The Mystery of Porterfield

The Luke property, once the showplace of Porterfield, was a non-producing acreage with overgrown weeds. The outbuildings, once ‘all rinsed in red stains now were all peeling faded barns looking like dried blood. The farmhouse had become in need of major repair throughout recent years. The front gutters were so full of leaves and debris that small saplings were growing in them. A few of the shutters were hanging crooked and they looked ready to fall off the home.

The neglect and aging process along with the isolation from neighbors gave the Luke house the look of an abandoned farm. Naturally the youth of the community spread rumors of the house as being ‘haunted’ and ‘evil’.  The perpetuation of these stories was not hard to believe.  An elderly recluse with little contact with the community was rarely seen. The property was neglected and not a friendly sight.

Porterfield was like any other small town. Almost everyone knew everyone else. Most everyone knew everyone’s business, pet peeves and financial standings.  Just like most every community there was a home that had been in one family for over one hundred years. The Luke family owned this old farmhouse on the edge of town. The last remaining Luke, Miss Luke was spinster in her eighties. The rest of the family either died or moved, so only Miss Luke remained.

When Miss Luke was young, she was a busy but attractive lady. Yet most of her time was taking care of her two younger brothers. Their mother had passed away when they were very young and their father was very busy producing crops for the town. So, Miss Luke did not live the ordinary teenage life of dating and socializing.

Later when the boys were old enough, they got married and moved away. Miss Luke stayed behind to help her father run the farm and milk the goats.  They were producing bushels of corn and green vegetables. The people of Porterfield were very thankful for the Luke’s contribution to the town. However, after her father’s death Miss Luke could no longer operate the farm by herself. Town stores now turned to the neighboring towns for their fruits and vegetables.

Years had turned into decades. When Miss Luke finally looked into the mirror one day she saw and old woman with wrinkles and fine silky white hair. She was now an eighty-three-year-old recluse. While sitting on the porch swing, she realized that she had done nothing with her life for the past thirty years. Miss Luke wished to have her teenage years back.  She wanted to date and socialize just like everyone else. However, it was too late for that.

The community of Porterfield, like many farming towns, was once with many pets, dogs were the most common. Fall had come early this year and there were many cold nights ahead. It was about mid-September when a few of the locals in comparing family updates noticed that some of the neighborhood dogs were missing. In a farming town a stray dog or roving animal or two was not uncommon. However, for a few of the families the missing animals were strange. The latter weeks of September brought unseasonable early snow. It was the morning after the Mitchell family let their dog out for a nightly run and the dog still had not returned. The family followed the paw prints in the snow to the outskirts of town where they suddenly stopped. They stopped along a gravel road. 

Days had turned into weeks, and September led to October. There were now many pets missing and strange weather conditions. All these things seemed to trigger the imagination of the children of Porterfield. Thoughts of dog nappers, monsters, aliens, and ‘Spook Luke’ stuck in the heads of the children. It had to be a witch killing dogs or worse. Halloween was now approaching quickly. Surely someone had to know something. It was up to the Sheriff to solve the mystery and put all the rumors to rest.

 The sheriff had never come across a mystery that he could not solve. However, the case of the missing dogs mystified him. The first thing he had to do was question each of the owners of the missing dogs. There was nothing uncommon about the disappearance of the dogs. Each owner had let their dogs out for a late-night run or to go to the bathroom and they did not return. These dogs were generally trained very well, so their owners could afford to let them wander off into the darkness and they would return.

The sheriff was at a loss because he could not figure out what had happened to the dogs. He figured that he would wait until the next dog disappeared and tracked their paw prints. When the next dog finally disappeared, the snow had all but melted. That left the sheriff back at square one, the people wanted to know what happened to their family dogs. The sheriff could only reply, “we are working on it.”

It was already October 29, quickly approaching Halloween. The sheriff had no new information about the missing dogs. Other people began to worry about their dogs, fearing that their dog would be the next in line. The case of the missing dogs became the number one priority for the sheriff. The sheriff had many questions on his mind. Why missing dogs? Were they being slaughtered or maybe sold else for money? No one knew anything.

Miss Luke was aging very quickly and she was very lonely. After the death of her father Miss Luke seemed to have vanished. No one ever stopped to visit her.  She was rarely seen outside the Luke house and when she was seen it was only in the market buying groceries. When she was seen it was only by a few people. She shopped once a month for food in the market. It was early morning before most people awoke when she shopped. This way there was less of a scurry with other people and she could take her time since she was very slow. Miss Luke was a gentle old soul who had always given to the community. She had been through some tough years and some good ones. Now she wanted to live the rest of her life relaxing and enjoying the company of others, but she did not now know anyone.  The years of giving her time and working for the community lead to nothing. She now had no one to talk with and no one to care for.

 Through the years Miss Luke stopped giving out candy because no one came to the house. First it was good distance away from the other homes. Plus, rumors were spread and to that she was a witch that hated little kids. Lately Miss Luke has been becoming more and more depressed. She could not share the holidays with anyone and the thought of this saddened her. However, she decided to buy candy in case anyone should stop by on Halloween.

