One Night in Salem

by Amber Newberry

  “The headline for October 31, 2016 is the continuing fallout over the FBI announcement that they are reopening the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails…” the reporter said on the radio that was playing on Richard’s tablet. There was a lot of laughter, talks of who was voting for Trump and for Hillary, and the letting out of stereotypical pirate grunts. During it all, Anne took photos with her smartphone and then posted them on Facebook.

  As the boat sailed near Winter Island, Richard decided it was time to tell his friends the ghost story, “Hey sis, can you turn the radio off?” Rebecca did just that as he turned off the engine. “Gather around for the ghost story, kiddies.”

  “Oh no, I’m shaking in my booty!” joked Anne as she shook her body.

  Everyone gathered around Richard as he began, “Who here has heard the story of the Maiden from the Sea?” Only Rebecca raised her hand, “Well, duh, you’re the one who told me the story,” he joked, “Anyway, once upon a time, late at night on Ol’ Hallows Eve back in 1723…way before…FACEBOOK!” Anne let out a fake scream, causing everyone to laugh.

  Richard continued, “A small boat came ashore on Winter Island that had a fair maiden dressed in white on board,” he pointed to Rebecca, who responded by pointing to her dress to indicate that her costume was the Maiden.

  Anne laughed, “My best friend, the fair maiden!” Rebecca smiled and gave the thumbs up.

  Richard continued, “She was discovered by soldiers stationed at Fort Pickering. She told the captain there that pirates had attacked her ship near Great Haste Island…AAARRGGHH!” he shouted as he curled his finger into a hook shape, “Now, you all know why it’s a pirate-themed party! Anyway, they killed everyone on board, except the Maiden and her brother. The pirates took the brother to force him to become part of the crew, while the Maiden was set adrift in the boat. She safely made her way to Winter Island, and every night after that incident, the Maiden would leave a lit candle in one of the windows of her home in Salem, in hopes that her brother would see it and return.”

  Anne was curious, “Did the brother ever come back?”

  “Dunno. There’s not a lot of information about her life afterward. Hell, we don’t even know her name. Such records were believed to have been destroyed in the Great Fire of 1914. Anyway, what’s known is that the soldiers who found her were the ones to give her the nickname of Maiden from the Sea. Now, when it comes to ghosts, and the reason we’re going to Great Haste Island, is that it’s claimed every Halloween near the island, one can see mysterious lights and hear the screams of the victims of the attack!”

  There was a short pause before Charles spoke, “That’s it?”

  “You expected something more?” asked Richard.

  Charles replied, “Well, yeah…maybe some ghost pirates!”

  Anne was disappointed, “It’s an interesting story, but there’s really not much in terms of ghosts in it.”

  Rebecca intervened, “Well, it’s my personal favorite. The Maiden went through hell, yet made it out alive.” She looked at her brother. “I know I’d leave a candle out if it helped get my brother home.” Her friends let out a collective ‘aww’ to playfully tease the siblings before she continued, “Although her story haunts the island…there’s not a lot known about her. Maybe tonight we can open a line of communication with the spirit world and learn more.”

  As Jack raised his beer, he said, “Maybe we will, maybe we won’t. We’re just glad to be here.”

  Everyone, “Here! Here!” Rebecca was pleased to see them happy. As Richard continued to pilot the boat toward their destination, Rebecca looked over at Winter Island, with its rocky shores and Fort Pickering Lighthouse standing tall. She imagined the Maiden arriving there, all cold and alone. When reading about her, Rebecca connected with her on a personal level. It was as if they had some type of spiritual bond; it was a feeling she couldn’t fully understand. Deep down inside, she knew this was going to be a special Halloween.

  By the time they anchored near Great Haste Island, it was dark, so several strobe lights and lamps lit up the boat. Everyone sat around a table as Rebecca took out the main tool to communicate with the spirits, a Ouija Board. Although she and Richard had used the board in the past, this was the first time for the others.

  Anne asked, “Do you think it’s okay to use a board? I’ve heard bad things about it.”

  “Yeah, we just gotta be sure to close it out when we’re done,” Rebecca replied as she looked up into the sky, “Wish the moon was out…it would make it spookier!”

