The Car In The Woods

The weather was cold and the wind was completely still. A deep frost lay over the whole Christmas Place that morning as we got up to go deer hunting. We all were bundled up and excited as we cranked the 4-wheelers and then had our last coffee while we discussed where everyone was hunting that morning. Most of us were heading to different food plots that morning but Paul had located some big sign in a remote area in the center of the property and was taking his climber in to set up for the morning. It sounded good and after some good natured ribbing and wishes of good luck we all left and went our separate ways.
It was still way before day as Paul parked, turned on his flashlight and got ready to head to his stand. Paul had a long way to go, plus he had to be very careful using his climber. He managed to get his climber on his back, put his rifle in the crook of his arm found the deer trail and headed into the woods. The frost covered ground made every step sharp and unusually loud in the silent woods and after about ten minutes he started to hear the sound of a tinny radio playing somewhere. Light laughter and muffled voices also broke the stillness. He had to pass right by an old Dodge car in the woods on the way to his stand and it sounded like it was coming from that direction.
Soon, it was louder and he could make out The Big Bopper singing, followed by more music from the 50’s. He could see the car with his flashlight and a light glow emanated from the windows. He stopped about 20 feet away and turned off his flashlight. In the glow, he could see what looked like 4 teenagers laughing and talking. A young man and a girl in the front, and another couple in the backseat, all talking and drinking. Through the frost covered glass, it looked like they were having a good time. Paul inched closer. It was 5:30AM and those kids were in the wrong place for a party. What the hell were they doing? He walked up closer to the car.
A sharp and paralyzing coldness met him like a wall. Instantly the light went out in the old car and the music faded away. It grew deathly quiet. Paul felt fear but did not understand why. He seemed to break a spell and stepped forward and rapped on the window. No response. He said “Look, I know y’all are in there, come on out.” No response. He tried the door, it would not budge. He told them to come out a couple of more times with no response. He was starting to get ticked off. Paul turned on his flashlight, reached down and wiped the frost from the window and directed the white beam inside. Looking in, he could see the interior was empty. The inside of the car was in perfect condition and he could see the glow of the radio. He was confused and suddenly he saw the door lock come up and he heard the pull of the door latch. He fell back and went to his knees as the door started to slowly open. Terrified, Paul dropped his climber, and backed away while holding his gun on the open door. Nothing came out. When he was clear, he ran back to his 4-wheeler. He hunted in sight of the camp that day. On a bright sunny day, we went back, found his climber and we inspected the car. The seats are rotted out and there is no radio in it. The doors will not open. We accused him of making the story up.
He has never set foot near the old car again and says it does not matter how big a deer is there, he will never hunt near it again.
A year later, I asked Paul Jones what he knew about the car and why it was in the woods.
He knew all about it and said that on Prom Night in 1962, two couples (one of them was one of the last of the Christmas family) had gone to Greenwood for dinner and the prom and all four were killed by a drunk driver late that night as they headed home. The car was parked behind the house for a year and then one day the grieving boys’ father had hitched his tractor to it, fixed the tires and had dragged it as deep into the woods as he could. For a long time he would not say why, but later he said that his son loved hunting and he left it as a memorial. No one believed him. Paul said “the rumor was that sometimes late at night you could hear music coming from the car.” He looked at me expectantly and I said “I haven’t heard anything” He said “I have, and we leave that old car alone.” We have never talked about it again. He also said that sometimes pictures taken there will show a face inside the car.