Haunting Revelations - October 2011

Thank– you to our readers for submitting these great ghost stories to us through FaceBook. If you are not a fan yet, then search for The Edge Magazine on FaceBook and see what all of our fun contests are about! Each of these submissions won a FREE year subscription to the magazine.

 A Special Visitor - Submitted By: Chanel Wall
One night my sister and I and some of our friends were playing with a Ouija Board (Not Recommended); I swear it was moving on its own. We asked it who we were talking too and it said it was our grandpa who died years before. Freaky I tell ya, the chill's and goose bumps ran up my arms. It is funny how your mind works and thinks. Anyway my parents walked in so we hurried and hid it, We made it our selves on the back of one of my posters on my wall. Well that night we were in bed sleeping and my older sister sat up and started talking to someone I asked her who she was talking to and she pointed to a chair in our room and said my DR. I said where is your DR, and she pointed at the chair (I'm pretty sure the chair was rocking )*LOL* I was gone in like 1.2 seconds and screaming. It scared the BaGeeBee's out of me. The next day the board was gone. We could not find it. And we never played with a Ouija board again. And my parents were not to happy waking up to a screaming child I'm sure that scared them. I don't even watch scary movies anymore. Not to mention I live right by a cemetery now.




Unwanted Guest - Submitted By: Steph Huber
    I got hired to work on a ranch in the hills and the rancher must not have read my name just that I had worked with animals and when I showed up, a girl, they thought they could run me off by putting me in a cabin thought by all to be haunted. I ended up sleeping in my truck that first night cause the cabin was shaking and made so many sounds. I just knew it was the other ranch hands. So I hid in the trees the next night to catch them but no one showed up. When I went in everything was in a pile in the center of the room. That night I sat in the middle of the floor with a flash light knowing I was going to get them red handed! I fell asleep for I don't know how long but when I woke up everything from the cabin was stacked around me and the cabin was again shaking. after that I knew I was not alone BUT wanting to prove to them I could stand strong I dealt with not sleeping well. One night about 2 months after I had been in that cabin I fixed a meal for the other hands. It was a cold night and I had all the doors and windows open. After about an hour one of the guys said how crazy I was for having everything open. And I knew this would happen cause I had been trying things with what ever I was sharing the cabin with. I said well I want them open. Everything closed all at once and I said well now its too hot in here and the fire started. Needless to say I lost a few guests right then but a few stayed and started trying to get things to happen. Well I think that made my "roommate or mates" mad cause everything started flying through the air. About the time the cans started flying from the cupboards we knew it was time for us all to leave. I never did get the chance to get my stuff out we could never get the door open again.


The Little Girl - Submitted By: Anonymous
    When my oldest son was about 5, I would hear him talking to someone! My girl 2, would talk n play dolls with someone! One day I asked who are you talking to and he replied, " it's the little girl ghost mom." This went on for a long period of time. My makeup would always come up missing. One day I could not find my makeup bag, nowhere to be found!! I said out loud" listen I am in a hurry I need my makeup bag." I looked on the couch 100 times, but it was there this time! My husband was sitting on couch he saw a little girl pop her head up in window right behind him, playing peek a boo. Then he heard something on porch, he jumped up ran out the door, but no one was there!! Many other situations have happened. I heard her playing with toys in the middle of the day! My husband keys have come up missing and never mind the fact, she didn't start teasing him until he believed in her!
    There was even one time I saw her riding in my car!! Not joking! We all finally knew it was her, she wanted all of too know about her!! Late one night I saw her standing in my door way. I couldn't believe my eyes! I told her it was time to go home, follow the light, her mom was waiting for her! I had a really special feeling come over me, very relaxed, very peaceful! My son told me about 2 years ago "mom I think that little girl is in heaven now, she told me you looked like her mom, that's why she liked us."

