SOON Online Magazine

Stories

The Legend Of Cropsy by Lester Solnin

Every year, Boy Scout Troop 333 joins other troops in an annual jamboree located upstate New York. For three weeks, the boys are virtually on their own supervised by an older scoutmaster and an assistant scoutmaster. The seven scouts, Assistant Scoutmaster Arty, and Scoutmaster Mr. Shea say their goodbyes in front of the "Y" and load up onto a very comfortable coach bus. Jack Shea is a temperamental, athletic man of 50 years who has three children of his own. Arty is an Eagle Scout at 17 years of age, and is entrusted by Mr. Shea to be granted the title "Assistant Scoutmaster." The boys respect Arty a great deal, not only for his rank, but also for his pranks. As the bus makes its two-hour journey to the scout camp, the typical noises of boys ring in the ears of Jack Shea. Sandy and Mark exhibit their usual rowdiness as they playfully fight near the rear of the bus. In the front seats are Mr. Shea, Arty, Dennis, and Richard playing poker. As usual, Dennis is winning pennies. Leon accompanies Michael with his voice while Mike strums on the guitar. Mike usually plays traditional songs with a little R & B. Benjamin is the introvert of the group. He usually enjoys sitting alone humming Mike's songs against the window as the cars in the other lane motor by. He is usually in a world of his own. Traditionally, a story is told around a campfire during the first night. A story of a man, named Cropsy, who beheads boy scouts. Last year, Arty had to tell Ben "it's only a story." After the long journey, Ben states "no more Cropsy stories, please." To which Arty laughingly "I believe he's still in prison." The boys make the long trek to their designated campsite. The first item on the agenda is to group the boys. In one tent are Sandy and Mark, then Dennis and Leon in another tent. Richard is paired up with Michael and it's Arty and Benjamin. Mr. Shea has a tent to himself. The next step is to raise the tents. This occurs without mishap. Tonight, there will be a campfire and the "Cropsy" story will be told, with a twist. Around the campfire the boys sit in a darkened vacuum only lit by stars and fireflies. Arty starts the story by relating to the scouts that Cropsy escaped from the New York Penitentiary. "I understand he might be heading towards the camp again, to await his next target." The boys are completely engrossed in this story. "Remember that he comes at night, almost invisible to the ears. I hope he does not visit our camp. To date, he has left us alone, but like a wondering black hole, he just might hit us." The next morning as "chow" is being served, the head of the camp, Mr. Rocco, approached Mr. Shea and pulled him aside. "What?" cried Mr. Shea, "you've got to be joking!" After Mr. Rocco left, the boys approached Mr. Shea looking for an explanation to his cry. "A Boy Scout was found murdered." Gasps filled the air. Arty asked "how did he die?" "You will not believe this.... his body was found hanging from a tree without a head." Michael replied "this has to be a joke, right?" Mr. Shea was going to respond when the shrills of sirens encompassed the camp. Mark pulled Ben aside and whispered in his ear "Cropsy has come back!" Ben just moved away. The boys had a fun-filled day in which activities such as archery, swimming, and nature walks took place. Some were awarded merit badges. That night, they had meatloaf for dinner and the line for the latrine was extensive. "Hurry up Dennis, I have to go," Sandy said while shivering. Some of the boys made three or four visits to the latrine. It's Sunday morning; the boys of scout troop 333, ready themselves for powdered eggs and bacon. Again, Mr. Rocco interrupts their breakfast. Richard bleeps out "oh no, not again." Richard is right as another Boy Scout is murdered. This time he was thrown off a cliff, headless. "We are contacting the parents of everyone in the camp." Mr. Shea nodded in agreement of that action. "There is a nutcase roaming around," Mr. Shea states emphatically. Within three hours, the boys' parents arrive. Richard is pulled by the ear as he has no choice as to whether he stays or not. Dennis volunteers to leave. "I won't allow that nut near me!" Mark agrees with Dennis and he leaves with his parents. Arty wants to leave but for the scouts who chose to remain; Michael, Sandy, Leon, and Benjamin. Ben states "this is getting to frightening, but I'll tough it out." This statement could be Ben in his attempt to be "macho" or "he's being a nut," his mother says. Almost half of the camp went home. There is a massive police presence in the camp now in attempt to catch the killer and to protect the boys there. Monday morning found Leon and Benjamin missing. Mr. Shea in a frantic disposition tracks down a couple of police "there are two boys missing this morning." One of the officers replies "maybe their in the latrine." Mr. Shea yells at Arty to check the latrine. "Not there, sir." The officers report in the disappearance of the boys and do a massive search. One of the officers called in the sighting of bloodstains that wasn't there before. It was found on top of a hill that leads to a cave, about one hundred feet down. Slowly the officers, with guns drawn, approach the entrance to the cave where blood is more prevalent. "One officer takes a sneak peek into the darkness of the cave. He takes out his flashlight and shouts into the cave "we are police officers. Put your hands up!" The officer shines his flashlight into the cave looking for a response that never came. "We're coming in!" About ten officers enter the cave, very slowly. After walking ten feet, the light shines on a very shocking sight. A Boy Scout is holding up a head of another scout and cries out in a grizzly way "I am Cropsy." "The boy is deranged. Look at his face. Police Lieutenant Rhoades walked in and ordered the scout to be handcuffed. With blood dripping all over his tee shirt, Officer Cloker took the head away and handcuffed the boy. The Lieutenant looked at the remains and noted the troop number. He looked to the right and saw the arrested boy's troop number. "Officer Dill...please contact Rocco and notify him that the two lost boys from troop 333 were found."

© 2002 Lester Solnin

Back to previous page

---

©copyright SOON Ministries

Contact us