Widowmakers: A Benefit Anthology of Dark Fiction

by James Newman Benefit Anthology

  “Is she gone?” Kharrn said.

  “It would appear so.”

  “Good. These dead things were wearing me down.”

  “You are a strange fellow, Kharrn.”

  The big man grinned. “You don't know the half of it, Carnacki.”

  7.

  “So you never found out why the spirit wanted the locket?” Dodgson said.

  It was two weeks after Christmas and Carnacki had invited his four friends, Dodgson, Arkwright, Taylor, and Jessop to dinner at his house at 472 Cheyne Walk in Chelsea. As was their custom, the group had settled down in Carnacki's study after dinner and he had regaled them with the tale of his most recent adventure.

  “Not until this morning's post,” Carnacki said. “I've had a letter from Miss Pengarth that allows me to close out this case rather neatly.”

  Dear Mr. Carnacki,

  I hope that this letter finds you well. Though I must admit that I am most anxious to put the events of my trip to The Elms behind me, I felt it was my duty to write to you regarding the information I have uncovered since we last spoke. Upon my return home I made it a point to speak with my grandmother and I have learned precisely what connection my locket had with the specter that haunted me.

  My grandmother told me that her mother had visited The Elms when it belonged to its original owners, long before Roderick Bowen took possession. In fact she had attended a Christmas party very much like the one we so recently shared. It was here that she met her husband to be, my great grandfather. Many times my mother had mentioned that my great grandparents had fallen in 'love at first sight'. It had become a family legend, though the part about the location of the house where they had met had never come up.

  Apparently my great grandfather had made an impetuous gift to my great grandmother, a golden locket. My grandmother revealed to me that it had quite likely originally been intended for another young woman who had been a guest at the party, a Miss Paula Dane. There was apparently no real understanding between Miss Dane and my great grandfather, though many expected that there would be.

  In any case, Miss Dane made quite a scene and left the party in a great fury, despite the fact that a snowstorm of some magnitude was raging outside. She was never seen again and her fate was unknown. This was the dark side of my great grandparent's romance and not something my grandmother had ever told my mother or me until now.

  The general opinion had been that Paula Dane had died in the snow or been abducted. A look at old newspapers showed me that there had been quite a scandal at the time. But, that was a long time ago and the incident had been mostly forgotten and had obviously never come to Mr. Bowen's attention.

  I think we know what happened, Mr. Carnacki. Whether by accident or on purpose, the unfortunate Miss Dane found her way to the lake in the woods where she drowned. There she must have rested uneasily through the decades until the proximity of my locket awoke her from her restless sleep. I am glad that you destroyed the locket, for I would not wish to wear a thing that had caused another soul such pain, no matter what it meant to my grandmother. I am glad that Miss Dane's spirit is now at peace.

  Please accept my thanks yet again, Mr. Carnacki. I would have been lost without you and Mr. Kharrn. Having no address for that stalwart gentleman, I hope that you will give him my regards should you see him again.

  Most sincerely,

  Susan Pengarth

  “So,” said Dodgson, “That's the end of that.”

  Carnacki said, “So it would seem. The spirit of Miss Dane was either satisfied or released by the destruction of the locket which had caused her such pain when she was alive.”

  “You said that Roderick Bowen and his wife were unharmed, but how did they explain all that happened to the authorities?”

  Carnacki smiled. “They didn't. They knew they would never be believed so Roderick had his staff bury the remains of the walking dead in a big pit in the woods. They straightened up the church yard as best they could, and any damage discovered later will doubtless be blamed on grave robbers.”

  Arkwright said, “But what of the mysterious Kharrn? You don't really believe he was what he hinted at?”

  “A 12,000 year old warrior from before recorded history?” Carnacki said. “I rule out nothing. He would explain no further and he departed the next day, accompanying Susan Pengarth back to London. Apparently he was on his way to America. I should certainly like to know more about him. Perhaps we'll meet again. Who knows? But now, the hour is late. Out you go!”

