The Haunting of Cragg Hill House

by Elyse Salpeter

  “How painful is it, Pago?” Tooh asked. He placed his hand absently to his own side, and winced.

  For the first time, Pago’s normal composure seemed to break. “Pain and pleasure mixed, cousin. It hard to hold these souls inside you, especially if they are angry.”

  Dooley pursed his lips. “Then we’ll just force Ms. Porter to eat it if we have to. I’ll shove it down her throat myself. Now let’s go. Isa has been waiting upstairs for us long enough. We need to relieve her.”

  The four stood.

  Pago smacked his palm to his forehead as he realized something. “Wait, the first place it should activate would be the liver, don’t you think? I can’t believe that didn’t occur to me before. Gerald would have known this if he were with us. Let me get it.” He picked up a sharp, bloody knife from the kitchen sink, took the bowl, and walked back into the bathroom. Ernest flailed wildly. Pago simply stepped over him, then bent down and reached back into the tub. Ernest tried to scream, tried to kick him but he couldn’t reach the man who was desecrating his wife’s body.

  Pago’s arms and shoulders heaved with the effort of cutting through her torso, and then he lifted out Lady Camille’s floppy liver and dumped it into the bowl. He mumbled another set of prayers and then wiped his hands on the hand towel, where it made a bloody streak. He dropped the towel in the bathroom sink and left the room.

  With that, the remaining four shut the suite doors, locked them, and made their way to the custodial closet where a hidden door led to the attic.

  Chapter 16

  Kelsey, Desmond, and Josh made their way to the west end of the third floor and soon stood in front of the wooden door with the staircase leading up to the attic.

  A shiny new lock now blocked their way from going upstairs. It looked distinctly out of place against the old, narrow wooden door frame. Kelsey and Josh bent to examine it. “Can you open it?” she asked him.

  Desmond snorted behind her. “I thought you could open anything, Kelsey. Just like at Raul’s office when you got that safe open.”

  She leaned her weight down hard on the doorknob with both her hands to test it. “I don’t have a lock picking set with me, Desmond. Again, I didn’t think I’d need one on a romantic getaway with you. And I also don’t have a drill stuffed down my pants, either.”

  Josh squinted and peered into the jam. “Kelsey, look right in here. If the bolt passes through the strike plate, it should be a lot more vulnerable. We may be able to just kick it in.”

  Kelsey glanced down the hall. “It’s not going to be easy. This is a Grade One lock. It’s going to make a lot of noise.”

  Josh raised his brows. “We’re worried about noise? At this point, who the hell cares?” He sized up the door. With a swift kick, he slammed his foot into the lock on an angle and tried to jar it open. There was the slightest of creaks as the wood stressed. He kicked several more times.

  With each kick, a new fissure could be seen. After the fifth kick, the lock cracked off from the door frame. After that, it was an easy job to open it.

  They squeezed into the filthy staircase.

  “What is this place?” Josh glanced up and crinkled his nose in distaste. The smell was as bad as it had been earlier.

  “I think it’s home to whoever is kept up there.” She more gingerly watched her steps the higher they rose and placed her arm to her nose to block it against the foul smell.

  At the top landing, they listened at the next door, which also was now locked with a standard padlock. Josh removed a multi-tool pocketknife from his pocket and easily took care of it. He slowly opened the door and they heard the sound of a flute echo across the attic eaves.

  And then a scream. A horrible, gargled scream of the purest agony.

  Kelsey sprang inside and stopped short.

  Everything was chaos in the attic as if a tornado had come through. The mazelike walls of semi-organized clutter from before were now in terrible disarray. They had toppled over, and the meandering paths between the papers, boxes, and stored furniture were no more.

  And everything looked doubled.

  Kelsey stared around wildly and put her hands to her head.

  “What’s wrong?” Desmond asked her.

  “It’s my eyes. Everything is doubled. But I feel something. It’s... strangely familiar.”

  The screaming ceased for a moment and the flute continued.

