Haunting and Scares Collection

by Rosemary Cullen

  She sighed and laughed at her jangled nerves. Jennifer realized where the knocks had come from and who had knocked. She strode over to the front door and pulled it wide open.

  “Miss me?” Jennifer smiled crookedly at Sarah, who was standing on the front steps holding her bags.

  “I’ll stay on one condition.”

  “Okay. What is it?”

  “Can we please stay away from the basement? I don’t care if there really is something down there. Can we just stay clear of it? If we leave whatever it is alone, maybe it won’t bother us.”

  “Sure. We can do that.”

  “Okay, then.” Sarah brushed past Jennifer and stepped into the foyer.

  “Yay! You’re staying. Thank you.” Jennifer hugged her sister tightly. “It sure is a nice day. Can I show you to your room?”

  Jennifer tried her best to make herself sound like one of the old, creepy butlers from old black and white movies. Their parents had watched these movies with them when they were little.

  “Why, yes,” replied Sarah in her best damsel in distress voice.

  The two sisters made peace and were soon laughing and joking like no disagreement had ever happened.

  “You know, I’m not sure why I got so jumpy. I don’t believe in ghosts, so why would the idea of a ghost scare me?” Jennifer poured a coffee for them both and followed Sarah to the den.

  “I don’t know. Same for me, really.”

  “All it took was a few drafty chilly spots and a noise I couldn’t see to make me forget that I don’t believe in ghosts. Jeez, I’m easy to sway.” Laughing, Jennifer took a sip and shook her head.

  “I have no idea what’s in the basement. It’s an old house, so surely there have to be mice down there. Maybe rats or even raccoons or something.”

  “Ick. You’re right. But maybe ghosts can’t use doors. There could be one stuck down in the basement.”

  They both laughed at the silly ghost, the one who had not yet mastered doors.

  Later that afternoon they settled into the routine of the previous day. Sarah was about to go for a walk in the grounds and she tried to convince Jennifer to join her.

  “Are you sure you’ll be okay in this house all by yourself?” asked Sarah.

  “I’ll keep the door closed. Promise.”

  Jennifer smiled a toothy grin at her sister, scrunching her eyes closed and tilting her head to the side. Sarah smiled back and left for her walk.

  Jennifer was soon engrossed. She had started well at college, but there were girls there who were smarter than she was. Others had a better bedside manner or were simply nicer. If she wanted to stand out in this class, she was going to have to work hard and she was finding success by studying really hard.

  At some point, she heard Sarah come home and shout out. She yelled a response before going back to her studies. Sarah had gone upstairs and Jennifer could hear music being played and the gentle footsteps of someone exploring the rooms. She felt comforted to have her sister in the house.

  Jennifer had lost track of the time when she finally lifted her head from her books, she realized that she had been reading by the light of her laptop and her eyes felt strained. She was about to get up and switch on a light, when the warmth of the room was sucked out. Jennifer felt cold, like ice had filled her veins.

  Shivering, she tried to move, but couldn’t. She tried to shake the feeling, but that wasn’t going to happen. She tried to laugh at herself since this feeling had come from nowhere. Obviously, her mind was playing tricks on her.

  Her mind finally caught up and she discovered the source of this bad feeling, this chill. Her mind prodded as Jennifer tried to reject it. Compelled to look in the corner, she glanced over and then away quickly.

  Her mind flashed with emotion. There was definitely something in the corner. There was movement. She had still not dared to look in the corner of the room long enough to figure out what was in there with her.

  The thing, whatever it was, was waiting. Waiting on her to see it. To acknowledge it.

  Then there was more movement, but it was staying in place. Jennifer tried to step away and leave the room, but couldn’t. She knew she would not be able to move and cursed her body, cursed her mind. She had to look again and really see what this thing was.

  Slowly her head turned, her eyes drawn back to the corner of the room. It felt as if she were being controlled by something else, but she didn’t know what. She couldn’t worry about that at the moment.

