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(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Night has fallen and the moon is a

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glowing golden orb in the black sky.

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See how it shines on the dark back

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roads of America and on one road in

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particular.

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Come with us and we'll take a walk

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down the moonlit road and listen to bone

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chilling tales told by some of the nation's

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best storytellers.

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Join us now and simply step out for

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the night is waiting and the moon is

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full.

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Hi, this is Nancy Riggs and the story

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I'm going to tell you is called Where's

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My Ring.

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Have you ever taken something that didn't really

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belong to you?

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Let me tell you what happened long ago

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to two sisters named Martha and Jenny.

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Martha and Jenny grew up in Washington Georgia,

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a quaint southern town lined with beautiful ornate

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homes just west of Augusta.

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They grew up just as close as they

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could be sharing everything between them.

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As young girls they never even kept secrets

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from one another and the idea of one

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having less than the other was just unimaginable.

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But as the 20th century began and the

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girls came of marrying age they became a

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bit more competitive, especially when it came to

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male suitors.

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You see Jenny had attracted the gaze of

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the local bank manager from a family drenched

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in old money dating back generations.

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For a time both sisters openly flirted with

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the young man.

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He was well aware of the sister's mutual

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interest and relished all the attention he was

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getting.

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But in the end he asked Jenny to

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be his wife.

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So for the first time Martha kept a

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secret even her sister didn't know about.

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Martha was jealous of Jenny's romance with the

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banker.

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Not that she thought he was handsome, far

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from it she found him rather bookish and

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boring, but he had money, lots of it

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and with smart finances.

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So Jenny always wore the nicest clothes, smelled

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like a French perfumery, lived in Washington's nicest

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house and sported the prettiest diamond wedding ring

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outside of Atlanta.

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Oh how Martha just loved that fancy ring.

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She loved the way it sparkled brilliantly in

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the light and could only imagine what it

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would look like on her finger, about the

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same size as Jenny's.

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Of course Martha didn't say anything to Jenny

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and that jealousy festered for years until one

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day tragedy struck.

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Like many smaller towns at that time Washington

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was hit hard by typhoid fever.

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Jenny's husband got infected and passed away painfully

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in the night.

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Martha briefly became the supportive sister again, insisting

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the grief-stricken Jenny move in with her

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for company.

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But it wasn't long before those jealousies bubbled

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up to the surface.

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Martha made nasty remarks about Jenny having money

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and her fancy French perfume smelling up the

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house.

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Jenny was shocked and saddened by her sister's

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greed.

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She had always been generous with Martha.

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Wasn't her fault Martha was a spinster, whispered

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about by the chattering ladies in town?

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But she noticed the way Martha would stare

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at her ring.

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She'd be willing to give her sister almost

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everything but not that ring.

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As far as she was concerned it was

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going straight into the grave with her.

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One day Jenny had finally had enough of

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the looks, the remarks.

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She grabbed her belongings and moved to Augusta

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to live with her eldest son.

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And the once inseparable sisters ceased all contact.

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Years passed until one day Martha received an

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urgent telegram from her nephew in Augusta.

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To her dismay she read that Jenny had

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succumbed to typhoid just like her husband.

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Martha then made the long ride along bumpy

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dirt roads to Augusta.

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There for the first time in years she

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saw her sister again.

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At her nephew's request she chose Jenny's nicest

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dress and began to prepare her for burial.

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Suddenly she spotted the ring sparkling brilliantly in

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the lamplight.

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Martha looked around the room, gently slid that

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diamond ring off Jenny's finger and slowly closed

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the casket.

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She don't need it no more, she figured.

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After Jenny's burial Martha traveled back home.

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She was right proud of her new diamond

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ring.

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She loved to watch it sparkle on her

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hand.

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The town ladies had noticed whispering amongst themselves

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with disgust.

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But Martha didn't care.

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She had finally gotten what she wanted.

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She rarely removed it, even sleeping with it

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on.

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But a few nights after she got home

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Martha woke suddenly in her dark bedroom smelling

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that pungent French perfume.

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A chill wind blew into the room.

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She turned slowly to look towards her bedroom

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door.

