Weird NJ Special Edition: The Curse of John Adamsky

[Hariasa]

February, 2011 Edition

In memory of the late John Adamsky, we have compiled this special edition of our magazine. We have included reprints of the articles written about him throughout the magazine's history, as well as new articles which were written after his death, with the permission of his family. A memorial fund for the Air Force has been established in Adamsky's name.

To donate, or to join the discussion, visit our forum at http://www.weirdnj.com

We now invite you to turn the page and discover (or rediscover) one of New Jersey's most infamous cursed lives.



(OOC note: the website and the magazine are real, but don't try to find the donate link or discussion-there isn't one. I know most of you have figured that out, but to keep from bugging the guys at the magazine, I wanted to put in a disclaimer---just in case)

(also OOC-I will be adding graphics, rudimentary as they may be, later on)

[Hariasa]

The Curse Begins

It is a familiar story to members of the family of John Adamsky. They have been told the patriarch's tale of woe for decades.

His son, Michael, sat down with me after John's death to tell the story from the beginning.

----
My father, though a good man, was prone to risk-taking as a young man. He would visit the bars with his brother and cousins, and they would drink shots of cheap vodka while trying to pick up girls. He played baseball on weekends, and was always the one trying to outrun the ball trying to steal a base. He worked hard and owned a Chevy pickup, which he loved driving fast.

It all happened one fateful Saturday night. It was raining, and he was driving home from the bar. He'd dropped his buddies off and was driving home with his brother Chet, who we were told was even more plastered. They didn't see the woman in the rain until it was too late. Dad had hit her.

They panicked. She was unconscious, but still alive. There was a lot of blood the way he told it. It was a pretty main road, and Dad didn't want the mark on his record, so they figured that she would be found soon enough. That was when everything got bad. His life changed from that night.

He always felt bad for what happened. He never knew whether she lived or died that night.

A few weeks later, the first weird thing happened. His baby sister, who had died a few years before, showed up at the house where he lived with my grandparents. Not a ghost-she walked in, making a dirty mess all over.

When I was born, mom was pregnant with twins. But my brother didn't live. He was born a literal skeleton.

We couldn't have pets, after what happened to Dad's dog, and then Mom's canary.

Dad lived long enough to see Mom die. She had cancer, but still stumped the doctors. When they did an autopsy, they found her body riddled with tumors. She should have died years before, but instead she suffered, and he watched her suffer.

My sister, her husband, and her unborn son were all killed in a one-car accident on the Parkway. Witnesses said the car just flipped. Dad was devastated.

Things like that just happened, though. All the time.

The worst was when he died, though. One of us was with him in the hospital every second for his final week. Every time this one nurse came in, Dad would cower and shake. He never did it with any of the other nurses, just the one. Maybe he knew she'd be the one there when his time came. I was there watching.

She came over to take his vitals, like she always did, like all the nurses always did. This time, instead of shaking, he began to shout.

"I'm so sorry! I thought you were dead! We were drunk! I didn't mean to!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. He began to babble and cry.

And then, he slumped over. That was it. The nurse looked shocked. "I never saw him before in my life, I'm so sorry," she said.

She looked like the woman in the pictures you guys had printed in one of your old articles. I think that's what scared him. She looked just like the woman he hit.

Not that it could have been her, she's got to be about ninety herself if she survived. But maybe the nurse was a cousin or something.

Ever since Dad died, though, there haven't been any incidents.

[Hariasa]

The following is a reprint of the police blotter we featured in our March 1999 issue.

MIDDLETOWN-A woman was struck in a hit and run accident on Middle Road on Friday. Stella Blake was taken to Riverview Hospital after suffering multiple injuries. Doctors tried to save her premature son, but he was pronounced dead at 7:00 AM on Saturday after an emergency c-section was performed.

No eyewitnesses have been found. Please contact the Middletown police if you have any information regarding this incident.

-Asbury Park Press, August 12, 1944

[Hariasa]

The following is a reprint of an obituary also featured in the March 1999 edition.

Richard Blake, 24, of Middletown

Richard Blake was killed in the line of duty over the skies of Burgundy, France. He is survived by his wife Stella, his parents Dorothy and Charles, his sister Mary and his brother Joseph.

