Coffinwood

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. A lone man happened to be wandering by that night and the distant light caught his eye and his curiosity. Like a fish hooked on the fisherman’s lure, he was reeled in towards the ancient wooden house, unsuspecting of what he would find.

The man creeped up to the cabin, wondering at its immense size and intricate design. It towered up multiple stories and stretched back deeper into the woods than his eyes could reach. The logs were an unusually large size, not in length, but in circumference, and they were fit together perfectly, one on top of the other, to construct this massive hidden structure. The building appeared unfinished, having an open top and a missing roof, almost as if the builder had once intended to build higher, but had ceased due to some unknown circumstance. The woody tower of Babel was left vacant, never to be finished…at least it seemed that way until the candle lit.

As the man was walking up to the first step of the wooden porch, he tripped over a large stone. He looked back to find an old grave stone, broken and crumbling. Next to it was a deep hole where someone had obviously unburied the coffin. The man pulled himself back to his feet and looked down on the stone. It read: “Theresa Hillwater. 1823-1824. Our only beloved daughter.” The man turned and walked up the steps. He was afraid, but his curiosity had conquered his fear.

He made it onto the porch and his eyes were captured by an elaborate carving of a human face on one of the cabin logs. Here was the face of a middle-aged man and the design of the face was certainly done by none other than an expert craftsman. Every detail was crystal-clear. Even the emotions seemed to radiate off of the inanimate picture. This man’s wooden face was the face of screaming man. The next log over had another similar face, but this time the carved face was of a younger woman, very pretty and somewhat petite, but her face too was terror-stricken. The man then adjusted his focus to examine the entirety of the cabin, only to discover that every log had a single face carved intricately into its center, and every face was one in distress.

The man had had it now. An ancient, abandoned, unfinished log cabin, with an unburied grave, scary faces, and mysterious candle in the window…he knew it was time to leave. He had only made it to the first step down when the door creaked open and a pale, little old lady called to him. The frightened man jumped and shouted.

She spoke to him with a raspy, high-pitched voice, “I’m sorry, dear sir! I didn’t mean to scare you, sir. We don’t get visitors in these here parts too often. Won’t you come in? Come In!” She offered him a crooked smile, displaying her rotting, crooked, and missing teeth.

The man hesitantly began to follow her through the large doorway, into the dark house. The only light was the lone candle sitting before the window on a small log table. The lady made her way around the room and lit a dozen more candles, lastly lighting the log fireplace at the end of the large room. Now, a faint light beamed throughout. The man looked around, observing the interior, but he was rather disappointed. It was simple, with no unique designs or decorations. It was furnished with bulky log benches, chairs, and tables. Everything, it seemed, was carved from logs, not just the structure of the cabin. These furnishings too had faces engraved into them. The little log table with the candle sitting on it had the face of a peaceful, sleeping baby.

The little lady broke the silence, “Make yourself at home, sir. My husband is out cutting another log for the house, but he’ll be back really soon.” She chuckled to herself lightly. “You know, he’s been working on this here cabin a long, long time. He always says he’s almost done. ‘Just a few logs left’ he says. Oh my, I can’t even believe him anymore! It’s been like two whole cent—”

She stopped mid-word, and turned to the man, staring past his eyes, deep into his soul. “I’m sorry, where are my manners? You didn’t even ask and look at me get all carried away! Let me get you something. Some tea? Soup?”

The man took up the offer and the frail woman was swallowed up in the dark as she left the room. She returned a few minutes later with a pair of red tea and red soup. He asked no questions but swallowed it down. Surprisingly, their taste was appetizing and soothing. He ate and drank in silence and the woman simply sat and gazed at his face. Once he finished, he broke the silence and inquired further about the enormous, mysterious log cabin.