  The End

  Things Happen Here

  After Dark

  by Sheri White

  Sheri White lives in Maryland with her family. She has had a love of horror since she was two years old and watched The Wizard of Oz for the first time. She is a mom to three girls, ages 25, 19, and 16, and has instilled a love of all things scary in them as well.

  In addition to reading and writing horror, Sheri also proofreads, edits, and reviews for many horror sites both online and in print. She was recently made editor of the British horror magazine, Morpheus Tales.

  Friend her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sheriw1965.

  Jeff and Lisa were bored, looking for something interesting and fun to do. There wasn’t much going on in their small town, especially on a chilly Friday night in autumn. They weren’t supposed to be out, but they had skipped school all day and didn’t want to go home just yet. Jeff had thought about stealing one of the farmer’s tractors for a joyride, but then something better came to mind.

  “Hey, I know what we can do.”

  Lisa blew a few strands of blue-tinged hair out of her eyes. “What is it? It better be something good. This night’s been a crapfest so far.” She hated living out here in the country. She used to live in a town that had a lot more to do, then her parents divorced and her mom moved them to this stupid town she grew up in back in the 60s. In Lisa’s opinion, the town probably hadn’t changed since then. It didn’t even have a freaking Starbucks!

  Jeff smiled, a cigarette dangling from his lip. He took it from his mouth so he could talk. “Let’s go climb to the top of the Ferris wheel.” Lisa folded her arms and shook her head. “I’m serious. I know the carnival is closed for the night, but it’s not like there’s a fence around it to keep us out. And it’s only here for one more night.”

  “What if we’re caught? My mom will kill me if I get into trouble again. I’m not even supposed to be out with you after the last time we got caught skipping school.”

  “Who’s going to catch us? The place is pretty much deserted right now. Come on—I thought you wanted something cool to do.” Jeff wasn’t worried; he knew Lisa would go along with the idea. She always wanted to please him and hated it when he got mad at her. And it would be a great story to brag about to his friends at school on Monday, if he decided to go. His dad wouldn’t care as long as Jeff stayed out of his booze.

  “All right. What’s the worst that could happen?” Lisa shrugged. “I’ll just get grounded again, big deal.”

  “Great. Let’s go.” He gave Lisa a gentle pat on the butt and they ran toward the empty carnival grounds.

  * * *

  The moonlight cast an eerie glow over the dark carnival. The Ferris wheel loomed over the other rides, like the T-Rex skeleton in a dinosaur museum.

  “I don’t know about this,” Lisa said. “It looks really spooky. And how are we supposed to get to the top, anyway? It’s a lot higher than I remember.”

  “We’re gonna climb up the frame. I mean, the carnival workers do it when they put it together, so it can’t be that hard. Seriously—it’ll be fun. Come on. I heard you were good climbing the rope in gym class; this is no different.”

  Lisa looked up at the ride, which seemed so much higher than it did when she was here the other night. She pictured herself slipping and falling to her death. “Oh, screw this—I’m going home.” Lisa started to walk away, but Jeff pulled on her jacket.

  “C’mon, Lisa, don’t be lame. It’l
l be fun, I promise. And after we start climbing, if you still want to stop, we’ll go home.”

  Lisa sighed. She knew she’d do it; Jeff was a junior and she was only a freshman. They had known each other since Lisa had moved to town a few years ago. They lived on the same block, but only recently started going out. He was so cool and sure of himself, he could go out with any girl he wanted. She was always a little nervous that he’d break up with her, so she rarely said no to him. “Okay. Might as well.”

  They made their way through the carnival, passing the mini rollercoaster, a few kiddy rides, and the giant slide. Hints of cotton candy and popcorn wafted through the air. A few deflating balloons gently bounced along the ground. As they walked by a large blue tent with green stripes, they heard yells and raucous laughter.

  “Must be a tent for the carnival workers,” Jeff whispered.

