The Haunted History of Alexander Brim Cohaed

Hello. My name is Justin. I prefer for you to know my first name only. Nothing more. I have a little story to tell you, while I have little time.

You see, there's a mansion on the outskirts of my home town in the state of Iowa. A very run down home indeed. Where rumors say that an old spirit roams its halls. But before we get into the issue at hand, let us take a journey in history about this very home.

Back in the mid 1600's, this home was a farmland. It was maintained very well and the crops helped the town of Early thrive and kept it fed. The owner was a very wealthy and kind man by the name of Alexander Brim Cohaed. This man was known for being very intelligent and kind when it came to the crops sent out from his farmland. He was generous; giving free vegetables such as tomatoes and potatoes when he knew that the people needed it most. He'd do anything to ensure his kind fellow townfolk were well fed. For hunger was a issue before he came into town, which was September 14th, 1656. He was actually treated differently for he was poor when he arrived. It wasn't until his business partner, Samuel Von-Gerald, showed him the plot of land that which would be where the farmland would be. Alexander's success did not come in the blink of an eye. It took months, even years to accumulate the money to start their business.

Sadly, after the farming begun. On December 8th, 1680, Samuel died of Yellow Fever. Thankfully, Alex never caught this terrible disease. But most of his workers and a lot of the town's people caught it, and were either killed off, or hospitalized for months to even years. It was devastating to Alex's business and it even made him feel absolute sorrow. But in the next few years, the disease had seemed to moved on from Early to a different direction, leaving the disaster it caused behind. After a few years, more people started to move into the town. Inhabiting more and more houses. The mayor called to have Early extended. Make more room for more people. Alexander was happy to hear and see so many people coming in after such a horrible incident occurred. Little did he know, he was about to have his life change forever. During a evening in mid March, 1702, he was in the local tavern with his brother, Damien Dan Cohaed who owned a local farm himself, enjoying a few drinks. Alexander met a woman by the name of Patricia Pan Hendrix, who he soon fell in love with. They dated for many years until in July 34th, 1724, they were bonded together in marriage. Alexander and Patricia were very very happy together.

Then, came a grim event 10 years later..

On October 2nd, 1734, Alexander and Patricia weren't seen for days. The townspeople were afraid, scared for their food supply, and also for the couple. The workers searched the 200 acre farm for them, but found nothing. But as evening came. They decided to finally search the home, for it was the last place they could have gone. They entered the house and first searched the 1st floor, which consisted of the living room, kitchen and dining rooms. They found a patch of fabric which seems to have been torn off someone's clothing. This worried them. They quickly searched the upstairs which were the Master, Guest and Master Bathroom. They found nothing. There was no other floor they knew of, so they began to leave the premises until one of the workers tripped and hit the floor of the house, making all of the other workers turn back. That's when they discovered a trapdoor hidden under the rug. They quickly opened it, peering into the darkness. They all had second thoughts, but their curiosity and worry for their boss and his wife pushed them onward. They all went down the ladder into the basement. There appeared to be nothing but stacks of books and barrels of what seemed to be wine. Typical things that would be in the basement of a rich person's house, right? But one of the workers with the lantern saw a patch of red on the ground in front of a wooden door at the end of the hall. They examined it and they hoped it was wine, but they all knew that it was unmistakable by the texture and color:

Blood.

They all stared at the door and one of the workers worked up the courage, gently grabbing the knob as he slowly opened the door, emanating a loud creak that echoed off the walls. They peered inside and.. the sight they witnessed sickened them all, made them all want to rush out in fear but the very sight left them frozen, staring, gaping at the scene.

It was Alex and Patricia. Alexander appeared to have been stripped down to his undergarments, thrown onto a table, and gutted with a rusty medical scalpel which was laying next to his right hand, which was missing its index and ring fingers. His chest seemed to have been slashed plenty of times, almost as if he was fighting the sharp weapon that obviously ended his life. Patricia was across the room to the left. She was worse than Alex was. She was chained up in some sort of shackles which was attached to the concrete wall of the basement, her eyes were white with death. She was still wearing her white formal gown, but it has a few tears at the base of the neck and on the bottom of it as well. Her arms were cut to high heaven, and her throat appeared to have been slit. The workers all ran out of the basement as fast as they could, leaving behind their lanterns and piles of vomit which they released on sight of this gruesome scene. The head of the workers, Frank as they called him, told the town mayor. The Mayor had suspicions about the workers and went to check it out. He brought a few guards in with him as they witnessed the scene. The mayor seemed angry and demanded to know who did this. They cleaned up the scene and took the bodies out of the rooms so they can receive a proper burial. The next morning, the workers awoke and to find that the Mayor sent out an announcement via mail to everyone of their homes, which read as followed:

"I am requesting all of the men who worked and are working at Alex's farm, please arrive at the City Hall immediately. No later than 7:00 a.m.,

Thank you. -Mayor Scott Ken Kingston"

The workers all arrived at the City Hall, only to be lined up against the City Hall's walls, questioned, then they were all shot and killed on the spot. Every, single, last, one of them were shot and killed because the Mayor thought it would avenge Alex's death.

There you have it. The history of this farmland. The spirit that everyone claims to walk the halls is the spirit of Alex himself. Why am I determined to solve this mystery, you ask? Well. There's a simple explanation for that. I am the descendant of Alex. He is my Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather. I want to figure out how this happened or I will never feel at peace again, knowing that my grandfather was murdered and that his killer may not have been those men. I don't believe that. Because his worker's were loyal to him, he never mistreated a single worker that worked on his farm, he paid well and even donated some of the food to them so they can have food to feed them and make sure they have the energy to get up in the morning and work again! No. Something else happened. Someone else killed Alex and his wife. And I'm here to put the mystery to rest. Once and for all.

