When it comes to horror and monsters, do you know what lurks in your neck of the woods? I have a foot in South Jersey and one in Delaware. The latter is where I was born, where much of my family and tribe reside, and where I lay my head now. The former is where I spent much of my life, from middle school to my late 40s, minus a three-year stint in South Carolina.

Now, you may know New Jersey’s most infamous monster, the Jersey Devil. Mother Leeds way back in the colonial days didn’t want another kid, so when she got pregnant with number 13, she cursed it and…well it didn’t come out cute, let’s just say. The Devil is still seen by folks to this day, was all over the place back during Phenomenal Week (January 16-22, 1909), and makes the supposedly already haunted Pinelands (Pine Barrens to outsiders) feel icky.

I know. I walked it once, in broad daylight, and kept turning around. Felt like I was being watched.

But what’s in Delaware, you ask? Well, aside form having ghosts of dead women, children, slaves, and witches from north to south, east to west, here’s a couple to keep you warm and fuzzy at night when you’re trying to sleep.

Frankfort, DE: Long Cemetery. You don’t know this, but a Horror In The Hundreds short I posted here (click HERE if you want to get acquainted with it) introduced folks to West Wallover Cemetery, which I based a bit of on Long. What’s so wild about Long Cemetery? It has a lovely wall that, if you knock on it three times, will invite a being known as the Catman to chase you out of the cemetery. Who is this guy? Oh, just your run-of-the-mill mutant felinoid man. Maybe he’s a mutant, a mountain lion with the sense who fancies human clothing. Maybe. But story goes he once lived, and was the keeper of the cemetery and is determined to remain so long after death. Creepy guy. Check. Mutant. Check. Spirit. Check. Sounds safe. I dedicated the rear, crumbling wall in West Wallover to the wall in Long Cemetery.

Salem Church Road: I’ll give you one of Delaware’s many ghost spots, because my mild-mannered blue collar day job is on Salem Church Road. Our stories tell that in the early 1900s an entire family got executed along this stretch of road for witchcraft. Don’t be confused. We have a few witch ghosts who got killed long after the 1600s. Go figure. Anyway, this entire family can be seen wandering the SCR by night. And I haven’t even mentioned we have an entire haunted pier. Oh wait. I just did.

Selbyville Swamp Monster: Is it Bigfoot wandering the swamp way down in south DE? Well, while we do know that a certain man was faking footprints and running around in a suit for decades in the 20th century, that doesn’t clear up the story of our ever moaning swamp beast. People have heard its ominous moans going way back into the 19th century and earlier. And, Sussex County still gets Bigfoot sightings.

Highway 12/ Midstate Road: drive between Frederica and Felton (not too far from my lil Valmar, I’m just saying) late at night and you may find a runner keeping pace with your vehicle. Is it a marathon trainer? Nope. How about a large black devil dog that paces your vehicle? This is the Fence Rail Dog, a scary ambusher. Red glowing eyes. Some stories state it’s almost as big as your car. Some say this was a dog who was murdered (after being forced to eat chunks of his owner by a cruel new tenant in the owner’s home), or the spirit of a criminal who committed suicide. If I were you, I’d drive fast as possible, and not get out until I hit town.

Those are just a few of the zany things in the locale many call the most boring state in the Union. We’re chock a block full of ghosts, and people who visit here often say Delaware makes them feel very paranoid. Truth.

But what about you? What’s out there creeping around where you live? And, have you seen any of them yourself? Show me your state. Show me your country.

Unless you are a monster. If so then, maybe don’t respond.