The second time I heard about the night people was on an excursion with my friend Lyndon Harjula. The first time I heard the mention of the night people was many years before and I probably would have thought it nothing more than a tale meant to frighten children if I had not gone to see an old Creek storyteller. Lyndon had Muscogee Creek blood in his line. His grandfather was a full-blooded Combahee. He had studied the Creek traditions and history to some degree and would be quick to recount many of the accounts of their heroic deeds or mysterious lore at the mere mention of the days when the Muskogee tribes reigned over the land now known as South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.
[Program from Moundville Native American Festival.]
Being somewhat of a history buff myself, I didn’t mind Lyndon’s fascination with his ancestors. On the contrary, I found many of the legends and myths to be quite intriguing. And so it was that I accompanied him to Moundville to attend the annual Native American Dance Festival.
[Lyndon and me before we departed for Moundville and a camping trip to Bankhead National Forest.]
Moundville is located near Tuscaloosa close to the Alabama and Mississippi state line. The name comes from the massive burial mounds of the ancient Mississippian culture that erected the pyramid-like structures to house their dead. Students from the University of Alabama’s Archaeology Department in nearby Tuscaloosa had once excavated some of the bodies but this had stopped many years ago due to the pleadings of the Native Americans. I now believe that there were other reasons as well.
The festival was like a trip to the past for Lyndon and myself. We sat entranced by the drumming, dancing, and chanting of the participants as they all coalesced about the woods filling the air with a primal energy that invigorated the soul. The dancers wore ceremonial dress exactly as their ancestors had worn for thousands of years. But it was the elder Creek storyteller, whose face looked like it was carved from a tree and had the appearance of cracked leather, who stole the show. He sat in the middle of a ring of attentive listeners recounting many legends and lore of the past with a voice that was like honey.
He told us many popular stories that most people don’t even realize have their roots in the Muskogee people. The stories about Brer Rabbit who was a trickster and always played jokes on Coyote were favorites with the children. Everyone felt proud at the telling of the famous exploits by Chief Tuscaloosa who was reported to have stood over seven feet tall and had outwitted Hernando De Soto the Conquistador. And finally, he began to recite many old Muskogee poems. After he would recite one in the beautiful Creek language, he would recite the English translation. Each poem told where certain Muskogee traditions came from. It was about the eighth or ninth poem that reminded me of my initial hearing of the night people. I knew that there had to be a connection in the story I had heard and the old Muskogee poem.
After the storyteller finished his performance I related to Lyndon that I had heard another story concerning the night people and that I wanted to speak with the old storyteller in order to learn more. He had made his way to the side of the gathering to get a drink of water and happened to be alone. Lyndon and I approached him and I spoke first.
“Excuse me, sir. I was wondering if you could tell us more about the night people?” He looked at us with some interest. There were very few white people who attended such gatherings and they were usually viewed as interlopers. Although Lyndon did have some Creek blood in his line, he was all white to the appearance. The silence was a bit awkward so I introduced Lyndon and myself. “Forgive me for being so impolite,” I continued. “My name is David Garrett and this is my good friend Lyndon Harjula. We came today because Lyndon is part Creek.” This seemed to soften him a bit to continuing the conversation.
“Why are you curious about the night people?” he asked.
“Because, I have heard of them before. When I was a child my grandfather told me a story about them. He must have heard of your poem and made up a story to scare us grandchildren,” I said thinking the old man would laugh at the story my grandfather had concocted.
“It is no legend,” he said looking hard at Lyndon and myself. “The night people were real, and their medicines were real. I would be very much surprised if your grandfather’s story didn’t ring of truth somewhere.”
I was shocked at the response and didn’t really know what to say so I replied with the only thought that came to my mind. “If that’s so then I know where one of their burial grounds is.” Upon saying this, the old Creek storyteller grabbed me by my arm and put his face very close to mine.
“If you know what’s good for you, you will stay far away from it.”
“Oh, I sure as hell don’t intend to go there,” I retorted feeling uncomfortable at his sudden behavior. “I was just curious about what you know about the night people and thought you might like to hear the story my grandfather told me.”
“The only thing I know is that they were an older breed of man that was nocturnal. They were strange people and had many strange ways. They taught many secrets to our forefathers – many night things. All Native American tribes still possess the sacred medicine of the grave,” he said gesticulating towards the large mounds that dominated the plain around us. “Anyone who disturbs a sacred burial ground will have vengeance visited upon them.”
He didn’t say much more after that. I found it odd that he didn’t want to hear my grandfather’s story. Lyndon and I decided that it was probably because the night people’s burial ground was so taboo that he didn’t even want to have knowledge of it. We did manage to talk him into giving us a copy of the poem in English. The translation doesn’t do it justice but it goes:
In the days before the nations
Only one tribe walked the land
The elder tribe so old
The ancient breed that spawned man
We called them the night people
Because they shunned the light of day
But they taught us many secrets
Before they vanished and went away
They taught us how to whisper
And walk as silent as the wind
How to melt into the shadows
And that darkness was our friend
They taught us many medicines
And we heeded what they said
All except the one lesson
And that’s the medicines of their dead
We disturbed the sacred grounds
The graves where dead lay sleeping
They summoned up their anger
Through the night their vengeance creeping
They say that for every one disturbed
They take two in kind to keep
And then the score is settled
The dead return to sleep
The burial ground is sacred
For the dead aren’t what they seem
So respect the sleeping ancestors
And the earth wherein they dream
It sounded much more powerful in the Creek language. I don’t recall many of the Creek words but I do remember the Creek name for the night people – Nereestee. It was that name by which I recalled the story imparted to me long ago as a child. My grandfather had told me the story when I was only ten or eleven years old. I forget what prompted him to tell me the story but he had encountered the Nereestee first hand.
