The Haunting of Briarsville Orphanage

by Hope Jameson

  “Vaguely. I do remember one boy who seemed to be just as evil as the staff. Maybe his name was Oscar. I’m not sure. We were all afraid of him. I’d forgotten all about him until you brought it up. I seem to remember that he was the nephew of one of the staff. God knows what he was doing in there if that was the case, but it was a long time ago so I could be mistaken.”

  “I am sorry to drag this all up again,” said Jill.

  “It is fine, dear. This Cynthia. It was Cynthia, right?”

  Jill nodded. “Another memory returning?”

  “Yes, I think I do remember a Cynthia, now that you have me thinking about this boy. There was one time, when I was on the ground being kicked by Oscar. I was so afraid. A girl ran over and pulled him off of me. I was able to get up and we ran away from him.”

  “Do you remember anything else about her?” asked Jill.

  “I was adopted soon after that incident. I seem to remember that she was a very sweet girl, with a lovely smile, if you could get her to smile. I was very thankful she helped me.”

  “Do you think that the article helped? Did it help to release some of your anger?” asked Jill.

  “Yes and no. The anger will stay with me until I die, but it helped me to release the ghosts of the children. When the fire happened, I was so sad for them. I didn’t realize it at the time but in my sadness it was the weight of their spirits I was feeling. I got free and they died.”

  “Mrs. Rossi, something is nagging at me.” Jill took a deep breath and looked out the window at the well-manicured front yard. “I wasn’t going to tell you this, because… Well, it seems really out there. Strange. I’m sure most people would think I’m delusional.”

  “What is it? You can tell me. You searched me out to talk about this and I agreed to it. So go ahead.”

  Jill gave her a weak smile and then nodded. “When I’m at the orphanage, it feels like the spirits are still there. I even see them. I don’t think that they’re resting yet. Gosh, I wasn’t going to share this, but maybe you’ll understand.” Jill bit her bottom lip as she waited for Mrs. Rossi’s reaction.

  “I have to believe that they’ve found peace. I have heard of people seeing ghosts, but I’ve never seen one myself. That business of feeling their spirits, I don’t know if it was the same sort of thing you’re experiencing. I think it was just my way of being sad.”

  “I understand. Thank you for listening to me. I do think it’s the girl named Elise that I keep seeing, though. I do see her, but nobody else seems to. I just don’t think that she’s been laid to rest yet. Something led me to the picture I described to you. She’s the main one in my dreams.”

  “If you believe you’re seeing her, maybe you are. I’ve never seen a ghost, but maybe they exist.” She shrugged. “I stand by my belief that you should tear that place down and put all that horrible business behind us all. Some things are best left in the past.”

  “I wish I could, Mrs. Rossi. My grandmother was clear. I have to restore it. Whatever happens after that is not my concern.”

  “That’s up to you, I suppose. You will do what you need to do. Everything will work out in the end.”

  Jill stood up. The conversation was really over and she didn’t think there was much more for her to learn. “Thank you for seeing me, Mrs. Rossi. You’ve been so kind to talk to me about things that are difficult for you to remember and talk about. I appreciate your candor.”

  “You’re welcome, Jill. Come back any time. For tea next time, though. No talk of orphanages and bullies and ghosts. Okay?”

  “Yes, ma’am. You have a deal.”

  Jill gave her a hug and then she was headed back to the jobsite. As she drove, she thought of the woman and hoped she hadn’t opened up too many old wounds that would cause problems for her. She was a pleasant woman.

  In truth, she didn’t learn much more than what she already knew. She would be content with confirmation. There were two things bothering her.

  First, she felt terribly guilty for trying to rebuild a place that Mrs. Rossi firmly believed should be torn down because it was evil. That supported her second concern. The woman had felt the spirits of the children, she just didn’t realize what was going on. The building was haunted by the spirits of the children who perished in that fire. Would she be able to get them to leave?

