October being the month of ghost and goblins, I am reminded of the events and stories that would bring chill bumps to my sisters and me. My blog from 10-31-2019 “Small Town Folklore” details a few of those stories.
After we moved from the cotton mill village closer to town there was one landmark that carried with it as much mystery as The Beast of Bladenboro or Joe Baldwin searching for his head at the Maco Light railroad, it was—- “The Bridge”.
There was a swamp with a stream between our home and down town that required the N.C. Department of Transportation in the 1920’s to build a permanent structure over it, the bridge. Many an hour was spent playing in the swamp and under the bridge. Of course when play time went from day to dusk you left the swamp and bridge to the mysteries that dwelled there. According to the old-timers at Azzie’s Barber Shop The Beast of Bladenboro still lurks in the swamp on odd days of the month and the unexplained cries that come from the swamp when there is a full moon have never been resolved.
My sisters and I were very exicited about going to the Wonet Theatre during the week to watch a horror movie titled. “The Thing”. The movie was based on a space ship that crashed in the Antarctic with an alien on board that was frozen for decades. After cutting the alien out of the ice they brought it inside. As the ice began to melt around the alien, scientist began to disappear. The movie was in black and white making the dynamics even more scary.
During the week the theatre had only one showing at eight o’clock, meaning the movie let out at ten o’clock. When the three of us exited the movie our town had become a ghost town. There was no traffic, no store lights, and a few street lights here and there. Still polarized from the movie when we reached the edge of town we all stopped in unison. Before us stood the bridge in total darkness with an errie glow from a distant street light.
You could have cut the air with a knife. The only sounds were coming from the swamp and our heavy breathing. My oldest sister broke the silence with four words,” What is today’s date”?
Remembering the old-timers comments about odd days of the month I mumbled “October 29th., one day before Halloween”. My middle sister in typical fashion said, ” On the count of three we start running and if you fall down you are on you”.
I can still recall our screams as we sprinted across the bridge. Have you ever been so scared that when you came to your senses you cried and laughed at the same time? We did. Happy Halloween.
Be safe.
Joe's Bakers Dozen 