Haunted Happenings

by Lucrezia Black

  “I don’t think she’ll be a problem. She seemed to just be very comfortable here and not want to leave. Some spirits are like that.” She shrugged. “The little boy was happy enough to cross over. He wanted to find his mother.”

  “Well, I hope they all found peace. I hope they all found what they were looking for.” Maybell held Deirdre close to her chest and inhaled the now familiar smell. She couldn’t believe that she had been in such a state as to forget the children. She couldn’t believe that she had ever held any ill will towards anyone. But she remembered the anger and the sadness and the hopelessness. She never wanted to feel that again.

  “Thank you again, Haydee. I don’t know how to thank you enough for what you have done for us. You gave me my family back. You gave me my house back.” Stu beamed at his wife and held Daniel on his lap.

  “It’s what I do.” Haydee shrugged. “Now I hope you won’t be a stranger after this, Stu. I want more than just a message, every eight years. I’m just down the way, you know. At least for now.”

  He smiled. “I’ll be sure to have you come by again. Preferably when the house is a little more updated.”

  “You mean you don’t like the old school feel? I absolutely love it.” She grinned.

  “You would.” Stu rolled his eyes but he meant well. He had everything he could want back again. And he couldn’t be happier.

  The Rizzows had no more problem with spirits of any kind after that day. They continued to update the old house, financing most of it through Stu’s job as a stock market broker. And when they had finally made all the changes that they wanted, he left his work to pursue his real passion.

  With the kids a few years old now and Maybell back to work as a nurse, Stu had figured it was time for him to do what he really wanted to do. He figured it was time that he put Tailsbend to good use.

  He started up a horse-breeding farm on the land. He even negotiated deals with the neighbouring landowners for hay and grazing. He got himself one good breeding stallion and a few mares from decent lineage, and he was set to go.

  It would take a few years, he knew, to get established. It would take a few years for him to make a name for himself. But he had all the confidence in the world that he would be able to do it.

  And Maybell was nothing but supportive of the idea. She knew that he hated being a stockbroker. She knew that it had always been a means to an end for him. He’d gone to veterinary college for a reason. And now she could finally see him put that schooling to good use. It also meant that he would be home with the children while she was at work. It was the ideal trade off, considering Deirdre was still a year from school going age.

  She couldn’t believe how fast the time had flown by for them. She couldn’t believe that they had come this far already. Daniel was growing into quite the boy and he was eager to help out around the farm. Deirdre was always full of surprises and Maybell hoped that she would continue to be so.

  And Maybell and Stu’s marriage couldn’t be happier. She’d even found out that she was pregnant. She didn’t hold out for it to work. She wasn’t going to get too excited just yet, after all their years of trying. But she prayed each night that the little one growing inside of her would stay.

  Perhaps it had been her encounter with Cilla that had changed her luck. Perhaps it was just the country air and the lack of stress. Maybe it was because she’d finally accepted that she wouldn’t have children, so they’d adopted.

  Whatever the case, she was happy with the outcome. She hadn’t told Stu yet. She wanted to make sure she was beyond the danger zone before she made the announcement to him. She didn’t want to get his hopes up only to have them dashed.

  But she had a good feeling about this. She had a good feeling about the house now that their ghosts had been sent away. She had a good feeling about the farm. She had a good feeling about the baby. And she felt great about the children she already had.

  She wondered if she had to thank the Suffridges for the way her life was turning out. Part of her thought she owed them, but she didn’t know what exactly. Either way, she knew that she would never forget them. She knew that she would always remember the short time she had spent trapped in the mindset of Cilla. And she had learned a great deal from that.

  Life was chaos sometimes. She’d caught onto that fact soon after the children had come along. And rather than resisting the chaos, you just had to ride the wave and see where led.

  They were still riding that wave, she knew. But she had a strong feeling that their destination would be a good one. And she would have Stu by her side the whole way. She at least knew she could count on him. If they could get through a haunted house and ghost possession, she believed they could get through anything.

  The Haunting of Manor House

  The Search Continues

  May 2016

  * * *

  Vera had always had a thing for old houses. Perhaps it was the number of horror films she’d watched growing up. Perhaps it was the old house her grandmother had lived in where she’d spent a great deal of her childhood. It was hard to say but newer style homes held no appeal for her. They seemed too clean. They seemed too perfect.

  She wanted a house with character. She wanted a house that had history. But not too much history.

  She’d always thought she’d live in a house that was at least a hundred years old. She’d always thought she’d have this grand Victorian house that had books filled with its history. Now she wasn’t so certain that would be the case.

  She’d met Joe Searle a few years ago. They’d hit it off immediately. And a few months ago, they were finally married. She was over the moon to be Vera Searle. She was excited to start a new stage in her life.

  But they were already hitting some roadblocks. After the honeymoon had wrapped up they’d agreed that they would begin to look for a house. Vera was excited at the prospect but she had a feeling that Joe wasn’t quite prepared for her expectations when it came to the home in which they would spend their life and raise their children.

