The Coal Miner's Daughter

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. And if one were to dare tip-toe across the rotten sprawl of decaying leaves and black dirt to peak over the windowsill, they may have seen a pair of naked, bony feet drag across the dusty, wooden floorboards to evade the candle’s glow. They may have seen a set of wild, gaping eyes slip into the dark edges of the cabin’s interior. They may have seen a shriveled, blackened hand silently close the trap door hidden in the floor from inside, only to disappear into the alcove below.

But no one saw any of this, for Tyler and her older sister, Bobby, were still half a mile out from this desolate cabin — their intended destination. The sisters were dying to get into trouble. “Good trouble,” they told themselves — the kind of trouble they’d surely share with their future children as an example of the only kind of trouble they’d be willing to accept in their households: ghost hunting trouble.

Armed with little more than the Oujia board they’d bought at the town’s second-hand store, a thermos filled with spiced cider, two flashlights, and one flip phone with a battery holding at 5%, the girls bravely marched deeper into the woods surrounding their small, Appalachian town. It was late autumn and the occasional frigid breeze danced along the girls’ rosy cheeks and nestled between their shoulder blades.

As her body succumbed to its first intense shiver of the evening, Tyler began to whine.

“I told you we should’ve brought those blankets, B. We need them, it’s so cold! Plus, what are we gonna sit on when we get inside? It’s gonna be all dusty, and stuff, and — ”

Bobby clipped the end of Tyler’s childish complaint.

“You would’ve made me carry them and I’m already carrying the board and the bag and — ”

Tyler doubled down as always.

“No one would have to carry them, ya big dummy. They’d be wrapped around us to protect us from this awful wind. Did they say it’d be windy today? I don’t remember Al saying it’d be windy in this neck of the woods, do you?”

Bobby ignored Tyler’s incessant chatter and focused on the shadows that littered the forest floor. As the moon weaved behind sinewy clouds, the shadows grew and shrunk in size and shape — like a kaleidoscope composed of grey and mist.

“We should’ve just gone to the cemetery again — it’s so much closer. And remember last time? That ghost was asking us what our favorite restaurant was, and we didn’t even get to respond before mom called all freaked out because we weren’t home. We could go talk to that ghost again instead! They were nice! I’m sure they would’ve loved to hear about the cheddar biscuits at Red Lobster. Oh my god, I’m so hungry now — ”

“Ty,” Bobby said, “you promised you’d do this with me. Stop chickening out. First the blankets, now this — you’re being a big baby. Plus,” she turned to Tyler and zeroed in on her frightened eyes.

“How do you know this ghost won’t be nice, too? You’re making a pretty bold assumption, and remember what dad always said about assumptions.”

“They make an ass out of — ”

Bobby interrupted.

“I’m totally gonna tell mom you cursed. You’re done for.”

Tyler giggled devilishly and quickly retorted, “Yeah, go ahead. I’ll tell her all about what you and Stephanie did last weekend when she slept over. I know it’s still under your mattress, I found it yesterday. There was still some left in the baggy.”

“Yeah, well I’ll flush it before you even get the chance, bozo.” She was taken aback. Tyler was only ten — did ten-year-olds know that much about weed these days?

“You’re such a little snoop. I’m locking my door from now on and I’m never inviting you in again. Kiss those privileges goodbye, dweeb.”

“That’s okay. I’ve been practicing how to pick locks, remember? And if I can't get it to budge, I'll rely on my favorite trick of all: when in doubt, kick it out. I’ll find a way to uncover your dirty little deeds, B.” She rubbed her hands together maniacally and threw her head back, letting out her best villain-ish laugh — a total ham since the day she was born.

“It’s all part of my master plan to be the youngest member of the FBI — you know they’ve hired 17-year-old expert code crackers before? Yeah, well I’m gonna try to go for it when I’m your age. I have four more years to practice so I’ll definitely be an expert by then. An expert lock picker. I’m sure they have those in the FBI. Everyone needs a lock picker-er. It’s gonna be pretty great and you’re gonna be really jealous, I bet.”

