Skylar

The Swamp Road Chronicles^®

"Skylar"

Dear Swamp Road Chronicles,

Last Summer I was out at a friend's house on Palmer Road, very near Swamp Road. The party had lasted until nearly 4 a.m. so, I was headed home pretty late, or early, I guess. My girlfriend Tyann was driving because I had been drinking. We were in my 1976 Jeep. We had the top off and the doors off too; maybe not a good set-up for driving up Swamp Road at night. Swamp Road was, by far, the shortest way to get home, so, up Swamp Road we went.

Of course, anyone growing up around this part of Ohio is familiar with the legend of "Sally". We weren't concerned, we had never seen her, though our friends claim they have, and besides, it was nearly dawn. It was too late for ghosts. Right?

It wasn't too dark, the Moon was shining and the sky was clear, but, it was a little foggy, but that's normal for Swamp Road in the summer.

About 3/4 of a mile up the road and suddenly, Tyann stopped and turned off the car. "What the heck are you doing," I asked her. "Let's sit here quietly for a minute and see if anything happens; maybe we will see something," she replied. I was tired and sleepy and not in the mood, but what are you going to do? I said, "OK."

I swear, we weren't there for 10 seconds when she said, "What's that?" "What's what?" I said; I didn't see anything at all. She pointed up the road and there, about 100 yards away was a human figure walking toward us. We both knew instantly, instinctively, it was "SALLY". "Back up!" I yelled. "Get us out of here!"

She tried, but the Jeep wouldn't start. Just like in a horror movie. She kept cranking it and pumping the gas, but it wouldn't start. I had visions of my mom finding my mutilated body by the side of the road with my throat chewed open and my brains eaten out. They would find Tyann with her hair turned all white and chewing on her own arm, unable to say a word. She would spend the rest of her life in a mental hospital muttering something like "White eyeballs, white eyeballs" while holding her blanket to her cheek and drooling.

Sally got closer and closer and I made Tyann switch seats; I couldn't start the darned thing either. Tyann started to cry and I was starting to get a little emotional myself. Remember, we had no doors, no windows to roll up and no roof either. Sally kept up her relentless approach; she was only about 30 feet away and looking at me. I could see the whites of her eyes, in fact, the whole eye was white! It was too much! I was on the verge of jumping out and running to get help. I shouted, "I'll be right back!"

Just then, praise God, we heard a rooster crow at a nearby farm house. Sally froze, turned her head in the direction of the farmhouse and like a piece of glass she shattered into a million tiny pieces that fell away toward the ground, but faded away before they reached it. She was gone. We were saved!

I tried the Jeep again and, of course, it started right up. I was a nervous wreck for 3 days. We spoke very little about that night, it was too terrible. Tyann broke up with me. She said I was going to abandon her to Sally that night, but honestly, I was just going for help.

As submitted by Skylar Lutz Outville, Ohio 3-3-2023

swamproad.com