Haunted Knights

"Do you like dogs?" the woman asked from behind the screen door.

"Love them," I said.

She opened the door, and we walked in to be greeted by her two German Shepherds. Paul followed me, and my friend Justin showed up a moment later.

"Paul, you remember Justin," I said. "He's my only lawyer friend."

Justin laughed. He said to the woman,"So you found some gravestones from the old Great Island Cemetery?"

"They're all over my back yard," she said. "I read one of Lou's columns, and I know that Great Island Cemetery was right across the street from here..."

"Removed in 1919," I said. "Not all of the gravestones were found. Not all of the bodies, either."

"They're this way," she said.

We went out in the back yard. By the alley, she indicated a stone face-down in the dirt. I carefully overturned it and brushed it off. The name was Zachariah Naul.

"Zachariah Naul," said Justin. "Not familiar with that one."
I pulled out the CCGS cemetery index book. "No mention in the records. This is a new one."

"Ah, you brought that," said Justin. "Good job."

"I wanted to come prepared." Paul was using his tablet to take photos of the stone.

Inside the fence was a stone that had been used as part of a walkway. I overturned it, with the lady cautioning me,"Don't hurt yourself."

"Don't worry. If I'm gonna get injured, this is how I want to do it."
The stone was for Clarissa Mahan. I flipped the pages. "No Clarissa. We have a Chrissie Mahan, which sounds way to modern for 1855....The dates match."

"Probably we got that off the terrible handwriting everything was written in back then," said Justin. "Wasn't this from the Mahan Hotel?"
"Could be---This could be the aunt of town founder Jerry Church's daughter. This is big."

There was a footstone with the initials J.R. Sitting on the swing, Paul took the book and flipped through. "I found a John Raab," he called out.

"Very possible," I said. "Nice work."
"We can perhaps have these placed in Highland Cemetery," Justin said. "That would be historically authentic."

"I'll talk to Highland Cemetery," I said.

"This is incredible."

I agreed,"Best Wednesday night I've had in a while."

I pulled my tac vest off the hanger, folded it, and tucked it into my black bag. I packed up my infrared reader and added that, too. Extra batteries, first aid kit, knife....I was ready.

I walked downstairs and then outside to check on the kids. They were all on the sidewalk, riding scooters and bikes, and it appeared that there were at least fifty. Then they slowed down, and it turned out there were only five of them---My son, the little girls from next door, and their cousin.

They gathered around. Seriya said,"Lou! Since you made ghost-hunting shirts for Paul and Serina, can we have some too?"

"I can do that," I said. "I'll teach you guys how to use the equipment, and do some ghost-hunting. How's that?"

Love's eyes widened. "Do you really catch ghosts?"

"I'm with a team. I have an investigation tonight."

"Can I come?" she asked.

I smiled. "This one's just for the adults. It's for the LHPS team."

"Can I come?" asked Paul.

"Not this time, little guy."

"I'm on the team."

"Well, you're kind of the sidekick. You can stay up and wait for me, though, how's that? You can watch TV until I get home."
"Okay."

 As evening approached, I grabbed my stuff, got on my bike, and biked downtown. I rode through Lock Haven to Main Street---I love looking at Lock Haven. All these years, and I am not yet tired of looking at the buildings, the streets, all the unique bits of the city. I parked on East Main Street, and walked into White Knights Game Shop.

Tami was already there, with her kid, Juno. The owner of the building, Alex, shook my hand.

"Thanks for coming to investigate, Lou," he said. "Always good to see you."

"Same," I said. "Thanks for letting us come in. I did the research---That's going to be yours to keep. This place was built for Jacob Kamp and his family. He was a shoe salesman. He lost three children---Two babies, and a thirteen-year-old daughter named Nannie. That was typhoid. They're all buried in Highland Cemetery. So those are my biggest suspects."

"Thanks," said Alex. "That's more information than my wife could find."

"Sometimes it's just knowing where to look." I turned to Tami. "How's the campaign going?"

