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About 1850 there
was a small settlement
just several miles from
here. The roads into
the settlement are all
overgrown with trees
and underbrush, and
no mention of the
settlement shows on
any map. There is an
old guy in town that
could guide us there,
but he tells me beside
himself there are few
who even remember where
the settlement was or
anything about it.
Hundreds of years
ago, when people
chose a place for a
settlement they often
chose it for defensive
reasons. This settlement
had plenty of reason
to worry about defense
too. You see, all the
folks who lived there
had been suspected of
witchcraft, and had
fled their homes and
villages to keep from
being persecuted. That
is the reason the settlement
is so far off the beaten
path. The settlement's
name was 'Haven', but
everyone referred to
it as Broom Town. For
hundreds of miles around
people knew of Broom
Town, but not exactly
where it was. In fact
an old saying used to
be "He better head
to Broom Town",
or "If she's not
careful she'll end up
in Broom Town."
. In fact some parents
used to tell their kids
that if they were not
good they would end
up in Broom Town.
Yep, Broom Town had
quite a mystique to
it.
In Fact many who
knew of Broom Town thought
that it was seeped in
magic, but of course
we will never really
know. What we do know
however is that not
everyone who went looking
for Broom Town found
it. Those who did find
it never talked about
it. There is no written
record of life there,
but there is a written
record of death.
Well it seems
that during the Civil
War a troop of soldiers
attacked and destroyed
Broom Town and killed
everyone there. Now
here's the weird thing,
there is no record of
which side took this
action. No one knows
if it was the North
or the South. There
was a battle diary found
on the turnpike, and
it had a Captain's name
in it, but Captain John
Bell was the name shared
by two men. One was
a captain for the South
and one was a captain
for the North. Both
were in the area during
that period of time.
Both died around the
same time, and no one
could tell who the battle
diary belonged to. No
one from their units
could be found to clear
things up either. So
all that we are left
with is an entry in
a battle diary.
This is what it said:
While on reconnaissance
,Saturday (rest of date
blurred), discovered
small fortified position
in small valley. Unable
to tell if friend of
foe. From tall tree
my spotter can see people
moving behind walls.
The response to my questions
shouted at the people
behind the walls is
one of rebuke. We are
told to go away.
In need of food and
supplies. Have determined
Activities suspicious
and possible hostile,
will attack at dawn
tomorrow. Will use last
of dynamite to blow
main gates.
Sunday Noon, Action
successful. Battle was
short, all fought against
us but our training
proved out in the end.
2 dead 3 wounded from
unit, wounded able to
move. Must move out
soon. Men restless,
superstitions running
wild in unit. Many defenders
yelled curses as they
fought, and spoke in
unknown language.
Sunday Night, Camp
set up 8 miles south
of previous position.
Monday morning. Our
position harassed by
assassins , 2 dead,
wailing and screams
occur just before attack.
Humorous note cook claims
must be banshees.
Tuesday morning,
Harassed again over
night, 4 dead. Am starting
to believe in banshees.
That is the last entry
in the book.
Now that in itself
is interesting, but
what happens next is
even more interesting.
You see, Alfred Bell
and his brother Thomas,
came visiting into the
area about 1910. They
stayed in a hotel that
was pretty fancy for
those times. It was
called the Manor House.
What happened was that
other guests of the hotel were awakened in the
middle of the night. They reported
that around 2:00 am,
in the wee hours of
the morning they all
heard wailing and screams
coming from somewhere
in the hotel. It lasted
for about 20 minutes,
And during that time
winds howled out side
and the lights went
out, and some people
even reported that the
doors to their rooms
shook real hard like
someone trying to get
in. By the time someone
checked the Brother's
rooms, hours had passed,
but both men were unquestionably
dead. No wounds could
be found, the only blood
came from where one
brother had bitten his
own tongue off, and
it lay on the floor
beside him. Their faces
were froze in horror,
eyes opened wide in
shock, the pupils rolled
back out of sight so
that only the white
of the eye could be
seen. Their hands were
raised in front of them
as though they were
trying to ward off something.
