Haunting and Scares Collection

by Rosemary Cullen

  “I call upon the evil to leave this place at once or face retribution of the likes you have never seen before. Heed my warning and leave this woman in my care. Return to whatever afterlife you came from. I implore you as a messenger of God,” Father Michaels refused to give up on one of his newly acquired flock.

  Jennie landed on her feet in front of the priest. The priest had his cross outstretched in his hands to give fair warning to the enemy.

  “You are nothing but a charlatan that claims to have the answers when you don’t even know what questions to ask. It makes you look foolish. I prayed on my knees to bring me salvation from my grief. You don’t have any power,” The spirit scoffed at the absurdity of what constituted religion in this day and age.

  “You have no power over this God fearing woman,” He croaked with his voice cracking under the pressure of seeing more than he wanted to see in his profession.

  Jennie was praying for a miracle. The voices and the screams were too much for her fragile psyche to take for very long. Each day, she found that her mind was breaking under the strain. She could feel something clawing at her consciousness trying to gain acceptance. She resisted, but sleep deprivation made her susceptible to the forces at work.

  She thrust out her hand palm out and barely made contact with his robe. He was propelled backward off his feet. The spirit ran in the body of Jennie out the front door waving her hands in a mad panic to get away.

  Father Michaels got back on his feet and was grabbing for the cross which lay at an angle on the floor. He felt this pain and looked down to see her hand had burned a distinctive handprint through the robe and into his chest. The symbol of the Kelpie was tattooed in his chest hairs

  He ran after her and opened the door to the sounds of hooves. Through the morning mist, a figure emerged riding a horse. Her white dress was the focal point of the blur racing by him. He reached out and felt the presence of evil touching his fingertips. He was not going to be scared off when the soul of one of his parishioners was at stake.

  He followed the sound of the cackling laughter until he was at the lake. There was no sign of the horse, but Jennie was on her knees weeping openly. He approached cautiously, holding onto the cross with enough force to drive the insignia of Jesus into the flat of his palm.

  “My family is gone… I’m all alone…all alone.” The spirit of the little girl known as Jemima was listening to her father’s pleas and the splutter of her little brother in the throes of despair. It was a never ending hell.

  “They’re in a better place. Don’t you think that it’s time for you to join them? They are waiting for you. You don’t have to be alone,” He said with a trace of remorse like he was hurting this little girl on purpose.

  “Don’t you think I want to leave? I can’t believe how naïve you are. He won’t let me leave until he makes things right. I will never let him do that,” Jennie was struggling to break free of whatever hold the spirit had on her.

  “I don’t understand. Who wants you to stick around and is preventing you from moving on? I want you to tell me the truth,” Father Michaels implored standing over the young and frightened frame of a little girl trapped between life and death in purgatory.

  “I need her to give me substance. I won’t let her go and there’s nothing that you can do to stop me. This only ends one way. Death is too good for me. I need to suffer for my misdeeds. I have lived my whole life punishing myself. Suffer the little children… Suffer on those who don’t believe,” The spirit made reference to a passage in the bible but only vaguely. If anybody would know the significance it would most likely be a priest who gave his life for a higher calling.

  Father Michaels had never seen anything quite like this. He had heard of possessions and the need for an exorcism. He just never thought that he would be enlightened enough to face something of this magnitude.

  “It all begins with one gesture… I needed somebody to listen to me… I needed somebody to understand the pain I’m going through. This is the beginning and the end.” Jennie watched as her own hands began to stir up the contents of the lake. She moved her hand in a circle and then did the same thing with the other.

  The water began to bubble and roil. Steam erupted from within and Father Michaels was about to say something only to be interrupted by the hands of a bony skeleton reaching from the grave.

  The sound of the horse moaning in defiance was soon followed by the floating remains of Henry. The ring affixed to his finger was still there after all of these years.

  “The Kelpie… The Kelpie…is Henry,” Jennifer sighed with resignation. The pieces were falling into place and yet there were still unanswered questions. “I should have seen it before. It was right there in my reach.”

  “I don’t think that I understand what you’re trying to tell me. Jennie, I want you to know that your husband stayed by your side. He never abandoned you. Your love is stronger than all of this combined. Trust in yourself and each other. Tell me what it is that you have learned. This breakthrough is most likely only temporary,” Father Michaels grunted with the pain in his chest superseding his bout of arthritis. He could barely curl his hands into a fist without discomfort.

  “It sounded good for a moment and now the significance of what I have said is slipping through my fingers. I do recognize the symbol on the ring on his finger. These are the remains of Henry.” The water continued to swirl in a clockwise formation until a smaller version of the skeleton emerged.

  “I have to assume that is his son, Edward. It must’ve been horrible to watch his own blood drown right in front of him. There is no pain worse than losing a child. I sometimes get choked up during those ceremonies where the final words are spoken of a lost soul taken too soon,” Father Michaels lamented feeling useless in the face of the clammy hand of death.

