This story was told to me a few years ago by my good friend Jack. It’s always stuck with me because of the raw details surrounding the tale. It has all the elements of an urban legend, an unexpected brush with the supernatural, and the shock truth after the encounter all rolled into one brief story. When I started writing this blog I asked Jack to refresh my memory on the details of his experience so that I could share it with my readers. He obliged and regaled me with the story once again.
The encounter fresh on my mind, I set off to do a quick investigation of my own. But I’ll get to that after I tell you Jack’s story…
It was a foggy October morning in Springfield and Jack was starting his day with a run. 3:30a.m. comes a bit early for the typical park-goer, but Jack was determined to get in 3 miles before work. Upon arrival, Jack noted the lack of cars at the park. He knew he would have the walking track to himself and after some quick stretches, he was off on his 3 mile jaunt. Jack was nearly around the first loop of the track before he noticed the young woman walking toward him.
As he jogged toward the woman, Jacked noted that she was not dressed in the usual attire associated with exercise. She wore a long sleeved blouse, blue jeans, white sneakers and had a sweater tied about her waist. Jack also noted that she was walking oddly slow, with her arms behind her back and a strange smile on her face; a very pretty face that glanced about as if lost. As he past her he uttered a polite “Good Morning” and in that moment, time stuttered and slowed and Jack was overwhelmed by the notion that this was her last trek around the park…one final stroll. After a couple steps, time resumed its normal pace and Jack was past the odd visitor and rounding the loop.
Shaken by what had just occurred, Jack glanced over his shoulder to see if the young woman was still on his loop of the track. The fog had begun to thin, and he could see her more clearly now as he round the corner toward her once more. Again, Jack was greeted with the same pretty smile and as their eyes locked and he intended to speak once again, he found his step interrupted. A dip in the asphalt track had caught Jack’s foot causing him to stumble and glance down momentarily to recover. Looking back up toward the woman, Jack suddenly realized he was alone. Confused, Jack remained in place, looking about the track for the young woman who only seconds ago had been just a few inches away. She was simply gone.
Later that day Jack was recounting his experience to a friend at work and when he described the woman, his friend stared in disbelief. Two weeks prior to Jack’s chance encounter, a young woman had been murdered in a apparent drug deal gone bad. Her killer had tied her up, shot her and then burned the body somewhere close to the park that she had lived across the street from…the same park where Jack frequently took his early morning run. Jack’s friend googled the news article about the incident and attached was a photo of the victim in question. Jack nearly fainted when he saw the young woman’s face…that same pretty smile and those same lost eyes.
As I stated before, Jack’s tale has all the right elements to stick with you. Anyone who has an interest in the supernatural has heard a dozen such stories, but to get it straight from the source is a rare treat indeed. Since I live only a few miles from the a fore mentioned park, a personal investigation was absolutely warranted. Brief as it was, and with several people already out for a morning stroll, I was only able to snap a few pics during my walk. I will say that the south end of the track definitely has a different feel about it. My sight was drawn to two large oak trees in the far corner, just on the park side of a residential fence. Was this the site of the murder? I’ve found scant details about about the featured crime, so I can only speculate as to the origin of the pulse emanating from the space between those trees. A return visit to park is needed; as is further research of its history. Until then…
