Vampire Graveyard

Vampire Graveyard

By Rod Seeber

Smashwords Edition

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Published By


Rod Seeber on Smashwords

Copyright 2011 by Rod Seeber

Smashwords Edition License Notes
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Table of Contents

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Ancient Tales

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Exploration

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Trapped

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The Cavern

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Escape

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ANCIENT TALES

‘You’re such a nerd!’

‘Why is that?’

‘Well you want all the accolades of a famous horror story writer but you just don’t dare to live it’

‘I still don’t get what you mean?’

‘Ok what’s the name of your new horror story?’

‘It called ...... I Dare You’

‘See that’s exactly what I mean!’

‘Huh’

‘You want people to dare to read your story but you won’t go and experience what you write about’

‘Oh right like I can just go out and interview a Vampire, where should I arrange this interview? At 7/11 after midnight ... perhaps?’

‘Ha ha very funny, you know Shawnee has old Indian folk law knowledge of all this stuff, why not ask her about the old graves up top of the hill. This is your chance to write about something that’s actually true’

‘True ....aw come on, how can Vampires be connected to the Indians?’

‘Its true why do you think they had a medicine man in each village, trust me it wasn’t about head dress fashions!

‘Surely you don’t want me to believe the Medicine Man was there to ward off nasty old Vampires!’

That’s exactly what I am talking about and to prove it why don’t you me and Shawnee go up to the old graveyard and do some research after dark ... or are you too scared?’

‘Ok I’ll take the Pepsi challenge and show you both it’s just fiction born from ancient myths before the all the old timers discovered the world was actually round!’

‘Fine how about next Friday night then ...... I dare you!’

‘Fine just to prove I’m not scared ....... at midnight!’

And with that the budding young horror story writer named Tom Smyth foolishly committed himself to an evening of unexpected terror on a journey of discovery into what really does exist when the sun goes down. Uneducated old fairy tales? I think not. Upon hearing news of the intriguing challenge Shawnee cautiously jumped at the chance to display her unique knowledge of ancient tribal legends and long lost frontier fables. Although keen to be involved, she was noticeably hesitant to speak openly of the revered role of the wise Medicine Man. A wise Shawnee knew all too well that to dabble with the evil of the old ways was surely asking for trouble! She would undoubtedly have to watch her words once standing upon scared ancient ground. Having finally convinced Tom to go searching for the undead a mischievous Jacob was most pleased with himself. A real adventure in his hometown and a real chance to either confirm or dispel some of the town myths he had always suspected the older locals secretly spoke of. Surely that derelict old graveyard high up on the hill had no more secrets to tell? Although if so Shawnee would be a great asset in the interpretations. Attempting to demonstrate his genuine commitment to the upcoming adventure an enthusiastic Tom decided to do some serious research at the library where old chronicles of the town’s only newspaper were stored. Soon enough he was armed with a pile of dusty old newspapers. Unsure, Tom had no idea of what to search for? Perhaps his developing writer’s instinct would lead him to anything of interest?

He would only try to specifically investigate articles consisting of unusual circumstances and occurrences. Such as unexplained disappearances plus any strange unexplained happenings in and around the old towns designated boundaries. Whilst sifting amongst the various piles of so many examples of the local paper Tom was all too soon overwhelmed by all the local history at his fingertips. Thank heavens each edition of the Graveyard Hill Times had tabs of interest footnoted! Or he would have been there for the next month searching through all the annals of this interesting early frontier town’s history. Of course the added ingredient of a local Indian population created an extra element to all the chapters of a turbulent western pioneer town’s history. This sure was going to be fun outing an increasingly inspired Tom repeatedly kept telling himself. Soon a whole new world of old secrets opened up to the young writer as he enthusiastically delved deeper and deeper into the myriad of eye witness accounts and articles relating to long forgotten and unexplained disappearances from the district. Some of the standout articles dated back to well over a century ago as he uncovered a long tradition of trial by rumor, innuendo and politically popular decisions by the predictably corruptible mayors of the day. Basically if the easily swayed majority of the town believed all publically voiced accusations whether true or false? The accused would receive violent and swift justice via an eager hangman’s noose! Unfortunately many lost souls would become destined to experience a premature fate by this method.

