The Ghosts of RedRise House

by Caroline Clark

  “That soon... w... w... well yes why not.”

  “That’s settled then.” Shelly offered the plate over with the two remaining slices of toast and strawberry jam.

  Jack shook his head. “I don’t know where you put it. You’re built like a stick insect, and yet you could eat for England.”

  “Oh! Thanks.”

  “No, I didn’t mean that... you know you’re beautiful.”

  Shelly felt heat hit her cheeks and she dropped her head allowing her ponytail to flick forward and hide a little of her blushes. How she wanted him to mean that. To really think that she was attractive, but they had been friends so long that she never believed he would see her as anything else... and yet... maybe this weekend could be romantic. How could she make it so?”

  “Well, now I’ve stopped blushing we need to work out who pays what.” Shelly waved her hand to indicate the plates on her side and the one on his.

  “We split it down the middle just like always.”

  “But I got so much more than you. A full breakfast and three extra rounds of toast. You just had one toast and a black tea.”

  Jack laughed, it was a deep throaty sound, much more mature than anything she had heard from him before. Maybe they were both growing up. Though university was so perplexing that she felt like a kid at her first school once more. “I think you are just chivalrous. Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure. Now, what do we need to plan for this trip?”

  Shelly pushed her plate aside and clapped her hands. We will need to be prepared. I don’t have any cold spot meters or EMF meters, but we can use cameras and our phones. We will need that book from the library.”

  “Book!”

  “Oh yes, it lists a dozen or so exorcism’s and different ways to communicate with the dead. I know we probably won’t encounter anything, but just in case we need to be prepared.”

  “That sounds like a plan then. What about food and lodgings?”

  Shelly smiled and felt a warmth rise up her chest. “I thought we could take sleeping bags. We can sleep on the floor or in any rooms that have furniture. Rosie said there was one bed.” Heat raged across her cheeks.

  Jack coughed. “You will have the bedroom of course.”

  “That is very gallant of you, but I think we should stick together. If these children are there and the adult spirits then we must be careful. They shouldn’t be dangerous, not without Matron but who knows. We must take every precaution...”

  “Yes, yes of course. I will stay by your side. I will guard you from any evil spirits.”

  “You are such a good friend.” Why had she said that? “Having said all of this I think we should enjoy the time there. We can take some nice food and a bottle or two of wine.”

  “A beautiful house and a weekend away with a beautiful woman. That could be very romantic,” Jack said.

  “Yes, I’m sure it could.” The look in his eyes filled her with joy. Maybe he was finally taking the hint and would realize that she wanted more. So why did she suddenly feel cold inside? Why did the hair raise on her arms? This was just an adventure. It wouldn’t be dangerous.

  52

  Jack steered the Clio carefully down the twisting country lanes and into a small village.

  “There’s a Chinese Takeaway,” he called. “Get the number for later.”

  Shelly turned in her seat and tapped the number into her phone. Looking back over all their belongings, she wondered if they had brought everything they would need. For just a moment she was worried. Were they up to this? What if there was still a malevolent spirit at the house? What would they do?

  “Are you worried?” Jack asked.

  “Not at all. I was just trying to think whether we’d forgotten anything.”

  “I think we’re gonna need a bigger car.” He put on a Sheriff Broady accent.

  “It’s a boat.” Shelly laughed. He was right though. The Clio was packed to bursting with everything they would need. There was nothing she couldn’t handle, nothing they couldn’t handle. After all, she had seen a spirit before. Had spoken to it, had learned secrets from beyond the veil, and she would cope with this. A few desperate children needed her help. They would soon find out all about the children’s lives. They would talk to them and learn from them, ask them to send a message. Then they would help them cross over. After that, she hoped that they would finally talk to each other about their personal lives.

  This was her dream… a job. A getaway. A holiday with excitement, spirits, and hopefully romance. Who could ask for more?

  The car left the village and zig-zagged across the moors for another twenty minutes. The poor headlights lit up little except the narrow, worn, and crumbling road as they traveled further from the village. Then in front of them a gateway loomed out of the darkness.

  Two stone pillars were overgrown with brambles and ivy. They looked a little forlorn, and Shelly felt a moment of foreboding as they drove between them and onto the property.

  The Duncans had told her to follow the drive for a mile and a half. It was like being in a country park. Rolling grassland was dotted with trees, but there were no animals or signs of life. Part of her wondered if something was lying in wait, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting traveler. Another part of her knew that nothing would live in such a cold and desolate place. It was an empty, forsaken location, and the further she traveled from the road, the lonelier she felt. She knew that was ridiculous because Jack was right next to her, but even he was unusually quiet.

  “It’s a long way from the village,” she said. “Do you think they will deliver?”

  “Deliver?”

  “The takeaway.”

  Jack shook his head and she thought he meant no, but he was staring ahead as they turned a bend. In front of them stood an impressive looking house.

  Stretching up three stories it seemed to reach for the heavens. On either side of the dark and imposing looking door were four windows on each floor. Moonlight reflected on the glass, turning the windows into mirrors that reflected the car back to them 32 times. It gave her the unsettling feeling that 32 hungry eyes all had them in their sights.

