The Ghost and the Halloween Haunt

by Anna J. McIntyre

  “True!” Marie said brightly. “If Eva is able to toss about glitter, then why couldn’t a spirit do the same with bits of dirt to make a shoe print.”

  “The only problem with that, Eva’s glitter disappears before it hits the ground,” Danielle reminded them.

  “I recall it got in your coffee,” Walt said.

  “True. But then it vanished,” Danielle reminded him.

  “Perhaps Eva can shine a light on this?” Marie suggested.

  “A ghost with a shining light is what started this,” Danielle snarked before stabbing another chunk of cake.

  Marie chuckled and then said, “Eva tends to understand these things better than me. She seems privy to more secrets of the universe than other spirits I’ve met. I know she was going down to the cemetery to see what she could find out. Perhaps I should go down there. See if I can find her. I’ll have her come back with me, and perhaps she can help us figure this all out.”

  Resting one elbow on the kitchen table, Danielle propped her right cheek on a balled fist and yawned. “You might as well see if you can find her and bring her back. Not sure how I’m going to get any sleep with someone roaming around in the staircase, anyway.”

  Danielle glanced at the kitchen clock. It was almost 4:30 a.m. She and Walt sat in the kitchen alone, waiting for Marie to return with Eva—assuming she could find her.

  “Maybe we should go back upstairs and see if we can get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow,” Walt reminded her.

  “I’m too tired to walk up those stairs. Plus, I won’t be able to fall asleep thinking someone might flash light in my face again from the stairwell.”

  “We could use the bed in the downstairs bedroom,” Walt suggested. “It’s rather comfortable.”

  Danielle looked to Walt, her face expressionless. “There is a coffin in there.”

  “Technically it’s a casket not a coffin. And I’m not suggesting we nap in it.”

  She shook her head. “No. I’m not going to sleep in a room with a casket. As it is, I don’t really want that thing staying in the house after Halloween.”

  “My first body is resting in a coffin, and I don’t recall it really being a problem,” Walt teased.

  “It might have been had you woken up inside it,” Danielle snarked.

  Walt flashed her a smile and took a sip of milk.

  Danielle looked at the clock again. “I wonder if Marie couldn’t find her? Where do you think Eva went?”

  “I’m here!” Eva said as she appeared in the room, surrounded by a burst of light.

  Danielle squinted, the bright lights briefly blinding her eyes.

  “That was to prove a point,” Eva said as she took a seat at the table with them. The next moment Marie appeared and then sat down on the remaining chair. As she did, she pushed out Eva’s chair so that the tabletop was no longer cutting her in half.

  “What point exactly? That bright light can be more annoying than glitter?” Danielle grumbled.

  Eva arched her brows and glanced briefly to Walt and then back to Danielle. “Oh my, someone really does get grouchy without her sleep, doesn’t she?”

  “So what was your point, Eva?” Walt asked while giving his wife a gentle pat on the hand.

  “The point being: yes. A spirit would be capable of shining a bright light on Danielle. Not all spirits, but some could. As for the footprints, I haven’t looked at them, so I can’t really say one way or the other.”

  Danielle yawned and then looked at Eva. “Sorry. I’m just overly tired. Did you find out anything tonight? Who is haunting us and why?”

  Eva let out a long sigh and then said, “The cemetery was dead tonight.”

  Danielle’s blank stare fixed on Eva. After a moment she asked, “How long have you been waiting to say that?”

  “Say what?” Eva frowned at Danielle and then replayed in her mind what she had just said. After a moment she let out a laugh. “No, dear, I mean it was really dead tonight—deader than normal for a cemetery.”

  “You weren’t able to find any spirits?” Walt asked.

  Eva flashed Walt a smile and then continued. “Cemeteries are a bit like a train station—always people coming and going. People in a hurry. Some sticking around for a while. Although, that’s not exactly like a train station, more like a seaside inn. Eventually, they all move on. But tonight it was dead—not dead like a cemetery filled with dead bodies—dead in that there were hardly any spirits around. Most of the regulars confined to the cemetery are taking advantage of the Halloween season. They have gone on holiday, so to speak.”

