October 29, 1933
That evening, after supper Olivia put Erin, Ben, Jim Bob, and Elizabeth to bed. Mary Ellen stayed up to help with the dishes.
John-Boy and Jason were finishing their chores in the barn when they heard a car pull up. John and Zeb were outside chopping wood. They greeted the visitor.
"Hi Ep, how are you doing this evening?" John asked the local sheriff. Not only was Ep Bridges the local sheriff, he was also a good friend and war buddy of John's.
"Evening, John. I'm doing all right. Evening Mr. Walton."
"Well Ep Bridges, what brings you out here this evening? You don't usually do business on a Sunday evening."
"Well, I normally don't. But tonight, it's a matter of safety."
"Do you care to come inside for a cup of coffee?" John offered.
"No thank you, I'd really prefer to talk out here. I don't want to scare the women."
John-Boy immediately stopped what he was doing. He motioned for Jason to come over to the door and listen to. Jason quietly set down the pitchfork and stood beside his brother, listening to the men talk.
"How bad is the trouble?" John asked.
"Well, there have been reports of activity from the Hudson House. The activity only happens at night. It's really strange John. Ike was out on his evening round Friday evening and he saw what appeared to be a moving light in the window. He also walked over to Maude Gormley's yesterday afternoon to deliver a package and he was certain he saw someone watching him."
"Wow Ep." John replied.
"That certainly is strange." Added Zeb. "No one has lived in that house for…" he paused to count. "53 years, 1880 was when Cornelius Hudson died. Neither of you would have even been born yet."
"Are there any Hudsons around yet that you know of Pa?" John asked.
"They all scattered. In 1880, it was rumored that Lydia Hudson killed her husband. Stories were going around about how Cornelius was seeing another woman, Georgia Conrad. I never knew about the stories until years after it happened actually. Mother made sure that I not hear of them."
Ep and John were intrigued.
"Supposedly, Lydia haunts the house to this day. I never knew if I could believe the stories or not and I sure as heck didn't want to go into the house. But there was something about that house that always bothered me, made me uneasy."
There was a silence about the men for a moment.
"Thank you for the information Mr. Walton. I never knew all that."
"Not too many old times like me around here yet, so the story isn't as common to hear as it once was."
"Well, I just wanted to let you men know to be on the lookout. With the children walking to school every day and all, I thought it was best to keep you informed."
"I really appreciate it Ep. Thank you." John replied.
"Well, I'd best be headed back to Charlottesville. We'll talk again sometime. Goodnight now."
"Goodnight Ep." Zeb replied.
"Night Ep." John said.
"I think we'd best lock the doors tonight." John told his father.
"I agree. We will once we finish up here."
John-Boy and Jason finished their chores and went upstairs to his room.
"Close the door." John-Boy said.
Jason did so.
"That was sure something Sherriff Bridges was telling Daddy and Grandpa." Jason said.
"You know what, I actually thought I saw someone in the house the other day."
"You did?"
John-Boy nodded. "I did. When we were walking home from church this afternoon."
Jason sat down next to John-Boy on the bed.
"Elizabeth started asking questions about the house and I tried to answer them the best I could. I honestly don't know much about the house other than the local legend. Anyway, when we were walking by it, I'm pretty sure there was someone watching me. I tried to convince myself that it was just the angle of the sun, but now that Sherriff Bridges was saying what he did, I'm very certain that someone was in there."
"That's really creepy John-Boy."
John-Boy nodded. "It is. I'm kind of nervous."
"Me too."
There was a moment of silence when someone knocked on the bedroom door. Both John-Boy and Jason jumped.
"Who is it?" John-Boy asked, trying to steady his voice.
"It's just me, Son."
John-Boy recognized his father's voice. "Come in Daddy."
"Boys, I'm not sure if you heard what was going on or not when Ep was here, but there is some strange activity going on at the Hudson House. I just wanted to make you two aware of it so that you could be especially watchful of your younger brothers and sisters."
"We sure will." John-Boy replied.
Jason nodded.
John nodded. He paused for a moment. "Are you boys okay?"
John-Boy sighed. "Actually…"
John-Boy told his father what he saw that afternoon.
John shuddered a little. "Wow Son."
"Yeah it scared me."
"I can imagine."
"We'll be really careful to watch out for the kids. We don't want anything to happen to them."
"I appreciate it boys." John said.
He paused.
"One thing's for sure. There's something strange going on at that house."