“I think you have to be brave to be in the FBI, Ty. And so far, you’re being totally chicken-shit, if I do say so myself.”

“B, shut your pie hole, okay? I’m acting as the voice of reason here, because obviously — ”

“Shhh, shut up, Ty. Look.” Bobby stopped dead in her tracks and raised her arm slowly. She was pointing straight ahead at something in the distance.

Tyler looked to her sister and then sheepishly ahead. Her hand aggressively rotated the small turquoise ring she wore on her left index finger — a gift from their dad on Tyler’s eighth birthday. A gasp caught in her throat and a shiver ran up her spine. A soft, golden glow broke through the surrounding darkness and throbbed in the window of the cabin.

The cabin. The cabin they’d heard whispers about in school since kindergarten. The cabin they swore to their mom they’d never visit.

You see, legend has it the cabin was built back in the early 1800s by a coal miner for his family. His wife and their only child, a daughter, intended to join him from middle-of-nowhere Vermont, but just before leaving for West Virginia, his wife allegedly met another man and ran off with him, taking their daughter with her. His brother-in-law sent the coalminer a letter explaining the situation, and though he supposedly wrote to his wife every day for over a year, begging her to change her mind or at least let him see his daughter, he never heard back. His family had abandoned him. He’d never see or hear from his little girl again.

After about a year of anticipating his family’s arrival, in true denial of the situation, reality hit and it hit hard. He was alone. He’d taken the job in West Virginia, a brutal one at that, in hopes of creating a better life for himself and his small family. Those dreams had vanished overnight, crumbling in his hands like a lump of coal.

Now, some people in town say he hung himself from the rafters of his newly-built cabin, while others swore he’d decided on the same tree branch that held a little swing he’d constructed for his young daughter.

Either way, one fact remained the same: he wasn’t found for months, and when he was, he was practically mummified, the leathered skin of his face and hands covered in a thin layer of black coal. A rope tarnished with decay embedded into his broken neck, his mouth agape in a silent scream.

Tyler and Bobby had heard he was later buried in the floorboards of his cabin, but several boys from Bobby’s high school claimed to have checked one Halloween night only to find nothing at all — no bones, no tattered clothing. Though who’s to say they went in at all? Children told tales of visiting the cabin, though Tyler and Bobby remained skeptical. Even as “experienced” ghost hunters, the girls trembled to approach the cabin’s splintered exterior, especially at the sight of the candle in the window.

“Is that…is someone already in there, B?”

Bobby’s brain was frozen in fear. Perhaps some other kids made their way up here already — it was Saturday night, after all. But why was it so quiet?

“Alright, let’s pack it up — I’m going home. Let’s go, come on, B.”

Bobby continued to look ahead, her eyes focused on the small orange flame. She grabbed Tyler’s arm as she turned around to head back.

“Ow! Let go, B. I’m not going in there, we have no idea who’s there — I’m not messing around! Let me go!”

Bobby’s grip intensified and Tyler let out a shriek. Immediately, Bobby clapped her hand over her mouth to deaden her shrill exclamation.

“Shut. Up.” Bobby forcefully whispered through her gritted teeth. “We’re going in. We’ve come this far. It’s probably people just like us, which is good — we won’t be alone. It’s the best-case scenario, really.” She looked deep into Ty’s eyes as they filled with nervous tears. She wanted to cry, too. Meanness, despite it all, wasn’t her true nature, especially toward Ty.

“Don’t wimp out on me.”

Bobby tried to speak with confidence, but her stomach dropped deeper in her pelvis with each word she spoke. Truthfully, everything in her told her to run. Her muscles cramped and urged her to head toward home, but her stubbornness prevailed. She slowly removed her hand from Tyler’s mouth.

“Now I’m going in. You can wait out here if you have to, but don’t you dare make me walk home alone. I’ll be so pissed.”

