Solved Murders - True Crime Stories - The Man A War Veteran’s Struggle for Redemption Amid Danger and Shadows of the Past #77

Episode Date: August 18, 2025

#horrorstories #reddithorrorstories #ScaryStories #creepypasta #horrortales #warveteran #ptsdhorror #redemptionstory #psychologicalthriller #darkpast  This gripping horror-drama follows a war veteran haunted by traumatic memories and dark secrets from his past. As he tries to find redemption, he becomes entangled in a deadly game of survival where danger lurks not only outside but within his own mind. Facing shadows that blur reality and nightmare, his fight is as much internal as external. A haunting tale of PTSD, courage, and sinister forces.  horrorstories, reddithorrorstories, scarystories, horrorstory, creepypasta, horrortales, warveteran, ptsd, psychologicalhorror, redemption, hauntedpast, survival, darksecrets, trauma, mindgames, sinisterforces, horrorfiction, emotionalhorror, darkmemories, courageunderfire

There's so much rugby on Sports Extra from Sky. They've asked me to read the whole lad at the same speed I usually use for the legal bit at the end. Here goes. This winter Sports Extra is jam-packed with rugby. For the first time we've got every Champions Cup match exclusively live, plus action from the URC, the Challenge Cup, and much more. Thus the URC and all the best European rugby all in the same place.

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By online at viagraConnect.i.e. Subject to suitability. The man. The wind is low, the moon lighting up the night, the lively atmosphere of the city, 1,872-7 years after the American Civil War Tom Holden a Union soldier veteran is cleaning the tables in a saloon in Indianapolis, in Dana with a rag in his hands. With a white buttoned-up shirt with his sleeves rolled up with black pants and black boots with a unique symbol on them that looks like a horse galloping with a star on the horse and hair is brown as a bear with a long stubble beard. The last few people are leaving the saloon, and he closes up. When his shift ends his boss tells him to go clean the outhouse before he leaves to get his pay for the day.

Walks out the back door where it's dark and unpopulated and makes his way to the outhouse, two men are smoking cigars outside where he is leaning on a wall on the building next door with cowboy hats on and guns around their waist and holsters. As they look at his tall and muscular build they walk towards him looking at his boots, the shorter man says. Hey there, partner, how's it going, doing well, just finishing my last task for the day, is that so, yep, those are some nice boots you got on, says the taller second man as both of them dropped their cigars, yes they are, said Holden, the taller man spits on the floor next to him while eyeing the man boots. How much you pay for the boots, he says with a more serious tone, they were a gift for my paw before he died, as Holden becomes more weary of the situation. I'm going to need you to take the boots off and give them to me, said the shorter man, you're a a goddamn fool if you think I'm going to give you these boots little man, the shorter man then pulls his revolver out and demands he give him the boots, a right. All right here, Holden slowly takes the boots off as his socks get dirty from the dirt and mud on the floor, he inches towards

them with the boot in his hand to give them it. As the man is looking at the boots and the other man laughs and insults him calling him loser and a coward, while they're laughing and have their guard down Holden slaps the gun out of the shorter man's hand and grabs him and repeatedly punches him in the jaw and elbowing his skull. While he's doing this the other man attempts to take his revolver out, Holden punches him in the liver and kicks him to the ground, takes the gun now out of his hand on the floor as he groans in pain and pistol whips him in the face with it. Both knocked out, he goes to the outhouse and cleans it and goes back into the saloon and gets his pay without a single bruise. He then goes to the front of the saloon, gets his horse off the hitching post, and starts

riding to his home. He didn't seem to notice a man standing a distance away during the whole ordeal and watching. As he rides through the city a group of men sitting at a table playing 21 see him speed past, one man says to the other man at the table, that right there is Tom Holden, one of the deadliest soldiers in the war, killing over 400 Confederates in battle. Another man at the table asked, How do you know this? We were both stationed in Baton Rouge and Man that man was brutal killing lots of them in horrific ways, slitting their necks when they were sleeping, driving axes into the back of their heads, decapitating them, bashing their heads in, shooting their heads off, gutting a man with a huge knife. Glad he was on our side, he says as he

chuckles, the others ask if he's killed anyone else since the war from how twisted-minded he sounds and the man replies, no in his last battle he beat a soldier so bad near to death as he was about to shoot him in the face he saw it was 17-year-old boy he did that to infest. felt remorse for the first time in four years and realized the monster he had become. He looked the boy in the eyes both knowing what needs to be done, while the boy whimpered he cocked his gun back and shot him in the face putting him out of his misery. And from that day on he vowed to never kill anyone ever again now seven years later he has not killed anyone and avoids doing it only defending himself with his hands. What was the boy's name? Holden said he looked at his

