By Ken Summers
Copyright ©2006 Ken Summers

Sagamore Hills Mental Hospital has had a very sordid past. It was once a high security institution for the criminally insane. A high fence topped with barbed wire was its only defense against escapees. Somehow, that never stopped the mentally ill from trying to find freedom.

Most renegades were discretely captured and returned to their quarters, but the surrounding woods provided shelter for those daring enough to try to survive on their own. One such patient did manage to eke out an existence lurking in the forest and terrifying locals. Teenagers foolish enough to set up a campfire in the woods along the road leading to the hospital would find themselves watched. A strange, unclothed man attracted by the flickering flames would approach them, sending the youths running in terror.

The following winter, the nude body of a man was found frozen to death in the woods. It was the escaped patient. But in death, there is no rest for the unsettled spirit. Dark shadows can be seen along Sagamore Road on still nights. Those unwise enough to build a campfire in the woods are visited by the ghost of the escaped patient, seeking the warmth of the flame that can never shake the chill from his bones.