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Floating in the hallway was a glowing blue

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figure.

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It groaned in agony then called out in

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a disembodied voice as if from the bottom

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of a well, Martha, oh Martha.

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Martha was scared half to death.

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She knew that voice.

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The blue figure was the ghost of Jenny.

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Jenny?

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She answered what is it?

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It's so c-c-cold down here.

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The ground is so cold.

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Trembling violently Martha pulled the covers up to

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her chin.

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What do you want Jenny?

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Answer me.

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It's so cold, she replied again.

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The blue light frozen in the doorway.

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Then it vanished.

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These hauntings continued night after night until finally

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Martha decided to seek out some help.

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She had heard of a decrepit old man

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named William in town long rumored to have

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spent time in the Georgia State Sanitarium and

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shunned by the locals.

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But he also claimed to know a thing

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or two about ghosts and the afterlife.

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Martha figured her inquiry was safe with him,

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another town pariah.

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On the man's rickety front porch, choked with

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kudzu and rotting furniture, Martha told him about

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the hauntings and how she didn't know what

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the ghost wanted.

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The old man smiled and asked, have you

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invited her in and asked her?

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That hadn't dawned on Martha.

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She was normally too scared to carry on

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a long conversation.

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So that night when she felt the same

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chill wind, smelled that French perfume and saw

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the glowing blue light, she blurted out, come

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on in Jenny, tell me what's bothering you.

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With that, the blue light drifted with a

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gust of bone-chilling wind into the bedroom.

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It drifted haphazardly around the far corners of

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the room.

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With a voice noticeably more agitated, it called,

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Martha, where is it?

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Where's what?

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Martha stammered, though she knew the answer.

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My ring, wailed the ghost, give me back

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my ring.

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Martha slid her ring hand slowly under her

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back.

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Go away ghost, I ain't got nothing of

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yours.

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You was buried with your ring.

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No, I wasn't.

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My ring, I want my ring.

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Martha rolled over quickly and yanked the covers

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over her head.

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I told you to go away, now get.

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She waited for that perfume fragrance to die

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out, for the ghost to simply leave like

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it normally did, but instead the smell grew

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even stronger enveloping the room.

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After a moment of silence, Martha slowly pulled

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the covers back down and there was the

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blue light floating right beside her bed.

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So close she swore she saw the agonized

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skeletal face of her sister staring straight through

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her.

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Frozen in terror, she didn't resist as she

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felt the covers ripped off her bed and

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her ring hand yanked out from behind her

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back.

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Agonizing jolts of pain shot through her body.

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She swore she heard the ghost scream, give

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me back my ring.

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Then she passed out.

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Martha wasn't seen in town for days after

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that.

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William was curious to see if she had

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followed his advice about the ghost, so we

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paid her a visit one afternoon.

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He was shocked to find her sitting lifelessly

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on her front porch, like his home now

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filled with junk and trash.

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She stared aimlessly at the ground, dressed in

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filthy nightclothes, her eyes bloodshot.

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And he saw the beautiful ring was gone,

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along with her entire hand.

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So friends, try not to waste your energy

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coveting stuff, and don't steal, because stealing will

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only come back to haunt you.

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We hope you enjoyed this story from the

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Moonlit Road podcast.

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Please tell your friends, family, and complete strangers

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about us by rating and reviewing our podcast.

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You can also find us on Facebook and

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Twitter, now X, at The Moonlit Road.

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Visit our website themoonlitroad.com for many more

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stories not on the podcast.

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This episode was directed by Craig Dominey.

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Your storyteller was me, Nancy Riggs.

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This story was adapted from folklore by Nancy

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Riggs with Craig Dominey.

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Audio production by Henry Howard.

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The Moonlit Road podcast is a production of

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the Moonlit Road LLC.

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See you next time.

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That concludes this walk down the Moonlit Road,

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but you can always come back on your

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own.

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It will be here all year round, brimming

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with captivating and spooky tales for the whole

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family.

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The Moonlit Road can be found on the

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World Wide Web at www.themoonlitroad.com.

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The stories are always chilling, and the moon

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is always full on the Moonlit Road.