  Her head was facing the corner, her eyes had not yet dared, they were looking up. Slowly she brought her eyes down. A shadowy grey vision was there. She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. Then she crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed her cold bare arms.

  What was it doing? Hovering in the corner? No, it was just there. Still, the movements had stopped. Jennifer looked at it closer, unable to look away now.

  Then it moved. Fast. The thing, this grey shadow, bolted across the wall so fast she couldn’t keep up. She moved her head as her feet were still frozen in place. The figure swept across the room to the other side, it stopped for only a second or two and then went back the other way.

  Then it came towards her.

  Jennifer couldn’t move as the dark figure came straight at her. She could only watch as it got bigger and bigger. Looming in front of her, it reached out two dark arms, two almost black claws, jagged and pointed. She bowed her head as the arms reached into her, grabbed at her heart. In an instant, the thing flew right through her body.

  Jennifer screamed. Instinct allowed her to move again and she knocked her books from the table scrambling to get away. She ran to the kitchen where she screamed again and cried uncontrollably.

  Footsteps banged down the stairs. Loud thuds, skipping the steps, two at a time. Jennifer stood there shaking and crying. More loud footsteps on stairs rushed toward her and she crouched behind the cabinets hoping to hide. The steps came nearer and then the door burst open.

  “What happened!” shouted Sarah.

  The grey shadowy creature was gone.

  Chapter 5

  “It was grey. A shadow,” whispered Jennifer. She was sitting on the floor in the kitchen now . Her legs were bent and hugged to her body with her arms wrapped around them.

  “Will you please tell me what happened?”

  “It was here,” said Jennifer. “I saw it.”

  “What was here?” asked Sarah as she looked around the room. She turned the light on and brought some sense to the shadows and darkness of the room. “Why are you working in here without a light on?”

  “It was in there. In the study. I ran in here. I don’t know what it was, but it came after me. It was in the corner and then it was flying around the room. It came right at me and tried to grab me. I don't know what it was, but I could feel it. I felt it pass through me.”

  Sarah walked over to her sister and hugged her. She looked out of the window as she did. Sarah pulled her sister in tighter.

  “I think this house is getting to us,” said Sarah. “Look out the window.”

  “What is it?” asked Jennifer.

  “See the car over there, the neighbor’s, I think, wait for it. Give me a second.” Sarah walked over to the door and flicked the light off. “Is it still there?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” said Jennifer. “Someone’s getting in it.”

  “Okay, watch the room, just watch,” said Sarah. Jennifer turned back to the room, now bathed in darkness. They both heard the car begin to pull away and as it did, it swung round to point the headlights in the direction of the house, suddenly a shadow loomed, arms, multiple arms with claws appeared. It ran madly across the room, before disappearing forever. Sarah switched the light back on.

  “The tree,” said Sarah. “That is all it was, just the shadow of the tree.”

  “I’m such an idiot,” said Jennifer. “It was so real. I felt the air drain from the room, a coldness filled it.”

  “All in your mind,” said Sarah.
r />   “I could feel it pass through me,” said Jennifer.

  “Your mind,” said Sarah. “How long have you been sitting here in the dark, studying? Your eyes are all out of whack, your brain is turning to mush. Come on, come have a glass of wine, you need to relax a little and take a break.”

  “Okay, but you’ll have to get your own bottle if you want a glass. I think I’m going to need the whole thing.”

  “You’ll regret it in the morning, but you’ve earned it.” Sarah laughed and gave Jennifer another hug.

  “I guess it was just my mind in overdrive. What’s the matter with me?” She let out a long breath and smiled at Sarah. “Give me a minute to get all of this tidied up. Maybe something to eat, too? I’m really hungry.”

  “You got it,” said Sarah as she left Jennifer to pack up her books.

  Jennifer stared out the window, looking at the tree outside. She shook her head and berated herself some more. Maybe she was putting too much stress on herself with college and working, too. The stay at her mom’s house would be nice break before going back to classes.