dog tags around his neck and it said Arthur Mitchell. As Holden rides home he gets to his little apartment, hitches his horse and goes inside he goes to hug his daughter Laura. She is 12 years old. Holden's wife, her mother died during childbirth. He loves her more than anything in the world. He then he tucks her to into bed and he takes a bath, eats, and goes to sleep. The next day he gets ready for his job, puts a coat on and rides through the city on his horse and gets to work. Hey Holden, says his friend John, the man sitting at the table from last night at 21. Hey John, how you been? good, I was sitting with a couple of young fellers last night telling them about our time in the war. And your story, hey man, I'm not that same guy I've been better, and know you are a brother,

it's war we don't like killing but we have do it. You know a lot of people see you as a legend, others though see you as a monster, I am one, ain't nothing I can do to change what I've done, you can be better who cares what they think. I know you, man, you're a good man, you have lots of years left man to be better, you're 36, I'm old man in 52, I'll probably be dead in Five years with all the beer I've been drinking recently, John says as they both laugh. Yeah, man, I don't know how much longer this job can be able to support me and Laura. We veterans are treated like shit. Ain't nobody wanted to hire us after the war, thinking we're useless.

Thank the Lord. Bonnie hired us. Yeah, anyways, man, I may start working. Let's go somewhere for a drink tonight. There's so much rugby on sports extra from Sky. They've asked me to read the whole lad at the same speed I usually use for the legal bit at the end. Here goes. This winter sports extra is jam-packed with rugby.

and we've fed every Champions Cup match exclusively live, plus action from the URC, the Challenge Cup, and much more. Thus the URC and all the best European rugby all in the same place. Get more exclusively live tournaments than ever before on Sports Extra. Jam back with rugby. Phew, that is a lot of rugby. Get Sports Extra on Sky for 15 euro a month for 12 months. Search Sports Extra.

New Sports Extra customers only. Standard Pressing applies after 12 months, further terms apply. Night, okay, says Holden they both work together in the bar and a couple hours later at 3 p.m. As Holden is sweeping the man watching from a distance from last night walks into the saloon through the old western swinging doors, with his pale face, six feet five inches, four inches taller than Holden, with a black suit on and black hat, 46 years of age. He walks to the bar with the wooden floor beneath him creaking from how big he is with everyone looking at him.

Holden goes up to him to ask what drink he wants. Hello there, what would you like to order? Just a shot of whiskey. Holden pours it while the man just stares at him creepily. He drinks it and stares at Holden as he walks away. Holden, yells Bonnie his boss, what, up the stairs and get these fools out of my saloon, okay, Holden goes up the stairs and sees two men both groaning on the floor from fist fighting. He grabs the first man and forces him up, throwing him down the stairs, and then dragging him out and throwing him in the mud, doing the same to the other guy. When he's walking back to do work the man in the black hat calls him over, as he walks over and ask what he needs, hello there, names Don, I have an offer for you, oh yeah, what's that? me and my family are moving to Arizona, I need someone to guide us for protection. In case Indians or outlaws attack and rob or potentially kill me and my family, what the hell makes you think I'd

want to do that? Well, I've looked into you, Mr. Holden, I see you have the most confirmed kills of any soldier in the war, also you living in a small apartment barley making a few bucks a day to provide for you and your daughter, Laura. How much longer can you afford to live there seriously? He laughs. You keep my daughter's name out of your goddamn mouth. He said aggressively now getting in the man's face, I ain't gonna leave my daughter for five months to help you and your family. I don't even know you, calm down partner. I'd pay you very well 10x more than you would make working here in a year. Plus you can bring your daughter and even bring someone else for extra protection for my family and I'd pay him as well. Y'all would make a shit ton of money. Piss off. No, well if you change your mind,

I'll be here tomorrow at dawn with my family. Later that night after Tom finishes work and collects his money for the day he goes for a drink at a different saloon with John. He tells him about what Don offered him and John thought that they should do it, Holden there's nothing for us here. Everyone treats us like shit. We both make almost no money and we would make so much money. You and Laura could live somewhere nicer than this shithole city, maybe build a ranch or house after completing the job in California or Nevada. I don't know man seems risky. We could run into outlaws or dangerous Indians. I'd have to use lethal force to protect the man and his family and Laura. Well, you got to do what you got to provide for your family.

