The Relationship of the Ghosts

By William Briner

            Haunted Campers by Allan Zullo is a collection of short stories. The story I’m focusing in on is “The Ghosts of Moorehaven Bridge”. In the middle of the story, BJ tells about his family history. They were slave owners. Out of four brothers, one of them is a brutal slave owner. His name was Hale Moore. Hale hated one slave in particular. The slaves name was Joad. One day after a brutal beating, Joad went down to the river to loosen up the pain. Hale caught him. Hale’s whip wraps around Joad’s hoe. Hale slips and hits his head on a rock. Joad slaps his master to death. On his deathbed, Joad went to go apologize to Hale’s ghost. The next day, Benedict found Joad dead on Moorehaven Bridge. Two topics I would like to discuss in this paragraph are murder and slavery. My personal belief about murder is it is only right if it’s in self defense. Let’s say you murder someone for the heck of it. I believe you should go to prison for life. In Joad’s case, Hale was trying to kill him. Joad killed Hale in self defense. I know living in the South has its advantages, but we are the most racist people in the USA. The South lost the Civil War in 1865 losing our rights to own slaves. Think about it, if we still had slaves, the world would never be the same.

            At the end of the story, BJ and Tiki find out that Tiki is related to Joad, and BJ is related to Hale. It was the first time in 126 years that both relatives were on the bridge at the same time. The last line suggests that Hale’s and Joad’s ghosts will never be at rest. Relationship with dead people and rest will be talked about. I’m related to Davy Crockett. He served in the House, fought in the Battle of the Alamo, and he was a hunter and an Indian fighter. As for rest, most people don’t rest in the afterlife. Alright I know most of us were being born, when this tragedy hit. The most legendary, controversial, and thuggish rapper came about. His name was 2pac. He was assassinated in 1996; some people claim 2pac’s ghost is in his car. Yup, he was killed in his car. So, what ghosts are you related to? Trust me; it will always be the relationship of the ghosts.