by Rose Pressey
Good morning. You’re here early.
I placed my bag on the counter. “I have research to do and I wanted to do it before work.”
What kind of research? Can I help?
I walked over to the reference area and turned on the computers. “Remember I told you that Devil’s Moon Theater is going through a renovation? Well, that stirred up a lot of ghostly activity.”
You want to find out more about the theater?
“Yes, do you know about it?” I asked as I sat down.
No. It wasn’t here when I was alive.
“Right, I guess I forgot about that.”
Look on the machine and see what it tells you.
Annie acted as if the computer had the answers to all. After a few quick searches I discovered the year the theater had been built. There were no known deaths in the theater, although that didn’t mean none ever happened. There was one thing I uncovered that I thought might lead to more clues. There had been a home on the land where the theater now sat. Could someone have died at that house years ago? I typed in the address. There was a headline about a fire in the house that had once set there at the corner of Broom Street and Sadler Avenue. Now I had to find out if anyone had died in the fire.
What did you find out?
Annie leaned over my shoulder. A ghostly breeze drifted across my skin.
“Ah-ha. It looks as if someone died in the fire. They never figured out the cause of the fire. Do you suppose the ghost at the theater is the person who died in the fire? Maybe they just want to know what caused the fire.”
It sounds like the likely explanation.
Though it didn’t make sense why the ghost would be so mean and attack me. After more searching I was unsuccessful at finding out any other details. The fire happened so long ago it seemed almost impossible to track down any information about the tragic event. What could I do to solve this mystery?
First, I needed to confirm that the person who died in the fire was also the ghost I’d encountered. That would be difficult. I’d have to track down the deed for the land. From there I could research death certificates of any names associated with the property. It was a good thing I liked research.
In the meantime, I had work to do at the library. We were short-handed once again and the local book club was throwing a get together at the library today. I told them I’d be available to discuss the book they’d read this month. The Bookwormers met at the library once a month.
“Yoo-hoo, is anyone here?” the singsong voice asked.
I practically jumped out of the chair. When I jumped up and spun around I spotted one of the women from the book club headed my way. The meeting wasn’t until later this afternoon, so I hadn’t expected to see her this early. Dana Newman owned the coffee shop in town. I found it hard to resist the chocolate croissants and lattes. As usual Dana looked flawless, even this early in the morning. Her hair was perfectly styled to look like a shellacked pecan shell. A sparkly Chanel brooch was pinned to the lapel of her navy blue pant suit.
“Dana, I wasn’t expecting you,” I said.
“You look as if you’ve seen a ghost … I suppose you have seen your share,” she said with a smile.
She didn’t know the half of it. Annie was standing right next to Dana and she didn’t even know it.
“I didn’t realize I’d left the door unlocked.” I walked with her over to the reference desk.
“Oh, sorry about that.”
“Don’t worry about it. So what can I do for you?” I asked.
“I just wanted to stop by and let you know we’ll have to reschedule the book meeting.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes, I forgot about another meeting that can’t be rescheduled. I’m really sorry,” Dana said.
Before I had a chance to respond she screamed and jumped behind a nearby cart of books. My phone was going crazy with text messages from Annie. Of course, I couldn’t respond at the moment. I had to figure out what was wrong with Dana. The ghost of the woman from the theater appeared and raced toward Dana. When Dana screamed again the ghost turned her attention toward me. How was I supposed to fight off a ghost? Maybe it was Dana’s screams, or perhaps me telling the ghost to leave, but whatever the reason she actually disappeared.
Dana peeked out from behind the cart. “Is it safe?”
I scanned the library. “I think so.”
I knew that wasn’t a confident answer, but with this ghost I never knew when she would attack. There was no way to know. Rushing over, I helped Dana to her feet. I grabbed the keys from the counter and escorted Dana to the door. As soon as Tammy arrived, I’d have to leave the library for the day and make getting rid of this ghost a top priority.
Annie stood on the front steps with us. Even the ghost didn’t want to be in there with the other ghost. Dana’s perfectly coifed hair was now tousled. Her navy jacket was slightly askew.
