The Haunting of Shadow Hill House

by Caroline Clark

  As she hung the bear on the line she saw a car pull up into the drive. It was an aging Ford and it pulled around to park. A man got out from the car and looked over. He was young, perhaps just 25, and wearing a black shirt and trousers. At his neck was the distinctive white flash of a collar. They were getting a visit from the local priest. For a moment Jenny felt a little annoyed. It had been a long time since she had gone to church and she did not feel the need for his interference. Still, she wiped her hands on her jeans and offered a smile.

  “Good morning,” he said in a soft voice that sounded more like London than Wales. “My name is Luke Jones and I’m your local priest.”

  He held out a hand and Jenny shook it.

  “Good morning,” she said.

  “I just wanted to come along and welcome you to the area, and to tell you that I am here if you need anything.”

  Jenny smiled... now came the sales pitch. “That’s very kind,” she managed.

  “I’m new to the area as well,” he said. “I only started here a month ago.”

  Jenny noticed that he was suddenly nervous and she felt rude. “Can I offer you a drink, Father?” she asked. “Tea or coffee?”

  “That would be very kind,” he said.

  Jenny pointed the way to the kitchen. Mason and Abby were still sat there and she introduced the priest. She could see Mason raise his eyebrows. He seemed annoyed and yet she was only being neighborly. While she made the drinks there was a stony silence at the table. The young priest tried to make conversation but it was not going well. At last Jenny put cups of coffee before them and sat down. Maybe she could make a little conversation.

  “Thank you,” Luke said. “I haven’t had a chance for a coffee this morning so hopefully this will wake me up a little.”

  “I’m always the same before my tea,” Jenny said. “Do you live locally?”

  “Just on the outskirts of Crick Howell, you will see the church as you drive into town. I find it very quiet and a little strange after London.”

  “Me too,” Jenny said.

  “Victoria doesn’t like you,” Abby said without any warning. “She doesn’t want you here.”

  Jenny watched the young priest’s face pale and turned her eyes on Abby.

  “That is rude, young lady. Now apologize and go to your room.”

  “It’s all right,” Luke smiled and seemed to suddenly be at ease. “Who is Victoria?”

  “She lives here,” Abby said before Jenny could stop her.

  “She’s my daughter’s imaginary friend,” Jenny said. “Now, young lady, apologize and off you go.”

  “I’m sorry, but Victoria’s not,” Abby said before stepping from the table and running out of the room.”

  “Oh, I am so sorry,” Jenny said.

  Luke laughed. “At least she’s honest. I wish other people would be like that.”

  “Oh, well, I really am sorry. How did you come to move here?”

  “It was the first post that came open after I left the seminary. How about you? This is a beautiful house but from your accents I feel like we were probably neighbors before?”

  Jenny explained a little bit about the artists retreat and she felt Mason bristle as she mentioned the redundancy.

  “I’m sure a good accountant will be in high demand around here. I will ask around for you if you like?”

  “I would appreciate that,” Luke said.

  “Well, that’s settled then. I really must be going but feel free to pop in and see me at any time. It was lovely to meet you.” With that Luke stood up and was gone.

  Before she left for town, Jenny looked at the carpet in the hallway and sure enough, there was a big stain directly under the banister rail. It pulled her eyes to it and yet made her feel a little sick. As she stepped back it looked to be in a shape but she couldn’t make it out. Letting out a big sigh she walked up the stairs to grab her bag and a jacket. Once she was above the stain she looked down over the banister. It was just to see if it showed from up here and it did. Now she could see the shape. It was an angel. An angel of blood stained the carpet.

  Quickly, she pushed that thought aside and strolled down to the master bedroom. The stain on the carpet was just where Mason said it would be. This one was not so artistic and was more like a puddle. It looked wet and sticky and yet as she reached down it was simply rough. Her eyes glanced to the wall and the splashes were still there but were not as bad as the carpet. How could she have missed it? It didn't make sense but then maybe she wasn’t looking for problems. Maybe she had been looking at this house with rose colored glasses. Seeing only what she wanted to see. Anyway, it didn't matter, the stain was there and it needed removing.

