A Diary of My Younger Years - The Autobiography of Ivan Hall

Ghost Hunting

At 3 o'clock in the evening, Clim and Donald, who had been out looking after the traps, came in and declared that they had heard a most unearthly and horrifying noise coming from a certain part of the forest. The boys also declared they had heard voices from another world or from some wild beast of a very ferocious nature.

Accordingly, we all started for the scene, just at sundown. We were determined to find out the cause. Clim and Donald led us around through the dark woods, but we could find nothing. All was still. Now we were led toward the scene of trouble, as they described it. Owls were hooting noisily, and frogs were croaking loudly on every side, when a loud, shrill cry rang out not far away, which made our blood run cold. Uncle P and Uncle B could not explain what the noise was. We slowly moved on. After listening for a moment, we drew nearer. The curious wah-ah-wah-ah rang out in the air again. We proceeded cautiously through the forest. The moon was shining brightly, and the white poplars looked very ghostly.

Again the cry rang out from the top of the trees nearby. Slowly and almost breathlessly, Uncle P urged us to advance; we closed in on the ghost. From the top of a tall sapling again came the cry of the ghost. "Let's go home and let the beast alone," someone suggested, but some of us wanted to find out the cause of the strange noise. So we came to the tree and stood looking up, but we could see nothing but a bunch of leaves in the top. Who would climb the tree and see what was in it? Uncle P requested that one of us boys climb the tree and rout the ghost. Clim and Donald declared it would be death to go up in that tree. Immediately Bob pulled off his coat and commenced to climb the tree.

As he got near the top the terrible wah-ha-wah-ha rang out again. Nearer and nearer he climbed up the tree. At last he reached the top and looked over into the bunch of leaves for a moment. Then he uttered a laugh in triumph and climbed down the tree and Uncle P climbed up, looked into the nest of leaves, and exclaimed, "Oh pshaw." Then Uncle B climbed up, looked into the nest, and said, "Gee-whillikers." Then Sam climbed and looked into the bunch of leaves, followed by all the rest, to have a look into the nest. Then we all stood on the ground, silent for a moment; and then the laughing began. All laughed but Clim and Donald, for the nest in the tree was but an owl's nest, and the curious sound was but the cry of the young owls. We all laughed at them so much that Clim and Donald started for home.