“The Legend of Spook Hill”

There’s a story that old timers told
That always brings a thrill,
It was told to me by Sassafras John,
It’s the Legend of Spook Hill.

“This hill is jist a little west
Of the ol’ brick Stony Ridge school.”
Folks said, “the man who tarried there
Would find he was more than a fool.”

“But let’s go back to the early days
When the Blacklegs rode in force;
When a feller was hung fer killin’ a man,
And stealin’ the man’s best horse.”

“He swore that he was innocent
Tho’ he knew with his life he must pay
For the crime of the man who wanted his land,
And the heart of the girl down the way.”

“They stood him up in a wagon box
Where a rope hung down from a tree;
But, before he died, his voice rang out,
“I’ll git you…jist wait an’ see.”

“The feller that framed him took over his land,
An’ it wasn’t long ’fore he moved in.
He seemed like a kind, respectable gent,
But was greedy clear up to his chin.”

“One day a farmer rode up to his door
An’ shouted ’Yer barn is on fire.’
It looked like it was a-burnin’ down
With the flames gittin’ higher and higher.”

“They ran fer water but when they got back
There was nuthin’ new to be learned.
There wasn’t a trace, nor the smell of smoke,
Nor a place where a fire had burned.”

“The horses were rarin’, an’ kickin’ ’round,
An’ a-wantin’ to git outside;
An’ the men heard the squeakin’ of hinges
As the barn door opened wide.”

“Then unseen hands untied each horse,
An’ they rared back from their stalls;
An’ they never heard their owner,
Nor the farmer’s frenzied calls.”

“But they tore down that country road,
An’ never did come back,
An’ there are those who still contend
They never left a track.”

“From then on so many thing happened,
And the neighbors all stayed away;
And the owner went almost crazy,
An’ he disappeared one day.”

“There is nothing left on the hill now
To tell of what used to be,
But sometimes the night winds whisper,
“..I’ll git you…jist wait an’ see.”

Advertisement