"It's going," she said. "I'm planning on not going door to door; a lot of people have indicated they hate that. I'll be reaching out to the public by attending a lot of events, instead."
"Good idea," I said as Ashlin came into the shop as Alex was leaving. "You should publicize that's the reason. We still have your sign in our yard. It's stood up to a lot of abuse this summer. Smoke, storms, children...."

Tami grinned. "Come October, I'll have to shell out for a lot more signs."

I heard a small knock behind me, and I turned. Nothing. Just a little, immediate sound by the bulletin board. "Did you---"

"Yeah," Tami said. "I heard it." She set her EMF detector down on the glass counter, and it immediately began to flicker. Green lights went to yellow unpredictably. She said,"Whoa..."
"That's unexpected," I said. "We're starting already. Let me do a test."

I pulled out mine, moved it around the area, and got nothing. I shrugged into my tac vest, pulling on the skull gloves. It always feels good to be in uniform. Tami said,"I'm activating my recorder. July twenty-ninth, at White Nights Game Room. Tami."

"Lou."

"Ashlin."

"Juno."

"Is there anyone here?"

 The lights flickered for a moment, and then stopped.

"I can't see anything that would set off the EMF," I said. "I'm going to go around and get photos."
I circulated around the room, snapping photos with my camera. The place was intensely neat, with dragons and dice and Star Wars characters in every direction. I stopped by a suit of armor, checking around with my EMF detector, and then moved on along the wall, by a herd of Owlbears and a couple of castles.

"This place is pretty well insulated," I commented. "I've been in some old buildings that are just bleeding EMFs. but this isn't like that. I'm not getting much, which makes these flickers especially weird."

"We don't even have an electric register on this counter," said Juno. "Just a small cashbox."

I flashed around with the laser thermometer. "Temperature baseline steady at sixty-nine."

"That's how Alex always leaves it set," said Juno. "It's a little chilly."
"Actually I kinda like it," I said. "In the summer, a lot of the time, wearing the tactical vest dehydrates me. This isn't too bad."

Tami was looking over the Historic Resource Survey Form I'd supplied. "It looks like the family may have run the store in this part, and lived in the back."

"Well," I said,"Why don't we check it out back there, then?"

The back room was a small place, with a sink and cabinets, and four tables set almost randomly, surrounded by chairs. Tami dropped into one, and we joined her around the table. Her digital recorder was already going.

I set mine next to it. "What Knights, first floor rear, July twenty-ninth, 9:01 PM." I gave it a moment while I set my EMF detector down. "Is anyone here with us?"

"Did you live here?" asked Tami.

There was a flicker---Up to yellow. I glanced around. "Nothing electric. Nothing that would set this off."

"Are you Nannie?" asked Tami.

"Are you Catherine?" asked Ashlin.

It went to orange. Just for a second, and then back.

"Catherine did die at forty-three," I commented. "That's awfully young to die."
"Did you work in here?"
Yellow.

"Do you miss your children?" I asked.

Yellow.

"Would you like us to visit your grave sometime?"

Yellow.

"This is a lot of EMF activity," I said. "I don't think I've ever seen the detectors get this active on an investigation."
"It's a good one," Tami agreed.

We folded at about ten, and got packed up. I biked through the city, now dark and much quieter. Up Church Street, along Bald Eagle, and then into Grouse Alley. I parked my bike behind the house and walked in.

Paul was sitting on the couch, watching TV and talking on his phone. Butters and Rosie were curled up with him. He looked up when I walked into the room. "Oh, hi, Daddy. How was the investigation?"

"It was good," I said. "A lot of activity on the EMF."
"Love!" said Paul. "My dad says they might have had a ghost! A lot of activity on the EMF!"

"I'm gonna get changed out of my uniform," I said. "Then I'll be down to join you. Think I'll have a beer---I still have some left from the ones Bre and Tami gave me."

"Okay, Daddy," said Paul. "I'll be right here."

Chasing Waterfalls

My alarm went off at four in the morning, and I jumped out of bed in my DC pajamas and turned it off. Still in the bed, my wife rolled over and groaned.

