Read Online Southern Fried Rat and Other Gruesome Tales by Daniel Cohen - Free Book Online
Authors: Daniel Cohen
Ads: Link
said, "All right, where is this crazy guy?"
—————
A couple of policemen came to the local high school to talk about the dangers of drugs. At the end of the talk, one of the cops took out a box containing ten marijuana cigarettes.
"Now, I want you to know what these things look like, so in case someone ever offers you one you can turn it down. I want you to take a real close look, so I'm going to pass these ten joints around. But before class is over I want all ten of them back. If I don't get all ten back, nobody leaves the room and we'll have to conduct a complete search."
When the policeman collected them again, he counted. This time there were eleven.
The drug culture has spawned an enormous number of legends, some humorous, like the ones given here, which are designed primarily to show the foolishness of the police. There are plenty of darker legends as well. Because the drug culture is underground, it is a perfect breeding place for legends and rumors. The wildest rumors take hold and sweep the country.
There was a widespread rumor that banana peels dried and smoked produce a powerful narcotic effect. The product was called "mellow yellow." The rumor was completely untrue, but for a time it fooled even the police. There were also tales of an eccentric millionaire who used to give away free drugs in a San Francisco park. People lined up for them, but the millionaire never showed up because he never existed.
Out of the Grave
A North Carolina man named Samuel Jocelyn was out riding his horse when the animal was frightened by a dog, bolted, and threw Jocelyn to the ground. It was a terrible fall, and when the local doctor reached the scene there was nothing he could do but declare Jocelyn dead. Shortly thereafter, Samuel Jocelyn was given an appropriate burial.
A couple of nights after the funeral Jocelyn's old friend Alexander Hostler had a bad dream. He dreamed that his friend Jocelyn appeared before him.
"How could you let me be buried when I was not dead?" said the apparition.
"But you were dead," answered Hostler.
"No I wasn't," replied the ghost. "Open my coffin. You wil see that I am not lying the way I was buried."
Hostler tried to ignore the dream, but he had it again the next night, and the next. Finally he just couldn't stand it any longer. He convinced a friend to go with him to the graveyard at night. The two dug up Jocelyn's grave and opened the coffin. When they shone their light into the coffin they found that the apparition in Hostler's dream had been telling the truth. Jocelyn had been buried face up, just like everyone else. Now the corpse was lying face down. The body had somehow turned over in its coffin, after burial.
The turn may have been part of Jocelyn's frantic attempts to get out of the coffin before he suffocated.
—————
Some years ago a small town in Louisiana was struck by an epidemic of typhoid fever. Many of those who came down with the disease died quickly. One of those stricken was a young woman who had such a serious case that everyone felt sure she was going to die.
This woman was very close to her oldest brother, but he happened to be away when she got sick. As her condition worsened, he was sent for, and he rushed home as fast as he could. But the trip back wasn't an easy one. There were a number of unexpected delays, and by the time he arrived, his sister was already dead. In fact, he had even missed the funeral, which had taken place just a few hours before he arrived back in town.
The grief-stricken brother went to the cemetery, where he found the gravediggers just finishing their work on his sister's grave, tossing the last few shovelfuls of dirt back into the hole. He begged the gravediggers to open the grave so that he could see his sister just one more time. They refused his request. But the brother would not go away. He stood there begging and pleading so loudly that he began to collect a crowd.
He shouted to the people who had gathered
—————
A couple of policemen came to the local high school to talk about the dangers of drugs. At the end of the talk, one of the cops took out a box containing ten marijuana cigarettes.
"Now, I want you to know what these things look like, so in case someone ever offers you one you can turn it down. I want you to take a real close look, so I'm going to pass these ten joints around. But before class is over I want all ten of them back. If I don't get all ten back, nobody leaves the room and we'll have to conduct a complete search."
When the policeman collected them again, he counted. This time there were eleven.
The drug culture has spawned an enormous number of legends, some humorous, like the ones given here, which are designed primarily to show the foolishness of the police. There are plenty of darker legends as well. Because the drug culture is underground, it is a perfect breeding place for legends and rumors. The wildest rumors take hold and sweep the country.
There was a widespread rumor that banana peels dried and smoked produce a powerful narcotic effect. The product was called "mellow yellow." The rumor was completely untrue, but for a time it fooled even the police. There were also tales of an eccentric millionaire who used to give away free drugs in a San Francisco park. People lined up for them, but the millionaire never showed up because he never existed.
Out of the Grave
A North Carolina man named Samuel Jocelyn was out riding his horse when the animal was frightened by a dog, bolted, and threw Jocelyn to the ground. It was a terrible fall, and when the local doctor reached the scene there was nothing he could do but declare Jocelyn dead. Shortly thereafter, Samuel Jocelyn was given an appropriate burial.
A couple of nights after the funeral Jocelyn's old friend Alexander Hostler had a bad dream. He dreamed that his friend Jocelyn appeared before him.
"How could you let me be buried when I was not dead?" said the apparition.
"But you were dead," answered Hostler.
"No I wasn't," replied the ghost. "Open my coffin. You wil see that I am not lying the way I was buried."
Hostler tried to ignore the dream, but he had it again the next night, and the next. Finally he just couldn't stand it any longer. He convinced a friend to go with him to the graveyard at night. The two dug up Jocelyn's grave and opened the coffin. When they shone their light into the coffin they found that the apparition in Hostler's dream had been telling the truth. Jocelyn had been buried face up, just like everyone else. Now the corpse was lying face down. The body had somehow turned over in its coffin, after burial.
The turn may have been part of Jocelyn's frantic attempts to get out of the coffin before he suffocated.
—————
Some years ago a small town in Louisiana was struck by an epidemic of typhoid fever. Many of those who came down with the disease died quickly. One of those stricken was a young woman who had such a serious case that everyone felt sure she was going to die.
This woman was very close to her oldest brother, but he happened to be away when she got sick. As her condition worsened, he was sent for, and he rushed home as fast as he could. But the trip back wasn't an easy one. There were a number of unexpected delays, and by the time he arrived, his sister was already dead. In fact, he had even missed the funeral, which had taken place just a few hours before he arrived back in town.
The grief-stricken brother went to the cemetery, where he found the gravediggers just finishing their work on his sister's grave, tossing the last few shovelfuls of dirt back into the hole. He begged the gravediggers to open the grave so that he could see his sister just one more time. They refused his request. But the brother would not go away. He stood there begging and pleading so loudly that he began to collect a crowd.
He shouted to the people who had gathered
Similar Books