Richard joined the Army in June of 1942 to join the fight against the Axis. He was killed June 7, 1944, when his aircraft was shot down over Normandy.



-Asbury Park Press, June 24th, 1944

[Hariasa]

The Lost Diary of Stella Blake

After speaking with Michael Adamsky, one of our staffers was intrigued by the possibility that John Adamsky's nurse resembled the woman that he believes that he hit that fateful night. We found that nurse Sarah Callahan is, indeed, the second cousin twice-removed of Stella Blake. Sarah's mother, Olivia, keeps the family's history as a hobby, and Sarah has offered us the final page of the diary of Stella Blake.

June 20, 1944

I feel like my life is over. The message came today with a flag. My Richard, my love, is dead.

My first thought when I heard was "How am I going to survive?" I knew Richard since we were children. We were supposed to grow old together. Now I am his widow.

Not only am I without my best friend, but I am now thrust into the wild to survive. I'm just a woman, and now I need to find a way to support myself! My mother suggested learning to be a nurse, so then I can at least help people. My head is spinning too much to even think of a plan.

I do have one hope that will keep me strong in the time ahead. The doctors did confirm yesterday that I am pregnant with Richard's child. I do hope it is a boy! Then I will name him Richard Jr., and in some way my Richard will live on.

[Hariasa]

Reprinted from our March 1999 Edition

The Letter Arrives

Five days after the accident, and the day after the police blotter was printed, the following letter was stuck in the door of the Adamsky's house, addressed to John. [editor's note, 2011: After examining the note and the page of the diary, our experts are nearly certain that the handwriting on this letter did, in fact, belong to Mrs. Stella Blake.]

Swine!

You have taken from me the one thing I had left to live for-my son.

I will curse you every day until your dying breath, and so help me, I will be there to take it from you.

You will suffer, just like I have. Just as I will spend the rest of my days in fear and mourning, so will you.

-The Corpse

[Hariasa]

Reprinted form the March 1999 Edition

The Curse Begins

John Adamsky tells his story.


The letter scared me. It was terrible. I never meant to hurt anyone. I was young and scared. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to drive anymore. I didn't want my parents or anyone outside of Chet to find out. But I couldn't prevent that.

The following night, everything began.

I was eating dinner with my parents and the rest of my family when we heard a noise coming from the front door. I went to see what it was, and when I did, I was in shock.

My baby sister Alice was in the room, holding a tiny, unmoving infant.

Normally, that wouldn't scare anyone. But my sister had died three years before of polio, at the age of six. And here she was, a rotting corpse, walking and carrying a babe too small to even open its eyes.

When she saw me, she started shouting. "You can make them walk, but they can't come back!"

The rest of my family came in, and my mom screamed and started sobbing. Still little Alice yelled. Her voice was raspy and gargled. She went on about the dead staying dead, how she'll never be back, and then started on about the boy. "He never got the chance I did! You took it from him, John! You took his chance!"

I started to cry. I couldn't help it. I was sad for the boy, sad for my sister, and afraid for myself. My terrible secret was out.

Shortly after, Alice's hold on the world started to shake. Pieces of skin and hair crumbled off. She shouted the whole time, until her jaw just tore off. Still she bellowed an unholy scream, clutching the child to her.

The infant burst into flames, green with an acrid smoke, and swallowed up what was left with Alice. When the fire was out, all that was left was a pile of dust.

John shuddered at this point in his story. Even after half a century, the man is still shaken.


I told my parents everything. They were angry, yes, but they were also afraid for me. With all the bad things that happen in the world, why was I the one who was cursed?

[Hariasa]

The Photographic Coincidence

Sarah Callahan has loaned us what documents she could pertaining to her lost cousin, Stella Blake. Unfortunately for both Sarah and John Adamsky, she bears more than a passing resemblance to the woman who gave him the curse. It is no wonder why he was a little afraid!

Sarah has allowed us to post a comparison between Stella's and her photographs.


Last known photograph of Stella Blake, c. 1945


Sarah Callahan at a friend's wedding, 2009

If it were not for the fact that Mrs. Blake would be close to a hundred by now (if she is still alive), the two could pass for sisters!

Sarah has asked us to pass on her apology to John's family. Had she known of the relation or the resemblance, she would have requested an assignment change to avoid causing any pain in John's last days.