"I'll get the kid," I said, and left the bedroom.

Paul's room is down the hall. I entered the room, where Rosie and Butters were in bed with him. Both of the dogs popped awake when I came in. Paul did not; I had to shake him gently.

"Hop up, buddy," I said. "Today's the day. Your mom's bus trip to Niagara Falls."

Every now and again, Michelle's company has a bus trip for morale purposes. We've been to Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware in the past. This trip was to Niagara Falls.

"Daddy, can I have another Slim Jim?" Paul asked from across the aisle.

I passed him one. I'd learned from our last trip, and packed up a huge bag of snacks and water bottles. "We just left Pennsylvania," I said. "I saw the sign. We're in New York state now. You're going to like Niagara Falls, little man."

"What is it really?"

"It's some huge waterfalls. They're awesome; you're going to love it. And there are three islands up there---They're on the south end of Goat Island, and they're called Three Sisters Islands. They're said to be haunted by Native American spirits, so we're going to check that out, as well."

"Cool," said Paul. "How long until we get there?"
"Well, I'm glad you brought your tablet. Gonna be a couple of hours. I'll be looking out the window for Bigfoot, the Coney Island Creature....What other cryptids are in New York? Couple of sewergators, maybe."

We got off the bus about ten AM, after a four-hour ride straight through. Immediately I felt the mist from the falls on my face as I walked along the sidewalk. The nearest of the falls was at least a quarter-mile from me, but I could feel the water droplets in the air.

"Everything's wet here," I observed.

"I think we should start by getting something to eat," said Michelle. "We never did get breakfast."

"According to the map, there's food right over there."

I slung my small pack over my shoulder. I'd come prepared---My usual go bag was in the bus, with most of my stuff in it. Not wanting to carry the whole thing around all day, I'd used a trick I'd discovered on a trip to Georgia a few years ago. I'd taken a much smaller shoulder bag, dropped a map, camera, and EMF detector into it, and packed it inside the go bag. When we'd arrived, I'd pulled the small bag out of the big one, and only carried it around. I was prepared without having to haul a lot of heavy stuff all day.

We walked along the railing, by the falls. I said,"Look, kiddo. See over there? That's Canada. If you jumped in the water and swam over there---Don't do it because you would drown, but if you did, you wouldn't be in America anymore. You'd be in Canada."

"I want to learn to talk Canada," said Paul.

"Well, they speak English over there, but also French. You'd have to learn French."

"Oui."

It always amazes me how travel works. Like, all you have to do is make the arrangements and then be patient, and you can just be someplace. Someplace you've heard about your whole life. Like Niagara Falls. 

We passed a statue of Nikola Tesla. I said,"Check it out, Pipper. That's Nikola Tesla, one of the best scientists ever. He invented an earthquake machine once. If anyone knew how to find aliens, it was Tesla."

"Cool."

We walked over and got our food, sitting at an outdoor picnic area. I had a hot dog, and Paul had a thick pizza. He tossed a piece of crust to the little birds hopping around, and they started picking at it.

"Birds in places like this get used to humans," I said. "They're not scared of much. Look, there's a pigeon. They're ballsy city birds."

"What do they do?" Paul asked.

"Mug you for that pizza you're eating."

He tossed another piece of crust to the pigeon, who hopped over and began pecking at it. Paul watched with some fascination as the birds gathered for food; he wasn't the only one feeding them.

"I want to try the Cave of the Winds," Michelle said. "Apparently you can get right up under the waterfalls."

"Sounds good to me," I said. "I want to get to Three Sisters Islands sometime today, but it can be whenever."

We stood up and picked up our trash.

"Nice meeting you, birds," said Paul.

The Cave of the Winds isn't a cave in the strictest sense. We took an elevator to a tunnel, walked out, and put on some cheap ponchos handed out from a booth. Then we walked down a path to a series of stairs and decks that were, essentially, under Niagara Falls, exactly where you could get splashed as you walk, in case that was a priority.