  12

  After touching base at the jobsite with Amanda, she found that things were on schedule and running smoothly. Amanda did have a message for her from Mr. Booker, though. He needed to meet with her about her plans for the next phase. They needed plans to know what to do next. She needed to decide what the building would be before plans could be drawn up.

  She knew there would likely be a lag in the work since she had no idea what she’d be doing with the building yet. She hated that, but it would be what it would be.

  After her short impromptu meeting with Amanda, Jill drove back to her bed and breakfast. She’d stopped for lunch and it was mid-afternoon. Suzie was sitting outside on the front steps with a book. She waved and stood up to greet her.

  “Have you found out who Cynthia is?” asked Suzie. Jill took a step back in surprise until she remembered the reading. How could I have forgotten that so soon?

  “Not yet,” said Jill, “but I’m sure that I’m going to.”

  “You are welcome to sit with me for a bit. It’s nice out this afternoon.” Suzie gestured to the empty steps and raised an eyebrow.

  “Thanks, but I have to make a phone call. Some other time?”

  “Sure,” said Suzie. Jill opened the door and left Suzie sitting outside.

  She walked up the stairs, listening to each of them creak as she went. When she entered the room, she felt as if it had gotten smaller, like her world was closing in around her. She slumped down on the bed and pulled out her phone. She dialed the familiar number and waited. It was answered almost immediately.

  “Hi, Mom,” Jill smiled at her mom’s perky voice.

  “Hello, dear,” said her mom. “You sound different, is everything okay?”

  “I don’t know, really.”

  “Is it the orphanage? How are things going there?”

  “The work is going fine, but I don’t like the story that comes with it. Mom, you might think I’m nuts, but do you believe in ghosts?”

  “Hmm. Let’s say this… I think there are things that can’t be explained. I believe that there is more going on in this world than we are aware of. I’ve never seen a ghost, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not real. Do you think you’ve seen a ghost?”

  “I don’t know what I’ve seen. I get a bad feeling from this place, but I can’t walk away. Bub wanted me to have the orphanage and restore it. She sent me on a mission, I think. I mean the building is fantastic and amazing things could be done here, but something isn’t right there. It almost feels evil inside it. Does that even make sense?”

  “I guess it does considering what happened there in the past. It was an orphanage. A place full of sad children. And then it burned. It sounds like you need to be careful.”

  “Maybe. It’s all just a little confusing.”

  “What do you want me to say? That you should get Ghostbusters in there? Have you seen an actual ghost?”

  “I don’t think so,” said Jill lied. Her mom’s Ghostbusters joke tipped her off that maybe she needed more proof before she shared this burden with her mother.

  “So what’s all the fuss about then?”

  “I don’t know mom. It’s nice to just talk to you. You don’t think that I am crazy, so thank you for that.”

  “I didn’t say that. I do think that you’re crazy, but not because you’re talking about ghosts.”

  “Wow. Thanks.”

  “I mean, who buys an orphanage to restore it?”

  “Hey, you know why I did that!”

  “And who doesn’t have a boyfriend at your age?”

  “Come on! Give me a break about that. That’s an old and tired argument.”

  �
��And who goes to circus camp?”

  “That was when I was a kid. Now you’re really stretching.” Jill was laughing knowing that her mom would just keep going.

  “And your vegan stage?”

  She needed to cut this off. “Yes, Mom! I get it! How’s Dad?”

  “He’s fine, his usual self. He’s out mowing the lawn. He’s actually doing a good job this time.”

  Laughter on the other end of the line made her miss her mother at that moment. Her mother’s laughter was contagious. But, she had a thought she needed to get input from her mom on.

  “Listen, Mom? Do you know anyone called Cynthia? Someone from the past, my past specifically?”

  “Oh, of course.”

  Jill was a little surprised. The question to her mother was a shot in the dark. Kind of an attempt to cross this avenue off her list and move on to more logical places to search. She’d thought she’d have to chase the name longer than this. If she didn’t remember anyone of that name, then she didn’t think her mom would either.

