HAUNTSVILLE 2011

 

It is that time of year again, the apple cider is out, there is a nip in the air, the trees are turning golden colors and Hauntsville is once again preparing for it annual Halloween celebration. Lots of changes have occurred in the little town since las tyear. Let's visit the village that still remembers what the season is all about.

Once again everyone on Elm Street is getting into the season with decorations galore Let's see what everyone has set up this year.
Mr. Smith is easily the best pump kin carver in all Hauntsville. Every year he scatters many unique examples of his craft around his yard. He has 10 carved pumpkins on display this year. His yard ghost is sure to scare the trick or treaters as will the witch that has seemingly crashed into the tree and the Rest in Peace Vultures that line the sidewalk area great entrance.
Next door to the Smiths is the Mitchell house. The front yard has a graveyard scene and paper bag luminaries line the sidewalk. They seem to have attracted an interesting trick or treater dressed as a skeleton. It certainly is a realistic looking costume. Mr. Mitchell certainly wins the prize the the highes stack of pumpkins in town with his three high pumpkin "snowman".
This year there have been runmors of "witches" flying about town. I see by their decorations that the Baker's are tryng to keep the witches away by declaring their home a " No Fly Zone". Hope it works when the big night arrives. The Bakers have also opted for a grave yard motif with tombstones, mummies and skeleton fences places arond the yard.

The oldest house on Elm street belongs to "Old Man Grimes." Folks say he is a cousin of the Grimsleys who live in the Haunted Hallows section of town, up on the hill. Old man Grimes doesn't get out much but his house is certainly spooky. The gargoyles in the yard, the haunted hedges and the strange visitors he has coming to visit all year tend to keep folks away. Look, there is another of those strange visitors going up the walkway right now.
Just what kind of lampposts does Old man Grimes have in his front yard anyway?
Mr. Steen always drives the Halloween Night Haywagon through the town. It is a favorite activity for the neighborrhood kids, both young and old, to hop aborad the wagon for a ride around town. I see the children are rushing to get their early ride right now.

Main Street

From Elm Street we turn onto Main Street. Here the first house we come to the Steens. The Steen family has been growing maple trees and collecting syrup for several generations. It must be great to have fresh natural syrup on pancakes every morning. But I sure I would not enjoy raking all those leave each fall. They may look great on the tree with the beautiful fall colors, but the raking would be backbreaking.
Next to the Steens is Ben Chapman's Cider House. Ben has orchards of Delicious Apple trees, so there are always beautiful red apples for sale, but in the fall, he squeezes the apples and make fresh natural cider. While you can buy cider in the store, he always leaves a jug or two on a table so you can get a sample. Suzie Green always runs the village pumpkins patch sales. This year she convinced the council to let he set up shop on the village center green. The only problem was geting the pumpkins from Main Street to the village green. I see Suzie has found some eager kids to help carry the pumpkins to the green for sale.
Probably nothing tastes better than fresh cider. Looks like some new kids are coming to get their sample now
Once the stock is moved to their winter quarters Jim Moggins converts his barn into the village Fun House for Halloween. Jim's children are all grown and have moved to the city, but Jim has never gotten the Halloween spirit out of his blood. So every year the fun house appears. It is one of the best "tricks" to participate in on Halloween night in Hauntsville.
If kids are looking to make some extra cash for the holidays there is always work to be done in Hauntsville. Johnny Smith looks like he is giving Mr. Moggin a hand with some of the chores.

