by BL Maxwell
“Stand over here so I can see you both and read the monument.” We complied, mostly because she had that schoolteacher vibe that you couldn’t help but obey. “Okay, boys, get in close and give me a smile,” she said with a wink. We put our arms around each other and smiled at her. She took a few pictures then, as we started to pull apart, she took another few. She was very thorough.
“Thank you,” I said, as she handed Jason his phone.
“You’re very welcome. You two are a beautiful couple. Enjoy your day,” she said with a wave. I watched her walk away and wondered to myself why she would assume we were together.
“Let me see.” I squeezed in close so we could both look at the pictures she’d taken. They were good; we both looked so happy. But the last one she’d taken made my breath hitch. We were just stepping apart but still had our arms around each other. The look we were giving each other could not be anything else but love. It was written all over our faces. Looking at that picture made me want more moments like that, and judging by the look on Jason’s face, I’m pretty sure he agreed.
We took our time and walked the short distance back to the car, enjoying the beautiful scenery and crisp weather. Jason didn’t seem to be in much pain, so that alone made me happy. It was hard to see him hurting, and it wasn’t like he could really avoid walking this weekend. “You ready to go find something to eat, or did you want to go explore a little more?”
“I could eat, then maybe we could drive around and look at some of the old buildings?”
“That sounds good. I saw a café just down the street; I could go for a burger.” My mouth watered at the thought. After only a day, I was tired of cold sandwiches and snacks.
“Let’s check it out.” He reached over the center console and grabbed my hand. Such a simple gesture, something I could get used to. I gave him a warm smile and pulled out of the parking lot. The café was just down the street, so it only took us a few minutes to get there.
We walked into a place that was small but cozy, and smelled amazing. The waitress told us to take any seat, so we sat at a table by a window where we could see the river and the edge of the town.
“It’s so beautiful here.”
Jason smiled at me. “It is, especially with the leaves changing color. Thanks again for coming with me. I know this hasn’t turned out like you expected. Not what I expected either. I’m really glad you were here with me.” It was easy to see how sincere he was.
“I told you before, you’re welcome. But there is no way I would have let you come up here by yourself. I can’t even imagine what would have happened if you’d been alone when you cut your feet.”
“I still don’t remember any of that. I . . . I want to ask you something, and I want you to be honest with me.”
“I’m always honest with you, Jason. What is it?”
“Do you really think it’s possible the spirit of Louise Chalmers took over my body so she could have the ability to talk with her husband? I know it sounds crazy, but you saw that video too, and that’s exactly what it looked like happened.”
I gave him a serious look and absently reached out for his hand on top of the table. I started stroking his fingers as I tried to gather my thoughts. What he was saying made sense. He had taken on her appearance for the time she seemed to be talking with her husband. She was controlling him, using him as a means to get to the basement. Maybe even, as we suspected, using him to contact Robert Chalmers. I thought back to the image of her breathing in the mist from his mouth and that convinced me even more.
“I think you may be right. It was like she was surrounding your body, using you.”
“I don’t understand why I can’t remember it; I was right there. She didn’t knock me out or anything.”
“Maybe she doesn’t want you to remember?”
“I guess. It’s all just so strange.” He closed his eyes and bowed his head, seemingly deep in thought.
“Hi, guys. Had a chance to look at the menu?” the waitress asked us. We both jumped; neither of us had heard her approach. Then we were laughing. It felt like such a release, and in a way, a relief.
“Sorry, we haven’t yet. Can we have a minute?”
“Sure, you boys just let me know when you’re ready.”
Jason grabbed the menus that were tucked behind the napkin dispenser and handed me one. “So, you still thinking a burger sounds good?” he asked with a smirk.
“Hell yes, and fries too.”
“Well, that was easy.” He set his menu down and signaled the waitress we were ready to order, and she walked right over to our table.
“So, what can I get you two?” she asked, her pen at the ready to write down our order.
