Haunted House Tales

by Riley Amitrani

“You think there’s a demon in this house?” Grant sounded as skeptical as she had expected. “Honey, I really don’t think a demon is living here. We would know.”

  “Maybe there is,” Abigail crossed her arms. “You don’t know what it feels like to live in a house with a demon. We don’t know if something really could be here.”

  “Demons don’t exist,” Grant insisted. He had never believed in the paranormal or supernatural. While Abigail hadn’t previously believed in any of that either, she knew that Jennie hadn’t been lying when she claimed that a woman appeared in her room. “We’re not calling a priest to handle a problem that doesn’t exist.”

  “Grant, please,” Abigail begged. “I’m really starting to feel scared. Something isn’t right with this house, and you remember what Jennie saw.”

  “Jennie has an overactive imagination,” Grant said. “There is nothing wrong with this house. There is nothing here except for us.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Abigail said, though she didn’t agree with him. “Because now, if anything does happen, it’s going to be your fault.”

  2:27 PM, April 25, 1939

  New Orleans, Louisiana

  Since Grant wasn’t going to listen to her, Abigail knew that there was no way she could reach out to a priest without him finding out. Their neighbors already loved him, and it was hard to keep things a secret in a community like theirs. So, she found herself knocking on Robert’s door.

  “Come in,” he said.

  “I need to ask you to do something,” she told him. Robert put down his homework and turned in his chair to face her.

  “Is everything okay?” he asked. Concern was plastered across his face.

  “Everything will be fine,” she said. “I need you to find a priest who has experience with cleansings.”

  “A priest?” his brows formed a confused frown.

  “I think something has been following me,” Abigail said. “Something isn’t right, and I keep thinking about what Jennie said. I know that there’s something in this house, and I want it gone.”

  “You think it’s a demon?” Robert asked.

  “Demon, ghost, it doesn’t really matter,” she said. “Whatever is in this house, I want it gone. Your father doesn’t believe in any of this, and he doesn’t think that a priest will be able to do anything. So, I need you to do it.”

  “I’ll have to ask around,” Robert said. “It’s not that easy to find someone here. Especially in New Orleans. It might be faster if I tried looking for a witch doctor.”

  “No witch doctors,” she shook her head. “I don’t know what kind of spirits they might bring in. I want someone clean and holy to do this. My house won’t be defiled by other spirits.”

  “Mom, are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.

  “Absolutely,” Abigail replied. “I can’t take this feeling anymore. Always unsure about whether or not I’m alone, losing sleep because I feel like someone or something is watching me. I want it to end.”

  “Alright, I’ll start looking for someone later this afternoon,” her son agreed. “I can’t promise to find someone immediately, but I’ll do my best.”

  “Thank you,” she smiled at him. “Tell me when you find someone. I want to do it when your father is not around.”

  She left Robert’s room feeling much better about her choice. Even though she’d be going behind Grant’s back, she felt like it was the right thing to do. Abigail went back to her office feeling a sense of relief, only to get a chill as her office door closed.

  8:40 PM, April 25, 1939

  New Orleans, Louisiana

  Robert waited until night to gather his siblings. They all sat on the floor of Layla and Jennie’s room, legs crossed. He had already told James that it was time everyone else knew, but that didn’t make it any easier. He couldn’t imagine any scenario in which it was easy to tell his sisters and brother that their father had been sleeping with other women.

  “I think I know what’s been going on,” Robert said. “And I think I know how to stop it.”

  “Do you really think this place is haunted?” Layla looked at him skeptically. “Just because Ben and Colin made up some story about the house doesn’t mean it’s true.”

  “But Callie was serious,” Robert reminded her. “I think parts of their story are true, but I’m not really sure about the rest. I’ve also made sure that some key things line up.”

  “Is this place haunted?” Kyle asked. Of the five of them, he had been the least involved this entire time. The woman hadn’t appeared to him, nor had he any idea of what their father had been doing outside the house. It pained Robert to know that his brother would be let down by their father.

  “It’s not haunted,” James said. “But we think that the ghost or spirit of a woman who died here is trying to keep something from happening. She appears and says ‘No’ or that something has to stop, but we didn’t know what until Rob told me what they guys said.”

  “The previous owner of the house had an affair before he died,” Robert said. “He and his mistress both died, and his wife moved away. I think that his mistress is the one who keeps appearing.”

  “But why would she still be here?” Jennie asked. “We don’t have a mistress. And no one here has died.” She looked at her brothers and sister nervously, as though she expected one of them to admit that they were dead.

  “Because someone is having an affair,” Layla said quietly. “It’s not Mom, so it’s Dad. Is he why this is happening?”

  “I think so,” Robert said. He watched as Jennie and Kyle’s faces fell. None of them had ever been particularly close to their father, but it still hurt to know that he wasn’t the man they thought he was. “It’s been going on for a while, but I think the mistress who died in this house is angry about something.”

  “So, does she just want us all to leave?” Layla asked. “It could be easier. Why couldn’t she write a note and tell us to leave because she wants to stay in an empty house and be heartbroken? Besides, why isn’t the previous owner haunting us too?”

