The Tale of the Woman in Waiting

The cabin in the woods was abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. A warming glow peering through the darkening woods gave an excitement to a bunch of hikers after a long day.

Maddie had just graduated high school and was enjoying a summer with friends before she had to face real life and move to a new town for college.

Daniel was the head of the pack of teens, leading the way for their first nights sleep. “Come on guys, we’re almost there. Pick up the pace!”, Daniel yelled back at the group. Exhausted from an all day excursion, everyone mosied their way towards the cabin.

Maddie’s best friend Chrissy turned to her and rolled her eyes, not impressed with Daniel’s bossiness and lack of empathy. She was a bit more mouthy than Maddie, and let’s face it, more than most. “We’re right behind you Daniel! Are you sure this is where we are supposed to camp?! I don’t see any other cabins around?” “Yes Chrissy,” Daniel replied. “I read the map and this is where we are supposed to be. The sooner we get there, the sooner we get to rest, so come on!”

The group gathered in front of the cabin where the opening of trees and the evening fog crept in around them. Daniel pulled out the key for the door and a list of instructions for their stay. As he stuck the key in the keyhole and jiggled it a few times, it didn’t seem to want to open. Frustrated, tired and confused he asks,“Does anyone see another key anywhere or a different door? This one isn’t turning.” Everyone looks at each other and then starts to search around for another opening. Chrissy says what everyone is thinking, “I told you this wasn’t the right place. Now it’s dark and we’re stuck at a cabin we can’t even get into.” As she says this, the cabin door creeks open slightly, inviting them in. “Hmm, must just be an old door,” Daniel says as he brushes past Chrissy. “Everyone pick a spot on the floor and let’s settle in for the night. We have another long day tomorrow so rest up!” Pulling out their sleeping bags from their backpacks, they pick their spots and get comfortable.

Daniel’s friend Jack comes over to the girls to check on them and strike up conversation. “How’s it going? I know we’re all tired and irritable but just wanted to make sure you were good. You know there are some tails about these woods. I would sleep closer to us if I were you.” “Not a chance but thanks for checking on us. And what are you talking about, ‘tails’? Care to share?,” Chrissy responds. “I don’t think that’s a good idea before bed,” Maddie replies. Jack pops a squat next to Chrissy with the look of excitement in his eyes. “Story has it that a woman used to inhabit a cabin in these woods after the civil war was over, waiting for her husband to come back from battle and start a new life together. She would always keep a red candle lit in the front window to signal to him that’s where she was after she fled their little town after an attack from the Union soldiers. She waited and waited for him to return but that day never came. People say she died of a broken heart, others say she offed herself because she couldn’t live life without him. ‘Til this day you can still find the red lit candle in the front window and sometimes you can even see her shadow walking through the cabin, waiting for her lover to return.”

“Sounds like a made up ghost story to me,” Chrissy says uninterested. “Plus if that’s true, then why would you guys bring us out here?!” She thought about it afterwards and realized they probably wanted to be more than friends at this point. Daniel pipes up and says “He’s just trying to scare you, plus we wouldn’t take you somewhere that wasn’t safe. We all do need some rest so we can get to our next destination tomorrow. Come on Jack, let them sleep.”

They all get snuggled in their sleeping bags when a breeze fills the air. “Did someone leave the door open or a window cracked? It’s chilly in here,” asks Maddie. The guys were already snoring at this point when Chrissy responds, “ it’s probably just a draft. It’s an old cabin,” as she rolls over. Maddie wanted more of an explanation and now that she’s heard ‘The Tail of the Woman in Waiting’, she can’t sleep. She reaches for her phone to turn the flashlight on but her battery is almost dead so she grabs her flashlight from her backpack. It flickers for a few seconds as she turns on the switch and then it lights up the room. She pans across the wall and the windows to see if something was cracked open. As she does this, she notices the small candlelight coming from the front window that they all saw from afar when walking to the cabin earlier that evening. She aims her flashlight towards the window only to see that it’s closed but as she goes to turn, she notices a reflection in the window and it’s not hers. Startled she drops her flashlight on the floor and lets out a gasping breath while waking the others. “What’s going on?!”, Daniel exclaims waking from a dead sleep. “The window, she was in the window!” Maddie yells. “I saw her!” Jack looks at Daniel and then to Chrissy saying,” So the story is true! I was just repeating what I’ve heard for years but this must be the cabin! We’ve got to go NOW!” Everyone starts scrambling, gathering their things except Chrissy. “You guys are crazy! Maddie just thinks she saw something in the window when it’s just her mind playing tricks on her because of that stupid story you told us Jack! Now come on, we have to try to calm down and get some rest or we won’t be going anywhere tomorrow.” They all stare at each other and realize how stupid it all sounds and begin laughing hysterically.

Maddie brushes it off saying,“Ya, you’re right. It could’ve been anything reflecting in the window when I was shining my light around. Sorry guys, it just scared me. Let’s try to get some sleep. See you in the morning”.

