The Story Of Monkey Jack Bridge: Johnny pulled his Chevy Bel Air up onto the creaking, wooden platforms , shut off the lights and parked the car dead center on Ratliff Bridge. Donna was busy trying to tune in WOWOs radio station out of Ft. Wayne, Indiana and finally heard the familiar voice of her favorite DJ. This is Marv Hunter, your late night DJ at W-O-W-O, WOWO Ft. Wayne....50, 0000 watts serving 82 counties ...and this...is Sleepwalk. The smooth, musical stylings of Santo and Johnnys instrumental song Sleepwalk drifted out of the car speakers and into the dark summer night where two lovers parked for a little romance after seeing a double feature at the Sky Drome Theater in town. The Sky Drome in New Castle was the second hottest spot for teenagers and youthful lovers, bested only by Ratcliff Bridge located in the center of the seemingly endless country road, also known as Lovers Lane. The feature movie Johnny and Donna saw that night was Raintree County starring Elizabeth Taylor as the insane, but beautiful and irresistible southern belle Susana Drake, with Montgomery Clift as the protagonist and Rantree County hero John Shawnessy. The movie was based on Henry County where Johnny and Donna were born and raised. An also where Monkey Jack Bridge stood for decades. The second movie was a horror film called The Tingler. Donna had buried her head on Johnnys shoulder for most of The Tingler. She hated horror movies and would not have agreed to stay if nor for Johnnys love of them, and his particular fondness of any movie with Vincent Price. She was thrilled when the movie ended and her mind drifted back to the magical Raintree County. Now parked on Ratcliff Bridge, they sat under the far reaching branches of a great oak tree thick with summer foliage that almost completely shielded them from the moonlit sky. A look in front and behind the car would reveal nearly complete darkness save for the soft golden light that illuminated the endless rows of golden-topped corn stalks that lined the country lane and were measurably much more than the knee-high by July height now in the late August of 1959. Since leaving the drive-in, Donna had started the cute at first, but now increasingly annoying practice of speaking like the southern Susannah Drake character from the movie they had just seen. Johnny...can we stop and get a Cherry Coke, Johnny can we go for a drive in the country, Johnny darling, why are you stopping here on this rickety old bridge, she said with a sweet voiced, slow southern drawl. Would you quit that Donna said Johnny as he reached for the door handle. Why John Shawnessy she said, Wherever are you going?. I have to use the bathroom said Johnny. And stop calling me John Shawnessy you goof. Thats not how John Shawnessy would talk she said with her girlish grin. Okay Johnny said, half amused and half irritated. Excuse me Madam as I have some business to attend to in this here cornfield. They both laughed as Johnny got out of the car. Johnny walked a few rows deep into the cornfield to relieve himself. He could still hear the music, muffled now, from the car radio, but he also noticed just how quiet it was out in the vast moonlit field. It was like a vacuum of silence. Calm and peaceful, but at the same time a little disturbing. Then something broke the silence. A faint CLINK sound or maybe a CLANK. It sounded like it came from the old metal bridge, but was gone so quickly that he wondered if he had actually heard anything. Still....it was unnerving. Johnny hurried up and there was more than a bit of urgency in his step as he headed back to the bridge and the safety of his car. Once inside the car, Johnny casually, (at least he hoped if Donna noticed, it appeared casual) locked the door behind him. Donna hadnt noticed as she was fixing her make-up in the visor-mirror. Donna slid over closer to Johnny and he put his arm around her. She was wearing the white sweater that he loved so much. The odd sound and disturbing feeling he had felt before had dissipated. This is nice said Donna and Johnny agreed. Marv Hunter was back on the microphone at WOWO.....this one goes out to Bobby from Cindy in Fairmount, Indiana...Cindy says its Bobbys favorite new song.....so here is another Bobby, this one Bobby Darin with his new smash hit Mack the Knife coming to you from Marv Hunter at W-O-W-O..... This is such a crazy song, but Bobby Darin is the living end...I love him Donna said. I love you too Johnny, she said and leaned over and gave Johnny a kiss. At that moment, there was a loud screeching sound at the right rear of the car. It sounded like metal on metal and it caused both Johnny and Donna to jump in their seat. What the hell was that? asked Johnny, his heart racing from the huge adrenaline rush. He made the motion of reaching for the door handle and Donna stopped him. Dont go out there..lets just go.....now....please! No way said Johnny....something just scratched the hell out of my car! Donna quickly turned and locked her car door. Lets just go..lets just go now. You can look at the car when we get back into town. In the ensuing silence, Bobby Darin was singing on the radio.....Someones