Patient hours later the intrepid writer Tom finally found the needle in the haystack he was so keenly seeking! There it was, a Front Page news story about six possessed local Indians who were publically hanged for attempted murder of the graveyards caretaker. The article on display was dated 18th August 1883 and accompanied by a grainy photo of the six hung men brandishing the headline title of Vampire Killers Justice. Further investigation revealed a series of incidents and missing local entities including the sheriff and fire chief that had reportedly joined together, attempting to dispel any myths associated with the nearby grounds of the graveyard. Reading through the dust-covered article Tom was soon to discover there was substantial and much debated conjecture in regards to the actual circumstances of these deaths. Many locals of the times claimed to have witnessed strange and disturbing visions overhead. These visions apparently resembled giant bat like creatures. Conflicting reports stated they were migrating eagles although it was impossible to determine the exact identity of the breed? Expert frontier hunters of the day were claimed to have dismissed the eagle theory after a night of independent sightings to the contrary. Upon reaching the end of the intriguing article Tom discovered the bodies of the six accused Indians were all missing the following morning of their hanging. Mysteriously the local Medicine Man’s headless body was now hanging upside down with no blood underneath where the missing head wound would have expectedly leaked all the body’s fluids onto the ground below!

The unexpected unveiling of this valuable snippet of information would inspire a dedicated study of all available records on print by not only the investigative Tom but also by his intended comrades to the graveyard on the hill, Shawnee and Jacob. Together they amassed an eclectic assortment of strange local historical accounts leading up to as recently as only two years ago! This hidden history buried amongst decades of records would reveal a total of 157 missing people never to be heard of again over the last century. Plus another estimated thirty or so before the local paper became a regular periodical. Also a grand total of 63 sightings of mysterious creatures flying in the night had been officially reported. Jacob was quick to comment that the real number was probably double that when you consider just how many people would have felt unsure about whether to report unexplained sightings of creatures in the night sky. Possibly the most interesting statistic as far Shawnee was concerned was the disappearance of over 30 medicine men from all the various tribes in and around the immediate area of the pioneer town known as Graveyard Hill. Apparently this plethora of paranormal happenings occurring over the last century was purposely suppressed by the elder folk of the town, including the local Indian elders of Shawnee’s ancestors. Was this a joint conspiracy to hide the disturbing truth behind so much wickedness?

The planned excursion was set back to Saturday night so more sordid details of the town’s secret past could be thoroughly assessed before any unprepared gallivanting around dark scary graveyards at midnight! Collectively the trio felt the adrenaline surge of the hunt rapidly now flow through their veins. It was quite exciting to think that right under their very feet the seemingly real possibility of dark forces at play existed. Malevolent forces somehow able to manifest them-selves into the world after the sun had set over the horizon. For reasons unknown the ongoing legacy of the brave Medicine Man’s vigil against the damned had been steadfastly kept a secret for many past decades. Intrigued by what they had unearthed Shawnee just had to find out a little more, so she decided in it was time to call in on her knowledgeable old grandma living at the reservation. Grandma Shee was about as ancient world as they come with her numerous tribal bead necklaces accompanied by distinctly bright bird feather earrings designed to enhance her splendid ceremonial suede leather dress. Indeed every trailing wrinkle upon her old withered face seemed to desperately want to jump out and share tales from the olden days and of how although defeated on the plains. The Indians remained strong willed individuals who steadfastly cherished the proud history of their people! Approaching the reservation a smiling Shawnee could still remember Grandma Shee instructing her on how to ride bareback some ten or so years ago now. Including when Shawnee had been slow to get the gist of it all how her grandma even at the age of near seventy bravely got up on the painted pony to demonstrate the inbred skill of the Indian riders.

Shawnee held an adoring great respect for grandma Shee and the remaining tribal folk still out here on the land of their heritage. However her mother’s decision live in the town had split the family somewhat with most of the regular contact disappearing over recent years. The aftermath of the family’s split reinforced in Shawnee’s mind just how important it was to maintain regular contact with all her family roots. As again here she was seeking the wisdom of the ages that only her elder blood could possibly reveal. After partaking in some traditional tea and blanket weaving Shawnee finally disclosed the main purpose of her visit and her newfound awareness of the Medicine Men’s secretive work over the last hundred years or so. Grandma Shee attentively listened on while Shawnee spoke of the collaborated evidence that she, Tom and Jacob had amassed after the initial investigations of the old frontier town’s history. Intuition told her that Grandma Shee’s silent denial of the evidence presented only confirmed an elusive determination by all to bury all old stories or facts related to this matter. To the point it was only when Shawnee indicated to Grandma Shee the trio of friends had planned a midnight expedition to the graveyard on the hill that any semblance of knowledge came to the fore. Elevated concern in her gravelly old voice was instantly obvious as she pleaded with Shawnee not to go there after dark.

Grandma Shee’s heightened level of worry only confirmed to a sneaky Shawnee that she was surely on the right