In the darkness
He thinks he sees
A flash of light
1 AM
Ulysses G. Griffith
Of Brothers Implement
Implement seed
And vehicle business
Pulls into hometown
Of Van Meter
In his brand new Model A
Two cylinder engine
Ten speed transmission
With full elliptical leaf springs
At the rear
Mechanical brakes
A flash of light
In the darkness
Coming from the roof
Mather and Gregg’s Building
A light
Like a search beam
Where there has never
Been one before
Gets out of the vehicle
Adjusts his sack coat
Waist coat and trousers
Walks over
Where there has never
Been one before
What is that light?
A burglar?
Looks up
At the brick building
Cautiously
Walks closer
Nose twitches
Foul sulfur odor
A flash of light
Something strange
Unexpected
The light
Floats across the street
Relieved
That it’s not a burglar
But what is that?
Floats
To another rooftop
Opposite side of the street
What is that?
And how?
How in the name of God?
The light dims
Gone
To open their eyes
And to turn them
From the darkness
To the light
The town awakes
To hear him
Talk about
The unusual sights
A flash of light
In the darkness
Townspeople confused
An established figure
Community of Van Meter
Respected
Has a new venture
With his brother David
Very active
Sits on the Village Council
Member of two local clubs
Maybe he saw the moon
Had he been drinking?
A flash of light
In the darkness
The next night
Local doctor
Dr. Fred Alcott
Keeps a room
For resting
Rear of his office
Prepares for bed
2:27 am
This September night
Awakes
To a bright light
Shining in his face
What the devil?
A patient?
Bright flash of light
Through the window
Blinding
A flash of light
In the darkness
Grabs his
Remington Model 4 rifle
Runs outside
To find the source
Air misty
Smell of fallen leaves
Behind the light
A massive form
What in the name of God?
Creature
8 feet tall
Half human
Half animal
Can see where the light
Is coming from
Where the light
Is coming from
The center
Of the creature’s forehead
A small blunt horn
Great bat-like wings
Double thick skin membranes
Body covered
In dense fur
Black brown
Can see where the light
Is coming from
The horn, the horn
Terrible rotten egg smell
His eyes sting
I must slay this beast
Raises his rifle
Fires
Reloads
Fires
Five shots
No effect
My God! My God!
Stands there
The Doctor
Runs into his office
Locks the doors
And windows
To open their eyes
And to turn them
From the darkness
From the power of Satan
No one in the town
Believes
A flash of light
In the darkness
No one believes him
The Doctor’s gone batty
Too much absinthe
A monster in Van Meter?
The next night
October 1st
One AM
Clarence Dunn
Walks alone
Through the quiet
Known to his friends
As Peter
And to turn them
From the darkness
Smokes brand new
Peterson Pipe
Cousin brought him
From
Half moon
Between passing clouds
Moon
Swallowed
By shadow
Graduated high school
Nearby town
Job as cashier
Van Meter State Bank
Owned by the Goar brothers
Puffs his pipe
Working his way up
To manager
Going to stand guard there
In case of these burglars
Has his trusty
Harrington and Richardson single barrel
Twelve gauge shot gun
Packed with buckshot
Nobody’s robbing us
Once at the small brick building
Settles in for long night’s watch
Half-asleep
Hears a noise
Gasping
Garbled gasps for air
Almost speaking
Someone choking?
A flash of light
In the darkness
And to turn them
And to turn them
Then a beam
Falls upon him
Through the front window
Sudden
Bright
Blinding
Like a search light
Snaps off him
Darts about the room
Gets a look
At the source
A great form
Of some kind
Begins to reveal itself
A great form
Reveals itself
Huge wings
Of skin
And to turn them
From the darkness
Light darts back
On him
Peter screams
Screams
Steadies barrel of gun
Towards the thing
Fires point blank
Through the window
Glass shatters
I killed it!
I killed it!
