By Trent Rosser

Well, October is here and one of my favorite holidays as well. Halloween, the day when you can be anyone and anything you want for a day. You can be anything from a scary dragon to a sweet princess. You take the kids out trick or treating and see all the costumes. One thing that a lot of people do is tell scary stories. Just about everyone has a true scary story to tell. I myself have a couple of scary stories that have happened to me.

Let's go back to that small town of Rogers, Texas. I was in my mid 20’s and going out to drink, chase girls and play pool. Always out doing something. One of my best friends back then was a guy named Kevin. Now we both had jobs, but at night we were always going out doing something. It usually consisted of going down the old back roads drinking beer and looking for a place to play pool. Now the back roads around that area are quite a bit different than they are here. Most of them are not paved and are covered with potholes. With twists and turns and old wooden and old iron bridges, speeding down the road was not very smart. But then again, drinking and driving was pretty stupid as well! Another thing about that area and the back roads are the trees. There are trees everywhere! Just about the only time there is a break in the trees is when there is a driveway up to a house or barn. Of course, no one goes out and trims the trees that hang over the road, so it looks pretty creepy. Those are the back roads around Rogers.

My scary story starts out as normal. Kevin and I were cruising the backroads drinking and listening to my new state of the art cassette player. This cassette player would switch sides automatically when one side was over with. I was driving my 1991 Nissian pickup with the roll bars and KC lights on top. He was in the passenger seat with his arm around his girlfriend who was sitting in between us. We were talking and singing along to the rock group Warrant. The trees on this road were thick and the overhang looked like we were just on a pathway in a forest. The bright light from the oversized full moon could barely peak through the overhang of the collapsing trees. Out of nowhere, a thin layer of fog rolled in. As the last song on the cassette came to an end, there was an eerie silence as it switched sides. Suddenly, out of nowhere a very bright light came through the back window and something started to smash the window. It was as if someone appeared in the back of the truck with a flashlight and started to slam the back glass, trying to break in. We all jumped and Kevin's girlfriend let out a scream. Naturally, I hit the gas and started hitting bumps while looking back trying to see what was in the back of the truck. But every time my eyes would adjust, the bright light would shine in my eyes, blinding me and then slam against the window again. I would turn back to look ahead and hit more bumps and it would start again. I finally slammed on the brakes and Kevin and I jumped out ready to fight something. There was nothing in the back of the truck. Turns out, after our hearts started beating again, that one of the KC lights came unhinged and fell between the cab of the truck and roll bars. It was hanging by the wires and swinging back and forth as the truck hit the bumps in the road, slamming into the back window. That was one of the scariest times of my life!

Another scary story happened not too far from here. It happened to a couple of friends that went to party the weekend in Lubbock. David and Thomas were always going to Lubbock to meet college girls. It was the beginning of summer and they were on their way home on a Sunday afternoon and could see a storm coming in from the west. Now if you have been on I-27 between Tulia and Amarillo, you know that the overpasses are about 2 to 4 miles apart. The rain slowly started coming down, then out of nowhere, it was a downpour. They noticed a hitchhiker with his bag over a shoulder and his thumb in the air. They decided that they would not want to be in the rain if they were hitchhiking, so they stopped to help the guy out. The guy throws in his bag and jumps in the back seat. He doesn't say a word. Rain is still dripping off his brow and he just looks forward. Thomas is driving and turns around and asks him if he is going to Amarillo and where he needs to be dropped off at. The scraggly hitchhiker slowly turned his head to him and said, “It’s none of your business!” Thomas and David, shocked and confused, just looked at each other. Thomas ask “Where ya from?” The piercing dark eyes of the hitchhiker turned right at Thomas and coldly said “It's none of your business!” David, who is a no nonsense kind of guy looks at the hitchhiker in the rearview mirror and said. “Look, we were kind enough to stop and help you out of the rain. So you can either talk with us like a human being or we can stop this car and we can leave you right back on the side of the road. Do you understand? So, for the last time, where are you headed to? ” A flash of lightning reflected in the eyes of the hitchhiker and he slowly leaned forward and firmly said with an evil grin, “Its None Of Your Damn Business!”

The screeching of the tires on the wet pavement was deafening as David slammed on the brakes. As soon as the car came to a complete stop, the hitchhiker jumped out ready to fight, but Thomas was a little smarter. As soon as the stranger was out of the car, he hit the automatic locks and David sped away, leaving the strange man and the strange encounter back on the side of the road in the pouring rain. David and Thomas talked about how scary the encounter was, what could have been wrong with the guy, and if he might have been a serial killer. Then Thomas looked behind him in the back seat. The hitchhikers bag was still there. The faded green bag was tied shut with a single knotted rope. When they finally stopped in Amarillo, they reached into the back seat, untied the knot and peaked inside the bag. What was inside the bag sent chills to their bones. I would tell you what was inside, but then again, it's none of your business!!

Ha--ha--Happy Halloween!!