A shadow upon the darkness,
his voice a whispering sigh.
My blood ran cold in my veins,
as he looked me in the eye.

His name was long forgotten,
in the sands of time.
He wore the shackles and the chains,
yet no one knew his crime.

He haunted the woods late at night,
and all told me "Beware".
Yet in the folly of my youth,
I went upon a dare.

High upon the wooded hill,
where I went to spend the night.
I saw the form of the nameless ghost,
that filled me full of fright.

The moon cast shadows upon the trees,
and the night grew quiet and still.
There I did meet the ghost,
that haunted the wooded hill.

His form was darker than the night,
his form passed through each tree.
His blood red eyes cast an unearthly light,
as he looked at me.

My blood was turned to ice,
I was paralysed with fear.
The dark form that was the ghost,
was slowly coming near.

It's blood red eyes pierced my soul,
and I heard it softly moan.
Like a creature in agony,
forever left alone.

I saw that around his neck ,
was the hangman's rope.
He glided there in front of me
and so quietly spoke.

"Why is it that on this night,
you come to look for me?
Standing there calmly
under the Hanging Tree."

" I will tell you the story,"
The ghost softly spoke,
"of how I have come here,
and met the hangmans rope."

"Over one hundred years have passed,
since I have walked the land.
Walked through this same forest,
as a mortal man.

I was a common bandit,
and could kill with gun or knife.
Many tried to catch me,
and many lost their life.

I escaped the sheriffs posse,
out ran the deputies.
I knew the woods better than any,
and escaped them all with ease.

My weakness was a lady,
her beauty beyond compare.
Her smile could lighten my black heart,
and wash away my cares.

We were to go to Mexico,
there we were to be wed.
If I stayed in Texas,
she knew I would be dead.

I did not know our plan
was whispered to other ears.
They caught me on my returning ,
chained me and brought me here.

I was hanged in this very tree,
by the neck until I was dead.
Betrayed by the woman ,
that I had sought to wed.

My body has long been buried,
yet here my soul remains.
I wander the woods from my life,
in these shackles and these chains.

Stay well from the path of evil,
of hatred and sinning.
If you want to be safer though,
steer clear of cheating women."

With those words he dissappeared,
in the shadows of the night.
Leaving me to ponder
his words until mornings light.

He still haunts the woods at night,
under the hanging tree.
A punishment beyond his death,
chained eternally.