He Killed it With a Hatchet
Published: November 21, 2025
Duration: 23:05
He Killed it With a Hatchet
In 1932 in Short Gap, West Virginia, a grandmother placed her nearly one-year-old daughter (the narrator’s mother) on a baby blanket in the yard to get some sunshine while she washed dishes at the kitchen window. The girl’s grandfather was chopping wood at the nearby smokehouse when he saw an enormous black bird—described as a “Thunderbird”—casting a huge shadow as it swooped straight down toward the helpless baby. Realizing he couldn’t reach her in time, he hurled his hatchet and struck the bird dead. When the family measured the carcass stretc...
In 1932 in Short Gap, West Virginia, a grandmother placed her nearly one-year-old daughter (the narrator’s mother) on a baby blanket in the yard to get some sunshine while she washed dishes at the kitchen window. The girl’s grandfather was chopping wood at the nearby smokehouse when he saw an enormous black bird—described as a “Thunderbird”—casting a huge shadow as it swooped straight down toward the helpless baby. Realizing he couldn’t reach her in time, he hurled his hatchet and struck the bird dead. When the family measured the carcass stretc...