  “It’s not a haunting,” James said. “It’s more like she’s trying to tell us something. We don’t know why or how she died, but that probably has something to do with it too.”

  “Does Mom know about this?” Kyle asked. “What if this dead woman goes after Mom next?”

  “She won’t,” Robert said, though he didn’t really know why he was so confident about that. So far, all signs pointed to their mother being safe. “I don’t know why, but I feel like she wants us to stop Dad from having another affair. And no, Mom doesn’t know yet.”

  “We should tell her,” Layla said. “It’s only fair that she knows. We can’t keep this from her.”

  “We’ve been keeping it from her for some time now,” James admitted. “At least a couple of months. Rob and I didn’t know what would happen if we told her.”

  “Great, and now we’re being visited by a dead woman,” Layla raised her voice. “You guys knew that Dad was being unfaithful and you chose to keep it from Mom because you didn’t think that it would hurt her more if you told her when you found out?”

  “Keep your voice down,” Robert hushed her. “You’re right, we should have told her.”

  “Of course you should have,” Layla snapped at him. “You could have kept this from ever happening if you had told her when you found out. We probably wouldn’t even have moved here.”

  “You seem awfully comfortable with our family breaking up,” James said. “What are we supposed to do if Mom and Dad get a divorce?”

  “We figure it out,” she snapped back. “No matter what happens to this family, we figure it out. I don’t care if that means I have to start working, I’ll do my part to keep us alive and a roof over our head.”

  “Layla, we’ll tell her,” Robert said gently. He took her hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly. “We will.”

  “But Aunt Mellie is coming to take care of us before Dad’s big event,” Jennie said. “I
f Mom and Dad are fighting when she comes, it’ll make everything worse.”

  “She’ll be here tomorrow, but she’s leaving on Tuesday morning,” Robert said. “We’ll tell Mom when Aunt Mellie is gone.”

  “Are we going to be homeless?” Kyle’s voice cracked. His chin was quivering and there were tears in his eyes.

  “Not if I can do anything about it,” Robert told him. He reached out and Kyle crawled over, folding himself into his arms as if he were a child. Robert promised himself that no matter what happened, he would take care of his family.

  7:44 PM, April 26, 1939

  New Orleans, Louisiana

  Abigail hadn’t been feeling well since she woke up. She hadn’t eaten anything strange, but her stomach was hurting and she occasionally felt bouts of headaches and nausea. At first, she considered that she might be pregnant, but there was no way. In the end, she decided that it was the stress of planning for Monday’s event combined with nerves that it wouldn’t turn out exactly how she envisioned.

  Thankfully, her sister had arrived that afternoon to help with the kids. Robert had done a great job of taking care of his brothers and sisters since they moved into their new house, but Abigail wasn’t comfortable knowing that they didn’t have an adult to watch over them from time to time. He wasn’t old enough to have to take on the responsibility of raising his siblings.

  She had told Grant that she would sleep in her office tonight in case she had something contagious. He had offered let her have the room instead, but she insisted that it would allow her to put some finishing touches on her planning. This event was the biggest thing she had ever planned for him, and Abigail knew that after it was over, she would find Grant an assistant who could take over. She missed her children.

  Sat alone in her office, she thought about what she asked Robert to do. She had felt better ever since she asked him to find a priest. But when she felt that chill after asking him, part of her wondered if this spirit was somehow attached to her.

  Instead of thinking about it, she buried herself in work and forced the idea out of her head. Now that she was alone, it came back. Abigail knew that she was right when she said that something in the house unsettled her, but she still couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was. She thought about the woman that Jennie saw, and for the first time, wondered why a woman would appear to her daughter.

  Suddenly, she realized that it didn’t make sense. Her daughter shouldn’t be the first person a ghost or spirit appeared to unless it meant something.

  “Soon,” a faint voice said. Or at least, Abigail thought she heard the word. There was no one else in the room and she hadn’t felt anything. She just knew that she wanted to find an answer once the event was over.

  10:58 PM, April 26, 1939

  New Orleans, Louisiana

  Grant had been in his office when Mellie arrived. Abigail told him a few days ago that she would be coming to help with the children while they focused on Monday’s event. He had barely said anything then, but the truth was that he was happy to hear that Mellie would be visiting.

  He had never thought that she would hurt Abigail, but when she approached him one night over a year ago, he hadn’t said no. It had brought a new kind of thrill to his life. They didn’t see each other often, but when they did, fireworks were the only thing on his mind.

  The last time they had been together was five months ago. Abigail had been the chaperone at a camp for teenagers, and all the kids had gone with her. Grant spent two days in bed with Mellie, and he still thought about those days from time to time. Aside from the picture in his desk, it was one of his most treasured memories.

  When his door opened quietly, he knew that Mellie was there. Instantly, he had a memory of how soft her skin had been, how great he had felt when they were together. It wasn’t like the time he spent with Abigail. In fact, he couldn’t remember a time when he had felt that way with Abigail after Robert and Layla had been born. She became consumed by raising their children and rarely wanted to do anything after their routine talk about their day before falling asleep. He had convinced himself that her neglect was why he started finding himself in the arms of other women, but really, he had always found it hard to stop looking at other women after he married Abigail.