  “Really? Who is it?” asked Jill.

  “Bub. You could never pronounce Babcia, so you always called her Bub, but her first name was Cynthia. Most people called her Bub after you started calling her that.”

  “I think I remember that,” said Jill. “I remember hearing it once, I think and found it weird. Weird that people would not call her Bub. So, what do you know of her childhood?”

  “Not much. She never really talked about it. I know she moved to America from Poland when she was very young.”

  “Did she come with her parents?”

  “I think so, but she never really talked about them. I got the impression she didn't really want to talk about her family so I never pushed it.”

  “I think her parents died on the crossing maybe, or shortly after getting here, I’m not sure, but she lost them early in life.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “It’s a long story, Mom. Look, I have to go, but I’ll call you tomorrow and tell you what I found out, I have to go do something.”

  “Are you going to the orphanage? Is it something to do with that?”

  “Yes, I think so.”

  “Be careful, now. And be sure you have Ghostbusters on speed dial.”

  “Geez. You’re such a goofball. Love you!” Jill hung up the phone and grabbed her purse and keys. She looked at the time, it was after six, the work crew would be gone by now.

  When she walked back downstairs and outside, Suzie was still sitting on the step. She waved goodbye and Suzie shouted after her.

  “The answers are waiting.”

  Jill wasn’t sure what that meant, but she believed Suzie was telling the truth, that she knew things that no one else did. Jill got into her car and drove back to the orphanage.

  13

  The building didn’t look any different from her previous visits, but once she was inside she could feel that something had intensified. The rooms looked smaller, a thin veil of something eerie hung in the air. She stopped and tried to feel what it was. Evil. Evil hung in the air. Once she felt it, the feeling began to grow.

  She wandered through the rooms and it wasn’t until she’d passed the third staircase that she realized the temporary walls had been removed. Slowly she walked up to the second level. There was something here, something on the cusp of revealing itself to her.

  The damage done by the fire was visible and devastating. The previous renovations must not have reached up here. The walls were black with soot. What furniture was left was disfigured and black. The glass was gone from all the windows.

  She went from room to room, finding beds in most of them—or the remains of beds. Most of the rooms were large with many small beds, and others were small, but with full sized beds, adult rooms.

  Jill looked around at the carnage and wondered how long it took for the flames to engulf everything. She hoped that it had been a quick death for the children. Hopefully, the smoke had been thick enough to have knocked them out long before the fire got to them.

  “Cynthia.”

  Jill heard the whisper. She’d never heard the voice before. The children have always been quiet when she saw them. The name hung in the air. Jill turned to leave the room and began to walk towards the sound.

  “Cynthia.”

  It came again, this time louder. Jill continued to move in the direction she thought was right. The voice sounded hopeful, pleading almost. Jill rounded the corner and saw Elise standing in a large room—at least she believes this girl is Elise. There are remnants of tables and chairs, a dining room perhaps, or a school classroom.

  Jill looked up at the ceiling and saw long black fingers creeping across the ceiling, from the walls to the chandelier in the center. The fire must have licked up the walls and danced towards the middle before it had gone to create more destruction. She felt a shiver go up her spine. How horrible it must have been to be here in the fire.

  Jill looked back down to Elise standing in the middle of the room. She hadn’t moved, so Jill walked towards her. Her hands were shaking as she prepared to confront the girl. The whole thing had been disruptive, but now that Elise’s ghost had seemed to escalate her troublemaking, she was nervous.

  “Cynthia,” said Elise. Elise raised her hand and pointed to Jill. “Cynthia,” she said again.

  “Cynthia isn’t here,” said Jill, her voice shaking. “She’s gone. You need to go, too. This isn’t the place for you. It’s okay for you to leave here to rest. You deserve that peace. Take it.”

  “Cynthia,” said Elise again, pointing to Jill.

