by Bobbi Holmes
The ghost of Marie Nichols found Eva Thorndike sitting atop the theater’s roof, watching the sunset. Eva’s bare feet dangled below her long skirt. While she normally wore her hair up, this evening she wore it down, freely flowing past her shoulders. People normally compared Eva’s appearance to Charles Dana Gibson’s drawing of the Gibson Girl, yet now she looked more uniquely herself instead of a likeness to a pen and ink drawing. She also looked more like a girl, as opposed to a worldly woman and onetime silent screen star.
“I have been looking everywhere for you!” Marie said when she sat next to her fellow spirit.
Eva glanced over to Marie and smiled and then looked back to the sunset. “It is so beautiful, don’t you think?”
“Yes, it is lovely,” Marie agreed half-heartedly.
“Is there something wrong?” Eva asked after a few moments of silence.
“I have a problem, and I’m not sure how to handle it,” Marie explained.
“What sort of problem?” Eva asked.
“I was over at Adam’s, and he’s so upset.” She then told Eva about Ian’s father buying the Marymoor property.
“Oh my. And if you tell Danielle or any of the mediums, they might feel compelled to tell Ian.”
“Yes, and even though Ian will know Adam didn’t violate his father’s request not to say anything…”
“Ian may not be able to help himself, and he would say something to his father,” Eva finished for Marie.
“Exactly, and then Ian’s father will assume Adam behaved unprofessionally. I can’t do that to Adam.” Marie let out a weary sigh.
“Perhaps his father won’t buy the property once he sees it. I certainly hope not.”
“Who exactly is haunting that place?” Marie asked. “Can’t you ask them to leave?”
“I honestly don’t know who haunts it. It’s one place I’ve avoided for years. The negative energy is too overwhelming.” Eva shivered at the thought.
“Which is why we need to stop Ian’s father from buying the property. If he builds his home there, they will expect Connor to visit his grandparents’ house. I’m sure they will want him to spend the night sometime. Children always spend the night at their grandparents’ house. We can’t expose Connor to that type of evil energy.”
Eva looked at Marie, a concerned frown on her face. “Oh dear, I hadn’t even considered that.”
“I have. While spirits may not be able to physically harm an innocent like Connor, it doesn’t mean they can’t scare the poor child. It would be a nightmare for him.”
“I’m afraid you’re right,” Eva agreed.
“What can we do?” Marie asked.
“I suppose one option, let Ian know what his father is up to. He certainly won’t want his parents living there if he knows about the place. I’m sure with Danielle’s help you might come up with a story that someone other than Adam told Ian. Wouldn’t the other real estate agent know the buyer’s name?”
Marie considered the suggestion and frowned. “I do wish I had thought of that earlier, but I was so frazzled. I’m afraid it might be too late now. From what I heard from Adam when I was over there, they might close escrow anytime now, before we can do anything.”
“Why didn’t you come to me earlier?” Eva asked.
“I told you, I have been looking all over for you!” Marie reminded her.
The two spirits sat in silence, considering what to do while watching the sun slip into the ocean. Finally, Marie asked, “Perhaps we can convince the ghosts it’s time to move on? What do you know about them? I’ve always heard a patient killed a nurse over there, which is why they closed Marymoor. Is the killer sticking around because he doesn’t want to deal with the consequences?”
“I’m not sure. I suppose it’s possible. Back when the murder happened, I was spending a great deal of time at the Salem cemetery. Was such a nice little group there. But they all have since moved on,” Eva explained. “I wasn’t around when all that happened at Marymoor.”
“So you don’t know much about the murder?” Marie asked.
“What I know is what I heard from fellow spirits around at the time. I know a young nurse was stabbed—murdered. Everyone was out looking for the killer. I was told they found him hiding in an abandoned building. After his capture, they took him back to the sanatorium. They didn’t take him to the police station. Caused quite a ruckus, because once he was returned to Marymoor, he killed himself.”
“I wonder if he’s the one haunting Marymoor.”
“Considering the amount of negative energy, that would be my guess,” Eva said.
“According to Danielle, she once saw the spirit of a nurse at the Marymoor site. She wore a bloodstained uniform,” Marie said. “Her name was Molly.”
Eva nodded. “I believe that was the name of the murdered nurse.”
“That’s what I understood, too. Is it possible the killer and victim are both haunting the site?” Marie couldn’t imagine being trapped for eternity with the woman who had smothered her.
“If so, that might explain the negative energy emanating from the area,” Eva said. “The killer and his victim, forever trapped together to replay the gruesome act.”
“Do you think that’s what’s happening?”
Eva shrugged. “Or perhaps other inmates are haunting the place along with Molly. Marymoor was an institution for the mentally insane. Some patients, like the killer of the nurse, were criminally insane. Insanity is not a defect of the spirit—but the body. Yet, as long as the spirit is tethered to earth—trapped between life and death—they are in a sense tethered to the damaged body. Once they can free themself of those tethers, move on to the next plane, the spirit becomes whole again. No longer confused,” Eva explained. “No longer insane.”