A "Spook"tacular Good Time - October 2011

By: Angela Hanberg
Bluebell Corn Maze    

    Hot chocolate, pumpkins and corn. These are just a few of the items on the menu for the annual Bluebell Corn Maze. Mark and Lori Monson of the Monson Farm in Bluebell jumped on the corn maze wagon in 2000 and locals have been addicted ever since.
    Founder of "The Maize," BYU Agriculture graduate Brett Hurbst of Salmon, ID was influenced by a similar venture he had read about in a farming magazine. Brett's original labyrinth in American Fork, Utah was the largest corn maze created in the western United States. The Bluebell Corn Maze is independently owned, but the Monson family uses The Maize organization for support. It is a large group of people with the same purpose who meet for conferences and connect through the website to help and support each other in their a-MAIZE-ing yearly undertakings.
    It was also because inquiring minds wanted to know, (ok mostly me) I asked Mark about the actual design and completion of the maze. This is something that has had me stumped for 11 years now, since my first trip through the maze. Where some are using GPS technology integrated into their machinery during planting and cutting, the Monson's do it old school: During planting, the corn goes in east and west, then north and south. This assures that there is a grid to work with when it starts to grow. Once a pattern or theme is agreed on, they work with a designer who draws up the final plans and puts it on graph paper. While the stalks are still small, they do a walk-through and mark the layout of the maze, then clear out the plants needed to make a walkway. It's a lot like the art projects they used to make us do in school - a combination of connect-the-dots and copy-one-part-of-a-picture-into-the-little-boxes-on-your-paper-and-hope-it-turns-out-to-look-remotely-close-to-a-picture game. Not nearly as intense as the picture I had of someone driving a swather through an 8 ft. high corn field trying to follow a map, but still quite a feat.
    Just some of the designs we have seen over the years is an oil field roughneck, a milk cow, the Statue of Liberty and American flag, bluebells for Bluebell, American gothic, a donkey and an elephant for the 2008 election, and the Duchesne and Uintah county seals. This year it includes a pumpkin patch and the Mountain American Credit Union insignia.
    Attendance has grown every year, booming three years ago along with the oil field growth. They are open to the public every Thursday through Friday from September 24 to October 29th. Reservations for youth groups, field trips, church groups and others can be made for Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
    "We are really proud of our field trips." Mark says, "We try to educate the kids about farming in the basin. We've covered dairy cows, beef cows, the farming process and even worms. This year we are teaching the kids about the water cycle."
    The maze being the main attraction, there is still plenty of other activities to enjoy as well. This year is the maiden voyage of their Big Bertha the Pumpkin Canon. Anyone familiar with Pumpkin Chunkin won't want to miss this!
    Another first for this year is a 5k benefit run around the Monson Farm. Lose Yourself will be held on October 8th and the proceeds will go to the Josh and Kristen Baumgarten family.


Haunted Woods
    Certain types of fear are not for the feint of heart. Certain individuals are not equipped to handle that type of fear - I admit I am one of those people. However, I am positively in the minority on that subject. I'm the one who has nightmares for a month if I accidentally see a few minutes of [insert low-budget horror film here.] For those who like, desire, or even THRIVE on such things, I give you the Haunted Woods.
    Open for the first time in 1998, the Haunted Woods has been terrifying young and old for 13 years. It all started when Dave Davis, owner and operator of the woods, acquired twelve acres of ground from his mom and turned it into an annual fright-mare. The actual woods takes up about five acres and around 35 minutes to get through it. I have to assume this is an average - taking into account the ones who fly through it at a dead run and others who may take their time huddled on the ground in the fetal position until they can catch their breath and continue.
    Dave and a few friends constitutes the full time crew that works on buildings and sets. They usually start building the middle of August so they're ready to open the end of September. This year, the full-time LDS missionaries have come on board twice a week to help out as well. Although the buildings are supplied, each group of "scarers" still comes up with their own theme, costumes and props to complete each scene and compete in the scare competition. Each visitor to the woods receives a ticket and votes for their favorite at the end of the trail. A few of the gory sites include: Palace of Pain, where everyone is being tortured; Psycho, Squish-O-Matic Illusion, Monster Morph Illusion and the Gothic Chamber.
    There's something slightly disturbing about a man who talks about this creepy business and can't stop laughing. I asked Dave if maybe he'd been dropped as a small child, he said he couldn't be sure, but he remembers being terrified of such things when he was younger. His inspiration came from visiting a large haunted house in Salt Lake where he actually had fun and was inspired to create something of his own. "It's fun to scare people," he says. "Sometimes we even videotape different parts of the trail and then get together later to watch it and laugh."
    I admitted I thought I could probably handle a walk in the woods as long as I knew I had my bubble and no one would invade my personal space (and if it was the middle of the day, and if I had my bodyguard husband along, and...) I am honestly afraid I would start throwing punches if I attempted this. Dave tells his scarers if they're not getting hit, kicked, punched or kneed in unmentionable places at least 20 times a night, they're not doing their jobs. "One year, a friend of mine from Salt Lake came and helped me. He'd always have an ugly awful mask. He would find a couple then sneak along behind them for awhile. While the woman was distracted, he would trade places with her man and walk along for a ways before saying something to her like 'hey baby'. One time this gal kneed him in the groin then punched him and knocked him out."
    It's not only the fairer sex who can't handle their panic mode. Take for instance the big burly football player-type who was so hell bent on getting out of the woods, he dragged his girlfriend almost back to the gate and didn't realize she was even there. The couple was rewarded with an escort to help them get to the end of the trail.
    I asked him what he felt the scariest part of it was. Dave admits that it's going up there alone, even during the day. He remembers taking a girl up there on a date years ago with the intention of scaring her. Instead, he freaked himself out and was more than accommodating when she said she'd like to leave now.
    If you feel you're up to the challenge, the Haunted Woods (5000 W. 12000 North; Roosevelt, UT)will open September 30 and run through October 29. Open Fridays and Saturdays only from dark to 11pm. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for kids. 5-yr olds and under get in free. Nightmare Before Christmas runs November 4, 5, 11 and 12.
    Oh, and for those who think 'not my kid' rest assured some of them will handle it better than you. Dave got a chuckle over a tiny one who's mom was busy selling tickets. No more than three and she spent the night wandering down the trail alone, not phased in the least.
 