“We’ll both have a cheeseburger and fries,” Jason ordered for us both.
“Sure thing. Anything to drink?”
“I’ll have a Coke. How about you, Wade?”
“Same for me,” I said, smiling up at her.
“Okay, I’ll just go put your order in, then I’ll be right out with your drinks.”
I leaned forward in my seat and asked Jason, “I wonder if she knows anything about The Vineyard House? If she’s lived around here and heard anything?”
“Can’t hurt to ask. She seems friendly enough. I don’t think she’d mind us asking.” I turned in my seat to watch her walking from table to table in the café. When she brought our drinks over, I stopped her before she could run off again.
Jason cleared his throat. “Have you lived around here for long? Seems like a nice place to live.”
I rolled my eyes at his obvious effort to sound casual. “We’re wondering if you’ve ever heard anything about The Vineyard House? We’re staying there this weekend, hoping to see a ghost.”
She stood back for a second, as if trying to figure out if I was serious. Then she leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, “The cook here used to work there. He’s got a ton of stories about that place. He said that he refused to be in the basement by himself and that the kitchen wasn’t much better. Have you seen anything yet?”
She talked a mile a minute, obviously excited to hear some juicy gossip about the local haunted house.
“Is it possible we could talk to the cook? Might be good to compare stories.” Jason seemed to wait for her to reply without really expecting her to answer.
Surprising us both she answered, “You boys give me a minute. I have to go pick up your order. I’ll ask Jimbo if he minds talking to you. He’ll love it. He can never get enough of talking about when he worked there.” She finished with a dramatic eye roll.
She walked back to the kitchen and the doors slid shut behind her. She was there for a few minutes before returning our burgers. “Here you boys go. Let me know if there is anything else you need. I talked to Jimbo, and he says to meet him around back after you eat and he’ll talk to you on his break. He seemed real excited to get to talk to someone who’s staying there.”
“Oh great. Thanks so much for asking him.”
“So, have you seen anything since you’ve been there?”
As soon as she asked it, it was like all the background noise faded. People who were eating, stopped and leaned toward us so they could hear our answer. I looked at Jason and he stared back at all of them; finally, when they realized we weren’t going to make this a public reveal, they all went back to their meals.
I curled my finger at the waitress and encouraged her closer. “We may have seen something. That’s why we want to talk to the cook, see if he can help us explain some things we have no idea about.”
Her eyes got big, like she hadn’t actually expected us to admit anything. She seemed to need a second to absorb that information. Then she leaned in even closer. “You boys be careful. I know the owner doesn’t want anyone up there messing around in their house. If word gets out that you’re staying there and you actually saw something . . . Well let’s just say they won’t be happy.”
“We’re not saying anything. We talked to the owner when we
asked for permission to stay there, and they told us the same thing. They just want to be left alone, and they want the house to be left alone as well.”
“Well, I hope Jimbo can give you some of the answers you’re looking for. Do you need anything else from me?”
“No, thank you, we’re fine.”
“Okay, good luck to you then.”
We both dug into our burgers and fries as soon as she walked away.
“This is so good. I didn’t think I’d miss hot food after only a day.”
Jason looked over and smiled around a mouthful of fries. “This was a great idea. Thanks, Wade.”
“So what do you want to do when we’re done here? I was thinking when we get back we could go over the Electronic Voice Phenomenon recordings and see if we actually caught something different than what we got on the video.”
“I forgot about the EVP; I’m almost sure we recorded something with it.” He looked down at his plate and seemed to be thinking something over. “I’m a little worried about what we might have captured. I didn’t expect to catch anything close to what we’ve already recorded. I was hoping, but I had no clue we’d see the things we’ve seen.”
I reached over and squeezed his hand that was resting next to his plate. “Don’t worry, we’ll do it together, and if there’s anything too crazy we don’t actually have to listen to it if you don’t want to.”