Well back then there
were still plenty of
people who remembered
the Broom Town incident,
but they did not piece
it together until Alfred and Thomas's
cousin came to get the
bodies. You see the
same thing happened
to him, here's what
happened.
It was about 11:00
at night. Many
in the hotel had already
gone to bed for the
night, The cousin
was one of them. In
the room with him was
a salesman, they had
met on the stage ride
to town, and decided
to share a room and
split the cost. They
flipped a coin for the
bed, and the cousin
lost, his name was Gregory.
He was sleeping
on several quilts that
he had placed near the
fireplace. Well,
at 11:00 pm that night,
the salesman reported
that Gregory was crying
out in his sleep. This
woke him, and from the
bed he watched as Gregory
tossed and turned. He
could see him fairly
clearly in the glow
from the coals of the
fire. Suddenly
Gregory yelled and sat
straight up. The
salesman was about to
say something when an
awful screech sounded
in the room. Outside,
the winds rose to storm
pitch, and the shutters
rocked in their fasteners
banging against the
windows. The salesman
said he covered his
head, and peeked out
from under the covers.
He saw this huge
black shadow in the
center of the room.
Gregory had crawled
to a corner, and was
half standing half crouched,
his back supported by
two walls where they
came together. He
was yelling “NO!! NO!!
and seemed
to be trying to bat
something unseen away
with his hands. The
shadow moved towards
Gregory, and as it did
the salesman could see
the other side of the
shadow reflected in
the mirror. It
looked as though hundreds
of heads hung attached
to the black shape.
There were adult
heads both young and
old, there were the
heads of children, boys
and girls. And
as the salesman watched
one of the heads would
open its mouth and wail,
then the others would
join in. Then
the eyes would open,
yet there were no eyes,
just a hot red much
like the coals of the
fire in the fireplace.
With all the eyes open,
a reddish glow brightened
the room, and in the
mirror the salesman
saw that some of the
heads still had what
looked like blood on
them. One head
in particular had been
split almost in half,
and the brain mushroomed
out globbish and ugly.
Several
heads had only one eye,
and one even had its
nose cut off. The
salesman was afraid
he was going to be sick,
but he was afraid more
and he watched terrified,
The heads wailed
and screeched again
then moved over to the
corner, and he heard
Gregory yell in terror
but could not see him
as the shadow covered
him completely then
all was quiet. The salesman
hid under the blanket,
and it was many minutes
before he peeked out
again. When he did the
shadow had gone, the
wind had stopped, and
Gregory was dead in
the corner of the room.
The salesman jumped
from the bed, and rushing
to the door, flung it
open, screaming.
The story of the
salesman traveled fast,
and soon few people
would come to the small
town or stay at the
hotel.
Then one day an old
woman showed up at the
hotel. When people
on the street asked
her if she planned to
stay at the hotel she
replied “Sure, I
ain’t related to them
that be cursed.” When
asked what she meant,
she told them all the
story of Broom Town.
That is when they remembered
the rumor of curses
and so forth. Yet,
the old woman told them
more, you see the soldiers
became very afraid when
they found out the people
they fought might have
been witches. To
solve the fears his
men had, John Bell told
his men that if they
cut off the heads of
the witches and buried
them separate, then
the dead souls of the
witches could never
find them, so that is
what they did.
Unfortunately for
John Bell and his relatives
he was wrong. Now,
if anyone who took part
in that raid comes within
25 miles of Broom Town,
the witches come to
take their revenge.
However, because the
heads are not attached
to the bodies the angry
headless spirits move
around trying to find
their cut off heads,
and that is what causes
the sound of a howling
wind.
Through the years,
many people have been
visited by the specter
of the screaming wailing
heads of the witches.
In fact some of the
old timers think that
is why both Captain
John Bell's disappeared
at the same time. Related
some how, the screaming
banshees took their
revenge on the unsuspecting
relative of the guilty
John Bell. I
hope there are no relatives
of the attackers camping
here tonight, but if
the winds begin to blow
real hard…beware.
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