  “And is Marlow House now a B and B for the vacationing ghost?” Danielle asked.

  “I do wonder,” Eva said. “To be honest, I only found one spirit at the cemetery tonight. He didn’t know where they all went, but he did overhear a few discussing coming here—I assume to resolve some conflict so they can ultimately move on.”

  “Are they just allowed to go anywhere? Is it like a free-for-all haunt once a year?” Danielle asked.

  “Oh, no. On Halloween they are allowed to leave, but the understanding is that they need to work on whatever unresolved issue they have that is keeping them here. Although, it’s not unusual for a spirit who isn’t prepared to move on to use this time for a little harmless mischief. By the way, it sounds like your Harvey has finally moved on.”

  “Who told you that?” Danielle asked. “I suspected it was the case, but I wasn’t sure. After Presley House burned down and the truth about his death came out, I just assumed he had moved on back then, but he hadn’t.”

  “He has this time. Although I can’t explain how I know, but I do.” She then turned to Walt and said, “And I suspect this recent activity has something to do with unresolved issues left over from your first go-around.”

  “Me? What does this have to do with me?” he asked.

  “I’m not certain. But from what I understand, you hold the key to more than one lost soul, and they’re coming here to force you to open the door.”

  “What does that even mean?” Danielle asked.

  “There are some things you just have to work out by yourself, without our intervention. Which means Marie and I can’t stay. At least, not for the rest of October.”

  The next moment both Eva and Marie vanished.

  Nineteen

  “I’m not sure how I feel about a Halloween party on Sunday,” Chief MacDonald’s sister, Sissy, told him as she filled his cup with coffee. They sat together in Sissy’s kitchen on Sunday morning while Evan and Eddy sat in the living room watching cartoons.

  “Halloween falls on Sunday sometimes. Never recalled a problem taking the boys trick-or-treating then,” MacDonald noted before taking his first sip of coffee.

  “Maybe once since you started taking the boys out for Halloween.” She took a seat at the breakfast bar with her brother.

  “Once or ten times, what does it matter? It’s just a harmless Halloween party. The boys are looking forward to it.”

  “You should be taking them to church on Sunday,” she admonished. “Not a Halloween party. Bruce’s mother feels Halloween is a pagan holiday.”

  MacDonald chuckled. “I seem to recall you used to enjoy dressing up on Halloween and going trick-or-treating.”

  “I’m older now. I see things differently,” she told him.

  “I suppose this means you don’t want to go with us this morning?” the chief asked. The reason for stopping by was to ask his sister and her husband if they would like to join them at the children’s Halloween party down at the community center. He had left a message about the event on her phone the day before, but she hadn’t responded, so he thought he would stop by and see if she was going.

  “I asked Bruce,” Sissy said. “He really didn’t want to go to a kids’ Halloween party.”

  “It’s for families. We are family. But if he doesn’t want to go, you’re still welcome to go with us.”

  Sissy considered the invitation a moment and then shook
her head. “No. But thanks for asking. Although, I really don’t know why they didn’t have the party yesterday, on a Saturday instead of a Sunday.”

  MacDonald shrugged. “I don’t think they could get the community center yesterday. Someone else booked it. And Halloween falls on a school day, so today was the only time they could have it.”

  “I understand the haunted house is going through Halloween. Surely the boys aren’t going to help on Monday and Tuesday nights; those are school nights,” she asked.

  “I told them they could. This is an exception. They’re having a blast.”

  “Honestly, Edward, I find Evan’s obsession with Marlow House odd. I never understood why he broke in back when you were hijacked.”

  “I explained all that,” the chief said wearily.