  “Hello Grant,” Mellie’s voice said. It was low, soft. He had to focus to listen, and it sent a thrilling chill down his spine. “I’ve missed you.”

  And he had missed her too.

  11:06 PM, April 26, 1939

  New Orleans, Louisiana

  They wasted no time with pleasantries. Mellie teased him by refusing to let him touch her for the first few minutes that she was in the room. She made him wait. He felt a sense of urgency like never before, and after she had sat on the bed, he decided that he couldn’t hold back anymore.

  Grant held Mellie’s body close to his own as they kissed. It felt wonderful. The thoughts in his mind vanished while his body acted. There was no need to control himself now. They just had to be careful not to wake anyone in the house.

  Minutes passed and soon the floor was covered in their clothing. Grant was more than ready to enjoy his time with Mellie. She gave him a coy smile that he was too familiar with. He gave her one more kiss.

  A rancid smell stopped Grant before he could do anything else. He raised his head in confusion to see where the smell was coming from.

  A woman stood at the side of his bed. Red blood dripped from her chin, and her hair was clumped together. He could see the blood seeping from her hairline before it flowed down her face.

  “You,” she growled.

  Mellie turned her head to see the woman. When their eyes met, she opened her mouth to scream. The woman lunged forward before the scream could burst from Mellie’s throat.

  Grant jumped back in shock, but he couldn’t make a sound. The woman wrapped her thin fingers around Mellie’s throat. Her hands her slender and pale, though Grant knew that there was no doubt she had once been beautiful.

  The thin fingers tightened around Mellie’s throat, and Mellie began to struggle. Grant tried to move, or speak, but he couldn’t. He simply stared at the dead woman before him.

  “I warned them,” she said. Her voice was dry and cracked. “I warned them not to let this happen.”

  Mellie coughed and grabbed at Grant’s arm.

  “This is your fault,” the woman turned her head to Grant. He could see the crazed smile on her face as she pressed harder on Mellie’s throat. “I warned them and you didn’t listen.”

  Grant looked down at Mellie. Her mouth kept opening like it was trying to find some way to pull air into her lungs. The woman’s fingers shook once. Twice. And stopped. Mellie was dead.

  “Now you,” the woman lunged toward him.

  11:13 PM, April 26, 1939

  New Orleans, Louisiana

  Grant yelled without meaning to. The woman vanished without ever touching him, but he swore that he could still feel her somewhere in the room. He stared at Mellie’s body. There were no marks on her neck from the strangulation. Something within him wanted to scream and shout for her, to do something that would resemble mourning. But he couldn’t.

  It occurred to him that he had yelled and that someone might have heard him. He scrambled up to cover himself and figure out what to do with Mellie’s body. He couldn’t leave her here on his bed, but he couldn’t risk someone seeing him if he left the house. There was no furniture he could hide her body in, and the family suitcases were in the garage downstairs.

  Before he could think of a way to get rid of Mellie’s body, he remembered the words of the blood covered woman. She said that she had warned them. Had she meant Jennie? Had she appeared to the rest of the family? Perhaps that was why Robert asked him if he had been sleeping with Isabella. It explained why she had looked like she was choking before he shouted at her to get out of the room and the house.

  Whoever this woman was, she was trying to kill the women he was having affairs with. But the rest of his mistresses who
m he met outside were still alive. Which meant Abigail was right. There was something in the house, either a ghost, spirit, or demon. He should have listened to her and asked a priest to come.

  Then a loud bang sounded against his door.

  11:12 PM, April 26, 1939

  New Orleans, Louisiana

  James heard his father yell at the other end of the hallway. He had been asleep, but the shout woke him up. He threw off his blanket and raced out of his room, toward his father’s room.

  He tried the door, but it was locked. Afraid that something had happened to his father, he rammed his shoulder against the door and immediately regretted it. It wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be. His shoulder throbbed and he could already feel a bruise forming.

  He took a step back and shifted his weight. It would take another try before he called Robert to help him. James stepped all the way to the banister behind him, ran forward, and forced his shoulder into the door.

  It flew open with a loud crack. Pieces of wood fell on the ground. His momentum propelled him into the room. Bare feet against the ground made squeaking sounds. James raised his head to look at his father.

  “Is everything alright?” he blurted before noticing that his father was naked. Wide eyes scanned the room and found clothes littered across the floor. “I’m sorry. You yelled and I thought something had happened.”

  James looked down at the bed to apologize to his mother. But the woman who lay across the mattress was not her.

  Staring up with eyes widened in fear was his Aunt Mellie. The blanket that lay across her barely covered her chest. James’ cheeks flushed bright red at the sight of her naked body. Then his brain caught up. His aunt was naked in his parents’ bed. She was naked, and so was his father. And she was dead.

  “You…” he could barely think of words to say. “Of all the women you could have chosen to sleep with, you chose Aunt Mellie?”