In northeastern Colorado, in Logan County, there is a small town of Sterling with a population of 10,000. It is located on the banks of the Platte Sauce River at an altitude of 1,200 m above sea level. In the 50s of the last century, oil was discovered in the nearby valley, and the city became an important transport hub, here are the offices of some oil companies. The area around Sterling is very picturesque. Hills covered with a dense pine forest, picturesque rocks, karst caves, fast rivers attract lovers of active recreation here. There is a mysterious place in the vicinity of the city called the Witch's Ravine.
Along the edge of the ravine there is a country road called Witch. It links Sterling with the small town of Griswold. The road turns into Griswold Street and beyond the village turns into an asphalt highway called Stone Hill Road. About five kilometers from Griswold, the road crosses Federal Highway 201.
The witch's road goes through a dense forest. It is said that two women died in this area. One was a witch named Maud, she was buried in a ravine, which from then on became known as the Witch. The other is an Indian woman named Silent Water. Before her eyes, an English soldier killed her husband and children. Silent Water grabbed the tomahawk and with a precise throw, drove a deadly weapon into the back of the killer's head. Then another English soldier shot her. The ghosts of both women now appear on Witch's Road occasionally.
Maud was buried along with her magical belongings, which included silver cups, plates and knives. At the beginning of the 20th century, Maud's grave was plundered by marauders who hunted for silver. After that, the restless spirit of Maud wanders the neighborhood. Silent Water also wanders here, night travelers hear its piercing sobs.
Nowadays, the Witch's ravine is filled with water, so a small lake was formed there. On one side it is closed by a stone wall one meter high and twenty meters long. Who and why built this wall is unknown. The Pachaug Forest begins just behind the wall.
In the area of Witch Road and in the Pachaug forest, people disappear and strange events occur, for this reason these places have received a bad name.
The first sad story happened in 1920. Two girls fell in love with one guy, a lumberjack. Rumor has it that it was a love spell. He walked with one and the other, soon both girls became pregnant. And once the locals found two girls in the Pachaug forest. They hanged themselves in the neighboring trees. And the guy disappeared after their suicide.
The accident happened in 1929. A five-year-old boy fell into the Witch's ravine and broke his neck. He was the favorite child of the Warner family. The head of the family, the head of the Sterling railway station, dreamed of a son for a long time. However, the wife gave birth to some girls. In total, the Warner couple had six daughters. Finally, at the age of 39, Sarah Warner gave birth to a boy named Hercules. Hercules fully lived up to his name, was precocious and developed and played with older boys. With them he went to the Witch's ravine. And his father, Howard Warner, went crazy after the death of Hercules.
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In the 1930s-1950s, at least five people disappeared in the Pachaug forest. The mutilated corpses of two hunters were found on the banks of the Platte Sauce River. Apparently they were torn by a bear. Bears occasionally enter the area from areas north of Logan. The bodies of the remaining missing were never found.
An incredible incident happened in the forest in 1969. Local gamekeeper Ralph McNamara lived in the forest most of the time. He set traps for foxes and shot moose to keep their livestock normal. McNamara, a big, bearded man, kept a faithful dog, a shepherd named Gray. Gray howled terribly one night, and McNamara thought there were wolves roaming around. The next day, he went to look for their tracks and took Gray with him. The dog never wanted to leave the hut, but obeyed the owner.
In the woods, Ralph heard the crunch of branches, as if a man was making his way through the thicket. Gray suddenly darted in that direction, and the owner did not see him again. He searched for the dog for several months, searched every bump in the forest, but did not find any traces. Since then, no one has recognized the huntsman. He became angry and gloomy, refusing to have another dog. And once Ralph himself disappeared. His body was found the following spring, when the snow melted, not far from Witch's Road. The corpse had no hands and feet; someone had carefully chopped off or sawed off them. The sheriff investigated, but could not find out anything.
The witch's road is very winding, narrow and pitted with bumps. In winter, it is covered with ice. For this reason, road accidents, sometimes fatal, occur on the road every year during the winter months. When leaving Stirling, there is a sign warning drivers that the road is only for forestry vehicles. Although there is a good bypass road, many drivers choose to drive through the forest to take a shortcut to Griswold and the highway. Locals say that the reason for such frequent road accidents is not so much the icy bumps as the ghosts of Maud and the Still Water.
This hypothesis is supported by the story of Gerald Rawlinson, who was lucky enough to survive after his truck turned over into a ditch. “I was carrying timber on a wagon from forestry. I had to get to the highway. I grew up in these places, traveled a hundred times along the Witch's Road, I know every bump there and, despite the heavy load, decided to take a shortcut. I must say that I do not believe in mysticism and all sorts of stories about the ghosts of a dead Indian woman and a local witch.
On that ill-fated day, the sun was there in the morning, but as soon as I turned into the forest onto the Witch's road, the sky suddenly became clouded, and ice crumbs fell. This was unusual for October. A strong wind blew. The truck engine ran unevenly, although I recently went over it. My mood soured, and there was a strange feeling of impending misfortune. About forty minutes later, I saw a figure on the roadside in the distance through the snow. I slowed down and soon saw a woman in a long gray robe. She went out to the middle of the road. I honked, but she did not move away, I put on the brakes …
The heavy car continued to roll by inertia. I realized that a collision was inevitable, and turned the steering wheel as far as I could. At the last moment I saw that instead of a woman's head, a naked skull, and instead of a face, empty eye sockets and bared teeth. I don’t remember anything further.”
Gerald woke up in the hospital. He suffered several complex fractures of his arms and legs and a concussion. The traffic police said he was incredibly lucky. And Rollinson has never doubted the existence of ghosts ever since.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Maud's grave was plundered by marauders who hunted for silver. After that, the restless spirit of Maud wanders the neighborhood
Rawlinson's truck accident happened in October 1999. In the next two months, two more trucks capsized on Witch's Road. The drivers did not survive. After that, the authorities decided to close the road for the winter months - from October to March. A prohibition sign was placed at the entrance. Violators are fined for travel. However, this has not stopped those who want to take a shortcut, and accidents continue to occur. However, it is mostly outsiders who are at risk. The inhabitants of Sterling have no doubt that ghosts roam on the Witch's Road, destroying people, and prefer not to meddle there.
Maria Buuk