The Flame

Back in 1972 they were building the new corridor G. from Chapmanville to Charleston.

Me and my boyfriend (husband now of 29 yrs), were out driving on the new section to be paved. We drove about 5 miles of Chapmanville. Our car broke down. It stopped in the middle of no where. We watched for hours for another car to drive by but we didn’t see anybody. As we sat there in the middle of night talking and wondering what our parents were thinking. We knew they wouldn’t know which way to even look for us. I knew I was in some terrible trouble, if I didn’t freeze to death. It was late in the fall and thanks to my boyfriend we did have extra coats and a army blanket.

We started seeing a flame in the ditch line. It was like a hundred feet to the left of the car. My boyfriend said you set here and I will go check it out. He got out of the car and walked toward the flame. I sat in the front seat watching. When he got within 10 feet of it the flame disappeared. He turned around in the dark and walked back to the car. He said humm it went out. He said he thought it was a gas leak and someone might of thrown a cigarette on it.

Just as soon as he sat down and shut the door it came right back. Several times he walked up to it and it would flicker out. He was frightened but, tried not to show it. Finally I dared him to get out and leave me again. I said whatever it is it does not want us to bother it. We sat there till daylight. A work truck coming on the road to work stopped and helped us. He said what seems to be the trouble. My boyfriend said I don’t know the car just quit. We have been here all night. He gave us a jump and the car started. We had the battery checked out later and it was a new battery. It never did do that again.

My father was waiting and after we explained he only jumped on us for not telling them which way we were going. He was too understanding. We told him about the flickering flame. He said can we go back and look for it? In a hundred years I spoke up.. I said I’ve never been so scared. We never did go back and we have passed that place so many times but, we cannot to this day say exactly where we were. Its like something made us both forget the place.