Ghosts, Ghouls, and Haunted Houses

by Carrie King

  Three more … only three more ...

  Chapter 45

  Greyfield Manor: Present Day

  Jessica stopped the car in front of Greyfield Manor and turned it off. For just a moment she concentrated on listening to the engine making its cooling down noises and took in her surroundings. For now, she wanted to concentrate on the physical only. This little ritual allowed her to concentrate on her external senses. Sight, sound, scent, touch, and even taste. The air held a hint of salt.

  Pushing away a sense of unease she took in her surroundings.

  The large and imposing stone structure was surrounded by stunted, windblown pines and long, knee-high seagrass. It undulated in the early afternoon breeze.

  The rounded driveway curved around a meadow not far from the cliffside. Over the edge of the cliff, she could see the wide expanse of the Solway Firth. She idly wondered if the beach down there was decent enough for sun-bathing, but then she focused back on the task at hand.

  Plucking her cell phone from her purse on the passenger seat she glanced at the screen. One bar. This was going to be tricky. She dialed Mindy.

  "Hey."

  "I just arrived. Where are you?"

  Mindy sighed. "I'll be there within the … got stuck in traffic… well, not really … wildlife."

  As the call broke up, Jessica sighed. The reception up here was going to be terrible, and the drop-outs didn't help.

  "Wildlife?" Jessica asked, surprised. She hadn't seen any wild animals on her way up to the old inn. Eyeing the place, she couldn't imagine it was a very lucrative business; out in the middle of nowhere, it boasted, no television, no radio … no Wi-Fi …

  The owner had told her that a generator outside the kitchen provided enough electricity for the small refrigerator, but not much else. Geez. Then again, maybe this was what people wanted now. To get away and truly unplug. To get off the grid. Whatever they called it.

  Mindy laughed. "Okay, maybe not wildlife, but … herd of sheep … enormous! It took nearly fifteen minutes for the … to cross … road!"

  Jessica laughed. "You're breaking up. Reception is lousy. See you soon."

  She disconnected the call and looked up at the old manor house. It had been converted years ago into a bed and breakfast or inn, whatever the current owner wanted to call it. Seriously? Sure, the location was beautiful, but the place looked … old, and that was putting it nicely. It was nearly three centuries old, but it had stood the test of time, weathering the spanning years surprisingly well.

  The owner of the property had informed her that most of it was still original, although some of the wood inside had been replaced in the early 1900s. The structure was mainly built of weathered native stone. It rose two stories high and on top of that were with two dormer-style windows offering a view toward the sea.

  The reason she was here was because the owner had asked her to investigate the place. There had been complaints from the workmen renovating the place. They said the house was haunted. The last guests had left one day early, even though they'd paid for the entire weekend.

  As a physical medium and empath, Jessica usually felt comfortable with her paranormal investigations, but with this place, she wasn't so sure. She immediately sensed something was off.

  Even though Mindy, her business partner, had been feeling under the weather she still decided to take the job. The owner had offered her a substantial sum to thoroughly investigate and find the source of the supposed haunting—now, and not later. After some research she anticipated it would take one night, two tops, to get to the bottom of it.

  The owner was skeptical that she would be able to document and prove a haunting, but he was at his wit's end.

  So far he had gone the normal route and the place had been inspected by surveyors, builders, and pest controllers. It came back that the structure was sound. There was no weakening foundation, no sign of animals dwelling anywhere in the old home that could be responsible for the mysterious sounds or sometimes odd smells reported by visitors.

  Nothing helped, and he was frustrated by the comments left on social media and travel sites claiming the house was haunted and that no one would return.

  Jessica wondered if maybe he should simply advertise the place as haunted. She was more than familiar with the popularity of haunted hotels and the many people who deliberately sought out such locations for their vacations. Yet her research had shown her this was not so with Greyfield Manor. It was one thing to stay at places that had a reputation of hauntings by "friendly" spirits and quite another to expose yourself to darker or evil spirits.

  It was time… she opened her door and stepped out of the car, her gaze continually sweeping the length of the structure as she quietly shut the car door behind her. The equipment was in the boot, but she wanted to explore the interior first. It was important to let her senses investigate before her judgment was clouded by the equipment. Once Mindy was here she would bring it in. First, it was important to get a feel for the place.

  Jessica was physically and emotionally drained. It was not a good state to tackle a house that gave off the feeling this one did, but that was the way the job went. Sometimes she had no work for months and then… she had just come off an investigation on the outskirts of London that had been difficult. Some were, but most were simply finding mice and draughts. Other times they were harrowing.

  As a physical medium, she not only sensed things but often felt the emotions and experienced the death states of spirits and souls trapped in this realm though their bodies had long departed. At times, she felt exactly what they had felt at their death. Pain, sorrow, regret, fear … it was exhausting.

