.

Though the spirit never appeared again, Emma still had a hard time getting to sleep some nights. She couldnt help remembering those troubled, sleepless times. She couldnt help but wonder if it was a dream, or a presence, or if it was connected with that murder Will had told her about. But once she knew about that, she could understand the strange appearances, though they ceased abruptly the night Will spoke out.