by Raven Black
The house had been professionally decorated by one of the previous owners. But it just wasn’t her style, so Stacy was thumbing through design magazines for inspiration. Stacy was lost in the world of before and after pictures when she heard a knock at the door.
Peeking out the peep hole in the door, she saw a woman with dark hair who looked to be about her age maybe a little older, holding a plate of cookies. ‘How sweet,’ she thought. ‘A neighbor coming to welcome me to the neighborhood.’
“Hi ya’ll! My name’s Jeanette, I live in the house just up the road from you,” she said. “I just wanted to stop by and welcome you to the neighborhood. May I come in?” she continued. Stepping back from the door, Stacy gave way to the visitor.
“My, this place hasn’t changed a bit since they rebuilt it,” the neighbor drawled.
“Rebuilt it?” Stacy asked.
“Oh, my sweet child,” the neighbor said. “Don’t tell me you don’t know the history of this house. You best take a seat, this will take a while.”
1998
Tim & Jeanette
They turned down the street and saw the house of their dreams. A tri-level built into a hill with a walk-out basement. Sitting back on a wooded lot, it was truly the picture of serenity that the street’s name promised.
They slowed and wrote down the phone number of the realtor. Talking excitedly, they continued to the end of the street. The sight there took their breaths away and turned their excitement into fear.
The house on the end of the street had obviously been lost to fire. The frame, or what was left of it, was charred; the second floor had collapsed into the first. The garage was a pile of rubble around the remains of a car.
There must have been an accelerant used because the house was so completely destroyed.
“Did you see that?” Jeanette asked.
“What?” Tim asked in return.
“It looks like a sign,” she replied. “Interesting. Let’s check it out.” Putting the car in park the couple climbed out of the car and approached the house.
There was a sign hanging from the post near what must have been the front door frame. It read:
Please be respectful in this place. My husband lost his life in this fire. The tragedy that our family has suffered is more than which can be expressed in words. Only God can save us now.
With a chill running down her spine, Jeanette turned to Tim and said, “I don’t like this honey, not one bit.”
“Don’t be silly,” he responded “This ain’t the house we’re buying. Besides, you don’t believe in ghosts and such, do you?” Jeanette didn’t believe in ghosts, well not on that day anyway.
1998
Paul
When Paul’s sister told him she was buying a house, he was excited. Her and her new husband had been looking for months. He couldn’t wait to visit and found it odd that his sister didn’t seem as excited to have him visit. He sensed that something was wrong. “What wrong with the house?” he pressed.
“Nothing,” she replied. ‘You’ll see when you get here,’ she thought.
Later that week when Paul arrived, he knew at once what was bothering his sister. He was drawn to the house next door. He drove his car slowly past the house. As he did a chill ran up his spine and he felt a sudden sense of dread. Turning his car around, he headed back up the street. Then he heard and felt a sudden pop as the front right tire blew. Startled, he continued to creep slowly up the street when suddenly another pop rang out. This time it was the left rear tire. No longer concerned with the car, Paul abandoned it and ran for his sister’s house.
There was something wrong with that house and Paul knew it. “Jeanette, what were you thinking buying this house next to that one?” he asked.
Jeanette sighed, “We got a great deal on this one. Besides, someone will rebuild it. I’m certain.”
‘But will it be soon enough?’ Paul wondered.
1999
Tim & Jeanette
The house next door had finally been purchased and the rebuild had begun. Tim and Jeanette watched happily as they started to remove the rubble. “I told you that they would fix up that house, didn’t I?” Tim said. He was right after all and it didn’t take as long as Jeanette had worried.
“I’ll sleep well tonight knowing that eyesore will soon be gone,” she said with a smile.
Later that night when the couple was settling down to bed, Tim froze. “Did you hear that?” Tim asked.
“Hear what?” Jeanette asked.
“Oh, nothing,” he said. But Tim was certain he heard something in the bathroom. Deciding to ignore it, they settled down to sleep.
“Ahhhhhhhhh!” Jeanette screamed out from a deep sleep. Startled, Tim jumped from bed and raised his arm, fists clenched and ready to fight off whatever it was that caused his wife’s blood curdling scream. “Did you see him?” Jeannette asked in a panicked voice. “Did you see that man that was leaning over the bed?”
“No, there wasn’t anyone in the room!” Tim replied.
“But there was! And he leaned over the bed and was staring down at me,” Jeannette insisted with a quiver in her voice. Knowing they wouldn’t go back to sleep, the couple went downstairs and brewed some tea.
Jeannette was certain that someone was in the room. ‘Has the construction next door awaked the spirit of the original owner?’ Jeanette wondered.
2000
Tracy & Phil
After her divorce, Tracy moved into the cutest house she had ever seen. A tri-level on a glorious two- acre lot; on a street named Serenity. What could be more perfect then that? She had read in the papers that the original home had burned in a fire. But this house wasn’t a rebuild of that house; not really. That house was completely leveled and only the concrete driveway remained. Any misfortune or bad luck was surely removed with the rubble. Well Tracy never believed in spirits, or bad karma for that matter. She attended church on a regular basis and knew that souls left this earth upon death and went to either heaven or, God forbid, hell. She would hold this belief until she met and married Phil.
Phil moved in just after the wedding, and that’s when the mood started to shift. A successful mortician for over 20 years, Phil had worked for the same company for most of career. But he was taken by surprise when he arrived at work one day and was told that his services we no longer needed, and he was to leave the premises. In shock, Phil returned home only to learn that Tracy was fired from her job as well. Neither of them was provided with a clear explanation as to why this had happened.
In shock, they reviewed their finances and decided that they could manage about 6 months on savings. After that, they would most likely have to sell the house. Tracy cried herself to sleep that night. She loved the house and had spent a lot of time with a decorator getting it just the way she wanted it. While deep in sleep, Tracy was awaked by eerie sounds. What she thought was crying turned into wicked laughter. It seemed to be coming from all corners of the house.
