February 5, 1923

Cross is known for its peculiarities, for how uncommon events occur with a disturbing regularity.

On February 5, 1923, Martin Clayton, his brother Melvin, and their sister Emily, all departed their parents’ home a little past six in the morning. They were preparing to travel into Boston for the day, and it was believed that the winter clouds would hold off until evening before releasing their burden of snow.

The last anyone saw of the Claytons, they were traveling northeast in the general direction of Gods’ Hollow. Their itinerary was to travel as quickly as possible, thus taking a road none of them would normally have traveled upon.

This last sighting took place at 6:06 AM.

At exactly 8:11 AM, there was a horrific crash in the basement of the Tully Shoe Factory on High Street.

The workers went racing into the depths of the building to see what had caused such a horrific sound, and what they found was nothing any of them could have suspected.

The Clayton family’s automobile was in one of the pits, the floor of which was wet with blood. The fumes of the car’s engine filled the air, and the blood steamed in the cool air of the basement.

As the workers scrambled down into the pit to see who was in the vehicle, and to see if any were alive, were distressed to discover only the massive quantities of blood. The dark fluid was not only on the floor of the pit, but on the seats and sprayed across the interior of the car.

Identification linking the Claytons to the vehicle was soon found, and it was learned that the siblings were missing.

A rapid search of the route they traveled revealed a place where the car had gone off the road. The clothes worn by the siblings for the trip were on the snow covered ground. Each item of clothing was neatly folded, as if waiting for the owner’s return.

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