  "Abby," she called. "Do you want to come into town with me? We can pick up a magazine and one of those chocolate eggs you like."

  Abby was outside playing and she didn't answer. Jenny picked up the car keys and left the house. Abby was sat on the lawn holding that horrible bear. Jenny wanted to grab it from her, after all, it would be soaking, and yet she knew that was the wrong thing to do. For once she was going to bribe Abby.

  "I'm going to town, if you come along we can get a magazine, maybe stop for a hot chocolate and ice cream and get some of those chocolate eggs. You know, the ones you really like with the surprise inside." Jenny couldn't believe that Abby was hardly responding. She hadn’t even turned her head away from the bear and was bouncing it on her knee and talking to it.

  "Mr. Good Bear doesn't want to go," Abby said.

  "Well, Mr. Good Bear should be drying on the line."

  "He's already dry, Mummy, and he's ready to play."

  Jenny couldn't help herself, she walked over and reached down and squeezed the bear. Abby was right, it was dry. It didn't make sense and yet Jenny felt too tired to try and work it out.

  "So, are you staying here?"

  "Yes, me and Mr. Good Bear are going to play, and maybe Victoria will come soon."

  "Who is Victoria?"

  "She's my friend," Abby said.

  Jenny just laughed, not sure if Victoria was a real friend, or one of her old friends from Facebook, or someone local that she had met. Maybe she should check her account again later. Just to be sure she wasn’t talking to anyone she shouldn’t be.

  "Okay, I will tell Daddy you’re staying. You stay close to the house. You understand?"

  Abby nodded but didn't look up from her game with the bear.

  The trip to town took about 20 minutes and Jenny was quite surprised at how remote the house was. She had passed only one house on the drive into town and yet, wasn't that what she wanted? Somewhere remote, somewhere beautiful and isolated. Somewhere where she could put all her energies into painting and so could her guests. It was a beautiful drive, everywhere was green. Idyllic fields dotted with fluffy white sheep and copses of delightful woodland. Suddenly, she was feeling happy again. As she entered the small town of Crick Howell she saw the church. It was a beautiful stone building with magnificent stained glass windows that seemed to wink in the sunshine. She wondered if Luke would be back there. He had seemed so nice and she wished him all the best but it was unlikely that they would be attending church. There was never the time. Forgetting the church almost as soon as she had passed it she found a local supermarket and pulled in.

  It didn't take long to do a quick bit of shopping. She even picked up a magazine and a chocolate egg with the toy inside for Abby. The supermarket had carpet cleaners so once she had done the shopping Jenny walked up to the counter.

  "Are you on holiday?" a lilting Welsh accent asked her.

  Jenny turned to see a woman in her 50’s with a black shoulder length bob streaked with gray and friendly smiling eyes.

  "No, we just moved here." Jenny held out her hand but did not know why. The woman took it and they shook.

  "I'm Jenny, Jenny Evans. I just moved into Shadow Hill House with my daughter and husband."

  The woman pulled her hand away and her eyes widened. Jenny wondered if m
aybe she didn't like strangers. Maybe she didn't like strange people moving into the area but she decided to ignore it and carry on.

  "The contractors have left a few stains on the carpets. I was hoping to hire one of these, hoping they would clean it up."

  "Oh, forgive me, forgive me my rudeness," the woman said. "I'm Megan Davies and I'm pleased to meet you but just a little surprised."

  "Surprised?" Jenny was not sure how to take her. Maybe it was such a close-knit community that they didn't expect someone to move into the area.

  "Well, you see. With the reputation of the house. No one would live there, no one's lived there for years. Not after the deaths."

  Jenny felt her world tumbling away from her. Had Megan said deaths?

  "What deaths?" she asked.

