Читать книгу More Haunted Hoosier Trails - Wanda Lou Willis - Страница 10

A few miles southwest of Elkhart on County Road 19 is the village of Jimtown (Jamestown). It was laid out in 1835 by James Davis, for whom it was named. The village has remained just that—a village—a quiet and comfortable place to live. Like in many other small communities, everybody knows everybody. In such a peaceful environment, a visitor passing through would feel certain there was nothing to fear. But those who live in and near the community know the truth.

Some time back, a terrible auto accident occurred just west of Jimtown on Cable Line Road (County Road 26). The driver died on the spot. No one recalls the exact date of the accident or even the name of the driver, but nearly everyone in the area agrees the accident did happen. It left a legacy—a terrible legacy.

As the story is often told, it began on a moonless night. A cold mist hugged the ground. An eastbound car traveling much too fast on County Road 26 was nearing the intersection at County Road 11. Suddenly the driver lost control. The vehicle crashed headlong into a large tree just off the side of the road. On impact, the driver was thrown through the windshield, crashing into the tree.

A nearby family heard the crash and called the sheriff’s office. People watching the wreckage cleanup commented that they could see the exact spot where the man’s body had hit the tree. Curiously, his body was never found.

Some believed he had survived the crash and in shock had wandered into the woods where he died. Others had a different theory. They believed the force of the impact was so great that the tree had actually captured the man’s body—and his spirit!

As time passed the tree became diseased and was cut down. The road, however, is still haunted. Today, the thing that remains to haunt Cable Line Road is said to be a monster.

Traveling at night, you may see in your headlights the man’s head floating above the road searching for its body or a headless creature standing at the edge of the road.

The legend has been so much a part of Jimtown’s culture that when the town celebrated its 150-year anniversary, the Cable Line Monster was honored with its own float!