The Pumpkin Demon

The Pumpkin Demon

​As a young girl, I remember hearing an old legend that was told each year at Halloween. It was about a place near my old hometown called Old Greenville. The town name was originally Greenville, but something had happened there, causing the entire community to be moved to another location several miles away.

Previously, it was a bustling little place with a courthouse, small post-office, privately-owned stores, and various old homes, mostly made up of surviving Civil War soldiers and their families.

It had a large cemetery, with many soldiers who hadn’t survived the Civil War buried there. The old timers say there were so many dead bodies lying around at that time that they began to decompose and leave a putrid foul odor hanging in the air. Towards the end of the war, there were so many dead soldiers left behind the mortuary that the bodies had been stacked three feet high, with puddles of blood all around them, leaving the ground stained black.

The local clergy had been asked to pray over the rotting remains, but many of them refused because of the ominous feeling of an evil presence. It was decided that they should bury these decaying corpses in a mass grave about a mile away from the actual cemetery. The things being said about this place, left family members feeling uneasy. They didn’t like their loved ones buried on what they all believed to be haunted grounds.

The town was situated near a river that was known as Black River, because the water in the river was dark. Nobody knew why, but the old timers said that it hadn’t become dark until after a large flood had washed through the area, flooding the entire town of Greenville, and the blood-stained grounds. Most markers in the old cemetery were washed away, except for the ones with extremely large tombstones. Some believe the mass grave had not been buried deep enough, so when the bones of the dead floated around in the water, it left their souls unsettled.

For many years, the area had no visitors. Everyone seriously felt that there was something bad there. But as time passed, things changed. It didn’t take long, and the community chatter eventually faded. As older citizens passed away, the history was forgotten about, and people no longer thought about what had happened. Contractors started making offers and bids on the land. Wanting to make a quick buck, descendants began selling off tracts to whoever would buy them. This seemed to make everyone happy as the local economy was booming.

Finally, one year, Jesse Jeffers, an old man who owned the largest remaining portion of the land, decided to plant a large pumpkin patch. Selling pumpkins for profit, he was making a fortune, not realizing that the pumpkin fields were right on top of the old mass graves. It wasn’t very long until everyone began flocking in, to buy the pumpkins at Old Man Jeffer’s Pumpkin Patch.

Crowds of people got in their cars, took their kids, and walked around the pumpkin patch, looking for the perfect pumpkin to use and display as their Halloween Jack-O'-Lanterns. It was all said to be profitable for the old man, at first. That was until The Pumpkin Demon started scaring folks off.

They described the demon as a black, ominous figure. He had a pumpkin shaped head with glowing eyes, and was usually followed by swarms of flies, gnats, and noisy black crows. Many folks said that his teeth were horrifying, and looked like they could tear a man’s skin clean off of his bones. His presence was so dark that he looked like swarming clouds of heavy ominous evil. This demon chased visitors away, sending them running, and screaming into the night. There had been no reports of any deaths, but who knows? Maybe everyone was just too afraid to say anything.

One night, on Halloween, after my friends and I had heard the story, we decided to go out to Old Greenville to look around. It seemed like a fun thing to do. Besides, nobody really believed the story, and we were too old to trick or treat, so it was better than sitting around watching the cars rust.

Squeezing into my friend Joe’s pickup truck, we all took a deep breath, never willing to admit the fears that were already creeping into our minds. We drove down the old country highway on a road filled with potholes and other features, much like a roller coaster. It winded up and then down, finally twisting through the massive hills like a serpent. Eventually, the giant hills began to cut off the sunlight and the valleys seemed like deep mossy crevices, sinking into the earth.

It was getting dark, and a heavy fog hung in the air, making it difficult to see. There were animals scurrying in the distance, and hoot owls crying out, causing our minds to play tricks on us. Not one of us would admit it, but we all feared the worst while at the same time making fun of each other when we noticed the fear in one another’s faces. It’s crazy, looking back now, but we all were too weak-minded and got angry while being called a “chicken.”

Joe parked his old Ford pickup truck, and we all slowly got out. As we walked together, we came upon a large open field of dead brush, sticks, rocks, and nothing of any beauty. Trust me, if that place could speak, it would gasp out its last breath, because it was terribly disappointing to accept. At that point, we all just stood there looking at each other.

My friend Joe finally broke the silence when he looked at all of us and said, “So, what do we do now?” It was obvious that he did not want to be there. Neither did the rest of us, but not one of us would ever admit it.

Before any of us could breathe a reply, we were all overtaken by a loud hissing and moaning sound, immediately followed by a rush of wind blowing all around us. It seemed to consume us, and at that moment, we were all so scared that we began running around in different directions. None of us knew where the other had gone. I felt sure that it was The Pumpkin Demon, and he was chasing me! I cried out, afraid of this thing that I never believed could be real, but hearing its hissing and moaning, I knew it could not be my imagination.

Terrified, I ran through the woods. I could hear it behind me, getting closer. I could not outrun it and felt its horrifying presence upon me trying to steal my mind and suck out my soul. I thought about trying to climb a tree, but it was no use! The trees were too tall and had no low-lying limbs. I cried out, and screamed like a baby, but still it chased me. I wasn’t sure where my friends had gone. For all I knew, they might be dead. There was no way to know, for sure.

Just ahead of me was Black River, and although I didn’t want to jump in, I felt I had no choice. I ran as fast as my feet would carry me while praying to God under my breath that I might be spared. I was terrified, so when I hit the water, I cried out, “Dear God, please help me!” Then standing silent with my teeth chattering in terror, my body was frozen, and my eyes closed, fearful of being consumed at any moment. I stood there quietly not making a sound, just waiting, being as still as possible, thinking I might appear invisible. I stood there a few moments, then after a while I heard nothing. Not sure it was the right thing to do, I finally decided to open my eyes and look around. While still afraid, I hoped for the best.

It was extremely odd and crazy, but at that moment it was as if the Lord had heard my cry, the hissing and moaning sound was gone. I looked around cautiously, but this evil thing had disappeared completely, almost as quickly as it had presented itself.
The night was quiet now. And as I sat there floating at the edge of the river, cold and wet, I wondered if I had lost my mind, or if it had actually been The Pumpkin Demon.


Word Count: 1430