The Haunted Bridge And The Ol' Devil In The Tree

As compared to the others, these stories are very short. Once they contained substance, but it has been many years since I first heard them. It seems as though the stories came to me secondhand from one or both of my parents. Perhaps both repeated them at one time or another. The first story concerns a haunted bridge and my mother's uncle "A.J." I'd have much more to say about A.J., but unfortunately all I remember is that my mom had an uncle named A.J. and he was Choctaw. I vaguely recall traveling into Oklahoma to the funeral home after he passed away.

Ol' Uncle A.J. either had an experience at or knew something about a certain haunted bridge in Southeast Oklahoma. It seems as though the general area was considered to be the stomping grounds of assorted haunts, but this particular bridge was host to spectral animals. The story, as I recall, was that the ghostly form of either a large cat or a dog would appear near the bridge. As a hapless traveler approached the animal, he would observe that its height or size would increase more and more as he grew closer. The creature was described as growing to be "as tall as a man." That's the end of the story as I know it, except I would really like to make the claim that "A.J." himself had the experience. Sadly, I cannot remember.

The second story I have entitled, The Ol' Devil In The Tree, and it concerns an experience of my great-grandmother, who I knew in my childhood as "Granny." Granny was quite a character. She was born in Antlers Indian Territory a few years before Oklahoma became a state. More than anyone I've met since, she fit the stereotypical image of the "Indian healer," having knowledge of natural remedies and topics of that nature. One thing I remember in particular about her is that she wore her hair in a bun, but if it was brushed out it would reach the floor. She passed on when I was about twelve or thirteen years old.

Concerning Granny and the ol' devil in the tree, it is stated that she and at least one other person were once outside. I do not remember what they were doing, but they may have been on a creek bank, fishing. I used to know who the other person was, because that's where the story originated, but I've forgotten.

To make a long story short, as they went about doing whatever it was that they were doing, it was noticed that the limb of a certain tree was moving about erratically. It was thrashing about in an unpredictable manner as though in the midst of a hurricane. The strange thing was that there was no wind blowing and no other trees or limbs on that particular tree were moving at all! In fact, except for the dancing limb, it was a calm day.

It is at that point, so the story goes, that Granny focused her attention on the limb and "started pointin' and hoopin', hollerin' and carryin' on, and jumpin' up and down and raisin' @&%." After a moment or two of this strange behavior, the limb ceased to move. After it stopped, everything was normal and they continued on about their business.

When questioned, Granny apparently stated that "the devil" had been behind the strange dance of the limb. I do not know if she elaborated further; that's the end of the tale as I know it. It is left to be implied though it was never specifically stated that whatever she did or said¹ was potent enough to scare the supernatural terror away.

As I recall, my brother once wrote a brief article on Granny's encounter with the dancing limb. Perhaps his account will be included in my next attempt at retelling this tale.

¹It has occurred to me that Granny's "hooping and hollering and carrying on" in apparently unintelligible words may indicate that she was speaking in her native language. She was fluent in Choctaw; English was her second language. -Txtrek

Back      I      Next

Created With MS Paint.exe & Notepad.exe
© Ruinedmetropolis.com 2006-2009, All rights reserved.