  For a moment the house appeared rundown and overgrown, but it was as if a cloud passed over the moon and the place was back. Though old and worn, it was a beautiful and yet disturbing property that made her teeth feel as if they were vibrating like a tuning fork. The front door opened a crack and a couple appeared at the entrance. One seemed larger than the other, but at this distance, it was impossible to tell more. They stood on either side of the door as if on guard. For a moment she imagined that they were surrounded by malnourished children dressed in ragged clothes. Maybe she had spent too much time reading Rosie’s notes as it seemed her mind was playing tricks on her.

  “Where should I park?” Jack asked as the car trundled across the gravel toward them.

  “I guess close to the door so we can unpack.” Shelly wasn’t sure. Right then she didn’t want to be out in the open. It was just a feeling, as though something was watching them, waiting for the right moment. But the right moment for what?

  Jack stopped the car as close as he could get. There was an overgrown garden between them and the front door, but it would do. He turned off the engine. The quiet was deafening.

  “This is some place,” he said. “Very remote. Are you sure about this?”

  Shelly felt what he was feeling, she was sure of it. There was a pit in her stomach that was ice cold. The hairs on her arms were standing at attention, and there was a catch in her breath, pressure on her chest. Everything made her feel as if they should turn and go. But, she couldn’t. She wouldn’t. Not after all the time she had spent trying to find another spirit. Trying to prove that what she had seen was real and not just a figment of her imagination or a mirage brought on by grief and hope. She had to stay. Had to find out the truth and maybe, just maybe, one of these spirits could send a message for her. It was a slim hope, but it was all she had.

  “I’m sure,�
� she said as she opened the car door and grabbed her padded jacket. “Let’s go meet the Duncans.”

  There was a narrow, overgrown path leading up to the door of the house. As they left the car and stepped cautiously along it, cold seeped through their clothes and into their bones. It came with a heaviness that pressed down on her shoulders and made her want to turn and run. What was wrong with her? All this time she had hoped for a moment like this and now here she was, jumping at every shadow.

  She was just tired. Excited and tired, but tired just the same. Maybe after a good night’s sleep she would feel better.

  Jack followed her along the path toward the door of the house.

  At the door, the Duncans stood as still as statues. Their faces were hidden in shadow and it was hard to discern anything about them. The closer they got to the house the darker it became. It was as if the shadow of the place sucked away the moonlight, and that was when she noticed that there were no lights on inside the house. How strange was that?

  She turned to tell Jack but he stumbled into her.

  “Hurry up, it’s cold out here,” he said, and pushed her a little.

  Shelly turned and rushed forward, shaking her leg as it snagged on a bramble.

  The next few paces brought her face to face with the two elderly Duncans. As she had surmised, they were a man and a woman. Their skin was wrinkled and almost as white as their hair. It was impossible to tell how old they were but they looked ancient. They both wore black clothes consisting of long plain tops and matching trousers.

  She smiled up at them. “Hi, I’m Shelly and this is Jack.” She held out a hand but it waved in front of them, ignored. Slowly she let it fall. “Are you the Duncans?”

  Eyes looming so dark that they were like pits of despair was the only answer she got. Silence fell between them and created a chasm.

  Jack arrived at her side and coughed. He tried once again. “I’m Jack and this is Shelly. Is this RedRise House?”

  “Yes.” It was the man who answered but Shelly could have sworn his mouth never moved.

  “We are expected. I emailed you,” Shelly said.

  “Yes, of course. The house has been waiting for you. Come on inside and we will show you around.” The woman spoke and gave them a smile, but it never reached the pits of despair that were her eyes.

  With a waft of her hand, she beckoned them into the house. The man turned and closed the door behind them. For a moment it was pitch black, and Shelly felt the cold hand of fear squeeze her heart so tightly that she thought it might burst.

  Then a candle flared and shone upward, casting the old woman’s face across the wall. Her mouth was distorted into a laugh, then a scream. Then she lit a lantern and the shadows disappeared.

  Shelly shuffled on the spot… wondering what she should do… wondering if they should turn and run. As she had the thought she turned to the door. The man was standing there directly in front of it, blocking their escape with his dead black eyes and expressionless mouth.

  “That’s better,” the woman said. “We keep having power cuts so you will need to use the gas lamps. Let me show you around.”

  Holding the lamp up, she showed them a large entrance hall. The floor was hardwood blocks polished to perfection.

  The light flickered and chased crazy shadows across the walls. So much of the room was hidden that Shelly was sure that something was watching them. Sure that it lurked in the shadows, darting away as the lamp moved around the room. Just as the lamp lit up the staircase the lights blinked and then came on. Shelly looked up to see a huge chandelier shining down at them and the room was suddenly beautiful.

  With the light on, she raised her eyebrows at Jack, and he returned the gesture. They understood. Both had been a little panicked about what they would find but this... this was wonderful. Once more she was filled with confidence. There was nothing they couldn’t handle.