sneaking round the corner...tell me could that someone be Old Mack the Knife?. Then another sound....the same loud screeching, only this time it seemed to be working its way closer and closer to the door on Donnas side of the car. It was a steady, almost casual, creeping, screeching, metal tearing, teeth grinding sound and it struck blind fear in both Johny and Donna. Johnny..its that crazy monkey man with a hook for a hand! Please lets get out of here. Johnny had heard the story of the psychopathic killer who preyed on young couples. Who hadnt? The guy supposedly stalked and killed teenagers who were out parking on deserted country roads. He started out strangling his victims, but one couple had escaped his attack. The young man had rolled the psychos hand up in the window and had driven off, supposedly mangling the murderers hand, leaving a blood streaked stain on his car window. Lots of locals had seen that gruesome stain, but none really believed the story the couple told. They thought it was a joke. After that the psychopath had supposedly created a hook hand prosthesis and used it to kill his victims in an even more horrible fashion. The killer got his nickname because of the way he crept up to the cars of his victims, crouched down low to the ground. Only the one couple had escaped alive and the boy remembered seeing something ape-like through his rear view mirror,creeping its way up to his car door, an image he said he would never forget. No one knew where the name Jack came from, most likely from the famed Jack the Ripper, but everyone knew the story was not real....right? It grew, like campfire stories do, and each time it was retold, a new and even more gruesome detail emerged. Pure urban legend, just stuff to scare the girls. But now Johnny was becoming a believer He was being converted and Donna with him. The screeching stopped. Johnny and Donna heard the thud and saw the horrific image at the exact same time. A face slammed against the passenger side window. Black eyes and wild hair. The monkey-man thing stared into the car, a gaping mouthed grin of the insane across its face with thick saliva drooling down its chin and slowly cascading down the window. The thing struggled with the door handle, jerking it so violently that it rocked the Chevy on the bridge in the dark but moonlit night, while Bobby Darin blissfully unaware of the horror that was taking place on Ratliff Bridge on a back road of central Indiana that hot August night closed out his newest hit song. Look out old Mackie is back! Johnnys reaction was pure reflex....in a blind panic his foot stomped on the gas pedal. Donna was now as far over on Johnnys side of the car as she could be. The Chevy spun out in the loose gravel and when the tires finally caught hold of the wooden plank, then shot off the bridge, and flew like a rocket down the road, leaving a huge dust trail and whatever was outside the car quickly behind. Turning onto Seven Hills Road, Johnny was unaware of anything except the loud screams of Donna and her trembling body up against him. It was Donna who spoke first, tears streaming down her face, Oh my God Johnny, that was him. That was Monkey Jack! It was said Johnny, I think it really was!. Take me home and well call the police she said. NO! No police. Whos going to believe a couple of kids? Just go inside and dont tell your parents. Well talk about it tomorrow. Johnny pulled up the driveway at Donnas house. He got out of the car, his legs trembling a little under him at first, then some strength returned. He went around to open the car door for Donna. Donna watched him all the way round the car, turning her body as to not lose sight of him. When he rounded the corner of the back end of the car his eye caught the sight of the horrid gash in the car. His gaze followed the silver-colored, deep scratch in the car scraping a jagged line through the maroon red of his cherished Chevy, from the fin up to......then he almost went down with trembling legs again. Johnnys face went ghastly white. What is it Johnny? What? Just get out of the car Donna. Get out on my side of the car. Go straight inside and dont look back. Donna did as Johnny asked and got out on the driver side, but once outside on the other side of the car she could not help but look back. Dangling from the door handle on the passenger side of the car was a hook! A bloody, silver hook! At the base of the hook was a blob of blood and flesh. Long stringy tentacle-looking things dangled down and stuck to the side of the Chevy, with a trail of red running down and back toward the rear of the car, following right along the painted flames that Johnny had stenciled onto the car himself and was so proud of. They stood there in silence, hearts racing Marv Hunter was again on the radio. This is Marv Hunter and the time is 4:00 a.m.and thats all for tonight folks. Thanks for tuning in and if youre listening in the car......... Thanks for the ride! The End As told to and recounted (and embellished) by Mark Sean Orr ~ COPYRIGHT INFORMATION~
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 20:53:37 +0000
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