She squirmed with excitement at his mention of it. “Yes! Oh, this cabin here is so precious. You see, when our daughter was just a wee little baby, my husband was cutting logs for our little home, but one fell and…”

Her voice faded out for a moment as she dug up the buried memory from her mind. “Sorry.” She collected herself again. “Where was I? Oh yes. Our sweet, sweet little girl died. My husband decided to build this cabin here as a tribute to our dear, dear little girl. He only builds with very specific logs. He calls them ‘coffinwood’.”

The man became more intrigued. He asked about the faces carved into the logs.

“Oh yes! Those are dear, dear people, just like you, dear sir! To honor our sweet little daughter, we wish to make this home to those who just so happen to wander in. All these people gave us a visit and have now become a part of our home.”

The conversation carried on, though the woman did most of the talking. The man lost track of time, but in these woods, the sun never rises and the night never fades. Time had abandoned this place to perpetual darkness.

“Would you like to stay the night, sir?” The woman asked the man as yawned.

The man contemplated for a moment, and said he must be setting out. He didn’t mean to wander off for so long. The old lady wasn’t pleased with his answer.

“You’re going to just leave us? You haven’t even met my husband yet. And would you dishonor our little baby girl like that?” Tears began to stream down from her old creased face.

The man gave into the temptation and her demeanor transformed immediately. She led him off into another dark room with minimal furnishings. She pointed him to a large bed made from multiple logs. He lay down and almost instantly passed out. He slept and slept and the hours passed by. He awoke at one point to some loud thud from another room, but soon fell back asleep.

He woke again, this time wide awake. But the starry night still canvased the sky. He exited the bedroom and traced his steps back into the large room he had first entered. No one was there.

He then began to wander around the house, partly to find the woman, but mostly out of his fiery curiosity. He made his way throughout, entering and exiting the wooden rooms. All of them had faces engraved into every over-sized log. Finally, he walked through a door that opened up to a massive room, the size a school gymnasium. He treaded slowly through the dark until he made it to the center where a single large log lay. He approached and walked around the log. It had no face but had a hollowed out section in the center on one side.

“Hello, Sir!” The man jumped at the little lady’s exclamation. Somehow, she had crept up on him unnoticed. The man asked what this particular log was for.

“Oh yes, this, dear sir, is the next log for our home. A splendid piece of coffinwood. This is your log!”

The man insisted that he didn’t need any log made with his face on it. He insisted again that he must be going.

“Sir, please just stay just a little bit longer!” The man refused and began to make his way back to the entrance of the cabin. The woman chased after him.

“Let me get you some tea and soup before you set out at least, my dear, dear sir.” The man capitulated and took a seat on a log chair. She brought him the food and drink. He ate and she stared.

“Sir, to honor our little baby daughter, me and my husband like to help our welcome guests out in any way we can. Tell me sir, what do you wish for? We would love to grant your wish.”

The man said he didn’t need anything. He just needed to get home.

“No, no! But think! Anything?”

The man sat in silence. He thought. And thought. He began to look around the room once more. The wooden faces began to smile at him. They weren’t screaming! He looked back at the little old woman. Her wrinkles began to shrink away and her white hair turned blonde. Suddenly, a beautiful, motherly figure stood before him. She spoke. He didn’t hear what she said but her voice was soothing as it graced his ear. The taste of the tea and soup, though finished, sat as an ever-growing and comforting aftertaste. The cabin became lighter, being illuminated by some unknown, heavenly source. Every trace of fear was washed away. This felt like home.

“I wish…I wish I could just stay here a long time.” He said to the woman.

Suddenly all the lights went out. Darkness flooded in. The door flew open and gust of chilling wind swept in. Strong arms grasped him and threw him to the floor. He squirmed, like a helpless animal in the ruthless hands of a child. He was helpless. He screamed, but no one heard his cry. Strong arms drug him through the house back into the giant back room.

“Welcome to our home!” He heard these final words from the raspy voice before he was inserted into the giant log and sealed up inside.

One more log was added to the log cabin that night.

Remember the next time you’re in the woods. You may be in the timeless land some call Coffinwood. Beware the cabin. Beware the irresistible light. And be careful what you wish for. The house is made of people like you. The next log could be yours.