But when he goes outside
It’s gone
No blood
Gone
Just shards of glass
And something else
A large footprint
In the mud
A footprint
3 toes
I wasn’t seeing things
3 toes
And I saw an angel come
Down from heaven
Having the key
To the bottomless pit
How art thou falleth
From heaven
How art thou falleth
***
We’re headed to
My partner Eric and I
Researchers
Documentary filmmakers
Of the paranormal
History Channel
A & E
Lifetime
Our specialties
Lost cities
Atlantis and Lemuria
Pole shifts
Hollow Earth
Pre-Columbian trans oceanic contact
A film about
Top hauntings in
E-mails and texts
Eric and I
Combing through files
Which places should we go?
Which places?
Haunted by the ghosts
Of young children
Murdered by their mother
A Large and unknown creature
Werewolf-like
—Sigh
—Another werewolf story
—I’m werewolfed out
Or
1881
Kate Shelly
Crawled across damaged bridge
Near Boone
Fierce storm
To warn oncoming train
That the bridge was out
The bridge was out
Original bridge long gone
But the replacement
Built in 1901
Supposedly home
To her ghost
Phantom trains
Seen and heard
—Not another phantom choo choo
We’re missing a centerpiece Eric
We need a really good story
Suppressed technology
Tesla
Free energy
Ancient Astronauts
Anti-gravity
Vimana aircraft of ancient
One hour films about hauntings
Each of the 50 states
Now it’s Iowa’s turn
A lot of stories
About cursed angels in cemeteries
Of all states
Have highest percentage
Of residents
Indifferent to ghost stories
—Why are they so jaded?
—Honey I don’t think a boat
—Will be big enough for all of your cousins
I don’t think that was meant for me
—Oops that was for Lori
—Am multi-tasking
His fiancé
Wants to get married
On a ship
That would sail
Around the
Too small
To accommodate everyone
And to transfer
From a ceremony
To a reception
As smooth and quickly
As they’d hope
—I just want a simple Jewish wedding
—And a great party with good music
—That’s all
—I don’t care about the flowers
—And her relatives I don’t know
—Just want it to be over
—Over
Secret societies
The Knights Templar
Time travel
Cryptozoology
Yeti, Skunk apes
Sasquatch
One daughter Julie
Home from school
17 years old
Blonde
High wasted skinny jeans
Blue crop top
Been pouting
Not eating much
Not doing homework
Stares out the window
Plays with her hair
Keep asking
What’s wrong Julie?
What’s wrong?
Looks down
Shakes her head
We think it’s her boyfriend Nick
Acting strange
Distant
Doesn’t know
What’s going on
Been together 9 months
Not telling us much
Tricksters
Men in Black
Skinwalkers
Shape Shifters
Jokers
—Hey I found something
—It’s a cool story
Old newspaper clipping
From 1903
Daily News
That Winged Monster
Town of
Badly Wrought Up
***
And to turn them
And to turn them
A great form
Of some kind
Peter has proof
That the demon exists
Huge wings
Of skin
A great form
Reveals itself
Builds a wall
Around the footprint
With cardboard strip
And paper clip
Hold the track
Two parts plaster of Paris
One part water
Dries quickly
The footprint
A great form
Of some kind
I have proof
I have proof
Of the monster
And to turn them
From the darkness
Night of
October 2nd
Soft winds
Rain from the North
Quiet
OV White
Sleeping
Second story room
Fisher and White Hardware and Furniture
Jolted awake
Abrupt rasping sound
Outside his window
Loud chocking
Liquid
Heard the stories
In town
About the mysterious monster
The demon
He held the cast
Of its footprint
3 toes
Like a demon
A great form
Of some kind
A flash of light
In the darkness
I behold Satan
As lightning falls from heaven
To open their eyes
And to turn them
From the darkness
To the light
Grabs his Browning Auto-5
Self-loading shotgun
Louder gurgling sounds
Rasping
Opens his window
Peers out
Into the darkness and rain
Nothing
Mist
But his eyes adjust
Looks up
A dark figure
Great form
Of some kind
Shadow
On the cross member
Of the telephone pole
Runs downstairs
Stares up
Thing has wings
A gargoyle
Takes deliberate aim
Slow exhalation
Pulls the trigger
Fires
Does not fall to the ground
Does not fall to the ground
Shines its light
On him