Once Lyndon and I got through talking with the old Creek storyteller we decided to leave Moundville. The storyteller may not have wanted to hear the story but Lyndon was a different matter altogether. No sooner had we shut the doors on his old pick-up truck than he said, “Well? Aren’t you gonna tell me the story now?”
I looked at Lyndon and laughed then said, “Well, I may not be any match for an old Creek storyteller but I’ll give it a try. You know where Hilltop Road is in Greenwood?”
“Yeah, of course I do,” Lyndon replied.
“Well, Grandpa Brantley – that’s my mother’s dad – used to live down there when he was younger. This was before he met my grandmother and got married. Back then there weren’t that many houses along Hilltop Road. It was mostly just woods. But there were enough people for a church to be built. The church was a small, one-room church where the people would meet on Sundays, Wednesday nights, and whatever other occasion brought them together; you know, weddings and socials and stuff.
“My grandfather was probably in his early twenties back then and he had moved down there to work on a lumber crew with a friend of his. It wasn’t long before he became attracted to one of the girls who lived close by named Molly Crothers. In order to get to know her, Grandpa Brantley started going to the church services. As I said, there weren’t many people living around there back then and a good Sunday morning service didn’t have more than twenty people in the congregation.
“This went on for a couple of months and Grandpa Brantley and Molly began to ‘court’ each other, as Grandpa Brantley would say. He would say, ‘You know you wouldn’t be here if Molly Crothers and I would’ve gotten hitched? Strange things happen for strange reasons and if Molly hadn’t been killed then you grandchildren wouldn’t have ever been born.’”
“Been killed?” Lyndon broke in. “How was she killed?”
“I’m getting to that. Just hold on. Anyway, one day Pastor Lufkin asked for volunteers to dig a well out behind the church. So, of course all of the men in the congregation volunteered to take their turn at digging the well. But no one knew that the land just behind the church was the Nereestee burial ground. And sure enough, they dug that well straight through the grave of one of them. Grandpa Brantley said that they thought the bones belonged to some kind of animal. He also said that the skull looked like something between a monkey’s skull and a human’s skull but not either one. It was really difficult to tell because they were in such a bad state that they crumbled to dust at the touch of your hand. The men debated over what it could be but they finally agreed that none of them was a scientist so no one was really qualified to say. He said the bones were discarded in the woods – what was left of them anyway.
“It was a few nights later, on a Wednesday night service, that the thing first showed itself. There were about ten people at church that night. Wednesday nights always have the least amount of people in the congregation. Anyway, everybody was in the middle of singing Leaning on the Everlasting Armwhen all of a sudden Pastor Lufkin got this strange look on his face. He was standing in the front of the church up behind the pulpit so that he was the only one facing the back of the church. It was a warm night and all of the opaque windows of the church had been opened to let a breeze blow through the church. Pastor Lufkin’s attention was caught by the dark face and luminous eyes of the creature glaring back at him through the back window. He unwittingly quit singing and just stared in shock at the thing. This caused everyone else to fall silent and follow his gaze. Upon beholding this ghastly being looking through the window, Mrs. Limberly screamed and the thing disappeared from the window.
“Everyone sat there in the wake of its disappearance and looked at each other with questioning expressions. Finally, Mr. Harrington spoke up and broke the silence saying, ‘I ain’t never seen nothin’ like ‘at afore in my born days. Any of ya’ll ever known of a critter fittin’ that description?’ But no one could answer that question.
“Grandpa Brantley said the thing looked like a cross between a man, a monkey, a cat, and a shadow. That’s the best description he could ever come up with. He said that if you had seen it you would understand and agree. But that wasn’t the last time Grandpa Brantley saw it.
“The people were frightened but they managed to get back into the spirit of worship. After the service there was a dread pall in the air. It was because everyone had to walk home knowing that the creature was still out in the woods lurking somewhere. No one wanted to walk alone so everyone made sure their paths would go as far as possible with someone else. Of course, Grandpa Brantley escorted Molly as usual.
“As they walked Molly was obviously scared. Grandpa Brantley was too, but he couldn’t let Molly know that. They tried to keep the subject on other things but it was impossible not to speculate on what the thing in the window had been.
“They were walking through a small hollow that followed a meandering creek. The trees were thick about them and a warm breeze stirred the leaves. There wasn’t much of a moon out but it was enough to see the trail by. Suddenly, they heard the sounds of whispering coming from the woods around them. It sounded like an empty, low voice that spoke a strange language. Molly immediately clung to Grandpa Brantley with her eyes as big as saucers. They picked their pace up and kept looking all about them. The sound seemed to be coming from several directions at once.
“And then they saw it! It was about fifty feet away moving through the tree line – in and out of the shadows. Its eyes were illuminated just like cat’s eyes will do in the dark. Grandpa Brantley said they glowed a luminous yellow color that scared the life right out of you. The thing moved on two legs just like a man does but it never looked ahead of itself. Its eyes stayed locked on Molly and Grandpa Brantley. Needless to say they ran like scalded dogs. Grandpa Brantley held Molly’s hand and kept himself in between the thing and her. It never attempted to go directly towards them. It could’ve easily done that. It just moved along beside them whispering in that strange language.
