Vishnu Springs
an excerpt

Vishnu Springs
By Paul-Thomas Ferguson

Author’s Note:
My good friend, Dr. M. Knox McLaughlin, has graciously (if dubiously) given me permission to tell this story. It is not his story, but he brought it to me. For these things I am very grateful. I have made stylistic changes in order to establish a certain narrative flow. I have also changed the names of some of the individuals and institutions mentioned here in order to protect the living. Even so, I wish to assure the reader that the facts of the story remain intact and that the interpretations of the evidence come almost entirely from Dr. McLaughlin. Just the same, my good friend believes that my tendency to focus on the more fantastical elements of this story is excessive. He explains this by pointing to the fact that I am generally more open to the possible existence of the supernatural than he is, an assessment with which I completely agree. Nonetheless, I insist, despite his claims to the contrary, that I have produced an account which represents facts and speculations offered up by Dr. McLaughlin himself. Therefore, I must conclude that he believed in the veracity of this interpretation at some point, even if he no longer claims to hold such beliefs.

I am sure that some of my fellow historians will find fault with the conclusions drawn within these pages. It might surprise them to learn that I find such skepticism perfectly reasonable. The causes of these events are debatable. But the fact remains that the simple explanations offered by others – namely that Vishnu Springs and the people associated with it were merely the victims of ill-fated coincidences and bad luck – fall quite short. Critics will say that I am wrong to pass along this interpretation as definitive, that I have either deliberately or mistakenly misread the evidence, or that I have perhaps been misled by others. Some will refuse to believe that these things are possible. Well, they have not seen what I have seen. Let them doubt all they like; I do not have the luxury of disbelief. This record is the very real, very tragic story of Vishnu Springs. I know that it is true . . . and to be perfectly honest, that scares the hell out of me.

Paul-Thomas Ferguson (Fall 2007)