I was soaked to the knees within the first few yards. Ordinarily I'd be annoyed that my sneakers got wet, but I'd expected this. No point visiting Niagara Falls and attempting to stay dry. I was kind of glad I had my pack under my poncho.

Paul, however, was loving it. He was racing into the wettest, splashiest areas and laughing like hell. 

We walked up a set of stairs---I took a moment to wonder how often they had to replace wet and rotted pieces---And we were standing on a huge deck, one corner of which was more or less under the falls entirely.

Paul ran over and stood underneath it, getting drenched. I could barely see him under the cascading water. He emerged a moment later, pulling off his poncho.

"This is going to take forever to dry," he said.

"Maybe not that long," I said. "Some of your back didn't even get wet."

He handed me his poncho.

"Hold this," he said, and ran right back under.

A moment later, he was back, this time soaked completely. He strode out of the falls and said,"Can we get more pizza?"

"Next stop---Three Sisters Island."

The trolley pulled up at the little booth, and we got off. I was saying,"I don't get it. Everything else is outrageously priced here, because it's a tourism spot. Five dollars for water. Ten for a hot dog. Sixty for admission to the Cave of the Winds. But an all-day pass for the trolley? Three bucks will do."

There was a pretty stone bridge going over to Three Sisters Island. We walked across it, Paul and I looking over the edge and into the rushing water. And then we were over on the island. which was nice and grown up with trees and plants.

I got out my EMF detector and turned it on. I'd brought the travel model, the little all-in-one with a thermometer included, which makes it easier to carry than a whole bag full of equipment. I got nothing, no EMF readings. The temperature was seventy-nine, which felt about right.

"There are snakes down there," a couple warned us as we passed an observation platform. 

Niagara Falls. Slowly I turned....Step by step, inch by inch....I looked down at the platform, and there were three fat gray snakes curled on the the rocks.

"Holy shit. Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?"

"They're not poisonous."

"I'll never get close enough to find out."

"Cool!" said Paul, leaning over to look at the snakes. One of them crawled in between the rocks, hiding itself.

I collared Paul and moved back, checking with my EMF detector. Nothing. We walked down the path, across to the second island. Two snakes sat on rocks below the bridge, in full view.

"This whole goddamn island is infested with snakes," I said.

I skirted the edge, staying away from anywhere the snake could, you know, reach up and grab me. Still no readings on the EMF; it was a pretty peaceful place.

"I think we're on the second island now," I said. "These are said to be haunted by a Native American ghost. The Iroquois believed there was a Mighty Thunder spirit who lurked on this island."

"I think we're on the third island," said Paul.

I checked the map. "You may be right."

A moment later, the path ran out, ending in a small observation point. I stopped, set my EMF detector down, and looked out over the water.

"It's beautiful," said Michelle.

"It is," I agreed.

"What's that over there?" she asked.

I glanced north. "Looks like a hydroelectric dam. I can't be sure, but it's probably what Dad would tell me."

"I thought it might be."

My EMF detector was registering a few flickers. I thought it through for a second, and then decided that an electrical field was not the wildest discovery just downstream from a hydroelectric dam. 

And then it all fell into place.

"Come on, let's go back," said Paul, walking back up the path.

Michelle and I followed. I said,"So I can see where some of the ghost stories come from. Old Native American legends originally. Then, as people began investigating....Well, EMFs and orbs are not too unlikely on an island covered in waterfall mist, just down from a hydroelectric dam."

"You're right," said Michelle. "That makes sense."

"Great trip."
"Daddy! Come on!" Paul called back. "We can get on the next trolley!"

The bus was headed south on the way home. Paul was across the aisle from me, watching his tablet, and I was looking out the window, watching the state of New York go by.

I felt good. Last summer, I'd been something of a mess at the tail end of the COVID crisis, and I'd spent a lot of the summer trying to get my act back together. This summer, things were better. I was feeling good about myself, more confident, and more able to do what I do.

I saw a bright flash in the distance through the left bus window. I reached across the aisle. "Paul! Paul Paul Paul!"

He looked up at me.

