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Hell's Valley

The following is a classic tale involving spirits returning from the dead, and is included in the category of folklore we term Ghost Stories

Nestled among the mesquite trees at the end of a valley road, Hell's Valley sits alone.

It is a peaceful place by day. A fence separates you from the beauty of the open fields covered in the brilliant reds of the Indian paintbrushes and the bluebonnets. At night however, the spirit of a long forgotten sharecropper roams the darkness.

Years ago, a sharecropper lived on this land. He was a good, hard-working man who had been blessed with a beautiful wife and child. One dreary day, he left his wife and child in the comfort of their home to go into town for a few supplies. His wife and child waited eagerly for him to return as the skies darkened and the clouds began to build up momentum.

Tornadoes are a fact of life in Texas, but the one that ripped through the valley was enormous. The sharecropper had been unable to make it back home before the storm had overtaken him. Hiding underneath a swathe of trees, he was able to protect himself from the elements until the storm subsided.

As he approached his land, a feeling of profound loss overtook him as he noticed his small house was gone. The swirling funnel cloud took his home and left a path of broken trees and splintered wood along it's path. He looked for his wife and child for days. He scoured the woods by day and continued by lantern-light late into the night. Finally accepting that his family was dead, haunted by his loss and embittered by his loneliness, he took his own life.

Many claim that he still walks in the night, lantern in tow, looking for his lost wife and child.

As with most American ghost stories, the spirit of the sharecropper returns from the dead to attempt to finish something that was left unfinished during his life.  Most of us can sympathize with this spirit's plight after the tragic loss of his family and the loss of his own life.  This story is not titled Hell's Valley in order to scare us, but is meant to symbolize the personal hell that the sharecropper experienced during the last days of his life, and to this day.

In a similar vein, the purpose of this particular genre of legend is not to scare, but actually serves the purpose of validating folk beliefs and superstitions about an existence after death.  Many legends pertaining to the supernatural serve this function.  This tale of the sharecropper's restless spirit is only one of many legends that "prove" our soul continues on after death. (see also The Lady of White Rock Lake).

-The Folklorist