by Rose Pressey
“So where do we start?” Hank asked.
Shadows formed out of the corners of my eyes. When I turned to look, nothing was there. Making out the full details of my surroundings was impossible with the dim light. I rubbed my arms to fight off the chill. The broken windows allowed the elements the freedom to do what it pleased inside the house. That added to the creepy feeling. A musty smell hung in the air.
“I suppose we can look in the parlor here on the left.” I peeked toward the room to see if the ghost was already waiting for us.
“After you.” He motioned for me to go first.
I wasn’t sure why, but my uneasiness about being here was much worse than when I’d been there alone. I pushed through the feeling and moved into the parlor. The faster we toured the place the faster I could get out of there. We stood in the middle of the room and I knew they were expecting me to tell them about the place.
I wished I had more stories to tell them, but I honestly didn’t. I supposed I could make up stories, but that wouldn’t be right.
“This is the parlor.” My storytelling skills were lacking tonight. I hoped this didn’t carry over into my tour.
Cady gave me a look to say, Well, that’s obvious.
“There have been footsteps reported in the house. Basically in every room,” I said.
“Have you heard footsteps while here?” Hank asked.
I looked at him. “As a matter of fact, I have.”
His eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. “Really? How long ago was that?”
“Earlier today,” I said.
Cady’s eyes widened and her mouth opened.
“You were here today already?” Hank asked.
I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “Yes, but it was a quick visit.”
“Well, why didn’t you say something? I wouldn’t have had you come back here again this evening.” He grinned, showing off his pearly white teeth.
I waved my hand. “That’s okay. I didn’t mind coming back.”
I wasn’t sure if I would share the story about seeing the ghost upstairs. Would he believe me? Hearing footsteps or bangs was one thing, but seeing an actual ghost? That would be hard for anyone to believe.
“We can step over to the dining room if you’d like.” I pointed across the foyer.
The room was almost a mirror image of the one we currently stood in, with a fireplace on the far wall, peeling wallpaper and dirty hardwood floors. Underneath the layers of dust lay what had once been a gorgeous room. Ornate trim edged the top and bottom of the walls and around the fireplace mantel.
Hank motioned again for me to go first. “Lead the way.”
We’d just stepped into the room when we heard footsteps. Hank and Cady paused.
“Did you hear that?” he asked.
I tried to act calm, but my face probably showed my trepidation. “Yes,” I whispered.
“Was that what you heard earlier today?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yes, that was what I heard.”
“We should go check it out.” Hank eased over to the room’s entrance.
“I don’t know if that is such a good idea.” Cady glanced toward the window as if planning her escape route.
It looked as if she was ready to run out of the place. She really would freak out if she saw what I’d seen this morning.
We moved out into the foyer and paused. The sound came again, filling the house with an impenetrable darkness that swirled in the air.
“It’s coming from upstairs,” he said. “We should go up there.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“Are you coming, Cady?” Hank asked.
She stared for a second. “I guess it’s better than staying down here by myself.”
He chuckled. “You’ll be fine. There’s nothing here that will hurt us.”
She snorted. “That’s what you think.”
Cady glared at me when I looked back at her. I wasn’t sure why she was giving me that look. What had I done? Did she think that I should have told Hank to stay away from the house? It wasn’t my place to tell him he couldn’t come. He would have whether I did or not.
We eased up the stairs. They squeaked under each step. Hank and Cady followed closely behind me. When I reached the top, I paused. I really wasn’t sure what to expect. Would the ghost be up there again? They followed me a little way down the hallway.
“Do you hear the footsteps again?” Hank asked.
“I haven’t heard anything else.” My gaze darted from left to right at rapid speed.
Just then as if on cue the footsteps sounded. Hank held his index finger to his lips. He motioned to the door on the right. I nodded. He was right, it did sound as if that was the room the footsteps had come from. He eased over to the door and placed his hand on the knob. He nodded and motioned that he was going to open it. Cady looked nervous, but she hadn’t run. She was tougher than she’d let on.
Hank eased the door open. The hinges creaked as he slowly pushed the door. He tiptoed inside the room and I followed him. Cady stood by the door. At least the ghost wasn’t in there waiting for us. Sure, I should want to see ghosts for research purposes, but tonight I would pass.
“Okay, there is nothing here. That is enough of the spookiness for the night. Can we go now?” Cady asked, clearly agitated.
“What? We still have the ghost tour to do.” He chuckled.
She rolled her eyes. A cold fell over the room at that moment.
Hank paused. “Do you feel that?”
Cady’s eyes widened.
I nodded. “Yes, I do feel it.”
The chill in the air grew to a bitter cold within seconds. In the corner of the room a black shadow appeared. My eyes widened and I pointed. Hank looked over and stepped back, almost stumbling. Cady looked as if she might faint. I would have expected her to run away, but I was sure she was frozen on the spot, unable to move.
The shadow started out small, but it grew quickly. Now it reached from the floor to almost the ceiling. It took on more of a human shape, but it never had a face or any other features. Hank and I stared at the shadow, when all of a sudden it flew forward. It raced right toward Hank. When it was mere inches away it swooped right inside his body. Black fell over Hank as if he was covered with a sheer black curtain.