  Jennifer sat back down at her laptop and did a little more research, before joining her sister in the kitchen for dinner.

  Sarah had made chicken and rice for the two of them, with a side of crisp green beans. A bottle of dry chardonnay waited on the table between their places.

  “Doctor’s orders,” said Sarah, pouring both of them a large glass. They sat down and ate together. Silence fell over them as each was lost in her own thoughts.

  Finally, Sarah looked up and smiled. “So, I wonder how many will make it over to Mom’s for the family gathering. I haven’t heard her say who’s replied.”

  “Well you know how some of them do. Decide at the last minute that they’re going to come then fuss when there’s not enough of Granny’s cobbler to go around.”

  “Yep, that’s how this gig always goes. I just hope we can miss out on another drunk Uncle Randy ordeal. Those incidents are hard to watch.” Sarah shook her head and frowned.

  “Unless he starts teasing Mom about stuff she did when she was a teenager. That can get a few laughs.”

  Sarah laughed. “Well, that’s true. I’m just glad Mom didn’t do anything too bad or that might be a little awkward.”

  “Yep, that’s true.” Jennifer looked down at her almost empty plate and took another bite. Hey, um, I did a little bit of research.”

  “What did you research?”

  “This place. This house.”

  “You are going crazy,” said Sarah. “You’re driving yourself crazy, you need to give it a rest. The incident that scared you so much earlier has been explained. Let it drop.”

  “Do you want to hear it or not?” Jennifer cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips.

  “Go ahead,” said Sarah, she tried to feign disinterest, but Jennifer could tell she was at least a little intrigued.

  “Okay, so I googled Falcon Manor and there was a good bit about it in the present day. Like how much it was sold for, who has lived here, blah, blah, blah, right? But there is nothing much before the 1900s. I had to dig further to get anything about that.” She looked up at Sarah who looked even less interested now. “But, I found a site that has a bunch of old newspapers from all across the world. You can search by area and go through all the editions and articles. You have to sign up, but they have a free trial so I’ll just cancel before the month’s up. Anyway, it took a little time, maybe fifteen minutes, because I’m a googling genius.”

  “Well, of course,” said Sarah.

  “But I found it.” Jennifer’s eyes bored into Sarah’s.

  “Found what?”

  “The secret of the basement, I think.”

  “You did? What is it?”

  “Pour us some more wine.” Jennifer stood up and took her dishes to the sink. “We might need it.”

  “Come on, tell me now.” Sarah went to the sink and pushed Jennifer to the side. She waited for Jennifer to go on as she started rinsing the dishes to put in the dishwasher. Jennifer stared into her wineglass, silent.

  Sarah left Jennifer to her thoughts for the moment and finished cleaning the kitchen. She turned on the dishwasher and grabbed the half empty bottle she’d moved to the countertop, pouring them both a second large glass. She left the kitchen and turned to make sure Jennifer was following her.

  Once they were tucked in to the comfy, overstuffed couch in the den, Sarah nodded. “Okay. Let’s have it. Go on with your story,”

  Jennifer looked at Sarah and gave her a bleak smile. “So here are the gruesome details. Apparently, someone, the maid I think, came into the house and it was eerily quiet.”

  “Was this in the article or are you embellishing?” Sarah tilter her head, a little skepticism showing through.

  “I don’t remember. I doubt I’m embellishing. Anyway, the maid came in to get the house ready for the day and there was an eerie silence. She couldn’t find the Master or Lady of the house. She looked everywhere. Finally, she heard crying coming from upstairs. She went up to investigate and found the two children in one of the bedrooms. The Holloway children were clearly very afraid. They lived in the house with their parents, Richard and Mary Hollowy. The maid asked them what was wrong, but they wouldn’t speak. So she continued to search for the parents.”

  “Even though the kids knew her, they wouldn’t talk to her? That’s really strange.”