  Sissy set her cup on the kitchen bar top and turned to her brother, her expression serious. “I’ve heard around town the haunted house is pretty scary. Are you sure it’s wise to let the boys help? I’m sure Danielle Boatman—I guess it’s Marlow now—I’m sure she can get people to help her. Heavens, she has enough money she can hire whomever she wants.”

  “The boys are doing it because they’re having fun. Plus, it’s for a good cause.”

  “I’ve been hearing it’s not appropriate for children. Do you know they have a real casket in one of the bedrooms?”

  “Yes. Evan climbed in it,” Edward said with a grin.

  Sissy shook her head in disapproval. “That is not wise. You have no idea what kind of psychological damage that could cause the poor boy! One of my friends went Friday night, and she told me she came home and had nightmares.”

  Edward considered his sister’s words and then said with a smile, “You have to remember, the boys are seeing the haunted house from a different perspective. They can see behind the curtain, where others can’t. They know the tricks and what goes on behind the scenes.” Although that was not entirely true, Edward told himself. While Evan understood Walt’s trick of the floating book, Eddy thought it was very cool yet had no idea how it was done. It’s no different than any other magic trick, Edward had told his oldest. It is nothing but a trick, and a magician never tells his secrets. Of course, that had been a lie. Walt’s floating book was about as close to real magic as he would probably ever get.

  “I just hope you know what you’re doing,” Sissy said with a sigh.

  MacDonald reached over and patted his sister’s hand. “The boys are fine, and if I thought for a moment there was going to be a problem, I wouldn’t let them do it.”

  Once again, MacDonald was not being entirely truthful with his sister. Part of him questioned himself for allowing the boys to participate due to the paranormal activity that had taken place. Spirits like Eva and Marie did not bother the chief, yet the unknown entities troubled him, and he questioned his own judgment. But then he reminded himself he trusted Danielle and the other mediums, and in some ways it was providing Evan with knowledge and skills he would later need to manage his gift.

  After they left Sissy and Bruce’s house twenty minutes later, they headed for Marlow House. Evan and Eddy planned to wear the costumes from the haunted house to that afternoon’s Halloween party, but Evan had left the outer layer of tulle netting in the Marlow House parlor the previous night. He had already called Danielle to let them know they would be stopping by to pick it up. He also wanted an opportunity to talk with her in private, to discover if any unexplained occurrences had happened the previous night after the haunted house had closed down.

  “Dad, can we invite Ginny to go with us to the party?” Evan asked after his father pulled their car in front of Marlow House and parked.

  “I think Ginny is weird,” Eddy said as he climbed out of the car a moment later.

  “Dad! Eddy said Ginny is weird,” Evan complained.

  “Yes, I heard. Why do you think that?” MacDonald asked as he walked with the boys up the sidewalk toward Marlow House’s front gate.

  “Because she never talks,” Eddy told him.

  “She talks to me all the time,” Evan countered.

  “I’ve never heard her voice. And she never takes the costume off. I wouldn’t know what she looks like if I saw her,” Eddy said.

  “Big deal. It’s Halloween,” Evan pointed out.

  Eddy shrugged. “I still think it’s weird she just hides under that thing.”

  “She isn’t hiding,” Evan grumbled.

  Just as the chief pushed the gate open for his boys, a small female voice said, “Hello.”

  They turned around and came face-to-face with a young girl with messy blond hair.

  “Hi, Ginny!” Evan greeted her.

  “I saw your car and thought I would come say hi,” she said with a grin.

  Evan glanced briefly at his brother and spit out his tongue, and then looked to Ginny and smiled.

  “Nice to see you again, Ginny. Without a sheet this time,” the chief said.

  Ginny responded with a grin.

  “I’m taking the boys to a Halloween party at the community center in about an hour. Would you like to join us?” the chief asked. “I would be happy to talk to your aunt and uncle.”

  Ginny smiled at the chief. “Thank you. But we have to do something this afternoon. And I should probably go now. But I’ll see you all tonight!”