“Finally, they came out at a clearing and the thing ran out of the woods for several hundred feet and stopped. Grandpa Brantley and Molly kept running. Grandpa Brantley looked back long enough to see the thing in the open. It stared after them briefly, sniffed the air, and then melted back into the forest.
“Everyone from the church service reported the exact same experience that night. The creature with glowing eyes hounded them all. The only person who didn’t report the same experience was Dudley Boyd. The reason he didn’t was because he was found dead the next day. He had walked most of the way home with Pastor Lufkin and his wife and daughter, but Dudley eventually had to take a turn towards his home which left him walking alone. He was found huddled underneath a pine tree as if he were an armadillo that had rolled itself into a ball for protection. Erwin Duncan found him the next day when he didn’t report into work. When he rolled Dudley over, his face was frozen into a look of terror. His eyes were wide open and his mouth looked like he was in the middle of screaming. Ulysses said it gave him the willies just looking at Dudley’s face, much less imagining what Dudley could’ve beheld to cause such a ghastly expression to remain after death.
“Everyone who had been at the Wednesday night church service knew what had got Dudley. People started gossiping and pretty soon the word spread all throughout Greenwood. People were nervous when walking at night and extra vigilant. Several weeks passed and it was thought that the creature had wandered off to other locales. But this wasn’t the case.
“If there was any reason to go out at night most people had started taking precautions like riding a horse, using the main roads instead of trails, and carrying a firearm. Grandpa Brantley was no exception. He had gotten into the routine of riding his horse over to Molly’s and picking her up for church; he also kept his pistol close by.
“And so it was that on another Wednesday night the creature made another appearance. This time it was little Hugh Daniels who caught a glimpse of the creature out of the window. Pastor Lufkin was right in the middle of his sermon when Hugh yelled, ‘That monster’s out there in the woods again!’
“Everyone, including Pastor Lufkin, raced to the window to see. Sure enough, those luminous yellow eyes were in the trees watching the church. One of the men asked who all had their firearms and every man present responded that he did. So it was decided that they should run out of the church and start shooting the thing.
“All the men gathered at the double doors in back of the church with their guns ready. Someone counted to three and they burst from the church in a blaze of gunfire. In a rather anticlimactic response, the creature just vanished into the woods. The men wasted no time in giving chase. Even though it was dark, the men divided and pursued the creature into the woods.
“Grandpa Brantley and Jim Thomas went off in the same general direction. The next thing he recalled was seeing the creature dart in between the two of them. The creature went after Grandpa Brantley. I’ve never heard my grandfather sound anything remotely like a poet but to hear him describe what it was like to stare at that thing face to face was like hearing someone read from Dante’s Inferno. He said that it was like the gates of madness were thrown wide and he was staring into the gulfs of Hell. The terror that overcame him was beyond words, though. He would’ve surely died of fright just as Dudley had done if it weren’t for Jim. Jim raised his gun and cracked off several shots but the bullets went right through the dark body of the beast as if it were going through fog; and one bullet struck Grandpa Brantley right in the side. He began screaming in pain and this caused him to fall to the ground. His consciousness began to fade.
“Molly heard his scream and she recognized Grandpa Brantley’s voice. The beast took off and Jim thought it had fled. Jim rushed to Grandpa Brantley’s side. He must have felt horrible knowing that he had put the bullet in his own friend. But that bullet, ironically, saved my grandpa’s life; and, tragically, it cost Molly her life. While the men were in a confusion over what was going on with Jim and Grandpa Brantley, the creature was going after the hysterical Molly. By the time Bart Harrington realized what was going on with Molly it was too late. He ran up to her and found she had died of fright just like Dudley Boyd. Her face was frozen in the same look of terror.
“Fortunately, Grandpa Brantley lost consciousness and didn’t see the expression frozen on Molly’s face. She went to her grave without Grandpa Brantley looking upon her face again.
“It was Pastor Lufkin who called their attention to the well. The creature disappeared down it. The men thought they had the creature cornered. Gus Thatcher kept a close eye on the well while a lantern was retrieved from the church. Cautiously the men peered into the well with their guns at the ready; but the well was found to be devoid of any trace of the beast. The well was abandoned after that. I guess it is still there in the woods. The church is definitely still there. Although the woods have grown up around it, you can still see the roof sticking up. It’s kind of eerie looking.”
“How did your grandpa know that the thing was Nereestee?” Lyndon asked me.
“What?” I replied.
“Well, your grandpa and all the other people obviously thought it was some type of animal or something they were dealing with. How did he find out that the thing was a Nereestee avenging its disturbed grave?”
“Oh, that didn’t happen for many years. He was telling the story at work to a group of coworkers. It just so happened that one of the men was a Creek – full blooded. The man told my grandfather that the people had disturbed the burial ground of the Nereestee. He said that he knew the creature by the description. He also explained that the reason only two people died was because only one grave had been disturbed. That is their method – ‘for every one disturbed, they take two in kind to keep’. So that is how he finally found out just what they had uncovered.”
“You say the church is still there?” Lyndon asked with a small grin on his face. I knew what that meant; we were going to Hilltop Road.
[Lyndon before heading into the unknown.]
We pulled off to the side of the road at a wide spot and got out of Lyndon’s truck. Both of us eyed the woods suspiciously. There was an aura coming from the place that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Something about the woods seemed – not right. It was too quiet and still. Lyndon looked at me and I understood that he was thinking the same thing.
It was possible to still see the top of the church barely peeking out from the tops of the trees some hundred or so feet from the road. I immediately thought that it looked like the woods were devouring the church and its tiny steeple was making one last valiant effort to make a break for freedom.