Village Town Center and the Green
Things have change quite a bit in Hauntsville over the last couple of years. After the century old Timbers Hotel burned the town council is trying to up grade the village appearance. Phase one of the reconstruction is nearly complete with the establishment of the new square and village green. By next year they hope to have phase two complete.. Let's take a walk around the square.
The oldest business on the square is the Olde Curiosity Shoppe located on the left. Here you can get anything from an old bed warmer, to 100 year old carriage lamps. While the shop remains the same, the landscaping with the little wrought iron fences is much changed. Shoppers come from all locations to checkout the wares in the shop. Here comes a interested shopper now.
As we continue around the square, and up the stairs we will pass the Wine and Spirits shop before reaching the Horse and Hounds Pub. This is easily the best old fashioned New England dining experience to be found in the area. While the food is excellent some guest perfer to drink their meal. One guest seems to be leaving with his stein still in hand while in the back ground you just might see Harry, pouring himself another glass of wine.
From this perspective we can get a better view of both the Wine and Spirit shop (on th eleft) and the Horse and Hounds. Stately All Saints Church still dominates the high ground in the square.
Whether you are walking on Main Street, or strolling the square itself, All Saints Church is the town's best known landmark. The old stone structure is well over 100 years old and has stood watch over the town from the beginning. With her orange colors stained glass wi ndows, eventhe building seems to take on a festive holoiday appearance.
Next to the church, and built on the site of the old Timbers Hotel is the new Crowntree Inn. Built as a bed and breakfast the Crowntree gives visitors a quaint place to stay while enjoying the convience of being "in town." Folks who come to the the plays at the theater find this a a great place to spend the night.
As we come down the stairs from the Crowntree we will pass the village book shop. Marian the owner and manager of the shop says she has several first edition book on display and for sale. I see she has one satisfied customer reading his book while sitting on the steps and looks like she is helping another customer find a book of his choice.
While the very old Theatre of the Macabre offers fine playhouse performances during the year every Halloween the brings in a seasonal Horror film for the big weekend. This year the movie is Return of the Mummy. It would appear from the way two guests and fleeing the building, and in their haste dropped their popcorn, that the movie was a little more scary than they bargained for.
Suzie's Creaving Carvings have this year's place on honor on the new Village Green and she has certainly taken advantage of the setting with a grand display of her carvings and would appear to have a great many pumpkins still for sale. In addition to Suzie's Carvings the green is a great place to just sit and enjoy the setting and the evening. Several folks are doing just that.
The Village Square and Green is much more attractive than last year. Plans have been approved by the village council for an expansion of the square to hopefully be done for next season.

Haunted Hollows Homes
The original section of Hauntsville was homesteaded by the Grimsley family nearly 250 years ago. The Grimsley family were said to be friends of Brom Bones the man who frightened poor Icabod Crane by pretending to be the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollows. Legend has it that Brom still rides his horse on Halloween, but those are just stories--aren't they?? Haunted Hollows is a pretty run downsection of town today, and the residents tend to keep to themselves. Although once a year the old neighborhood does get pretty active.
The house on the left belongs to a strange couple known to every one as Gramps and Gran. They don't talk to folks, are are real fussy about allowing folks into their yard.
They spend of lot of time boiling a "stew" in kettles in their front yard. But they never share their recepie.
Just across the street is Gravely Manors, a stately old mansion. No one can ever remember seeing the owers in daylight, but by night there seems to be alot of activity going on inside the tower. The boys of Hauntsville claim there is some running aroundwith an axe and you can see them through the windows, but I'm sure it is just kids talking. The grounds keeper manages the property and seems to be a really hairy fellow.
Further up the lane live the Skel-tons They appear to be a skinny couple who seem to rattle when they walk They always want to invite you in to see their "pet" who they claim just want to give everyone a hug.
The Skel-ton's groundskeeper is a wiley sort of fella who spends a great deal of time sitting outside at night watching the moon. You should how odd his teeth look, and then he does have those long curved finger nails...
At the end of the lane is Grimsley Manor. The Grimslies have a really neat old car that Ned and Nellie and Nell say can fly. But they can be serious.
At school the Grimsley children, Ned, and Nellie and Nell always invite the other children to play at THEIR home. The town children never go however, they say Ned has strange ears, and that Nellie and Nell are always really close to each other, some actually say they are joined at the hip.
The Grimsley family seems to have a lot of house guests. Some of the guests like to hang out in the yards, sit unde rthe trees and just relax and enjoy the view.
When the time comes, most folks in town are buried the the village cemetery at the end of Main Street. But not the Grimsley family. They have their own family crypt out on the wooded section of their property. The grave keeper is a pasty, pale fellow to only does his maintance at night, you never see him out in the sunlight.

