Blue Eyes

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. The light shined dimly in the dark woods, even though it was only an apparition. The cabin and the old stone stairway were the only things “Blue Eyes” McGee had loved. He put his blood and spirit into both when he built them in 1896. The cabin came into disrepair and had collapsed after Blue Eyes had perished, falling from the bluff, like his other victims. Only the foundation remained and was used to build another shack, which was now also deteriorating upon itself. The old stone stairs remained almost forgotten, winding up the side of the bluff to the top.

The thought, “It wasn’t just a story,” went through Kathy’s head as she was screaming and plummeting toward the tree line below the bluff. She had been standing near the edge of the bluff with Yang one second and flying through the air the next. Something or someone had pushed her from behind. She crashed into an old maple, snapping the upper branches. Her arm snagged, tearing from her body, splattering blood among the leaves. She collided into a massive branch, which snapped her head back with a sickening crack, breaking her neck. As she hurtled downward through the trees, drawing her last breath, the wind whispered with hauntings of wicked laughter.

The cabin and stairs were located on a historic military range in Northern Wisconsin. McGee was the caretaker of the base. The range saw its share of troops, but they were usually only there for short periods of time. “Blue Eyes” McGee hated these times, people intruding on his space, climbing the bluff and invading his solace. Luckily most stayed away from his small cabin located in a forested area halfway up the bluff.

Even when the troops weren’t there people would sometimes invade his space to climb the bluff that the base surrounded. He tried to scare them off, but they would sneak in anyway. The worst was when they came at night, scaling the stone stairs that led to the top, the very stairs that he painstakingly laid in place. Lovers looking for a thrilling place to gaze at the stars, or people hoping to see the mysterious green lights, occasionally visible floating in the north -- aways climbing the stone stairs that led to the top, winding through the rocks. Even when he didn’t see them, he would find their footprints or belongings they left behind.

As time went on, he began thinking of ways to stop the intruders from encroaching upon his solace. He would hide among the rocks and spy on the visitors, making animal noises to spook them and throwing rocks into the bushes to make them believe something was there. Unfortunately, his schemes to scare people off only attracted more. Rumors started to circulate about the bluff and stairs being haunted. Being brave enough to climb the stairs at night became a source of pride with the local youth.

The years of living alone had not been kind to Blue Eyes, his solitude brought dark thoughts to his mind. He had always had such thoughts, even as a child. He would often go hunting, not to supply food for his poor family, but for the pleasure of killing and then gruesomely dismembering the animal. Winter was the worst, confined in his tiny cabin, deprived of the sun. His mind would occupy its time dreaming of ways to brutally rid his bluff of trespassers.

The winter of 1904/05 was particularly rough, the December blizzard being the second worst on record after the 1881 blizzard. Snow was piled several feet deep on the north side of the bluff. The wind had all but cleared the south side, blowing away the snow, exposing most of the stone stairs.

February 5th1905 fell on a clear dark night of the new moon. Early in the evening an ethereal green glow could be seen forming in the northern sky. Local couple, Olaf and Sue Ellen, decided to watch the Northern lights from the highest point on the bluff. They carefully climbed the icy stairs, trying to be quiet, not to alert old Blue Eyes McGee. It was the lantern that gave them away, as they needed its light to scale the stone stairs. They found a spot on the overlooking rock protected from the wind and laid down a blanket, then sat with their feet hanging over the edge and draped a blanket around themselves. Cuddled under the blanket, they extinguished their lantern. There they sat whispering to one another as they watched the dance of greenish light around the stars on the moonless night.

Blue Eyes McGee saw the light, slowly making its way up the bluff. He quickly threw on his coat and scrambled to the edge of the stairs. He hid in the shadows of the rocks close to where the stairs’ path passed between two large rock outcroppings. He watched as the couple painstakingly ascended the stairs, unaware that they were being watched. He thought about jumping out at them, but Olaf was a big man, so he watched them pass. As they faded out of sight, he stealthily crept up the stairs behind them -- slowly and quietly, not needing a light; moving with the muscle memory of one who knows the terrain intimately. He saw them sit and then enter the darkness as the lantern was extinguished. After allowing his vision to adjust, he could just make out their silhouette backed by the Northern Lights. Cautiously he approached, afraid he would be discovered. Excitement and adrenaline flowed through him; his muscles wound tight, ready to explode with action. An evil snaggle toothed smile spread across his face as he neared touching distance.