Lyndon finally broke the silence and said, “Is it just me or do you sense that the force of good has met a force of evil that it ought not to have met?”
“Well, that’s one way to put it. But I wish you would have just kept that to yourself, Lyndon.”
“Oh, come on, David. You’re not scared now are you?”
“I’m fine,” I shot back. “You’re the one who said the big good versus evil bit, buddy. Look, it is rather creepy and it’s broad daylight still. Imagine coming out here at night.”
Lyndon chuckled thinking about it. “I’d do it as long as I wasn’t alone. There ain’t no way you’d get me to go to that church alone at night.”
Lyndon went back to the truck and retrieved his pistol. He slid it into the small of his back and covered it up with his shirt. Then, he dug around behind the seat until he found the tire iron that was hidden there. He handed the tire iron to me and smiled. I took it and said, “I think you got the better end of this deal. Trade?”
“I’m a better shot than you,” he said grinning. “Let’s go.”
We locked the doors on the truck, crossed the road, and stepped into the gloomy overhang of the woods. It wasn’t just quiet; it was too quiet. It was an uncomfortably dead silence that seemed unnatural. Nothing stirred except Lyndon and myself and that made our presence there more pronounced. I didn’t like it because I felt we were intruding into an area where we were not welcome.
At first the trees were spread out and there wasn’t much undergrowth; but as we continued the trees became closely spaced and covered with vines. Finally, I had to use the tire iron like a machete in order to clear a path to the church.
We got close enough to make out part of the church. It was small and would have already succumbed to its demise if it were not made of brick. Long ago it had been white but now it was grayed and stained. The trees and vines grew around it so much that it seemed more a part of the forest than a man-made structure.
I continued to hack a path towards the side door as Lyndon followed close behind. We didn’t say much and the sound of my thrashing the foliage filled the air. I paused to take a breath and Lyndon took over the job. He succeeded in getting us the rest of the way to the door. Of course the old wooden door had become so rotten that it fell from the hinges and crashed to the floor when Lyndon pushed on it. We stepped inside the one-room church and gazed at the tattered remnants of the small sanctuary. Half of the roof had fallen in so that the sky could be seen through jutting and angulated timbers. Part of the floor had rotted out due to the unimpeded weather that now found its way in. A small sapling grew right in the middle of the room from the exposed earth below. It was rather sad to behold the state of decay of the church.
“Not much left, huh?” Lyndon said, his voice echoing in the empty room. Apparently, the pews and alter had been removed long ago because there were absolutely no pieces of furniture to be seen. Lyndon and I cautiously walked around what was left of the wood floor and examined the church. Then, Lyndon turned to me and said, “Do you wanna go find the well?”
“Do you think we can?” I said thinking about how thick the woods were.
“I don’t know, but it’s worth a look around.”
“Why not?”
So, we made our way outside and had a look around. Lyndon said, “Did your grandfather ever mention where the well was?”
[Me trying to strike a pose of discovery.]
I thought a moment and replied, “No, he never said; but, it had to have been in the burial ground.” As I said this something seemed to change in the air and I really wished I wouldn’t have said the thing we were both thinking about. It seemed like a rather taboo thing to say. But, I had said it and there was no taking it back. Lyndon and I looked at each other and then we both turned our heads towards the woods out behind the church.
We hadn’t really noticed it before but there seemed to be something more sinister about the trees in that particular direction. It was the sort of thing that had been lying there in the back of your mind dormant, but always present. And now that our attention was directed towards it, it grew like a massive, repugnant shadow over our minds. I don’t know any logical way to explain other than we felt a presence there. A presence that was more ancient and powerful than two men should ever encounter.
Companionship has a way of overcoming certain fears and Lyndon and I managed to force ourselves to approach that area. There was no doubt that if the well were to be found, it would be in the direction of that atrocious group of trees. We hacked our way towards the area that was, undoubtedly, the burial ground of the Nereestee; and, sure enough, we encountered the old well.
We probably would have missed it if it weren’t for the small, wooden cover and wench that had been built over the well. It was rotten and falling over but it stuck up enough to let us know that there was a man-made structure beneath the vines and weeds.
Although the sun was shining, the well still had an ominous and shadowy appearance. What little bit of sunlight managed to stream through the overgrown vines only managed to cast strange shapes and contours upon the dreadful well. From where we stood it wasn’t possible to see down into its foul depths. Neither of us took the initiative to step forward and peer into that dark and repellent hole.
It was at this point that I felt I had seen enough. I didn’t have any desire to investigate the well any further. Lyndon, normally the more adventurous one, felt no urge to touch the well either. We looked at it for a couple of minutes and then we decided it was time to head back.
No sooner had we turned around when the deadly silence of the woods was broken by a sudden gust of wind that roared through the crooked branches and twisted vines, stirring the leaves into a chattering clamor that caused the wooden structure of the well to fall over into the underbrush with a mighty and horrendous crash which sent Lyndon and me running back the way we had come.
I didn’t even bother to look back. I don’t think Lyndon did either. It wasn’t until we emerged on the road that we slowed down. We were making for the truck but we pulled up short because there was an old man standing by it waiting for us.
He looked like he had spent his life as a farmer. He was wearing coveralls, boots, and a straw hat. He looked like he had to be at least seventy-five or eighty. His gnarled and weathered hands were curled about an old walking stick. He watched with a blank expression as Lyndon and I ran out of the woods, almost like he expected us to come running out at that exact moment.
“You boys ought not ta go off in them woods. There ain’t nothin’ in them woods worth seein’,” said the old man looking us up and down.
