An unusual event unfolded over this past weekend which I’m going to recount here, an event that involved some stepping-on of toes, and for that reason, no names will be mentioned. Should any of the principals wish to step forward and claim their part in it, that will be their decision.

Just over two years ago, a member, “Mr. Able” we’ll call him, posted an article about an urban legend of the American Southwest concerning a certain graveyard and a huge concrete block therein, under which said urban legend claims a witch is buried, and the concrete block is supposed to keep her from rising. Whether there is now or ever was a witch beneath it, I have no idea, but the block is there. You can see it today. Beyond that, I’ve never heard of the legend, nor visited the area where it originated.

But “Mr. Baker,” who is from the area where it originated, and the vast majority of whose relatives are buried in that cemetery, let me know in no uncertain terms this past Saturday that he was in no way amused by our repeating of this legend on our website. It seems that the repeated retelling of this tale has led to vandalism, satanic rituals, and the desecration of graves in this cemetery, and he is devoting considerable efforts toward correcting the “witch” story, which he says is a complete fabrication.

I contacted Mr. Able with Mr. Baker’s concern, and Mr. Able conceded that it was an unvetted urban legend that he had repeated as a good horror story, and he had no objection to taking it down as Mr. Baker had suggested. When I told Mr. Baker that we were discussing removal, he became much more civil and agreeable. It seems that much of his wrath was really directed at “Mr. or Ms. Charlie,” who had linked to Mr. Able’s original post on the Mesilla, New Mexico Facebook page with a framing story that more or less stated that the urban legend was gospel fact. He felt that the official website of a town should be more responsible than that. Without knowing all the facts, I’m inclined to agree.

I had noticed that views of that post were popping up more frequently than should be normal for a two-year-old post, and that seems to at least partly explain it. I scrolled through the Facebook page and found this legend, sometimes with links to this website, at least four times. I can understand Mr. Baker’s frustration.

So, with Mr. Able’s concurrence, I have removed the offending post. When I started this website four years ago, it wasn’t my intention to insult or offend anyone. The sole aim of this site is to entertain and occasionally inform our readers about a certain genre of fiction. Now, when you click a link on that particular Facebook page, you get the “404” message.

And that’s the tale of our first complaint. I doubt that removing one post is going to end an urban legend that predates anyone who might be reading this, but we’ve done our bit. Consider our motto, if we had a motto, to be “Do no harm.” Should you ever find yourself in Mr. Baker’s position, contact me about it. I can’t guarantee one action or another, but we can talk. You may even like the outcome.