Haunted House Tales

by Riley Amitrani

  The majority of residents of Bonner Springs could be found scattered in the outlying plains from Main Street, small and medium-sized clapboard homes adjacent to their farming enterprises. The one viable exception to this arrangement was a bungalow-style home that sat just a half-mile off the town center, the residence of Dr. William Crisp and his wife, Rebecca. Dr. Crisp was the local physician who ran an office out of his home and provided general care to the locals, only referring them to larger cities when the need arose. Crisp was a beloved figure in Bonner Springs, known to everyone simply as “Doc.” As skilled as Crisp was as a medical provider, it was his warm and congenial bedside manner that endeared him to his patients. Despite the growing movement from the AMA on not performing house calls, Crisp simply turned a deaf ear. It was even not unheard of for Dr. Crisp to work with his patients on a bartering system when times were tough, and it was a bad crop year for the farmers.

  Rebecca came from a rural setting, as did her husband, and despite a formal education was content to be a stay-at-home mother to their only child, Charlie. Though this was the common arrangement of the day, people often wondered why the obviously educated and outgoing Rebecca did not strive for more. However, Rebecca seemed perfectly happy with her choice and never, not for even a minute, regretted her decision and what was her role in her family. The Crisps melded in well in Bonner Springs, and even though they were not integral components of the farming community, they were accepted readily. Charlie was a normal and typical kid of the day. As he grew, he could be seen out and about the Crisp property inventing his own games and appearing from all observations to be quite satisfied with being self-entertained.

  However, as is often the case, appearances can be deceiving. Despite all their education and even with Dr. Crisp’s intimate involvement with the people of Bonner Springs, their views on raising Charlie seemed oddly out of synch, even in 1955. When she had been a young girl, Rebecca, a farm girl as well, had an experience that had chilled her to the bone. She never revealed what the specific incident was, other than to William, but it had without a doubt been so horrifying and traumatic, that it remained with her well into her adulthood. William never pried, as it was obvious that to even remind her superficially of her childhood ordeal was enough to sink the normally cheerful and unflappable Rebecca into a dark funk that could last for weeks. They had made an agreement early on that she was to oversee the raising of Charlie, so he could focus on his practice, and though it was not how he might have advised his own patients, Dr. Crisp stepped back and let Rebecca hold those reins.

  Charlie’s solitary life as he grew became all that he knew, and though he longed for more, he could see, even as a child, that his requests outside the parameters that his mother had set only upset her. So in time, he just accepted the rules of the house and made the best of his situation. It was not that he ever lacked for anything, or that he was neglected or unloved by his parents, but Charlie, like any other average child might, yearned for more. Rebecca refused to allow Charlie to attend the school with the other children in town, instead using her university degree in education to home-school her son. Eyebrows were raised, and loose talk among some of the other mothers in town sprang up when this was discovered, but as is the case with most rural folk, they saw it as none of their business, keeping their opinions and judgements just among themselves. In the day, home-schooling was not unheard of, but in Bonner Springs it was a new idea never before seen.

  Charlie sighed inwardly as the chance to mingle with and befriend the other children in town evaporated before his eyes as he watched them all go off running and laughing when the school bus arrived in town to cart them off to class. Rebecca did offer a fine and excellent diversity of school subjects for her son. If you had been allowed to look from far above and compare the education Charlie received compared to the other kids in town, it would be obvious that he was the beneficiary of the superior education. But as many observe, even with the preponderance of home-schooling that goes on today, there is often much more to attending public school than just the curriculum. It was just this that Charlie felt cheated out of. But like the sensitive and introverted boy he was, he just bit his tongue and went along…the last thing he wanted to do was to cause his mother any distress.

  When he was about 10 or 11, Charlie, though he was still smarting from his solitary life, took another stab at altering the situation. He thought to himself that if he was not to be allowed to go to the public school, then at least his mother might allow him to have some of the kids in town over. Or maybe he could just do the same at their homes. For a long time, he just mulled this over trying to decide how to best frame the request to his parents. He knew that his mother was not going to be the best one to approach on this topic, so Charlie cornered his father one evening in his study while Rebecca was preparing dinner. As best he could, considering his age, Charlie laid out his simple request to his father.

  “I would just like to have some friends, Dad…” the boy finished up as William listened carefully.

  He was impressed with his son’s logic and rationale, and deep down, he was touched with emotion. But then he recalled what Rebecca has endured as a child and how he had conceded the raising of Charlie to her.

  “Look, Charlie…” he began, as he looked deeply into his son’s eyes, “I know how much you want this. I really do. But you have no idea how dangerous our world is now. Not just from enemies outside our country, but within our country as well.”