Tyler fearfully gazed back at Bobby and nodded. Bobby took a deep breath and began walking toward the flickering light in the distance. As she approached the cabin, the silence grew louder, only to be broken by a sudden rush of footsteps behind her.

“Wait!” Tyler exclaimed in an out-of-breath whisper. As she turned to look back at her sister, Bobby heard something else…the sudden creak of a door. Her neck immediately snapped to look back at the cabin only to see the front door gently ajar. The warm light of the candle spilled out onto the front porch made of rotted wood.

“It’s only the wind,” Bobby thought out loud. Tyler was just a few feet from Bobby now.

“Did that just…” her voice shook with each word.

“Come on, Ty.” Bobby walked back to Tyler and grabbed her sweaty hand, her finger catching on the sharp corner of her ring.

“Damnit! That thing knows how to draw blood.” Bobby inspected the small, deep scratch.

"I know, but it helps make me brave. And it’s all I have of — ”

“Yeah,” Bobby sighed, “I know. Too bad it’s not being much help to you now.”

Before she could argue, Bobby dragged Tyler to a small set of three steps leading up to the front door. The two slowly climbed the old steps and stood on the porch, inches away from the open door. The sound of the candle’s crackling wick pierced the silent air.

Her chest tight and her arms heavy, Bobby reached toward the door and pushed. The old hinges released a deep, resonating groan as the door swung open into the cabin. The two girls timidly entered, not a breath shared between them.

To their surprise, instead of being hit with the expected smell of rot and stale air, the scent of warm biscuits and sweet butter immediately filled their noses. This was nothing like they’d imagined. The smooth, amber-colored planks that made up the cabin’s walls were covered in old-timey, tin-type photographs encapsulated in ornate brass frames. Vibrant-colored ribbons attached to exquisite, grand bows dangled from the ceiling, as if the home had been decorated for a party.

A small, eclectically upholstered footstool and two, well-loved armchairs with wonderfully carved armrests surrounded a large, brown travel trunk sat in the middle of the room — a makeshift coffee table of some sort. To top off the charming spread, a fresh bouquet of wildflowers sat in the middle, placed carefully in what looked to be an old whiskey bottle.

The cabin was delightfully cozy, but one thought pervasively echoed in Bobby’s head: who did all this?

“Wow!” exclaimed Tyler. “Did you see this?!”

Hanging from a crude, rusty hanger on the lip of the doorframe leading to the small kitchen hung a fluffy ivory dress with a rich red sash around the waist. Exquisite lace cuffs clung to the wrists of the tiny gown and small pearl buttons adorned the neckline.

“It’s so pretty!”

Tyler was enamored. Bobby was skeptical. Tyler reached out and touched the bottom hem of the dress, but Bobby almost immediately intercepted the graze of her fingertips. Almost.

“No, Ty. Don’t touch anything.”

As they turned to peer into the kitchen, Bobby heard a soft tap from underneath the floorboards. As if someone, or something, were rapping their fingertips against the wooden floor.

“What the hell was that?” Bobby asked in a hushed whisper.

Her eyes immediately began to search the small space up and down, looking for whatever could have made the noise. When all the sudden —

“There it is again! Did you hear that, Ty?”

Tyler surely didn’t hear it, for she was too busy stuffing her face with the steaming hot biscuits that lay on a fresh plater atop the small kitchen counter. Oozing honey and whipped butter dripped from her wind-lashed chin. Her jaw moved up and down vigorously, biting down into another fluffy, yellow biscuit.

“Tyler! What are you doing — drop it! You don’t know where those came from! You could be eating someone else’s food!”

“But,” Tyler sucked the butter and honey off her index and middle finger, “they’re so yummy and I’m so hungry.”

She finished sucking the confection off her other fingers and picked up another biscuit.

“Do you want one, B?”

Before Bobby could slap the biscuit out of her sister's wet, sticky hands, she heard it again. But it wasn’t the same sound — it was a slow screech this time…as if someone was opening a door. Bobby whipped her head around and looked toward the front door, but it was shut. Did they shut the door? She couldn’t remember. How long had they been here?