Marie frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“Our physical form has limitations. When we move on, we are no longer limited by those imperfections of our bodies. Over at the Marymoor site, those spirits have not moved on and are not aware of their true state. Unfortunately, there are probably a number of insane spirits, dangerous in the fear they can evoke, haunting the property. Yet, fortunately, not capable of physically harming anyone. At least, not fatally… I think.”
Twelve
No one could see them aside from any spirit that might linger nearby at the Marymoor property. They stood on the opposite side of the street, Marie Nichols and Eva Thorndike. Marie, the image of an elderly woman wearing a floral-print housedress and straw hat, chose to present herself how she looked in her early eighties, as opposed to when she died in her nineties. She would have gone younger, yet those living—who could still see her—would not recognize a much younger version.
Eva didn’t have that issue, considering she had died at such a young age. No longer wearing her hair down, she now had it pulled atop her head in a knot, with wisps of hair artfully escaping. She wore an outfit more the style of the early 1900s, with a long skirt, and a fitted, tucked-in blouse, prim with a button-up collar.
Both ghosts studied the property, and neither noticed any lingering spirits nearby—other than themselves.
“You know what I find odd?” Marie asked, her gaze fixed on the property.
“What is that?” Eva asked, glancing at Marie and then back to the Marymoor site.
“Over the years I rarely came down this street,” Marie began. “Before the fire, I remember driving by and thinking the old abandoned buildings looked out of place with all the residential houses springing up around it. For a time, there was talk of building a park. And then someone wanted to buy the property to build condominiums. But the residents here pitched quite a fit with the city. They didn’t want multifamily housing on their street. There were a couple of bigwigs who lived here; they prevented that from happening by passing several zoning laws. And they never could divide the property into more single residential lots, even though it’s large enough.”
“Why is that?” Eva asked.
“According to my
father, when Marymoor donated the land, one stipulation was that they could never subdivide the property. Something about his legacy. Of course, I have no idea if any of that would hold up in court today if someone wanted to divide it. But considering the spirit activity, I don’t imagine that would be such a good idea.”
“What was it that you thought odd, exactly?”
“I do tend to wander.” Marie chuckled and then continued. “After the Marymoor Sanatorium burned down, I came by a few times to see the damage—and later to see what it looked like when they cleared the property. There were stories when they were clearing the site. I thought it bunk. I remember Adam avoided coming down this street; it gave him the willies. But it never bothered me—at least, not until I died.”
Eva nodded knowingly. “It’s because you’re now on this side, more sensitive to the energy of other spirits. When spirits emit negative energy, not everyone can feel it. Someone like Danielle can, but typically not a non-medium. Yet, once you move over to our side, just as you can now see and hear other spirits, you can also feel their negative energy—and with it, their pain.”
Marie wrinkled her nose and cocked her head slightly. “Yes, there is an element of pain to it, isn’t there?”
Eva nodded. “It’s one reason I tend to avoid these types of hauntings. Unless I feel I can help the spirits move on, I would rather not get involved. I suppose that’s selfish of me. Yet I also know the Universe will give me a nudge if I need to intervene.” Eva paused for a moment and glanced up at the sky. “I do believe you’re nudging me now.”
Marie looked around the neighborhood. “It certainly hasn’t stopped people from building on this street. Aside from stories specific to the property, I’ve never heard about the residents claiming to experience ghostly activity.”
“Living next to a haunted house can have an element of charm, and I don’t believe it hurts the property values in a neighborhood. Look at Marlow House,” Eva reminded her.
Marie smiled. “Yes, over the years, I heard stories of Marlow House being haunted—the same way I heard about the Marymoor site. And the same for Presley House—although over there, I recall Millie being quite annoyed each Halloween because of the attention it drew.”
“From what I understand, it seems any ghostly activity tends to take place within the fenced area, and only those sensitive to spirits—like us or one of the mediums—would sense anything from this distance, as we do.”
“Which is why I’m so troubled with the thought of Connor’s grandparents building here and then bringing the child to this site. I don’t want him subjected to any of that,” Marie said.
“Then let’s see if we can do anything about it.” Eva took one step off the sidewalk and headed across the street. Marie let out a sigh and followed her.
Molly noticed the two approaching women. She wasn’t sure if she had ever seen them before, but there was something familiar about the younger one. When they reached the gate, she looked into the eyes of the younger woman, trying to place her, when the woman gave her a smile.
“You can see me,” Molly said in surprise.
“Yes, we can,” Eva said.
“What do you want?” Molly asked.
“My name is Eva, and this is my friend Marie. May we come in a moment to talk?”
Molly frowned at Eva. “Talk about what? If you’re one of those people who want to buy this property, it isn’t for sale.”
Eva flashed Molly another smile. “No. We’re not interested in buying the property, we just want to talk.”
Molly let out a sigh. “I suppose I can spare you a minute. But I’m busy today. So just a minute.” If Molly thought it odd Marie and Eva moved through the gate without opening it, she said nothing.
Eva and Marie stood just inside the fence, some six feet from Molly. “We told you our names. What is yours?” Eva asked.
