Summary: It’s October and time for some chilling tales. Use “The Ghost of Smokey Joe”, “Devil with the Blue Dress On” as your OC inspiration.
Rating: G, Word Count: 1642
by AH83 » Fri Oct 11, 2019 10:35 pm
The mist slid through the trees as the Cartwright brothers got ready for bed. They had decided to go hunting and got settled for the night. The full moon was rising behind the trees as they were finishing dinner. They sat around talking about their hunt and how they didn’t find a thing.
“That was a frustrating day,” Joe said.
“Yeah it was. Hopefully we’ll do better tomorrow. My goodness it’s cold,” Hoss said pulling his coat around him.
“Yes, it is. Maybe we’ll just head home tomorrow. Especially with the mist and cold coming through. Who knows
what it’ll be like tomorrow?” Adam replied.
There was a noise that Hoss heard and made him jump.
“Did ya hear that?” he asked.
“Hear what?” Adam asked.
“The noise in the trees.”
“It was probably an owl,” Joe replied.
“It wasn’t no hoot owl,” came the big man’s reply as he looked around nervously.
The noise in the trees became louder and a twig snapped.
“You two had to have heard that,” Hoss said.
Adam and Joe looked at him and nodded.
“Adam, do you remember the stories you told us about the Ghost of Smokey Joe and Devil with the Blue Dress on?” Hoss asked with a hint of fear in his voice.
Adam looked at his brother.
“Hoss, those are just stories. That’s it,” Adam replied.
Adam got up to get his bed roll and Joe put more wood in the fire. Hoss looked in the direction of the noise. He blindly reached for his younger brother still looking at the spot where the noise was. He grabbed Joe’s sleeve and tugged hard.
“Hoss be careful. You could have pulled me into the fire,” Joe snapped.
“Look.”
Hoss pointed and Joe turned to see where his brother was pointing. Something was coming out from the trees.
“You’re seeing what I’m seeing right?” Hoss asked.
“Uh-huh.”
Hoss could hear the quiver in Joe’s response.
“Adam. Adam, I think it’s the Ghost of Smokey Joe and Devil with the Blue Dress on,” Joe tried to whisper.
Adam turned to his brothers and looked where they did and saw two shadowy figures slowly creeping through the trees.
“Oh, come on, it’s just the shadows of the trees through the mist and the moonlight,” Adam said trying to sound like it was nothing but there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
Before anyone could say anything, the horses became spooked and tried to break free from their reigns. The figures started to come through the mist and to the outside of the trees closer to the brothers.
“Get the fire out,” Hoss ordered.
Joe did as he was told. They quickly packed up their things and jumped on their horses and sped off as best as they could in the moonlight. They could have sworn they heard the moans of the ghosts in the trees.
Halting on the ridgeline, Hoss waited until his older brother caught up to him. “Adam, that storm looks mighty bad. We oughta take cover. A storm is coming at us all purple and black, it’s gonna be right awful.”
Once Adam took a good look, he answered. “Not much for shelter in this region. It’s scrub for miles in every direction.”
“What about that old mining camp?”
“That’s a good idea. If any of the buildings are still standing. Wasn’t much there to begin with but maybe there’s enough that we can get a lean-to rigged up.”
Joe reached the spot where his two older brothers had halted. “What are you two jabbering about? If we want to get home by tomorrow, we need to move faster.”
“Joe, you look behind us at all?”
Twisting around, Joe understood. “What are we going to do?”
“We’re thinking that old mining camp.”
“Where Smokey Joe had a saloon?”
Grinning, Adam looked at Hoss. “Figures little brother here would know it by the saloon.”
With a chuckle from Hoss and a frown from Joe, they turned to head to the camp. Once there, they were surprised that Smokey Joe’s Saloon was in almost the same shape they remembered from the last time they had been there years earlier. It was good news though because it meant they had good shelter from the oncoming storm. The hard part was pushing the doors open. It took all of Hoss’ strength to force their way in.
“Dang, it’s like the ghost of Smokey Joe don’t want us to come in.”
Looking around the room, Adam assessed the situation. “If the storm gets bad, we could probably get all or most of the horses in here too.”
Hoss agreed. “That’s not a bad idea ‘cept it does feel awful creepy in here. Does it feel kinda cold to you too?”
“I thought it was only me. Yeah, it felt like we walked from summer into fall by walking in the door.”
Meanwhile Joe had been exploring. “Hey, there are rooms back here. If we bring the horses in, there’ll still be more space for us.”
Still uneasy about the place, Adam noticed more. “The place is clean like someone still lives here. It looks like people have been coming in here.”
Checking out the floor, Hoss noted what looked like boot prints. He also noticed something more sinister when he followed some of those prints. “Brown stains on the floor here. Lots of ’em.”
“Blood?” Adam was getting more worried.
“Could be. I’d say someone died here. Maybe more than one.”
Then they heard Joe talking, and it sounded like sweet-talking a woman. Going closer, they were shocked. Joe was about to kiss a woman in a blue dress. Fear and desperation drove both older brothers as they moved to their younger brother, grabbed him, and dragged him out of the room and then out of the saloon.
“What the heck are you two doing?”
“Do you have any idea what you were about to do?”
“Kiss that pretty woman in the blue dress. She was sweet, but you two ruined it.”
“She had the face of a demon!”
“Hoss, she was pretty!”
“No, she was the devil with the blue dress on. You were under a spell.”
“Adam, that can’t be!” Seeing his brothers, Joe knew it had to be true. He walked back to the door of the saloon, looked in, and saw it. It was hideous. Staggering back, he had one thing left to say. “We need to head out.”
Banished!
The man in black hesitated before he entered the decrepit bordello. He understood what danger lay inside but it was the only way to end the devilish mayhem. He just had to wait until the moment presented itself, and hopefully avoid one more death.
With a sigh of resignation he turned the rusty knob and left his familiar world behind. The interior of the dilapidated structure was filled with mist and mildew, and wreaked of inhuman smells. Opposite the door, a woman appeared out of nothing.
“You said you’d never come here again.” She sashayed toward him with a hunger in her eyes.
“I came to put an end to the madness and the murders.”
The woman gave an eerie laugh as she sidled close to him, icy fingers trailing down his cheek, along his neck and into his opened shirt. Adam endured her seductive play, reminding himself this was no woman, but the devil with the blue dress on, the one he’d bought for her and the one she’d worn when she’d committed each murder.
“Come, my darling. Step into my parlor and let us entertain each other. Share my exotic ways and you will never crave the other world again.”
The devil woman smiled wickedly as she wrapped her arm around his and led him past heavy velvet curtains. Of all her dark-haired lovers, this one was the prize she sought.
“No. That’s not what I’m here for and you know it.”
Rubbing her body against him in ways that would make him her eternal lover, she never saw the dagger appear. His hand moved with stealth, speed, and accuracy. As the jagged blade carved into her chest, the female visage before him turned into a hideous face and released a scream that split the night. Her fingers turned to deadly claws which ripped his shirt open and dragged long bloody trails down his bare chest. In an instant, he was surrounded by mist and swirling images of the dead she had killed. Catching a glimpse of the ghost of Smokey Joe, her latest victim, he struggled to push the dagger deeper.
Losing his sense of reality and feeling the life draining from him, he collapsed to the floor. He felt her body writhing on top of his, as she struggled to escape her fate. Darkness claimed them both as the walls of the shack crashed down.
Detecting fresh air in his nostrils, Adam attempted a life-giving breath. The effort to sit up was made easier with strong hands to him.
“You did it, son. She’s finally gone where she belongs.”
He glanced down at his shredded shirt. No blood or gaping wounds, but there were tingling scars, reflecting the bluish light from the full moon. His first encounter with her had been sensual and bewitching, almost terrifying. When he spurned her continued advances, a series of murders of dark-haired men began. When his friend, Smokey Joe succumbed to her demented ways, Adam knew he had to stop her for good, even if it meant his death.
“Yeah Pa.” And she almost took me with her.
A Note from the Brandsters. This was originally written and published on the Bonanza Trail Riders site. Brand is happy to offer this story a new home.
