Photo By Michelle Gordon | Archive photo art of the Bolling Air Force Base F-105 supersonic fighter-bomber, on...... read more read more
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Editor’s Note - This story originally appeared in the Bolling Air Force Base (BAFB) newspaper, Bolling Beam, on Oct. 31, 1997. Minimal edits were made to ensure the transcription conforms to current newswriting standards. BAFB is one of three military properties that now constitute Joint Base Anacostia- Bolling (JBAB).
WASHINGTON – Although the ghost of the Bolling Air Force Base F-105 [supersonic fighter-bomber, on display just inside at the Arnold gate] hasn’t shown its skeletal face in more than a decade, rumor has it that the fighter plane that majestically guards the main gate is indeed still haunted.
According to legend, the last sighting was on Oct. 31, 1980.
As the story goes, it was an eerie moon-veiled night when a lone security policeman, Airman 1st Class Jess Kidding, was drawn to the aircraft by a compelling, but uneasy force.
As he stepped from the blue and white patrol car, for a reason he could not understand, he thought he felt the icy touch of a skeletal finger lightly scratch the back of his neck. He turned, expecting to see a person, but noticed only the unnatural red-white glow cast by the revolving light of his patrol car on the grassy island just beyond the aircraft.
Still a little spooked, he turned to look at the main gate. To his horror, it suddenly appeared miles away. Closing his eyes and shaking his head, he reasoned that he must be tired or have eaten something bad. Opening his eyes again, he was relieved to find everything looked normal. He promised himself a long bath and a good night’s sleep when his shift was over.
It had already been a long Halloween night for Kidding. He’d responded to calls of cars being egged, homes being toilet papered, and little trick-or-treaters losing their goodies to no-good goblins. But this didn’t feel like a Halloween trick.
Returning to his vehicle, Kidding turned to look one last time at the plane. To his horror, again he felt the icy touch. This time however, the bony digit moved from the back of his neck, down his spine.
Kidding stood frozen in disbelief, locked in a trance. As he watched, a veil of silver clouds moved between the F-105 and the full moon and seemed to drape itself over the cockpit.
Kidding wanted to turn and run, he wanted to scream, but could do nothing more than watch as something began moving in the cockpit. Slowly, a shadowy, helmeted head appeared through the mist and turned to return Kidding’s horrified gaze.
The look from the ghost’s vacant sockets sent chills down Kidding’s spine. As they stood locked in visual confrontation, the cloud that had hung lazily over the plane grew and descended. Kidding found himself plunged into a moist darkness deeper than any night he’d ever known.
To add insult to injury, a howling wind rose off the Potomac and cut through Kidding’s uniform, chilling him to the bone. Unable to react, Kidding was overcome with a foreboding sense of doom. His heart pounded in his chest and his mind sent frantic messages to his paralyzed feet.
Despite his best efforts, the icy, deep darkness continued to envelop him as he stood transfixed by the phantom’s blank stare. Finally, the ghoul opened its mouth and in a raspy voice beckoned,
“Come closer.”
Louder and louder the voice grew until it became a shrill shriek, piercing Kidding’s eardrums.
“Come closer. Come closer.”
Unable to sustain any longer, Kidding fainted.
A group of children found the empty patrol car moments later with its red siren light still spinning. Kidding was found shortly thereafter screaming like a madman from the locked cockpit of the F-105. It took base engineers four hours to cut him out. To this date no one has been able to explain how he got up there.
Kidding PCSed so quickly that no one found out exactly what happened in that abandoned cockpit on All Hallows Eve years ago. But one thing’s for sure, if you find yourself near the front gate on Halloween night, whatever you do, don’t go near the plane.
| Date Taken: | 10.31.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.31.2014 10:05 |
| Story ID: | 146669 |
| Location: | WASHINGTON, DC, US |
| Web Views: | 1,205 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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