River of Death

Gabe recently had a mental breakdown due to his career as a stock broker. His last investment took a serious fall and he just snapped. His doctor suggested maybe he should take a vacation and relax somewhere in the country. Gabe agreed and said he knew just the place. His aunt and uncle had a cabin up at the lake just outside of town and he knew he could go there for a while.

He went to his condo and packed enough for a month. He figured that was a good amount of time to get the proper relaxation he needed. He got in his jeep and drove off to his aunt and uncle's cabin. When he got there, it was almost ten o clock. He parked outside the cabin and took his bags inside.

He ate something and had a glass of wine before he laid down. He was exhausted from the long trip and it took no time to fall asleep. A few hours later, he woke up to what sounded like a woman screaming. He sat up and listened quietly. After a few minutes, he heard the screaming again. That's when he decided to get up and check it out.

He went outside with his uncle's rifle and a oil lamp. He walked down to the dock of the lake. The night fog was slowly rolling over the lake, making it difficult to see what was out there. He scanned the lake with his lamp and couldn't see anything. He turned around and went back inside after finding nothing.

He went back to sleep and wasn't bothered for the rest of the night. The next morning, a loud bang came to his door, waking him out of a deep sleep. He got up quickly and ran to the door. It was the local sheriff. Gabe opened the door and the sheriff introduced himself as Sheriff Leonard. Gabe shook his hand in response and invited him in for coffee.

The sheriff graciously accepted and sat down at the kitchen table. "You know the history of this lake, don't you Gabe?", he asked him quisitively. Gabe said yes he had heard the stories, but he didn't believe them. He had been up at that cabin numerous times and nothing freaky ever happened then, he mentioned to the sheriff. The sheriff asked him if he had ever been up there during this fall season and gabe shook his head no in response.

The sheriff warned him to not go outside after dusk. That's when people tended to disappear or end up dead. He told Gabe he had several cold cases for this lake and they all took place either on Halloween or near Halloween night. Gabe assured him he wouldn't go out to the lake at night and with that the sheriff left. Gabe closed the door behind him, giggling at the thought the sheriff could believe such a story.

He went fishing and made the fish he caught for lunch. The afternoon went by peacefully and uneventful. As dusk began to set, he decided to take his uncle's boat out for a while. It was a beautiful sundown, with colors of purple, orange and reds flashing across the sky. He sat there watching the sun go down and the day slip into night; never thinking about what he promised the sheriff earlier that morning.

He sat floating across the lake, listening to the chirping music the crickets made as soon as the darkness came. He heard a splash, thinking it was probably a beaver diving in the water. He turned to look in the direction of the splash sound and there was a girl sitting in his boat. He began this sail alone and now suddenly there was another sitting with him.

He said hello and asked if she was okay. She sat motionless and said nothing in response. She was wet from head to toe and was hanging her head down. He turned to grab his blanket he brought with him. Once he turned back to her, she was gone. He got up and took his oar and poked around all around the boat, but found nothing.

He rowed back to the dock and tied the boat up. He took one last look at the lake and turned around and went back to the cabin. He was confused who was sitting with him and how did she disappear so fast? This question bugged him for the next couple weeks. Then, Halloween night came.

He got himself a six pack of beer and took his uncle's boat out on the lake. As he was sitting there, the moon was shining full and bright above him. He laid back and just watched the stars come alive in the night sky. Suddenly, he heard a splash behind him. He turned to look and once again the wet girl appeared on his boat.

He tried to talk to her, but she didn't respond. He thought maybe she was catatonic. He wrapped a blanket around her and began rowing back to the dock. He kept his eyes on her the whole way back, he didn't want her to disappear suddenly. They got to the dock and he helped her out of the boat. He then led her to his cabin and took her inside.

He called the sheriff and sat down with the girl. He got a towel and tried to dry her off. Once he was convinced she wasn't going to leave, he went into his room and got her one of his aunt's outfits for her. When he came back out, she was standing up and looking out the picture window in the living room. He was just glad she didn't leave.