  “His family won’t rest… I will rest when he has accounted for his actions. Leaving us was the worst hell… I need to know the reason why… Get out of my head.” The headache had grown considerably and the pounding drum was a reminder that she was no longer in full control of her faculties.

  There was a downpour which soaked through her dress leaving her the shame of covering up the best way she knew how. Her hair was matted to her forehead and her makeup was streaming down her face. She didn’t even remember getting into the dress or how she had come to find it in the first place.

  She suddenly flashed on an image of her standing at the closet fingering the merchandise. Why was she wearing it? There was something about the ring mocking her with its existence. The answer was there if only she was willing to see it.

  Chapter Nine - Helplessness

  “The priest has gone into hiding with no forwarding address. He doesn’t want to be found. It’s been one week and this is my last resort. Oxford University has a wide array of knowledge at its disposal. The professor we’re here to see is well versed in ancient culture and symbols.” Will gulped at how sunken his wife’s cheeks had become.

  “I’m barely keeping it together. The medicine has helped to keep the voices from driving me around the bend a few too many times. I’m ready for this to be over. We searched the house high and low. We’ve even gone over the building plans. If there’s something there then we can’t find it,” She said quite loud and she didn’t seem to notice that her voice was raised. “I want to find the answers and put this ugliness behind me.”

  The secretary in the office was watching them intently and wondering what kind of illness had befallen the young woman. She was barely able to stand and the color of her face looked like she had 1 foot in the grave and the other one on a banana peel.

  “You have no idea how hard it was to get that medicine without a prescription. I’m not ready to give up. I thought getting some distance would help to alleviate your condition. It appears to follow you around like a dark cloud. I suspect the only way that we’re going to finally break free of this is by giving voice to the dead,” He gasped at the realization of what he was saying.


  “I have to believe that everything happens for a reason,” Jennie remembered the briars and now she had run away from her troubles. It only caused more harm than good. “I feel knackered all the time. I can barely get out of my own way.”

  “I wish that I had your confidence,” He wondered how he was finally going to get his life back. The house was secondary and barely anything to worry about in the grand scheme of things.

  Will had the ring in his possession. His hand was inside his pocket and he was touching the surface like it was a personal safety blanket. The power exuded made it necessary for him to carry it around. He wasn’t worried about somebody taking it. He would fight to the death and he knew how foolish that sounded in his head.

  The matronly woman sitting behind a desk finally stood long enough to open up the door to the inner sanctum. She motioned for them to enter and they didn’t even hesitate.

  Professor Stevens had his curiosity piqued by the phone call in the dead of night. The mere mention of the Kelpie had him coming in on his off day to discuss things in a more private setting.

  “I know that time is of the essence. The ticking clock waits for no man or woman. I must admit your phone call was quite intriguing and I would greatly love to see this family crest. I think that you’ll find that I’m a wealth of information,” He boasted with a real flair for the dramatic.

  Professor Stevens was quite flamboyant and eccentric. He was known to come into the office wearing two different shoes and reeking of alcohol after his divorce. The prerequisite elbow patches was a throwback to an educational time in history. His clean shaven face and the bifocal glasses gave him the air of knowledge.

  “I’m letting you see this, but it’s not going to be out of my sight. You’ll understand my hesitation when you see it for yourself. It’s not really worth anything, but it’s priceless as far as I’m concerned,”

  “I can assure you that my interest is strictly professional.” He stuck out his hand and found his eyes going wide by the artifact lying majestically in the light overhead.

  The professor was breathless and was taking off his glasses to wipe the bead of sweat from his forehead.

  He raised the ring into the air and examined it from every side. He took out a loop used to assess diamonds.

  Jennie closed her eyes and lowered herself gently into one of the overpriced chairs. They had an antique quality, but it was widely known to be commercially produced.

  “I have to say that I really didn’t believe that this day would ever come in my lifetime. This has been lost to history for way too long. I do find something perplexed and the setting seems to be loose. Easily fixed, but it’s amazingly intact after being submerged for this long,” He wondered how it was even possible and it gave his life meaning like he could finally leave this mortal coil with a smile on his face.

  “What do you make of it, professor?” Jennie tried to stand, but her energy levels were depleted abnormally so. It seemed like every day she was losing the battle.

  “I need to put it under the microscope and I assure you it will do nothing to the item in question,” He said bringing it carefully over to the microscope on his desk. He peered under the lens, zooming in several times.

  He had on a specific pair of gloves used to handle artifacts which were quite breakable in the wrong hands. Fragile and handle with care never meant so much. He gasped at the top of it coming off to reveal a very small key encased within.

  “I believe that this might give you the answers you have been looking for. Find what this key belongs to and you might be surprised by the results. This is quite the piece and has been forged by a master. The design is quite complex and the hidden compartment is unique. It’s not uncommon for people to hide things in plain sight,” He said feeling like he was running on a full tank of gas. This was the first time in a long time that he didn’t feel like he had seen and done it all.