“I’m Molly.”
“You were a nurse here?” Marie asked, now staring at the bloodstain on Molly’s nurse’s uniform.
“I still am,” Molly said primly.
“Do you have a lot of patients?” Eva asked.
“Yes, that’s why I said I’m busy,” Molly snapped. “Now what is it you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Where are they? Your patients?” Eva glanced around, as if a patient might suddenly appear.
“Did Randal send you?” Molly demanded.
“Randal?” Eva frowned. “I don’t know a Randal.”
“Then why are you here? Why are you asking about my patients?”
“Eva, dear, can’t you just cut to the chase?” Marie pleaded.
Eva looked at Marie and said, “These matters require diplomacy—discretion. One can’t blurt out certain things.”
“Are you here to make me leave?” Molly asked. “Am I being fired? Randal did send you!”
“I told you, I don’t know any Randal,” Eva insisted. “I am here to help you… to help you understand.”
“Understand what?” Molly demanded.
Eva considered the question a moment and then said, “To help you understand your reality.”
“You aren’t making any sense,” Molly snapped.
“I have to agree with Molly,” Marie muttered under her breath.
“Do you ever feel as if you no longer belong here?” Eva asked, ignoring Marie’s grumblings.
“You are trying to get me to leave!” Molly accused.
“I can’t make you leave. Only you can do that. I am simply trying to show you the way,” Eva said.
Marie rolled her eyes and impatiently folded her arms across her chest.
“Show me the way where?” Molly asked.
“It’s important for you to remember. To think back and remember, put things in perspective,” Eva said.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to say,” Molly snapped.
“Perhaps we start with the fire and work back. Do you remember the fire?” Eva asked.
Molly frowned. “What fire?”
“The fire that burned down the buildings.” Eva nodded toward the old building site.
Molly glanced to where the buildings had once stood and then looked back to Eva. “What are you talking about?”
“The buildings that used to stand there. Where you worked. Do you remember when they burned down?” Eva asked.
“You’re talking nonsense. The buildings are still there.” Molly vanished.
“Molly! Come back!” Eva called out.
Marie and Eva stood for a few moments in silence, looking to where Molly had been standing.
Finally, Marie asked, “Do you think she really believes the buildings are still there?”
“I suppose it’s possible,” Eva said.
“What are you doing here!” a male voice called out.
Marie and Eva turned to the right just in time to see a young man pick up a rock and hurl it in their direction. It flew through Marie and landed on the ground. Upon seeing the rock move effortlessly through Marie, the man let out a scream and disappeared.
“Another ghost?” Marie said.
“Obviously.”
“I wonder how many of them are here,” Marie said.
“I was hoping to get Molly to come to terms with her reality, and once her perception cleared, she would be more willing to identify the other spirits haunting this site, and help us get them to move on,” Eva said with a sigh.
“If they refuse to listen to us, how can we convince them to move on?” Marie asked.
“I suppose we will just need to be persistent and make them listen!”
Marie and Eva remained on the property for several more hours. Unfortunately, they didn’t see another ghost, yet they could feel them. The unsettling sensation they first experienced when arriving not only continued, it intensified.
“Why is it I keep expecting Freddy to come out of the bushes, brandishing a chain saw?” Marie asked.
Eva chuckled. “It is fascinating how people pay to watch movies that give them the
same sensation we’re feeling now.”
“What should we do?” Marie asked.
“I suppose leave and come back later. We’re obviously being ignored,” Eva said.
Marie didn’t return to Adam’s on Tuesday, so she didn’t know if the property would close escrow before Ian’s parents arrived in Frederickport. She also avoided Danielle and the other mediums, not wanting to see them until she could assure them the troubled spirits at Marymoor had moved on.
She and Eva returned to the Marymoor site the next day. Not long after stepping onto the property, a tree limb fell from a tree, falling through Eva and landing on the ground.
“That would have hurt,” Eva muttered, looking down at the fallen branch.
“Good thing you don’t have a head,” Marie snarked.
“That was rude,” Eva said.
“The branch falling on you, or my comment about your head?” Marie asked.
“Both.”
They remained for several more hours, yet not a single spirit showed him or herself.
On Thursday they arrived at nightfall, wondering if the evening might be a better time for the spirits to show themselves. Again, the uneasy and unpleasant energy engulfed the property. They didn’t see Molly or the young man who had thrown a rock at Marie during their first visit. Yet another man showed himself. He wore what looked like an orderly uniform. Marie and Eva surmised this man had worked at Marymoor, while the other man had been a patient. This new ghost started screaming at the pair, threatening to get Randal if they didn’t leave. When Eva asked him to get Molly, the man screamed an obscenity, threw a large rock at her, and vanished.
Eva turned around and looked down at the rock that had flown through her body. “This does not look good.”
“I suppose we can look at the bright side,” Marie chirped.
“Bright side?” Eva asked.
“Even if Ian’s father arrives tomorrow and escrow has already closed, once he steps on this property, he may not see ghosts, but I imagine he’ll notice the rocks flying about and tree limbs falling. That will prevent him from building here.”