30. The never-ending rosebush.

“My family lives in a super rural part of east Tennessee, and we have a family homestead that’s been passed down for generations called the Turley House. Legend in the family has it that it was a civil war hospital, which I can totally see because it’s absolutely ancient and creepy. We also have a legend in the family that we’re all haunted by a demon/spirit/god-knows-what called Wool Eyes. He’s so prominent in our family’s history that he’s just a fact of life at this point, so it’s not unusual to hear somebody say something like, ‘Oh look, Wool Eyes is at it again. He must be upset.’

One of the creepy experiences I had growing up here is the never-ending rosebush. There were two rosebushes on the corner of the house that weren’t very big. I have some distinct memories of playing around them and getting absolutely batshit lost in the rosebushes, running in circles for hours and hours at a time. It was sort of like that scene in Spirited Away when Chihiro and Haku are running through the flower hedges. Eventually I would find my way out, but it would be hours later and my mom would be hella angry that I was gone for so long. I never really thought much of it because kid logic, but I asked my mom about it years later and she said that all the kids in the family have stories about getting lost in the same spot. Everybody always blamed it on Wool Eyes, saying he was just having fun messing around. Wish I could go back and explore the house some. It’s got some crazy stories through the years.”