  A fierce wind suddenly zoomed through the attic and sent the stacks of papers flying. It moved like a presence throughout the lofty space, never settling in one place. It swept by them and whipped about them, but suddenly it settled on Kelsey. Like a tornado, it descended upon her in a furious funnel of air. She grunted and fell to her knees. Desmond tried to reach out to her, but the wind pushed him back.

  Kelsey closed her eyes and gritted her teeth against the repulsive onslaught, and with a yell, she pushed out her arms in front of her, pushing the presence away from her. The whirlwind exploded from her in a violent rush in every direction and released her. The force threw Desmond and Josh to the ground, and a cry of malicious angst sounded throughout the attic.

  The tornado funnel spun and twisted again, and in a sentient rush, dove at Kelsey once more. The force slammed her back against the attic wall and pinned her there, but this time she was expecting it. Kelsey squinted her eyes and screamed, “Get out!” And with a furious gust, the air whipped out from her again and shattered the windows behind her. Snow blew into the attic from the outside and the new cold air seeping in made the frigid air even colder.

  Kelsey knelt and caught her breath while Desmond and Josh crawled over stacks of boxes and toppled furniture to get to her side. “What was that?” Desmond asked. He took her arm to help her up.

  She rose to her feet and glowered, finally understanding exactly what was happening in the hotel. “There’s a demon haunting Cragg Hill House. Two of them, actually. That’s what that thing was, and why my vision was doubled. I’ve been feeling their souls, and the souls of those they eat, and the souls they reside in. I should have recognized the situation for what it was.”

  Desmond involuntarily gasped and immediately let go of her arm. “Did you say souls? You’re feeling them again?” He obviously remembered what happened to Kelsey when she touched souls in Aihika. Or, more importantly, remembered what happened to him after she experienced that and then touched him. The burns he’d received from Kelsey’s embrace were not something easily forgotten, or something he was eager to repeat.

  She reached out her hand and gripped his bare hand hard. “Don’t worry. This is different, Desmond, see? You’re safe. This is a different kind of soul and not a person who is trying to move on. This demon is called an Oni. They are from Japanese folklore, but of course we know where they all originally come from. The one who hit me is female and she and her mate are demons pretending to be the Spirit Mother and Spirit Father to the Papua New Guinea people here. These people have been tricked.”

  “Pretending? How do you even know this?” Josh asked.

  “Because I can feel who she is. The female Oni and her mate are of my father’s old kingdom.”

  Josh swallowed hard. “You mean, Mara’s kingdom? Your old kingdom… where you were… first born?”

  She eyeballed him. “Yes, where I was first born. Will you please catch up! Mara’s kingdom and my kingdom are one and the same. Don’t start acting like you don’t know where I came from.”

  Another scream pierced the night. Kelsey frowned. “That’s a different girl this time.”

  “What is this Oni thing doing, Kelsey?” Desmond asked, looking around warily.

  “I could feel that it’s searching for something. This particular creature feeds on souls and I believe she’s seeking a host. She must live inside a person in order to exist in this human realm. We have to stop her and end this cycle and release her and her mate back to the hell realms where my father can deal with them.” She felt for the object she had in her pocket and took it out. It was not the knife
, but the Phurba dagger she’d taken from the temple in the woods.

  “Where’d you get that? Did you filch it from the shack?” Desmond asked.

  She held the weapon up. “Of course I did. I know what this is. It’s a ritualistic dagger called a Phurba. Shamans use it to release evil spirits who are confused and it will guide them to better rebirths. Or so the lore says.”

  “But why did you take it in the first place?”

  “I suddenly remembered Mara used to have them scattered around the meeting halls and would use them on demons he was mad at. Though I don’t think he was sending them on to a better place. Regardless, it was in that shack for a reason. It was almost as if it were put there. It couldn’t be a coincidence. You know I don’t believe in them in the slightest.”

  Josh leaned down so he could be heard over the cries from the other end of the attic. “Just explain one thing to me quickly before we go on. So, this Oni you’re talking about is an evil spirit? Where is it from?”

