Читать книгу More Haunted Hoosier Trails - Wanda Lou Willis - Страница 13

The story of the giant ghost of Benton in Elkhart County became a news item in the September 13, 1896, issue of the Philadelphia Press. The story attracted so much attention that many upstanding, intelligent individuals who were considered to have good sense decided to investigate.

This is the story as it was reported: A farmer and his wife were returning home one night from a visit with one of their neighbors. The road to their farm, about sixteen miles southeast of Elkhart, passed near an old church surrounded by a moss-covered, overgrown graveyard.

For years, an old man who lived not far from the graveyard had tended to the gravesites, keeping the vegetation under control. Ten years before, however, the old man was found murdered. He had been beaten to death by a large club, which was found beside his cold body. The motive for this dastardly deed was the rumored hoard of gold he supposedly had hidden. The crime was never solved.

The old man was buried in the graveyard where he’d spent so much of his time. Sadly, after his death no one continued to maintain the hallowed ground and final resting places of the county’s pioneer families.

This particular night, as the farmer and his wife neared the graveyard, the horses reared back on their haunches, eyes bulging, ears flicking as they snorted in terror. The farmer was alarmed and suspected the horses had gotten the scent of highwaymen hiding in the shadows. He reached for a shotgun laying in the bottom of the wagon for just such an emergency. His wife screamed. She pointed straight ahead, grabbing his arm speechlessly.

Blocking their way, standing in the road just beside the old graveyard, was an apparition of a man with a long white beard sweeping over his chest. The man had to be no less than eight feet tall. In one of his hands, he carried a large club similar to the one that had been used ten years earlier to kill the old cemetery caretaker.

Slowly raising his free arm, the ghost bowed and, with a majestic sweep of his arm, beckoned the farmer to come ahead. The farmer struggled to restrain the panicked horses while his wife sat beside him, dumbstruck and frozen with fear.

The farmer, still struggling with his team, watched in apprehension and mounting fear as the ghostly figure slowly began to move toward the wagon. The large club was now raised to its shoulder, much as a soldier would carry his rifle. The farmer saw that the fearsome figure moved without touching the ground—just floating above the road.

Whirling his team around, the farmer lashed the horses into a run, racing back toward the house of the friend he had just left. The next day in broad daylight the couple once again began their trip home—this time completing their journey without incident.

Shortly thereafter another farmer in the area encountered the giant ghost. This man had a reputation for being not only intelligent, but without fear. His encounter with the giant club-wielding ghost, however, left him greatly fearful. He never again traveled that road at night.

On a number of occasions, several groups of curious citizens have attempted to investigate and solve the mystery of the giant ghost. In each instance they, too, saw and were convinced of the actual presence of the ghost.

Several conflicting reports described the ghost as being eight to ten feet tall and having a badly mangled or missing head. But all the reports mentioned the club. The story evolved to allege that the entity was the spirit of the elderly man who must have been murdered by a gang of gold-seeking ruffians. Some said that the ghost would not hurt the innocent; he was just waiting for the murderers to come down the road, so he could take his revenge.

Needless to say, when darkness comes, those of the Benton com-munity steer clear of the road beside the old graveyard on U.S. Route 33 where the giant ghost waited—and still may be waiting.