  The house already had her mind drifting to such maudlin thoughts and she pulled it back to the task at hand while still letting her talent feel. Her goals here were to determine exactly what was going on at Greyfield Manor. If possible, to make contact with any spirits, which was likely, considering the feel the place gave her. Also due to its age and the number of people that had passed through it over the centuries there almost had to be some souls left behind. Optimally, she needed to encourage any lingering spirits to move on, to cross over, to go into the light. To leave this place clean and fresh and habitable once more.

  From her research and the owner’s reports, she wasn't sure if the hauntings were truly malevolent. She wouldn't be able to make such a determination until she completed her investigation. Still, looking up at the old structure, she couldn't help but acknowledge the shiver of apprehension that raced down her spine.

  With Mindy, they would have the place to themselves. It would not be difficult for the owner as bookings were almost nonexistent.

  Once more she looked around, the weather had turned damp and cold, typical of Northern England in mid-November, maybe that was what caused the shiver?

  Digging into her pocket, she pulled out the key given to her. No place on the property, inside or out, was off-limits to her, which was good. Some owners had silly rules that made the job harder. Her only instructions were that she didn't damage or deface anything throughout her investigation, other than that, Jessica had been given free rein.

  With a sigh, she stepped toward the front door. Before sliding the skeleton key into the lock, she placed her left hand on the door as she always did before entering a supposedly haunted home, business, or outlying structure.

  It was an important habit.

  Nothing, not even a tingling sensation, met her touch. Satisfied, she slid the key into the lock, turned it, and pushed the door inward.

  Her satisfaction transformed into a momentary hesitation as she crossed the threshold. The door stood half open behind her as she paused in the middle of the small foyer, soaking up the ambiance of the old house. Closing her eyes, she concentrated.

  Was that a whisper?

  It could easily have been the breeze rustling through the grass outside.

  The chance of finding a spirit or two here was probable, again due to the age of the building and the people
who had lived here over the generations. Still, much of what she usually sensed was residual in nature.

  Residual hauntings were not unusual. Spirits often left a literal imprint, visual or aural in nature, of their existence in places they'd lived for a long time or briefly visited. Time itself trapped these images, incidents, or sounds of a person passing through time, to be repeated over and over again. They were harmless, merely a recording.

  More whispers, this time she was sure they were in the house. They didn’t surprise her, but there were too many to separate one from the other. Brief snippets of words and sounds filtered through her head.

  Metal pounding metal, like a blacksmith pounding on a horseshoe.

  Children laughing in the yard.

  Arguing; a man and a woman.

  "Killed me!"

  Even beneath those soft whispers, the remnants of people who'd passed through, she heard a distinct growl. The hair rose on her neck, and she forced herself to be calm. It was just the loneliness of the house, just the feeling of being all alone.

  She couldn't tell where it came, or whether it was a sound of nature such as distant thunder rumbling or something more human. It didn’t matter, with further exploration, she would eventually figure it out.

  Jessica opened her eyes, thinking that the next couple of days would prove interesting, at the very least.

  Chapter 46

  Jessica moved slowly through the house, observing that a lot of the furniture was antique. Much of it had a heavy Victorian feel. There was a lot of mahogany and a good amount of burnished oak.

  Stained oak baseboards stood five inches tall. The mantle of the small fireplace in the parlor room was also wood. The heavy, dark wood of centuries past was everywhere. The manor was exquisitely decorated, with elaborate scroll plaster carving but it had a heavy, depressing and dark feel. It was as if too much furniture had been crammed into too small of a space.

  Of course, she knew it wasn't the furniture that gave off that heavy, oppressive feel. Even with plenty of windows to let in the early afternoon sunshine, the place had a gloomy, foreboding ambiance. This was a house that held secrets, and they were not good.

  Jessica completed a quick exploration of the lower floor. Her feet echoed as she walked along the wood planking of the hallway. There was a small library or large study of sorts on the left, then a few meters further another doorway led into a large dining room. For a moment she imagined it buzzing with conversations from elegantly dressed dinners, then they were gone, and the room looked bereft.

  Finally, to the last door on the left. It opened into a kitchen that blended numerous generations—and ages. An old brick fireplace and hearth stood against the far wall, an antique cast-iron water pump handle hovered over the porcelain sink. The nineteenth-century décor clashed with fifties-era appliances. The small refrigerator hummed softly, running off a generator as the owner had mentioned. It was tucked into a wood cubby back against the outside wall. Apparently, it was only turned on when guests were in residence if needed, or often visitors would enjoy the experience of ‘roughing it’ and cook their food in the fireplace.

  Jessica felt a cacophony of confusion here. While the other rooms on the lower floor had been restored to their former splendor, the kitchen was a mishmash of styles. It was here that she felt the first tingling sensation crawl up the back of her skull and a pressure on the top of her head. It was a sensation she often got in the presence of spirit.

  "Who’s in here with me?"

  She didn't receive an answer, but she really didn't expect to. Not yet, anyway. Later she would do an EVP session in here. Electric voice phenomena, using a small digital tape recorder, often captured voices that one couldn't hear naturally. She knew plenty of people who didn't believe in ghosts, spirits, or otherworldly paranormal activity, and she didn't really care. It wasn't her job to convince people one way or the other. If they believed it, fine. If they didn't, they didn't have to.

