The Soulful Eater

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. As Katie ran along the hiking trail as she often did for years, she passed the cabin and thought to herself...there must be a new owner. She thought it would be nice to knock on the door and welcome the new owner to the area. As she approached the door a cool breeze ran up her spine giving her chills and goosebumps all over her skin. She suddenly felt very nervous and decided to come back tomorrow. That night during dinner, Katie told her family about the cabin. Her father stood up quite quickly and said "Katie!" " You are not to go near that cabin!" A curious look came upon Katie's face. "Why father?" Her father sat down and exclaimed, "after dinner we will talk."

Dinner ended, the dishes were done and Katie couldn't wait a minute longer. She had to know about the abandoned cabin. Her father sat down in his favorite chair, stoked the fire and said "I'll tell you about the cabin." Rumors brewed about the mysterious disappearance of the cabin owner for many years due to the stories of paranormal activities with the cabin. It was said that the cabin owner was a witch. She would cast spells to keep people away from the cabin, and if you dared to cross the threshold of the cabin...you too would disappear. The town currently had 7 cold cases of missing hikers that just vanished without a trace. The local sheriff had only one clue to go on, an eye witness who claimed to have escaped the wrath of the witch. The eye witness statement was so chilling that no one dare go near the cabin from that day forward.

According to the witness, she saw a shadow in the window of the cabin that seemed to be motioning for her to come to the door. The witness thought maybe someone inside was in trouble and needed her help so she approached the cabin. She walked up the three worn out creaky stairs and approached the door. Before she knocked, she peered into the window and was terrified by what she saw! What looked like an old woman was sitting legs crossed approximately three feet above the floor with nothing beneath her but air. Around her was a giant white circle made of sand or perhaps salt with strange symbols within it. Candles were burning all around the room. The woman's back was to the window but as the witness stared in terror, the woman turned around. It was not her body that turned but only her head! Her eyes were black as night with long straggly hair and she opened her mouth so big it defied science and let out an enormous scream. The shrilling noise swung open the cabin door beside the witness and she felt a strong suction as if a very large vacuum was trying to persuade her into the cabin. The witness was frozen with terror, like her legs had become dead weights that with all her might she could not move. She couldn't scream because she couldn't catch her breath and the pressure from the suction within the cabin was intensifying. The witch let out another loud screech, but this time the witness snapped out her daze, found her strength and ran without ever looking back. The witness was so traumatized she had to be committed to the local asylum. Doctor's say she had a mental breakdown due to the heat that day, and dehydration but the towns people believe something different.

Katie could hardly believe what she was hearing. She wondered if the candle burning in the window was a trap to lure her closer. Her father continued to tell her that during a town meeting, all the people voted to tear down the cabin and burn the wood in a bonfire but something went wrong! The local tree cutters the town mayor hired to destroy the cabin went into the forest with all their equipment and were never seen again. "You see Katie, three of the seven missing persons were the tree cutters!" Her father warned her that rumor has it, "the witch keeps the souls and eats the bodies!"