“My grandfather used to attend that church and we were just curious to look at it,” I said in way of an explanation.
“Must’a been a long time ago ‘cause that church ain’t been used since before I was born; and I been livin’ here my whole life.”
“Yes, sir. My grandfather was about twenty then and he was born in 1904.”
“Yeah, well, all the folks ‘round here stay clear of them woods. I’d advise you two boys ta do the same,” he said and started to turn to go. He looked back with a gapped-tooth smile and said, “The way you two ran up outta there I expect you’ll take my advice.”
My curiosity was raised too much just to let the old man go without some further explanation. “Wait a minute, mister. Why does everyone stay away from these woods?”
“Bad things happen when folks go messin’ ‘round too much in there,” the old man said still turned as if to go.
“My grandfather told me a story one time,” I ventured hoping that if I divulged some information then he would do the same.
He didn’t let me finish, however. He turned around to face us and held his hand up to silence me. Then, as he glanced at the woods warily, he said, “Not here. Come over to my house and tell me your story. Then I’ll tell ya what I know about them woods.”
We followed the old man less than a mile down the road until we arrived at his small farmhouse. He bade us to sit down on the porch and said, “Would you boys like some ice tea?” We both nodded our heads and the old man disappeared into the house with the screen door banging closed behind him. Lyndon and I looked at each other and Lyndon said, “I know what you’re thinking, David.”
“What am I thinking, Lyndon?”
“Come on, man! It was just the wind!”
“Bullshit, Lyndon! You know it wasn’t no damn wind!”
“Sure it was…”
“You sure did run like it was the wind didn’t you?”
“I was only running because you were running.”
“Oh, please! Give me a br…” Our bickering was cut short by the return of the old man. He handed us each a tall glass of ice tea and then he sat in an old rocking chair, removed his hat, took out a handkerchief and began to wipe the sweat from his brow.
“My name’s Abe Daggett. What’s yer names?” We introduced ourselves and Abe said, “What was yer grandpa’s name?”
“Loyd Brantley,” I said.
Abe thought a moment and then said, “I don’t recon I remember him. Name sounds familiar, though. Where abouts here did he live?”
“Uh, I don’t really know. When he lived here he worked for a lumber company.”
“Silverman’s probably. Tell me the story he told you ‘bout the church.” So, once again I told the story as it had been told to me by Grandpa Brantley. When I finished the story Abe sat silently looking in the direction of the old church and the woods beyond. After several moments he spoke.
“That would’ve been back in the twenties. We moved here back during the Depression. When my family moved here the church was abandoned. No one went near it or had anything to do with it. It was always a curious thing to behold, though. Always seemed to be something strange about it.
“It was about 1945 when Ronald Griggs bought the property that the church sits on. He built his house there where the Holbrook’s live now. He also refurbished the old church. He took all of the rows of pews out of it and used ta just store stuff in it. I think it was in ’47 that he decided to plant his garden. He figured the best plot of land to plant a garden was out behind the old church, right smack over that burial ground. Only he didn’t have any idea that there was a burial ground there. No sir, it weren’t till he had done cleared the land and began tilling the soil that he started uncoverin’ strange bones.
“Ronald figured they was animal bones but they were just strange enough for him to ask Pa to take a look at them. Course Pa didn’t know what kinda bones they was. He figured they was some type of animal too. Ronald must not‘ve been too curious because he went right on with plantin’ his garden.
“That very night them creatures you described appeared ‘round here. There wasn’t just one of ‘em either. There was several of ‘em spotted in different places. I saw one myself. Just like you say your grandpa described ‘em.
“I was workin’ with Pa on our garden on the following evening when we saw one. It was standin’ in the edge of the wood line watching us. I can’t say how long it stood there before I noticed it. I froze solid when I saw it. I probably wouldn’t have noticed it if it hadn’t been for those glowin’ eyes. At first I thought it was a deer or some other big animal, but then it began moving and I could make out its shape. It didn’t walk on all fours so I knew that it was somethin’ else.
“I called softly to Pa to get his attention and then I pointed towards the creature. Pa and I both stood stone silent lookin’ at it trying to figure out what it was. We stared at the creature for several moments and it just stared right back. Finally, Pa told me to run inside and fetch his rifle. We were both a might bit nervous and I didn’t really want to leave Pa alone outside with that thing but I sure was glad ta git away from there.
“When I got back Pa was still standin’ there lockin’ eyes with the thing. It must‘ve been about 70 or 80 yards away. I handed Pa the gun and just as he was gettin’ ready to take a bead on the thing another one stepped out of the wood line not more than six feet from the first one. Pa didn’t waste any time then. He squeezed off several shots but the things didn’t even budge. I don’t know if Pa was talkin’ to me or to God but I remember him sayin’, ‘Heaven have mercy! I know I hit ‘em. I know I hit ‘em.
“After the sounds of the shots died away one of the creatures turned to the other and began whisperin’. You might wonder how it was that I could here it whisper from 60 yards away, but I tell you it sounded like whisperin’. And then one of ‘em gave out the most horrible scream I’ve ever heard in my life to this day. It scared Pa and I so bad that we nearly jumped out of our skins. Pa told me to back up slowly towards the house. He didn’t want to say it but I knew what he was gettin’ at. Them creatures was about to attack us. So Pa and I started easin’ backwards. I ain’t never been that scared in all my life. I doubt I could’ve moved if Pa hadn’t been there.