  "Oh, it was most awful. The whole family died there but I do not know the full story. I just heard it was something terrible. They say the father went mad, killed them all he did. Now, what were their names... oh, my memory... there it is, Mary and Gabriel Pennyford. Terrible it was. Every time someone has moved in there since... well, there has been a tragedy. More deaths you see. No one has wanted to go in the house for many years. Now, let's sort you out with this carpet cleaner, shall we?"

  Megan had refused to say anymore and the whole incident left Jenny feeling strangely drained. As she drove back to the house she couldn't decide whether to tell Mason. If she did he would be so angry. Not because he was scared of the house or what happened there but because he would feel they had been lied to. He would feel they had overpaid for the property if nobody wanted it. Maybe she was best to keep it quiet for now. Maybe she could even do some research and find out what really happened. After all, Chinese whispers and local gossip were not the sort of things she should be passing on. So she drove back feeling a little deflated but knowing that she would keep this to herself, at least for now. Of course, she would have to be careful, if one of the locals told Mason that could be even worse.

  Chapter 4

  When she got back Mason had done some of the painting and hung the blinds. As she walked into the bedroom he was just finishing off covering the stain on the wall.

  “How’s it going?” she asked.

  “Looking good. I think this was just paint or something splashed on the wall. Fingers crossed it’s gone. Now to the carpets.”

  Mason had hauled the carpet cleaner up the stairs and then Mason spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the carpets. Yet the stains stayed as dark as ever. She could see Mason was getting frustrated but what could she do? They didn't have the money to replace such expensive carpets.

  "Maybe we can get some rugs, and cover the stains," she said.

  Mason gave her a look, really, it said. She knew he was right but what other choice did they have.

  The first day in the house had been spent cleaning, painting, and fixing things. Outside, Abby was having fun. They could often hear her chattering away and laughing to herself. She was still carrying that confounded bear but Jenny guessed that if it kept her happy then it didn't really matter.

  It was time for tea and tonight she had cooked lasagna. This time she checked on it much more often, but even so the top was a little burnt. So she scraped off the top layer threw on some cheese and put it back under the grill. She watched it like a hawk and within just a few seconds the cheese was already melted. With the dish on the table she went to get the others. Mason was staring at the stain on the hall carpet.

  "It seems to go and the minute it's dry, the damn thing’s back again," Mason said.

  Jenny didn't know what to say and right now she was too tired to care. They would have to cope until they could afford to replace the whole thing, until then it would just have to be covered up.

  "Tea's ready and on the table, she said, "I’ll get Abby, you go on through."

  Silently, she crept out the door wanting to catch Abby playing. She could hear her talking and giggling to herself.

  "Mr. Good Bear's not frightened of anything… no, I don't think so… I can ask Mummy." Then Abby started to giggle. It was so cute that Jenny wanted to watch her for hours and yet she knew that the meal was getting cold.

  "There's lasagna and garlic bread on the table," she called out, pretending she had just got there.

  Abby jumped up and turned towards her. Then she turned back as if listening. "I'll ask for you." She skipped up the step towards Jenny. "Mummy, can Victoria come for tea? She's got no mummy and daddy of her own and she's lonely."

  Just for a second Abby felt her heart miss a beat. Who was Victoria? What child didn't have any parents and what was she doing here? Then she realized and remembered her own childhood and how she made up friends when she was lonely. It was normal and she decided to go along with it.

  "Of course, she can, do you want her to sit next to you?"

  "Yes please, Mummy, we can share."

  With that Abby ran into the house holding the door as if she was allowing someone else through and then, chattering away to herself, she ran to the kitchen. Jenny wished she had that much energy and followed her through to the kitchen. Mason was already eating at the small table, so she dished up a portion for Abby and herself and sat down to join them. Abby had pulled a chair up next to her and was leaning over. The bear was on the table and the stain down the front of it was as bad as before! It looked like blood, tacky and stiff and yet when she had washed the bear the fur was soft in the water. Jenny felt a little queasy thinking of the horrid toy near the food. What was wrong with this house and why was everything stained so badly? Mason had poured her a glass of wine and she gave him a grateful smile.

