Hey, Readers? Ready for another Mystery Monday? This month’s posts come from personal experiences and family stories. Some of these family tales inspired short stories or events in my novels. This story served to inspire a scene in my novel, Cold Dark Night.
In the late 1950s, when I was a toddler, my parents sold their home in Irving, Texas, and purchased forty acres in the eastern part of the state. Having lived all their married life in cities, they were ready for a change. They also purchased a couple of cows, grew a garden, and raised chickens.
Until our new house was built, Mom and Dad rented an old farmhouse across the road from the newly acquired property. For a few years after we moved, Dad continued to work in the Dallas area and came home on weekends. Mom and my brother did all the chores.
One of my own photos. The old house where we once lived stood just to the left of the old concrete building.
One cold winter evening, my brother was sick with pneumonia. Dusk had already fallen by the time Mom was able to milk the cow. They kept her on our property, and the barn was a short walk from the house.
Mom set out from the house with a pail in hand. When she got to the end of our driveway an inner voice spoke to her. “Don’t go.” She paused for a moment, but knowing she must milk, walked on.
She’d walked a few yards further on the dirt road when the voice spoke to her again, this time in a firmer tone. “Don’t go.”
She stopped. Even turned around. “I have to milk the cow.” She turned back toward the barn. The cows always waited for her at a particular spot near the fence but on this day they weren’t there. She saw them near the barn gazing intently toward the thick woods. (Our closest neighbor was at least a half-mile away.)
The voice came a third time. “I SAID DON’T GO!”
This time, she didn’t hesitate. She went back to the house and told my brother and me to bundle up and get into the car. She drove the short distance, parked near the barn, and kept the headlights on while she completed her chores.
She never knew the reason for the warning. It could have been a wild animal or someone lurking in the woods. Mom always said warnings came in threes, and when this one happened a third time, she knew to heed it.
I’ll always wonder about the reason for the warning on that cold winter night, but it’s a mystery that will never be solved. Next week, I’ll share a story about some other unexplained voices.
39 Responses
I have to admit that the first thing I think of when I hear “unexplained voices” is schizophrenia, extreme stress or exhaustion, but I am sure that was not it. It is a mystery when healthy and rested people hear voices.
Once my wife heard a voice saying obscene things and threats at night whenever I would leave the bedroom. I told her it must have been nightmares. Then I heard the voice myself and it shouted “I am going to burn your house down”. It turned out that it was a guy / peeping Tom outside our bedroom window. The next day I found out that he was terrorizing the women in the neighborhood, not just my wife. I hired private detectives to catch him because the police wouldn’t do much. They were hiding out in our yard at night but they did not catch him. However, what solved the problem was our big Leonberger dog chasing him off. He never came back.
I can’t believe the police wouldn’t do anything! At least he was “smart” enough not to face the dog’s wrath again.
Yes Bronco was a big friendly teddy bear and would not have harmed him but having him run after you at night can be really scary. He was indeed terrified, which solved the problem.
I have no theory about the warning “Don’t Go”, but I am glad your mother listened to the warning. Thanks for sharing this mysterious event.
I’m glad she did as well, Karen.
That’s a bizarre one. Might have been nothing, but she was ready if something was there.
Had the cattle not been behaving strangely, I wold have thought there was probably nothing there. Who knows? A wild animal maybe?
You’ll never know, now. It sounds like a wise course, because milking doesn’t wait.
Hi Joan, how very creepy. There most likely was something lurking in the woods given the behaviour of the cows.
I think that was probably the case, Robbie. Maybe a predatory animal. Hearing the story always gave me chills.
It sounds like a gut feeling being given voice somehow, very eerie.
I’ve had things happen like that as well, Liz. Not so much a “voice” but an inner feeling. Once I didn’t pay attention and paid the consequences. It was a small thing, but it taught me a lesson!
I’d say maybe she was overly tired from dealing with a sick child, a young child, and all the work on her own, but if the cows were also acting like something was amiss, that definitely puts me on the side of divine intervention. You’re right, you’ll never know. But I’m grateful she heeded the warning.
Good thoughts, Staci. I tend to lean toward Divine intervention. Whatever the case, I am also grateful she heeded the warning.
That’s eerie, but it may have been Divine intervention. I’m glad your mom listened!
I tend to believe it was Divine intervention, Vera. Mom always thought so as well.
This one gave me chills, Joan. With the cows acting strangely, I’d say there was something to that warning.
I think there was, Teri. What, we’ll never know.
Eerie situation, Joan. I’ve had a couple of similar experiences and always listened. To this day, I wonder – what if. 😊
I’ve had those situations as well, Gwen. Like you, I’ve wondered “What if.”
I’m glad your mom listened to that voice. We usually never know what we are being saved from, but better than finding out!
Exactly! My husband and I had a situation several years ago. Both of us woke up at three in the morning with a strong impression that he was not to go to a job interview. He listened. We still wonder what that was all about.
I think it’s so cool that your mom had a voice that warned her when she might be in danger. And it’s intriguing that she only listened to it if it warned her a third time:) One voice would scare me!
Oh my gosh, Joan. That gave me such a creepy feeling! Eek. And to think that it was real. I’m glad your mother heeded the warning. I think those sensations are real and that we must pay attention to them. The world is more mysterious than we can possibly know.
The story always intrigued me, and I’ve always wondered the reason for the warning. I’ve experienced times when I had a strong impression not to do (or sometimes to do) a certain thing. I agree we must pay attention to them.
I have too, and I obey the impulse.
What a story. Your mom did the right thing for sure. Thaks for sharing, Joan.
Thanks. Grrrr
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I think so too, John.
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I think if your mom hadn’t listened to the warning, you would know the reason today. Thank goodness she listened! That inner voice serves an important purpose. What a story!
I think so too, Jan. I agree about that inner voice. 🙂
An amazing story, Joan. I’ve never heard a voice like that before, but I suspect if I did, I’d pay close attention to it. Thanks for sharing, and I’m looking forward to the next installment! 😊❤️
I’ve had “inner sensations” that heeded me to do or not to do something. The one time I didn’t listen, I paid the consequences. It was a minor thing, but it taught me a lesson.
I’ve had bad vibes or instinct kick in now and then, and I always pay attention, but an actual voice with specific words has never happened to me. Yet. 😉 Who knows what lies ahead, though? 😁
Better safe than sorry! If a inner voice is warning you away, it’s best to heed it. Given the cows were also acting unusual, I would say God had a hand in protecting your mom and family that night.
Cool story, Joan!
I believe so too, Mae. I’m thankful she listened.