7-Minute Less Taken III: Impaled (Alexandria, NE)

EARLY RELEASE! ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY 6/17/25. 
In the summer of 1878, frontier farmer James Conway staggers past his barn, a flask in hand, unaware of the iron-tipped wagon tongue waiting in the dark. His death might have been foreseeable, but no one can predict what happens next. 

Explore a seven-minute dive into a tragedy where simple misfortune blurs into haunting legend on the edge of Nebraska’s wild prairie.


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If you're new to LT, Season Four: Hollowlands contains four different episode types:

1. Full-length real-life horror stories (~1 hr)
2. Previews of full-length stories
3. 7-Minute Less Taken stories
4. Transitional/Crossover episodes call 'Roads Less Taken'


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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
This take and contains content that may not be suitable
for all audiences listeners. Discussion is advised less take. Dawn
fills the cabin with both light and warmth, a stark

(00:25):
contrast to the chill and darkness soon to ensue. James
places a steaming coffee mug before Catherine, gives a repeck
on the cheek, and then makes his way over to
the front window to stare out at the soggy fields.
Everything hangs low and the cornstalks bend under last week's

(00:48):
heavy rainfall. James steps out into the porch, kneels by
a small wagon wheel and tightens a loose spoke, or
at least he pretends too. Looking over his shoulder, James stands,
brushes off some of the dirt, and rummages the sight
of his coat for the battered flask tucked tight against

(01:11):
the side. This is how he deals with dread. This
is his nightly relief. One Catherine isn't so keen on,
so sometimes he just hides it in the coffee, but
not tonight. After sundown, James and two neighbors gathered by

(01:43):
the barn, passing around his flask. The clink of metal
against metal grows quiet as talks shift to debt and
ruined crops. Lantern light swings over uneven ground as they chat,
completely unaware of the nearby wagon and how it rests

(02:05):
with its iron tipped tongue have hidden in the shadows.
James stands unsteady, flask in hand. He steps backward without looking.
Wood splinters, metal slides through cloth. His lantern smashes against
the dirt, glass shattering as James collapses onto the wagon's tongue.

(02:35):
Silence follows. One of the neighbors fumbles a torch. Its
beam falls on James, pinned, motionless and bleeding out. Early
morning light reveals James draped over that iron spike, dark

(02:58):
blood staining the dry earth. A neighbor calls his name,
but there's no answer. He shouts for Catherine next, before
rushing into their home. The cabin door swings open to
an empty room. Her bed sheets remain warm. Footsteps lead

(03:19):
toward an old oak tree beside abandoned tracks. There, Catherine
lies face down in the damp grass, perhaps asleep by
all appearances. Her dress is clean, her skin shows no wounds.
A visiting doctor lifts her hand, checks for her pulse,

(03:40):
then shakes his head. She's gone, but the cause of death,
He's not so sure. By week's end, the cabin stands empty.

(04:14):
Neighbors lock their doors when dusk falls in a whisper spread.
Some say a moonless nights. A headless figure drifts along
the creek bank, lantern in hand. Beneath the oak, they say,
a woman in white moves among their roots, calling out
his name. Years later, the log cabin is dismantled and

(04:39):
reassembled by the Big Sandy River's edge. Visitors arrive at dusk,
and some claim to hear nails grown under the floorboards,
Others glimpse of pale shape slipping past a window under
that old oak tree, alone, branch tapped the ground, no wind,

(05:03):
no explanation, or so the story goes. There's nothing left
of the cabin today, but you can visit Big Sandy
Creek as well as that old oak tree, and then
maybe you can tell us what's truly going on there.

(05:23):
I'm Steve Humphreys and this has been another seven minute
Let's taken real life horror stories from the Midwest where
at Let's taken pod on Facebook, Instagram and threads. Let's
take inpod dot Com from merchant. More. See the show
notes for sources and links. A quick note on our storytelling.

(05:46):
While we do our best to stick to the facts,
we sometimes take creative liberties to maintain narrative cohesiveness. Thanks
for listening, and we hope you join us next Tuesday
for our third Roads. Let's take an episode as we
leave Nebraska behind to explore real life horror stories from
South Dakota.