Drew's Mill

Thunder rumbled through the valley of the quaint town of Topple Wells as the sun settled behind Drew's Mill. Everyone said the mill was haunted. Everyone except old Mr. Hanks who lived in the house beside the mill. He was a strange old sinewy man who walked bent over with over-sized tattered clothes. The only thing that fit his stature was his brown derby hat, but it too was worn and dirty. The hat brim torn one quarter way around the back. He was never seen without the hat; the black suit with tails was strange in color. It appeared to be turning gray. It was said he looked like a dying funeral director, and all the kids teased him calling him "old man death".

When he heard such teasing's he would turn to them and furrow his bushy gray brows and smile wide revealing large rotted yellow teeth agreeing with them completely, saying "That's right... and don't you little beasts forget it!"

Then he would let out a horrible laugh, which would curdle the blood and send chills up their little spines."Ha - ha - ha-ha-ha-ha-ha." It seemed the laugh would echo wherever he might be.

A thin mist fell that day but no one had seen sunlight break through the cloud cover, and Mr. Hanks had been busy at Drew's Mill. This was Halloween, and he must prepare for his guests. And everyone was talking about the sounds coming from the Mill.

"I heard a scream," said Mayor Freeman. "Me too, said Mr. Thurman."

"No, it isn't screaming," said Joe Charmer, "it's the wheel turning and squeaking."

"Was that chains I heard?" said Martha Peabody. "I don't know, but it was loud!" answered Sarah Jenson.

"Oh my, there was an explosion!" "N-N-N-No... I don't think so, but it w-w-w-was a b-b-big sledge-h-h-hammer!"

Sure enough, Mr. Hanks did have the extra large Mill-wheel turning, but it was only making a normal grinding noise. He had been a good caretaker. It was working as it had twenty years ago when the town killed ol' man Drew on Halloween for back taxes. And tonight, they would all remember.

"You people settle down," yelled Ken McGriff, "There's nothing up there but an old man that scares kids. Calm down and let's get our festival going."

"Ken's right," answered the Mayor, "we've got nothing to be afraid of! Come on, let's begin. I'll crank up the Victrola."

After the dance, when Ken and the Mayor started home the weather turned bad. The lightening and thunder worsened and the rain came down in a pour. It rained so hard that Ken couldn't see his own horses head. The next thing he knew his horse walked inside of a building he thought looked somewhat familiar. It smelled musty, but it was dry.

Why it was Drew's Mill. He could hear the millstone turning. No... this must be his imagination, that millstone hadn't turned since Andy Drew was ground up into hamburger meat twenty years ago. Heh... he laughed to himself. I guess we showed him a thing or two. Heh-heh. There was a sound behind him! He turned quickly... The Mayors horse walked slowly into the Mill.

"Well hello Freeman, welcome to Drew's Mill. At least, the warehouse side of the Mill."

"That's not funny Ken, I wouldn't go to Drew's Mill House for all the money in the world."

"Well, your here!"

The Mayor looked around, and suddenly turned ashen white. "My god, I've got to get out of here." The lightening and thunder exploded outside, along with the steady downpour. He turned his horse and spurred him, but the horse wouldn't move. "Ken, slap the hindquarters of my horse will you?"

"Sure!" Ken hit the rump of the horse with his open hand and the horse only jumped, then reared, bucked and threw the Mayor off his back into the dirt of the warehouse, then both horses took off in the rain. Ken looked at the Mayor, "I hope you're satisfied!"

"N-n-n-no not exactly."

"Ah quit your blubbering. Now that we're here... let's look around a bit, shall we?"

They both left the warehouse entrance and walked toward the back where they found a kerosene lantern. Ken struck a match and after the lantern was lit they looked around and found some stairs leading down toward the mill-house.

"This goes down toward the river doesn't it?" asked the Mayor.

"Yes, it does..."

There was a scream...

"Who's there?"

Another blood letting scream...

"My god someone's being tortured..."

"Shutup Mayor... Don't you know who that is? It's that old man playing tricks on us. He's trying to make us think about Andy Drew."

"Andy Drew, Oh my... I'd forgotten all about him 'til you just said his name. Oh my, do you think he's haunting this place?"

"No, you idiot... now come on down these stairs..."

They started down, and when they reached the bottom of the stairs the door was latched from the opposite side... Ken had to force it, and when the door slammed open, there hanging from a rope was the old man with a ghastly smile on his face showing all his rotted yellow teeth, and his eyes wide in a death stare.

The Mayor screamed at the instant that he saw the old man pushing Ken into him, which set a fright into Ken who yelled, dropped the lantern and ran past the swinging rigged man and tripped falling into the path of the great millstone. The millstone caught the toe of his boot and kept turning, squashing his bones. The mayor was frightened so, he fell, backing quickly, stumbling up the stairs falling all the way to the top where he landed onto the points of a pitchfork, which was leaning over a bale of hay, impaling himself, and they screamed into the night. Until death ruled the two friends.

Ol' man Hanks let himself down from the rope and looked at Ken and the Mayor, "Fools, to believe in ghosts," he said. He picked up the lantern, raised the glass and blew it out.

So ended the lives of the murderers of Andy Drew.


word count 995