They all finally fell asleep and morning came with a bright sunrise shining through the old glass windows. Daniel jumps up, enthusiastic about the day and what it will bring. “Time to get up! Let’s get packing. We’ve got to get to the next camp ground before lunchtime so we can get a good camp site.”

Still half asleep and rubbing their eyes, the others grab their belongings and head out for another long hike. There’s a nice breeze blowing through the trees and the crisp morning air as the dew starts to melt from the beams of sunshine. “How far until we get to the campground?,” Jack asks. “About another mile. We should get there right around noon,” Daniel responds. The girls were falling behind a little, taking pictures of the flowers and creek that was running alongside the trail. About an hour and half later, they start seeing the end of the woods drawing near and some campers and tents lined up along the tree line. They’ve reached their destination and survived two days of hiking from one town to the next.

The guys start heading towards the camp ground office to check in and the girls follow along. “Well, we made it! Didn’t think we would survive there for a minute,” Chrissy says sarcastically. Daniel walks up to the counter where an old man stands behind the register. “Hi, we are here to check in. We would like a tent campsite, first available please.” The old man says,” I’ll see what I have, it’s been a busy weekend. Where are you coming from? I didn’t see a car pull in.” Daniel replies,” We’ve been hiking from the next town over. Part of our summer adventure before college starts.” The old man lifts his eyebrow while looking at his paper for available camp sites. “That’s pretty brave for a bunch of teenagers. Where did you stay last night? There’s not much around between here and there.” Looking a little confused, Daniel responds, “ there was a cabin a couple miles out from here that was listed as part of another camp ground property. I rented it online and they mailed the key to me since they don’t have an office to check into. It was nice and secluded.” The girls were looking around and overheard their conversation at the counter. “I’ve got a spot left on row 3. Does that work?,” the old man asks. “Sounds good to me! How much do I owe you?,” asks Daniel. “It’s $50 for the night…Did you say the cabin was a couple miles from here? There used to be another small village there, built in the 1800s. Nothing has been there since, at least not that I know of. Rumor has it, there was a widow of war who stayed in a cabin there waiting for her husband to return but he never did. Just wondered if someone revived the area and started renting the cabins out?” Still confused and looking at the others for backup, Daniel replied,” it was just one secluded cabin but the map showed there were others around..although we didn’t see any? Must have just been on the outskirts of the camp ground. Thanks for your help and for fitting us in last minute. See you later.” The group walks outside, the look of disbelief on their faces. “What if the cabin wasn’t there and we were hallucinating? Or what if what Maddie saw was real?,” Jack says. “I don’t know about that, seemed pretty real to me as I got woken up by huge bang on the floor from Maddie dropping her flashlight. I think that old man was just messing with us. Trying to spook us,” Chrissy responds. “Ya, just seems weird that he would bring it up,” says Jack. Maddie throws in her two cents,“Something just doesn’t add up to me.”

They all start walking to their camp site to set up and enjoy their last day together before the summer ends. Jack and Daniel start making the camp fire while Maddie and Chrissy set up the tent. Another young couple walk past their site and wave hello while offering them a map of the camp ground and a little local newspaper with activities and history of the area. As they walk off, Maddie looks at the map and starts reading the articles. Nothing seemed too interesting to her so she puts it away in her backpack. They all got settled in for the evening and enjoyed their night’s stay at the campground. Better than the previous night, that’s for sure!

When morning came, they got woken up by the camp rooster crowing at 5:30AM. A bit earlier than planned, considering what they had been through the past couple days. “Guess it’s time to get up and start heading back home. The Uber should be here by 7:30 to pick us up so we have to make sure everything is packed up and ready to go,” Daniels says as he stretches his hands above his head. “What do you say we have the driver make a pit stop on the way back and check out the area where the cabin was? Just curious to see what the whole camping area looks like and if there are any historical monuments or landmarks we missed.” Jack gets up and starts rolling up his sleeping bag saying,” I’m interested also to see what is out there, especially with the encounter at the office.” The girls look at each other and Maddie chimes in saying,” I don’t know if I want to know the truth or not but it can be part of our adventure.” They all continue to pack up and head towards the office to check out and wait for their Uber to arrive. Breakfast was lingering in the atmosphere as they got closer. The group grabs some coffee and a bagel to hold them off until they get back home. As the driver pulls up and honks the horn, they all wave at the owners and thank them for their stay. The old man comes up and says,” Thanks for staying, get home safely.” They pile into the Uber and throw their belongings in the trunk. As they begin the chat about their adventurous weekend, the driver confirms the address and pulls off. As they get closer to the address Daniel gave the driver, it gets kind of quiet in the car. The driver asks ,” are you sure this is the correct address? It doesn’t seem to be pulling up in the navigation. Just gives a general area.” “Yes that’s correct,” Daniel replies. “We are making a pit stop before we head home if that’s ok? I’ll make sure to tip extra.” The driver shakes his head and continues down the road.

