Kentucky Hauntings(5)

Bernice was never the same after that night. She refused to eat or have visitors. She began to waste away and was dead in a few weeks.

The story goes that as long as they had pie suppers at that school, a ghostly couple could be seen standing off from the crowd. If anyone approached them, they would vanish!





The Whittler's Trail


Some of Russell County's finest whittlers, Mr. Hughes, Mr. Ash-brooks, and Mr. Wilson, gathered on the porch of our little country store and exchanged tales as they whittled. All three could have told this story, but Mr. Wilson probably told it most often. Both the telling and the whittling could be considered art.

Whittling has been around almost as long as mankind itself. It is not a part of Kentucky life now like it used to be, but the tradition is still carried on by some skilled whittlers. In whittling, one cuts or shapes wood, usually into toys, bowls, and the like, using only a knife. The knife is usually a light, small-bladed knife or pocketknife, and the whittler usually whittles objects as a hobby.

In Kentucky up through the 1900s, whittlers could often be seen whittling on the porches of their homes, at the town square, or in front of an old country store. Huley Stanton was one such whittler. He was often seen at Harmon's store, passing the time by creating images of things he saw around him. Cedar wood was mostly his wood of choice because he liked the smell of it.

Five-year-old Danny Peterson loved to accompany his father, Lee, to the store so he could watch Huley whittle on the porch. Danny was amazed that Huley could pick up a piece of wood and turn it into a gun, animal, doll, or other toy.

“How do you do that?” he'd ask.

“I'll show you when you're a little older,” Huley would tell him.

“I don't have a knife,” Danny said.

“Well, I'll leave you my knife if anything ever happens to me,” Huley promised. “This old knife can just about whittle out things on its own.”

Danny didn't want anything to happen to Huley, but he certainly did want a knife of his own like the one Huley had. Whenever he asked for one, though, his parents always told him he was too young. He'd have to wait until he was several years older to get a knife of his own, so Danny had to be satisfied watching Huley use his for now.

Huley and his wife and Danny's family lived in the same neighborhood, but dense woods separated their houses. The woods belonged to Huley, and he often cut and sold timber off his land.

Danny's parents, Hattie and Lee, worked hard on their farm, but they made time to take Danny for walks in the woods. Danny loved all the trees and animals, but he listened to his mom and dad's warning that he must never go into the woods alone. They told Danny that even though the woods held great beauty, they also held great dangers. People in those days made children aware of danger without dwelling on it.

The Petersons lived in a world before security systems, so, like most people, they secured their doors at night by wooden latches. Danny slept in a small room off the kitchen. Lee and Hattie slept in a large bedroom off the living room. Since there were two rooms between, Lee took special care to secure the latches at night so nothing could get in and Danny would not be able to wander out.

All was well for some time. Then one day, life in the neighborhood started off as usual, but ended up in a way nobody would have expected. The Petersons were working in their garden, and Danny was playing in the yard. In the nearby woods, Huley Stanton went deep among the trees to cut some timber. The Petersons could hear the sound of Huley's axe chopping away. A short time passed with only the axe and the sound of the hoes breaking the silence. Then a crash and a scream rendered the Petersons motionless. Huley's voice was distant, but clear.

“God, help!” he called. “The tree fell on me. It's crushing me. Somebody help me, please!”

They listened for the direction of the sound, but nothing more came.

“Call for help,” Lee said to Hattie, as he ran into the woods. Danny started to follow, but his mom held him back.

“Come inside with me,” she said. “Your daddy will help Mr. Stanton.”

But Huley was beyond help. Other neighbors came to aid Lee, but Huley's injuries were too severe for him to be saved. By the time they were able to remove the tree that was crushing his chest, he was dead.

Danny cried and cried because Huley was gone. He went to the funeral with his parents, but he wasn't quite sure what being dead really meant. What he did know was that his friend was gone and wouldn't be coming back. When the service was over and everyone went outside, Mrs. Stanton came up to the Petersons to thank them for coming.

“Danny,” she said, turning to the boy, “Huley left you something. You may be a little young for it now, but he always told me that he wanted you to have his whittling knife someday. I'll bring it over to you when things settle down a bit.”