  “They are from everywhere,” Kelsey said. “Though most people think they are Japanese, they are actually influenced from pre-Buddhist times. The Onis were supposed to be the enforcers of the hell realms, but they ignored my father’s requests and left their posts because of their thirst for human flesh. They are brutal creatures that were so evil when they were human, they were reborn as servants to Mara. Their job was simply to torture humans for enjoyment. Crush their bones, peel off their skin, that sort of thing, but they are selfish and would not curb their desire for flesh, so they left their guard posts.”

  “And you know all this how?” Josh asked. He’d not yet fully understood Kelsey’s abilities in this regard.

  “Because now I can feel them and tap into them, Josh. When I touch them, deep in here,” she pointed to her chest, “I can see and feel everything. These two beings have hidden with the Papua New Guineans for a long time, taking advantage of their cannibalistic rituals. Mara was livid when they deserted and this is probably why they have not returned to his kingdom and instead stayed hidden within these people. They must know if they return, they will be punished severely for defying him.”

  “Just like he punished you, Kelsey?” Desmond said.

  She glanced at him. “Not quite.” He wouldn’t kill them a thousand times… just torture them for centuries.

  Josh was wide-eyed. “Do you think that is why the Papua New Guinean staff were cannibals in the first place? Because they were influenced by these demons?”

  “Maybe. Or maybe they were just convenient to use because they were already cannibals. Maybe they just made a bargain with them years ago and influenced their religion. Forcing them to do heinous things. I still don’t quite understand the link between them and the Cragg family though, but I feel like there has to be one. Either way, we must kill these Oni demons or release them. They are insubstantial and can do nothing but exist on this realm and live within these people.”

  Desmond glanced around the attic warily. “Mara can’t touch them now, can he? He can’t kill them himself? Wouldn’t that be easier?”

  Kelsey shook her head. “No, he can’t. But, we can.” Before she uttered another word a gunshot sounded and a bullet slammed into the attic wall near them. Kelsey, Desmond and Josh dove under cover to protect themselves. When Kelsey raised her head, she was face to face with Jenella who pointed a gun at her. Tooh stood by her side, a second gun in his hand. Kelsey noticed his pistol shook slightly as if her were nervous.

  “You will kill nothing, Ms. Porter,” Jenella spit out. Her body quaked with rage. “How dare you call our Spirit Mother insubstantial? How dare you suggest she is a demon? She is life, the world, our only chance to move on to the afterlife. She does not need to move on anywhere. Her place is with us.”

  Kelsey tried to be gentle. “Jenella, I’m sorry to say this, but you and your family have been deceived, and have been for years. This creature you protect is not your Spirit Mother. She is a demon from the hell realms, and because of your religious beliefs, she has used you. She is a flesh eating, soul-sucking demon called an Oni. When someone dies in your family, she eats their souls.”

  Jenella’s eyes bulged. “That is not true! They are the ones that help our family move on! They are the ones that keep our diseases in place. Without them, we only roam the spirit world. They bring us to our final resting place.”

  Kelsey shook her head sadly. “No, that’s not what happens. I know what this creature is and what they do. I felt them when they came at me. Your Spirit Mother is actually an Oni, and every time your family has sacrificed themselves for them, they have used you. Your grandmother, Micella, has not moved on.”

  Jenella pointed the gun at her. “How do you possibly know this?”

  Kelsey stared at her, for a second struggling for the best way to answer. “Because I have the gift of sight. I know she was sacrificed in the hut in the woods and the Oni ate her soul. She has not moved on. She died there and her soul died in that hut. They ate it and destroyed it, and at the end she knew this. I’m so sorry to tell you that.”

  “That’s not true! Pago claims her now. He is waiting to release her! She must be released and the only way is for our Spirit Mother to find a host. You know nothing!”

  “I know more than you realize. Pago does not have her. He just thinks he does. Perhaps he simply feels the male Oni who is playing a trick on him to let him think there is another soul within him.” Kelsey glanced at Tooh. “All your injuries? All your cuts? Are you feeding parts of your bodies to each other? Or perhaps do you have Kuru disease and are poisoning the Craggs?”