It was Halloween and all the kids were ready for their fun. Some kids made their costumes while others bought their costumes in the local store. The kids usually dressed as their favorite hero. Throughout the day smaller kids heard rumors of the spook Luke house. These rumors really frightened them, so they did not dare go there.

Shortly darkness had set upon the entire town of Porterfield. The sound of kids yelling and doors slamming rang out through the neighborhood. It was time for trick or treating. Trick or treating usually began at six o’clock and lasted until eight o’clock. This year there was a full moon on Halloween. It created thoughts of witches and goblins in the minds of the young children. Rumors began circulating around the neighborhood, perhaps something strange might happen. It was only the beginning of an eventful evening.

After about an hour the parents of the smaller children were ready to head back. The parents were tired and the kids had bags full of candy. The older children were ready to run wild. They love the thought of mischief and fun.

Miss Luke was still sitting on her porch with the lights on and not one single kid had come to trick or treat. This made Miss Luke feel unwanted and even more lonely. There was still a group of teenagers out who wanted to have fun. So, they thought they would go up to the spook Luke house and see what the old lady was doing. Each kid had a vivid picture in their head of what they would see inside the house. The light to the house was still on so they continued up the long windy road. As they approached the driveway the lights suddenly went out.

The group of kids about twelve and thirteen years old now began to have doubts about approaching the house. There was blackness all around them. The rumors of spook Luke house were running through their heads. Now they did not dare go up to the house, fearing that she might really be a witch. However, one boy convinced the rest of them that it was all a big hoax. The kids were now twenty yards from the house. Shivers ran through each of their bodies. The only sound that could be heard was of teeth clattering in the cold midnight air. The very sound of sticks breaking underneath their feet had them turning around to watch their backs. The group of kids flocked together. They did not want to show it, but they were all scared. For the first time they noticed the wind whistling through the trees and shutters of the house were clanging back and forth. This gave them an eerie feeling about the house. Maybe it was really haunted.

They walked around to the back of the house to look through the window. They did not see anything until one of them tapped the window. Then, at that very instance, many fiery red eyes were staring at them down through the window. They were scared stiff for a brief second. When they came to their senses they ran like bats from hell.

Once out of sight from the house they decided to return home and talk about what had happened the next day. Early morning found many children without dogs and pups. Back in the sheriff’s office the phone rang nonstop for hours. Each time the sheriff hung up the phone he would have to pick it up seconds later. All he heard was reports about family dogs going missing. The sheriff was pondering how so many dogs could have disappeared without any trace. Not once in his career or life had he come across something as strange and puzzling as this. He called his deputies together and explained what had taken place.  Each deputy had a certain number of families to see. The deputies were to bring any news of facts that might lead to the resolution of the missing dogs.

Hours had passed and the sheriff was still mystified about the whole scenario. There were no leads and no tracks to follow. Finally, a deputy came back with some news. He reported that five boys had gone to the Luke house last evening and described it as possessed. Since there was nothing else to follow up on the sheriff decided to check out the Luke house. Maybe something would turn up there.

Miss Luke had awoken earlier this morning to do some odd jobs. She was now resting in her favorite chair. ‘Knock, knock,’ Miss Luke heard this noise and arose from her chair. At the door was the sheriff and two deputies. He asked if he could come in and ask her a few questions. She replied, “certainly.”  Once inside the kitchen the sheriff observed the dog bowls. He said, “Do you have any dogs, ma’am?” Miss Luke replied softly, “well yes.” She then took him into the next room and showed him the lot of dogs. He began to count them. There were sixteen in total.

“How did you get them all here?” he asked. Before Miss Luke could barely utter a word, he saw a whistle lying on the dining room table. “Ingenious,” he said, pointing to the whistle. “What were you planning to do with them?” the sheriff asked.

“Nothing, you see, I am lonely, and I just wanted to have some company. When you are my age the days drag, especially if you have no one to share the time with,” she said.

The sheriff explained to her that she had scared the entire town. He then said, “if it were not for a bunch of adventurous teen-age boys, I would never have thought that you were behind the mystery of the disappearing dogs. Maybe you should get involved with the town’s people and join senior citizens.”  The sheriff then rounded up the dogs and returned them to their rightful owners. The people of Porterfield could finally rest. There would be no more disappearing dogs.

The following day the case of the missing dogs was the talk of the town. The Porterfield Chronicle read: Miss Luke Lures Dogs to House. No one ever suspected Miss Luke of being behind the mystery of the missing dogs. For several days people talked about the circumstances surrounding Miss Luke. They wanted to know what was going to happen. The day after in the Porterfield Chronicle there was a write up by Miss Luke apologizing to each and every person for her act. She explained that she did it to get attention because she felt lonely and needed some companionship.

Everyone knew what she had done in the past for the small town.  They felt that maybe it was their fault for ostracizing her. Miss Luke started receiving visitors and joined senior citizens. Miss Luke had made a statement. The town’s people began to take note of the elderly and help them out in any way they saw fit.

The townspeople were glad to have their dogs back. Miss Luke was meeting new friends and enjoying the company of others for the first time. The sheriff finally could rest and set aside another solved mystery. Porterfield was itself again.