  After Ginny rushed off and MacDonald and his sons started up the walkway to the front door, Evan looked at Eddy and said, “I told you she could talk.”

  “I never said she couldn’t talk. I said she never talked,” Eddy clarified.

  “I finally saw Ginny,” the chief told Danielle as she led them into the house a few minutes later. “Without her ghost costume, that is.”

  “There goes all the mystery,” Danielle teased.

  “Can I get the rest of my costume? Is it still in the parlor?” Evan asked.

  “Sure, go on in,” Danielle said.

  “Eddy, go with your brother. I want to talk to Danielle alone a few minutes,” the chief said.

  “You boys can turn the TV on in there if you want,” Danielle called after them as they dashed to the parlor.

  “So what did you want to talk to me about?” Danielle asked, leading the chief to the living room.

  The chief studied Danielle’s profile as he followed her. “You look pretty tired.”

  “Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?” she teased, walking into the living room and motioning to the sofa for him to sit down.

  “No. Just a side observation,” he said.

  “Gee. Thanks for noticing,” she said dryly.

  “You feeling okay?” he asked, taking a seat on the sofa.

  “Nothing that a good eight hours’ sleep won’t fix.” She sat on the chair facing him and yawned.

  “So does that answer my question?” he asked.

  “Which question? That I’m tired. Yes, I am.”

  “No. One of the reasons I stopped by. I wondered if you had more unexplained activities last night after we all left. But considering you look as if you haven’t slept, I have to assume something kept you up.”

  “No chairs fell over last night. Nothing broke.”

  “But something happened?”

  Danielle considered his question a moment but was hesitant to say what had happened, reluctant to reveal the existence of the hidden staircase. In the beginning she had kept the staircase a secret because she had also been keeping secret her relationship with Walt. Yet now that they were married, and Marlow House was no longer being used as a bed and breakfast, there was no significant reason to keep the hidden staircase a secret. Yet she felt uncomfortable revealing it now, considering she had never mentioned it to the chief before.

  “We heard a few things last night. But nothing broken. No chairs tipped over.”

  “What kind of things did you hear?”

  Danielle shrugged. “Footsteps, I guess. Umm…saw some flashes of light.”

  “Marie saw nothing? I thought she was going to stay and keep
an eye on things,” the chief asked.

  “She didn’t see anything. But we talked to Eva later—it was after four a.m. She had gone down to the cemetery to see if she could find out what might be going on.” Danielle then recounted her conversation with Eva, leaving out any reference to the secret stairwell.

  “And she just left?” he asked.

  “Pretty much. Both she and Marie.”

  “Aren’t they coming back?”

  “I imagine they will eventually. But I got the impression whoever this is, it’s something we need to deal with without their intervention.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. Sometimes the universe just likes to screw with me,” Danielle grumbled. “But I realize something. You know how they say you shouldn’t mess with Ouija boards because it will open a portal to demons or some such thing.”

  “I have heard that. Is it really true?” he asked.

  Danielle shrugged. “How would I know? I’ve never used one before. I don’t need a board to communicate with spirits.”

  “Then what is it you realize?”

  “While Ouija boards might attract demons, if you open a haunted house, instead of demons, you attract mischievous ghosts.”

  “I thought Eva said something about spirits looking for closure before moving on. That doesn’t sound like a mischievous ghost.”

  “No, it doesn’t. Which makes me think, while some spirits may show up looking for answers, I don’t believe that’s all we’re hearing from. Take, for example, the ghost playing peekaboo in the parlor while serving tea. And I’m certain a mischievous ghost made that ghastly head in the jar smile at me.”

  “It smiled at you?”

  Danielle shivered. “It was beyond creepy, but rather funny now that I think about it. Those are the actions of a playful, mischievous ghost—not one coming for serious business. The broken vase and the chairs tipping over, that can go either way. It could have been the result of a ghost learning to harness energy to be heard.”

  “Does this mean you won’t be having a haunted house next Halloween?” he asked.