As a young child living in Northeast Texas on a ranch, the other children often talked about a 13-year-old boy who wanted to go fishing one Saturday afternoon on the Red River. The boy's mother worked 'in town' and he was often left alone to entertain himself until around 3PM every Saturday. It is said that he collected his fishing worms along the way {about a 2 mile walk}, then had fresh ones with which to fish. One rainy Saturday, however, his mother told him NOT to go fishing. Bored and looking for SOMETHING to do, he decided to go against her wishes and fish anyway. En route to the Red, he saw a small clump of what he thought were 'healthy', dark earthworms, picked them up and 'crammed' them into the pocket on his shirt. Alas, these were not fishing worms but a passle of baby water moccasins which bit him repeatedly on the chest and ultimately killed him. It is said his ghost roams that particular rural road, especially during the rain, waving his hands in the air so as to warn prospective fishermen to turn back. Some did not heed his warnings and it was told that many fishermen who did not turn around and go back sustained the same horrible death as the boy. When we decided to visit the old homestead, last year, I told my husband to drive toward the Red River so he could see it's beauty. I did not see the 'ghost boy'. When we returned to the ranch, however, the children across the street must have seen him, as they were panik-stricken and hyper-ventilating, telling of the boy they saw on the road. Their mother, of course, is my age and heard this story many times but never believed a word they said. The next morning, we went to the post office and met one of those old men you see who sits on the benches in front, telling tall tales. We spoke and I asked him about the ghost story. He was not at all amused and informed me right away that the boy who died was his son and was quick to tell me that he has been to the road many a Saturday and encountered him many times. How it changed my life:I don't 'collect' fishing worms; I buy them but am well aware of the difference between moccasins and earthworms!
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