My dearest Harriet,
I doubt that I could fully understand the terror you felt at my hands. I can still see you standing in the doorway with that hobo outfit with the felt hat on, your face beaming at me. Then I see the delight in your eyes turn to fear as I closed the door behind you. I am playing the hanged man at the Haunted Manor. I thought it only fitting. For the rest of my life I will have to live with what I did to you. It won’t be long before I join you Harriet. I have not been questioned yet in regards to your murder. I did hear talk that the medical examiner had retrieved evidence and was waiting for the lab results. So it’s only a matter of time. Our time on this earth came and went like time spent through an hourglass. What can I say…The Devil made me do it! I shall meet you in hell my dear.
He had signed his name and drew a little devil next to it.
DEVIL DARTMOOR WAS WATCHING and let out a terrible cackle that seemed to echo throughout the manor. Mark and Anna both shivered, but neither addressed the laughing they thought they heard only in their heads.
Mark pulled out his cell phone and called Howard, the sheriff. Finally, after the fifth ring someone answered. “I’d like to speak to the Sheriff Coffey please,” he said.
“One moment,” said the dispatch.
“This is Howard, how may I help you?”
“It’s me Mark Sökmen, I’m at the Manchester Haunted Manor Attraction. I’m afraid you need to get over here right away. It seems that Principal Martin has committed suicide. He wrote a note to Harriet, apparently a woman he murdered.”
“I’ll be right there,” said the sheriff as he slammed his phone down.
He was barking orders at dispatch over his shoulder as he left the building. Upon arriving at the Haunted Manor he quickly made his way inside. Both Anna and Mark met him at the door. “Are we going to have to close up the Manor now?” asked Anna looking at the clock on the wall. “We only have a half hour before we close, and the guests have already passed through this area anyway.”
“We can wait the half hour. I know you’ve worked hard on the Haunted Manor and that all the proceeds are going to the dog shelter,” answered Howard. They made their way to where the principal’s body lay. “We do need to close off this room,” he said in a gruff voice.
“Of course,” said Mark as he shut the door.
Anna handed Sheriff Coffey the note the principal wrote. He read the note and couldn’t believe that he had actually liked the guy. “It just goes to show, you never know about people. I mean seeing someone in public is sometimes way different then seeing them at their home…or in this case reading a handwritten confession.”
“Why do you think he did this?”
“Anna, the body of Harriet was found last week. We are still waiting on the lab results. I did speak to the medical examiner and she said that poor Harriet had been strangled. She was able to get some scrapings from under her nails. It was obvious Harriet put up a fight. “
This was all very sad.” Anna replied, “ I know they had children. Their eight-year-old daughter was at home when it happened. Why didn’t she say that it was her dad that killed her mom?”
“It was a shock to her. As far as I know she just stopped talking.”
“Thankfully our community…and the church, quickly gathered around her. Everyone knows she would need a lot of support after witnessing her mother’s murder,” she said as she wiped away the tears that started flowing down her cheeks.
The Principal’s suicide and murder of Harriet became the talk in the community. When the Sheriff’s department entered his home they found out that Mr. Martin had become obsessed with her. He had been secretly monitoring his wife, Harriet. He had placed cameras in every room of their home.
He saw she had a visitor just about every time he was away. It was Mr. Miller, the football coach, and they had been having an affair for the past three months. Mr. Martin was a jealous man. He made a detailed list of why he must kill Harriet. The first on the list is that she had dismissed every advance he made toward her.
However, Harriet was the English teacher and they ate lunch together in the teachers lounge. They were going to a Halloween costume party and Harriet had shown up early. Mr. Martin had just viewed a video of the coach with her having an intimate moment and he had become obsessed and angry. He just wanted her to see him as something more than a friend. He was her husband for God’s sake. He pleaded with her, but when Harriet refused him, he strangled her.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The Well
I t was Halloween, and with the Haunted Manor having to shutdown the weekend before due to the crime scene, Anna was relieved that there was something else to concentrate on. Tonight was the night the coven would go to the portal and send the demons back to where they belonged.
Once there, they strengthened the protective border with more salt. Then the witches formed their magic circle around the old well and began their incantations.
“Forces of powers around us spin
With Love and Light we charge this space
To work our magick, let us begin
Forces of Air, Forces of Wind
Protect us and let our powers begin
Forces of Earth, Forces of stone
We charge thee to do our bidding
Let us begin Mother take charge,
Bring the walls down.”
Crush the demons and make Briar Glenn safe.”
A cold wind blew and encircled the coven. Anna was terrified. She gasped as a legion of what can only be described as black demons encircled the witch’s heads, all laughing at them. Anna raised her arms and screamed out before joining the coven as the continued chanting:
“Be-gone all Demons of the dark,
Be-gone all spirits unclean,
Be-gone all negativity
and leave this town unseen.
Go back to Hell where you belong.
When you arrive there burn never return.”
The group started screaming out their own Wiccan spells to rebuke them, hoping the entire black demon legion would disappear back inside the well. That only made things worse. The laughter of the demons escalated with their incantations.
They repeated the words over and over again.