  “I think Teddy should not be at the table,” Jenny said.

  “Mr. Good Bear’s hungry,” Abby said.

  “Well, he can sit on your knee or on the chair with Victoria.”

  “Why?”

  Jenny rubbed a hand across her temple. The question that every parent grows to hate. Why! “You’re hungry, I’m hungry, and Daddy’s hungry, but we don’t sit on the table now do we?”

  Abby laughed at that and snatched the bear up and put him on her knee. It wasn’t much better but Jenny’s stomach eased with the horrid looking thing away from the food.

  Throughout the meal Abby chatted away to the empty chair next to her and it really made Jenny want to smile. She looked up at Mason and could see he was frowning.

  "She met a girl," Jenny said using her fingers to make quote marks. "A girl called Victoria and asked if she could bring her to tea. I didn't see any harm in it. It must be difficult for her having left all her friends behind."

  Mason leaned into Jenny, talking so only she could hear.

  "I'm not sure that's a good idea? Maybe we should nip this in the bud now before it gets out of hand?"

  "I don't think it will do any harm," Jenny said. "Monday, she's at school and hopefully she will find some new friends.”

  “Good,” Mason said. “I think we don’t allow this friend after that."

  As he said the words there was a loud crash. They both looked up to see that Abby had dropped a glass on the floor. Normally, her face would have been mortified and she would be almost in tears. Only today she looked surprised. It was almost as if she hadn't done it. Maybe she knocked it over by mistake and hadn't realized?

  "Don't worry about it," Jenny said as she started to clean up the glass shards.

  "It wasn't me," she said. "It was Victoria, she doesn't want to go and she doesn’t want Daddy to be mean to her. She said daddies are always mean."

  Jenny stopped picking up the glass and looked at her daughter. Where had that come from? She could see Mason looked annoyed but before he could say anything she interrupted him.

  "Well, nobody in this house is mean and we don't call anybody that, remember?"

  "Sorry, Mummy," Abby said, "but it wasn't me, it was Victoria."

  "Well, if Victoria wants to say naughty things then she will have to go sit on the naughty step. If she's a nice girl she can stay here,
but if she wants to say something to us she must say it herself. Okay?"

  Abby nodded, picked up the bear and ran from the table. Jenny could see there were tears in her eyes as she ran out of the room. She turned to look at Mason. There was tension in his jaw and his teeth were clamped tight. It looked like they were going to argue again. Throwing away the broken glass Jenny sat back down and took a large gulp of wine.

  "You realize she's gonna use Victoria as an excuse for anything and everything," Mason said.

  "You may be right, maybe I made the wrong call. Only, this has been a big move for her and maybe she will act out a little bit but let's just give her some time. Can we do that?"

  Mason nodded but she could see that he was not too happy.

  Abby had run up to her bedroom which was unusual for her. Normally, she would have gone into the living room and turned on the TV. There she would spend the rest of the night watching cartoons and playing on her tablet. Jenny realized she hadn't seen the tablet today and wondered why that was. So, she followed her up the stairs. In the beautiful pink bedroom she could see Abby playing with the teddy bear. She had a tea set with 3 cups and saucers surrounding the teapot. Teddy had one cup, Abby another and the third was opposite her. As Jenny watched, the 3rd cup lifted into the air and seemed to float there. Her heart stopped and a lump rose in her throat as goosebumps chased up her arms.

  How could this be?

  Then she saw it was simply Abby. The angle of her body hid her arm and made it look as if the cup was floating. Letting out a sigh of relief Jenny walked into the room.

  "Where is your tablet?" she asked.

  "The internet's all kablooey," Abby said. "Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and sometimes strange things come up. I don't want to see them so I'd rather play with Mr. Good Bear and Victoria."

  A different kind of fear ran through Jenny. Was Abby being targeted by online perverts? She picked up the tablet and sat down on the floor.

  "Would you like to join us for some tea?" Abby asked.