Keep on Haunting

by Rose Pressey

  The bar was to the left, stretching the length of the building. There were Mirrors covered the wall behind it and bottles of liquor were displayed on the shelves. There was another area past the bar that had more tables and chairs. It was a little quieter on that side, where people could have more intimate conversations without the interruption of the loud music. Although the sound did spill over into that area. Some of the stone from the exterior was exposed on the inside walls.

  “Most hauntings in this space are located in the back.” I gestured and headed toward the rear of the room. “People have reported seeing shadows and the apparition of a man.”

  The group seemed to cling onto my every word. They watched me with wide eyes. Movement at the front of the bar caught my attention. I was immediately distracted by who I saw. I moved to the right a step so that I could get a better look at the man. I thought for sure it was the man who had been with the dead guy at the coffee shop. I had to get to him before he had a chance to get away.

  “Sorry, everyone, I’ll be right back.” I dashed away from the group.

  I knew that was unprofessional, but this was important. The man was headed for the door and I worried that he would slip away again just as he had earlier in the evening. As I ran for the door I glanced over at the bar. Tammy held her hands up, questioning what I was doing. She should be used to me doing strange things by now.

  The man stepped out of the tavern. A couple people walked in front of me. After a few angry looks from the couple, I hurried around them. By the time I reached the door and stepped outside, the man was gone again, as if he’d vanished into the night. I looked to the left and the right, but he was nowhere in sight. He moved fast.

  I pulled out my phone and sent Brannon a text. There was little he could do about it now though. We didn’t know for sure if we even needed to speak with the man. Though it was a bit odd that he would disappear right before the other man had been discovered dead. When I stepped back into the tavern my tour group was still at the back of the room, looking confused. Tammy had moved from around the bar and started talking with them. I supposed they all thought that I had abandoned them.

  Reaching the back of the room, I said, “Sorry about that. I saw someone I was looking for and wanted to catch up with him.”

  By the quirked eyebrow and frown on Tammy’s face I knew she wondered what the heck was going on with me.

  “I’ll fill you in later,” I whispered.

  She studied my face. “Okay… is everything all right?”

  I nodded. “If everyone is ready, we’ll get back to the tour. I’m sorry for the delay.”

  “That’s okay,” one of the men said.

  Everyone smiled, but I wasn’t sure they were impressed with the fact that I’d left them. The woman in black had been looking at pictures on the wall. She didn’t act as if she cared one way or the other. We headed out of the tavern and around to the other stops on the tour.

  First we came to the antique shop. This was one of the more haunted places in town and I had high hopes that something would happen there tonight. I liked to have my tour-goers experience something on the tour or else they might think that it wasn’t fun. But the paranormal never happened on cue and I had no way of knowing if it would take place tonight.

  In my opinion the reason for the antique shop being haunted was probably from all the old items that were in there. Ghosts liked hanging around with their former belongings. Mr. Byrd, the owner of the antique shop allowed me to bring the tour inside. Sometimes he was open and other times he closed, but left the key for me. Tonight was one of those times when he had already closed. I reached in my pocket and pulled out the key that he had given me. I shoved it into the lock and opened the door.

  When I opened the door the bell overhead jingled. I motioned for everyone to enter. They looked at me as if maybe this wasn’t a good idea, so I decided to go first. Once I was inside they followed. The place was completely quiet and antiques filled every nook and cranny. I started telling them about the shadows and footsteps always heard throughout the shop.

  “Do you know who’s haunting the place?” one of the men asked.

  “We’ve never been able to know for sure, but I suspect it’s because of all of these antiques around us,” I said with a wave of my hand.

  As I guided them toward the back of the shop one of the women said, “Did you hear that?”

  “I thought I heard something,” the man said.

  “What did it sound like?” I asked.

  “Maybe it was footsteps,” the woman said.

  “That’s a possibility,” I said. “Though I didn’t hear anything.”

  With nothing else taking place in the antique shop I finished up there. I locked the door and then we headed toward the old restaurant on Main Street. It was one of the first places that had allowed me to bring people in for a tour. A lot of people had thought it was strange when I’d first started the tour, but with all of the ghost stories around town it kind of made sense to them why I would do it.

  We walked the short distance to the restaurant. Once stepping inside I soon realized the restaurant was quite crowded. I tried to make sure that we didn’t interrupt the people dining. As I guided the tour toward the staircase the people eating watched us. Some of them probably knew what I was doing, but the others might be curious why I had a group of people following me. I filled them in on a little bit of what had happened at the restaurant. Plus, the history of the building.

  “Like other places in town, this one has been here since the early 1800s.” I’d just reached the back of the room and was ready to lead them up the staircase to the small area that was definitely haunted when a diner yelled and we stopped in our tracks. I looked around to see what the commotion was all about. A woman sitting close to us said that she thought she saw something. Her husband looked confused, as if he hadn’t seen anything unusual.

  “What did you see?” he asked.

  “It looked like a dark shadow and it moved across the room.” She gestured.

  The tour-goers’ eyes widened. It looked as if the activity had already started and we’d barely gotten into the restaurant.