  “It is, but you’ll find out why in a minute. She couldn’t find anyone else, anywhere. She went down to the kitchen to make some tea for the children and that was when she found the basement door open. She had always been told never to go down there and Dr. Holloway had always kept it locked.”

  “Did she go down?”

  Jennifer paused for a second. Sarah was leaning in close so as not to miss a single word. She knew that Jennifer was embellishing the article a little, but she was engrossed in the story.

  “Yes, the maid went down to the basement. Guess what she found?”

  “What? I can’t guess. It could be a million things. Just tell me for Pete’s sake!”

  “The dead bodies of Dr. and Mrs. Holloway. But that wasn’t all. She looked around and screamed. In the basement were beds and various display cases. There were kids in the beds and body parts in the display cases.”

  “You’re telling me the truth?”

  “The absolute truth. Apparently the son was sick and his father, a doctor, was conducting crazy experiments in the basement. He was trying to find a cure. In all, they found fifteen children, or parts of fifteen children.”

  “Are you kidding? That’s horrible!” The color had drained out of Sarah’s face.

  “I know. I can’t imagine what the parents of those children must have gone through. By the time this was all discovered, it was too late to save any of them that ever had a chance.”

  “Are you sure this all really happened? This all sounds so far-fetched, Jennifer.”

  “It’s all in the article. I’ll show you if you want.”

  Sarah waved her off and frowned. “Jeez, this gives me the creeps.”

  “I know. Me, too. They called him the Mad Doctor. People had no idea what he was doing down in that basement, but when it came out, it shocked the village. Some people even said that the wife was in on it, others were glad they both were dead. Some were sure she would have killed herself anyway when this came out.”

  “What happened to the doctor and his wife?” asked Sarah.

  “From what the article said, they believe the wife, Mary, found out about the experiments and confronted her husband. They think there was some sort of struggle. She had a lot of broken bones and the articles say she probably either fell down the stairs or was pushed. They don’t really know which. As for him, he’d been stabbed with a letter opener, like thirty times or something. It had to be her. She must have gone crazy. That’s what happened in the basement of the house we’re living in. Still think I’m crazy?”

  “What happened
to the children?”

  “I already told you.”

  “No, not the ones in the basement, the two kids, the son and daughter?”

  “I’m not sure. I didn’t have time to read more. I guess they went to live somewhere else.”

  “This is wild. What are we doing here? We need to get out of here. Have you messaged Mark?”

  “I’ll do it now.” Jennifer pulled out her phone.

  “Oh, gosh. I’m still in shock. Um, what are you going to say to Mark?”

  “I’m going to ask him about the basement and why it’s locked. I’m sure he knows the story already. I don’t get why he didn’t tell me before I got here.”

  “Would you tell someone that your house was haunted, before they came to house sit?”

  “So, you do think it is haunted?” asked Jennifer.

  “I’m not saying that, I’m just saying… well, this house is freaky. We really should get out of here.”

  “Well, we can’t leave now. It’s too late. Can we talk about it in the morning?” Jennifer’s phone beeped and she looked down at the screen.

  “What did he say?” asked Sarah.

  “What the hell?”

  “What is it?” asked Sarah.

  “He says that a previous house sitter tripped and fell on the stairs, she had to leave because she broke her ankle. That’s why he keeps it locked. For safety reasons, he says.”

  “Or she was pushed.” Sarah’s eyes were wide. “He lied to you about this.”

  “Shut up, Sarah. That’s really not helping.”

  “So, what do we do?” Sarah was on the edge of the couch, clearly nervous about being in the house another night.

  “I don’t know. I do know that I need to get some sleep, though, so I’m going to go to bed and worry about this tomorrow.”

  Chapter 6

  Jennifer didn’t sleep that night, even though she desperately needed it. She lay awake looking at the ceiling and finding patterns in the cracks and missing paint. She thought about the Holloway children and if they had made it out of the house. She tried not to think about the children that had been found in the basement, but her mind wandered there, anyway.