Monday, March 6, 2006 - Story Outline

DARK HOLLOW

            January 1834 John Hastings moved to Mansfield, TN and built a cabin upon the farm the locals called Dark Hollow. In the spring of that year he was working on clearing a field at the top of the hollow when an old Indian walked out of the surrounding woods and into the meadow. John had spent some years out on the plains hunting and trapping so he was not afraid of the giant Indian, but wary. The Indian told John he needed to palaver with him as there were things he felt John should know about some of the land he had purchased. John asked the Indian to supper where they could discuss this strange appearance of the Indian and things he needed to share with John. The Indian told John he must be very careful, that part of the land he now lived on was considered “cursed.” A long time before an evil came upon the local Indians that resided on the land. The tribe would find its members murdered in various ways that was extremely disturbing and because of this war broke out among the tribes. It was during this war a respected Shaman among all the tribes had a vision in which the spirits showed him that the murders were the work of an evil creature. This creature fed off violence, bloodshed and fear. In our world they had no form of their own but could assume the shape of what was most feared in a person’s mind. The only that they could not change was their eyes that glowed red in the darkness. He told John these creatures could be defeated by cleansing the mind of any fear and hatred, and to spill no blood, thus denying the evil any chance to feed. The Indians eventually drove the evil creatures back and imprisoned them on a hill; the top of the very hollow John was working at that morning. They made a great sacrifice so the evil could not escape and hoped it never would unless it was fed.

            John was not a superstitious man but still thanked the old Indian for his warning. The old Indian disappeared back into the darkness of the woods never to be seen by John again. John never finished clearing the field; he never hunted there and never walked it after dark. Thirty years later on October  28,1864 the Civil War came to Dark Hollow. A fierce battle was fought on the hill and John stayed in his cabin listening to the crashing of the muskets and roar of the cannon fire. That night the screams of the wounded and dying was all he could hear. The next morning he helped bury the dead and the ones from the top of the hill were the worst. Some looked as if they had been attacked by an animal and others had not a mark on them but a look of horror was etched in their faces.  As darkness fell John watched the last wagon roll down from the hollow. He turned quickly and peered into the darkness, unbelief washing over him as glowing red eyes stared back, John’s screams echoed through the woods…the evil had returned to Dark Hollow.