Weirder Than Weird Read Online Free PDF

to old Pete who was anxiously standing by. “Perhaps then,” his words were slow and deliberate, “this will suffice in lending some credence to my story!”
        The old man then latched on to a handful of his own hair and gave a swift tug upward. His head instantly separated from his body and remained dangling in the air as a sinister laugh poured forth from the ghastly figure. The old servant Pete joined the hysterics with guttural noises emanating from where his tongue used to be. The stranger fell from his chair in complete horror and made his way half crawling to the door. The laughter resonated even louder as a band of ghoulish figures joined in from the loft area. The stranger managed to make his way outside and ran blindly down the old dirt road.
        Within seconds, an orange glow lit his way from behind and when he looked back he could see that the Inn was fully engulfed in flame. At that moment, a man on a horse galloped furiously passed him and a second later a flash of light temporarily blinded him. He miraculously found himself on the same hill he was taking notes the day before and his car was exactly where he left it. Wasting no time, he was soon miles away.
        As he drove on, the first of morning light came peaking over the hills and he contemplated what to do next. He knew that in most stories like this, the victim would attempt to bring a companion back to try and verify the story in some way. They would probably stop to ask one of the locals about the place in question only to be told that it hasn’t existed in years, if at all. He just shook his head, deciding that the best course of action would be to do what most of us have done when confronted with a gruesome memory from our past.  Just tuck it away forever!
     
     

THE LEGEND OF JEDIDIAH CRANE
     
        The last rays of red and orange painted the distant horizon and finally settled into darkness. Another hot and dusty day on the trail had finally come to a close. A noisy clump of cattle stood nearby grazing on sparse desert grass as two tired cowboys prepared to bunk down for the night. Mike stretched out on his bed roll and stared up at the star filled sky while Buster stirred away at a pan of beans. A wolf’s howl could be heard in the distance, which got Buster thinking about what had happened earlier that day.
        “Mike…” Buster took a long pause then shook his head. “Ah, never mind…it’s probably just the heat gettin to me.”
        Mike rolled over onto his side. “Spit it out, Buster…we ain’t got nothin but time. What’s on your mind?”
        The cowboy stopped his stirring and shrugged. “Well…did you happen to hear anything strange on the trail today, Mike? Kinda like laughter maybe? I mean, I coulda swore that I heard someone laughing, you know, a crazy sort of laugh, but I couldn’t for the life of me figure where it was comin from.”
        There was a long silence as Mike considered what Buster had said then a moment later he blurted out the name “JEDIDIAH!”
        Buster looked up from his beans. “What’d you say?”
        “The laughter you heard…more than likely that was old Jedidiah! You ain’t never heard of the legend of Jedidiah Crane?”
        Mike suddenly remembered that Buster had only worked for the ranch a few short months and wasn’t familiar with the territory or its history. Mike sat up and plucked a blade of grass from the ground and set it between his teeth. “Well then my friend, let me acquaint you with some of our colorful folk lore… it’ll make good story telling for your grand kiddies someday.”
        Mike settled back against a large rock. “You see Buster, back in ‘49, it was said that gold had been discovered in these here parts. Folks poured in from all over the country in hopes of finding their fortune, they came to our small town of Shilo like ants stirred out of a hole in the ground, thousands of em, in all manner of privation,