He squeezed my hand back and smiled. “Thanks, Wade.”
“Always. You know I always have your back. Let’s finish up so we can go talk to the cook.”
We sat quietly and enjoyed the food and the cozy atmosphere of the small café. The waitress came over to take our plates when we were done and asked if we’d like anything else.
“No, thanks. We’ll just take our ticket.”
Jason was looking toward the kitchen, and the cook. I didn’t see him, but I hoped he’d be outside like the waitress had said he would be.
The waitress gave us our ticket, and we stood from the table and made our way to the cash register to pay. She followed behind us then rang us up. “You guys go ahead around the back to the kitchen door. Jimbo’ll be there. He just took his break.”
“Great, thanks again.”
She waved us out the door and went back to her other customers. We walked around the back of the restaurant and found a man standing there leaning against one of the dumpsters. He was holding a cigarette with one hand and his phone in the other, wearing chef’s whites that looked a little worse for wear and a red bandanna tied around his head. He glanced up as we approached with a suspicious look that turned into a warm smile. He was probably in his late forties, with hair cut so close I couldn’t really tell what color it was.
“You the guys that are staying at The Vineyard House?” he asked as he tipped his chin at us.
“We are. I’m Wade and this is Jason.” I held out my hand to shake. He looked down at it then wiped his off on the apron tied around his waist before giving me a firm shake.
“I’m Jimbo.”
“So you used to work there?” Jason asked, getting right to the point.
“Yeah, back when I was fresh out of culinary school. What are you guys doing up there anyway?”
“Well, we’re not really supposed to spread it around, but we’re trying to see if it’s really haunted or not.”
He took a slow drag of his cigarette before glancing over at Jason. He then bent over laughing until I was sure he was going to pass out from lack of oxygen. Jason looked over at me with his eyebrows raised and a look on his face that said what the fuck is up with this guy? I shrugged, because I really had no clue. When Jimbo finally got control of himself he stood back up, wiping his eyes and still chuckling.
“So what do you think? Is it haunted?” He suddenly had a very serious look on his face.
We looked back and forth at each other before Jason answered him, “Yeah, man, we think it’s haunted, without a doubt.”
“You went into the basement didn’t you?” he asked, once again with that serious look that felt like he was trying to force the truth out of us.
“Yes, a few times. And every time we’ve gone down there something weird has happened. Why? What do you know about the house?”
He took another slow drag of his cigarette before going back to leaning against the dumpster. “Well, I worked there for about three years, back when it was hopping. We’d be booked months out for dinner, and the rooms were always full.”
“So, did weird things happen when you were there?” Jason asked.
“I guess you could say that. I was mainly in the kitchen, but we kept all of our dry supplies in a storage room in the basement, so I had to go down there pretty regularly. Seemed like almost every time I went down there a glass would go flying just past my head or one would mysteriously shatter on the bar. Never seemed to be able to explain any of that stuff.”
Jason started to tell him what we’d seen. “When we went down there the first time, Wade almost got hit with a flying glass. He was very lucky to not get hurt by it. We got the hell out of there and only went back later to put cameras down there. Late that night, though, I ended up down there. I don’t remember what happened or why I was there, but we got it on video. We saw the ghost that’s down there.”
“Robert Chalmers,” Jimbo said, no question in his voice. He knew.
“Yes, and maybe his wife too. We’re not really sure what happened, only what we saw on the recording.”
“His wife? You saw them both? You actually saw them?” Jimbo threw his cigarette down on the ground, smashed it out with his boot then stepped closer to us. “Tell me what you saw.”
We told it all to him, every detail about the past twenty-four hours we’d spent in the house. When we got to the part about Jason being alone in the basement with the ghost and getting his feet cut up on the glass, Jimbo was looking a little pale.