The black mass had now taken over Hank’s body. I didn’t know what to do.
“Hank, are you okay?” I asked.
Cady’s sweater caught on the doorknob and she almost fell face first onto the dirty hardwood floor. She yanked on her sweater and finally was able to move. She raced into the room. She paused in front of Hank. “What happened? What did you do?”
I placed my hands on my hips. “What did I do? I didn’t make the ghost fly into him.”
Cady fell silent. What could she say? Hank was still standing there staring at the wall blankly. The next thing I knew, he had tumbled to the ground. I knelt down beside him.
I shook Hank. “We need to call an ambulance.”
Before I had a chance to pull out my phone, the black mass flew from Hank’s body. We watched as it disappeared through the wall. Hank came to and sat up on the floor.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He shook his head. “What happened?”
“The black shadow attacked you.” I helped him sit up.
I didn’t want to tell him that I was sure the black mass had taken over his body. For a moment he’d been possessed by this thing. Had it been an evil spirit? He pushed to his feet. Thank goodness he seemed to be fine.
“Do you need to see a doctor?” I asked.
“No, I’ll be fine.” Hank waved his hands.
Cady came over and placed her hand on Hank’s arm. “Look what you did. He should have never come here.”
“Cady, everything is fine now,” Hank repeated.
“You passed out.” She flashed a stern look my way.
“It was just a second.” He wiped his forehead.
“We shoul
d get out of here,” I said, motioning toward the door.
Cady glared at me as Hank stumbled toward the door. After steadying himself by holding onto the wall, Hank he stepped out into the hallway. I peeked out to see if the shadow was there too. Was the same thing I’d encountered this morning? It hadn’t been violent like that with me. Thank goodness. I would think twice before coming to this house again. I had been around a lot of haunted places, but nothing like this had ever happened.
“I hope you’re happy,” Cady said.
Her comment didn’t even deserve a response from me. I doubted there was anything that I could say that would make her happy. She had already made up her mind that this was my fault. There would be no way to convince her otherwise.
I followed the two of them down the stairs. After the initial wobbly feet, Hank seemed to be doing fine after the attack.
Hank and Cady didn’t stop when they reached the bottom of the stairs. They just headed straight for the front door and out onto the porch. I followed right behind them. I’d seen enough of this house for the day. Cady and Hank headed down the porch steps and over to his car.
He stopped and turned to look at me. “I appreciate you bringing me here. Sorry if I scared you up there.”
Cady coughed. I knew that was her signal that she didn’t think he should apologize. She was right though.
“It wasn’t your fault. I’m sorry that happened to you,” I said.
He waved off my comment. “I’m a big guy. I can handle a ghost.” I wasn’t going to ask if he was still coming to the ghost tour. But Hank said, “We’ll see you soon for the tour.”
Cady huffed and stomped over to the car like a small child who hadn’t gotten what she wanted.
“Great. I’ll see you soon.” I hurried over to my car.
I hated to say it, but I kind of wished they wouldn’t come on the tour. With the way Cady was acting now, I knew it wouldn’t be a pleasant experience.
I felt eyes watching me. When I looked over at the car, Cady was staring at me. If looks could kill I’d be in that old house with the ghost. I hoped she didn’t come with Hank on the tour tonight. I hopped in my car and pulled out before he even had a chance to start his car.
Chapter 6
I pulled my car up to the tavern. Tammy worked part-time there as a bartender. She hadn’t been working there as much though since we were short-handed at the library.
Since Tammy wasn’t working tonight, I’d try to talk her into going on the tour with me. Maybe then she could help me keep Cady happy. Tammy didn’t like ghosts, so it was always impossible to convince her to go. It would be more fun if she came along though.
Country music blasted around me as I stepped into the tavern. I weaved around a group of people who peered at me over the tops of their mugs of beer. The bar was on the left and tables and chairs filled up the rest of the space. The stone building had been around since the 1700s. Now tons of people gathered here to socialize and drink.
Tammy waved me over. “Are you eating dinner before the tour?”
I picked up a few pretzels from the bowl on the bar. “You’re looking at my dinner.” I chewed on the snack.
Tammy frowned. “That’s not much of a dinner.”
“It’s all I have time for. I’ll grab something when I get home. Are you sure you don’t want to join me tonight?” I asked.
Tammy took a sip of her water, and then said, “I’m sure.”
I gathered up the flashlights that I kept stored at the bar. Luckily the owner didn’t mind that I kept them stashed there. Since the tavern was right by the graveyard, it worked out perfectly. The tavern was even on my stops for haunted locations. But with all the noise, it was hard to experience anything paranormal. After everyone left at night was when the ghosts came out.
I headed out of the tavern toward the cemetery, which was right around the corner. If I left now I could get there early before the tourgoers gathered.
The cemetery was surrounded by tall oak trees and an iron fence. Some of the stones were above-ground vaults. Most of the headstones in the place were old, which only added to the creepy feeling. I hoped that if a ghost appeared tonight it would wait for the others to arrive.