  Except for the sounds of the water, it was a quiet night. Before they began, everyone grabbed some beer, except for Richard (since he was navigating, he wouldn’t drink). As part of the rules when they ghost hunted, everyone turned off their phones. There was plenty of excitement in the air as each friend placed a finger on the planchette.

  Since Rebecca was the most enthusiastic, she asked the first question, “Is the spirit of the Maiden here?” While this was fun for them, the group remained serious as they waited for movement. There was no response.

  “Are victims of the pirate attack here?” Rebecca asked. She hoped this question would cause a reaction. At that moment, she felt a chill go down her spine, as if an icicle was touching it. After that, the planchette moved. When it moved to ‘Yes’, everyone became enthusiastic.

  Richard then asked, “What’s your name?”

  It then spelled out the name ‘Charles’, in which Rebecca responded by looking directly at Charles and said, “You better not be moving this!”

  He declared his innocence, “I’m not, I swear!” She could tell by his expression of shock that he was telling the truth.

  Jack then continued, “When did you die?” The response was ‘1723’. This was further evidence for Rebecca that this was working, and the excitement she felt was like that of a child on Christmas morning. There was no doubt to her that something was communicating.

  Rebecca then asked, “How did you know the Maiden?” It quickly wrote out ‘Friend’.

  “We’re getting somewhere,” she said. The excitement boiled over in her mind.

  “So, what was her name?” she asked. Before the board could respond, there was a blood-curdling scream from a male voice. It was filled with so much terror and agony that it indicated a violent end to a man’s life. Everyone stood up, then froze in disbelief over this ghastly noise. Though they’d had odd experiences in haunted locations in the past, this was the first time they had heard something so audible. The scream lasted for five seconds, then there was nothing but dead silence.

  Rebecca looked around at the black sea, but saw no other boats that could debunk this event. Before long, the screams of a woman were heard. Hearing a woman in such a state of terror was unsettling for her. Her heart pounded so loudly that it echoed in her ears. Then, there was silence. Fear took over her soul because the screams sounded familiar somehow.

  Though originally scared, Charles started to laugh, “Shit, this is so cool! Finally, a ghost story that’s true! Just wish there were ghost pirates!” The others began to realize they were experiencing something that was undeniably supernatural and started to gloat. Only, Rebecca wasn’t cheerful, instead she continued to gaze at the water. She’d always wanted to come face to face with the paranormal, but there was something very wrong with what had happened.

  She whispered to her brother, “That last scream, it sounded…like Anne. The first one sounded like Jack.”

  He responded, “Maybe. But, think about our situation…we’ve never experienced anything like that before. I’m sure you’re just mistaken because of the shock of it.” Rebecca wasn’t convinced. There was no doubt that the screams were of her friends. This made the situation both confusing and frightening. Anne and Jack were completely oblivious to what the screams sounded like, but because she feared that expressing her concern might frighten them, she decided not to tell them.

  “Let’s call it a night, okay?” Her eyes displayed her anxiety. />
  Richard agreed, “Okay. We can safely assume that this place is haunted, so we got what we came for.” With a sigh of relief, she started to breathe normally and her heart rate decreased. There was disappointment in not gaining more information about the Maiden, but Rebecca felt there was something going on here besides a haunting. She believed it was best to leave this mystery in the past.

  “Hey, we’re heading back to port. We’ll go over to the Festival of the Dead instead,” Richard said to the others. The others expressed their disappointment, but accepted the decision. Regardless, they felt that this was the best Halloween ever.

  Realizing she hadn’t closed out the Ouija Board, Rebecca went to do just that. With all that happened, she wasn’t taking any chances. However, before she could touch it, the planchette started moving on its own. The sounds of the planchette scratching against the board were unnaturally loud as it repeatedly spelled out the word “Go.” She screamed, and that caused the others to look. They couldn’t believe their eyes. No one could move.

  Each time it spelled out the word “Go,” the planchette would move faster and the scratching noises got louder. “Go, Go, Go,” it kept spelling, and faster and faster it went. It got to the point that the only thing heard was the scratching. Filled with adrenaline, Rebecca grabbed the planchette and the board, and then threw them into the water.