Rolling down the highway, the navigation tells the driver they are almost to their destination. He sees a local park sign with arrows as he pulls in. The gravel road winds up to a fence where the wooded area begins. “Does this look correct?,” he asks. Daniel nods yes and says,” Come on guys, get out! Let’s see what we can find.” The others follow with not much enthusiasm as Daniel because tiredness has set in. As they follow him to the fence, Jack notices a sign that shared the history of the area and what it looked like when the local civilians had settled there after the war. Realizing there was some truth to the story he told, his curiosity got the best of him and yelled at Daniel,”Wait up!”. Maddie looked a little concerned and said ,” I think I’ll stay here with the driver to make sure he doesn’t leave us.” Chrissy started to follow the guys into the woods. “Ya that’s sounds good Maddie. We won’t be too long.” Maddie heads back to the car to hang out with the driver while they explore. As the three get a little deeper in the woods, they realize that there aren’t any buildings or cabins around but there was a clearing where it seemed there was something there before or the county was about to build something there again. “We couldn’t have been too far from here but there’s nothing out here. Are you sure this is where we stayed Daniel? This doesn’t make sense at all,” Jack says. He doesn’t hear a reply or even a whisper from Daniel and realizes that he disappeared even though he was behind him the whole time. This was the first time Chrissy began to really question the situation and became a little frightened. “Daniel? Daniel?! Where did you go?,” Jack yells out. Still no response. A gust of wind blows through the trees and swirls in the opening where the clearing was. Chrissy and Jack turn around abruptly as they see this cabin form before their eyes. They are so scared they can’t move and stand still in awe as this building forms before them. A woman appears in the window with a red candle lit in front of her. “I’m outta here!,” Chrissy says to Jack and starts to turn around as he grabs her arm and says ,”Wait! Look!” She turns back around to see Daniel walking towards the Cabin as the front door starts to open. He’s wearing a confederate uniform and has a canteen in hand. He then turns back towards them and gives them a nod as if to thank them for their good deeds, then walks in the door and disappears. The woman in the window nodded as well and then blew out the candle as the cabin disappeared as quickly as it came. Chrissy and Jack ran back towards the car screaming! Once they got there, they hopped in and yelled at the driver ,” Go! Go! Go!” Maddie yells back,”Where’s Daniel? You can’t leave him behind!” Meanwhile the driver is halfway down the road. “What happened?! Where is Daniel?!,” Maddie insists. “We’ll tell you when we get home, just go!” Jack yells again. They get a few miles down the road, Jack and Chrissy still breathing heavily and wondering what the hell they just witnessed and better yet, how they were going to explain it to Maddie. The driver pulls into Maddie’s house and they all hop out. Jack tips the driver cash and he speeds off. They all head into the house while throwing their stuff down and sitting on the couch. Maddie looks at them with concern and asks, “Are you going to tell me now what happened out there?” Jack takes a deep breath and looks at Chrissy with a pale face. “He disappeared from us and then a gust of wind came and it created the cabin that we all stayed in! The woman was inside and he walked in to meet her with a confederate army uniform on. She blew out the candle and they both disappeared along with the cabin! I know this sounds crazy but I’m not making this up! Ask Chrissy!” Chrissy being the skeptical one, but now a believer, turns to Maddie and says,” It’s true! I didn’t believe it until now! He’s gone!” “Okay, I believe you,” says Maddie,” but we can’t tell anyone about this. You have to swear not to tell anyone else what you saw or we are going to be in question. Promise?!” They both promised and swore to secrecy that they would never tell another soul what they experienced that day. “I thought you knew Daniel for a while Jack? Where did you meet him?” Chrissy asks. “We met at a summer camp a year ago in that same area we stayed in at the second campground. I never met his parents or siblings, we just hit it off at camp and have been friends ever since. He always seemed weird when I would ask him if I could come over to his place to study or hang out. I don’t know what to think anymore,” Jack replies questioning his friendship with Daniel. They never spoke of that day again and as time passed they began to forget it slowly.

After a few years went by, they all finished college and went on to have houses, jobs and families of their own. One day, Maddie was cleaning out some old storage bins and found her backpack she went camping with on that hiking trip a couple years prior. She opened it up, digging through her belongings and came across the local news clippings of the camp ground. As she opened it up, she gasped as she saw a picture of Daniel in his civil war attire and an article of his death towards the end of the war. His wife had settled in the area with other civilians in a small village just outside of town. She hurriedly put it away as she questioned her own sanity, only to remember what her friends told her what had happened that fateful day in the woods.

*Some stories are fairytales or folklore carried through the centuries to keep you guessing. Others are passed down through the generations to pass on family history. Some are meant to help people, even ones that aren’t of the flesh anymore. What stories have you heard that make you feel like it’s a part of your history? Maybe you’ve even experienced one in real life. Either way, enjoy sharing them and reading them for future generations to come.

Copyright Jessica McNear-Miller