Hatchet Harry Halloween Story

Hatchet Harry – A Halloween Story

Thanks to Colleen Allen for the following story . . . just in time for Halloween . . .

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There was a boy named Harry who grew up on a farmstead in what is now Bertram Park.  His house is gone now, it burned down, but there is still an old stone foundation and grainery there.  Harry was born at the farm in the 1940’s where he lived and he stayed there until… well we will get to that.

Harry helped out on the farm as all kids had to do back in those days. He did chores around the farm like take care of animals and pick rocks.  His dad was really  mean to him.  He would call him stupid and other much worse names.  He also beat him terribly.  Once his dad took him out on the tractor to pick rocks and harry slipped and his right foot got run over by the tractor tire.  For the rest  of his life, Harry walked with a slight limp.

To take out his frustrations when his dad called him names and beat him, Harry would go out to the grainery and beat things around.  He would kick buckets and milking cans.  He would take a shovel and knock stuff off the wall.  He was just so angry.  Once when he was out in the grainery, his dad came out there to get him, and Harry took a hatchet off the wall and killed his dad with it.  Then Harry felt bad of course.  He stayed out in the grainery all day until his mother got worried and came looking for him and his father.  Harry was afraid, and remember he wasn’t very smart, so he did the only thing he could think of at the time.  He took the hatchet and killed his mom too.

Well, harry ran off after that and nobody really knows what happened to him.  Some people say that he was captured and sent to a mental institution in Wilmar where he was locked up until he died in there.  Others swear they still see Harry wandering around Bertram Park.

There have been many sightings and strange occurrences that just can’t seem to be explained.  You see Harry always wore bib overalls, a patterned shirt and a baseball cap.  One day at YMCA camp, some of the kids saw a strange man over by a gate with, bib overalls, a patterned shirt and a baseball cap.   This was the area between the two lakes where there is only one way in, and one way out.  He entered the area and one of the counselors used a walkie talkie to call down to the other counselors on the other side.  Guess what, no one ever came through….  On either side.  They went looking for him but didn’t find anyone.

Another time there was a kid named Tom who went to camp there for a lot of years.  He knew the camp better than just about anyone.  He lived nearby so when he was in high school, he used to come out and go fishing.  One day he saw someone, wearing guess what, bib overalls, a patterned shirt and a baseball cap.  He was over by the pump which is where Tom had parked his truck.  Tom hadn’t locked his truck so he was worried about it and he came into shore to check on it.  Guess what, no one was there.  And if you have ever been by the pump, you will know that it is really sandy right there.  Tom found that it was really spooky because, there were no footprints in the sand where he had just seen the guy.

There are other stories too including ones about cats.  Some say that the spirit of Hatchet Harry lives on, in a black cat.  Many black cat sightings have occurred amongst YMCA campers through the years.  Many were by the old grainery where you know what happened.  Black cat sightings have also happened by the chalet.  Sometimes, a cat would walk along the rail of a building and spook all the kids in the class.

Once, someone was out by the old grainery trying to clean up the place because there was a lot of old junk out there.  He took an axe, much like the old hatchet that harry used, and he cut off a branch of an old tree.  He pulled on the branch because it didn’t come all the way off, and guess what happened?  The branch left a mark in the tree in the shape of… a cat.  That mark is still there today!  I found it last year!  And while I was looking at it, I felt a little prickle at the back of neck, like someone was watching me!  Next time you are out at Bertram, keep on the look out for black cats and say hi to Harry if you see him!

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If you enjoyed this story remember to share it with your friends . . . there is still time before Halloween!