Flashlight Tales #1-3

Flashlight Tale #1 The Haunted Coal Mine

Flashlight Tale #1:  The Haunted Coal Mine

A century ago, in the hills of West Virginia, there existed a coal mine. It was a very active coal mine with nice wages and, of course, plenty of Lucite coal. The men worked the coal mine day and night. Their families were nearby as they settled into a small town not far from the mine. Every night the villagers could hear their husbands and fathers work the mine. The site of the mine was fresh. So the dedicated coal miners worked close to the entrance.

Their hammers and drill bits would make a soft, tink, tink, tink sound. Inside, the miners could hear the bright yellow canary sing. Twiddly dee, twiddly dee, twiddly dee. By the time the sun set the miners had finished their work. As their wives began theirs. Supper was set out by their wives on the table for the miners as they came home. The miners barely had time to scrub their faces covered with soot before they could enjoy their well deserved dinner.

A miner's life was simple, fraught with hardship, demanding, but comfortable in its way. But with time, the coal near the entrance began to deplete. The miners would implore and urge management onward. Many miners would say "The mine is drying up, we need to push further." Eventually, the workers gave management up for the ghost. A Human Resource Manager fresh out of The University of Virginia just did not seem to understand them.

So the men made tunnels, tunneling further still into the mine. The townspeople could still hear the sound of hammers past sunset into the night. Tink, tink, tink. The canary would keep the men entertained with his singing within his cage. Twiddly dee, twiddly dee, twiddly dee. After sunset, the men would come home with their faces black from the very coal they worked so hard to mine. Now far more tired than before from their work deep within the mine.

One day, the miners discovered the coal was depleted. So all the men said, "We need to dig further, even further than before. There is bound to be some fresh Lucite coal in here somewhere." So they stretched the tunnels so far the villagers could no longer hear the tink, tink, tink, of the miners' hammers. But they were expected home sometime after nightfall.

One night, the miners did not return. The townsfolk were very concerned. The villagers sent their strongest teenagers to dig the men out. To no avail. The miners were trapped. A funeral was held and everyone wept. There was no one to bury. The locals still made markers and kept the men in their hearts.

Many months later, at night, there was a curious sound in the air. Heard from the saddened small town. You could hear the miners' hammers once again. Tink, tink, tink. The sound drove the wives mad. They couldn't bear the reminder. The wives packed their families' things away and moved far away. Some West Virginians say that in the area of the old mine you can still hear the miners' hammers at night. Tink, tink, tink. If the wind is just right some say you can even hear the soft call of a canary twiddly dee, twiddly dee, twiddly dee.