  To say that her expectations were high was a bit of an understatement. It wasn’t that she wanted something fancy. It wasn’t that she needed extravagance. It was simply that she wanted a house with history that wasn’t haunted. It didn’t seem like such a tall order.

  But it seemed to be turning out that way. Vera seemed to have rather a sixth sense when it came to such matters. She got a vibe from certain houses. She would walk into them and simply know that there was something lingering, something from the previous owner, something dark.

  She tried to explain this to Joe but he just laughed it off. He’d always laughed off her eccentricities. It wasn’t that he was being mean or insensitive. He loved her dearly; he simply couldn’t be convinced that the paranormal existed. He was too set in his ways about that.

  He indulged her though. When they walked into a home and she went on about how she could sense something in the house, he played it off as though he believed her. He made her view the entire property but if she said that it felt off then they pursued the purchase no further.

  He was more than willing to indulge her, but by the time he’d viewed their twentieth home he was getting tired of her turning every house down. He was getting tired of no home ever being good enough, ever being right. He wanted to get a house and start a life with her. He hadn’t imagined that simply finding the house would be the hardest part.

  “Are we going to pick one this year, love?” Joe glanced over at her as they got into the car after yet another viewing. She hadn’t liked this house either. She’d said that it had a weird feeling. Like all the other homes.

  “There was a weird feeling in the bedroom, Joe. Do you want a ghost watching us while we sleep?” She gave him an inquisitive look and waited for his response.

  “Of course not, dear,” he muttered. He didn’t want a ghost in any house he lived in but he was beginning to doubt that any of the homes they’d seen were actually haunted.

  “So we definitely
can’t live there. Nope, no way. We need to find some other place.” Vera glanced at the house in their rear-view mirror. It really was a shame. The house had been beautiful. So many of the homes that they had seen were beautiful.

  “Well we have one more to look at today and that will make an even thirty homes that we’ve seen.” His voice was filled with exasperation. “Thirty homes, Vera. And all of them felt ‘off’.”

  She looked over at him, her eyes narrowing. “Do you expect me to live in a house that I’m not comfortable with? Do you expect me to live in a house that is already occupied? Do you want our children to grow up in that?”

  Joe sighed and his exhaustion was clear. “Vera, I want to find a house before we both die of old age. Is that so hard?”

  Vera gave a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry for being so difficult. Just none of those houses were right. They were all beautiful. They were all old. But they all had something off about them. I can’t really explain it any better than that.”

  He nodded and shifted the car into gear. He knew what she meant. He knew what her hang-ups were. There was really no point in fighting about it. It would just end up being a circular argument and there would never be a winner.

  “You know I love you, Vera. And I would do anything to make you happy. But this will be the last house. If this one doesn’t work, then we are finding an alternative solution.” He navigated the car towards their last viewing.

  Vera nodded. She didn’t want to speak. She wasn’t sure exactly what to say. Their marriage was so new and it seemed like they’d spent every minute of it since the honeymoon arguing.

  That’s not how she wanted her marriage to be. That’s not how she wanted her life to be. They wanted kids, eventually. But they’d both agreed to see how marriage worked out for them before crossing that bridge. So far it wasn’t looking very promising. They couldn’t agree on anything.

  She knew that she was being difficult. She knew that the main reason they hadn’t found a house yet was because of her. Joe was trying his hardest. He’d lined up thirty viewings. All the houses were exactly what she’d asked for. There was nothing wrong with them physically, but she couldn’t ignore the vibes that she got from them. She couldn’t force herself to like a home that she wasn’t comfortable with. And she wasn’t going to do that just to make Joe happy.

  She hated that she was putting Joe through this. She could see how exhausted he was. She could tell how frustrated he was. The fact that he was finally putting his foot down was an indication of just how exasperated he was.

  She felt bad. But feeling bad wasn’t going to make her make a decision on a house. Joe knew that just as well as she did.

  The car came to a stop in front of the last house they were set to view. Not just today, but ever. Vera looked up at the house. It was beautiful, but they all were beautiful.

  It was an old Victorian with two storeys, an attic and a basement. She loved the wrap around porch. She loved the little circular outing on the porch. She loved the widow’s walk. It was gorgeous. It was everything she had asked for.

  “This is the last one,” Joe said, giving her a meaningful look. “Can you at least give this one a chance?”

  “I gave all the others a chance, Joe. We walked through them. We asked questions.” She sighed heavily. “It’s not my fault that the houses had a bad vibe.”

  “Bad vibe…” he muttered and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Well, here’s hoping this one doesn’t have a bad vibe.”

  Vera nodded and followed him towards the house. The estate agent was waiting for them on the front porch. She smiled at them but she also looked tired. This was the thirtieth house she’d shown them after all.

  “Is today going to be the day, Vera?” She offered a friendly smile. “I have a good feeling about this one.”

