The Candle Burning

The Cries of Lady Emma

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. And that candle was no ordinary candle. Many rumors and stories had been passed along through the years to anyone willing to sit through a bone-chilling storytelling. Thomas, the senior counselor at the campsite had the young children in his tent very eager to hear a good story. The children, brothers Todd, Terrence, and their tag-a-long sister, Taylor, were getting goosebumps as they laid there listening to Thomas, while wide-eyed, and not a sleepy eye in the bunch.

"The story told over the years was about this burning candle in the cabin window set far into the woods", began Thomas. The cabin was so deep into the woods that the starry night sky lit up a million stars as if each star was a burning candle itself. Each star glowing bright and crisp, a site not often enjoyed with all the bright street and building lights of Bainsville, a small town in the northern edge of the state. Star gazing in Bainsville is difficult due to all the city lights being cast towards the night sky clouding the view of all the shining stars.

The cabin sat along the river where the whitewater raged through the lower valley the strongest. With no known owner, no official records recorded as the cabin was supposedly built more than a hundred years ago, and no one caring for the property that was looking abandoned, few people dared to venture into the cabin. The overgrowth of plants and trees partially covered the cabin's front side, barely exposing that cabin window that often displayed the famous burning candle.

"Has anyone ever heard of Lady Emma? She is the one that supposedly lights the candle and places it in the cabin window", eerily spoke Thomas. Rumors abound that Lady Emma actually died from injuries sustained while living alone in the forest with her only child, but no one knows for sure who Lady Emma is, or where she comes from. The ageless story of Lady Emma fondly spoke of how she loved her only child, Daniel, and vowed to light a candle in the cabin window for her son until he returns home. She had blamed herself for her son getting lost in the forest, never to be seen ever again.

There was absolute silence about the night, with the only noises coming from the children's rapid heartbeats as they squirmed around in their sleeping bags intently listening to Thomas, all the while, the chirping crickets and small animals rustling in the bushes in search of some food helped set the mood for the story of Lady Emma. Cold air filled the night as the 275-foot-tall Redwood trees hid most of the star light and kept the winds calm for the night. The forest, the night sky, and eerie silence made for a far too real campfire story, leaving the children to be doubting Thomas and his story of the candle in the cabin window. "But is the story of Lady Emma true?", asked Taylor.

"Ahh. . ., true or not true, has long been the question", answered Thomas. And as a haunting surprise, tonight was the night that Thomas wanted to find out what is true about the candle burning in the cabin window. For tonight Thomas planned a haunting adventure, a well kept secret he held from the children, until now. He planned on taking the children on a hike through the poorly lit forest well past midnight, making their way down to the cabin deep into the woods. "Pack up everyone, we must hurry along in order to be back in camp by sunrise!", instructed Thomas.

After hiking through the dark, spooky forest for about an hour, Thomas decided to allow everyone a short break, for the cabin was just a few hundred feet down the narrow path, and was their next stop. Certainly, Thomas wanted everyone well rested before entering the cabin just in case they felt they needed to run for their lives.

"Everyone ready?", asked Thomas. Several minutes had passed and Terrance, the youngest of the boys who was trailing behind the others, cried out, "wait up, please, I don't want to get lost and be left all alone." The night was so dark, the only thing they could see was the glaring light beams from the flashlights. Imagine four flashlights in the darkness of night casting beams of light in every direction.

As Thomas continued down the dark path, he shared how Lady Emma would light the candle and place it in the cabin window, and yet no one could ever find a burning candle, even if they searched inside the cabin. So, tonight was going to prove the story right, or wrong.

As Thomas and the children entered the clearing just before the cabin's entrance, they saw the burning candle in the cabin window. Like statues frozen in time, the children stopped dead in their tracks as they fearfully hung on to one another in total disbelief. "There's the candle," said Todd. "This must be a trick of some sort, don't you think? asked Taylor. "Well, for sure, there is only one way to find out, let's go inside and take a look around," boldly suggested Thomas.

Chopping away at the overgrowing vines at the front door with his hands, Thomas led the way into the cabin as he carefully opened the front door. The dry, rusty hinges were loud as they creaked with every movement of the door. The floorboards, once a strong, sturdy floor, also creaked with every step. But once inside, they could no longer see the candle. "How could this be?", proclaimed Todd! We just saw the candle a moment ago," said Taylor as she became curious and began looking around with her flashlight. Meanwhile, Terrance tightly squeezed the back belt loops on the jeans Thomas was wearing practically pulling Thomas off balance as he helped search for the burning candle.

"Look!", yelled out Taylor, as they all quickly gathered near the front window looking out towards the narrow pathway. As difficult as it seemed to believe their own eyes, they could see a light glowing from a burning candle making its way down the narrow path. "Could that be Lady Emma?" asked Todd. " I don't know, Todd, I don't know", admitted Thomas.

One by one, they each ran out the front door, being careful to keep each other in sight of one another. But as they gathered in the clearing out front, they saw nothing. For whoever was walking down the narrow path with that candle was no longer there, they were gone without a trace. Suddenly, fear fell upon them all as each one slowly turned to look back where they once again could see the candle burning in the cabin window. "How can this be", asked Taylor, "how can this be?"

"Let's go back inside and take a look around", said Thomas. Something did not feel right. And as they entered the cabin they saw a young lady holding a dusty skeleton close to her chest crying out, "Daniel, please, Daniel, come back home." "I never meant to harm you, my dear son."