  “Oh, great. What if they hear us? Will they have us arrested? I think we should just go home.” Lisa didn’t really care if her mother grounded her; she was usually able to sneak out anyway, but she knew she’d be in for a lot worse if the police brought her home again.

  “It’s fine, come on!” Jeff knew he sounded irritated, but he was tired of Lisa’s hesitation. Sometimes she was such a baby. He thought she was a lot cooler when he had to spend detention with her. Now she looked like he had hurt her feelings. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap, but I really want to do this, and I thought you did too.”

  “Okay, but I don’t want to stay too long. We can make out for a little bit when we get to the top, though.”

  Jeff smiled and put his arm around her. Maybe she was cool after all.

  “Hey, wait. Let’s listen to the workers for a minute. Maybe we’ll hear something interesting.”

  Surprised at Lisa’s sudden bravery, he knelt down with her to eavesdrop.

  “Get anything good tonight, Charlie?” a voice boomed from the tent, making Lisa jump.

  “Only about a hundred bucks; tonight was pretty slow. Not as many people as usual for some reason.”

  “Probably the cold weather. I don’t know why the boss insists on traveling in the fall.”

  “He must be a pickpocket or something,” Jeff whispered. “I’ve heard that a lot of carnival workers are thieves.”

  “Really? They were nice to me a few nights ago when I came here with my sister.” Lisa was young for her age and tended to see the good in most people, even though she tried to act tough.

  Jeff, amused, just shook his head.

  “Whatever,” Lisa said. “Let’s get to the Ferris wheel; I’m getting cold.”

  They quietly tiptoed past the tent, not wanting to attract the men’s attention. As they walked through the moonlit carnival, Lisa again grew nervous. She knew she could climb at least part way up the Ferris wheel; she sometimes went rock climbing with her dad when he was in town. That wasn’t what was scaring her. But unable to put a finger on her unease, she let Jeff lead her to the towering ride.

  * * *

  Lisa looked up at the Ferris wheel. “Oh yeah, it’s definitely a lot higher than I thought,” she said. “I’m pretty sure I won’t make it all the way up to the top.”

  Jeff wasn’t sure he would either, but he wasn’t about to admit it to Lisa. “Come on, we’ll be fine. Just don’t look down.” He grabbed one of the colorful metal bars that made up the ride’s frame and began to ascend.

  “Oh, God. I’m an idiot.” Lisa took a deep breath and followed Jeff up the ride.

  About halfway up Jeff admitted to himself he couldn’t make it to the top. His hands were getting sweaty, making him nervous about slipping. “How about we stop here and get in this car?” He gestured at the car closest to them. “I don’t want to make you climb anymore,” Jeff said to save face.

  Lisa sighed with relief. “Sounds good to me. It’s still an adventure, right?”

  “Right.” Jeff swung his legs into the car and then gingerly climbed in. He helped Lisa in once he was secure. The car rocked back and forth a bit but stopped once they were both seated.

  Although they weren’t all the way at the top, they could see the whole carnival in the bright light of the moon. The smell of hot dogs and pizza lingered in the air; here and there mice grabbed morsels of food that had been dropped on the ground.

  “It looks creepy, doesn’t it? So different when there aren’t any bright lights or music playing or people walking around,” Lisa said.

  Jeff looked around. “Yeah, it’s weird. But still kinda cool.” He took Lisa’s face in his hands. “You’re so beautiful in the moonlight,” he whispered. Then he laughed. “Romantic, huh?”

  She rolled her eyes. “No, ridiculous. Who are you supposed to be, Romeo?”

  “Who?”

  “Geez, no wonder you’re failing your Literature class. Come on, kiss me since we have to get out of here soon. I’d rather not miss my curfew again.”

  They were really into it when Lisa felt a tickling on her leg. She broke away from Jeff and saw a spider climbing up her thigh. With a squeal, she smacked it off, launching it into the air. “Let’s go, Jeff! It’s getting colder and there are bugs around. Why would a spider be way up here anyway?”

