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He was merciless and kind. On February 22, 1928, the stranger walked in from the direction of Gods’ Hollow. At shortly after 9 AM, he walked down the center of the street. He was a tall man, his clothes worn and ragged, and he looked at the buildings as if searching for something. When 9:17 AM came about, he stopped and opened his jacket, revealing a pair of old, Colt Navy revolvers carried in high-hip holsters. As the police were fetched, a trio of large, black Fords rolled into town, coming to a stop at the Cross train station. 26 members of Samuel Mariner family, traveling from Westford to ride the train into Boston, exited the vehicles and walked towards the station’s doors. The youngest member of the Mariner clan was Silas, age two, and the eldest was Samuel Mariner senior, age 77. Before the first member of the family reached the station’s steps, the stranger drew his weapons and opened fire. According to the official police report on the incident, the stranger fired a total of 48 rounds in the space of two minutes. He used fully loaded cylinders to serve as quick reloads, and when he was finished, every member of the Mariner family was dead or dying in front of the station. As the police and the residents attempted to find a way to stop him, the stranger reloaded his weapons, walked up to the downed Mariner family, and proceeded to put a bullet in the head of each one. Three Cross police officers and nine residents were wounded when they sought to stop the butchery. Finally, when all the violence seemed to be over, the stranger walked up to Samuel Mariner senior and said in a loud, clear voice, “I told you I’d kill you all.” The echo of the final shot followed the stranger back to Gods’ Hollow. #CrossMassachusetts #fear #scary #death #secrets #murder #writersofinstagram #history #nightmare #horror

Where do nightmares come from? Do they come from our thoughts and fears? Perhaps memories or experiences, both real and imagined, supply the fodder. Or perhaps there is something far more sinister at work than base reality and chemistry. On February 21, 1939, the citizens of Cross found a possible answer. It came in the form of an abandoned building, one they had never seen before, and which sprang into existence on an island in Blood Lake. Lead by Duncan Blood, a group of twenty men and women crossed the lake on foot, climbing up the steep sides of the island’s bank. Each was armed with a rifle and a handgun, and no one knew what to expect. Cross, as they all knew, had a way of surprising everyone. The building they explored did not disappoint them. It had once housed a mail order business, although from what concurrent timeline they did not know. But what they discovered was that the business supplied nightmares. A sample catalog found in a foreman’s office listed nightmares from the mundane to the terrifying, ‘a nightmare for every price range,’ as the advertisement went. Children could buy nightmares to terrorize classmates and peers. Adults could assail their enemies with sleepless nights and thoughts of suicide. Deep within the storerooms of the business, the group from Cross found some of the nightmares. These boxed terrors were carried outside and burned, and upon the group’s return, the town kept watch on the building. The abandoned business remains, and somehow nightmares continue to appear in their neat, cellophane wrapped boxes. Not all the nightmares are destroyed, and not all who suffer from them survive. #CrossMassachusetts #fear #scary #death #secrets #murder #writersofinstagram #history #nightmare #horror

Do you wonder who’s knocking within the walls of your home? In February of 1873, Theodore and Alice Cook were more than curious about the knocking they heard in the parlor’s walls. They had purchased the home in January of 1872, and there had been no trouble previous to February 1 of 1873. On February 20, after 19 days of incessant knocking, Theodore – a normally calm and sedate gentleman – lost his temper and began to tear apart the parlor. He began on the southern wall, tearing the horsehair plaster down in his quest to discover the origin of the noise. As he moved from one wall to the next, the sound increased in tempo and volume, until it drowned out the sound of the hammer Theodore used. Finally, when he reached the eastern wall, Theodore found the source. A small door, hidden beneath the plaster. From the opposite side of it came the noise. Alice entered the room and stood among the debris with her husband, staring at the door. In silence, she reached forward, took hold of the small doorknob, and opened the door. Beyond it, in a narrow room, was a small child who was cheerfully banging blocks and toy animals around. The room was windowless, and there was neither food nor drink for the child. When he looked at the Cooks, he smiled, laughed, and continued to play. They named him Alexander, and he lives in the Cook home still. Those few who know his story wonder if he will ever die. Some have even been brazen enough to ask. Alexander merely smiles, winks, and replies, “I’ll out live you.” #CrossMassachusetts #horror #death #missing #fear #scary #nightmare #newengland #secrets

When the dead speak, do we listen? Professor Lee Russell of the Cross Branch of Miskatonic University offered this question to the University’s board in early 1936. After some consideration, the school decided that it was a valid concern, and they offered him a position as an instructor/researcher with a focus on calls from the dead. Over the course of nearly a year, Professor Russell designed, adapted, and built a large telephone switchboard in the hopes of hearing the dead. This was not done out of some starry-eyed naivete, but out of genuine concern that the dead might wish to impart some information to the living. On February 19, 1937, Professor Russell connected his switchboard to the University’s and waited. Within less than an hour, he received his first phone call, one that was documented and recorded. It was a call from Malcolm Berkley, who killed himself in Gods’ Hollow in 1936. He beseeched Professor Russell to tear down the tower. The second call came from Kimberly Bierce, who vanished along with her friends in 1898. She begged for directions home. After that, the calls came in, far too fast for the Professor to answer, although he did his best. Later that day, Professor Russell brought in three students to assist with the calls. To this day, there are four people who man the phone lines. After a group suicide of operators in 1988, no one is allowed to work for more than one week at a time at the switchboard. Those who go back for a second rotation carry themselves with pride. It is not easy to listen to the dead, or to hear what waits in the darkness of death. #CrossMassachusetts #fear #scary #death #secrets #murder #writersofinstagram #history #bad #horror #Miskatonic #Lovecraft

Books are doorways to new worlds. But what if they’re doors which should never be opened? Mary Sebastian was a precocious and intelligent child of 9 when she received a book titled, A Child’s History of Cross from her Aunt Fiona. Mary’s father found the book to be a strange gift since there wasn’t any sort of book written about Cross. His sister, with whom he had a poor relationship, had included a note to Mary. Simply put, the note told Mary not to share her book with anyone. Especially not her father or mother. Mary was devoted to her aunt, and always cherished the presents the woman sent. So, when Aunt Fiona said not to do something, Mary’s parents knew better than to attempt to countermand the woman’s statement. The following morning, Mary packed the book to share with her class at Cross Elementary, despite her father’s wish that she didn’t. When Mary arrived at school that morning, February 18, 1927, she called her classmates over and showed them the book. Several of the children let out pleased screams, and one little boy burst into tears before running away. Concerned, Mary’s teacher went to see what the issue was, and she saw that Mary held a pair of snakes in her hands. According to Mary, the snakes had come from the interior of the book, where they lived. When her doubting teacher demanded that she show her, Mary opened the book and placed the two snakes upon a page titled, The Snakes of Cross. The two reptiles curled around one another to form a ring, and Mary closed the book as though there was nothing in the way. Shocked, her teacher took hold of the book, opened it to the same page, and saw the snakes printed upon there. A moment later the teacher screamed as the snakes crawled up and out of the book, curling around Mary’s small hands. #CrossMassachusetts #fear #scary #death #secrets #murder #writersofinstagram #history #bad

Thank you! @kristen_perry002 for the follow and the likes! #kristen_perry002 #CrossMassachusetts #supernatural

Photos of Cross

A beaver damn on Blood Farm.

The creeping burial ground.

Italian children found off the coast of the Atlantic.

Charles and Eustace Hellas near Coffin Farm.

Cross

Nicholas Efstathiou

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Cross, Massachusetts

Cross, Massachusetts

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A beaver damn on Blood Farm.

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Published inThe Baker, 1979

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