Happy Halloween~ Do You Believe in Ghosts? Amherst Style!

Do you believe?

Growing up in a small town we had our share of stories.  There were the tales that our parents told us to scare us into behaving.  Those lessons were repeated in church. They taught us right from wrong and how to get along with others.

Then there were those stories told around a bonfire when you were out with friends. Those there the tales that were meant to chill your bones, frighten you and make you scream… or at least hug the boy closest to you!

With Halloween right around the corner, I thought I’d share one of the local tales with you!

Amherst is a town with history. It is the Sandstone Capital of the World. I grew up across from one of those sandstone quarries and played among the pits and peaks. Back in the early days, sandstone was used for everything from building foundations to grave stones.  And while the empty pits would fill with water and become a wonderful swimming hole, tales were told of those endless murky depths pulling someone under to their watery grave.

One such tale begins with a boy and a girl on a hot summer day. Hoping to escape the prying eyes of the town, they decided to go for a swim in one of the sandstone pools that the town was famous for. Since this little trip was more than just a swimming excursion, they didn’t plan on swimsuits.  Pulling off their clothes, the couple jumped into the cool refreshing water. Kissing and fondling followed as their hormones got the better of their judgement. She was a sweet young girl who wanted nothing more than the love of her sweet high school boyfriend. While they were told the dangers of sin, they both felt their passions rising and clouding their judgement. And this is where the story gets interesting…

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As the boy and the girl were immersed in the water, their hormones taking over, they failed to notice the world around them. Whether it was an ordinary vine or the hand of retribution, the girl suddenly felt something twist around her ankle.  Calling out and reaching for her love, she tried to untangle herself.  But the more she twisted and tried to pull away, the tighter the thing gripped her ankle. Her handsome young suitor tried to help but the weight of her clinging to his neck as the grip on her ankle dragged her under the water was too much for him.  As he also went under the water, he lost sight of his love and surfaced to find himself alone.

In shock, he pulled himself from the now bitter cold water and with shaking hands dressed quickly. Getting in his car and driving like a bat out of hell to the police station, he arrived in mere minutes after the girl’s face was pulled below the surface. After telling his tale and racing back with the police to the quarry hole, the young man was out of breath and desperate to save the girl who gave him her virginitiy.

But it was all in vain.  While the police did everything in their power to find and rescue the young lady, even draining the evil pool of water…the only thing that remained were her clothes from that fateful day. The next big rain, the quarry silently filled with water and children were warned about the tale of the two young lovers.  However, a few have dared over the years to head to the swimming hole …only to return bearing tales of ghostly women under the water or  to never be heard from again!

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Happy Halloween!


If you love small town tales, you will enjoy the Wilder Sisters series. A Christmas Accident is being released in December from Secret Cravings Publishing.  Check out the information my Wilder Sisters books on my website: http://www.melissakeir.com/the-wilder-sisters.html

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