  The key was handed over to Jennie. She hadn’t been able to eat much of anything without any luck of keeping it down. Holding the key, she was able to identify two numbers inscribed into the surface… 32. The number was vaguely familiar like she had seen it someplace else.

  “I’m not interested in any monetary gain, but this find could be quite significant for the university. The treasure might be a myth, but on the off chance that it isn’t, I would like to request the unveiling to be right here underneath this roof,” He announced his intention not really expecting an answer right away.

  “You will be the first call we make, but I seriously doubt that there’s anything to get excited about. It will probably turn out to be some love letters during his youthful indiscretion with Amelia. I expect the treasure to be a major disappointment,” Will chimed in thinking that it was best to lower his expectations.

  “Nevertheless, I feel it’s my duty to bring this to light in the public eye. I’m only asking to record this in history for posterity. It will be the crowning achievement of my many years of service to the university,” He defended his intellectual honor.

  Jennie handed over the key and Will was able to make the same determination about the two numbers. They were there for a reason and then he remembered something in passing while inspecting the property. There were several different locations where the family crest was located. It was a matter of checking them all and hopefully finding the one that would indicate the need for the key.

  “I believe that we have taken up more than enough of your time. We will certainly be in touch if the necessity arises,” Will said trying to hide his excitement at uncovering a piece of history and possibly a treasure worth millions on the open market.

  “I could be of some help and I’ve been on several expeditions where the slightest move can lead to disaster. I have some personal experience in this arena. It would be misguided of you not to take advantage of it,” He warned thinking that his words would convey a seriousness to include him.

  “We appreciate the offer, but I think that we can handle it from here,” Jennie declared with her voice hoarse and not quite the same as she remembered it. “There’s no point in putting anybody else in danger. The numbers on the ring have to mean something.”

  “I’m sure that this is only a wild goose chase. The odds of the treasure actually existing after all this time is nothing more than a pipe dream.” Will escorted his wife to the door with the good professor pondering his next course of action.

  “I wouldn’t want any of your mistakes to cost you more than just the treasure. There are some unscrupulous people who would consider coming after the treasure. I wouldn’t mention this conversation to anyone else and you never know if the walls have ears.” The professor closed his door and sat in quiet contemplation in the dark.

  The treasure was nothing and it was the notoriety of finding it which was having him wanting to chase after the young couple who had presented themselves with the ring. If it wasn’t for him they would have never found the hidden compartment. He did note their quiet musings over something they had seen on the key. He wasn’t about to question them on the off chance they would find his query suspicious.

  He walked to the window and watched them cross to the other side of the street where their car was located.

  He withdrew a pair of binoculars from his desk. He knew where the house was located. He had made some inquiries over the years, but nothing came of it. He even had the occasion to step into the place under the cover of darkness. There were mostly dust bunnies.

  This revelation of the key was a new development. He wasn’t the type to be prone to violence. This was a matter of his curiosity meeting with some sort of satisfaction. He was just going to have to hope these two would keep him in the loop.

  Chapter Ten - Salvation

  “I have to say this is the most fun that I’ve had in a long time. I know that it’s tedious, but we have made remarkable strides in the right direction. We are essentially treasure hunters and can you imagine the kind of repairs we can make of this place with the right money.”
Will was still worried about Jennie who hadn’t bounced back in the way that he was hoping for.

  “You’re a like a kid in a candy store,” Jennie exclaimed trying to keep a stiff upper lip despite the feeling of her last breath slipping away. “I do enjoy the new light in his eyes.”

  “I’ve always felt like I was destined for bigger things, but I suppose everybody wants to believe that. We all become trapped going through the motions of a never ending tedium. I knew from the moment I met you that my life was never going to be the same. Our love was written in the stars. There have been those who criticized our whirlwind romance, but we never questioned it,” He said with his arms around her waist feeling recharged like he was given a new lease on life.

  “I’ve been thinking. There’s one place that we have been avoiding and we both know where that is,” She said turning her attention towards the basement door with the rickety steps. “32…32…32…keeps flashing in my mind.

  “Now that I think about it, I do believe there might be something to your suggestion.” He tried to open the door and it was stuck. The wood wasn’t warped and there was no reason for them to be denied entry.

  “We have to get in there,” She said when suddenly the walls began to shake in their foundation. “Something doesn’t want us to get in. I can only imagine who it is.”

  “I get the feeling that somebody doesn’t want us to go down there,” He said with his body ready to slam up against it.

  The door flew open with a gust of air practically knocking them off their feet. They stood motionless and took a few tentative steps.

  “Go away and don’t come back. He doesn’t deserve to rest in peace. I would rather suffer these indignities than to give him any mercy. He disappointed all of us. His death left us penniless.” The voice of Jemima was making it necessary to walk down the stairs cautiously.

  “I did hear that and it felt like it was going right through my body,” He described the sensation with vivid clarity.