Like a headlight
Shot from his rifle
No effect
Only woke it up
Powerful musky
Sulfur odor
Overwhelming
Staggers to the ground
Neighbor Sidney Gregg
Heard the shot
Runs to the door
See what commotion
Is about
Sees White
Trying to crawl away
Monster descends
From telephone pole
Using huge beak
For grip
Descends
Upon reaching ground
Stands erect
8 feet tall
Lights from its forehead
So bright
Like a search beam
Darts about
Flaps its
Featherless wings
Sound of morning mail train
In the distance
Pulling into town
Starts to run
On all four feet
Direction of old coal mine
Wings extended
Flap
Lifts
Sails up
Disappears
Mr. Gregg remembers
He has a gun
But it’s too late
Too late
And I saw an angel
Come down from heaven
Having the key
To the bottomless pit
How art thou fallen
From heaven
O’Lucifer
Son of morning
***
The librarian
Van Meter Public Library
Mindy
Pulls out newspaper accounts
Mysterious happenings
In the town
Remains relatively unknown
No operating newspaper
To cover the events
A town of 1000
Rely on nearby publications
Dallas County News
Various Des Moines papers
Original source material
Article by H.H. Phillips
Des Moines Daily News
October 4, 1903
In days following
Two separate articles
Looking to debunk it
Phillips very much exaggerated
Is it a joker or a robber?
Weaving fictitious details
Des Moines Daily Capitol
October 6, 1903
Van Meter Hot Under the Collar
Van Meter
A town of about 900 souls
Lying 20 miles west of Des Moines
Alone enjoys distinction
Of being haunted
Queer noises are heard
Hideous apparitions are seen
Uncanny lights
Very apparent
On the face of
Every sane person
That it is a fabrication
But to the residents
Of the town
Height of foolishness
A botched robbery
Unusual lights
Not unusual to Iowans
Of 1903
Rash of unknown
Airship sightings
Strange ship-like objects
Floating through
The night sky
Waterloo Courier
Extensively covered each one
Twice the size
Of the largest star
Swaying from side
To side
Floating through
The night sky
That it is a fabrication
We ask Mindy the Librarian
If she ever knew this story
Smiles
Gray hair
Eyebrow rises
Heirloom floral print dress
I do because
Of the newspapers
But most people don’t
The witnesses
Were very prominent citizens
That’s the funny thing
She winks
Floating through
The night sky
We need to find an heir
To the bank clerk
Clarence “Peter” Dunn
That it is a fabrication
He made the cast
Of the footprint
We need to find that cast
We need the footprint
I’ll see if anyone knows
There’s no one by the name
By the name of Dunn now
Walk around the town
Main Street
Doesn’t look much different
Population still at about 1000
Same brick buildings
We find where
Sidney Gregg’s store was
Dr. Alcott’s office
Mather and Gregg’s Building
Now there’s
Casey’s General Store
Heartland Co-op Fertilizer Plant
Century 21 Real Estate
ABC Chimney Sweep
That is was a fabrication
We need the footprint
Floating through
The night sky
Fat Randi’s Bar and Grill
Bacon cheeseburgers and beers
Why would these prominent citizens lie?
What did they see?
What did they see?
—I think it was
—An ultraterrestrial
A being from
Another dimension
Or plane of reality
Can materialize
And then disappear
—That’s what Sasquatch is
—Or where would they eat and shit?
Wormholes
Parallel universes
Multiple dimensions
Maybe it was a pelican?
—With a light from its horn?
Floating through
The night sky
Can materialize
That it is a fabrication
We need to check out the old mine
We need the footprint
Eric texting with Lori
He wants a rock DJ
She wants a live jazz swing band
Rodgers and Hart
Cole Porter
The Great American Songbook
—I want to hear the Stones man
—Zeppelin
Can’t dance to Zeppelin
No smoke machine
That’s not classy
Escort cards
Green purple carnations
Fuchsia
Hydrangeas
Blue menu cards
Floating across
The night sky
A fabrication
We need the footprint
My cell phone beeps
Hmm
My daughter Julie
Doesn’t call me much
Certainly not when
I’m in the field
Thinks what I do is weird
And embarrassing
I just say
You make films Daddy
About exotic animals
Daddy! Daddy!
