Welcome to day three of the 2014 Coffin Hop! I’m very happy to see you’ve survived this far, most people lose their minds and run away in fear. Today I bring you another guest post. Eli Jacobs has been very cooperative from his cell in the White County Penitentiary. And now…
Lost
By Eli Jacobs
I’m not sure how long I’ve been sitting in this dingy cell. The guard said I was lucky to even get this pen and paper to write this with. Hell, I’m surprised I’m not dead. I’ll never forget that night for the rest of my life. I went to the bar with the guys after work and we drank like we usually do. One by one, the other filed out and left me alone. Since Barb left me a few days before, the pain in me needed some healing and I looked to the bottle after bottle of beer to heal my heart. She took everything from me. It was so bad, I was sleeping at mother’s house. I hated going and crawling back into her life, but I needed a place to stay.
But anyway, I continued to pound them back. Time slipped away from me and I lost count of how many beers I’d tossed back, but I knew I could drive. Or so I thought…
When I think back about it, I kind of remember climbing in my truck and turning the key. Some times I wonder if I turned the key or if I am just living a nightmare. I pulled out from the lot and headed back to my mom’s place. The little Nissan appeared out of nowhere, I swear to God. The yellow line running down the center of the road kept waving and I tried to follow the way it twisted and turned. I think I saw the headlights and tried to stop, but I honestly couldn’t tell you if I did or not. Shit, I can only clearly remember the sound the impact made as my truck crumpled that car’s side.
I must have blacked out for a moment after we came to a stop on the side of the road. My chest hurt from my seatbelt, I don’t remember putting it on, but I had to check on the other car. I unbuckled and slipped from my seat. The door had come open in the impact, or I opened it I guess. The only thing I can remember then is the look on her face. Her pretty face…
I’m haunted by the way her head was twisted backward and staring in the backseat while the rest of her body remained straight in her seat. Blood ran from her nose and mouth and her lips were parted in a final scream. I hear it in my head from time to time too. In the backseat, I saw the little girl with the dancing outfit on. The door had smashed in on her and her face was a bloody smear on the window. I recognized them. Oh shit, I did. I had just finished having drinks with their husband and father.
I’m not sure if Doug will ever forgive me.
I hope the judge doesn’t forgive me either. I want to die. I want the screams to stop. I want to sleep without seeing their dead eyes staring back at me. Most of all, I want to know Doug’s ok. I heard he’s vanished. Left the house, the car, and everything they owned behind. My mom said he’s moved into the old motel out by the interstate, but I hope not.
I’m ready to die. I’m ready for my payment. If you read this, now I didn’t mean it. Don’t think me a bad man just because I made a terrible mistake. If you take anything from this, know that you have to be responsible for your actions. If I’d been more responsible, Doug would still have Melinda and Gail and I wouldn’t be here writing this to you now.
The post is from a character from my story, “Tears of Heaven”. Originally, the story appeared in From Beyond the Grave from Grinning Skull Press. It also has been reprinted my collection, Wicked Tales for Wicked People. The guest post is from an angle not seen or talked about in the story and I thought Eli needed to tell his story.
Once again, to check out the other places on the Hop for a chance at some prizes and to meet some really great authors. Before I give you today’s question, I offer you my response to yesterday’s question. If I had to pick my favorite horror movie right now? I’d call it a tie between Hellraiser and Event Horizon. There are some scenes in Event Horizon that freaked the heck out of me.
Today’s question: What is the creepiest or most haunted place in your town?
Happy Hopping!
Brent
Our Darkest Fears 
Great post Brent – I loved hearing from Eli!
As for the creepiest place in my town, there’s the Court Jester restaurant that is haunted by a ghost I’ve actually seen while eating there (she gets you when you go up to the second floor to use the washroom)! Definitely creepy!
local cemetery
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
There’s a small, old cemetery out in the middle of an area called White Pines in McCreary County, KY. It’s pretty far in the woods down a narrow, rutted out dirt road. We barely got our car down there last time. Anyway, it’s just a small clearing with several old headstones, many of which are nothing more than creek rocks with things carved on them. Most of the carvings have been eroded over time, but you can still read bits and pieces. I never heard of it being haunted but it definitely has a creepy factor. Especially in the dark.
Gorgeous cover art! I enjoyed your story very much. Thanks for sharing! Happy hopping.
I know others have beat me to it – but love the cover art! The creepiest place in our town is … aside from my head… is Strawberry Hill House – one of Walpole’s Gothic folly houses (now attached to a university) it’s a complete play in Gothic architecture – all turrets and lead glass windows. I had the privilege of heading up our Uni lit society within its blood red silk walls.
Before I read this, I’m making my first comment – I’m extremely exited to experience what you’ve come up with, Brent!
I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed. Another stellar read, Brent. I absolutely loved it!! Okay, the scariest, most haunted place in my town that I know of… is actual my house. Not a word of a lie. Step out of town, and it would be the Letchworth Village – an abandoned NY state institution for the Epileptic and Feeble-minded. Part of the place is a sanctuary, other parts used as a golf course, public school buildings, a country club, and the Town Hall. But there is a part left intact as it was the day the doors were locked, and the facility shut down that has been left for nature to claim. The grounds are tended, but the building are in a state of decay; some having had fires, others just as they were when the last administrator walked out. I’ve been through most of the buildings and it is without a doubt harboring something ‘other’ in a few of them. One of the creepiest parts of it (beyond the activeness of the location) is the juxtaposition of peeling paint, crumbling ceilings, and posters still hanging on the walls. I came across one in a patient ward that was the kitten hanging from the tree branch that read ‘Hang in the baby, Friday’s coming!’. Obviously it was hung for the staff that maintained the ward, but I think it sunk my heart lower than anything else in there. Many, many children and infirm individuals died there due to neglect. There is a ABC news clip exposing the conditions of the facility available on YouTube if you are interested in learning more. It is humanity at it’s least finest; and that scares me more than anything considered otherworldly. (Though there is plenty of that there as well!) – Sorry for the book-length response!!
I really want to check this place out now. And don’t be sorry!
the park with the runnig-track and the lakes….