She smoothed down her hair and adjusted her clothing. “What was that?”
“I have a ghost attached to me. She appeared when I went to Devil’s Moon Theater.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh … it’s no wonder. That place is evil.”
“Why haven’t I heard about this before now? I thought I knew every haunted place in town,” I said.
“People don’t really talk about it. They’d rather let it drift off into history,” Dana said.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
“A woman lived there. She died in a house fire.”
“Is that all you know about the place?” I asked. “Why did you say that it’s evil?”
She scrunched her brow. “I suppose I don’t know. I’ve just always been told that it was.”
Movement caught my attention. A few patrons were headed toward the library. Tammy was walking up the sidewalk behind them. When she saw me standing outside with Dana she got a worried expression.
“Did something happen?” Tammy asked as she neared.
Dana hurried down the stairs. “Good luck, Ripley.”
“I have to go for a bit. Will you take care of everything? The Bookwormers cancelled for tonight.” I peeked in to make sure things were okay. “If you have any problems call me right away.”
“Is everything okay?” Tammy paused at the door.
I hurried down the front steps. “I need to get to the theater and get rid of this ghost.”
“Did she attack again?” Tammy called out.
I didn’t want to tell Tammy about the latest thing, but I knew I had to.
“She made an appearance. For sure the ghost is following me. Now I have to find out why and get rid of her.”
“Should I be worried?” Tammy asked.
“Don’t worry, but call if anything happens,” I said.
The knot in my stomach twisted tighter. I hoped I was doing the right thing.
Chapter 7
Later that evening I arrived in front of the theater. I hadn’t been able to reach the owner earlier in the day so I’d had to wait until he’d given me the key. Thank goodness the ghost had left me alone for the rest of the day. Would she return now that I was at the theater?
Brannon was meeting me. I checked my watch. He should be here in five minutes. In the meantime I was antsy and couldn’t stand still. I paced in front of the theater. The owner had left the keys for us. He didn’t want to be around for this and I didn’t blame him.
An old man with a cane walked down the sidewalk in front of the theater. I tried to stop pacing until he had walked by.
“Are you waiting for someone?” he asked.
I smiled. “Yes, he should be here soon.”
The man peered up at the theater marquee. “I don’t think the theater is open if you’re waiting for your date.”
I chuckled. “No, we’re just working with the theater’s new owner.”
“Brave man,” he said with a click of his tongue.
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
The man seemed as if he wanted to talk.<
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“The place is evil,” he said.
“So I’ve heard. Can you tell me why people say the place is evil?”
“This place used to have a house sitting here.” He pointed around with his cane.
“What happened?” I asked, although I knew the house had perished in the fire.
“The woman who lived in the house was a witch. At least that’s what everyone said.”
“Why did they say that?”
“Because every time someone went near her something bad happened. I doubt anyone will come near the theater for fear of what might happen.”
“What happened to the people near the woman?”
“They were injured, lost money, or a loved one. You name it, bad always happened.”
“When did she die?” I asked.
He tapped his index finger against his chin. “Let’s see. I think it was in the mid-forties. I was a kid back then.”
“So you think the theater is cursed because of the woman who lived on this land?”
He studied the building. “It would make sense, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, I suppose it does.” I stared up at the building.
Brannon pulled his cruiser up to the curb and got out.
“We were just looking at the theater. Not breaking in,” the old man said to Brannon when he approached.
I smiled. “This is the person I’m meeting so we can work in the theater.”
He looked Brannon up and down. “Well, I’m glad you have this young man helping you. Good luck.”
The man walked down the sidewalk without looking back at us. I’d forgotten to get his name.
“What was that all about?” Brannon asked.
I pulled out the key. “I’ll tell you when we get inside.”
Once we stepped inside the building it felt far bigger than it had previously. An overwhelming amount of space that seemed to swallow us. I clicked on the flashlight. It was the only means of light we had. The place had been spooky in the daytime, but now at night the creepiness factor was off the charts. Every corner seemed to conceal a shadowy figure. Brannon placed his bags of equipment on the floor.