“Mother take charge
Bring the walls down.
Crush the demons and make the town safe.”
Then all of a sudden, Anna remembered her days in Sunday school as a child and the teachings of Jesus. She hadn't thought about that in a long time. Anna held out her hands and pointed to the well. In a voice that could wake the dead she bellowed an order,
“I am the High Priestess of Briar Glen Covenant of Earth Magic, our coven of white witches. We call upon the Goddess and call upon Jesus Christ to send the demons back to hell from where they came.”
Electricity shot from her fingertips. A flash of light appeared and they heard a loud cry. It was deafening. The demons were sucked back into the depths of the well. Anna closed her eyes and when she opened them, the well collapsed.
Everyone was exhausted and Mark was the first to congratulate her. After it was over, hugs were given all around. Hanna put her hands on Anna’s shoulders and asked, “Why Jesus?”
“Its simple, I believe Jesus was a witch. He worked miracles everyday, what we would call magic. He cured people and did most things expected from a witch. He had his coven of thirteen. Did he not?”
“I never thought of that.” Mark exclaimed as he put his arm around Anna.
"If Jesus were here today, he'd be a witch,” stated Anna. “He criticized the hypocrisy and legalism of the religious organizations, and choose to embrace an alternative spiritual path. He was a psychic healer and acknowledged the divinity within each person. Jesus lived close to nature and believed in magic, only he called it prayer. He could command the weather and had a profound relationship with the elements. And like a sorcerer, Jesus could channel spirits. Most importantly his enemies accused him of being under the influence of demons
and just like witches, Jesus was killed, unfairly, for his blasphemy.”
Recovering from the unnerving ordeal, and feeling exhausted, the coven slowly made its way back home.
IT WASN’T until the rest of the coven left and Madeline had turned into the black cat that she heard it: a howl in the depths of the trees, followed by a creak of wood. She looked up into the largest oak tree and suddenly a little imp confronted her. Three daunting eyes stared at her with a pure hatred. A screech bursts from its fetid mouth as if a warning. Was it challenging her? She backed up and stopped, frozen as she stared at the devil.
Electric powers crackled through its skin. Its thick head was adorned with spiked protrusions. An overpowering heat and stench escaped the demon’s full nostrils set within a fossilized nose. The three eyes made the hair on her stand up straight she arched her back and hissed. She noted the contorted claws, able to lacerate flesh and bone. Its thick head sat atop a short, chunky body covered in scales. The demon jumped forward out of the tree; its four legs pounding the ground. A jagged tail swirled behind it, each movement scraped the earth beneath it.
Madeline watched in horror as two enormous wings extended. Translucent bones, and leathery feathers emerged, like daggers stretching upward, before curling up. The demon looked at her with scorn and took off vertically like a Lilium jet plane. It had escaped Anna’s command. She shook with fear. Then she ran off into the forest in the opposite direction hoping the demon would not pursue her.
THE FOLLOWING NIGHT the coven met in the basement. Madeline was trembling and it was quite noticeable. “Madeline, What is going on? Are you okay? You’re trembling like you’ve seen death,” exclaimed Mark.
Her voice trembled in unison with her body she said, “Well, well, whe-when everyone left last night and no one noticed but me, Mark, there was a demon in the tree next to the well.”
“Are you sure?” His question was full of concern, not doubt, but Madeline was so upset she felt challenged.
“Yes I’m sure! I wouldn’t tell you if I wasn’t,” her eyes brimmed with tears.
Mark stood up to address the coven, “Quiet everyone, Madeline needs to tell you all something.”
He eyed her. She stood up quivering and stated, “I was the last one to leave the well last night. When I transformed into my feline self, I heard a howl and gazed up into the tree next to the well. There was a demon with three eyes staring at me. Anna you missed one.”
Like the cold breath of a grave, her words seemed to cut Anna’s very soul. “Oh my God,” she shrieked, “Why didn’t you tell us this last night?”
Madeline saw Anna’s smile widen a fraction before a big frown appeared, just before she cast her eyes down to the floor in shame. She didn’t think it possible, but Anna’s words made her feel even worse. Everyone was stricken into silence. A ghastly whiteness spread over Madeline’s face. She could feel every eye on her, she backed up a little, “I-I was afraid,” she stammered.
Everyone peered over at her waiting for more information. “It had wings and flew off.”
Anna shook her head and said, “What are we to do now? We collapsed the well.”
“It is not up to me, but I know we’ll have to find out where the demon is hiding and go from there,” Mark said flatly. “Anna and I will be going to the town hall meeting this afternoon, I’m going to inquire if any suspicious activity was reported since last night. Meanwhile Madeline, I want you and mom to find out just who the demon is and what it’s capable of.”
Rose felt a shiver slide up her spine and glared at Madeline for not telling them all the night before. “We’ll work on it, son. We will destroy this demon and save our town.”
Arash glared at his son Mark, “The only way to kill a demon is to set it on fire,” he said. “It takes nerves of steel, skill and determination to kill a demon.”
Mark exclaimed, “ Dad, I believe this devil is capable of burning us all. I’ve read that they are jealous of humanity. And they come from another dimension. They want to control our dimension.”