  Charlie was well aware of what his father was referring to from the lessons his mother had ingrained in him on what was going on in current events following the end of the war in Europe and the growing concerns over what the adults called the “Cold War.” He was not sure what that was exactly, but he figured anything with the word “war” in it was not a good thing. He also knew, though only tangentially, about this conflict in a place called Korea. Charlie only knew of Korea from the maps he had seen, but he also knew from newspapers around the house that young men in Bonner Springs were being sent there to defend America against communism. The papers called it a “conflict” and a “police action,” but Charlie, even as young as he was, knew a war when he saw one. But what was his father talking about when he said there were enemies within the country? As far as he could tell, Bonner Springs was about as benign and peaceful as anyplace he could imagine.

  William saw the confusion on Charlie’s face and knew he would have to elaborate. There was no way the boy was just going to take this superficial explanation at face value…it was the simultaneous blessing and curse of having an intelligent and inquiring and perceptive child. He thought for a moment before going on.

  “Charlie…your mother saw some intense things growing up. Things that we both want to protect you from. It’s hard to explain, but can you trust me that we have your best interests at heart?”

  Charlie nodded reluctantly even though he was still as confused as to why this simple request was a problem. He knew only that something had happened to his mother when she was about his age that had caused her to be so overprotective of him. He knew none of the specifics, but he also knew well enough not to ask. The one time he had, it had thrown his mother into a dark space that had hurt him as much as it seemed to have impacted her. On some level, Charlie got that. But how in the world was him going to see some of the kids in Bonner Springs dangerous? Even more baffling was that if that was too dangerous than why could no one come to see him?

  It was depressing and disappointing to Charlie to get this information from his father, but he could see in the man’s eyes that there was no point in any further discussion. He sighed with resignation and left to go back to his room as his father ruffled his hair.

  “You do understand, right, Charlie?”

  “Sure, father…I get it. Thanks anyway.”

  Charlie, in fact, did not get it, and as much as he knew it was wrong to lie to his father, he also knew this was one of those lies that had to be said. There was just no other option. For
a while, Charlie put the thoughts of his solitary existence out of his mind. He instead tried to shift his focus to his lessons with his mother and chores around the house with his father. He did have free time though, and he soon found his ability to amuse himself, which he had found to be oddly innate, adequate for most of the time he was not focusing on details with his parents. In his heart, he knew that a normal child should have kids his own age to interact with, but after that last pretty serious conversation with his father, he knew there was no point in trying again. That door, for whatever reason, was closed.

  Then one day, Charlie had a thought of a slightly different tack that he hoped might ease his desire for peer companionship without upsetting his mother. A pet. It seemed a simple enough request on the surface. They were, after all, living in farmland. It was not like there were the inherent limitations that a household pet might encounter in a city…traffic, no place to run and play, and all that. And God knew he sure had enough spare time on his hands these days to commit to the care and attention a pet would require. These were all the points he began to line up in his brain as a defense for the approval of a pet. After all, any boy of his age would naturally be viewed as having one…dog, cat…even a freakin’ guinea pig, Charlie thought to himself. At this point, he was not going to be picky. But when he worked up the courage to broach the subject with his mother, he stood shocked and stunned as her mouth dropped open and she paled as if all the blood had drained from her face before she ran sobbing to the privacy of the bedroom she and his father shared, slamming the door behind her.

  Of all the things he had done to upset his parents thus far in his short life, asking if he could have a pet for companionship had been far, far down on Charlie’s list of items to consider. He went to his room following his mother’s inexplicable reaction to try and figure out what had happened exactly. However, as hard as he tried, Charlie could just not come up with a rational explanation. So he waited for his father that evening assuming he might be able to fill in the missing pieces. As soon as the sun set late that afternoon, Charlie looked up as his father knocked gently on the door, asking if he could come in.

  “You talk to mom?” Charlie asked as he scooted over to make room on his bed as his father sat next to him.

  William just nodded.

  “So…no pet either, huh?”

  “I’m afraid not, Charlie,” William replied with a deep sadness in his tone. “I know it seems very unfair and trust me, I know how much you would like one.”

  “This all tied in with whatever it was that my mom saw when she was a little girl?”

  “It is.”

  “And you still cannot tell me what, huh?”

  “It’s complicated, Charlie. Maybe when you are a little older, your mother will tell you.”

  “But you can’t, huh?”

  “You know what a solemn vow is, son?”

  “Like a promise you have to keep it a secret?”

  “Just like that.”

  “And is that how this thing with Mom is? You promised her not to tell anyone?”

  “I know it sounds horribly mysterious, Charlie, but yes. Until she is ready to reveal this to you, I have promised not to talk about it to anyone. Even you.”

  Charlie nodded reluctantly again, just as he had with the issue of seeing other kids his age. At least this time, his father did not ask him if he understood, so he did not have to lie to him for a second time in such a short time span. William hugged Charlie, letting him know it was not that he was not loved, but more that this was out of his immediate control at the moment. He left the bedroom, and Charlie sat mutely, staring at the growing dark of the day more confused than ever. He was sure this request would be readily granted, and when it had fallen flat as well, he was utterly lost and sadder than he had ever been in his life. He had already begun to imagine a new pet in his life…maybe a puppy, his first choice. He had even begun to run through a list of names for his new best friend and how they would be friends forever. But just like the last rays of the sun on the horizon, his dreams slipped away and disappeared into the dark.