I pointed. "Fireworks!"
He turned and looked out the window, and smiled. Bright red and blue fireworks were going off over the mountains, off in the distance. The show went on quite a while as we passed along the highway, and we watched.

Then something caught my attention out my window. I glanced out, spotting a deer along the side of the highway. She looked at the bus for a moment, then turned and dashed off into the woods, gone. I was the only person who'd seen her.

I smiled.

There was always something interesting to discover, no matter what. I was glad I'd seen the deer, fleeting, by the highway. There was something about it, something....peaceful, somehow.

Earth Angel

"I figure the travel vest should do for a one-night camping trip," I said, rolling it i to my backpack. "What do you think, little man?"

"I want the pink sleeping bag," said Paul.

"You can have the pink one," I said. "I got a speech to give at Hyner Run this weekend, but when I'm not doing the speech, we have free time. You wanna help me look for a ghost?"
"Sure."

"The Swamp Angel haunts the are up near Hyner Run," I said. "We've looked for the Swamp Angel before. She was a Native American girl who drowned in the river, and now she haunts the water areas up there, and the legend is that if you need help, you can ask, and she might help you."

"Cool," said Paul. "Can I swim, too?"

"Yeah, they got the pool up there. You can swim, too. And we'll roast a few hot dogs for dinner."

"Can we roast hamburgers?"

"I can manage to fry some hamburgers. We'll have the cooking equipment. Have I ever taught you the egg-in-an-orange trick?"

Paul frowned. "I don't think so."

"For breakfast, you cut an orange in half. You eat the fruit out and leave the peel. Then you crack an egg and it cooks right inside the peel."

"Could we scramble it?"
"I don't see why not."

"That's cool," Paul said, looking impressed.

"Your grandfather taught me that when I was about your age. I'm pretty sure my grandfather taught him."

I sat at my desk, looking at an online map of the greater Hyner area. I was already very familiar with it, but I was bored at work, so, you know. I had a couple of choices---I could go and process some books, or I could prepare for my speech tonight. So I chose to go and look up some stuff about lumbering.

Mills. Good. North Bend had the biggest mill in the county---Even better. I got some index cards and scribbled down a few notes. Claire walked past, and said,"You look busy."

'Work, work, work," I said.

I put the sleeping bags in the SUV while the kids watched. Little Soriayah from next door asked,"Where are you going?"

"We're camping out tonight at Hyner Run," I said. "I've been asked to give a speech up there."

"Wow," she said. "It's almost like you're important!"
"Almost," I agreed.

"No, he is famous," said Serena, her older sister. "He's been in books, and he gives tours, and is friends with the mayor."

I put my pack in, the big green pack I used for camping. "We might look into some ghosts while we're there, too."

"Because we always do that," said Paul.

"This is our campsite," I said, getting out of the SUV. I looked around. "Hey, kid, guess what? We got a bridge."

There was a tree that had fallen over Hyner Run, stretching from one side to the other. Paul looked at it with some fascination. "This is a bridge?"

"Well, nobody exactly planned this, but it's not going anyplace. It'll hold."

Paul walked across it, balancing nicely. He jumped down onto a small rock outcropping in the water. It's kind of nice to see him in these moments; playing like an average little boy.

"I know you guys want to hit the pool," I said. "If you wan to go up and swim, I'll get things set up here."

"Sounds like a good plan," said Michelle.

They headed up to the pool to go swimming. I got the tent out of the SUV. Truth is, I can probably get things set up more efficiently without any help. My Boy Scout troop, when I was a kid, was known as one of the quickest, most efficient groups, and a lot of that had stuck. I got the tent set up easily enough---We'd bought that tent before we were married, and it had been through over twenty years of adventures with us. I looked it over; it was still in good condition, but it was beginning to show signs of wear. Best tent I'd ever had; replacing it one day was going to hurt. Not yet.

I got the cooler out and made myself a sandwich before my speech. I had a little time before showtime, so I checked around and made sure everything was okay. Then I walked up to the pool, where I found my wife and son splashing around.

I knelt beside the pool. "How's it going?" I asked.

