A Ghost Story

By Gary White

OK, CV fans, in honor of Halloween, I offer the following ghost story. This is not a work of fantasy, but the absolute truth as I experienced it.

It was the 1959-60 school year and I was teaching in the public schools of Hoxie, Kansas. I had spent the weekend back at KU where my finance was attending college. It was the middle of the night on a Sunday and I was driving straight through to Hoxie to be there in time to do the morning band rehearsal at 8 AM. I often made this night time journey and then caught up on sleep during the week. (There wasn’t much else for a teacher to do in Hoxie.)

I was driving the interstate out across the plains west of Salina and the land stretched out flat as far as I could see in every direction. The eastern sky was just beginning to show yellows and reds and the landscape began to appear around me. I was driving at least 60 miles per hour in my old Pontiac when I looked off to the north out the passenger window. What I saw there made my hair stand straight up on end. Outside the window was the head and shoulders of a man who seemed to be riding right along with me. Thinking it must be my own reflection in the glass, I blinked my eyes several times but he didn’t go away.

I would describe him as being older than middle age, nearly bald, with tufts of hair sticking out from his head in several places. His complexion was dark, almost orange and his eyes were piercing and bloodshot. I looked as long as I could stand it and then just looked straight down the road to find a place where I could stop. I absolutely did not want to stop out in the middle of open country with this guy looking in at me. I don’t know exactly how long I drove like this in utter terror, but I saw a gas station on the side of the road ahead and it looked open. I pulled in and there was a little truck stop cafe that was also open. Being careful not to look out the right window, I got out and went into the cafe. There I drank several cups of coffee with shaking hands along with a good breakfast. That must have taken a half hour or so and, when I went back to get into the car, the sun was up and the sky was blue. Now I looked at the right side of the car and, of course, there was nothing there.

Getting into my car, I completed my trip to Hoxie in time to change clothes and get to the band rehearsal. What a relief to be back in familiar surroundings, with kids acting up and talking the way kids do. I could have hugged them all that morning. I waited for several years to tell this story and this is the first time I have written it all down. Just writing it gives me a little thrill up the back of my neck.