The Mystery of the Bell
by Rachel
One misty foggy night, inside the old Courthouse, the solid low
ring of the bell pierced the air. It rang because tonight was Sunday, eve
of the day when court was in session.
It all started when the first session was started. The
bell was old, the only thing the court could afford. That night, way up in
the cupola, the piercing scream of the bell, mysteriously rung at the end of the
session.
A person brave enough climbed into the attic and slowly walked
on the beams. When he reached the ladder to go up into the cupola he saw
the rope hanging down. Suddenly the rope went up and back down
again. The man was scared to death, so he ran down to the first floor and
went out the door and never again reentered the courthouse.
From then on, every Sunday, the bell mysteriously rang.
But then two years later, the bell was jerked too hard and now is upside
down. To this day the stories say a man sits up in the cupola waiting for
someone to turn the bell the old way so he can continue his haunting. But until
then, the shutters will bang and we wait for someone very brave to go up into
the cupola and find out if someone is really up there. The mystery may
never be solved.
Return to the mysteries.
Find out more about the Polk
County Courthouse by clicking on the topics below.
