The screams of labor had filled the house of John and Hannah Gipp for the last twenty-three hours.  Never before had Dr. Green seen a labor so difficult in his 40 year career.  The baby had turned, twisted and refused to be delivered.  A decision had to be made on whether or not to take the baby before the mother became too weak.  The doctor had performed a cesarean only one time in his life.  He swore that he would never do it again either.  Both mother and child died in that operation.  He felt that operations were to be done in hospitals, not in houses.  The nearest hospital was two days by horse and wagon.  Hannah would never survive the trip.  Now, though, after watching this poor woman suffer for so long…it may be the only way to keep her alive. 

With the decision made to proceed with a cesarean, the doctor began preparations to begin the operation.  As he placed the scalpel to her abdomen, he could see the contraction begin.  Hannah screamed in agony and pushed with all of her might. 

Born to John and Hannah Gipp on September 15, 1870 was a tiny disfigured girl.  The doctor gasped, as well as the midwife who assisted him.  The baby wailed a most unnatural cry and then went silent.

***    

John and Hannah moved from their community after the birth of their daughter and Hannah was able to move about.  Not able to take the stares and pities from the townsfolk, they decided it would be best for them to move where no one knew them. 

They came to a town named Limestone Ridge.  It was a month’s ride from Oakdale.  Here, no one knew them.  Here they could start fresh and try to have another child, a normal child.

*************** 
One afternoon right before All Hallow’s Eve in the year 1883, a young girl had decided that she would have an adventure in the woods surrounding her home.  Sarah Beth was 10 years old.  Her parents were in their late 40’s and had experienced several failed pregnancies by the time she was born.  This led to their “miracle child” being a bit over protected.  Though Sarah Beth was used to being under a watchful eye, she had decided that today was the perfect day for her to venture out on her own.

Sarah Beth’s mother had begun preparing an elaborate supper of chicken and dumplings and sweet potato pie.  Reverend Phillips was coming for a visit, so they had to put out the Sunday best.  Reverend Phillips came by for dinner about once every six months or so, trying to get the family to attend church in town on a regular basis.  Mother probably would go, but Father just couldn’t see any sense in it for some odd reason. 

Father was in the barn tending to the horse and what little livestock had survived the tornado which had blown through the month before. The reverend wouldn’t arrive for a few hours, so Sarah Beth had plenty of time to go off on her adventure while her parents were busy.

Grabbing an apple, Sarah Beth kissed her mother on the cheek and told her that she was going out to play.  “Don’t go far, Sarah Beth.  You never know what could be out in the woods,” her mother said as she skipped out the door.  After looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching her, Sarah Beth walked quickly out of sight and started following the stream that lead away from their house. 

She knew that there were caves in the area.  Father said that he had seen a big black bear coming from one of them last spring.  It had also been rumored in the schoolyard that there had been Indians living in the caves at one time.  She thought it would be really neat to find an arrowhead.  “I could make a necklace or sell it to a boy at school.  Then I could go to the mercantile and get Mother and Father a store-bought present for Christmas.”

Walking for what seemed to be an hour, Sarah Beth had given up hope of finding any Indian caves.  The stream had trickled into small muddy patch and she was beginning to get hungry, so she decided to turn around and go back home.  

As she turned, something shiny caught her attention.  The sun had broken through the clouds and had reflected off of a piece of glass.  There, hidden in a thicket of trees, she saw what looked like a little cabin.  Since the leaves had fallen, it had made the cabin more visible; otherwise, she would never have seen it.

Carefully, she climbed over a rotting tree trunk and crawled under some fallen branches.  She was very deep in the woods and knew that she would have to be very careful.  If something were to happen to her, she would most likely never be found. 

Her father had never spoken of anyone living out this far from town and the cabin appeared to be abandoned. Nevertheless, she thought it would be best to hide behind a laurel bush once she was close enough to see if there were any signs of life. 

The front door was closed, but the half-open screen door was hanging by a hinge.  It looked as though it would fall off if a gust of wind blew.  A window pane was broken with a tattered curtain panel hanging out on one side of the porch.  No, she thought, no one could possibly live here.