  “We poisoned no one, Ms. Porter,” Tooh said, astonished. “What I’ve done, I’ve done to keep our families alive.”

  “Be quiet, Tooh,” Jenella said. “She is not family and you don’t have to explain anything to her. There is no more time. We need her.” She turned to Kelsey and the others. “Now get up and come with me.”

  Kelsey rose, but not before she gently dropped the Phurba dagger on the ground. It landed, hidden, in a pile of loose papers.

  Jenella did not notice.

  With a slight tilt of her head, Kelsey saw little Billy peeking around the doorway, watching her. The little boy who had said he was speaking to a recently deceased woman named Roselyn. Perhaps he was speaking to her now. His arm was raised and held out next to him, as if he were holding the hand of someone, though no one was there. Kelsey could make out the faintest of outlines, like a shimmer in the air. Roselyn, is that you?

  Kelsey caught his eye and then let Jenella lead her further into the attic.

  #

  They’d come to the center of the attic and walked directly into a religious ceremony. Candles had been situated around two women who were lying prostrate. Kelsey recognized the feral girl from the stairway. Both girls’ arms and legs were stretched out wide and tied down with heavy cords. The attic was frigid, but the girls only wore thin nightgowns and Kelsey could see their fingers and toes had turned blue from the cold. Pieces of raw organ meat were scattered around them, and Kelsey could see the girls’ lips were red with the blood from what must clearly have been Mrs. Scott’s remains.

  Both of the girls bucked and heaved as they tried to escape their bonds. One of the girls screamed in agony as the funnel of air suddenly descended upon her.

  A feeling of revulsion passed through Kelsey, and she realized she felt the same thing whenever the demons were close.

  The girl thrashed and slammed her head against the floor repeatedly until blood began to pool under her. The wind released from her in a rush and ripped through the attic again. Papers, books and boxes toppled over in the furious path the demon took. Kelsey could feel its frustration as the demon could not find a place to rest. The girl sobbed and shrieked uncontrollably.

  Tooh pushed Josh and Desmond to their knees. Josh twisted around and smacked the gun out of Tooh’s hands. Tooh slipped in surprise and fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Josh launched himself towards the gun, but it jer
ked away from him as if it were mysteriously kicked away. Then it lifted and flew through the air, right back into Tooh’s startled hands. He pointed the gun again at Josh. Tooh’s hand jerked and the gun fired. Tooh squealed in surprise.

  Josh froze. The gun had missed his head by mere inches.

  “Don’t move again,” Tooh stuttered. His aura was all shades of sickly green. He was unsure, scared, and visibly shaken by the turn of events.

  Kelsey knew Tooh wasn’t telekinetic, nor was he a killer. Who gave Tooh back the gun? Was it Roselyn? It had to be.

  Tooh turned his stare to Kelsey and swallowed hard. “Kneel down on the floor.”

  The girl had stopped screaming, so Kelsey lowered her voice. “Tooh, why are you doing this? You are not a murderer. I can tell. You’re lucky you didn’t kill my friend.”

  Tooh’s mouth twitched. “I will do what I have to. If I don’t, I’ll die. We’ll all die.”

  “You don’t have to do this. I can help you.”

  His jaw was set. “Yes, I do. Mr. Cragg, please take this from me.” Tooh gave the gun to Dooley, who now trained it on the three of them.

  Tooh picked up another rope and bent towards Kelsey.

  “You’re shaking,” she said. “Do you have a prion disease?”

  He winced and paused in tying her hands. “How do you possibly know this?”

  Kelsey stared at him pointedly. “It’s Kuru disease, isn’t it? I’m betting your entire family suffers from it, don’t they? Do you think killing us will help cure you? I assure you, it won’t.”

  He grimaced. “You’re wrong. You don’t know anything. And we’re not killing you for that reason.” He reached for her hands, but she pulled away.

  “Then tell me why you’re doing this. If you plan to kill me, the least you can do is explain to me what is happening.” She watched Pago bend down to one of the girls and gently wipe her bloody head with a cloth. His gesture was kind. Kelsey didn’t understand. What are all these people’s motives?