Everything’s good with Nick
He’s taking me camping
For my birthday
A whole group of us going
The Adirondacks
We’re camping
Everything’s good
Everything’s good
***
He hears sounds
From the mine shaft
Loud screeches
Coal mine at the edge
Of town
Shut down
Few years prior
Functioning tile and brick factory
On the same grounds
The night shift
1 AM
Steady rain
Operations Manager
J.L. Platt Jr.
Hears sounds
From the mine shaft
Not human
Not any animal he knows
Painful screeches
Getting louder
It’s that demon
Peers down
Further into dark borehole
Shaft drops
Hundreds of feet
Many twists and turns
That demon’s down there
A flash of light
In the darkness
The monster
Appears at the entrance
Behind it
Another somewhat
Smaller creature
In the fog
A brilliant light
Striking
Blinding
The factory workers
See them too
What are they?
What are they?
My God!
Horn-like protuberance
Emanating extraordinary light
They’re creatures
From hell
They rise
Rise
Sail away
To open their eyes
And to turn them
From the darkness
To the light
The whole town
In an uproar
They’re demons
What have we done?
We’re being punished
What have we done?
They are from hell
We’ve discovered their lair
We need to kill them
He that committed sin
And his angels
Were cast out
With him
Cast out
Men gather in the rain
Brimmed hats
Rain coats
Guns
Explosives
We need every firearm
We need to kill them
They’re demons
They’re demons
I’m praying for all of us
All of the lights
In town turned on
So those left behind
Feel more secure
The lights will frighten them
Pouring rain
Men gather at the mine
Wait for them
Rid the earth of them
When they should return
Wait for them
Four hours
Hours
Break of dawn
5:46 am
In the sky
Two dark figures
Living shadow
Giant bats
Fly quietly
Get closer
Land at the mine
Everybody fires
BOOM!
BOOM!
Smoke
Noise
Confusion
Shrieks
With echoes
The terrible sulfur odor
During the gunfire
Slowly
Methodically
Descend into the shaft
Of the old mine
Slowly
Bullets have no effect
No effect
Barricade the mine
Before nightfall
Go back to hell
Where you came from
Blow up the entrance
Seal them in
Blow up
Child of the devil
For whosoever
Shall call
Upon the name of the Lord
Shall be saved
Shall be saved
***
We’re at the site
Of the old mine
Mindy the Librarian
Hooked us up
With Steadman family
Current owners of the land
Secure personal tour
Of the old tile factory
And mine grounds
At gate
John Steadman
Accompanied by his son
And grandson
Farmer
Gray hair
Leather skin
Very straightforward
Horses grazing
Mine filled in
Decades ago
Can barely
See the entrance
Covered in earth
And just some remaining bricks
Of the old factory
Some people claim
They hear phantom sounds
Machines rumble
Screeching sounds
Wails
The grandson Jesse
—You the guys looking
—For the giant bat?
That we are Sir
That we are
Walking around the grounds
Stop at the site
Of original shaft opening
Mr. Steadman
No-nonsense guy
Says sometimes
Gets a weird feeling
Shakes his head
Impression
That something just
Isn’t right
Son says
—Me too
—My friends and I
—Always afraid to play here
I wonder if
Something is buried down there
Like those horns
Glowing
Still glowing
That it is was a fabrication
Floating through
The night sky
A great form
Of some kind
Mr. Steadman
Invites us to come back
That night
11 pm
We come back
Tons of gear
Glowing
Still glowing
Cameras
Audio recorders
Motion detectors
Night vision video
Geiger counter
EMF meters
Thermoscanners
—A cricket won’t fart
—Without us hearing it
We wait
And wait
—Shit this is a waste of time
—Fuckers are long gone man
Eric starts
Texting with his fiancé
Reserved a block
Of hotel rooms
Who’s invited
To Friday night rehearsal dinner
Write their own vows
Glowing
Still glowing
That it was a fabrication
We need that footprint
We need that footprint
Experts at
Iowa Historical Society
Search for it
Will probably be fruitless
Plaster used
In 1903 would have been soft
And brittle
Unless properly stored
Odds are
It would have crumbled to pieces
Next day
30 miles
Outside of Van Meter
Granddaughter of
Clarence “Peter” Dunn
Maureen James
Small wooden clapboard house
Peeling paint
Odds are
It would have crumbled to pieces
A grandmother herself
Blue jeans
Puffing Parliament
Heavy chuckles
Coughs
Outside a table
Chopping carrots
2 grandchildren
Jasper and Amelia
Running around
Come on
Want to help
Your old grandma
Make a carrot cake?