HAUNTED CORNERS AND THE GRAVEYARD
At the far end of Main Street is the village Funeral Home and Graveyard. The village children refer to this area as the Goblin's Forest. Let's take a look at what lies out there. . .
As we walk down Main Street heading for Goblin's Forest----WAIT! Isn't that Headless Brom Bones on his horse carrying his pumpkin head just ahead?????
The oldest part of the cemetery is the section called Forsaken Cemetery, here is where the village founders were buried more than 200 years ago. This section is now closed
Just behind the Forsaken Cemetery gate you can see some of the old broken tombstones and behind them stands the caretaker's house which is connected to a old style Gatehouse. The doors to the gatehouse are always closed. I wonder just what the gatehouse leads to. . .
Past the Forsaken Cemetery stands Mordecai Mould's Undertaker establishment. Wonder why they are opening that old grave in front of the mortuary? I would have thought that once someone was buried---you just leave them in the ground. Perhaps that open grave is why Brom is out on his horse tonight.
Past the mortuary is the bridge crossing Toil and Trouble Creek which leads to the new cemetery in town.
Who is that guy fishing in Toil and Trouble Creek? Doesn't look like he is catching too much tonight. Looking at those yardlights that stand by the mortuary I can see why the village children call this place Goblin's Forest.
At the Rest Haven section of the cemetery it would seem that planting a corpse in the ground is no guarantee that it will stay in the ground.
While some of those buried in Rest Haven can't stay in the ground it would appear that in Haunted Grove the spirits are always out and about.
If grave yards are where the dead are buried, then why is the caretaker wheeling a barrel full of bones around the cemetery? I hope that isn't where the bone meal fertilizer at Moggin's store comes from.
The oldest industry in Hauntsville is the R.I.P. Tombstone Maker. Not only do they make the headstones for Hauntsville, but for all the neighboring communities as well
As the lower portion of the cemetery has filled new space has been found on the upper ledges. Although it does not look as though the graves up here as as well taken care of as they could be.

HAUNTSVILLE'S WITCHES COVEN
There are some parts of Hauntsville that most folks don't even know exist. Everyone knows that on Halloween night there are many strange visitors the roam the streets of the village. They don't talk much and they have very strange eyes, but they are there. Children tell tales of "seeing" witches flying on brooms flying across the sky but all the adults insist it is just children's stories. Still, there are strange happenings around the village. How do you account for our sighting of the "headless" Brom Bones that we saw earlier this evening? There is one place left to visit, if we can get inside----but know that you go there at your own risk and you are on your own trying to get out. Don't say I didn't warn you. Now stay close to me, as I, Merlin lead you to some of Hauntsville's most secret places. . . . . . . . .
The reason that the Forsaken Cemetery has been closed for for more than a century is that it is the portal to another world, the world of the Hauntsville Witches. Note the green glowing cauldron standing before the closed Gatehouse doors. Look, the doors are open just a crack tonight let's step in quietly. . .
Just inside the gatehouse stands the Witch's Brew Pub, the favorite gathering place for members of the coven. On a chilly, foggy night this place is so crowded you can't even get a table on the outside patio.
Tabatha is the most experienced potion and spell make in the coven. Witches say that she even taught classes at Hogworts for many years. She has quite a list of "special" ingredients that help make her potions the talk of the Witchery Hotline.
The future of the coven is quite secure. Just behind the pub is the Witch Flight School where young witches gain the skills to take on future hauntings. You can also see the old stone staircase that crosses the headwaters of Toil and Trouble Creek.
At the top of the stairs is the home of Merlin, the great wizard. Here he can be seen supervising Witch Hester and her boiling kettle. The spillage from the kettle is the actual headwaters of Toil and Trouble Creek.
The old windmill also stands on the cliff edge of Witch Hollow. The mills still works and grinds the magic grain that produces the special ales sold at the pub.
You better learn to watch where you walk through the coven. At any moment you could find yourself in the flight path of any number of witches.
When you are finished looking around the coven the best way out is through the archway that leads to Haunted Hollows. Thanks for visiting Hauntsville 2011. Be sure to come back next year and see what changes have taken place in the little village. Happy Hauntings. . .
 

Thank you for visiting Hauntsville 2011. Please take a moment to sign the guestbook. See you next year.
 
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