Okay as promised...more info about the Haunted Farm where I grew up...Have you ever suddenly felt like something was wrong...just an odd sensation that things are not as they should be...perhaps you pause for a minute to try and put your finger on just what is out of sync? Perhaps you remain puzzled by the eerie feelings that tumble about inside you or maybe just maybe you slowly start to realize just why you are experiencing this odd reaction. That's exactly how those of us that lived there...came to recognize the Silent Woods.
I'm not sure I know the exact moment of discovery because obviously being the youngest there were many others before me that puzzled out the woods. On the farm toward the back part of the property...in fact the Silent Woods extend and cross the property line just slightly into another person's woods...this section of woods are remarkably, eerily SILENT. I know you will find it very hard to believe but when walking in those woods the only sounds present are the sounds being made by the person walking...the rustling of leaves, the snapping of small twigs, conversation if any occurs during the encounter with the woods. No birds, no squirrels scampering in dry leaves, no buzzing bees or chirping crickets. Just a vast quiet stillness.
On the last day before the farm passed out of our possession and into a non family member's ownership, we walked in the Silent Woods one last time. We joked uneasily about the woods, and kicked the leaves and shouted into the still air. Producing as much noise as possible in this forest of overgrown vines, broken branches, and gnarled trees. Toward the back as we crossed over the rusty fence into land we did not own...we discovered a very old, very large tree with an uncanny opening in it. The opening where the tree had split open was almost large enough to stand inside...but not quite...so I stuck my head in and called out to my niece and daughters that I was looking into the darkness of the inner earth...I kicked my legs and screamed that I was being pulled into the darkness. Which promptly had my niece (who is in her 30s) demanding that I get my head out of the strange tree and return to the group immediately.
My own two daughters (26 and 17 at the time) who did not have an intimate personal knowledge of the farm...laughed and made light. It was only later that a conversation about Wicker Man arose and sent shivers up my spine as I let my imagination slip dangerously into that area of "what if".I sometimes wonder that since the woods are no longer in our ownership if the strange phenomena still occurs....was the force that created the absence of sound...directly related to the location and the woods themselves or in some way linked to my family who had lived there for many many years.
The reason I wonder this is because of the little woman that has visited many in our family...and not just at the farm itself but in other locations...from Kansas City to St Louis and perhaps beyond...that is only as far as my research has lead me to trace the appearance. I don't really think the woman is related to the Little Man in the Attic but I can't be sure. She commonly is seen when there is a new baby in the house and I like to think that she is a gentle family spirit blessing the new life.....but I have no way of knowing that.
Anyway the story of the little woman and how I came to realize that I am not the only one that was visited by her is a story for another day. So for tonight...goodnight and in that twilight zone between the waking world and the dreaming world may you only encounter those that enrich and enlighten your life. Sleep Tight!
Originally Posted at Ginger's Journey, April 2008
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