“Be that as it may,” he stated “We still must destroy it with fire.”
Madeline stood and flung her hands up, “They cannot be permanently harmed by our weapons here. Our chanting and calling on the goddess did not work. What are we to do?” she said as she wiped away her tears.
“We research the demon and find its weakness. Then we can destroy it or send it back to wherever it came from.” Mark said with a gruff voice, “Let us meet back here at eleven-thirty tonight.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The Demon
T he women met at Rose’s house. She led them down the hall to the library and told them to sit. She rushed to her kitchen and grabbed a bottle of wine and some glasses. Hanna was reading a section in her book on Demonology aloud, when she returned. “The Twenty-ninth Spirit is Dartmoor. A mighty, strong Duke, appearing in the form of an Angel riding on an Infernal Beast like a Dragon, and carrying in his right hand a serpent. You must not let him approach too near, lest he do damage by his wretched breath. Witches must hold the Magical Ring near his face to protect themselves. He loves to dance and will give true answers of things past, present, and future, and can discover all secrets. He will declare how the Spirits fell, and if you wish to know, the reason of his own fall. He can enlighten one in all Liberal Sciences. He rules forty Legions of Spirits. His Seal is this,” she lifted up the book to show everybody a sketch of the seal. It was a hexagram shape also known as the Star of David. Only his name in capital letters DARTMOOR surrounded the hexagram. She continued, “and the seal must be worn as a Lamen or else he will not appear, nor will he obey you.”
They were all silent when a wind swept through the library. Nadine’s head dropped, her chin resting on her chest. “What will we do?” she whimpered.
“Hold your head up Nadine!” shouted her mother.
Nadine raised her red swollen eyes, and trembling, she gazed at her mother. She pleaded for her to answer. Hanna wrapped her arms around her and whispered, “We have to give it to God, our Father in Heaven.”
“But how? Anna is a witch--She is the High Priestess, and she couldn’t contain Dartmoor. Do you think the Goddess will take care of this devil?” she demanded
“I am also in this coven. I may just be a kitchen witch but I do know we can defeat this demon. It may take our father sky, who is our God, and the mother earth, who is our Goddess, to take care of our city,” explained Hanna, “but this coven, with help, can and will cast this demon out.”
“Just how are we supposed to get that ring of his?” asked Anna.
Rose set the tray of glasses and wine down on her desk and answered, “I have studied Demonology and we can simply draw the sigil of his seal on parchment paper and set it in the middle of our magick circle. We then can call him, and as long as we remain in the circle he will appear and cannot harm us.”
The women in the coven enjoyed their wine and considered all that was at stake and everything they needed to do.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
What Happened to the Cow
THE DEMON DARTMOOR was hungry and he was hungry for blood. As the night drew in and the temperature dropped, the demon made his way to a nearby farm just outside the city limits. Once there, he saw the cow he planned to kill. This is going to be tasty, he thought. And it will be an unexplained mutilation. He always reveled when the investigators could find no explanation to these types of killings. He spied the cow once again and the killing began. He used his claws like a scalpel and removed all the vital organs and drained the blood away. It had been a long time since he had feasted. When he got his fill he returned to the abandoned old hippie commune. He threw himself across an old tattered mattress inside an abandoned Winnebago, and passed out from his gluttony.
“GOOD MORNING,” Ralph managed to say as he rushed to the Ford Explorer. FBI Agent Jerry Barker had the door open, and was gathering his equipment from the back seat.
“Made it here as fast as I could,” t
he agent said as he got out and introduced himself.
“I’m just glad you’re here. The officer who came by the morning this happened did not know what to do,” Ralph replied.
The agent put his backpack on. His backpack contained rubber gloves, plastic sample bags. He had his best camera, his mini cooler, and his gun. He was pretty certain that the gun would not be needed. But one never knows. Whatever had hit this farm several days earlier had come in fast and had finished in a flash. “I wish I could have gotten here when it happened.”
It had been six days since the incident — an upsetting lapse of time, but it couldn’t be helped. Jerry could hear the dissatisfaction in his voice, and he completely understood. He’d already read the criminal report made by the Sheriffs Department. They were first on the scene after Ralph had first called 911. It was obvious the sheriff had not been in his comfort zone. Jerry couldn’t really blame him for that. It took a lot to traumatize a fourth-generation farmer, but the Sheriff from the Briar Glen Sheriffs Department couldn’t make much sense out of a cow mutilation like this. So he had called in the experts the FBI.
When asked to investigate these cases, the FBI was unable to because of jurisdiction. They could only investigate if the killing was found on Indian lands. For the past decade and a half, Agent Jerry Barker had been pursuing the truth behind these kills and what he believed to be an unexplained phenomenon. On his days off, this was his hobby, his addiction, and an obsession even.
They started away from the truck and into the farm. On the surface, Ralph's compound wasn’t unusual. Twenty-five or so acres, Typical farm as far as the agent was concerned. Seventeen head of Hereford cattle, with a nice farmhouse in front of the grazing area and a fairly good sized barn that was attached to a horse corral directly ahead.
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