“We didn’t get far, though, ‘cause after that one screamed another one answered him back. It sounded like it came from way away in the woods. Then the two on the edge of our garden just disappeared. Pa and I took off like lightnin’ to the house. He locked the house up tight and we didn’t go out the rest of the night.
“The next day they found fourteen people killed all around here. Every one of ‘em was found wide-eyed and frozen in fear. Doc had the damnedest time explainin’ how them folks died. But Pa and I knew. So did a lot of other folks who seen them creatures that night. But, after that night, we never saw hide nor hair of ‘em again.” Abe finished his story and we all sat there in silence for a few minutes just looking over towards the woods around the church.
It wasn’t long after that that Lyndon and I took our leave of the place. We thanked Abe for the tea and he warned us again about the dangers of trespassing in those dark and foreboding woods behind the old church. We promised him that our curiosities had been more than satisfied and that he need not worry about seeing the two of us back there ever again.
Back in Lyndon’s truck, he and I discussed Abe’s story. “Seven”, I said.
“What?” Lyndon replied confused.
“If fourteen people were killed, that means that Griggs fellow must have uncovered seven graves.”
“Come on, man! Do you honestly think that old coot was telling the truth?”
“I don’t know, Lyndon. I mean, there’s got to be something stranger than just a coincidence between the stories of that old Indian, my grandpa, and that old farmer. What do you think about all of it?”
Lyndon didn’t say anything at first. He just scratched his stubbly cheek and thought a moment. Finally, he said, “The old man said that it happened back in 1947, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, why don’t you and I stop by the Bessemer Library and see if we can find any old newspaper account of the fourteen deaths? Surely that would have been big news.”
“You wanna see if Abe was telling the truth, huh?” I said smiling. Apparently, Lyndon’s curiosity was as peaked as mine was.
“Look, right now I don’t know what to believe about all this; but, I’m gonna need more than a few old geezer’s fantastic yarns before I start believing that an ancient race’s ghosts are rising from their graves and killing folks.”
I had to laugh at the absurdity of it all. Lyndon did have a point but I didn’t share the same skepticism as he did. The feeling that swept through me when that wind rushed through the leaves and caused the old well cover to crash down was still fresh in my mind. I didn’t care what anyone thought; that wind was a message for us to get out and it was definitely of supernatural origin. I knew Lyndon felt the same way and he just refused to acquiesce.
“Yeah, you’re right,” I conceded. “Still, it’ll be interesting to see what we can find at the library.”
[Bessmer Public Library.]
The search turned out to be more time consuming than either of us imagined. We spent the better part of the afternoon searching blindly before we finally broke down and received a tutorial on how to use the reference material available to us. Finally, several hours later, I found myself scouring through an entire year’s worth of newspapers on microfiche while Lyndon disappeared into other areas of the library.
Lyndon returned carrying a couple of books just as I found the article proving the truth of Mr. Daggett’s story:
Monday, March 24th, 1947
Greenwood, Alabama
Death of 14 Leave Experts Speechless
Fourteen people were found dead Saturday night in the rural town of Greenwood. The mysterious nature of their deaths has yet to be determined. Detective Clayton Hamilton of the Birmingham Police Department issued the following statement: “Our department is currently investigating into the matter. Details of the deaths lead us to believe that there is a connection even though the victims were found at eight different locations. We are currently conducting investigations and are interviewing residents of the area for any reports that might help us in our search for explanations.” Detective Hamilton would not disclose any further information or details surrounding the strange nature of these deaths.
Some sources have reported that the victims were found in a most bizarre manner. There were no marks of struggle, violence, or trauma. The only peculiar thing to indicate that the deaths were not due to natural causes was the expression on the faces of the victims. Authorities would not confirm it, but, apparently, each person was found with their features frozen in the most ghastly expression of fear. By the appearance of things, it seems these poor people died of fright.
Names have not been released and officials are remaining very closed mouthed about the investigation…
There were several more stories over the succeeding couple of weeks that tracked the story. The names of the victims were eventually released and the authorities later confirmed the features of the victims. The cases were never solved and the coverage soon faded from the papers. There was one excerpt that was worth noting, however:
Thursday, March 27th, 1947
Greenwood, Alabama
Mystery Surrounds Death of 14 in Greenwood
…numerous reports of hearing strange noises and at least two reported sightings of some strange creatures. The identification of what exactly these creatures were is still unconfirmed, but authorities now believe that they were probably some type of wild animal…
“It would appear that the investigators were at a loss to explain things so they just chalked it up to wild animals,” I said to Lyndon.
“Well, it looks like the old guy was telling the truth, huh?”
“What do you say now, Lyndon?” I said grinning.
“Wait till you see what I found while you were searching the newspapers,” Lyndon said indicating the books he had deposited on the table. “I found some books on the Muskogee tribes. I had to look through a bunch but I finally found a couple of references to the Nereestee.”
“And?”
“Well, I found several medicines.”
“And?” I replied still looking confused.
“They’re like spells,” Lyndon replied, still not getting to the point.
“I know what they are, but so what?” I said with an edge of impatience.
“One of them is a medicine and incantation for how to perform a sanctified burial. It must be what was learned from the Nereestee in order to conduct a sacred burial. And the other,” Lyndon said with the air of a magician about to reveal a trick, “is a medicine for blurring a curse.”
“Blurring a curse?” I said not quite taking his meaning.
“Don’t you see?” he said. “We can make ourselves invisible to the curse.” And that’s when the meaning of what he was getting at hit me. Lyndon wanted to go back to the burial ground and dig up one of the Nereestee. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, especially after what we had experienced in the woods earlier.