Sarah Beth slowly walked up the landing to the porch.  A hole as big as their barn cat was right in front of the door.  Gently, she reached into a tear in the screen and tried to turn the doorknob.  It wouldn’t budge.  “Oh well,” she said to herself out loud, “I’ll just walk around and see what I can find.”

A little girl must have lived here at one time, Sarah Beth thought as she saw a rope swing hanging from a tree branch.  It couldn’t have been a boy, because they don’t swing; they just climb and play in the dirt.  She noticed something very strange, though.  A chain was wrapped around the tree trunk where the swing hung.  “They must have had a mean dog that they had to keep tied up,” she said “It sure is close to the swing though.”

A breeze blew through at that very moment.  It made the swing go back and forth just enough to notice that it was moving.  Sarah Beth could close her eyes and imagine a girl just about her age, all alone out here in the woods.  She saw her dressed in a sack cloth dress and her hair pulled back in a red cloth ribbon. 

Just then, she heard a noise come from the back of the house.  Sarah Beth ran quietly around the tree where the rope swing hung and hid until she was sure there was no one moving around.  It seemed like she had held her breath forever when finally she found enough courage to peek around the tree.  She didn’t see anyone.  She had to find out what had made that noise.

There were two windows in the rear of the cabin.  The first one had a broken pane, like the one on the front porch.  As she looked in, she saw an old straw bed.  It had a sheet covering the mattress and a torn green blanket that was just thrown on.  “Mother would never let a bed in her house look like that, she thought as she scanned the rest of the room.  It looked like the rest of the house – run down and abandoned. 

Sarah Beth’s mind had begun to wander and she had forgotten about the noise she had heard.  She began humming a church hymn that she’s heard Mother sing as she skipped over to the other window.  She had to stand on tip toe just to reach the window sill and still couldn’t see inside.  Looking around on the ground, she found a good sized piece of wood that she could stand on.  By this time, she had made it to the end of Amazing Grace and was about to begin another song.

As Sarah Beth stepped up on the wood, she gasped as she looked into the window.  She saw the most beautiful room that she had ever seen.  The wallpaper was white with tiny pink flowers.  One corner of the room had a white four poster bed made up with a fluffy pink comforter, frilly pillows.  A porcelain doll wearing a dainty lace dress was resting in the middle of the bed.  There was also a nightstand and chest of drawers to match.  The room also had a tiny table and chair set, perfect for tea parties. This was a dream room. 

Sarah Beth thought, “The little girl from the swing must have had a wonderful life here.  It is so strange why her room is so elegant while the rest of the house is about to fall apart.  Why would they leave her room looking like she still liv…”  Movement caught her eye.  What was it?  Surely not the little girl!

She ducked down beneath the window and listened.  It seemed as though an eternity passed before she had built enough courage to look again.  It was so quiet.  Even the birds had stopped singing.  Slowly, she slid her head up to see what was there.  As her eyes reached the glass, a horrible disfigured thing jumped at the window trying to reach for her.  As she fell from the wood, they both screamed, one from terror and the other from surprise. 

In the split second of horror, before she fell from the wood, time stood still.  Sarah Beth took in every last detail of the thing living in the princess room.  It appeared to be just as she had thought.  It was the little girl in the sack cloth dress from the swing.  Her hair wasn’t pulled back by the red satin ribbon, though.  It was overgrown and unkempt.  It looked as though it had been months or even years since it had been brushed.  Her face was disfigured.  The eyes were bulging, looking as though they would pop out at any moment.  Her mouth…was horrific.  Instead of the pretty smile shaped mouth that every little girl had, there were rotten, jagged teeth and swollen gums jutting out where her lips should be. 

Sarah Beth, while terrified, felt an odd sort of pity for the creature that was confined to its room.  It was bound by a leather strap around its neck.  You could see that it had been chained for a very long time because the leather rubbed the skin around its neck into a thick, blackened callous.  The strap was connected to a chain which ran to a post next to the bed.  The chain was long enough to give free range of the room, but oddly enough, it would not reach the window or door. 

Another scream from the creature startled Sarah Beth.  She decided that her journey had lasted long enough.  Her mother and father were probably getting worried about her, and she didn’t want to stick around to see if the chain would be strong enough if the creature truly wanted to break free.  She scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as she could in the direction of the stream which would lead her to the safety of her home. 

