A Ghost in a Coal Mine

By Johnny Napier

This story takes place in a small mountain community and we was down their just riding and camping, until a friend of mine wanted me to come to work for him because something was scaring off all his people, he had working for him, so he ask me to help him find out what it was. They all said they had a ghost in the mine so I wanted to find out for my self, but during the course of this whole thing we found they had more problems than just a ghost running around in their. They had another mine under them that had a disaster in it forty years before that, and the ghost just came back for help. But what this man didnt know is that I worked for the federal mine disaster team. and with my crew of men they will find out what happen in that mine forty years ago, and find out the truth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 5, 2009
• ISBN: 9781462810697

Johnny Napier

My name is Johnny Napier. I was born in Harlan County, Kentucky, in a place called Kenvir. I went into the U.S. Army in 1968. I spent one year in Vietnam. When I got out, I finished at Fort Carson, Colorado. I went to Sidney, Ohio, where I worked for a few years and then went to work in the coal mine for Peobody Coal Co. in Beaver Dam, Kentucky, until they shut down. After that, I started driving an 18-wheeler until my medical problems from Vietnam caused me to retire.

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Copyright © 2009 by Johnny Napier.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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I would like to dedicate this story to all the federal mine inspectors and mine rescue people, when you see a federal mine Inspector come to a mine he is not their to cause you trouble, he is their to try and save your life, that is his job to try and get the people more educated on the safety of the operation they are working in, so they can do their job more safely. We have had federal and state inspectors killed in coal mine through out the united states trying to save other people, I have friends that are federal mine inspectors and I hope our lord god watches over them every time they go in side of a coal mine to help other people. I use to work in a coal mine my self for about 12 years, and I was always glad to see an inspector come to the mine because I knew he was watching out for us, so don’t give them a hard time, be glad they are their for you.

This story starts out in a small mining town in Kentucky; I was just down there for the summer. More or less riding and camping with the guys. We would ride through the mountains day or night it didn’t matter. We have a good time and it didn’t matter when we did things. One of the guys that would ride with us was a boss at one of the mines around their, and we was talking about working in the mines and he knew that I use to work in a mine in western Kentucky. He told me they needed men because their men was quitting on him for one of the stupidest reasons he had ever heard of. So I said ok I’ll bite what is the reason they are quitting? And he said you’re not going to believe me. It got quite for a minute and then he told us they have a ghost in their mine, he looked at us for a minute and then said it’s true we do. We have lost about everybody that has worked on that section, because they said they saw him.

And he asks if I was working any where at the time? I told him know I wasn’t and hadn’t really wanted to either. But since you said they have a ghost in there I hope we could get to see him our self. I told him I would come down to work with him because I’m not afraid of ghost. I have heard people say that before but, when we were looking for what they said they seen it was always something else. We never did see a ghost, we had a man get killed on a roof bolter one night, and after that nobody would run it any more.

I went on that section and the boss asked me to run it, I said yes that I’m not afraid of it. So I ran that Roof Bolter all night with know problems, and they started running it after that. We never heard anything else about ghost, so what have your men been seeing in your mines. Well he said we had a car driver come around a corner and a man was standing in the road way. I ask so what about it, he said the man walk through a rib. And the car driver left the mine on the spot. He said that wasn’t the only thing that has happen there, The loader man was loading the number three place out when he had a car come under his loader to get loaded, and when he turn around to look back there wasn’t any body on the car. And the car he was on was not even in the section to be used, it set in the old works and didn’t even have a power line hook to it. That night everybody left the mines, they were not going back in their any more, so I ask him does any one know who the man is. He said they left so fast that know body would tell him anything. I ask him has that unit run since they all left the unit. He told me they want work it, so we don’t send any body up their. So I ask him are you afraid to go on the unit your self?

