America: 50☆Stars (Vol. 3)

Episode 38: The Devil's Tree

"Once upon a time, there lived an ordinary farmer, his lovely wife, and their beloved children. They had settled into a modest house on a small plot of land in the countryside where the farmer hoped to cultivate a fortune growing cash crops. They were very honest. Not a single fault could be said about them. They were good people working hard to make a good living. They loved the community, and they were loved by the community in return. All was peaceful. It seemed everything was going well for the family.

Until one day, the farmer started acting strangely and out of character. He suddenly stopped going to church. He took to drinking more often than usual. And subsequently, he began beating his wife in fits of madness. He spoke coarsely with so much vile in his throat the people in the community, in turn, shunned him from their lives. The farmer did nothing to regain their trust and affections. He simply sank in the darkness, becoming more reclusive in the passing days. Eventually, the farmer's face would never be seen again.

Early morning, the farmer's neighbor saw something suspicious as he was patrolling the perimeter of his property. More curious than afraid, the neighbor walked into the farmer's property, approaching a giant oak as black as midnight. He stood in front of the tree and looked up. Hanging from one of the branches," New Jersey pointed his flashlight at the branch above them, "there was the farmer's body. His limp body swung with the chilled breeze, dangling helplessly by a noose made of twine wrapped tightly around his broken neck. His eyes were bloodshot and white as though his soul had been sucked right out of him. It was a gruesome sight, sure. But to the neighbor's horror, they would discover a more disturbing scene inside the farmer's house—the bloodied lifeless bodies of the wife and the children.

An investigation into the familicide revealed the farmer killed his family during the night, stabbing their defenseless bodies with a knife while they were asleep in their beds. Motivation for the murders was deduced to be caused by a fit of insanity, although the community believed there was more behind the killings. There was a rumor circulating about the farmer's financial troubles due to a series of crop failures. Another rumor suggested the farmer's wife had become pregnant from having an affair with a sailor. Some people went so far as to claim the Devil was responsible for the farmer's misdeeds. There were some interesting theories." He shrugged. "It was also left unclear why the farmer hung himself—out of fear, guilt, or reasons unknown to everyone else. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot in the case to warrant further speculation. Nothing could be done to reverse or soften the tragedy. The best the community could do was bury the family together on the property and move on from the incident. The end, right?"

New Jersey chortled, "Of course not. There's still a lot of things I have yet to reveal about this cursed place."

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"Does it all connect to that family?" Maine asked, completely captivated by the spooky story so far.

"Certainly!" New Jersey nodded with confidence. "Centuries have passed since the incident. The farm, the house, and the graves have long disappeared. Even so, here still stands the only remnant of that tragedy known as—"

"Yankee Doodle keep it up~ Yankee Doodle dandy~ Mind the music and the step~ And with the girls be handy~" Massachusetts sang noisily while dancing drunkenly in the background.

"Masshole! Shut the fuck up! I'm trying to tell a scary story!" New Jersey's scolding did nothing to dampen the Irish American's spirit, forcing him to continue his explanation with a reluctant sigh, "Anyway, as I was saying, the only remnant of that tragedy stands behind me—"

"The Devil's Tree." New York interjected in a loathing manner. "Yeah, we get it. Are we done here? It's the middle of the fucking night. I need to get ready for work in the morning."