The Dance Job

The Top Hats were a popular band in the 1950s and 60s. “Playing Dance Jobs” (Gigs) in Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, they did weddings, church and company parties, and especially fraternal club parties like the Elks, Masons, Moose etc.

On one trip to Wyoming (the Top Hats were based in Salt Lake City, Utah) the band had an extremely eerie experience on the way home.

The dance party ended, and after packing their cars with their instruments the band started the long drive home. One band member, Bud, had drunk too much and was very tipsy. As they drove along the lonely road they came upon a single car accident involving a hearse. The driver of the hearse was drunk, and was sitting on the bumper at the back of the hearse, partway inside the open rear door. He was holding his head and rocking back and forth in dismay.

As the men approached him he moaned to them “don’t touch her, don’t touch her!”

Immediately all of their eyes followed the tearful gaze of the hearse driver, which was staring down the embankment to an open coffin with a womans corpse inside, and the top open. A chill went over the group, and incredibly, Bud, the drunk band member approached the coffin.

Before anyone could stop Bud he had the womans cold face cupped in his hands. Over and over he said “Poor lady, you poor lady!” He cried and carried on as though a loved one from his own life was lying in the coffin. The driver had to be restrained while the other men tried to get their friend away from the coffin. The whole thing was a frightening and unforgettable mess.

It was a great relief to everyone when they were able to get the two drunks into a car and get started to a town where they could get some help for the wreck, and the driver. Before long they were at an all night diner and pouring coffee into Bud and the drunk driver. As Bud sobered up he took several trips to the bathroom to wash his hands. He couldn’t believe he had been touching a corpse, and he couldn’t feel clean no matter how often he washed his hands.

On his last trip to the bathroom, the band members were starting to relax and laugh about what a crazy night they had had. The laughter was interrupted by a flickering and dimming of the lights in the diner. At the same time a shattering scream came from the bathroom.

Everyone ran to the bathroom. Four bodies crowded in the door to see the darkened room with Bud at the sink. He was panting hard, and his face was twisted with terror as he looked at the reflection in the mirror, where he saw not his own face, but the image of a woman glaring back at him!

This story was told by Willard Shingleton, Roberts great grandfather. Willard was a professional drummer for vaudeville, the symphony, and the Top Hats among other bands. He always related this story as true.