  Richard ran towards the boat’s steering wheel. “Oh, we’re fuckin’ outta here!” Just then, an orange light flashed all around them. It kept getting brighter, eventually it was glaring, like the sun. Everyone closed and covered their eyes due to the intensity of it. After several seconds, the light dissipated. Moments later, everyone opened their eyes and saw that everything had returned to normal. The air was still, the stars were shining, and the waves hit the side of the boat.

  No one moved for several seconds until Anne shouted, “Richard, get us the hell outta here!” Everyone sprang into action. Richard ran to the steering wheel, Anne and Charles took out their smartphones, and Jack grabbed a beer to calm himself. Meanwhile, Rebecca stood in place and stared at the sky. Confusion overtook every corner of her mind, to a point that she wondered if she was losing it.

  Richard noticed her behavior and asked, “Shit…what’s wrong, now?”

  She stared in silence for another few seconds before responding, “This ain’t right…” She pointed at the full moon.

  Richard was confused, then he realized the problem, “Wait…there wasn’t a full moon tonight.”

  Rebecca was worried, “It’s supposed to be a new moon. Also, look at the island…it’s bigger.” The two looked at Great Haste, and it was, indeed, a little bigger. They also noticed that it was colder and the sea was rougher.

  He was confused, “There’s gotta be an explanation for all of this. Let me make a few calls.”

  Anne overheard them, “No good, there’s no reception.” She held the phone up high, but it was of no use. They were only about two miles from land, and they never had an issue with cell service until that moment. The others joined Richard and Rebecca in looking at the shoreline. There should have been plenty of lights visible along Salem’s shore, but instead it was mostly dark. What little light could be seen was dim, and some appeared to be flickering like a flame.

  “What’s happening?” asked Jack.

  Anne turned around, and what she saw caused her to scream. The others turned to look, and disbelief took over their minds. Jack dropped his beer, and no one moved a muscle. What they saw was beyond their understanding because it was something misplaced in time.

  It seemed to come out of nowhere. Over two hundred feet from their boat was an 18th century, eighty-ton schooner that showed signs of frequent damages and repairs, indicating it had seen many battles. The ship had an otherworldly vibe as the moonlight shone upon it. Rebecca grabbed binoculars to get a better look, and she observed that the name of the ship was The Fancy. There were a few lanterns placed throughout the deck as crewmembers either worked or looked in their direction. Pointed directly at the yacht were cannons from a few open gun ports. There was a large flag on the main mast that depicted a black background with a red skeletal figure in the center. Dropping the binoculars from shock, it was no doubt to her that this was a pirate ship.

  She turned toward Charles, “Looks like you’re getting your wish.”

  They were so focused on the ship that they didn’t notice the pirates were coming aboard until it was too late. They had rowed over from the schooner on three small boats. Three men boarded from the stern, while three others boarded from the bow. Their clothing was not the stereotypical costumes like the friends wore, but rather plain and practical jackets, trousers, and boots. The men on the bow were armed with musketoons, and on the stern, one carried an axe while the other two had flint pistols. The guns were pointed at the friends, so they respond by putting their hands in the air. These men were amazed, and very perplexed, by the yacht.

  Richard, who was next to Rebecca, whispered, “They’re ghosts, they can’t hurt us, right?”

  “Let’s not take a chance,” she whispered back. Disbelief was the friends’ only emotion, now.

  One more pirate came aboard by the stern, and he was about to turn Halloween into a nightmare. This man was in his thirties, average height, black hair, and had a noticeable scar on his lower jaw. His attire was like the others, but additionally he wore a long, dark blue coat and a plain, black tricorn hat. He also wore a leather belt that had a cutlass stored in the scabbard. Rebecca could tell by his demeanor that he was the captain. Like his men, he was amazed and baffled by the yacht, particularly its lights. He went over to a small lamp that was on a table. When he touched the bulb, he quickly retracted his fingers due to the heat.

  Rebecca had read a lot of literature about ghosts, and she knew these weren’t anything like the ones that were written about in those books. They looked and acted like living people, rather than ghostly manifestations. An example was the captain’s ability to feel the heat from the light bulb, as she thought ghosts didn’t have their sense of touch. She feared that other aspects of ghosts that she’d learned might be wrong.

