Not far from the American town of Sterling (Colorado, USA) is the Pachaug forest, which has enjoyed an ill fame for several centuries. And the thing is that among its pines and firs there is a country lane - the Witch's Road, with which many sinister stories are connected. According to local residents, witches often walk here in search of victims, it is almost impossible to escape from them.
Strange woman
This story took place in October 1999. A resident of Sterling, truck driver Gerald Rawlinson, was in a hurry to deliver forestry cargo to his hometown. The weather was good, and therefore, in order to cut off a decent part of the path, he decided to turn onto the Witch's road, although the broken country road is not the most suitable place for transporting such a heavy load - long trunks of cut trees. But as soon as the car drove a few tens of meters, the sky was covered with gray clouds and thick snow was sent. Visibility dropped sharply, and Rollinson had to move at minimum speed, as the truck was not easy to keep on the slippery road. This saved his life. Just before leaving the forest, the driver, through the flakes of snow, saw a gray silhouette of a woman dressed in a long robe standing right on the road. Rollinson began to honk convulsively,but the stranger behaved as if she did not notice the approaching truck. The distance between the loaded car and the mysterious lady was rapidly decreasing, and when the driver saw the "road hooligan", he could not hold back a cry of horror. On the shoulders of the woman, instead of a head, was a naked skull, yellowed with age. Rollinson put on the brake, but the truck was literally blown off the road into a ditch, where it turned over under the weight of the load. Fortunately, the driver managed to survive, although he had to lie for a long time in the local hospital.where she turned over under the weight of the load. Fortunately, the driver managed to survive, although he had to lie for a long time in the local hospital.where she turned over under the weight of the load. Fortunately, the driver managed to survive, although he had to lie for a long time in the local hospital.
Maud and Still Water
It is difficult to say which of the "mistresses" of the Pachaug forest Gerald Rolinson met on the sworn road. Indeed, according to local legends, shadows of two ghostly witches wander here, and each of them has its own bleak story.
In fairness, it should be noted that the first of the ladies, an Indian woman named Silent Water, was not considered a witch during her lifetime. She was the most ordinary Indian woman, who had children and a husband, who ran an unpretentious household and did not stand out among her other fellow tribesmen. That all changed during the Colorado Indians' War with White settlers. Once a detachment of English soldiers broke into the village of Quiet Waters, and one of the pale-faced, right in front of her eyes, shot the whole family of the unfortunate woman. But the woman was not taken aback: with a precise blow of a tomahawk she cut open the killer's skull - and was immediately killed by his comrade.
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The deceased Indian woman was buried in the Pachaug forest. And now the locals say that not far from. On the Witch's Road, you can often hear the crying and groans of a miserable woman, and sometimes you can see her silhouette in Indian clothes flashing among the bushes and trees.
But the "colleague" of Silent Water - the witch Maud - is a completely different character. She was an ordinary country sorceress, she lived not far from Sterling. The lady, apparently, managed to harm many of her neighbors. This is evidenced by the following fact: after his death, Maud was buried in a forest ravine (today he is also called the Witch), along with all her witchcraft. Among the things put into the grave there were many expensive silver dishes, among which massive old cups stood out, but not a single person dared to appropriate any of these items.
Awakened famously
And yet, until the beginning of the 20th century, the Pachaug forest, like the country road running through it, was a quiet and peaceful place. Mysterious phenomena began to occur here after unknown people unearthed the burial of the Maud witch in search of treasures. History is silent about whether the marauders found silver in the grave or not, but this act of vandalism marked the beginning of a chain of tragic events.
In the 1920s, a handsome lumberjack guy appeared in Sterling and began to look after two local girls at once. After some time, both young ladies became pregnant from their seducer, after which the gentleman disappeared without a trace. And soon the poor things were found in the Pachaug forest hanging from the neighboring trees.
A few more years passed, and not far from the burial place of the witch Maud, city residents found the body of a five-year-old boy - the son of Warner, the head of the Sterling railway station. The examination showed that the child fell into a ravine and broke his neck. That just made the kid go so far from home remains a mystery. But the tragic death of the baby was not the only misfortune of the Warner family. The boy's father, having lost his only and long-awaited son, went crazy and was placed in a psychiatric hospital.
Jaeger tragedy
Meanwhile, the number of victims of the Pachaug Forest grew steadily. In the 30s - 50s of the last century, many people disappeared without a trace, and the bodies of only two of them were found. The remains of the unfortunates looked as if they had been tormented for a long time by a huge fanged animal. But large predators have never been found in this forest.
And in 1969 a grandiose tragedy took place here, which even today the townspeople remember with horror. At that time, the local huntsman Ralph McNamara, a tall man of a heroic physique, lived in a small hut in the forest. His duties were to monitor the livestock of Pachauga's inhabitants - elks and foxes, so that they did not breed above the established norm. For a long time, the man's loyal assistant was his beloved dog - Gray Shepherd Dog.
One night, a dog sleeping near Ralph's bed suddenly woke up, howled and could not calm down. Ralph assumed that wolves were walking by his house, and in the morning he decided to look for their tracks. But when he opened the door of his hut, Gray became stubborn, not wanting to leave the dwelling, and only the formidable command of the owner made him obey.
The huntsman and the dog walked only a few tens of meters, when there was a loud crunch of breaking bushes, as if a huge creature was plodding through the branches. Hearing this crack, Gray whined and lunged at the sounds, ignoring Ralph's shouts and commands. Since then, the dog has never been seen again.
For several months the huntsman was looking for his faithful friend in the most remote corners of Pachaug, but the shepherd seemed to have sunk through the ground.
Since then, Ralph McNamara has changed a lot. He became gloomy and unsociable, and to all the persuasions of his friends to get himself a new dog, he answered with harsh abuse. And when some more time passed, the huntsman disappeared. His body was found only a year later. Ralph's mutilated corpse lay near Witch's Road, and his hands and feet were neatly chopped off. A thorough investigation by the local sheriff did not bring results, and who was able to deal with a large strong man and then disfigure his body is unknown to this day.
Bait for tourists
Today the Witch's Road is closed to traffic. In the early 2000s, the Sterling authorities were forced to take such a step after several truck drivers were killed here in accidents. Motorists who decide to drive along the sworn lane are charged a serious fine, but these measures still do not stop curious tourists who are fond of mysticism.
Locals try to stay away from Pachaug forest even without orders from law enforcement officers, but guests from other states regularly come here hoping to get acquainted with the witch Maud and the Indian woman Silent Water.
Magazine: Secrets of the 20th century №7. Author: Elena Tanina