  “Are you all right?” I asked the woman.

  She shook her head. “It was just a little startling, that’s all.”

  “I’m sure it was just a shadow from outside. A reflection on the window,” her husband said.

  He would be bad for business.

  I moved the group up the narrow staircase to the small area where a lot of the ghost activity often happened in the restaurant. Recounting some of the activities, we stayed up there for a bit, and then headed back down the rickety old staircase. The woman and her husband had already left when we got down there. Obviously she was ready to get out of there.

  “Next we’ll go to the bookstore,” I said as I gathered everyone out onto the sidewalk.

  “Is it closed?” one of the tour-goers asked.

  “No, they’re staying open late tonight so we’ll be able to get in with no problem. Though it shouldn’t be crowded.” I guided the group the short distance over to the shop.

  Once we arrived I opened the door and they stepped inside since it was all lit up. It didn’t seem as spooky so apparently they were less hesitant.

  “What happens in here?” one of the women asked.

  “Quite a bit actually…,” I said.

  The bookstore wasn’t that big, but it was jam-packed with shelves full of books. Of course it was one of my favorite places on the tour. I just liked looking at all the books on the shelves. And I always loved a reason to step inside of a bookstore. I told the tour-goers a bit about the bookstore haunting, although it didn’t seem that spooky with all the lights on in the room.

  When I glanced to the left I noticed the woman who had been so standoffish hadn’t come in with us. She was waiting outside on the sidewalk. I wondered why that was. She looked as if she was possibly searching for someone. Or maybe she was going to make a phone call an
d didn’t want to disturb us. The woman glanced over her shoulder and peered through the window, but I didn’t think she could see inside. She probably had no idea that I was watching her.

  It was getting late and I couldn’t wait for her, so I guided the group to the back of the room. We walked up and down the aisles and I recounted some of the paranormal events. Just as I was telling them about the unexplained footsteps the lights flickered and we stopped for a moment.

  “That was weird,” one of the women said.

  “Maybe it’s just something wrong with the light fixture,” one guy said.

  I’d seen this activity before, but if they didn’t want to believe it was something paranormal then I wouldn’t push. We took just a couple more steps and all of a sudden books flew from the shelf. They landed on the floor right in front of us.

  “Wow, now that had to be paranormal,” the woman said from over my shoulder.

  “As long as the books don’t hit us we will be just fine,” I said as I picked the books up and placed them back on the shelf.

  “What were the names of the books?” the woman asked. “Maybe it wanted us to read them.”

  “I didn’t pay attention,” I said as we walked toward the door. “I’m sure they were just random books.”

  The other woman was still on the sidewalk when we stepped outside, although she wasn’t on the phone. Maybe she had just hung up. We had time for just one more stop. I wasn’t quite sure where I should take everyone. We were kind of close to my house, but I hadn’t decided if I should make that a regular tour stop. I definitely didn’t want to take people inside. That would be just too strange.

  So instead of my house I decided to go by one of the businesses in town that had recently been vacated. It had been a clothing boutique, but had shut down not too long ago. The owner had said she just didn’t want to run it anymore. I wondered if it was because the building was haunted. So far no one else had moved into the building. I wouldn’t have a key so I wouldn’t be able to take everyone inside. However, we could talk about the place from the sidewalk.

  When we reached the building one of the women said, “The place is empty. Are we going inside?”

  “Actually, no. We won’t go inside this place, but I just thought it would be good to tell you about some of the things that happened here.”

  The group didn’t say anything, but I sensed they were a little bit disappointed that we wouldn’t be going inside the building. Maybe I shouldn’t have brought them here at all. We had gone to the other places too quickly. It seemed as if I didn’t have enough to talk about tonight. I would have to remember to go slower. Usually I did, but I guessed I had been a bit out of sorts this evening. So now I stood in front of the building telling them about the things that had taken place inside. They were standing in front of me, watching and listening to what I had to say. Thank goodness they didn’t seem bored.

  “Oh, I just saw something.” One of the women pointed at the window behind me.

  I spun around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. All I saw was the shadows from the lights on the street and the reflection of a car’s headlight.

  “What did it look like?” I asked.

  “I thought I saw one of those shadow people you were talking about,” she said.

  The guy next to her shook his head. “I think it was just her reflection.”

  I moved my arm in front of the window. “Like that?”

  She sighed. “Yeah, I suppose that was it. I guess my imagination is getting the best of me tonight with all the paranormal talk.”

  I laughed. “Well, it’s easy to let that happen.”

  “Oh, well. We had enough experiences at the bookstore and the antique shop,” she said.

  “It has been an active evening. I hope that you enjoyed it,” I said.

  I hoped they enjoyed being scared? It sounded strange when I put it that way, but I guessed they knew what I meant.

  Had the tour been long enough? As I said before I’d contemplated adding my house to the excursion, but I was still undecided. I’d recently moved into a home that used to be a funeral parlor. My mother often asked me how I’d turned out so weird. Of course to me my behavior wasn’t odd in the least. It was just a house now, so no big deal. I understood what my mother meant though. Leading people around haunted locations and living in a spooky house… that was a bit weird.