  “Qui est le capitaine ici?” asked the captain.

  Rebecca took some French in high school, so she recognized the language. “Sir,” she said as she took a bow, “We speak English.”

  The captain was confused. “English? With such a queer looking ship, I thought ye be French,” he laughed. “Who be yer cap’n?”

  The friends looked at each other, then Richard spoke, “I guess I am, Sir.”

  The captain approached Richard, “Yer name?”

  He became nervous. “Umm, Richard.” He felt the captain’s hot, smelly breath over his face and couldn’t believe this man was a ghost. As Rebecca looked on, she was frightened for her brother.

  “I’m Cap’n Ned Low.” He ripped off Richard’s fake mustache and looked at it. “What be ye, Miss Molly?” Richard was confused by the question. The captain dropped the mustache, and then looked at the others. The friends stood there in silence as no one could comprehend what was happening.

  Ned looked at Anne and her provocative clothes. “We have here a brasser, men.” The other pirates started to laugh, and some blew kisses and licked their lips. While Anne wasn’t sure what ‘brasser’ meant, she was humiliated and tried her best not to cry as she placed her arms over her chest.

  When he saw Rebecca close up, he instantly was fascinated by her and took off his hat. “And what be yer name?”

  She kept her head bowed. “Rebecca.” Ned gently took her left hand and kissed it. Disgust and fear spread through her body. Feeling his wet, warm mouth on her flesh, she again questioned what she thought she knew about ghosts.

  “It be me pleasure to make yer acquaintance.” At this moment, Rebecca recalled who Ned Low was from her history books; terror filled her veins. She remembered reading that he was the cruelest pirate of his time.

  Ned placed his hat back on. “A quarter be granted
if ye surrender all the valuables without giving me problems.” He then noticed a ring on Jack’s hand. It was a gold Harvard school ring he received from his late father for his graduation in May. It was his most prized possession.

  Ned demanded it, “We start with that odd-looking ring.”

  Jack’s fear turned into defiance, “No way, asshole!”

  Richard turned to his friend, “Just give it to him!”

  “Listen to him,” pleaded Rebecca.

  Jack shouted, “No! You of all people know what this ring means to me!” He then went right up to the captain, “Besides, they’re just ghosts, they can’t harm us!”

  Ned laughed, “Ye be off the hooks, lad.” He turned to the pirate with the axe, who then handed Ned the weapon. Two other pirates grabbed and overpowered Jack. He used as much of his strength as he could, but Jack was no match for them. They pushed him to the floor, and one pirate grabbed the hand with the ring and held it straight out. Jack cursed as much as his lungs could manage. Richard and Charles stepped forward to intervene, but the pirates on the bow aimed their guns directly at them, causing them to stop.

  “Don’t act like addle pates now,” Ned warned the two. Though Charles and Richard were confused over what he said, they knew they couldn’t help Jack, or they would pay the price with their lives. With one swing of the axe, Ned chopped off Jack’s hand with the ring. Blood squirted from the stump. Picking up the severed hand, Ned removed the ring before tossing the hand into the water. Jack’s fierce screams reverberated in the ears of his helpless friends. Anne slapped her palms to the sides of her head to block out the gut-wrenching noise.

  Ned readied to swing the axe again, so Rebecca pleaded for Jack’s life, “Spare him, please! He’s suffered enough!”

  Ned looked at her. “Forgive me for what I need to do, dearest Rebecca. Women, close yer eyes. Ye need not see this. Not ye lads, though, as ye be witnessing the consequences of this man’s slight,” he said as he lifted the axe. There was no sign of mercy in his soul. The friends had no choice but to comply. Closing her eyes, Rebecca had to use all her energy to hold back from having a complete breakdown. When she heard Jack’s screams, she realized it matched the one heard earlier. Soon, she heard the axe repeatedly hit Jack’s body. It sounded like chopping wood, only it was followed by the sounds of blood spilling. Then, there was silence. A few moments later, she heard splashing. Ned then ordered the women to open their eyes.