  “Well let’s hope that I also have a good feeling about it.” Vera sent Joe a look that clearly indicated he wasn’t supposed to say anything.

  “Yes, let’s hope.” Joe followed the agent into the house and knew that his wife was right behind him.

  Vera walked through the whole house. She looked at the attic. She looked at the basement. She took her time to examine each room in the living area. It was all beautiful. Even the stone basement was clean and spacious and appealing. She had almost decided on it until they went into the laundry room.

  The minute she stepped into the laundry room she felt the chill creep up her spine. She felt the goose bumps raise on her arms and her stomach sank. Something had happened in that room. Something bad had happened, she was certain of it. A heaviness hung in the air. It made it hard to breathe. It made it hard to think.

  She turned around and walked out of the room. Joe watched her go. He recognised the look on her face. She’d had the same look twenty-nine times previously.

  He let out a sigh. He looked over at their agent and shook his head. She gave him a sympathetic look.

  “Shall I set up some more viewings?” She asked. They were quickly becoming her most difficult clients but she always enjoyed a challenge.

  Joe shook his head again. “I’ll get in touch with you when we figure something out. Something tells me there will never be a house.”

  The relator sighed. “Well let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.”

  “I will. Thanks for being so patient with us.” He looked in the direction his wife had gone. “I know it hasn’t been easy.”

  “It’s the job.” She shrugged. “No one said that finding your future home would be easy.”

  “Well I didn’t expect it to be this difficult,” he chuckled. “Not by a long shot.”

  From the Ground Up

  June 2016

  Village near Gloucestershire

  * * *

  “It’s perfect,” Vera said with a smile. She looked over at Joe and could see that he was also smiling.

  It had taken them a while, but they had come to a conclusion. It had been Joe who had found it. He’d looked for close to a month, but he’d found it. And when he’d finally brought Vera out to see it, he was very pleased with her reaction.

  They were just outside of Gloucester. The location was fantastic since they both worked from home and only had to venture into the city every few months for meetings. It didn’t matter where they lived, but the place Joe had found was perfect.

  Vera stared at the empty lot. She could see it. She could imagine what it would look like. It would be everything she had ever wanted and it would be theirs. There would be no lingering spirits. There would be no bad vibes. She would make sure of it.

  She had been surprised when Joe had suggested that they build instead of buy, but in hindsight it made perfect sense. She couldn’t find a home without a lingering presence. So, instead, they would start from the ground up.

  She was filled with excitement over the very idea of it. They had more than enough money set aside to make it happen. They’d been prepared to put a great deal down on a house, so building would not be an issue and in this way, they would have exactly what they wanted.

  “You really like it?” Joe looked over at his wife and knew that his voice was loaded with scepticism. He couldn’t help it. Since she’d been displeased with a remarkable number of potential new homes, he was shocked that she actually liked this idea.

  “It’s perfect, dear. I’m shocked we didn’t think of it before.” She took a few steps forward into the lot and turned in a slow circle. “I can just picture it.”

  He watched a genuine smile bloom on her face. “Well we can build it exactly the way you picture it, love. But this does mean that we are stuck in that apartment for a little while longer.”

  Vera gave a heavy sigh. “I suppose I can handle that. But how much is a little longer?”

  Joe shrugged. He hadn’t sat down with the contractor yet, but he had a feeling it would be longer than she would like. He knew that a good house wasn’t built in a day. And he wanted it to be a good house.

  “I would
guess about a year, darling.” He watched her smile droop a little. He knew that she didn’t want to wait that long. Patience had never really been a virtue of hers. He was lucky that he had enough for both of them. He had really needed it during their month of house searching.

  “Will it really take that long?” Vera looked at the lot of land on which she stood. She’d never had a house built before. She had no frame of reference of what went into the process.

  “I would imagine so,” Joe replied, his tone sympathetic. “But once we meet with the contractor tomorrow, we will have a better understanding of our time frame.”

  She nodded and continued to look at the property. In her mind’s eye she knew where everything would be. She knew what it would look like.

  “Do you know what you want?’ He asked, stepping up beside her and sliding his arm around her waist.

  She looked at him and smiled. “I know exactly what I want.”

  “Good, because you will have to tell the contractor. Neither of us are very good at reading minds.” He grinned. “I guess it’s a male thing.”

  “Oh, probably,” she joked.

  She turned to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “It’s absolutely perfect. I don’t have any bad feelings about this place.”

  “That would be a first,” he replied.

  She gave his arm a smack. “It’s not my fault that all the old houses had people die in them. Who would have thought?”

  He raised a brow. “It’s kind of a given. The older the home, the greater the chance that someone has died in the home. Most people know that.”

  She rolled her eyes and looked beyond him at the empty lot. “Can’t you just see it, Joe? Can’t you see the house? We’ll get a dog, we have to. We have the space for it now. And can you see the kids running around?”