  “Yeah, all right.” He grabbed the metal bar to pull himself out of the car when there was a loud metal clang. They looked down to see a man hit the ride with a baseball bat, repeating the loud noise.

  “Hey, you kids! What the hell are you doing on my Ferris wheel? Git yer asses down here right now!”

  Before they could move, he threw a switch and the ride jerked and rocked, bringing the kids down slowly. By the time their car reached the bottom, Lisa was crying.

  “This ain’t no place for a couple of stupid kids right now. Don’t you know all kinds of things can happen after dark in a place like this? Now go home before you regret you didn’t.”

  Lisa sniffled and wiped her nose on her jacket. “Sorry, mister.”

  “Yeah, sorry,” Jeff mumbled. “Come on, Lisa. We don’t want to piss off any spooks that might be around.” He waved his arms in the air and made a scary face. Lisa smiled through her tears. Jeff was so cool.

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Just git yourselves home and everything will be fine.” The man glared at them and then walked back to the tent, shaking his head and muttering under his breath.

  Jeff watched him go. “Stupid old man. Trying to scare us.” Jeff had been startled when the man banged on the ride, but didn’t show it. Now he was more irritated than scared. “Let’s go look around a little bit. That jerk can’t tell us what to do.”

  “Are you crazy?” Lisa looked at Jeff in disbelief. “I’m going home before that guy calls the cops or something.”

  “He’s not gonna call the cops, especially if the workers have been stealing from people. He’s just trying to scare us into leaving. This place seems really cool at night—remember how it looked from the Ferris wheel? I want to explore a little. We’ll just stay away from that tent.”

  Lisa desperately wanted to leave, but she didn’t want Jeff to think she was a baby. She’d been wanting to go out with him for a long time, and she was finally with him. Her mom thought he was a bad influence, and maybe her mom was right, but nothing was going to stop her from hanging out with him, even though it could be scary or more than she could handle sometimes.

  “Okay,” she said. “But only for a little while. If I get home after curfew again, I’ll be worse than grounded.”

  Jeff pulled on Lisa’s arm. “Come on, I’ll get you a stuffed animal.”

  “But that’s stealing, Jeff! Let’s just go look at the other rides or something.” Lisa knew Jeff had gotten caught shoplifting once, and didn’t want him to get arrested for taking something as lame as a stuffed animal.

  “Shh! Just come on.”

  They walked quietly through the grounds. The carnival had a different feel when there were no people around; it was eerie, too silent. The animals on the carousel seemed alive, as if ready to break free. Even the kid
dy rides were different; the cheerful little bug cars that were charming when the carnival was lit up became menacing under the moonlight.

  “I really don’t like this place, Jeff. I feel like we’re being watched or something. What if that guy is following us?”

  “I know, it feels kind of creepy to me too. Let’s get out of here. But I don’t want to go back the way we came just in case that guy’s following us. He might actually call the cops if he sees we’re still here. I don’t need that hassle again. We’ll head out past the Tilt-a-Whirl.”

  They walked a few minutes, passing by the bumper cars and the funhouse, as well as the cotton candy stand. Jeff stopped and looked around uncertainly.

  “I could’ve sworn the Tilt-a-Whirl was around here. I rode it a few days ago with my little brother. I remember it was right next to the funhouse.”

  “It’s somewhere else then, but I don’t remember where. The carnival isn’t that big; it’s got to be nearby. We just took a wrong turn or something.”

  They headed back and turned past the haunted house. The fronts of the game booths were covered with tarps but loosely draped.

  “Oh, wait a minute,” he said, his uncertainty momentarily forgotten. “I wanted to grab a stuffed animal for you. There’s the dart game booth; they always have good prizes for that one.”

  “Oh, God. Can we just go, please?” Lisa had finally had enough and didn’t care if Jeff got mad at her. “I don’t care about a stupid stuffed animal.”

  Jeff ignored her, and moved the tarp aside. He spied a bunch of stuffed animals hanging on a wall in the dark booth and stretched his arm to grab a teddy bear. Suddenly he snatched his hand back.