I drove out to the home, pulling in the gravel driveway as I turned off my car, giving the house a long look, examining the rotten wood walls, the amount of plant life that invades them, and the window on the 2nd floor that was missing glass. I sighed, sat there and wondered. What if I don't find anything? What if I never solve this? I may never be at peace again!.. Wait, what am I saying? There has to be some clue that tells who could have killed Alex and Patricia.. There HAS to be..

I looked at the passenger seat and grabbed the flashlight, notebook and pen that I brought along and I opened the door and stepped out into the cold night. Brr.. Maybe this was a bad idea to do on a November night. Especially in Iowa. I began up the porch stairs, hearing the creak of the wood under my feet as I looked down, and then back up at the door. This house has been abandoned for many years and there is undeniable proof of that. I reached the door and reached for the handle, turning it as it was surprisingly unlocked. I stepped inside, closing the door behind me as I looked around at the staircase to my left and the entrance to the kitchen to my right. I began to look around the kitchen for any notes or something that would help me. I then froze as I heard someone breathing heavily behind me. My heart jumped to my throat. I quickly turned, aiming my flashlight around and examining the room. My fear was growing steadily.. I found nothing in the kitchen and moved to the Dining room. I still felt as if something was watching me. I kept looking around me, expecting to find my grandfather staring at me with a heated almost angry look. I kept searching and found a old bill for supplies from another farm. It stated that the bill was unpaid and that another warning would be sent within 30-day unless payment was given. I pondered at this and looked at the name of the farm that sent this, and I was surprised. The name was also "Cohaed Farms.".. What is this? Who else has a farm with the exact same name? I sighed and wrote down a note about this, and put the note back. I then moved to the living room, this room looked the oldest due to the rotten wood walls and the mold growing around the furniture. I also found another note which was a business letter to Samuel:

"Dear Samuel Von-Gerald,

Your rent is due for the wine barrels you requested, the accumulated total is $325.95, we request that you pay this rent or we shall arrive and repossess the products you rented. Thank you for your time.

-Franklin's Winery"

A simple rent due notification, I didn't pay it much mind. But it did make me think: Why did Samuel and Alex have overdue payments and rents?.. I was slightly confused. This was then that I heard a scream from upstairs. A feminine, blood-curdling scream. I was afraid but I ran up the stairwell. As soon as I reached the top step the screaming suddenly quit. I walked through the halls, looking for the source as I checked the Master Bedroom first, I was feeling queasy in this room, it felt colder.. darker.. heavier.. I checked under the bed sheets and found nothing, checked the wardrobe which was empty, and the mirror appeared to be cracked. I was about to head out of the room until I noticed the mirror seemed hollow, I carefully removed the glass, wary so I don't slice my fingers open, and I found a necklace hidden in the crack of the frame, it was a very rusty red-gemmed necklace with a short chain. I put the necklace down on the dresser and opened the first drawer and found a newspaper, it was yellowed with age. I picked it up and read it, finding a interesting article which was dated August 7th, 1731. It was titled and read as followed:

"JEWELRY STORE ON MAIN STREET ROBBED AND PRECIOUS INVALUED NECKLACE STOLEN!"

"Earlier this week the jewelry store by the name of, "Kim's Jewels," was raided during the night and the precious invaluable necklace was stolen. It was displayed in the front window which was a grave mistake for the owner, Kim Vero. The only evidence found was blood on the broken glass around the case of the necklace. Authorities are still looking into..."

... I looked at the necklace on the dresser and looked at a picture which was posted under the article which portrayed the necklace EXACTLY. I dropped the newspaper and fell onto the bed as I looked at the dresser, thinking:

What the hell is going on?? Unpaid bills, unpaid rentals, and now a stolen necklace.. What does this mean?! My grandfather, my grandmother, their business partner.. Were they really deceitful, stealing liars this whole time?

I then went downstairs and found the trapdoor for the basement. I took a deep breath, then proceeded to open the trapdoor and climb down the wood ladder. I aimed my flashlight around the hall as the rotten wine barrels and stacks of books stood around me. I examined them all and found nothing of interest. I then reached the end of the hall and found the door. The door that held the room that Alex and his wife died in. I gulped in fear as I reached for the handle, slowly turned it and opened the door. But what I found about made me freak and ended my investigation right then.. and there. All I saw. Was a brick wall. Someone has blocked off the room. I dropped to my knees and gripped my hair, so frustrated. I sighed and looked at it again, angry and just hating all this. This might have been the last hope for finding a answer. I sat there for a few minutes before heading back, closing the trapdoor and opening the front door, walking outside into the cold air. I looked at my wristwatch and noticed it was 2:44 A.M., I sighed, exhausted, and got back in my car. I placed the flashlight and notepad down on the passenger side seat and started my car.

I drove out of the driveway and began to head home when I suddenly got a huge headache, I rubbed my eyes and winced, trying to focus on my driving as I swerved around the road a bit. I felt it get worse, and worse. This lasted for minutes before I see the ghost of my Grandfather, his tall figure, white hair, white beard, and white eyes were a sight only for a few seconds as I jerked my steering wheel too hard, turning the car as it rolled several times. I ended up in a nearby ditch upside down. I never heard the ambulance. I never woke up. So guess what?

I'm dead. Completely and utterly dead. And now, I reside with my grandparents. And even Samuel. Nothing but sorrow where I'm at now. Nothing.. But..

Sorrow. Knowing that I was ended by the same person that caused the one death, and his own suicide. Alexander? You mastermind, you.