The Ghost of Joshua Blunt

The name of Joshua Blunt was typically mentioned only in whispers, even by adults who should have known better. He was alleged to have been one of the earliest settlers of the area that would later become known as Pine Point, but as very little else was known about him, many doubted whether he had ever actually existed.

Joshua Blunt was always described as a big man with a long beard who had once lived somewhere deep in the woods that would ultimately become St. Michael's Cemetery on Boston Road. Travelers in the olden days sometimes encountered him along their way, often seeing him simply standing a little ways in the woods, silently staring at them as they passed. Many found his presence unnerving, and hurried on their way whenever he appeared. Others stopped and addressed him, and he would sometimes help with directions. But beyond his name, no one claimed to know anything more about him.

As the years passed, occasional reports of sightings of Joshua Blunt persisted, even though after so many years there was no way Joshua Blunt could still be alive. Claims of sightings, especially by children, continued through the 1800's and into the 1900's, so that even in 1936, the name of Joshua Blunt was known to Haskin Flagg and his contemporaries. Still, most of them, including Haskin, did not truly believe that the supernatural sightings were real.

1936 was the year Haskin attended Summer School to make up a math class he had failed during the regular school year. Haskin hated getting up for Summer School five days a week. Worse, he had to walk further to attend the Summer School, which was being held at the Thomas M. Balliet Elementary School on Seymour Avenue, rather than at the much closer to Hood Street Hiram L. Dorman School, where he attended during the regular school year.

One day, Miss Waters, his teacher, and Mrs. Berry, who taught the younger kids, decided that on the last day of Summer School they would have a picnic in the nearby dingle widely known as Snake Woods. It got that name by virtue of the many harmless, green snakes residing there, although some older kids tried to scare the younger ones by falsely claiming it was a home to dangerous rattlers.

On the last day of Summer School, a troop of chatty youngsters, lunch bags in hand and led by Mrs. Berry and Miss Waters, marched two by two down the woodland way across from Balliet into Snake Woods. When they reached a clearing near the small brook that ran through the woods, Mrs. Berry announced that here was where they would eat their picnic lunch. She warned the children to stay within this clear area and not venture any deeper into the woods itself, lest anyone get lost. No one wanted anything to happen that might cause the Principal Miss Ramsdell to forbid any future picnic plans.

During their picnic lunch, Mrs. Berry told the children how she had seen a deer crossing the playground when she arrived at Balliet earlier that day. When they had finished eating, Miss Waters took out her flash cards and began a competitive mathematics game that Haskin found boring. When no one seemed to be looking, Haskin slipped away and headed down the path deeper into the woods. At first the walk was pleasant, the sound of his nearby classmates giving him a false sense of security.

Soon the trail had narrowed into a mere footpath, and Haskin became more apprehensive. The woods had become unfamiliar, and his classmates could no longer be heard. Haskin found himself struggling to avoid admitting to himself that he was lost. Apprehension was evolving toward panic as he turned to go back to the group, but he couldn't find the path. A dark maze of green shadows gave the woods an increasingly forbidding and unfamiliar appearance. Suddenly Haskin felt himself in a place where very dark forces might dwell.

That was when he saw, standing just a short distance away, the shadowy figure of a man with a long beard. Silently, the figure motioned for Haskin to come to him. Haskin obeyed. When the man took his hand, Haskin realized he had never felt anything so cold in his life. It was even colder than his great-grandfather had been that time when his mother had made him touch his relative's hand as he lay in his coffin. After a short walk with his ghostly companion, Haskin suddenly recognized where he was as he heard the voices of his classmates calling his name.

The man let go of Haskin's hand and was gone. As he did so, an Oriole flashed orange and black through the trees. "Haskin Flagg!" Mrs. Berry exclaimed, "Where have you been? We were worried about you!" Haskin told her he had gotten lost, but nothing more. Aside from a stern rebuke from Miss Waters, Haskin's brief disappearance was quickly forgotten as the students soon headed back towards Balliet. But as they were leaving Snake Woods, Haskin heard the Oriole chirping overhead, "Thank you, Joshua Blunt," he whispered, "I will always believe in you."