Screaming Jenny by Becky Muth

Author:Becky Muth
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Becky Muth
Published: 2014-04-12T00:00:00+00:00

Harpers Ferry, WV, May 25, 2013

“OH GOD,” VANESSA MURMURED. It was the first sound either she or Nick had uttered since Gladys began talking. “Please tell me someone got to her in time!” Nick put his hand on his wife’s shoulder and gave her a gentle, reassuring squeeze. Vanessa covered his hand with hers and held it tight before turning her expectant gaze back to the older woman, who shook her head and looked down, a sad expression crossing her features.

Gladys sighed, “I am afraid not. Jenny tried to make it to this very station, although it was not quite this fancy back in her time. The faster she tried to run, the higher the flames climbed, higher and higher they crept right on up her body, and the louder she screamed. She stumbled onto the tracks. They say it was just over there.” The old woman paused and pointed towards the west, not far in front of the train that would later carry them into the Nation’s Capital.

“By this time, poor Jenny was just a ball of fire to anyone who might have seen her. The train conductor said she did not even look human. He had no idea that Jenny did not see him coming as she staggered in his direction. Her vision was too blinded from the light of the flames covering her body to see the light from the train, and she could not hear its whistle over the sounds of her own harrowing shrieks. If she could have heard anything, it most likely would have been the screeching of the brakes as the engineer made a last-minute attempt to stop, just before the engine and first three cars thumped over her body.” Gladys shook her head, her eyes staring past Vanessa and Nick to the spot where Jenny must have died.

After a moment Gladys continued, “The train crew inside the station heard the poor woman screaming and the train’s whistle, and the men ran outside onto the platform just as the train was coming to a stop. Jenny’s miserable, mangled-up body was caught up in the wheel beneath one of the cars, still on fire. The men were able to douse the flames and remove her body as best they could from beneath the train car, but it was too late. Poor Jenny was dead.”

The three remained seated on the bench, offering Jenny a respectful moment of silence. Gladys stared out at the tracks until Vanessa leaned forward.

“What happened then?” She asked the older woman, a quaver in her voice belying the courage she tried to display.

“Oh, the townspeople took real good care of Jenny, just like she took care of them. They buried her nice and proper in a corner of Harper’s Cemetery, up on the hill there, in an unmarked grave,” Gladys patiently explained with a soft smile. As she spoke, she jerked a thumb in the directly of the cemetery, several streets behind them on the other side of the train station.

Engrossed

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