The Village of Ashwood
With every handful of people that went into Ashwood rumors would spread that half of them never came back out or that no one who went in ever came out again.
13 October 19??
The Village of Ashwood
Estd. 1600s Puritan Era on the outskirts of New England
The Village of Ashwood was small and overgrown, taken over by the forest when it was stumbled upon in the early 1900s by a construction company. Future Ideals bought up the land in the area with the purpose of flattening the forest to begin building a cluster of condos. A few months into the work all contact had been lost with the workers on the land, only a handful of men had been present at the worksite during the estimated time of the incident. After hours of silence, superiors had been sent out to investigate the site and determine the cause of the lack of communication. When the men arrived at the site they could not locate any of the workers, all construction vehicles had been running as though the drivers had turned them on only to leave immediately after. There were opened lunch boxes set out with some of the food being partially eaten, it's as if everyone had completely disappeared mid-action.
Police were called, as those in charge of the project feared the workers were run off by violent "tree-hugging" environmentalists. The police ventured around the perimeter of the immediate area the workers had the majority of their vehicles settled before scouting further into the forest work area. They followed a path of freshly cut tree trunks before coming to a stop near a very faded stone marker, the name etched in it barely legible as "Ashwood". It seemed to the officers present that the workers had uncovered an old town of some kind and perhaps their curiosity simply got the better of them and they abandoned their work to explore the town. It was fairly deep into the woods, sunbeams barely managed to penetrate the thick forest canopy. The officers continued their search into the old town, looking over what seemed to be ancient homes made of logs and stone. Some of the hovels had caved into themselves after centuries of rot weighing them down, others were miraculously tethered together by thick green vines. Plush vibrant moss-covered nearly everything along with masses of small delicate flowers, the area smelled earthy and wet, but nestled beneath that sweet scent of flowers was the odor of decay and iron.
An hour or two into their investigation the officers had still yet to find any of the workers, a frantic call from the deepest part of the town called out to the other officers. One of their own had finally found something and it didn't bring them any hope of finding the missing workers. The officers all gathered at the far end of the town where a worn stone slab lay beneath a large tree that had been carved into, forming the crude silhouette of a woman. The area made their skin crawl and their hair stand on end; each officer later stating they struggled to fight off the desperate urge to run out of pure fear-induced instinct. From the trees hung the brittle bones of centuries-old humans, more bones surrounded the stone slab, and under the light of their lanterns the officers made out old brown stains. Strange effigies were strewn about that had somehow withstood the test of time, being tied together with twine and a wad of crusty brown fabric, it looked to be a crudely shaped person. All of this was not what the lone officer had called them to see so frantically. Looking over the eerie place of supposed worship closer brought in new details and had the officers calling in for backup.
Decorating the hanging ancient bones, dulled by time, were shreds of fresh meat dripping warm blood onto the forest floor. Amongst the old bones now hung new additions, freshly scraped of all viscera leaving them a mix of ivory and bright pink. A lunch box sat on the stone slab, now visible with a multitude of lanterns closing in on it and inside of it sat a lump of meat later identified as a human heart. It had belonged to one of the missing workers and had a single chunk torn from it by what seemed to be an animal of some kind, the teeth marks left behind were determined to not be human. Along the thick base of the tree were numerous handprints identified as those of grown men; left in blood. The handprints slowly managed to climb the tree to where the head of the carved woman was set, they caressed her face with single digits and left only a delicate gore-painted smile behind. The air was odorless when they first entered the small grove but after taking in the scene it suddenly reared up with an awful stench hitting the officers with a force that finally sent them all running and gagging all the way back to their vehicles.