Sarah Beth quickly climbed through the tangle of limbs and branches.  Even though she could no longer see the cabin, she still could hear the screams of the thing in the back room, trying to break free.  Wildly, her head scanned back and forth looking for the stream, her long hair smacking her face.  Panic had taken hold of the 10-year-old.  She couldn’t find the lifeline to her home. 

A tree root, hidden by the fallen leaves, tripped Sarah Beth, knocking her to the ground.  As she fell, the soft earth beneath gave way and opened up into a hole just large enough to swallow her into its belly.  Her foot, still wound in the root, held her captive.  Hanging upside down, Sarah Beth looked up but couldn’t see the bottom of the hole.  There was a small ledge not far from her reach.  If she wiggled her foot loose from the root, she should be able to reach it.  At least standing right-side-up would allow her to try to climb out. 

Sarah Beth knew she would have to work quickly.  The blood had begun to rush to her head.  She didn’t know how long she would be able to stand the pain and pressure.  It was certainly nothing like hanging from her knees in her apple tree back home. 

In her haste, her foot turned sideways.  Her shoe became wedged tighter in the root while her foot slid free.  She fell, head first.  Her head struck the small ledge and she continued to fall much farther down into the blackness of the cave.  Before she landed, unconsciousness had already come over her.

 *************

Sarah Beth’s mother had become worried when she called for her daughter to come wash for supper without an answer.  The Reverend Phillips had arrived and the table was set.  Oh, what a time for her to be hiding, what with the Reverend here, Mother thought.  Excusing herself for a moment, Mother ran to her husband, who was still outside.  She said, “She went outside to play over two hours ago while I was cooking.  I told her not to go far, that the woods were dangerous, but she didn’t listen.  She could be anywhere.” 

Father became annoyed at the news and at Mother for letting Sarah Beth wander off.  “Tonight of all nights!” said Father, “How this must look to your Reverend.  I will find Sarah Beth and I’ll do it quickly, before my supper gets cold.”  Father grabbed his lantern and headed for the woods.  Although he was confident that he would only be a moment, he took the lantern anyway.  At this time of the evening you could be a few feet in and you wouldn’t be able to see your hand in front of your face. 

“Sarah Beth!” Father yelled.  “You had better get home for supper.  The Reverend is waiting and I have worked hard all day.  Enough is enough!”  There was no answer.  He searched the entire perimeter of their home and found nothing.  Father’s annoyance turned to anger.  He searched the barn and any nook and cranny that would hold a child.  His anger became panic when the realization hit him.  His girl was lost in the woods in the dark.  The October nights had turned much colder this past week and he said to himself, “She will freeze to death for sure if she’s not found soon.” 

Father quickly returned to the house and grabbed his coat.  Apologetically, he asks the Reverend if he would please go into town and ask some of the men to come out to help him search for Sarah Beth.  Without thought or hesitation, Reverend Phillips bowed his head and prayed that the young child would be found quickly and unharmed, then rushed to his buggy to find help.

By the time the reverend returned with the men, it was 9:00.  Father had continued his search but dared not go very far into the woods by himself.  It would be hard to find his little girl under the new moon and its blackness, but he would not give up. 

Mother had suggested they follow the stream since Sarah Beth had loved to play in the water.  She would throw flower petals and leaves in and pretend they were boats for her imaginary fairy folk.  As the men looked to Father, he nodded his head.  They followed his lead and spread out only far enough that they could see each other’s lanterns in order to cover more ground.

Hours had passed before they came to the point where the stream ended and the muddy spot remained.  If they didn’t find her here, chances would be extremely low that they would find her alive.  Father knew this area well.  He came here daily to tend to his secret; the secret that only he and Mother had known.  Surely she wasn’t in the house with…

Just then one of the men had yelled that they had found something.  There, lying next to a hole in the ground was a child’s shoe.  Recognizing it as Sarah Beth’s, Father dropped to his knees to search inside of the hole.  As he hit the ground, clumps of soft earth broke away.   “Sarah Beth!” Father yelled, “Are you in there?”  No answer.  Again he yells for her.  He hears a faint whimper far down deep in the blackness.  They had found her. 