John pats his back and gets up and leaves to go home. Holden just sits there thinking what's the best option for hours. He goes home to his apartment. Hi, Papa, says Laura. Hey, sweetheart, you hungry. I brought food. Yes, Papa. They sit down at the table and Laura asks him,

Papa, when are we moving to a bigger house? I don't like it here. Those a lot of cracks in the wall and nasty bugs. Don't worry, sweetheart, we only got to be here for a bit longer. Okay, she says with a smile and. they eat, Holden goes to bed and lays in his bed thinking. Don arrives with his 78-year-old father and 16-year-old son, as he expected Holden and Laura and John are there all packed up with a horse carriage. Holden's fit is a brown cowboy hat,

dirty blue-color shirt worn underneath a light brown jacket, brown pants tucked into black boots as well as a black neckerchief and brown spurs. Don smiles creepily, I knew you would come around, yeah, well thank my friend John. He convinced me Don looks at John, Thank you for convincing him. It's rough out there in the West. No problem, sir. Can I as how much is the pay for the five months? For each of you, the pay is $6,000. Holy shit. That's enough to last me years. Thank you for this opportunity, said John. The strange man smiles. Holden goes to shake his hand. Thank you. I have one condition. I'm not going to kill anyone only beat them or shoot them in the legs or arms. Okay, well gentlemen and little girl, let's go, they ride out of the city and travel through the American West seeing beautiful. beautiful landscapes and huge lakes as blue as the sky, animals they have never seen before, buffaloes, huge bears, bobcats, unfamiliar birds. They see huge tall mountains and they ride for two months encountering a lot of dangerous outlaws who tried to rob them, Holden would outsmart them and get the guns out of their hands and shoot their legs and arms in other situations, then ride

away. They stop for a break in a town for about a week in Dodge Town, Kansas. Don goes into a hotel and gets two rooms for all of them. All right partners get some baths for the first time in two months and enjoy a little vacations for a couple days. Hey, I've just realized I don't know your damn last name. Holden says as he chuckles, Don. He says, just Don, what's your last name? It's none of your business, none of my business. I've been with you for two goddamn months and have you around my kid, protecting you from Indians, you goddamn coward. Piss off partner, it's none of your business. after this Holden walks to his and John and Laura's room and collapses on the bed finally sleeping comfortably for the first time in months. When he wakes up the next morning he takes a bath so does everyone else, Holden, John, Don, and Don's father go to the saloon and get drinks.

Holden I've never asked but why did you put yourself in killer instinct for all four years of the war? Why were you so brutal? Why not just shoot them and be done with it, said John. Holden sighs, you want to know why I did it, because I had to put myself in a mental state where it's kill or be killed and there were times where I didn't want to kill someone so brutally but I couldn't control myself. That's a side of me I'm scared to never let take over again, and when that 17-year-old boy looked me in the eyes I snapped out of it. And something broke inside of me, I decided to shoot him, I could have let him live, but he most likely couldn't have survived. I'm a bad man I didn't even try to let him recover. I just shot him. I still haven't forgave myself. throws his glass drink at the wall hard angrily for seemingly no reason, the bartender yells at him to pay for the glass drink he broke and to get the hell out, Don pulls the gun out of his holster and shoots the bartender in the head. All the people in the saloon scream and get scared, most of them ran out, but the cowboy regulars pulled their guns out and started shooting at Don.

He grabbed a table and put it at its side to shield himself from the bullets. Holden and the others jump in to shoot, Holden yells during the gun fight, why the hell or would you shoot him? I don't know I lost control. Don shoots two of the cowboys with perfect aim right in between their heads. One manages to sneak up on him but he slaps the gun out of his hand in time and gets into a fight with him and is extremely skilled in hand-to-hand combat and gets the man on the floor and breaks his arm then snaps his neck. Holden shoots two of the cowboys, he shoots one in both legs, the other in his shoulder and hand blowing his fingers off from the gun. John sneaks up on one and guts him with his nine-inch knife. With all of them dead they all rush out get on their

horses, go quickly to the hotel get Laura and their stuff, and Don's son, and ride out of the town into the desert plains, a few of the townsfolk chase M on horse, but Don's father shoots each of them with a rifle as they all ride. As they're riding on the horse carriage and John and Holden each on their own horses Holden say to Don, where the hell did you two learn to do that? I thought you were just a wealthy family man. I fought in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. I didn't think I could protect my family on my own, so I hired you too. Where do you know those rifle skills from old man? Don's father replies, my father taught me on our family plantation I lived on growing up. He fought in the Revolutionary War, MMM OK, you think I'm a con man or something. Don laughs. I just got to make sure

you are who you say you are. Well, don't worry, Parder. You're safe. Don smiles creepily. As they ride through the desert for about the next five days they stumble across a Native American village of the Cherokee people. The whole village isn't that big only about 75 people, the village is building made of sand color stones, only one story tall, and lots of huts. With a few cactuses in and around the village with the ground being made of the same color stone. They go into it seeking shelter and hoping to trade for more food. Hello welcome. A old native women welcomes them at the entrance. Hello ma'am, we're hoping to get shelter for the night and food, we can trade, says Holden, yes, yes. Come on in, the children and women stare at them. The Cherook warriors look weary as they

have been in fights with white settlers before, and they look like they are here for this kind of trouble. Don realizes this and says, we come in peace. We just seek to trade and for food, the chief comes up to them, you guys are welcome to stay as long as you trade. Let's take you to your huts you guys can stay and then go to the saloon us men. Sounds good, say Holden look at everyone smiling. The end.