The next day they put the house on the market.
2001
Linda & Tony
Linda and Tony had a good life in Chicago, but they were not against change by any means. So when Tony’s company offered him a promotion to open their new location, he was up for the move. Arriving in a new city and state, Linda and Tony were eager to start house hunting. Linda had, in fact, started the search on-line. There was one house that had caught her eye. It was on the multi-list and had been for almost a year. It was beautiful and she really couldn’t see anything wrong with it. After contacting the listing agent, they made an appointment to see the house. Driving down the street they were happy to see a few couples close to their age.
The couple next door even waved as they drove by. “My! Everyone seems friendly around here.” Linda commented.
“Yes,” the agent replied. “This sure is a great little neighborhood.” As they turned into the driveway, Linda and Tony instantly knew that this was the house for them. After moving in, Linda started to m
eet the neighbors. All were very nice at first, but they also seemed reluctant to talk about the previous owners. Linda would hear such comments as, “Nice people, bless their hearts. Just a shame what happened to them.” And other comments such as, “You just never really know people.” Determined not to let these comments bring her down, Linda set about making this new house her home.
One day after cleaning and organizing her kitchen, Linda decided to go for a walk in the woods alongside her house. Starting on a walk down the trail, Linda listened to the wind in the trees and the birds singing. She heard something move through the leaves nearby. Turning she saw a beautiful cat with shiny gray fur and the most beautiful blue eyes. Knowing a little about cats, she recognized it as a Russian Blue. A purebred cat like this would belong to someone nearby, and surely shouldn’t be wandering the woods. Bending, she reached for the cat and tried to pick it up. But the cat scurried just out of reach, then stopped and looked back as if waiting for her to follow. Sensing no wrong, Linda followed. The cat led her just down the path to the edge of a creek. There, the cat started to scratch at something. Bending over to get a closer look, it appeared that there was sign buried in the dirt. Linda brushed away the dirt and read the sign.
Please be respectful in this place. My husband lost his life in this fire. The tragedy that our family has suffered is more than which can be expressed in words. Only God can save us now.
Feeling a little unnerved, Linda returned to the house to find her husband’s car in the driveway. He was home early. That was odd.
Tony had been having pain in his throat when he ate. He had bad bouts of acid reflux before; but this was something new. Thinking that maybe he needed a new antacid medication to combat this new symptom, he had gone to the doctor earlier that day. But he was in no way prepared for what he was told. “I have cancer,” he said to Linda. “Esophageal cancer,” he explained. Linda sank into the couch, her eerie story of the sign suddenly forgotten.
2002
Jeanette
The house next door sat empty again. Tony’s bout with cancer involved radical surgery and huge medical bills. Linda was so upset that they had to leave; but the house was going into foreclosure and their only hope was to move back home and stay with family. Though the surgery improved Tony’s odds of survival, he wasn’t completely out of the woods yet. Linda would have to find work in order for them to rebuild their lives. Before they left, Linda had stopped to say good bye. Jeanette, feeling over run with guilt for not mentioning it before, told Linda the story of the original house and the sign. Linda had turn sheet white as Jeanette shared the story. “What is it?” Jeanette asked.
Linda responded in a shaky voice, “The day we found out about Tony’s cancer, I had been walking in the woods and a beautiful Russian Blue cat lead me to a sign covered in dirt.”
“A sign?” Jeanette asked.
“Yes,” Linda replied. “The same sign you just described.”
Jeanette gasped and covered her mouth in shock. “My God” she cried out. “They had a Russian Blue cat that also died in the fire.”
2004
Stacy
Stacy sat quietly and listened to the neighbor’s story of tragedy that had befallen those who owned the house before her. She wasn’t really sure how to react. She had her own beliefs and she was sure that nothing bad would happen to her or her loved ones. She was the third new owner after all. Don’t they say the third time’s a charm? Or is it three strikes and you’re out? Maybe she should bless the house...or maybe not.
Author’s note
Before starting to write this story I thought I would take a virtual walk past this house on Google Earth. Not sure what I’d find, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the house was still standing and was relatively unchanged. With one exception: attached to the front of the house, next to the front door and over what was the master bedroom of the original house, was an enormous wooden cross.
Author Bios:
Matthew C. Dampier is a short story author and songwriter who resides in Kansas City, Missouri. When he isn’t entertaining his wife and young child, he occupies himself with the absurd and macabre.
Holly Day’s published books include Music Theory for Dummies (translated into Dutch, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and German), Music Composition for Dummies, and Guitar-All-in-One for Dummies. She is a housewife and mother of two who teaches needlepoint classes for the Minneapolis school district and writing classes at The Loft Literary Center.
Karen DeCapp lives with her husband, Mike, and a ‘tummy-rub’ demanding mutt, Katie, in Coal Valley, IL, where morning runs produce high endorphins and dark stories. Having penned mystery and paranormal manuscripts, this is her first foray into short stories.
Jennifer Iacovoni Writer and mother of two Jennifer enjoys writing creepy tales that keep you up at night.
Norma Jean Lipert was born in Newark, New Jersey, but grew up all over the United States. She and her husband currently live in Texas. In addition to being a writer, she is also a professional clown, artist, and actress. She enjoys traveling and has visited many places both in and out of the United States. She has published three books and is currently working on several short stories and film scripts.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
The Fountain
The Posioner by Holly Day
The Barrel by Holly Day
Doom Dog by Matthew C. Dampier
Mail Order Mud ” by Karen DeCapp
Kates Baloons by Norma Jean Lipert
Musicians & Maniacs by Karen DeCapp
Serenity Lane by Jennifer Iacovoni