“Why would you want to stay the night there? I can understand you wanting to go check it out, but why give the spirits so much time to fuck with you? Even when I worked there I never stayed there. I left as soon as I was done with work. The only person that stayed there was the owner. And she wouldn’t talk about it. If you asked her she’d say she never saw anything, but she refused to go into the basement and she didn’t leave her room once she went to bed.”
“We didn’t expect as much to happen as it did. I thought most of what we’d heard had been exaggerated. I never in a million years thought any of this could have actually happened,” Jason confessed. I knew he was shocked by all we’d seen but he’d experienced first-hand the worst of it all. He still hadn’t told Jimbo the most shocking part, about Louise Chalmers apparently taking over his body and riding him down into the basement.
“So was that it? Some broken glasses and video of him in the basement? I mean creepy enough, but you two dumbasses should have left as soon as shit started happening.”
“Believe me, I know that now. And no, that’s not all of it.” Jason looked over at me for encouragement, and I nodded my head to let him know it was all right to tell Jimbo everything. Even if he was cranky as hell. “We both went to sleep in one of the upstairs bedrooms. Sometime in the middle of the night, I ended up down in the basement. I have no memory of what happened before Wade came down and woke me up. But the cameras down there recorded it.”
“So what exactly did you see?”
“Well, we’re not exactly sure. But it looks like the ghost of Louise Chalmers took over his body and used it to interact with the spirit of her husband, Robert. I’m not sure why she would do that or if she isn’t able to contact him without help or exactly what’s going on.” I stopped talking and looked over at Jimbo, who was staring at me like I was nuts.
“I know exactly how crazy it sounds, but that’s what seemed to happen.” Jason stepped closer and grabbed my hand. If it bothered Jimbo, he didn’t act like it. He was still staring at me.
“I’m gonna tell you both something I’ve never told anyone be
fore. It’s something I’d rather not remember, but I can’t get it out of my head even though it happened years ago.”
He scanned the area like he was making sure there was no one else around to hear what he was about to say, even though we were behind the building and no one had come back here the whole time we’d been talking.
“Well, one night after the kitchen had closed and most of the staff had left for the night, I needed to go to get some supplies out of the dry storage. I didn’t think anything of it. I went down there almost every night, but it was always when there were other people there. Well, this night, something just didn’t feel right. It was like someone was watching me. You know that feeling like the hairs on the back of your neck are standing up?”
“Yeah, it’s like that in a lot of rooms in the house, especially in the basement and on the stairway.”
Jimbo glanced over at Jason then continued his story. “So I get down to the bottom of the stairs and something doesn’t feel right. I look around, but at first I don’t see anything. I moved along to the storage room and picked out what I needed. I was in there for a few minutes making sure I had everything, so I sort of forgot about how I felt when I first had gone down there. Well, I backed out of the room, since my arms were full of boxes of napkins and other crap. And suddenly it felt like I backed into someone. Now, I knew there was no one else down there with me. There was only one other person working, and they were upstairs in the kitchen, cleaning the grill.”
Jason squeezed my hand tighter. I could feel the tension roiling off of him, waiting to hear what happened next.
Jimbo took a deep breath and continued, “At first I thought maybe I misjudged and had backed into the wall, so I turned and headed to the foot of the stairs. But when I turned, out of the corner of my eye I see someone standing there. And for some reason, I knew that I didn’t want to know who it was. So I kept my eyes forward, but he didn’t move. Just stayed there right next to me. So, finally I can’t take it anymore and I rushed forward to get away from him, but I turned real quick to look. He was as real as you or me. He was really skinny, had a scraggly beard, and his clothes were falling apart like they’d been worn for months. He looked right at me, then he screamed. The sound . . . I’ll never forget that sound. I didn’t hesitate. I dropped the shit I was carrying and hauled ass up those stairs like the devil himself was chasing me. I could hear him screaming all the way up. As soon as I ran through the door, it slammed shut behind me. I didn’t look back. I ran to the kitchen grabbed my things and left. That was the last day I worked there.”
