The Hazel Dyke Terrors

Lebanon, Pennsylvania, a very quiet town, is suddenly interrupted with the accustomed sound of the daily trains. The town quickly changes from an alike feeling of a ghost town to a sudden burst of energy and cheer. From family members coming home to people starting a "new life," there was always a sense of cheer. A man by the name of William Arnold, was like any other rural farmer looking for a job opportunity in the city. Immediately following, William de-boarded the three o' clock train from Lancaster to the downtown station, he felt a sudden change in the atmosphere. He decided that this is where he was going to inhabit for the rest of his life.

William soon took the position of the apprentice to Joseph VonWiehern, a famous press printer of the time. After a few years of an unsuccessful bond between the two, William Arnold left the printing field. He had a last minute deduction to try and find a job in insurance agencies. This was quickly gunned down quite simply because of him previously being a farmer. He was greatly disrespected by every agency he talked with. He decided to give up on his "dream" and bought a ticket for the five o'clock train headed straight for Lancaster.

As William Arnold was standing at the station to head back to his home, Johan Johnson stepped off the train in a "loud" way. Everyone stopped and stared at him. He yelled out to disturb the quietness of the city saying, "Johnson Insurance Company is hiring. Come talk to me if you are interested. Anybody is welcome." Upon hearing this announcement, William Arnold was confused for a moment before heading over to talk to Johan Johnson. They conversed, and then they came to an agreement. William would start working the next day. He definitely enjoyed this occupation and showed up the following days with a smile coming into work. William quickly rose in the rankings and became great friends with Johnson.

One day when William Arnold was heading to work, he was approached by Johnson and was asked a series of questions. "Are you dedicated to your job?" He hesitantly replied, "Yes sir you already know but why must you ask me?" Johan said" I need you to do a favor for me." So then it all began, the two would do everything together from recruiting workers to finding new insurence clients. When they were traveling around with each other they found multiple clients. After they became a popular duo in the community, Johnson brought it by William Arnold's attention that he found an opportunity to get a huge amount of money very fast. Arnold asked how this is possible and Johnson brought it by his attention that he would have to get rid of something.

The two embarked on their journey to get rid of one of their clients. His name was Stephen Hutchenson. He was a known wealthy man in the Lebanon Area. His insurance money was very high if he would have died. So they killed him. One night when he headed off to a bar for a nights celebration he recognized the faces of his insurance agents. They asked him if he would take a step out side for a talk and a quick smoke. The three were having the time of their lives until Johnson made the motion to Arnold to do the unthinkable, kill the innocent man. They fled to a near by friends house for the night.

Following that day the two woke up the next morning with massive headaches. Right after they woke up they could not fully remember what happened the night before. It took some time for them to recover their memory. They failed to kill him be hitting his head they decided to drown him in the Hazel Dyke, A small river running throughout the city. When they were gazing onto what actually happened that night, they realized that when they killed Stephen Hutchenson, there were multiple witnesses. They tried to tell the witnesses that it was just a swimming accident and he will be okay. The witnesses said that they believed them. What Johnson and Arnold didn't know, was that the group of witnesses told an off duty police officer that the crime was committed. The insurance duo was well known and was not difficult to track down.

The next morning they headed off to another friends house because they did not want to over stay their welcome. Little did they know that the police were right behind them. They stopped at the previous house where they were staying. They asked the man if he saw the group. He replied reluctantly saying, "Yes I have, they went that way." The two's pursuit was short lived and ended up being caught the next day. The two were sent to trial. They never had anything to say about any comments about them. The accepted the fact that they would have to die for their actions. There was no way out of it. A month passed by until their final day was upon them. Saying goodbye to their loved ones and the people they associated themselves with, was one of the worst experiences that came their way. They did not like to know that people saw them as such a sick and twisted person. In the end it was all going to stop even if they wanted it to or not. The time was upon them to pay the price for the inferior crime they commited. They were publicly killed right across from the Hazel Dyke in Lebanon. To the public and from then on the two murderers were known as the Hazel Dyke Terrors.

It is said today that the two still haunt that same part of Lebanon in which they were killed.