Today I didn't start at work until noon, because I was to stay late for the evening events. Since I was off in the morning, Joanne and Amanda came over for breakfast. They provided eggs and bacon, and I provided pancake mix and maple syrup. It was delicious - I don't usually buy bacon for just me! And they let me keep what was left!
The big event this weekend, and today in particular, was the 23rd annual "Haunting in the Hills" storytelling festival, which is always the third Saturday in September. Because it's been going on for a number of years now, it's well known and draws a big crowd. The campground had been completely booked well in advance. The main events are always on Saturday; there were various ranger talks and activities, including several demonstrations of traditional country crafts. There were also a lot of local venders of crafts and food. There was a huge tent set up in the field across from the visitor center, and throughout the afternoon there were different local music groups playing.
I worked in the visitor center all afternoon, but I did get a chance to go out and walk around the grounds at one point. There was an afternoon session of "family friendly" storytelling going on at the big tent - the P.A. system was powerful enough that it could be heard just about everywhere. There was one story that was getting a lot of giggles as I was walking by, about how "Rindercella" and the "Pransome Hince" got to go to the "Drancy Fess Ball" with the help of the "Gairy Fodmother"...
There was a big storytelling session in the evening, Ghost Stories in the big tent starting at 8 p.m. I had to close the visitor center but was able to get over there with Joanne and Amanda soon after it started. We spread the tarp out on the grass beyond the tent, but could hear quite well
I've been to other storytelling festivals before, and they weren't all ghost stories as these were. There is a certain pattern to ghost stories - you can usually guess the direction the story is going in. So in this case it was as much about the different performance styles of the individual storytellers. There was one in particular that was very well done, an account of a civil war battle told in the first person... the battle was all fought in the fog, so they had to wait all night for the fog to clear... the young soldier is dreadfully thirsty and then a voice offers him the use of a canteen... They sit and talk about their families, and their fellow soldiers, and the other soldier asks him to take a letter to his sweetheart for him... And in the morning, one of the dead soldiers that was covered up is holding an empty canteen and a letter... Which he does send on for him.
The most memorable story, though, was because of an interruption. This teller had a very vivacious manner of speaking. Her story was somewhat predictable - two young people were to get married, but the young man died, so she has him buried by the house he had built her up on the mountain... but gradually she falls in love with his best friend, so she prepares to move back down the mountain - but her dead husband is jealous and comes after her, and she's running down the mountain in the dark, and fell off the side of the trail... And suddenly there were shrieks at the front of the tent! The storyteller called out, "It's okay, he's up here with me!" More shrieks, and then she explained - "There's a snake." More shrieks. "Please do not come up here to look at the snake! Can we get a ranger over here, please?" (Someone else got up there. I wasn't in uniform so didn't go.)
After a few minutes, things settled down and the story started up again. "She started feeling her way along in the dark - watching out for copperheads..." (Laughs.) Sadly, the young woman was killed by the ghost of her jealous husband before she made it back to town. Her new fiancee wanted to bury her by the house he had built her, but everyone said "NO."
The last story of the night ended just as it started to rain - just a very light sprinkle, but it looked like it might get worse. I was walking back to the car, but slowly so I could hear the ending. Then I drove over to the campground to say goodbye to Joanne and Amanda, since they would be leaving early the next day. It was great getting to show them around here! It's always fun having family visit you at work...
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