A coal mine can be a creepy place, especially at night. When I'm on water truck, filling up the tank, I always have to remember to do a quick scan for bears, wolves or cougars before I get down. And usually I forget. So I've gotten a good scare more than once from being down on the ground in the pitch dark when a sudden movement not ten feet away startles me- it's always just a deer, but for a split second you don't know and it raises your hackles.
So I'm pretty sure I would have been freaked right out if I had been there last night (this week I'm on dayshift) when everyone heard the garbled but terrified voice of a little girl on the two-way radio screaming for help, saying something about a brown bear and possibly her dad being on the ground. Then a bloodcurdling scream, and nothing.
When we got on shift this morning various versions of this story started going around, and my first reaction was a little shiver, and, "Cool Hallowe'en ghost story!" and then, well, I don't know what to think. There's been no reports of missing little girls, no evidence of a mauling, nothing. They searched around and called the police last night, but what more can you do at night when you have no idea where even to begin looking?
And why is a little girl out at night in the wild? How did she happen to have a radio tuned to the mine's frequency? Is it a hoax? A tape? A ghost? If not, what? I talked to some of the guys who were working and they didn't think it was a fake- they were all freaked right out- enough to call the cops (who said there was nothing they could do without a missing persons report). I didn't even know if I should blog about it until there was more info. If you hear or know anything (like you can identify the horror movie the soundbite was taken from) let me know. There's been quite a few poachers hanging out, so maybe they were screwing around to get revenge for us calling the cops on them. Who knows? One thing's for sure- I'd way rather it was a poacher, or hell, even a ghost, than a real little girl.
Creepy.

Ever wonder what kind of ghost story would frighten a grizzly? Gather around the campfire, my friends, and I will tell you a tale . . .

One day as I was hunting I met an old grey wolf who was guarding a fresh kill. Since he was on my territory I didn't hesitate to assert my rights to the kill, and was about to dispatch the wolf when he asked me to spare him.
"Why should I?" I asked, thinking I might get a good laugh at whatever pathetic excuse he came up with.
"Because I know something which might be of interest to you- I know where there is a horde of gold!"
"Gold?? What do I care about gold?"
"You can use it to buy this entire forest from the humans so that they will never chop it down ever and there won't be any hunting here!"
"Hmm. Alright- where is this gold?"
"It's in a cabin down by the Kisikak River. Do you know it?"
"Yes, I fish near there often. How did gold come to be in that cabin?"
"It's a long story of intrigue, betrayal and murder involving humans."
"Oh. Never mind, then. I couldn't care less what humans do to each other."
"Actually, the murder wasn't committed by humans."
This caught my interest. "Then who?"
"The humans were poachers. Fur traders. They shot beavers, coyotes, wolves, and bears. The story goes that they shot and killed the mightiest grizzly bear this forest has seen in generations. "
"They couldn't have- I'm still alive."
"Well, anyways, the story has it that this bear came back."
"What do you mean, came back?"
"Like, he was a ghost and he came back and took care of the hunters. And now the poachers' gold is there just waiting to be dug up."
"The poachers had gold?
"They were also pirates."
"Uh-huh. And how do you know this?"
"I just do. Take me with you, and if it's not true, you can kill me."
"Alright, let's go see it."
The wolf led me down to Kisikak River and the 'haunted' cabin. The door was broken, open to the elements, and there were animal skulls scattered all over the grounds. I didn't see any ghosts, though. The wolf led me into the cabin, which was dark and dusty, and full of mice poo. Suddenly my paw was caught in a steel-tooth trap! The bastard wolf set me up! I swiped at him with my free paw, but he was out of reach, and laughing at me. Laughing!!
"You may be stronger than me, brother bear, but I am much smarter! There's no gold and the poachers are long gone. I am too, so enjoy yourself- maybe if you go into hibernation now someone can get you out of this trap before you starve. Farewell!" And with a howl, he was gone, leaving me to my fate.
I considered my options- I could chew my paw off, but I would be as good as dead without the ability to hunt even if I did. Hibernation would just expose me to scavengers, and delay the inevitable- I would starve.
And so I did. It took a long time, and it was painful. But when my time finally came to take my place with my ancestors amidst the stars of the Great Bear, I chose another road.
There is a ghost haunting the cabin of Kisikak River- me!