At that time Olaf and Sue Ellen heard a crunch behind them and turned. As they did McGee lunged, shoving the couple forcefully, their arms helplessly trapped in the blanket wrapped around them so that they could not defend themselves. The last thing they saw was the heinous smile and demented glow reflected from McGee’s blue eyes. Their wails pierced the crisp night air as they plummeted the one hundred and seventy feet, crashing through the snow to the frigid hard ground below.

An elation coursed through McGee’s body that he hadn’t felt since he was a child. He stood for a long time savoring the feeling as the lights slowly faded in the sky. He kicked the lantern over the edge of the bluff and returned to his cabin. For weeks he relished the thought of the bodies broken, battered and frozen, hidden under the drifts of snow. After the spring thaw he notified the local authorities that he had found what looked like animal eaten human remains at the base of the bluff. It was believed the victims had slipped and fallen on the wintery night that they had disappeared.

Over the next few years, the bluff and McGee would claim more victims. He let others find and report these tragedies. As the number of deaths grew so did the suspicions. This worked to McGee’s advantage as fewer people were now sneaking up his bluff, but it would still attract the occasional visitor.

Then on another dark night in May 1907, Blue Eyes McGee again saw the light of a lantern ascending the steps heading towards the top of the bluff. It must be some of the soldiers training at the military range, he thought. He snuck out of his cabin to spy on them. When he got to the top there was a lone man, standing near the edge, staring up at the stars. McGee was thrilled to find a lone victim and started stalking towards the man. He felt exhilaration start to surge through his body. He moved more quickly, more confidently after his last few kills. In his haste, a stick snapped just as he was about to reach the man. He lunged, trying to shove the man, but the man was faster and instinctively side stepped. McGee’s momentum caused him to be unbalanced and stumble on an un-level spot in the rock. He tried to grab the man as he fell, but missed, and tumbled over the edge, meeting the same fate as his previous prey.

The soldier immediately reported the attack to his superior officers. The next morning It was confirmed that “Blue Eyes” McGee lay lifeless at the bottom of the bluff.

Over the years, people would sometimes claim to see lights in the cabin. People still fell from the bluff, at an unusually high rate. Alcohol was most often attributed as being the main culprit in causing the falls. Those that saw people fall always said that one minute the person was there, the next in the air. It usually caught people so off guard that they could hardly understand what happened. Those that fell weren’t always killed and survivors all reported feeling as if they had been pushed. Thus began the ghost stories of old “Blue Eyes” McGee.

Due to the number of falls, in the early 1950’s the base commander declared the bluff unsafe for recreation and closed the bluff top to only necessary personnel. A road and fire tower were built atop the bluff. With the road in use, the stairs were left abandoned. As the bluff top accidents ceased, so did the story of Blue Eyes; people using the stairs all but disappeared. One of the only remnants of his horrific legacy was the mysterious spray painting of “Blue Eyes” on the remains of the crumbling shed.

Seventy-two years later Kathy and Yang, security officers for the military base, sat in the breakroom one night talking about the base being haunted, specifically building 318. Overhearing this, their supervisor joined the conversation. He related the story of Blue Eyes, as he had heard it from the museum director on the base. Kathy and Yang had known of the dilapidated shack but had never heard of the stairs their supervisor now described to them. They were surprised to learn where to find the stairs: in the woods behind building 318.

That night when finished with their shift, Vang and Kathy, equipped with flashlights, found the old stairs. The stone stairs were covered with moss and lichen, and in some places with leaf and forest debris, but overall, they were eerily clear. Using their flashlights, they slowly made the ascent up the stairs, stumbling in places on the slippery rock. As they did the darkness grew setting in around them, it brought an unsettling fear into their hearts. Suddenly they thought a light flickered from the direction of the old run-down shack. They dismissed their fear and the light as illusion from the story and continued up the desolate stairs.

They reached the top and stood at the edge looking up at the stars. Both admitted that the climb had made them apprehensive, that the sounds made climbing the stairs had caused their stomachs to knot up. The agreed they would return down the road. As they took a minute to catch their breath, Kathy suddenly plunged through the air, shrieking. Yang backed away in shock. Tree limbs battered his body, as he ran wildly in horror toward the road. Bottomless fear vibrated through his body; his only thoughts were to escape the bluff. The breeze reverberated with Blue Eye’s laughter.