Paul held up one thumb, and then dived back down underwater.

I walked up to the picnic area nearby, where Ian was waiting. Ian is the ranger up at Hyner, and has been inviting me to do talks in the state parks for years. We shook hands.

"How are you, my friend?" he asked.

"I'm good, Ian, really good."

"Got the family with you this time?"
"Yeah, they're down enjoying the pool. I got a great speech for you tonight---I think everyone is really going to enjoy it."

"That's good, that's really good. Of course, you always do a really good job. Everyone loves when I get you up here."

"Nice to hear. I can see we have a few lawn chairs, reserving the spaces."

"Yeah, a few people wanted to leave their chairs from the last talk."

"Well, good, we have some front-row seating then."

I walked back to camp after my speech, which had gone well. Paul and Michelle were waiting, dried off.

"Everyone ready for dinner?" I asked.

"I'm pretty hungry," agreed Michelle. Paul went over to the fallen log to play some more.

With minimal difficulty, I got a fire started. Then I got out the cook kit---My dad had given me this. It was the same one we'd used on camping trips when I was a kid, some forty years ago. They made this stuff to last back then.

I clipped together the frying pan and set it on the grill, then threw in half the hot dogs and some hamburger meat. It went much better than I'd expected, the hamburgers frying up in a few minutes. I flipped them over, and then said,"Looks like they're done. Who wants one?"

Paul was first. He smeared ketchup all over his, and tasted it.

"How is it?" I asked.

"It's great!" he said.

I had a hot dog and a hamburger myself; the sandwich had only been enough to get through the speech. We all had enough to eat, and then I cleaned up. Afterward, I had some free time. So I did what I do. I dug into my pack, got out my vest, and pulled it on.

It was one of my travel vests, not the big pre-packed tactical model, which is hard to pack. I wandered downstream, periodically stopping to check things out. I'd managed to work some sort of adventure at Hyner Run in every summer for the past few, looking for cryptids or ghosts. Last year, it had been the Susquehanna Seal. This year, it was the Swamp Angel.

I'd last checked for the Swamp Angel two years ago, when COVID had driven me into a deep depression. I was doing a lot better this time around.

At the far end of the camp was a nice little grassy area, where the creek ran through. It was where I figured the Swamp Angel was most likely to show up. I jumped the guiderail and walked down to the creek.

I got out the all-in-one EMF detector as I walked through the grass. It didn't register, but I kept at it.

Hi, Swamp Angel. How you been? Been a while.

I walked to the edge of the forest, turned around, walked back. I wasn't finding anything, but I was in no rush. It was nice here. Peaceful.

I wandered back up the hill and onto the road. I turned and walked onto the bridge.

Midway across, the EMF detector shot up to red.

I stopped, surprised. There seemed to be a span of bridge where there was a reading---Something invisible, but electric. I backed up, and it went down. Moved ahead, and it came back.

I raised the detector over my head, and it went out. So something at eye level, then.

I picked up a stone and marked an X on the bridge where the reading began. Then I followed it---About three steps---And marked where it ended. There was a span of a few feet where I was getting a reading for no reason.

Except, maybe, the Swamp Angel.

The sun was down, and everything was dark. I was sitting and reading a paperback book by lantern, smoking a celebratory cigar. 

Paul crawled out of the tent. This is common on these camping trips. I've never known him to sleep before eleven when we travel. He sat down in the chair beside me.

"Daddy, I can't sleep," he said.

"Want to sit here with me a while?" I asked.

"Okay. Are there any hamburgers left?"

"A couple. They're in the cooler."

"Can you heat one up for me?"

"Might be possible; we still have some embers in the fire. Let me see what I can do."

"Thank you."

I got a long skewer and started reheating the hamburger. I could hear it start to sizzle almost instantly. "You know, your grandpa and me used to go camping like this. I did a lot of this in the summer when I was a kid."

"You've told me."

"Here's your hamburger," I said. He put it in a bun, started eating, and smiled. And my son and I sat in companionable silence for a while in the night.