My watch showed me that it was nearly midnight, but I really did not need the timepiece to alert me to such an hour.
I had been wandering here and there, albeit carefully, through the deep clean sands of the Mojave River bed just northeast of the town of Daggett.
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| Nothing but lonely sands in the riverbed |
I was in search of one of the most terrifying hauntings in the High Desert, according to a news article in the Victorville Daily Press dated October 26, 2010.
In fact, the article entitled, ‘High Desert’s Most Haunted Places,’ describes this ghostly apparition’s path listed as the ninth most haunted place around.
‘Newberry Springs. Legend has it that the “hatchet lady” roams the Mojave River bottom at night.’
That sounded rather sinister, and thus the reason I was traipsing through the ankle deep sand in search of this specter recently.
That is what I do for a weekly column, especially for the month of October.
This ghostly apparition is not a very nice ghost. According to the Urban Dictionary, ‘The Hatchet Lady caught her husband cheating, and in a fit of rage she lopped off his head with a hatchet, and then committed a gory suicide in the same swing of her arm.’
Seems a little extreme to ‘lop’ off someone’s head when caught cheating while playing poker. But perhaps it wasn’t a card game.
Now, this demented and thwarted woman patrols the Mojave River bed looking for her next victim between Minneola Road and Harvard Road in Newberry Springs.
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| Dirt trails, possibly leading to the Hatchet Lady |
Rumor has it she shrieks in the air like a banshee. Though I have never heard a banshee but just the name sends shivers up and down my arms.
There is quite a distance in miles between both roads and after walking and stumbling through the near total darkness for an hour, while yelling out for the Hatchet Lady, I was tired.
“Hey, Hatchet Lady,” I yelled, while nearly tripping over a rather large abandoned truck tire. “I’ve got a deadline here, show yourself.”
Suddenly, out of the darkness near a tall other-worldly looking tamarisk flew one of the largest owls I had ever witnessed.
I was glad to have worn Depends this particular evening. I did not shout my presence again.
Another hour later, I was really tired and made my way back to my truck parked along Minneola Road.
Perhaps the hatchet swinging damsel had set hours and I had merely missed them.
The following day I ended up at the Barn along Route 66 in Newberry Springs. I knew I would find the truth about the Hatchet Lady from the patrons there. If not, a cold adult libation would certainly find its way in front of me.
Wes, a local, was wetting his whistle. “Nope, never heard of her and I’ve lived here over ten years.”
Renee, the owner of the bar, shook her head. “Sounds scary, but I’ve had the place over at Lake Jodie for decades and nada.”
Joel, the maintenance manager for the Barn also shook his head. “That’s interesting, I’ve lived here for five years and haven’t heard of her.”
I took out my phone, found four different websites about the Hatchet Lady and showed it around the bar.
Blank faces stared back at me.
“But you know, this place is haunted,” Joel stated.
Huh?
Turns out that both Joel and Renee have felt and seen strange happenings at the establishment.
“I was working one night after the place closed,” Joel started, “when suddenly I heard the men’s bathroom door slam shut.”
“Okay,” I replied. “Doors slam shut.”
He then walked me over to the bathroom door and pointed at a large cinder block holding the door open.
“We leave it open using that,” he said. “When I came over that night, the block was over there.”
He pointed to a spot across the hall at least eight feet away.
“Interesting,” I replied.
He then filled me in on other strange occurrences that had been going on at the Barn.
“The kitchen light came on and when I checked on it, the switch was in the off position. I checked the wires and they were correct. I turned it off and while walking away the light went back on, but the switch was still turned off.”
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| Ghostly happenings at the Barn in Newberry Springs |
Renee happened by the two of us. “One time I was sitting listening to a band, taking a break from the bar when I felt a hand on my shoulder that gave me a squeeze. I thought it was a patron wanting my attention but when I turned around there was no one there.”
“As I was laying some new flooring behind the bar after closing hours,” Joel added, “I heard the freezer door open and then slam shut. Then footsteps walked from the kitchen, across the dining area and disappeared into the rear of the building. I was alone at the time.”
“What did you do then?” I asked.
“Went home.” Joel replied.
I asked Renee who the spirit - a great term to use in a bar, maybe.
“I’m not sure, but I do not believe it means any harm,” Renee responded. “Sort of like it is keeping an eye on the place.”
Sometimes when investigating a locale or event nothing happens - a big fat zero, like I found out with the river bed wandering banshee who hefts a mighty hatchet.
Though, I did sort of wonder how a person could cut off her cheating husband’s head and then cleanly decapitate themselves with one swing.
Perhaps Hatchet Lady should have saved that swing for the majors?
“You know, John,” Renee stated. “Lake Jodie is haunted.”
Joel, who also lives at Lake Jodie piped up. “There have been times when I see shadow people by the lakeside, and when they see me looking they disappear.”
A shadow person, per paranormal sources, is a shadowy figure or black mass resembling a humanoid figure. Often they are interpreted as the presence of a spirit or other entity by believers in the paranormal or supernatural realm.
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| Lake Jodie, where shadow people are often seen |
My interpretation is, these black blobs walk around scaring people without uttering a word - like watching an IRS agent sitting behind their desk and staring at you during an audit.
Both would be equally frightening.
“I’ve heard footsteps on the exterior steps and then something walking to the water’s edge, but there is nothing there,” Joel continued. “I actually had someone grab my left shoulder one evening while I was sitting on the steps outback, as though using me for leverage to make it down the stairs.”
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| Footsteps can be heard but no one is there |
As Joel is telling me this tale, I noticed large goosebumps on both of his arms. He pointed at them, “See, I hate even thinking about the shadow people and other things I’ve witnessed out there.”
At that point I knew I had to contact the ghostbusters team of Cody Dare and Shawn Warren of The New Reality Paranormal investigative team.
Arrangements were made to meet at one of the houses at Lake Jodie (in all transparency - Lake Jodie is a gated community and no address will be supplied in this column) at a certain date and time.
Like many things in life, other duties turned up and I was not able to be there while Cody and Shawn did their paranormal activity. I believe I had a mani-pedi scheduled instead.
Cody got back to me. “Dude, there is a lot going on there. The place was lighting up like crazy.”
That’s paranormal lingo for, “Wow, Dude, the place was lighting up like crazy.”
“This place has all kinds of different energies just wanting to be heard. They actually want to talk to you.”
Why me, I wondered.
Shawn punched into the conversation. “There is a little girl there who is very prominent. It’s very heartbreaking to know she’s still there.”
Both these professionals know I am a skeptic, but not about their work. They have investigated dozens of places with supposed paranormal activity and have told me things that neither they nor I can explain.
And, that is paranormal, folks.
Though I didn’t locate Hatchet Lady, probably better for my noggin, I did learn that many people in the Newberry Springs area have experienced things there are no seemingly logical explanations for.
And who doesn’t like a bit of mystery or goose bumps in their life?
Happy Halloween!
