A/N: There are many versions of the story of a whooping ghost of the Dungarvon River which feeds into the Miramichi River (that's in New Brunswick, Canada). It's an old story told by lumberjacks. This is the version I thought was the best:
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The spring before the ghastly appearance of the Dungarvon Whooper, the river drivers had left some landings, which were logs piles, on the shore. The river drivers had orders to put the logs in the water, however, the logs had been sitting for so long that they had all settled together and had tipped over into each other.
It was a mess.
The river drivers then set up camp on the flats some distance from the landing and went to their work.
There was one man in the group who was notorious for his blasphemy and overall bad character; rarely anyone wanted to work with him for he was cranky and difficult to work with.
The men were having breakfast the one morning when the unpleasant fellow threw down his plate. They had been working on the landing and it had proven to be taxing. "I'll break that Jesus landin' this morning or I'll eat my breakfast in Hell!" The man shouted. He grabbed his peavey and away he went, ignoring the foreman's protests.
The man went to the opposite bank of the river and rolled a few logs off, causing the landing to cave in on itself and throw up a tremendous amount of dust. When the dust settled, the river drivers could see the logs had filled the entire Dungarvon Stream and a strange creature had appeared out of the woods.
The creature in question was a long, brown animal with a long tail and the head of a man with short horns. It was the Devil!
The creature bounded across the logs to the other side of the river and disappeared into the woods where the man was. What followed was a blood-curdling screech; the fellow's death whoop.
He was never found again. It is believed the Devil had taken him that day.
The creature was sighted and heard many times after that. Its frequent appearances prompted even the bravest of woodsmen to avoid the area altogether.
Another appearance of the creature involved a man by the man of Bob Ross. Ross was taking a team of horses pulling a wagon to a logging camp nearby. Ross led his horses to the river to drink when all at once the horse lifted their heads and panicked.
When Ross looked to the river, he saw the Whooper lying on a log. The creature leaped into the woods and let out a loud screech before vanishing.
Many have suggested that the creature was a mountain lion; an animal rare in New Brunswick and unfamiliar to the woodmen of old.
In another version, the Dungarvon Whooper was the wandering spirit of a young cook who was murdered for his savings. But whatever was the cause of the terrifying screams, it frightened people. So much so that a priest was called in and read a service of exorcism.
After that, it was said, the unearthly whoops were heard no more.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