The fresh remnants in the forest that day were found to have belonged to a single man and the rest of the workers were never found and have never been cleared of suspicion though the families all vehemently deny their loved ones' involvement in such a horrific affair. The area was deemed a crime scene and eventually, the publicity became too much for Future Ideals and they abandoned the area entirely, taking a huge loss. They eventually turned it into a show of goodwill and deep condolences to the families by allowing it to be fenced off to the public in the hopes that the events of that day would eventually be solved. It certainly earned them the brownie points they were going for and they continued their plans a mile or so off from the area with no objections not long after. Speculation ranged from a case of mass hysteria or some obscure bacteria being kicked up in the construction process and driving the workers insane were thrown around news stations, papers, articles and eventually internet forums. There were two things many people looking into the case could agree on; the area that was found was a Puritan village and no Puritan, during that time, would ever worship anyone outside of the Christian God. So who was the woman that was carved so lovingly into that tree?
As the decades dragged on, the village of Ashwood became a local legend that eventually made its way onto the internet. Locals told stories of strange lights flickering deep in the woods at night and eerie chanting that carried on the wind. Some claimed to have seen ghostly figures moving through the trees, while others spoke of a dark presence as tall as the trees that seemed to lurk just beyond the edge of the forest. Despite the rumors, the authorities refused to investigate the village any further and the area was left to decay and crumble even further in the darkness. The case of the missing workers grew colder as the years went by, finally being written off as a crazy hermit killing the worker and driving the others off. But some brave or foolish souls still ventured into the woods, seeking to uncover the truth behind the mystery of Ashwood or simply for the thrill of investigating an area drenched in murder and tall tales. With every handful of people that went into Ashwood rumors would spread that half of them never came back out or that no one who went in ever came out again. Leaving any further disappearances attributed to Ashwood unverified.
-LiliesForDinner Signing Off
Lily had always been fascinated by the stories surrounding the village. She spent years researching the history of the area, reading old documents and accounts of the strange events that had taken place there over the centuries. Lily started a blog detailing the history and everything she learned during her research, she may have embellished a little but people like reading about the gory bits! Eventually, she decided to make the journey to Ashwood herself, armed with a flashlight, camcorder, polaroid and a sense of adventure. It was Hallow's Eve, she decided it was the perfect day for a spooky adventure and it would certainly amass her more attention from the paranormal board! Just wait until she gets all the photos developed and the video! She made a post on the forum announcing her plans and she couldn't wait to get back home and start editing. The night was perfect, not too cold, no rain and there was a gentle breeze that would hopefully add to the atmosphere. As she made her way deeper into the woods, the trees seemed to close in around her, their branches creaking and rustling in the wind. She felt like she was being watched, and she couldn't shake the feeling that something was following her.
As she approached the village, the air grew thick and heavy, and she heard the sound of chanting echoing through the trees. She hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should turn back, but her curiosity got the better of her. It could be some others putting together a Halloween setup or... Satanists trying to summon the devil. Either way, it's good footage. As she stepped into the clearing where the village stood, she saw that the village still seemed to be in the same state of stagnant decay from all those decades ago as if stuck in that time. The buildings were still in the same state of collapse and still overgrown while the air was thick with the smell of decay. But there was something else, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Then she saw the tall figure in the shadows, watching her from the edge of the clearing. It was humanoid, but its skin was sickly white, its face framed by long black stringy hair that seemed to writhe behind it. As she stood there, frozen solid and stared, it began to move toward her, its steps slow and deliberate. She took note that it seemed to glide. Lily wanted to run, to get as far away from the creature as she could, but her feet were rooted to the spot. It stopped in front of her and she realized then that it appeared to be a woman dressed in a tattered old dress and as Lily looked up, up and up her breath caught in her throat as she met its face. There were no eyes, no nose, only a mouth that slowly began to split open into a smile to reveal rows of jagged, razor-sharp teeth. It leaned down and she could feel its cold breath on her neck, it reeked of decay and the sound of its rasping breath filled her ears and turned her blood cold. Then it spoke, its voice was sickeningly sweet and melodic.
"Welcome to Ashwood," it said. "I've been waiting for you, you're just in time for dinner."