 

Jensen Pumpkin Festival - October 2011

By: Angela Hanberg

    Come one come all to the 15th Annual Great Pumpkin Festival! What started out as a small community get-together has now become one of Uintah Basin's greatest annual events. It all began in 1996, the Split Mountain Garden Center brought together friends and family for a bonfire with free cider, cookies and marshmallows to enjoy the company and check out each other's pumpkin carving skills. Attendance was around 250 folks and about 90 pumpkins.
    The numbers grew pretty steadily and in 1999 they estimated about 160 pumpkins and 1000 onlookers and two years later were up to 300 pumpkins and 2000 people. The crowd quickly outgrew the venue and in 2003 used funds from previous festivals to expand the Jensen Park to include walking paths and a new parking lot.
    One only has time to get out of their car before being caught up in the spirit of the festival. It seems the entire community comes together to brave the beginning of the cold nights of fall. The live music from Lamar Farnsworth's band, Lamar & Co., can be heard before you even reach the park. The enormous
bonfire shares its warmth with the dozens who stand around it, hot chocolate and cider in hand. Along the walking paths are pumpkin displays that would make famed sculptures stop and take a second look. As we fight the crowds to get the best view of each one, we hear voices yell out, "Ooooh! That's my favorite! No wait, THAT one! No, wait...." I never knew the joy of carving an intricate pattern into a slimy squash till the year after my first visit to the festival. I went right home and started planning for the next year thinking 'surely if they can do it, so can I!' I was wrong. That was not the case, and my children still have a lot more faith in my skills than I do.
    For those members of the community who are a bit more artistic than myself, anyone and EVERYONE is invited to share their carvings at the festival. It is open to families, businesses, schools or individuals. The more the merrier. Displays are judged in two categories: Best In Show is chosen by the committee members and then there is the public's Popularity Vote.
    Is your baby going to be donning a plush pumpkin costume for Halloween this year? Why not put them in a real one and compete in the "Our Lil Pumpkin" photo contest. Just carve a pumpkin big enough for your little one, dress them up to match the theme, coax them into the pumpkin and take a picture to submit at the festival. Or better yet, bring everything with you and let the festival's photographer take the picture for you! Photos are only $4 and will be mailed to you when they are printed after the event. Submissions will be taken between 6pm-7pm that night with judging at 8pm and winners announced around 8:30pm. Winners do not need to be present to win! The only catch - pumpkin tots can not be older than 18 months.
    Other fun activities that night include: a trike run through an obstacle course for 2-7 year olds, a pumpkin catapult for 8-years and older (which is also in need of pumpkin donations so they have something to hurl,) hay maze, haunted horse trailers, candy pond, live music, bonfire, concessions and the list goes on.
    Actually getting to the festival can prove to be a big challenging for some so it doesn't hurt to get creative. There are actually three different routes to take from Vernal and the committee asks that we take advantage of the road less traveled if and only if we know the way. Besides Hwy 40 from Naples, you can also get there on the Brush Creek road - past the dump, take a right and follow it around to Jensen. You can also turn south off Hwy 40 at Split Mountain Travel (the new truck stop on the way to Jensen.) Just don't get lost - there's always the Bluebell Corn Maze for that!

Great community events could not be made possible without great community support. The Jensen Festival committee would like to thank all who support this great event. For inquiries regarding contests, donations, volunteering, etc., please contact Monica Farnsworth at 435-790-3481 or Christy Thacker at 435-789-8391. This year the Jensen Pumpkin Festival will be held on October 28th from 6-9 PM.