WDYS — Do My Eyes Deceive Me?

Fandango

Craig closed his eyes and rubbed them with the palms of his hands. Then he looked again to make sure he was actually seeing what he thought he was seeing on this eerie, foggy night with a full moon illuminating the mist.

Yes, what he was seeing was still there. A tall, lean young man wearing a dark suit and shoes that looked like sneakers. Was standing on the stone footbridge over the creek. He was wearing a top hat that looked two sizes too large for his head. He also seemed to have a book in his right hand. Craig speculated that it might be a Bible.

But as Craig was staring at the man, he saw the most peculiar sight. Suddeny, without shifting his position at all, the man appeared to float up until he was no longer standing on the deck of the old stone bridge. He was, in fact, standing rather precariously on the stone sidewall on the near side of the bridge. And his left shoe appeared to be fading into the stone wall, as if the bridge was starting to absorb the figure standing on the wall.

Once again Craig closed and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. But when he opened his eyes this time, the man was gone, and all that remained on the bridge sidewall was the top hat and the book. Craig walked to the footbridge and picked up the top hat and book, which was, indeed, a Bible.

When Craig got home a few minutes later, he showed his father the hat and book and related to his father what he had seen. Craig’s father turned pale. “It was an apparition, son,” Craig’s father said. “The ghost of Elias Grant. He was tried and convicted for sorcery some 200 years ago. After his conviction, he was brought to that footbridge, hands tied behind his back, and he was thrown in the water under the bridge, where he drowned.”

Craig’s father grabbed Craig by the shoulders and said, “You must take those artifacts back to the bridge exactly where you found them. They say Elias Grant is only visible to those who will meet a similar fate. Be careful, my son.”

Written for Sadje’s What Do You See prompt. Photo credit: Darksouls 1 @ Pixabay.

23 thoughts on “WDYS — Do My Eyes Deceive Me?”

  1. newepicauthor February 27, 2024 / 2:28 pm

    This is so spooky, but there is probably a good lesson in there someplace.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Sadje February 27, 2024 / 2:42 pm

    A very interesting story Fandango, very well written. Thank you for joining in.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. dorahak February 27, 2024 / 5:15 pm

    I didn’t see that coming! Great storytelling.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Marleen February 28, 2024 / 8:05 am

    The lesson, well, a lesson, is to not use AI, but I already thought that. We did a test on using AI to find a summary on a topic a couple days ago. I asked why that would be the way to go about finding information. I explained that all AI was going to do is scrape the 99 percent of incorrect information. This other person likes to believe in the magic of AI. Scrape goes forward. Yep. No magic, just 99 percent wrong.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango February 28, 2024 / 8:33 am

      Are you suggesting that my post was written by AI and not by me? If so, you’re 100% wrong. It was all me! If I ever posted anything that was created by AI, I would note that in my post, just as I do when I use AI-generated images. Or, are you suggesting that the image that Sadje used in the prompt was AI-generated? That could be the case. But only Sadje can answer that.

      Like

      • Marleen February 28, 2024 / 9:06 am

        😄 No, no, I’m not suggesting you used AI for your story. It’s good that you would always tell us that. I do think it’s an AI image, and I’m really just mixing up the eeriness of the story with the oddness of the image. I guess you could say I was being obtuse. There are so many angles of being eerie in this story (especially) and picture that I avoided most of them and commented on reality for the most part. It’s a well-written story, and it’s fun for people who are comfortable with a kid being scared shitless.

        Liked by 1 person

        • Fandango February 28, 2024 / 10:16 am

          Okay. Thanks for clearing that up.

          Like

          • Marleen February 28, 2024 / 12:51 pm

            You’re welcome. I heard a discussion, recently, that sounded as if the odd clue is supposed to be present in AI imagery. However, they were saying, I guess that’s not a law.

            Liked by 1 person

  8. leigha66 March 1, 2024 / 11:02 pm

    Ooh, this sent chills down my spine… eerie!

    Liked by 1 person

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  10. ben Alexander March 4, 2024 / 8:37 am

    OOoooohh… This is such an eerie tale! I love the revelation of the ghost’s identity!

    ~David

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Carol anne May 13, 2024 / 8:59 am

    A spooky story! I hope he did not meet the same fate as the ghost he saw!

    Liked by 1 person

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