[Hariasa]

Reprinted from our January 2000 Edition

The Curious Birth of Michael Adamsky

After her husband's account of his curse was published in our March 1999 edition, John Adamsky's wife, Norma, came forward with her story. John and Norma got married a few years after the car accident that began his torture. He had been drinking with friends and struck a woman with his car. He panicked and left the scene; shortly thereafter, strange things began to happen to him. Norma details one of the more gruesome incidents.


John and I got married in 1949. Soon after, I became pregnant. It was a difficult pregnancy from the beginning. Who knew that carrying twins would be so much work? Of course, I didn't KNOW that I was having twins at that point, just that I felt HEAVY!

I got tired of dealing with the morning sickness, so I went to see my doctor, to make sure everything was alright. Everyone there was so polite and concerned with my health, just like they were for the other ladies.

When it was my turn to be seen, a young lady called me in. She was very pale, and had a mess of brown curls. I later learned that she was a student at the local high school, and was volunteering at the office so that she could learn about being a nurse. What happened next scared her off so bad she never came back. Poor dear.

So, she called me in and walked me to my room. She offered her hand so that I could get on the exam table easier. But this terrible feeling came over me, and I had a bout of morning sickness worse than any others. I was sick right in front of her, clutching her hand as I made a mess of the room.

The young lady screamed for the doctor and ran out. I was in a little bit of a daze, but I remember thinking how much younger she looked. It was almost as if the fear brought her back to childhood! She was probably seventeen, but as she was running away, I would have sworn she was only twelve.

Now I know that the sickness was John's curse working its way over me. After that visit, I no longer got morning sickness. I got even worse.

She stopped for a moment to compose herself. Norma's eyes teared up as she told more of her story.


The rest of the pregnancy went normally. I began to get that healthy glow of an expectant mother, I could keep down food again, and boy, was I huge!

Then one day, I knew the child was coming. I just knew. When the labor pains hit, I was ready!

John drove me to the hospital and was at my side through the whole ordeal, holding my hand. In a few hours' time, we met our baby son, Michael. We had a healthy baby son!

But the contractions didn't stop. The doctor looked concerned. "I didn't realize you were having twins," he said. He waited to catch the child as it came out.

I pushed and pushed. The second child felt different. He didn't feel right. Not like Michael. Not like a fat, bouncing babe.

Tears began to steam down Norma's face at this point.


The doctor gasped, and the nurse in the room screamed. I was exhausted. But the child was out.

I begged to see. What could be wrong, I thought, with my child? Why would it matter? I would still love him unconditionally.

But then they showed us, and John and I cried.

Instead of a living baby, I gave birth to a skeleton!

The curse had its hold on me, too.

Editor's note: Norma passed away in June of 2006. John and Michael were there until the end.

[Hariasa]

The following article is reprinted from the Asbury Park Press, September 8, 1989

Two Die in Single-Vehicle Accident

MATAWAN - Two people died in a car accident late in the evening on September 6. Eyewitnesses say that the car had been driving normally when, suddenly, the driver lost control of the car, killing himself and two passengers.

The victims have been identified as William Nowak, 34 and Rebecca Adamsky-Nowak, 32, both of the Borough of Red Bank.

One eyewitness, Selma Nolan of Aberdeen, described the events. She had been driving behind the Nowaks' car northbound on the Garden State Parkway. According to Nolan, the car began to shake, and one of the tires fell off the car and shot backwards. She needed to swerve herself, nearly causing a second accident. The car slammed into the left guardrail, and then shot back over the three lanes of the Parkway, narrowly missing the other cars. It landed on its roof on the right side of the road. Nolan, a registered nurse, along with the passengers of two other vehicles, tried to help the passengers.

David Martinez, also of Aberdeen, was in the car that Nolan almost sideswiped. He was in one of the other cars that stopped to help the victims. Martinez broke through the passenger side window so that Nolan could check for pulses. "She reached in and touched both of their wrists, but when she got off the ground, she was shaking her head. They were gone."

Nowak and Adamsky-Nowak were pronounced dead at the scene. Their family requests that any gifts be made as a donation to Riverview Medical Center's maternity ward in memory of the Nowak family and their unborn son.