Immediately, Bobby’s train of thought was derailed by something out of the corner of her eye — a small, rapid movement in the far right corner of the cabin, straight ahead of where she stood. A door in the floor (how had they missed that?) appeared to creak open just a tad. Or did it? When she looked again, the trap door was shut.

Confusion dizzied her mind and her palms went damp. What was this place?

“Bobby, I asked you if you want one!”

Tyler had walked in front of Bobby and was now shoving a soggy biscuit in her face. Bobby clutched the Ouji board to her chest and seized the heavy bag of equipment, holding it tight to the side of her ribcage. This place didn’t feel right…something was wrong. And what hell had gotten into Tyler? Minutes ago, she was dying to go home and now she was making herself at home.

“Tyler, stop eating — we need to go.”

Bobby headed toward the front door.

“No! This place is so cool! And it’s like a lot nicer than the graveyard. There’s food and it’s warm. Plus they have chairs! We didn’t even need the blankets. Problem solved!”

“What the hell is wrong with you? This isn’t normal, Tyler. Someone obviously lives here and they’re going to be back any minute and find us here eating their — ”

“Who’s being a baby now, B?”

That’s it. They were finished here. As Bobby turned to grab the front door’s handle, the door in the floor flew back on its hinges and slammed down on the opposite side, revealing a gaping black hole. Bobby jumped, dropping both the Oujia board and their sack. The thermos opened inside the canvas bag and lukewarm cider began to seep out, forming a puddle around her feet. But Bobby didn’t notice — her eyes were too busy gazing at the empty black hole in the ground, just a few feet in front of them.

“Tyler, let’s GO!”

Remarkably unbothered by everything going on, Tyler started shuffling toward Bobby, all while gazing at the pit in the floor. She was halfway to Bobby’s side when she started walking toward it.

“No! Tyler, stop it, we’re leaving right now! STOP!”

Tyler didn’t say a word as she slowly marched forward. Bobby’s heart lodged in her throat, and her eyes burned into the back of Tyler’s head. Don’t you dare, Ty. As Tyler drew nearer to the hole in the floor, she heard it. A resonating whisper. What was it saying? She couldn’t hear. Tyler kept walking, one foot carefully placed in front of the other.

The whisper groaned and raised in pitch as she came closer, becoming shrill and hurried. Bobby couldn’t move. The sound — it made her brain itch and her eardrums throb. As Tyler neared the edge of the hole, she peered forward and looked down into the abyss.

“No, Ty, no, Ty, please, please,” Bobby muttered under her breath. Sweat trickled down between her brows and the small of her back. This isn’t happening, this can’t be happening, she thought. Then, Tyler cocked her head to the side and crouched down to look deeper into the looming darkness. She took a deep breath and let out a small, sheepish giggle, and turned to look back at Bobby. A small, knowing smile crept across her face.

“It’s Daddy, B. He wants me to come play.”

Instantly, two blackened hands with long, yellow fingernails lept out of the hole and wrapped themselves around Tyler’s ankles, pulling her legs out from under her. Her bottom landed on the edge of the hole’s rim with a hard thud. Tyler’s giggles continued. Without thinking, Bobby sprinted across the floor, arriving at Tyler’s side within three strides, and grabbed her by the wrists. She ripped Tyler back as hard as she could, but the darkness yanked back harder.

She dug her heels into the ground and heaved again as the creature’s arms rippled out of hiding. She was gaining some ground, but not without pulling it out, too. Tyler tossed her head back and laughed maniacally, her head flailed wildly as her vacant eyes stared up at Bobby. Tears of laughter streamed down the flushed apples of her cheeks and landed on the floor, soft as rain. In between deep, gasping breaths, Tyler playfully shouted:

“Stop, Daddy! It tickles!”

