The Old Man's Image
The eye can play tricks with the imagination, as perhaps witnessed in the previous story.

In a popular Palmerton-area bar on Mauch Chunk Road, known to the locals as "Hazard Road," a peculiar configuration of wrinkles is said to be the eternal imprint of the spirit of a man who once owned what is now the Rusty Nail bar.

"You look at it, you can see a man's face in that leather," said Kenny Henritzy, who says he, his wife, and anyone who takes even a casual look at the cabinet door in question.

"It's from the man who originally owned the place, from what I understand. From the crinkles in the leather, you can actually see a man's face."

The leather upholstery covers a cabinet door near the cash register in the center of the barroom.

"The man who used to own that bar committed suicide in the place. After he was gone, this piece of leather stretched, wrinkled or pulled. You can actually see the face of the man who owned this place in that leather."

The upholstery has been touched up, cleaned and redone over the years, but still the face of the old man returns within its wrinkles.

Millie Slanina, who with her husband, Joseph, owns the Rusty Nail, confirmed the local legend.

"All I know is that it was supposed to have appeared after the prior owner owned it. And, it was supposed to have appeared on the door."

Millie said the former owner who supposedly left his imprint in the bar killed himself somewhere on the premises.

"And, it appeared here after he died," she added, referring to the leathery image.