Shadow Dog of Mount Sterling

Description

Over the years my curiosity had lead me to search for what some may call the supernatural. Visiting locations others had sworn were haunted or spending more than one All Hallows Eve in a graveyard at midnight trying to challenge anything to manifest itself with one disappointment after another. These experiences have turned me into be a non-believer in the super natural. One warm summer evening in 2001 I had finished my shift at work on the west side of Columbus and had a date with my girlfriend in Washington Court House. I climbed in my car and began the drive I had taken so many times before. I worked a later shift so the sun was setting as I began to drive south on Route 62/3.

For those of you who have not driven this yourself it is a road through typical Ohio farmland with areas of tress, a few curves, and small hills. The speed limit was 55mph but I often drove 65mph as was the case this evening. At the town of Mount Sterling the road forks and the speed limit drops from 55mph to 35mph. Although the fork in the road appears to be a slight curve to the right and back to the left it was in many ways a blind curve because you could not see the road ahead. To the left there were some houses with trees in the yard but there were no porch lights on as it was not quite that late and the setting sun was only beginning to cast shadows. What happened next occurred in a matter of seconds but felt like minutes.

I tapped my brakes before I reached the fork and by the time I began to veer right I was doing 40mph. I noticed to my left near one of the houses a large black dog running towards the road. My first thought being, “Damnit! Somone’s dog got loose”. I assumed the dog was chasing cars, and as I did not want to hit the dog, I put my foot down on the gas pedal to out run it. As I looked up I was surprised to see the dog was not only matching my speed but seems to be outrunning my car. I decided to go a little faster and as the speedometer in my old Buick showed 65mph I was amazed to see the dog was still matching my speed. A chill ran down my spine as the dog was close enough to see more of its features. The problem was the lack of definitive features. I can only describe it as the dog was made of shadows. The shadow dog appeared to be jumping from one shadow to another versus running like a dog. Whatever this was I did not want my car to hit it and proceeded to slam on my brakes. With a loud and long screech my Buick came to a stop. I looked up to see where the shadow dog was but it had gone. I took a couple breaths to calm myself and slide my foot off the brake. As I rounded the curve I saw in the road ahead of me was a group of six children playing. They seemed indifferent to my car approaching until I blew my horn which sent them scattering onto nearby sidewalks and porches.

I continued on my way to Washington Court House and a realization came to me. Had I not stopped, and I continued to speed, the point at which the shadow dog would have caught my car was the same point in the road where the children were playing. Had I not stopped when I did to avoid hitting the shadow dog, once I rounded that curve, I would not have been able to stop in time to avoid hitting the children. In the years since I have wondered if what I saw was real and if it would be considered a demon coming for my soul had I hurt or killed any of those children or a spirit appearing in a form meant to stop me before the tragedy.

I have made several friends that grew up in Mount Sterling and I found that mine was not the only encounter with this shadow dog. This apparition has appeared at multiple places in and around Mount Sterling. However, I have not been able to find any documented reference to it. Perhaps this is because like me the individuals who the shadow dog came for were in the process of doing something they were not proud to admit. Perhaps like me they were worried that anyone they told the story to would assume they were crazy or under the influence. I do not drink; I do not do drugs, and have no history of hallucinations or mental episodes of any kind with myself or my family. I wonder how many others out there have encountered a spirit and wish an outlet to explain what happened.