A couple hours later, the sheriff showed up. He came in and was surprised to see the girl. He apparently knew her. She was one of the missing girls from a case he caught the year before. He said there was three girls that disappeared last Halloween near here and she was apparently the only survivor.

Gabe was shocked to hear the story, but offered to let the girl stay until they can figure out what happened to her. The sheriff said that could take a long time. Gabe said he was okay with it, he had nothing better to do. Besides, his doctor would probably think it was a good idea if he stayed at the lake longer.

The sheriff was satisfied with the offer and said he would come back with the investigator the next morning. Gabe was okay with that and proceeded to make dinner for him and the girl. The rest of the night went uneventful and the girl stayed silent. He set her up in his aunt and uncle's room and he took the couch for the night. The night was peaceful, until around three in the morning.

Gabe woke up to feeling like someone was watching him sleep. He opened his eyes and saw the girl sitting in the lounge chair across from the couch. She was just sitting there watching him. Then, she stood up and walked to the doorway between the kitchen and living room, then turned around and looked at him. She looked at him and said with a tremble in her voice that this place was death.

She went back to sleep after that, leaving Gabe lying there freaked out. He stood up and went into the kitchen. He brewed up some coffee and sat there at the kitchen table. Something was very wrong with this girl. He didn't understand how someone could behave so weirdly.

He sat and drank his coffee. He decided to document everything he was experiencing. He got online and ordered some hidden cameras. He thought it was the only way he was going to figure out what was going on. A week later, the cameras arrived.

He set them up inside and outside the cabin. For a couple weeks, nothing happened. The girl would sleep walk every night, but other than that, nothing eventful happened. Then, Thanksgiving night came. He decided to try and have a romantic dinner with the girl on the lake. He thought maybe it would get her to open up to him.

The ride out was peaceful. Once he got to the middle of the lake, he dropped his anchor and set up a turkey dinner for the two of them. She smiled at him and told him he was very kind. Eventually, after a few glasses of wine, she opened up to him. What he heard next, he would never forget.

She told him last year, her and two of her friends came to the cabin through a air bnb site. She said it was fun for the first couple days. However, on Halloween night, they took the boat out on the lake and they were attacked by something in the lake. She did not know what it was, all she knew they all were pulled in to the water. After that, she woke up on his boat.

Gabe thought this was a odd story. However, it wasn't the weirdest story he had heard of the lake. She continued on, telling him that she could remember everything going black when she was pulled into the lake. She didn't know what happened to her friends, but somehow she ended up on his boat a whole year later. She wished she could remember, but everything was fuzzy in her mind.

Gabe hugged her and reassured her they would find her friends. The sheriff was on the case and he had a investigator with him this time. It did make it look like there was more hope than the girl perceived. He decided it was getting late and picked up the oars and started rowing back up to the dock. As they neared the dock, he heard a short scream behind him and a splash.

He turned to find the girl was gone again. He got his spotlight out of the toolbox in his boat and scanned the lake. He called out for her, but got only silence in response. He got out of the boat quickly and ran to his cabin. He called the sheriff and he showed up a hour later.

Gabe showed him the area they were at when the girl disappeared. He told the sheriff what the girl told him. The sheriff wrote down everything he said. He then turned to him and asked Gabe if he believed the stories now. Gabe said he did after experiencing all of this.

The sheriff suggested maybe it was time for Gabe to go back home in New York City. Gabe agreed, he had enough weirdness happen to him that it could last him a lifetime. He packed up that night and asked the sheriff to let him know if they ever found the girl again. The sheriff said he would and with that, Gabe drove back to his condo in New York City. For years he would go to the cabin and stay during Halloween. He hoped he would see the girl again; but unfortunately, he never did. By the end of his life, he believed that girl may have been a ghost and he insisted the cabin stay uninhabited for his ghost girl and him.