“Lyndon, there is no way in hell that we are going to go out in those woods again today and perform some Indian hoodoo then dig up an ancient grave,” I said matter-of-factly. I simply wasn’t entertaining any argument to the contrary.
“Not today,” Lyndon replied. “We have to go tonight.”
[Lyndon with his pipe.]
I won’t go into how it was that Lyndon talked me into doing it, but we spent the rest of the day planning, gathering equipment, and rehearsing the Muskogee incantations. We had quite a time finding all of the ingredients specified by the shaman’s medicine in the book from the library. At one point we thought we were going to have to find a stray cat and remove one of its eyes but Lyndon happened to remember a dead cat we had passed on the side of the road. We must have appeared like a weird pair pulling over and tossing the dead cat into the back of the truck.
Our plan was to go out into the burial ground, cast the spell that would blur the curse of the Nereestee, dig one up, and wait for it to appear. When it appeared we would photograph it and then we would rebury its bones and cast the spell that would sanctify its burial again. If everything went smooth we could have it safely reburied before it could manage to seek out a victim.
We almost postponed our outing because of the brewing thunderstorm. It was still quite a ways away but the sky was thick with dark clouds. We decided to park further away and walk to the spot where we entered the woods earlier so as not to arouse Abe Daggett’s curiosity again. When we disembarked from the truck it was thoroughly dark and the wind was already picking up. Muffled flashes of lightning could be seen buried deep in the far away clouds to the west.
“Looks like a thunderstorm’s heading this way,” I said hoping Lyndon would consent to back out.
But he merely gauged its distance and said, “Yep. We better hurry before the rain comes.”
I don’t know what sort of foul possession we were under but we went through with it. This time we had both come better equipped at least. The rest of the night became one long crescendo of mounting terror. I remember that the strains of that terror began the moment we left the road and entered the woods.
We both produced the flashlights once we were well within the coverage of the trees. This time we had both brought firearms and machetes. I thought about Grandpa Brantley’s story and how guns were useless against the Nereestee but there is still a certain level of comfort in having a loaded gun handy.
Once again the unnatural stillness of the place was pronounced – even more so with the building storm above. Lyndon and I made our way in the same general direction we had traversed previously. The two beams of light attempted to penetrate the oppressive darkness but they only served to cast charnel shadows off of the twisting trees. Our nerves were as tense as piano wires as we progressed through the dense forest.
It wasn’t long before my flashlight revealed the husk of the old church rising out of the vine entangled gloom. We passed it by and soon we arrived at the well. We both stood aghast at what we beheld. The wooden cover and wench, which had fallen and sent us running like two bats out of hell, was standing as we had first seen it. My heart was pounding like a jack-hammer as Lyndon said, “Maybe we only thought it fell. You know, our backs were turned.”
“I guess so,” I replied in a trembling voice. But I knew good and well that it was not true.
I have no rational explanation to offer for why we kept going. I know for my part that I was terrified; I am sure that Lyndon was feeling close to the same level of fear that I was. Whatever it was that propelled us, we kept going. We did veer away from the well so as not to pass too close to its ominous structure.
It was at this time that an arc of lightning split the sky and briefly illuminated the surrounding woods. We could see by that brief flash of aerial light that we now stood within the edge of the sinister and darker woods that we now knew to be the ancient Nereestee burial ground. As we both realized this, the thunder finally caught up with the lightning and the terrific boom smothered the unnatural silence, causing both of us to jump in a spasm of fear. The lag in the sound catching up with the light told us that the storm had not yet reached us. Soon, though, the rain would arrive, and that was something neither of us cared to be caught in.
Lyndon removed his backpack and said, “Well, let’s choose a place to dig and then conduct the ceremony to blur the curse.”
“Lyndon, are you sure you want to go through with this?” I asked hoping he would admit the absurdity of the act we were about to undertake.
“We can’t stop now, David. We have an opportunity to investigate a force that legends only hint of. To stop now would be the real madness,” Lyndon said as he removed his backpack. I could not summon the energy to raise any serious debate. Our senses had become numbed to rationality; and, although I still felt fear and adrenaline surging through my body, I could not resist the overwhelming urge to continue.
We surveyed the ground with our lights and briefly discussed likely spots to begin digging. We were both convinced that finding a grave on our first attempt would be akin to finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. Finally, it was agreed that we should perform the ritual and then each would pick a spot and start digging at random.
We removed the various objects from our packs and the book we had checked out from the library. Then, we began the incantations we had practiced earlier. Initially, I thought I might feel terribly silly performing such rituals but this wasn’t the case at all. Once we had begun I felt as if I were an inhabitant of an older and more ancient time. The air began to hum with a force that began to infiltrate the oppressive aura that had previously saturated the woods. At one point I turned to behold Lyndon transformed in appearance to that of an elder shaman mumbling and vacant eyed. This illusion lasted but briefly before his appearance once again resumed its normal state.
As we concluded all of the steps and words in the ritual we both stopped, breathless and wary of its effect. We stood speechless, looking at each other and then Lyndon retrieved his shovel. I followed his lead and we both were about to start our random digging when we felt an irresistible urge to both dig at a certain spot. Drawn as if by a divining rod to a spot no more than ten feet away we both set to digging. The medicine undoubtedly caused this strange effect.