  Leaving the kitchen, and sensing the presence of at least one spirit in the house, Jessica ventured upstairs. The stairs felt solid, even if they did creak softly under her footsteps. She trailed her left hand along the sleek and polished banister, picking up vague images of children, laughter, and brief snippets of memory—residual—of those who had taken these stairs in generations past.

  There was nothing terribly unusual about the upper floor; there was a large bedroom just to the right off the stair landing. It was beautifully appointed with a four-poster bed in a deep plum. The walls matched or contrasted and the ceiling was decorated in ornate white plaster. It had an ensuite in faded white with a roll top bath and a walk-in wardrobe full of dust and a residual memory that she couldn’t quite catch.

  To the left of the stairs was an equally impressive room, this one in a pale beige. Further along, the hallway there were another three large bedrooms and a couple of smaller ones. At the end, there was a bathroom on one side, and opposite that, a closed doorway. She opened it and peeked inside. A narrow set of stairs led upward into the attic. She would save that for later.

  She headed downstairs, satisfied for now she began planning how she would set up the equipment. She had just entered the sitting room or front parlor or whatever they called it when her cell phone rang. Pulling the phone from her pocket, she glanced at the screen and smiled. Mindy. She tapped the screen.

  "Where are you?"

  "Just pulling up."

  Jessica was about to disconnect when Mindy spoke. “I … I'm getting a funny feeling about this … "

  The call disconnected, but Jessica looked out the window to watch Mindy's car bounce along the dirt driveway toward the house. Perfect timing. Together they would bring the equipment into the house, get it set up, and begin their investigation.

  They were a well-matched investigatory team. Mindy felt things and sensed things that happened in the future. As a psychic, her premonitions and visions could sometimes be quite astounding, and a majority of them were accurate. Jessica’s skills, on the other hand, were rooted in the past; she could actually communicate with spirit—if they wanted to communicate.

  She opened the door and stepped out, startled by the expression on Mindy's face. The woman’s eyebrows were pulled low, and a slight scowl turned down the corners of her mouth. Mindy was typically a cheerful individual, and this was not an expression that Jessica saw often.

  "What is it?"

  Mindy glanced at her, shook off whatever bothered her, and offered a shrug. "It's an accident waiting to happen."

  Jessica lifted an eyebrow. "What? An accident? What do you mean?"

  "Haven't got all of it yet… that’s just the feeling I get."

  Jessica shook her head and grinned. "Thanks for the head's up, but I'll do my best not to antagonize the spirits here."

  Jessica was always easy with those who refused to pass on. The only times she tended to get confrontational was with spirits who bothered children. There were no children here, no guests, no one but the two of them and their special gifts. It should be an easy job.

  Chapter 47

  Despite the knowledge that this should be easy, Jessica felt a sense of uncertainty as she and Mindy unloaded their equipment. They grabbed it all from their cars, bringing it into the front sitting room.

  Mindy placed her backpack on the floor, gazing around.

  "It's beautifully restored," she commented.

  "That it is," Jessica replied. "Help me unload the rest of our equipment, and you can take a tour."

  In a matter of minutes, all the equipment had been brought inside.

  Jessica worked on deciding what to place where while Mindy quickly explored the bottom floor and then headed up the stairs.

  She paused on the landing where the stairs took a forty-five-degree left turn up to the second floor. Looking down from the first-floor landing, she spoke.

  "I think we should place our thermal camera here on this landing. I'm feeling a distinct change in temperature here."

 
Jessica nodded and headed toward the stairs while Mindy continued upward to the top. On the landing, she paused and held her arms out slightly to her sides, feeling the air around her. Nothing. Then again, spirit moved as spirit wanted. Here one second, gone the next.

  While Mindy completed her brief exploration of the upper floor, Jessica returned to the sitting room. She rarely got spooked, but the silence that encompassed this place, the fact that they were alone, coupled with Mindy's unexpected warning, gave her pause. Maybe this one would be difficult?

  "Oh, stop it!"

  She was getting herself all worked up over nothing. She had done hundreds of investigations, some of them more difficult than others, and this was no different.

  Still, she took another look around the bottom floor as Mindy made her way down the stairs. They creaked softly beneath her feet.

  Jessica peered more carefully into the rooms, looking for anything out of place. She saw no unexplained shadows, no minuscule flashes of movement, no aural indications that anyone or anything was here in the house with them.

  She paused in the doorway to the parlor, thinking this would be a good place to start. She would set up and start an EVP session down here. She doubted she would pick anything up, that would be too easy.

  Jessica froze, her body tense, her head tilted as the words reverberated through her brain. She would've chalked it up to anxiety except for the fact that Mindy, standing a few meters away, turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

  "You heard that, right?"

  Mindy nodded.

  "Get out!"

  This time not only had Jessica heard it, but she had felt the breath of warm air against her neck, just under her ear.