Читать книгу Piedmont Phantoms - Daniel W. Barefoot - Страница 16

CHATHAM COUNTY

A Promise Kept

She was a Phantom of delight

When first she gleaned upon my sight;

A lovely apparition sent

To be a moment’s ornament.

William Wordsworth

Chatham County is known as the home of one of the most haunted spots in all of America—the Devil’s Tramping Ground. According to Tar Heel folklore, this eerie earthen circle forty feet in diameter is the work of the devil himself, who paces the isolated place on a regular basis. For as long as anyone can remember, no vegetation has grown in the circle, and all foreign objects placed in it mysteriously disappear overnight.

A variety of lesser known, yet highly intriguing, supernatural sites are also located in Chatham County. One such site, more romantic and less sinister than the Devil’s Tramping Ground, is in Pittsboro, the venerable county seat. In the heart of the stately, old town stands the Hardin House, one of the most historic dwellings in Pittsboro. Built around 1838 by William Hardin, a prominent town commissioner, the house has long boasted well-landscaped lawns. Its backyard gracefully slopes to a picturesque spring where a promise was made between two lovers many, many years ago. As the legend goes, the apparition of one of the lovers frequents the spring on moonlit nights as she searches for her fiance.

On a warm, wonderful spring evening in May 1839, all was right with the world, at least in the eyes of Philip Jones, a young Chatham County planter, and Helen Hardin. As the bright moon cast its glow on her golden hair and her flowing white dress, Helen hurried from the Hardin House to the springhouse where Philip, the love of her life, was waiting. There, the spring night was filled with the sweet smell of flowers.

His face beaming, the courtier greeted Helen with a compliment and a request: “Why, you’re just like an angel. Promise that you will always stay the way you are tonight.”

With schoolgirl shyness, the beautiful young woman answered softly, “I promise.”

Almost as soon as she had said it, Helen suffered a brief dizzy spell. Alarmed when she momentarily lost her balance, Philip reached to steady her. Helen quickly regained her composure. Sensing Philip’s anxiety, she sought to reassure him with words of hope and promise: “It is nothing. Perhaps I ran too fast to meet you. And then, too, I’m so happy to think that I, Helen Randolph Hardin, next month, June 1839, will become the wife of Mr. Philip Jones.”

Their anxious moment gave way to laughter as Helen described the beauty of the gown she would wear on their wedding day. It was her grandmother’s dress, which had come with the family from Ireland.

After they discussed the forthcoming parties related to the wedding, Philip shared his excitement about the progress that he had made in restoring the house in which the newlyweds would live. He predicted that the summer would yield a bountiful crop and a handsome income for the couple.

The night was theirs. Each drank cool spring water from a gourd held by the other. They tossed coins into the water. With each coin went a special wish.

Suddenly, the spell was broken by the call of William Hardin: “Bedtime, daughter!”

Before parting, they shared a loving embrace and a long, romantic kiss. Then Helen bade Philip farewell at the springhouse, telling him she would walk back to the house alone because of the lateness of the hour. Philip agreed reluctantly.

As he watched Helen reach the crest of the hill, a dark cloud floated in front of the moon. Philip felt a sudden chill. When he lost sight of her, he made his way home. Little did he know that their wedding dreams were about to become a nightmare.

That night, Helen fell into a sleep from which she never awoke. The family doctor said it was a heart attack.

In his anguish, Philip returned to the springhouse night after night. There, he watched and waited for his dear Helen to come running down the hill into his waiting arms. Neighbors considered his behavior strange until someone reported seeing the vision of a young lady with golden tresses and a beautiful white dress near the spring on moonlit nights.

Over time, the Hardin family conveyed the house to St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church for use as a rectory. However, sightings of the apparition continued.

The house changed hands again in the first decade of the twentieth century, when it was sold to William E. Brooks, the register of deeds of Chatham County. Townspeople reported seeing the figure of a lady at the spring behind the house. One frequent observer was Scotland Scurlock, a black servant who had to pass by the spring on his way home from work each night. Scurlock swore that on moonlit evenings, particularly in June, a young lady attired in a white dress would make her way down the hill from the Hardin House to the spring, then vanish.

Even today, there are reports that Helen makes her appearance at the spring when the moon shines brightly on warm spring nights. After all, she made a promise to Philip long ago. And ever since that time, she has remained true to that promise.