The thunderstorm continued to creep across the sky spitting bolts of lightning and rumbling great booms of thunder. The rain remained at bay while Lyndon and I dug in the ancient soil where the Nereestee were buried in a time when men were first wandering across the Bering Straight. It wasn’t long before the first bones were disinterred. We tossed aside the shovels and resorted to digging by hand. The fragility of the bones was made apparent by virtually disintegrating upon handling them. When the skull was discovered by myself we carefully removed the clinging soil from around it. For several minutes we sat and looked at the alien yet vaguely familiar appearance of it. The obvious feature was the large orbitals of the eye sockets. The upper jaw protruded from the rest of the skull as if to suggest a short muzzle. But it was the large canines that gave the skull the distinct relation to an ape rather than a modern humanoid. Lyndon rushed to his backpack and returned with the camera we had brought along. He snapped several pictures and then we decided to remove ourselves to a safe distance to record the emergence of the vengeful form as it made its appearance.
[Lyndon’s skull pic. It was the only photo on his roll to develop. The other pics are from my camera, except for the Bessemer Public Library – it’s from their website.]
The rain began to fall about twenty minutes later and still the hours ticked by. Fortunately we had brought ponchos and we huddled underneath them and waited. At just before midnight we began to grow doubtful of the entire ordeal we had allowed ourselves to become embroiled in. Our skepticism was progressively waxing and we resolved to wait but another hour before reburying the bones and leaving.
“Maybe it won’t appear for several days,” Lyndon ventured to explain.
“Maybe,” I said indifferently. I was growing tired of the rain and the waiting.
“I mean, didn’t you say that it was several days before the creature appeared at the church?”
“That’s true,” I said. “Who knows how long it will take for it to appear…if at all.”
“Should we perform the ritual of the sacred burial just to be sure?” Lyndon said.
“I guess…” I started to say but my comment was cut short by what I saw. For at that very moment the Nereestee was emerging from its grave. Lyndon and I both sat paralyzed at what we were beholding. The creature was lithe and moved with a singularly feline smoothness. It was no more than a dark silhouette moving in the dim light of the flickering storm’s lightning. It circled the grave several times and then it froze and turned to regard us.
The eyes gleamed in the darkness a sinister yellow glow that immediately caused the hair on my body to stand erect. We were frozen in fear at the sight of the demonic creature standing before us. It stood for several moments motionless and staring at the two of us huddled beneath our ponchos. Then it started to move towards us. I instinctively reached for the revolver I had brought. I raised the gun to shoot it but Lyndon yelled, “Wait, David!”
Even if he hadn’t arrested my actions I probably wouldn’t have fired a successful shot due to the exaggerated shaking of my hands; not to mention the fact that my shot would have passed through its ephemeral body doing no damage.
Lyndon fumbled for the camera while I watched it grow closer and closer. Just before Lyndon was about to snap a picture the creature stopped short and began to sniff at the air in confusion. Then it began to pass back and forth before us as it grew visibly agitated.
“It’s working,” Lyndon said. “The spell is working. It can’t attack us.”
And it seemed to be true. The creature desperately wanted to attack us but there seemed to be an invisible barrier keeping it at bay. Then it stopped and began to speak the most abominable language I have ever heard. Its voice never rose above a whisper but it carried much further than a whisper that issues from a human’s throat.
Far away in the woods a voice could be heard. It was that of Abe Daggett. “Is ‘at you boys out there!”
After he made his presence known everything happened in a maddening frenzy. The creature stood erect and turned in the direction of Abe’s voice. Then it took off. Lyndon quickly snapped a picture. I told Lyndon to perform the burial ritual and then I ran to try and save poor Abe from the danger that was bearing down on him.
As I ran I yelled for Abe to run away knowing that it was useless for the old man to try to escape the swift moving Nereestee. I ran through the woods with rain beating my face and the light from my flashlight swinging madly. I could see the light from whatever Abe carried for illumination acting as a beacon for my destination. I only hoped that Lyndon would complete the ritual in time.
The scene I beheld upon my arrival shall haunt me the rest of my days. The lantern Abe carried lay on the ground. At the edge of its light the Nereestee stood over Abe clutching him by the arms. Abe was bent back in an unnaturally angulated fashion staring into the face of the creature. Abe’s face was distorted into the most hideous and fearful expression I have ever seen contort the face of a man. To this day I can’t look at Munch’s “The Scream” without seeing the face of Abe Daggett reflected back at me. The Nereestee stared deeply into Abe’s face. Then the Nereestee’s face began to elongate and engulf the features of Abe. For a brief moment their two faces were melded into a singular and grotesque parody of agony. Abe began to moan and then scream.
I ran at full tilt and slammed into the thing crouching over Abe Daggett’s wide-eyed face. We rolled across the forest floor, crashing through vegetation. I rolled over and chanced a look but the Nereestee was gone. Then I fainted.
I awoke to Lyndon shaking me. We found Abe still in shock, but alive and breathing. The second ritual had worked as well. The Nereestee was gone. We helped Abe get back home and left him in the care of his poor wife. He likely never fully recovered from the fright.
When the pictures were developed the Nereestee didn’t appear in the photo. Lyndon still has the pictures of the skull we uncovered in the grave but we are reluctant to reveal them to anyone. Most likely they would be branded a hoax but if they were taken seriously, an excavation of the burial ground would likely occur.
Over twenty years has passed since that horrific night. Lyndon called the other day.
“David, have you caught the news today?” Lyndon said with a tone in his voice that I hadn’t heard in quite some time.
“No, not yet. Why?” I asked unsure if I was ready for what was coming next.
“They’re tearing down the old church on Hilltop Road.”
Hearing him mention that spot caused me to break out in a cold sweat. “Why?” I asked after a moment of silence.
“They’re putting in a new subdivision over the burial ground.”