  “My name is Jill. I’m not Cynthia.” Jill took a deep breath and continued with her pleas to the ghost. “Just tell me what I need to do to help you. What do you need? You can trust me. I think the Cynthia you’re looking for was my grandmother. I know how special she was to you.”

  “Cynthia!” shouted Elise.

  “I told you, she’s gone,” said Jill, firmly. She was finally getting over her nerves about talking to a ghost to get her to vacate the building. “She passed away. She’s gone to rest. You can go now, you can reunite with her.”

  Elise began to walk towards Jill. She could feel the panic rising in her chest. She didn’t want to admit she was frightened, but at this point she had no choice. She took a step back as she pursed her lips and took a deep breath.

  The face of the ghost had always been almost expressionless. Now it twisted into madness right before Jill’s eyes. Jill had lost her voice but it didn’t matter. She had no idea what to say to an angry ghost, anyway.

  The eyes turned to fire, the skin on her face became black with soot. Jill could see the skin bubble up and blacken before her eyes. Elise’s mouth was open, the teeth turned to fangs, pointed and sharp. Jill could only watch as the teeth melted and fire engulfed her mouth. Jill thought she could feel warmth coming from the ghost’s body as it burned in front of her.

  Elise reached out again and Jill recoiled, falling backwards and hitting her head on a table. She ended up in a heap on the floor. She reached up to touch the knot on the back of her head but she’d lost perception of what was going on around her.

  She felt her head swim as she sat up. Her head hurt terribly, but she knew she had to get up and protect herself. Just as she was about to get to her feet, she passed out.

  From somewhere deep in her subconscious, Jill heard the voice change to a low growl. “Cynthia. Cynthia. Cynthia.”

  14

  Jill woke up with her brain in a fog. She realized she was sprawled on the floor. Her head was aching and all she could remember was a low growling voice. She gasped as it all came back to her in a rush. Her hands were shaking and she wanted to run out of the building and never come back.

  She sat up quickly and looked around her. It was just as she remembered. Charred tables and chairs, black soot on the walls, and fire marks on the ceiling. But Elise was gone.

  Jill was sure her problem wasn’t over. She’d hoped Elise would be able to
move on and away when she heard that her friend Cynthia was gone, too. But it seemed like that wasn’t meant to be. At least not yet.

  “I guess I need to do more research now. How to get ghosts to move on. Wonder what Google says about that?” Standing up, she steadied herself by holding on to one of the burned chairs as she saw her evening stretch out in front of her at her laptop.

  She took out her phone and saw that only about fifteen minutes had passed since she’d come up the stairs to the second floor. She was shocked that so much had happened in such a short time. Then she noticed she had a missed call.

  Looking at her call log, she sucked in a breath. “Oh, gosh. What could be wrong?”

  Hitting the call back button, she waited for her father to answer.

  “Hey, pumpkin! I was just about to try you again.”

  “What’s wrong, Dad? You never call me. Is Mom okay?”

  He laughed. “Everybody’s fine. I guess I deserve that reaction, don’t I. I should call you more often.”

  “Thank, God! It’s okay, I just thought something was wrong. So, what’s up, then, for you to call? I just talked to Mom this afternoon.”

  “Well, I went to Bub’s today to do some more clean up. Trying to get the house ready to put on the market.”

  “I know you’ve got a lot to do to get it ready. That woman was a pack rat and then some. She never threw anything away, did she?” Jill laughed thinking about all the times they’d teased Bub about keeping things they would have thrown away.

  “Well, there’s some common logic that says people who’ve endured hardships tend to hang on to certain things even if they don’t need to. Like being frugal and saving things they think they might need one day. Or saving mementos when you’ve lost someone you love. I think both of those situations are ones Bub faced.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  “So, as I was going through her desk, I found a letter addressed to you. It’s sealed.”

  “A letter? For me? I’d have thought she’d have put that with the will if it had to do with that. It must be about something else. Don’t you think?”