Garbage Bags

The Garbage Bags is a scary story about a crazed murderer who haunts the darkened streets and narrow alleys of the small town of Brownsburg.

One dark night, a teenage hispanic girl named Selena was out walking her dog. She chose a route that led her through a vast open area where there were dozens of old barns. The barns were only used for the town fair which took place every year. For the rest of the year, they were disused and abandoned. She took off her dog’s collar and let him run free around the buildings.

After a while, Selena became worried when the dog did not respond to her calls. She went around each barn, searching for her pet dog and finally found him sniffing enthusiastically at six large, black garbage bags that were lined up against a wall. She was shocked by the foul odor that was emanating from the garbage bags and had to hold her nose.

Her curiosity got the better of her and she decided to investigate. She wanted to find out what was causing the rotten smell. Selena opened up the first garbage bag and jumped backwards in fright. Inside, she discovered the bloody corpse of a woman. The dead body was in an advanced state of decomposition and had been completely mutilated. Shaking with fear, the girl ran back to her house to call the police.

A homicide detective was assigned to the case and, once he arrived, he was stunned by the horror and brutality of the crime scene. Each of the six large garbage bags contained the decomposing body of a different murder victim. All of them were female. He ordered Selena to not tell anyone about what she saw. He did not want to cause a public panic when people found out that there was a serial killer on the loose.

However, Selena felt that the detective knew more about the crimes than he was prepared to admit. She threatened to call the newspapers and reveal everything to them unless the detective told her the whole story. Since the detective didn’t want to inspire a climate of fear and paranoia among the local population, he gave in to her demands and reluctantly told her everything he knew.

“This is not the first time something like this has happened,” said the detective gravely. “The man who carried out these bloody murders lives way out in the woods. They call him The Garbage Bag Man. We know where he is, but we’ve never been able to get our hands on him. There’s only one person who has seen his face and lived to tell the story.”

He told her that, five years before, there was a young black teenager, named Theo, who lived with his mother and father on the edge of town, close to the woods. Theo would often take long walks in the forest, because his house was right next to a path which led deep into the woods. One day, when he was out walking, he felt adventurous and decided to deviate from the path. He made his way through the bush and the brambles, exploring the thick of the woods.

After almost two hours of walking, he reached the edge of a small cliff. It didn’t look too steep, so he decided to try and climb down the side. However, half-way down, he stumbled and rolled down the embankment.

He expected to land with a thud, but instead he landed with a clang. Picking himself up and dusting himself off, he realized that there was something metallic buried underneath the hill. He was standing on the roof of a camouflaged hut, buried within the mound.

Suddenly, a man came running out and shouted, “What the hell are you doing here? This here’s private property!”

The man had long wiry hair and a thick, dirty moustache. He was as big as a bear and there was a very strong smell of alcohol on his clothes. His face was lined and scarred. The man looked shifty and dangerous.

Theo had a bad feeling about this individual and tried to leave, but the big man wouldn’t let him. He told the teenager to stand near a tree and not to touch anything, and especially not to go near his shack. Then, the man left took his rifle and walked off down a small path and disappeared into the trees.

Like most teenagers, Theo was a very curious person and couldn’t help taking a peek inside the shack. When he opened the door and peered inside, he saw what looked like dried blood all over the floor. Sitting on the table was a huge butcher knife and at the far end of the room, there was a freezer. Cautiously entering the shack, Theo walked over to the freezer and lifted the lid.

His nose was immediately assailed by a horrific odor. The contents of the freezer were covered with a transparent plastic sheet. It was so dirty and covered with bloodstains that he couldn’t see through it. With trembling fingers, he lifted the plastic and found the dead bodies of a woman and a young boy. They had both been badly mutilated.

Theo fled through the door of the shack and ran for his life. He scrambled up the hill, never daring to look back. Crashing through the dense trees and undergrowth, he finally managed to reach home. The terrified teenager called the police and when they arrived, he tried to lead them back to the place where he had found the shack. However, he was unable to remember the route he had taken.

“We tried to get him to draw a picture of the Garbage Bag Man’s face, but it was no use,” said the detective. “Ever since then, Theo has been confined to a mental home. He cracked under the stress of the situation and had a complete mental breakdown. He is being treated by a psychiatrist and says he still has nightmares every night about what he saw in that shack. He believes that the Garbage Bag Man will return some day, to eliminate the only witness who ever saw his face.”

The Garbage Bag Man still haunts the woods of Brownsburg and the surrounding region. For over 20 years, the police have been trying to track him down, but he always slips through their grasp. No one else has seen his face or stayed alive long enough to identify him. Those who know the legend don’t want to say too much, for fear of attracting negative attention or drawing suspicion upon themselves.

Whenever anyone in town sees a garbage bag lying in the street or in a dark alley, they stay well away. Because, you never know, the Garbage Bag Man could be lurking nearby, ready to pounce on anyone who is too curious.