Bobby pulled back as hard as she could, just as the top of the creature’s blackened head rose out of the pit. Rot ate away at the decayed scalp, leathered skin peeled away from the forehead to reveal porous, greyed bone, and two blistered eyes that jiggled in their sockets like runny egg yokes peered out of the dark and into her own.

She reeled back harder, her body lying almost perpendicular to the floor. She heard a “pop” and a sickening crunch in each of Tyler’s shoulders as her arms stretched even further. Finally, she sprung back, jerking her sister’s wrists as hard as she could, and pulling her hands toward her chest. Bobby felt Tyler’s body free from the opposing force as the two flew backward and landed hard against the heavy trunk.

“Ty!” Bobby grabbed Tyler’s slack arm and attempted to pull her to her feet, but she didn’t budge.

“No, come on, let’s —” she put her right arm around Tyler’s back and her left under her bent knees, but as she went to pick her up, Tyler’s body leadened and planted firmly into the floor. She couldn’t move. She wouldn’t move. The creature’s groans began again. They were growing closer. Bobby had to go, they didn’t have time. It was coming back.

It. The creature. The Coal Miner.

As if on queue, the pair of mutilated hands slammed down on the edge of the floor. Plumes of heavy black soot sprang from its handprints and clouded the candle’s ambient glow.

The Coal Miner let out a dry croak and began to hoist himself out of the pit. His joints snapped with each movement as its elbows bent in unnatural, crude angles. He was coming and she had to go. Now. She couldn’t believe it, but she had to leave Tyler behind.

“I’ll come back for you, Ty! I’ll tell mom and we’ll come back, I promise!” She took her sister’s hand and quickly kissed her ring. “I love you.”

Bobby rushed to her feet and ran to the door. Her arms flew out in front of her, her fingers stretched toward the door’s handle, but before she could make it, the sole of her well-worn Converse hightop grazed the puddle of spilled cider, causing her feet to fly out from underneath her as she cartwheeled through the air. She came crashing down head first, her skull smacking into the corner of the footstool with a vicious crack. Black mist and thousands of small, glittering stars raced around the underside of her veined eyelids.

It’s done. I’m dead. This is death.

Then she felt a gentle brush on her cheek. The black mist disappeared from view and the stars faded into her tear ducts as she fluttered her eyes open. Her vision was blurry, but it didn’t matter. She could see him looking right at her.

Her father.

His soft brown eyes knitted into hers. His bushy, overgrown mustache buried his top lip. His reassuring smile cooled the hot blood racing through her veins. Daddy, she thought. And though he didn’t speak, his warm voice coated her brain and said, “It’s okay, Little Bee, it’s okay. I’m here now. You’re both okay.”

His big, calloused hand touched her cheek again, as she nuzzled her face into his palm. She lifted her chin to look back at his eyes, but something wasn’t right. His skin began to tarnish, quickly tightening across his facial bones, turning black with coal. His lips fell away, revealing a sinister, sharp grin of broken teeth. His unblinking brown eyes curdled as they dropped deep into the back of its skull.

Now lying in The Coal Miner’s lap, Bobby shoved herself away, pressing her hands against his mummified torso. His ribs snapped like sugarcane as her hands plunged into his hollow chest cavity. Ripping her arms away from the mangled mess, she stumbled to her feet, but The Coal Miner quickly grabbed her by a chunk of her hair.

“Bobby! It’s Daddy!” Tyler sat upright in one of the large armchairs. Her smile reached her eyes and that sparkle, the sparkle they’d both lost that day, had finally returned. Tears welled in Bobby’s eyes and her bottom lip quivered. She looked down at her feet, then back up at her little sister. Maybe getting her to remember would break the spell. It had to.

“Ty,” she took a deep, shaky breath. “Daddy’s dead. You know that. It’s been two years.”

The Coal Miner’s grip violently tightened against her scalp as he started dragging her toward the hole in the floor. Her skin throbbed and beads of bright blood started rushing down her forehead. Her scalp was separating from her skull.

