Haunted Road to Love: A Man's Journey Past Ghosts, Goblins, and His Own Fears

"Though he had seen many specters and been more than once beset by Satan, he would have passed a pleasant life in spite of the devil and all his works if his path had not crossed a being that causes more perplexity than ghosts, goblins, and the whole race of witches: a woman."

-Washington Irving, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"

***

By the time Adrian thought better of the whole thing it was too late to turn back. It was October, and the moon was full, and on a dare he’d agreed to walk to the harvest party by the old forest trail past the cemetery, which is to say, the haunted road.

At the time it had seemed important to prove that he could do it. After all, he was a man now (in his own estimation, at least). Old enough to be married, in fact, and hadn't that been the very reason he wanted to be at the harvest party to begin with? Because Abigael Williams would be there?

And Connor Blithe had accused him of being a coward right in front of her, so Adrian couldn't let that go unanswered. Abigael would want no coward for a husband.

But that was then. Now Adrian leaned against a fir tree, watched the white moon creep through the branches, listened to the call of the whippoorwills, and realized he might be the stupidest man in Virginia.

Dead leaves crackled under his boots. He wrapped the blue wool scarf that his mother had made for him tighter around his neck. If only he took after his mother’s side of the family these things wouldn’t happen to him. But he was his father’s son, and he couldn’t help being a Burns.

Burns: A name for fools and madmen, his mother had always said. And when Father objected that it was a good Ulster name, Mother reminded him that if Ulster was so good they’d never have left that was always

Explore my other stories

THE END