  ……….

  Charlie, despite his disappointment at being denied a pet, did his best to keep up a façade of happiness and contentment with each new day. He was young and not highly experienced in how to cover up his true feelings, but he also did not want to cause his mother any more undue stress or pain. Though he could not imagine what it might have been to make her so resistant on him having any interaction with the outside world, even just a simple puppy, he assumed it must have been something so insidious and horrifying. He was not sure he ever wanted to know, even if she should someday decide to let him in on this secret. For almost two years, Charlie was able, though it had required great effort and what he saw as personal sacrifice, to just put his desires aside. But as often the case, when true feelings are stuffed into a box, hoping they will just go away, disastrous consequences result. This is the way the subconscious mind works.

  One spring morning, Charlie awakened to what had felt like just another typical day in his life in Bonner Springs. But as he sat in the kitchen and went through the motions of the breakfast ritual in the Crisp household, he knew he could no longer just go along as he had for so long. He finished his meal and excused himself to head out back to do the normal chores he had been assigned before his father left to see a couple of elderly patients in their homes and before he was to begin his daily lessons with his mother. He washed out his cereal bowl and left it in the sink and then padded across the open area that lay between the house and the small storage shed that sat just on the other side of the semi-circular drive near the house.

  His father always liked to say goodbye to Charlie before he headed off to work, even if it was just to his clinic attached to the house. But when Charlie did not return after 15 minutes, William began to grow impatient, not wanting to keep his appointments waiting. Rebecca had not heard him return to the house and volunteered to go retrieve him from the yard so William could get on with his day. But just as William was gathering the last of his stuff for the trip around town, a blood-curdling scream from the yard caused him to drop his medical bag and go running. Rebecca was not prone to outbursts such as he had just heard, so a wave of panic shot through him as he raced toward her voice.

  As he skidded to a stop in the gravel and loose dirt behind the shed, he saw Rebecca on her knees wailing and moaning in high distress. It was only when he looked up into the bright glare of the morning sun that he saw the reason for her screams. There, hanging from a high branch of a maple tree that shaded the shed was Charlie. His thin, gangly frame hung limply from the limb, a noose snugged firmly about his neck as his weight swung in rhythm with the mild breeze that was blowing that morning. William felt as if his whole world had just been flipped upside down, like a character in an absurd comedy where a rug was whipped from under the feet of a man who then toppled to his backside. He ran to the shed and got the ladder to free Charlie from the rope, but even as he gathered the dead weight of his son in his arms, he knew he was too late. And this had nothing to do with his medical training. Even as he climbed the ladder, tears streaming from his eyes, he knew Charlie was already gone.

  Rebecca was put under observation for a bit following Charlie’s suicide while William tried to go back to his practice. But it was no use. Charlie had left no note, nor had he given any indication of his intentions. The town of Bonner Springs was stunned to their collective roots. The perfect Crisp family seemed to have been struck with this tragic hand from out of nowhere, and there was nothing anyone could say or do that was to be adequate to ease the suffering of William and Rebecca. As much as William loved the town and the wonderful people who lived there, he just could not continue on in his practice, as each day in the house just reminded him of his precious Charlie. Likewise, once Rebecca was released from the psychiatric care she had been placed under, the two of them knew it would be impossible for them to remain there another day.

  Despite
support from the community, William and Rebecca insisted on blaming themselves for Charlie’s decision. In her heart, Rebecca now saw their refusal to allow Charlie what he had most desired…interaction with children his own age…even a simple pet he could have cared for…had pushed him to the brink. William supposed he could have told Charlie all the details of his wife’s fears and concerns for making them take these drastic measures, but all of that was just too late now. God how he hated that saying about 20-20 hindsight…

  With no other options in front of them, and with nothing but guilt and primary responsibility for Charlie’s death hanging on them like a shroud, William and Rebecca Crisp abandoned the house they were sure they would grow old in with their beloved son. With no further word to anyone in Bonner Springs they simply moved away…like they had never been there at all. Time went by, and a realtor in town did put the house up for sale, but it sat and sat, dark and empty, the stigma of Charlie Crisp’s suicide creating this invisible but somehow palpable barrier to any interested buyers for miles around. That was when the rumors and the gossip surrounding the old Crisp place arose. No one knew for sure where Dr. Crisp and his wife had gone, but word around town that soon became generally accepted was that Rebecca had finally lost her mind over the tragedy and that Dr. Crisp, not knowing what else to do had soon followed in his son’s footsteps.

  It was most likely just talk, but still, the story was accepted as truth by the locals who had known them well. And to add to the folklore, which is still passed along to anyone who will listen, even to this day, it is said that young Charlie Crisp, the innocent boy who only wanted a friend or a puppy remains attached to the home. His untimely death the result of a severely depressed and hopeless child’s mind gave his spirit a sense of unrest, and it still can be found in and around the grounds of his boyhood home, looking for in death what he was denied in his mortal life…