  The group had paid attention to my stories, but they weren’t overly talkative. That was fine with me since I was still upset over what had happened at the coffee shop. Now that our paranormal sightseeing was over I guided the tour-goers back to the graveyard, which was where we would end the tour.

  “Thank you for coming tonight,” I said when we reached the gate.

  The staring faces looked back at me. There was one person missing though. The woman in black who had come on the tour alone was gone.

  As I gathered the flashlights, I asked, “Have you seen the other woman who was on the tour with us?”

  “I think she stopped at the tavern,” one of the women said.

  “Oh, I didn’t see her after we left the bookstore,” the man said.

  Apparently the woman had found my tour boring. Plus, she’d kept the flashlight. Oh, well, I supposed I couldn’t please everyone.

  “We had a great time though,” the other woman said.

  I guessed they sensed that I wasn’t pleased that the other woman had left the tour early.

  “Thank you,” I said. “Please come again and tell your friends.”

  The group thanked me again and then walked away. I looked around the graveyard, fully expecting to see Mrs. Clatterbuck. She didn’t disappoint.

  The owl hooted from high in the tree, announcing the ghost’s arrival. She was on the other side of the gate, standing beside one of the headstones. It wasn’t hers. At least she was on the other side and not right next to me. She always scared me when she just popped up behind me. The scowl on her face let me know she wasn’t happy. I forced a smile, even though I wouldn’t receive one in return. Would she ever like me?

  “Good evening, Mrs. Clatterbuck.” I waved.

  She glared at me, not speaking. That was unusual for her. She always had something to say. Her big brown pocketbook was draped on her arm and she wore the same brown skirt suit. I stared for a moment, wondering if she would speak.

  After a couple seconds, I said, “Okay. I’ll be going now. See you later.”

  When I received no response I secured the gate to the graveyard and took a few steps. It felt as if she was still watching me. I told myself that I wouldn’t look back, but I couldn’t control it. Just a peek. She was still staring at me. The owl hooted again. He was probably telling me to run. I couldn’t deal with Mrs. Clatterbuck tonight. After taking a few more steps someone whispered in my ear. I jumped and looked around to see who was next to me. No one was there. No Mrs. Clatterbuck or any other ghost that I could see.

  Someone had definitely said something in my ear. I was almost sure they called my name. Obviously they were trying to get my attention. The owl hooted, confirming that he had heard it too. I checked around again. Maybe someone was hiding from me--a real person and not a ghost. Still I was all alone. It definitely sent a chill down my spine.

  I rushed my steps and headed toward the alleyway. It was definitely time for me to get out of there. I wasn’t going to hang around for something to happen again. And I hoped whoever spoke to me didn’t follow me. As I headed down the sidewalk to go home, I spotted a piece paper on the ground, as if it had fallen from a tour-goer’s pocket.

  When I reached down to pick up the paper I saw what was written on it. I didn’t know quite what to think. Part of me wanted to panic and the other part thought it was just a coincidence. It couldn’t be a coincidence, right? It was my address written on the paper. My home address. Well, it didn’t have the number, but it was my street. That was all that was written on there. Why would there be on a piece of paper with my address in a location where I sp
ent a lot of time? I knew for sure that it wasn’t my paper. I’d never written the street name down like that. If I wrote my address I always included the number.

  I put the piece of paper in my bag so I could show Brannon. Did this come from one of the tour-goers? It had been a bit since they had left and I figured the wind would have carried the paper away by now if it had been dropped. Maybe it had blown to this spot. I would’ve seen it if someone had dropped it while on the tour. That made me worried that maybe someone was looking for me, like perhaps the mystery man. Denny was his name? As if I wasn’t already worried enough. I didn’t want to show this to Brannon, but I knew that I should. He would only worry more too.

  I also wondered how the person found out where I lived. It wasn’t as if I announced it during the tour. And if people were telling them, then they needed to keep quiet. I’d be on the lookout for a stranger showing up on my front porch.

  I hurried away from the graveyard and toward the tavern. I couldn’t wait to tell Tammy about everything that had happened. Plus, Brannon was supposed to meet me at the tavern so we could go to dinner. The strongest drink I ever had while visiting the tavern was water, but if ever there was a time to ask for Bourbon it would be now.

  When someone tapped me on the shoulder, I screamed and spun around. Tammy clutched her chest and screamed as well. She was standing right behind me.

  “What are you doing back there?” I asked, trying to catch my breath.

  “Taking the trash out at the back of the tavern. I was calling out to you, but you didn’t hear me. I guess you were in a zone,” she said.

  “I suppose I was.” I blew the hair out of my eyes.

  “Is there something on your mind? Did you see something strange?” she asked with a frown.

  “No, but I found something that was a bit strange.” I pulled out the paper and showed it to her.

  “Where did you find this?” Tammy asked.

  “It was at the end of the alleyway,” I said.

  “It could just be a coincidence.” She handed the paper back