He said he didn’t know because he hadn’t been on it his self. I ask him to send a unit up their tomorrow to work; I wanted to be there to. So he was going to do that, we are not going to find out anything unless we go see what is going on and who it is, if there is something their or not, we will find out. If there is something on that unit we need to know why, somebody has got to stop and ask him why he is their. He may be there to help somebody, or to tell some one of something going to happen. Don’t be afraid of him, he want hurt you, he is their fore a reason. By the way when that car was behind the loader did the car leave or was it setting their still when the loader man left? He said the loader man turn around to see the car come in behind him and he turn back around to start loading the car, and when he turn back toward the car it was not their. And when his other car came up behind him, he asks where that car went. And the other car driver told him there was no other car, they just thought the loader man was crazy, until that other car driver seen that man standing in the road way. I thought well lets go ahead and ride today and forget about the mines for the time been. So that is what we did we had a good time all day riding. We decided to stop and take a lunch break.

We all took food with us to have lunch; we took sandwiches and a cold Pepsi. It has been a long time since I had been down to ride with them, so I just wanted to talk about old times today and they did to. One of them asks me if I was ever going to move back home, I said maybe in the next few days, depends on how this ghost thing goes. We got something to eat and talked about where every body had moved off to, or if they ever come back home to visit any more. There are a lot of our friends that has moved away, and we hadn’t seen them in over Forty Years. We said they need to have a reunion or something to try and get people to come home once in a while to visit, that way we can all get to know each other again.

After we got back off the mountain we talked about when are they going back into the mines, and when do you want to go on that unit. He said we can go in tomorrow if you like, I said ok I’ll be in at six am and ready to go. I more or less wanted to see what this mines looks like, and how high the coal was; the mine I worked at had fifty four inch coal. And we could walk in it; I never have like coal that you have to crawl around in. I’m staying with some friends and didn’t really come down here to go back to work, but I want to know if their really is a ghost in the mines, every coal mine people see thing and hear things in them. If he is here it’s because he is here for a reason, and somebody needs to listen to him. I told everybody I’m tired from the ride, so I think I’ll go to bed and be ready for the ghost tomorrow. Which I was just Joking with them, their really may be somebody there, that don’t want to leave, so we are going to find out for our self. I got a good night sleep and its four am, time to get up and get ready for the day.

I guess I can go to the mine now and see what is going on out their. When I finally got there the boss came out to see who I was. He said for now we will go in to see how the mines was laid out. Then tonight you can come in and work. As I went through looking around I felt like I was being followed around, I don’t know if it was because of what people was saying or what. We went back out and I told him I would see him tonight and I left to go back home. So when I got back home I called my wife and told her that I will be working on midnights, so she want be worried if she called and I wasn’t there. So after I finished talking to her I fixed me something to eat and lay down and took me a nap before I went to work.

My clock woke me up at 9:00p.m. and I fixed me something to eat, put my clothes on then my boots, I gather my light and everything else I needed and headed off to work. When I got there everyone was sitting around, I went over to introduce myself to them. After all when you are working in mines you need to count on everyone. I started talking to some of them and ask has any one been on that unit the ghost was on. Two men said they will not go up their any more, that he was on the unit that day when they saw the ghost at the loader. I ask him did you see him your self, he said he didn’t but he believe the man that told us about him. So I ask again if any one here seen the ghost in the mines. Nobody here had seen any thing so who saw the ghost; they said the one that saw him has quit. I ask them how you feel about going onto the unit to work tonight, or are you all afraid of ghost that you have not even seen. I don’t know about you guys but I’m not afraid of something I have not even seen. And if I had seen him, I would not run from him, if he is a ghost he can’t hurt any of you. We need to find out who he is so we can help him find his way.

He may be here to tell us something, and we need to listen to him, it could be for our own good. I was setting over by the building thinking about the ghost all of the sudden I heard something speak to me, and he said I’ll go, I’m not afraid of any ghost. The boss man told them they had a new face boss coming in tonight, they never knew it was me, until he came over the hill and said looks like you guys have already met your boss.

They looked at me and one said that is why he wanted to know about the ghost on the unit, we are going ghost hunting sounds like to me. I told him that’s right we are kind of; we want to know what is on that unit keeping people afraid of him, or keeping people from wanting to work on it. So I’ll tell you that is where we are going tonight to work, another crew is working the other unit. We are going to work it like any other time on any other unit, so if you see anything or any body don’t run, just let me know what it was and where it was. I’m going to be over in the old works helping the new people rock dust, for a little