I knew the graveyard like the back of my hand, but I still needed the flashlight. With the uneven ground I never knew when I might take a wrong step. I didn’t want to fall and hit my head on one of the stones.
The moon sliced through the thick cover of darkness, adding a silvery glow to the area. The glow from the moon helped illuminate the surroundings, but it wasn’t nearly enough. An owl hooted from a nearby treetop and the wind rustled the leaves on the towering trees. No doubt about it, Devil’s Moon Cemetery was haunted, but it looked the part too and was the ideal backdrop for a haunted tour.
I stepped through the black iron gates and turned on my flashlight. The light flickered and I shook it. The last thing I needed was for it to go out. I’d just changed the batteries, so that couldn’t be the cause. Usually when this happened a spirit was nearby.
Darkness surrounded me like a black curtain. Something about the spooky appealed to me, because otherwise I would have run the other way when I first saw this place.
It was kind of strange standing here alone while I waited for people to show up. I glanced over my shoulder, sure that I’d heard something behind me. It was probably just a bird. It wasn’t unusual to hear spooky sounds and see weird things around here.
As I waited at the graveyard’s iron-gated entrance, I spotted a group of people walking my way. I always worried that I would mess up when talking to the groups. Once I got started though my nerves would fade and everything would be fine. I knew all the stories by heart, so I wasn’t sure why I worried about it. I guessed it wasn’t so much about forgetting the stories as it was that I would goof up and embarrass myself.
When the group of people grew near, I smiled and said, “Hello, everyone. Welcome to Devil’s Moon Haunted Tours.”
They said hello and handed me their tickets. The tavern and other places around town sold tickets for me, or people could purchase right on the spot. I grabbed the flashlights and handed them out. Where were Hank and Cady? I peered around the group, but didn’t see them.
Tonight’s group consisted of a middle-aged man and a woman, two women who appeared to be in their mid-twenties, and a single man around thirty. The couple looked as if they had been together for a long time based on their ease around each other. They both had graying hair. The woman wore jeans and a green sweater. I was sure that it was no coincidence that her partner had on the same combination. The single guy had short dark hair and wore jeans and a black leather jacket. The two women were dressed similarly in jeans and trendy black sweaters. They also had the same blonde hair styled to just below their shoulders. Maybe they were sisters.
“Tonight I will take you around the haunted locations of Devil’s Moon. Please remember to use your flashlights.” I hit mine again when it flickered.
The group turned on their flashlights, creating a small glow around us. I glanced around for Hank and Cady again, but they still were nowhere in sight. I couldn’t wait any longer for them. I’d have to do the tour without them.
“We’ll start with the tavern right around the corner and then make our way back to this graveyard.” I gestured over my shoulder.
Everyone nodded and waited for me to make a move.
“Why don’t we start with the graveyard?” one of the young women asked.
I smiled and said, “Since it’s the most haunted, I like to save the best for the last.”
Her eyes widened. “I guess that makes sense.”
“What’s so haunted about the graveyard?” the man in the leather jacket asked.
This was something I really wanted to leave for the end of the tour. But some of the customers wanted to cut to the good stuff. I wasn’t about to give in that easily though.
“There are a lot of spirits who haunt this area, but like I said, we will save
that for last.” I smiled again, trying to convince them to be patient and wait.
I moved forward and motioned for everyone to follow me. Slowly they all started to gather around and walk beside me. Just then I spotted movement out of the corner of my eye.
“Did you see that?” the woman asked with shock in her voice.
She must have seen the same thing.
“Yes, I saw it,” I said.
“What was it?” she asked.
The leather jacket guy looked around. As if he didn’t believe us said, “I didn’t see anything.”
“That was a little creepy,” the woman said to the other woman.
I continued walking down the alleyway toward the tavern. “It was a shadow. What I refer to as a shadow person. They are all around here. I don’t know for sure who it was, but I can tell you about some of the spirits that have ties to the tavern.”
We had reached the sidewalk in front of the tavern, so I paused. “We won’t go inside since it’s so busy, but if it slows down by the time we come back we can step inside.”
They nodded, but appeared to be a little skeptical. It looked as if I wasn’t going to take them anywhere, but I really was going to get to the good stuff.
“This building was built in 1778. Originally used as a stagecoach stop, the place is reported to be haunted by a man who used to work here. He has been seen in the upstairs part of the building. Footsteps and cold spots are felt, along with people being touched and hearing their names called out,” I said.
The group stared at the building for a few seconds as if lost in the story I’d just told them.
We walked past the tavern and the group asked a few questions about the other buildings around us. The young woman looked over her shoulder again. I wondered if she sensed the same thing. It felt as if that shadow was stalking us. It wouldn’t be the first time that a ghost had followed me around town. The woman moved a little faster, as if the feeling was making her uncomfortable. I couldn’t blame her, I was feeling the same thing.
As we neared an old building on the corner, I pointed. “We’ll be going in there. I have to warn you that people have reported being pushed, scratched, and items have been thrown.” I took no responsibility for what the paranormal might do.