Wind blowing
Chuckles
Coughs
Their mom works a lot
Meat packing plant
I’m on disability
So I take the kids
They’re dear
Aren’t they?
—Yes they are ma’am
Glowing
Still glowing
Floating through
The night sky
We ask her
About her grandfather
And any casting
Of the footprint
Casting?
I don’t know
Of any casting
A footprint?
A footprint of a robber?
The story is
He saved the bank
From getting robbed
Singlehandedly
Blasted his shot gun
Right through the glass
Boom!
Nailed that son of a bitch!
Nailed ‘em!
Coughs
Crumbled to pieces
That night
Eric and I at the motel
Texting
With Lori
My phone beeps
Text photo
From Julie
To my wife
And me
Her camping trip
A light
Over the tree line
Large-orb like
Glows
Mom, Dad
We saw a UFO!
I kid you not!
We all saw it
It was so cool!
We have pictures
And video
A light above us
Floating through
The night sky
Floating
It was bizarre
Rising above us
I giggle
Text her back
How wonderful!
Did you ever see one Daddy?
No
Later
Lying in bed
—I wasn’t faithful to Lori
What?
—I wasn’t faithful
—I met her at the gym
—She was always smiling at me
—Flirt
—Asian girl named Tammy
—Texted me photos
—Then we hooked up
—Only twice
—I felt too guilty
When?
—Six months ago
—It was nothing
—But we hooked up
—I’m going to tell her
Now you’re going to tell her man?
Right before the wedding?
You crazy?
You want to fuck this all up?
—I have to
—I feel too guilty
Silence
—Did you ever stray?
What?
—Did you fool around on Sarah?
No
Don’t tell her
It’s over right?
—Yes
Then don’t tell her
It never happened
It never happened
Sweating
I’m pawing for her buttons
Right in the bathroom
Pawing
As we fall
Undo her strap
Fingers tremble
We can’t tell anyone
As we fall
Fingers tremble
This never happened
***
After we leave
Maureen James
Granddaughter of
Clarence “Peter” Dunn
Goes down to the cellar
Retrieves old cardboard box
Takes it outside
The wind is blowing
Blowing
Opens the old box
Unwraps something
Yellowed filthy newspapers
What is it Grandma?
What is it?
The wind is blowing
Examines
Old plaster casting
What is it?
Large footprint
Three toes
The wind is blowing
Want you to help me guys
You each grab hold of it
What is it Grandma?
And squeeze
We all squeeze
Why are we doing this?
Breaks apart
Crumbles
She smiles
Dust
The wind is blowing
She smiles
It never happened
I look at of the Facebook postings
Photos and videos
Tweets
Tumblr
Flicker
Blogs
Websites
A flash of light
In the darkness
Rising
Over the trees
Large silent object
With bright lights
Glows
300 feet
Over a pasture
We all saw it
We’re not crazy
We’re not crazy
At their wedding
We’re all dancing the Horah
Dancing
His tie loose
Shirt untucked
Drunk
Sweaty
Dancing the Horah
Put them in chairs
We lift them
Lift them
Laughter
Each holding
The end of a napkin
The flash
Of lights
Her beautiful white A-line sleeveless
Satin lace gown
Trembling
We fall
Undo her strap
Glistening
We lift them
We lift