  “Ahh, that’s better,” the woman said, as she took off the glass from the lamp and extinguished the wick with her fingers. The smell of burning flesh wafted through the air and Shelly let out a gasp.

  The woman pointed around the room. “This is RedRise House. It has been our home for many years… more than I can remember. Now it is empty, and some believe haunted.”

  “It is beautiful,” Shelly said. “Isn’t it, Jack?”

  Jack nodded and clung onto the bag he was holding.

  The hallways spread out before them as large as a ballroom. Across from them was a magnificent central staircase. It was carpeted in rich, deep burgundy and sentineled by two feet of dark wood, mahogany, she thought. The walls were a rich cream and large portraits hung all around. There were several of the man and woman, all looking very severe and austere. None of the portraits bore a smile. In some of the paintings there were lots and lots of children.

  Were these the souls that were trapped here?

  The woman walked toward the stairs. There was a heavy red rope on two brass plinths strung across the stairwell. It reminded Shelly of what they used at the nightclub to stop people from going in.

  “Upstairs is off limits. The house is dangerous now, and you must not go up there.”

  Shelly jumped inside at the woman’s voice, but she nodded.

  Either side of the stairs was a passageway. Three doors led off to the left and two to the right.

  “There is a bedroom, bathroom and sitting room down here which you may use.” The woman pointed down the left corridor and then crossed to the right. “These rooms are off limits but the kitchen is here.” She pointed to a door on the right-hand side of the entrance.

  “It is fully stocked for you. Across from this room on the other side of the hall is the library. You may use it, but be very careful of the books. They are precious and irreplaceable. Do not damage them. Do you have any questions?”

  Shelly could think of a hundred, but her mind wouldn’t settle on just one.

  Jack put down his case and turned toward the Duncans. It was not easy. They seemed to stay on both sides of them even though they didn’t appear to be moving. Jack kept turning, trying to bring them both into view. It felt as if they were trying to stop them from leaving, and Shelly was filled with dread.

  “What can you tell us about the history of the house?” Jack asked.

  “You will find all you need to know in the library,” the woman said and turned to walk away.

  “We were hoping you could tell us your thoughts on the house,” Shelly said. “Have you seen any ghosts, any spirits? Or have you felt anything strange?”

  “Of course,” the woman said, and her voice was so cold it traced like ice down Shelly’s spine.

  “What have you seen?” Shelly asked, shaking away the cold as excitement gave her courage.”

  “You need to discover the house for yourselves,” the man said.

  Jack sighed and continued to move around in circles. Shelly was getting dizzy, but the Duncans didn’t seem to move. Yet they could never see both of them at the same time.

  “I understand that,” she said turning to face the man. “I don’t want you to give me any preconceived ideas, but a little history about the house will help.”

  “There is nothing we can tell you,” the woman said, and Shelly jumped, turning around.

  “Why not?” she asked.

  “Because the house doesn’t want you to be told,” the man said, but Shelly was ready this time and she turned back slowly.

  “I’m not asking the house. I’m asking you. Did children die here?”

  “Not here,” the man said, the smile that crossed his face gave her the heebie-jeebies.

  He was hiding something, but even so, to hear him say that filled her with a mixture of disappointment and relief. The relief must be because who would want children to die in circumstances that would leave them in torment? But yet, it felt different.

  “What about other deaths in the house?” Jack asked.

  “Oh, people have died here, a lot of them.” It was the woman th
is time, and they both turned like a never-ending carousel to look at her face.

  Jack had gone white and his Adam's apple was bobbing as he gulped.

  “What do you mean by that?” Shelly asked a little too harshly.

  “It is a very old house.” The carousel turned again.

  “Can you tell us about the deaths?” Shelly asked the man and then turned back to the woman.

  “People live. People die. The house goes on and on,” she said. “Now, we must leave as we are old and tired and cannot keep going much longer. You have our email if you need anything.” She handed Shelly a key and turned. With a nod to the man, they both walked to the door and through it, leaving it open.

  Shelly smiled at Jack. “That was weird.”

  “They were super freaky.” Jack walked to the door and held it open. “Where did they go?”

  “What do you mean?” Shelly asked as she stepped out of the house. There was nothing there. Just the path leading to the driveway and their car parked at the end of it. The Duncans had simply vanished.

  “Where did they go?” Jack asked again.

  “They must have driven off.”

  Jack’s eyebrows rose. “Really? I didn’t see a car, did you?”

  Shelly knew he was right. There had been no car. If they had walked then they would still be in sight. So where had they gone? That question filled her stomach with dread and she wondered if this was such a good idea after all.

  53

  “Let’s bring our gear in,” Jack said as he walked back to the car.

  Shelly nodded and followed him, but she had a real urge to tell him it had all been a mistake. That they should grab the bag from the house and just drive away. Maybe stop at a hotel somewhere and tell each other how they felt. But that was ridiculous. She was just having a batch of nerves and he would think she was crazy. All the effort she had put into getting here and now she didn’t want to stay? This was insane. It was just a dark and empty house with a couple of creepy caretakers. Not one bit like some slasher horror movie. She laughed.