Hope filled Father’s heart, but there was still a very dangerous job left to do.  Two men were sent back to the house to bring blankets and rope.  He knew it would be several hours before they returned.  Why hadn’t he thought to bring rope with him?  It was so difficult to travel these woods at night.  By his guess it was close to midnight already.  It was growing colder with each minute.  He hoped that his little one would make it through the night.

Not a sound had been heard since the men had been gone.  It took three agonizing hours for them to return.  Father had continued to talk to Sarah Beth just to let her know that he was there. 

Since no tree was close enough to tie the length of rope to, they would have to rely on the strength of each other to lower someone into the cave.  Naturally, the smallest of the four men was chosen.  As he began his descent, the side of the cave crumbled and a large portion of dirt fell in.  Again, a faint, weak whimper is barely heard. 

Without wasting any more time and no thought for his own safety, Father lashed the rope to his waist and tied the other end to the tree root.  He took a small backward leap and repelled downward into the darkness.  With each jump more dirt fell, covering the unconscious child.  Finally, he came to the ledge where his daughter lay.  She was still breathing.  He cradled her in his arms and cried.  

***************

The town doctor had told Father that with a head injury as severe as hers, there was a chance she may never wake up.  He could not bear the thought of losing her again.  She lay unconscious for four days before her eyes began to flutter.  It took another two days before she was able to hold up her head and sip broth by herself and speak.  Her father had told her that the bump on her head was larger than Mother’s biscuits (but not quite as hard).  This made her laugh, painfully.  While she lay in bed, her father spent an unusual amount of time at her bedside, asking all sorts of strange questions, “Where did you go in the woods?  What did you see?  What do you remember?”  They were all questions that Sarah Beth couldn’t remember the answers to for quite some time.

One month after Sarah Beth first opened her eyes; she miraculously took her first steps outside.  The cold crisp air burned her lungs.  It had begun snowing.  There would be no walks farther than the outhouse for her until spring.  This would give her time to sit and think.

Over the next four months, her father stayed close by.  Mother had never asked her about her ordeal.  She had actually become quiet, keeping to herself.  The winter was very strange.

On one occasion, when Sarah Beth had gone out to the barn with Father, she had a memory of a tree swing with a chain around the tree.  She had told her father about this memory and he had said that it must have been a dream.

Spring had come and Sarah Beth was back to her old self.  The flowers were in bloom and she was ready to be outdoors again.  She continued having strange memories throughout the winter.  Bits and pieces were still coming to her as time went on and she had tried to talk to her father about them.  His reply was always the same, “It must have been a dream.”  She was beginning to wonder if he was right and it was all a dream.

Sarah Beth had gotten out of bed early one morning to use the outhouse.  She had seen her father going into the woods in the same direction of her adventure.  Carefully, so as not to be seen, she followed him.

He was carrying a basket and a water jug with him.  “What on earth could he be doing?” she thought. 

On he walked, all the way to the hole that she had fallen into almost five months ago.  He stopped and looked down into the hole, shook his head wondering how she had fallen so far and come out of it alive.  Then, he turned and walked to a small thicket of trees.  Sarah Beth suddenly remembered where she was.  Her father was going to the cabin.  It wasn’t a dream, but why had he told her that it was?

Father climbed the steps to the porch and set his jug and basket down.  He lifted the screen door and placed it to the side.  Up over the top of the door frame, he found a key and unlocked the door, opening it easily.  Retrieving the items he’d brought, he went inside.

For a moment, Sarah Beth had to sit there and take in the information she had just discovered.  All of the memories that she had been having and believed to be dreams were actual events that had happened.  Her father had been lying to her.

She began walking towards the porch when she heard her father scream out “No!”  Sarah Beth ran inside and found him kneeling in the back bedroom, his head resting face down on the fluffy bed.  The girl from her memories was being held in a loving embrace by Sarah Beth’s mother.  They were both lying there with their eyes closed.  They were peaceful.

Her father was holding a crumbled piece of paper.  He looked at her with tears streaming down his face.  “They are gone.  Both of them.” 

I didn’t understand.  What was wrong with Mother?  Why was she holding this hideous thing?

Father began reading what was on the paper to me: