The Mysterious Witch on Euclid: Book One in the off the Beaten Path Series

By Dennis A. Morris

The little town of Marionville, Missouri, is known for its white squirrels, pretty girls, and a supposed evil witch who lives on Euclid Street. One late afternoon when three boys need something big to entertain themselves, they follow their mischievous young uncle to Euclid Street where they hope to confront the unknown and live to tell about it.

Led by their uncle Terry, Allen, Raymond, and Scott Bannister creep toward the witchs house as dusk turns into night. But when Terry approaches the front door alone, what he allegedly hears and sees causes him to run away in fear and begin spinning yarns that make him look like a true hero and the old lady inside like a true witch. As the embellished stories spread, one tragedy after the other begins to befall the town, causing its residents to take the witch stories more seriously. But when one last tragedy occurs, a mob embarks on a modern-day witch hunt where a shocking truth is finally revealed inside a dilapidated old house on Euclid Street.

In this tale of mystery and intrigue, tragedies begin occurring inside a Missouri town after four boys visit an old house rumored to hold an evil witch and begin spinning exaggerated tales about her existence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abbott Press
• Release date: Jun 10, 2016
• ISBN: 9781458220257

Dennis A. Morris

Hello! My name is Dennis A. Morris. I am a Us Veteran with 2 Iraq tours under my belt. In my 10 years in the Army either in the Guard or in Active duty, I've experienced quite a bit. I have been deployed to Panama, Bosnia, Egypt and Iraq. I've experienced extreme cold and melting heat. On this journey I've had the honor of having the best friends a person can have. We did everything together. That's includes fighting the enemy. I never knew I would enjoy writing so much. One day, I had an idea for a story and it ended up a novel. Since then, I've polished my skill of writing, and the stories continue to jump inside my head. So much so, I have problems sleeping with writing on my mind. Writing can be addictive. I am currently going to college and am months away from receiving an Associates Degree in Business Administration. I do hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I enjoyed writing them. Good reading!

Book preview

THE MYSTERIOUS

WITCH ON

EUCLID

Book One in the Off the

Beaten Path Series

Dennis A. Morris

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Copyright © 2016 Dennis A. Morris.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Abbott Press

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4582-2026-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4582-2025-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016908710

Abbott Press rev. date: 06/03/2016

Contents

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

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20

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23

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29

1

M ARIONVILLE IS A SMALL TOWN in southwest Missouri. Its population, just over 1900 people. There are no jobs in town, so workers had to drive to the nearby towns to go to work. The town had one cop, Chief of police, John Dockery. Who spent most of his time behind his desk at his small police station out on Western street.

The town of Marionville was known for its white squirrels and pretty girls. Yes, white squirrels. You can find them in various yards mostly in the middle part of town. Seen most in yard of the Ozarks Methodist Manor. Strangers actually cruise through Marionville looking for the white squirrels. Occasionally stopping to take pictures or ask to where they can find the albino squirrels. I guess you can say it’s a tourist attraction. But the town didn’t profit from these tourists, as they were not in town long enough to buy anything. At least most of the tourists anyway. They’d take their pictures then continue on out of town.

Like all small, out of the way towns (off the beaten path) in a way, Marionville had its share of superstitions and mystery’s. One…The mysterious death of the richest man in towns wife. Some say murder, others say accidental. But, no one will ever know for sure. It seemed to be somewhat…covered up. A cover up, the perfect murder or an accidental tragedy, who knows. But it was for sure…mysterious. No one was ever tried. Two…The towns people have a strong belief that Marionville is cursed. Coming from long time past. They believe the curse centers around the school’s athletic department. Football and basketball mostly. So many years having tremendous regular seasons, only to fall to a seemingly weaker opponent in the Missouri state playoffs. Disappointing endings to great seasons. Curse, the town believed it was. And maybe it was. But, it sure is a mystery why they couldn’t complete their seasons on a high note. A state championship. And three…The mysterious witch on Euclid. This ones more of a kids belief then anything. You know, kids have wild imaginations. Innocent old lady…or witch. I guess the jury’s out. But, for the young Bannister boy’s, the belief is very real…That’s where this story begins.

Allen-11- with brothers Raymond-10- and Scott- 12-, follow their young uncle Terry-11-, up a rough looking road in north Marionville. The roads name is Euclid street.

Uncle Terry was a prankster. His main reason for living it seemed was to cause havoc and panic and fear. He also had a whale of an imagination. He could make up a story on the spot. He’s been known to point out something, then make up some unbelievable happening centered around it. Being young and gullible, Scott, Allen and Raymond believed every word and would not look at it the in the same way ever again. That was Uncle Terry’s power over his nephews.

They’re so easy, Terry thought to himself with that untrusting smirk on his face.

On this late afternoon, turned dusk, the Bannister boys were bored, and lured by uncle Terry. They needed something to pass the rest of the evening. So they followed their mischievous uncle Terry into the unknown.

For Terry, in mind a prank that only the bravest would dare try. And who ever were to live through it, would have stories to tell. Stories of heroism in the face of danger. And the bragging rights, saying they did it…They faced the evil Witch on Euclid and lived to tell about it.

Allen Bannister was skeptical, but he was no coward. He was shy, so he wasn’t going for special attention or anything like that. He’s going because his uncle Terry called him chicken. I’m no chicken, Allen pleaded. And now, he and his brothers are headed to face the single most horrifying experience in their lives.

Even though Terry didn’t show it, he too was terrified. Maybe even more so then his nephews. Instead, Terry sported his usual smirk.

Are you sure about this? Scott asked fearfully. Allen nor Raymond would comment.

Terry continued to smirk as he nodded.

There it was, hidden in the shades of the surrounding trees, not 100 meters from where they stood…The house.

Trees, front and back, shaded the Witch’s house. The boys could barely see the far corner or the house from where they stood watching.

Do you…think she’s there? Raymond asked shakily.

Terry laughed and smarted off with, Of course she’s there…She’s always there.

Raymond looked down at his feet disappointedly.

Who’s first? Terry asked as he gazed around at his fearful nephews. You Allen…You Scott…Come on you’re not chicken are you.

Scott stared straight into Terry’s eye’s and said, What about you…Terry?

Terry’s smirk left his face briefly, then it came back just as fast as it had left him. Ok, I’ll go first…You better be right behind me, Terry insisted, then turned slowly toward the Witch’s house and started toward slowly.

The three Bannister brothers followed their uncle to the cracked front sidewalk parallel to the houses front wooden fence. Leaf rich tree branches shaded most of the house and yard. It being dusk didn’t help their visibility either. There’s always been a mystery about what’s on the other side of the yard. Because, even in braud daylight, the other side is very hard to see. Beyond that is thick woods, as for it’s on the very edge of town.

Terry stopped at the open gate to take a peak in. He gazed in wonder at the back yard, or what he could see of it. He thought, ‘its a mystery, what’s back there.’ Not anymore, he blurted out in a low tone.

What? Scott asked, a little startled.

Terry shook his head as he glanced back at his nephews, who awaited for an answer. Nothing, let’s go, he came back quickly, then turned back to the open gate and started to creep in.

Terry suddenly stopped at the beginning of a red brick sidewalk leading up to the front steps. Noticed more branches, left and right, shading most of the yard. The red brick sidewalk dissected the yard in half. After a brief study, he continued his quest forward.

Dusk moved closer to night, as before his very eye’s, his surroundings got even more shaded. His fear doubled in an instance. Still no light came from the house. Not a single window glowed. Nor the, barely visible, front door stay dark to Terry’s eye’s. ‘Maybe, she’s not home,’ Terry thought, almost in relief.

Terry glanced back at his companions to see if they were still behind him. They were, only they had distanced themselves from their uncle a little. Come on, Terry urged.

Allen nodded followed by nods by Scott and Raymond.

Once satisfied that his nephews were on his tail, Terry continued forward, slowly.

Allen led his brothers into the yard…Suddenly, someone took hold of Allen’s right arm, halting his progress. He looked back shakily to see who or what it was. It was Scott, to his relief. Told Allen seriously.

No, this is Terry’s thing. Let him go alone, Scott said. Scott pulled Allen back behind the fence. Joining little Raymond, who was in no hurry to move forward.

We’ll wait here, Scott addressed sternly.

His brothers had no, aloud, objections at the moment. They just nodded.

Uncle Terry was on his own.

Half way up the red brick sidewalk, with the front door now well visible, Terry halted. He glanced back…Huh, Terry said in reaction to seeing nobody back there. Not a trace. He thought about it for a moment. He smirked his smirk, shrugged his shoulders, then continued on…without his comrades.

He reached the first step of three that led up to the porch. The porch was rectangular in shape, its width, the shorter side. So the longer side led to the front door, which was wide open. The only thing separating the outside from the inside of the house was a white screen door, with metal netting.

Terry stood still for a moment as he investigated the surroundings. First he noticed a good sized spider web on the upper right porch support beam. No sign of the spider though. But scary. Then he looked to his left. On the ground just a few feet away, Terry saw something. He couldn’t quite make it out. It was getting to dark. His eye’s needed more time to adjust. So he squinted, and concentrated on the object. ‘What was it,’ he thought to himself curiously, and with a little fear deep inside that he would not admit. It…It was a dead squirrel all right, at least that’s what it looked like. ‘Yep, it’s a dead squirrel all right,’ he convinced himself. ‘No big deal,’ he told himself, to calm his nerves a bit.

Terry shook it off, then pressed on. There was no way he was going back empty handed. ‘No way,’ he nearly cursed. His mind was set on providing to his nephews, or to anybody else out there that might doubt his courage. But, most of all, prove it to him.

So, up the next step he went. Then the last, and onto the porch, one foot, then the other. He was deep in it now. No turning back…He didn’t want to.

Oh, how that web gave him the creeps. He tried his best to ignore it, but it was hard. ‘Its not there,’ he told himself. That seemed to work. He continued forward with confidence. He glanced down, then stopped, he was standing in the middle of a small circle. His feet barely fit inside. There was a much larger circle outside of it. ‘Strange,’ he thought in wonderment. Then he quickly jumped out. He easily cleared both circles. ‘She’s a Witch for sure, now I know it for sure,’ he convinced himself. ‘I need to warn my nephews,’ he said to himself anxiously. ‘But, not yet. I’m not done.’

He continued on, slowly. Terry made it to the screen door. There were big tears in the netting. Like someone had torn it to break in…or to get out, in a big hurry. Terry was scared now. He had to hurry. Get what he needed and run. That was the plan. ‘But what…what could he take? There was nothing out here,’ he told himself. He had to go in. There was no other choice.

Now he was committed. In his eyes, he could only see evil from here forward. Terry reached for the screen door handle, then slowly, quietly, opened it. It started to squeak a little, so he slowed down. His eye’s glued to the inside. His eye’s wide open.

-BANG—BOOM—BANG-

Terry jumped out of his own skin. Before he knew it, he was on the red brick sidewalk, running back toward the street. He flew past his nephews, screaming. They felt the wind as he passed them, seemingly, in the air.

The Bannister brothers didn’t hesitate. They took off running after their uncle as fast as they could. Terry was a much faster runner then his nephews, actually he was one of the fastest kids in the neighborhood, or even his class. Five blocks from the house, south, Terry reached the towns post office. He stopped, and waited. In that time window, he thought about what he was going to say. And it had to be good, whatever it was. ‘The truth…Naaaa,’ he thought, his smirk reappeared.

Once he saw his nephews approaching, out of breathe, Terry met them out on the sidewalk that ran alongside the post office. The night light was very bright from above. ‘Why couldn’t I have had this light at the Witch’s house,’ Terry scolded.

The Bannister brothers gathered around their frantic, exhausted uncle. His face was pale white. His eye’s wide open and in shock somewhat. But, not normal. At least not, Terry, normal anyway. It was if he’d seen a ghost.

Wwwhat happened, young Raymond asked curiously and scared.

Now that Terry had their undivided attention, a light clicks inside his head. ‘And then it begins,’ he thought mischievously.

Terry shook his head and answered with, You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.

That peeked their interest even more.

Ya, just tell us, well ya, Allen pressed anxiously. Terry stood very still. He took a good look around. Nobody around to overhear. It was just between him and his nephews, for now. Then he turned his attention back to his nephews and started to speak. You can’t tell anyone…you hear, no one, he said with a serious look on his face.

The three brothers nodded simultaneously.

Ok, Terry started, then he glanced around again. Then back to the anxious eyes of his audience. Allen…Scott…Raymond. The rumors are true. She is a Witch…A real Witch. I know now. And now, so do you, Terry continued.

The looks on the boy’s faces peaked with curiosity. Even more so now, now that their suspicions have been brought to the fore front. They didn’t as much as flinch as they awaited their uncle to continue.

I…I saw a dead squirrel…hanging from a tree…Its eye’s…gone. Its throat cut…And a cat to…Black as the night sky…Its eye’s glowed in the darkness…Evil I say…Evil, Terry explained, story teller like.

The Bannister brothers continued to listen. Completely focused on their uncles words.

And…then, there was a spider. It had to be a foot long, I swear it. It sat on a spider web that covered the whole porch. From one beam to the other. I never seen anything like it. I wanted to run then. But, I held my ground. I wasn’t done yet, Terry said heroically.

The Bannister brothers nodded. Eye’s as big as saucers.

And…and there was the Witch…Her face was green. Her nose was long and it had a…wart on the end of it. Then…there was her hat. It was tall…and pointed. A Witch, a Witch of all Witch’s. And she’s here in Marionville. There in that house, Terry said, pointing in the house’s direction.

That got the boy’s looking in that direction to.

What happened then?" Raymond asked anxiously.

Nothing, that’s when I ran, Terry concluded.

Wow, Raymond replied in AH. He’d always looked up to his uncle Terry. He believed every word to be true.

That was it. Believing their uncle’s story, the Bannister brothers didn’t hold to their uncle’s wish’s. They thought their uncle to be a hero. So they told their uncle’s story to anybody who would listen. The story spread like a California wild fire. Soon, every kid in the neighborhood had heard of Terry’s heroics. Then to the whole town…All the kids knew.

AND THEN IT BEGINS!

2

T HE BANNISTER BROTHERS, SCOTT, ALLEN, and Raymond, lived only four blocks from the post office. On the corner of Washington and Main to be exact. The house is small, but it was all the family could afford.

With their father, Kevin Jr., off on a siding job 50 miles away, their mother Linda had to handle the boys and their two younger sisters, Mary and Michelle, solo. Linda already had so much on her plate. Handling the finances, and the bills. Thank goodness they rented from a fair and understanding landlord. So many times Linda’s had to explain to him why our rent was late. But, we never missed a payment. The boys were just getting to the age of understanding what their mom and dad had to sacrifice. Their respect was well earned. The house was always clean. The dishes washed, with the help of the boys who took turns doing them every night. The boys tried to make things a little easier for their mother. That’s why they stayed out so long in the summer. Most of the time coming home after dark. To stay out of underfoot. The boys did misbehave a little. That’s where Linda’s hair brush came in handy, or, when their father was home, she’d say, Wait ‘til your father gets home. That was enough to get the boys back in line. Oh, did that hair brush hurt.

That same evening that their uncle Terry witnessed what he witnessed, the Bannister brothers made their way the four blocks home. From just outside the front door, the boys could smell the good home cooken of their mother. That just urged them on a little faster. Their stomachs growled like a hungry bear. The smell didn’t help. Linda already had their places made at the table. Mary and Michelle awaited, impatiently.

Hurry, it’s getting cold already, Mary called out. The boys took their places.

Like many small town families, the Bannisters didn’t eat at the front table all the time. Especially if the movie of the week was on. Back in the late 70’s and early 80’s, the movie of the week was a big deal. The family would eat in the living room in front of the TV. Not tonight though. Linda wanted to sit and conversate a little. See where her kids minds were. So, the Bannister family, minus their father, sat at the table. Ready for a great meal and conversation. The boys wasted no time.

Starting with little Raymond, the boys went off about their uncle Terry’s heroics. Linda couldn’t hold back her, disbelieving grin. Really, she said, trying not to laugh. As the story had Terry’s imagination written all over it. But, she took it as serious as possible. Of course the little sisters, being much younger, believed their older brothers story. Wow, Michelle said in ah.

After the story was out, the boys concentrated on their meal in front