Wagner's Hill

Down past the river bend where the road turns to dirt and the trees close in
There’s an old house leaning sideways on the ridge
Paint gone gray, windows black as the bottom of a well
The kind of place that seems to breathe on its own when the wind slides through the cracks

People in Murphysboro whispered about the Wagners —
Two brothers who kept to themselves up on that hill
Mean as a snake
And quiet enough to make your skin crawl

Eli was the oldest — tall, lean, and hollow-eyed
Crowe was shorter, built like a stump, with a stare that could freeze a man mid-step
They worked odd jobs when they had to, cut timber, trapped coons,
But mostly they stayed to themselves, living off the land and whatever else it gave ‘em

They came to town once a month for salt, kerosene, and tobacco
Never said more than a word or two
And when they did, dogs went silent,
Like even they knew something wasn’t right

Folks said they could hear screams some nights,
Carried on the wind from up that hollow
But when the sheriff rode out to check,
All he ever found was fog thick enough to choke a horse

Hunters went missing come deer season
A drifter now and then
Even a county man once
But nobody found nothin’ but bones picked clean by coyotes

Sheriff said wild dogs
Old folks said the Wagners
Preacher said leave it to God
But no one ever went up that hill after sundown

Then one August night the sky broke open
Lightning rolled across the bluffs like cannon fire
Rain came sideways for hours
And from town they swore they saw that ridge glowing red
Like the gates of hell had opened wide

By morning, the storm had passed
And the house was gone — nothing left but ash, nails,
And a melted skillet half-sunk in the mud
Down by the creek they found drag marks
Leading to a pit that wasn’t there before

They filled it in, drove a cross deep into the dirt,
And swore never to speak their names again

But on quiet nights when the air turns heavy
And the owls go still in the trees
You can see a faint light up there through the sycamores
Hear a dog start to howl,
Then another,
And if you listen real close —
You’ll swear one of ‘em’s laughing.