The Monster Monk from Easton

Ghost story from Pennsylvania, USA.

There was once a monk who loved money and power more than he loved God. He was to hear confessions from the people who lived around his mission church, but the monk began to blackmail, forcing the people to give him gold and silver to keep quiet about their darkest secrets.

A poor woman stood up to the monk and in a rage he beat her to death. After this he was sentenced to death and was hanged for his crimes. But soon after he was cut down from the noose and pronounced dead, his body began to transform before the people's horrified eyes. The face contorted and tusks ran from both sides of the nose. His sparse white hair grew long and greasy, and pointed canines slid out of his mouth. The Monster Monk opened his eyes, which now glowed yellow, even in the light of the midday sun, and rose to his now clawed feet.

The people screamed and fled, and no prayer recited by his former friars could drive the monster away. It disappeared deep into the forest, only to return at night and kill the monks who exposed his evil deed. After five of the monks in the mission were devoured by the monster, the rest of them abandoned the monastery and moved to another part of the country. The monastery slowly fell into ruins, but for years the monster monk was seen prowling the gloomy place at night.