“W-w-wait — no! Tyler! TYLER! Help me! Don’t do this, please, wake up —”

“It’s just for now, B. Daddy said it’s just for now. We can play later.” Tyler replied vacantly, though her eyes continued to dance with delight, gazing far ahead into the distance.

Bobby’s feet dragged across the wooden planks, her head on fire as more blood began to trickle into her open mouth. How could she escape this? It was too late. The dark hole in the floor looked to swallow her up. The Coal Miner, strong yet slow, inched closer to the hungry pit. She wouldn’t go down without a fight. Tyler wouldn’t let her.

As she twisted her body to escape his intensifying grip, she remembered what she’d put in her pocket right before she left: her rusty, trusty Swiss Army knife. Sure, it was dull, but it was known to do some damage on a few tree trunks when she was younger. She let go of The Coal Miner’s wrist with her right hand and rummaged through her front pocket. Bingo.

Flipping the blade open, Bobby stabbed the tip of the knife into The Coal Miner’s wrist, just above the hand wrapped tightly around her hair. She continued to hack away at his leathered, bark-like skin. A high-pitched whistle, like frozen winter air passing through dried, brittle reeds, emanated from his throat. On the third whack, The Coal Miner instinctively recoiled in pain — the knife having nearly cleaved his hand from its forearm. Black blood oozed from the wound and dripped onto Bobby’s head, mixing with her own. His hand fully released its grip and without any hesitation, Bobby ran toward the front door, twisted the handle and…

The handle wouldn’t budge. They were locked inside. The Coal Miner steadily crawled back toward Bobby on all fours, creeping across the floor like a spider, bashing his newly-severed limb into the ground. As he neared, Bobby racked her brain trying to remember Tyler’s lock-picking hacks — god, she wished she’d listened better.

This was hopeless, her mind ran blank. The Coal Miner’s encroaching breath dampened her exposed ankle. His wide, unhinged mouth fell open exposing the jagged teeth that prepared to bite down on her Achilles tendon.

Then, clear as day, Tyler’s voice whispered within her panicked brain.

When in doubt, kick it out. When in doubt, kick it out. When in doubt, kick it out.

Bobby raised her right knee to her chest, and extended her leg with as much strength and vigor as she could muster, aiming the sole of her foot directly in the middle of the door. It broke through, but she needed another kick. She wound up again, prepared to kick harder than ever before. For Tyler. Her foot slammed forward, kicking the door clear off its hinges, exploding fragments of wood far into the night air.

Without turning back, she ran out onto the porch, rushed down the three stairs, and sprinted across the forest ground. Blood pulsed down her forehead and filled her eyes, causing her vision to blur. She put several yards between her and the cabin before turning around. Though her gut screamed for her not to, she had to see. And when she did, her heart froze.

Tyler stood in the doorway wearing the ivory dress, the red sash tied tightly around her waist. Looming over her, with his rotted hand and bleeding stub resting on her shoulders, The Coal Miner’s putrid, leering eyes stared out at Bobby.

She fell to her knees and screamed. Blood dribbled down the back of her throat as she choked for air.

“TYLER!”

Tyler only smiled in response. Wiping the blood from her eyes, Bobby continued to cry out Tyler’s name. Her vocal cords quickly gave out as the raspy syllables died between the endless sprawl of winding black trees. The two figures remained in the doorway, looking blankly out into the surrounding forest.

Bobby sobbed, wiping the hot tears from her cheeks. She took her hand away from her face and noticed it was black, covered in coal. Her eyes lifted to meet theirs again, but when she looked back toward the doorway, it was empty.

They were gone.

Her eyes scanned the exterior of the cabin and landed on the candle in the window. It flickered dimly as a small gust of wind rolled over and extinguished its flame.

Bobby timidly walked toward the entrance, aching sobs catching in her raw throat. She timidly peered around the doorframe and saw…nothing.

No furniture, no ribbons, no bows, no biscuits. All that remained was Tyler’s turquoise ring sitting perfectly atop the closed trap door.