“Where should we start?” I asked.
He unzipped the black duffel bag. “How about the room where you first saw her?”
I blew out a deep breath. “I was afraid you’d say that. I suppose we should.”
Brannon pulled out a box that I’d never seen before. He enjoyed making new devices that would help document the paranormal activity. Brannon held out hope that he would one day capture a ghost. I thought he was taking the term ghost hunter a bit too literally. Though he said it was one way to help the ghost move on and not be trapped on this earth.
Brannon held the box up so that I could get a better view. “With any luck the ghost will be energy inside and attach to this.”
“What do we do with the ghost once it’s attached to the box?” I asked.
Brannon hesitated, as if he didn’t have an answer. Please let him have a plan, I thought.
“We take the box to the portal. The way the evil spirit entered this world.”
Normally, Brannon’s voice seemed in control and confident, but tonight there was a bit of uneasiness and insecurity. That was something I wasn’t used to from him, which made this even scarier.
“The old man said everyone claimed she was a witch,” I said.
“If she had contact with any kind of evil entity while she was living then it could still be here. Plus, it could be trapping her here too.”
“Why would she attack me though? I’m here to help.”
“Remember the evil can take over and use other spirits for their work. It might not be something she wants to do.”
“But she has no choice …”
“Exactly.” Brannon handed me the spirit reader. “Now we need to get rid of the evil spirit.”
“You make it sound so easy.” I attempted a smile.
“We’ll give it our best shot.”
“I bet I know where the portal is,” I said.
Brannon glanced up at me. Relief washed over his face. “Oh yeah? Where?”
“The old man said the woman lived in the house that burned down on this land. That means she possibly created a portal in or around the house. When I saw a picture in the paper of the burned house it was a bit farther back on the land. So possibly behind the theater. The portal will have a high electromagnetic field. I bet the EMF detector would lead us to the area out there.”
Brannon kissed my cheek. “Good thinking. If all goes as planned then we’ll capture the evil and send it packing. I called the demonologist that I know. You know, the one I met at that paranormal convention?”
“His name was Davis Ackerson, right?” I asked.
“Yeah, that’s him. He said he’d meet us here. If we capture something, then he can help get rid of it.”
There were a lot of ifs in our plan. All we could do was try and held out hope. If this didn’t work then I was in big trouble.
When I’d met Brannon I never imagined we’d be fighting evil spirits together. I remember the first day he’d stepped foot inside the library. I thought he was there to arrest me. After all, I had crossed the street during a green light. In reality, he wanted permission to investigate the haunted library. I guess our romance blossomed over an EMF detector and an electronic recording device. How romantic.
The sound of footsteps caught my attention. I whipped the flashlight around, bathing the darkened area behind me in the dim yellow glow. The flashlight was more for us to see that we didn’t trip over anything. I doubted we’d actually see the ghost. To my relief nothing was behind me. Well, nothing that I could see.
“Nothing there,” I said after releasing a deep breath.
Brannon turned on his flashlight. “Something tells me we’ll see her soon enough.”
Was this the part where the ghost started playing tricks on us? Had she remained quiet for the first few minutes to give us a false sense of security? What if now she came after us?
Seeing her soon was exactly what I was afraid of, although I knew it came with the job. The sooner we saw her the faster maybe we could solve this. Brannon and I reached the door that led into the theater area where I’d first encountered the ghost. He opened the door. This was one time I wasn’t sure I wanted him holding the door open for me. That meant I had to go in first. Though I wasn’t sure I wanted to go in last either.
I eased into the room. The tiny glow from my flashlight was the only thing guiding my way. Immediately the air grew thicker. I glanced back to make sure the movement behind me was Brannon and not the ghost sneaking up on me.
“I think the ghost is in here,” he whispered.
Now we would wait until she decided to make an appearance. Brannon and I walked up the aisle to the top where I had seen her. So far the only thing strange was the thickness in the air, like breathing through a thick, paranormal fog. I pointed the flashlight around the area since I had a full view of the room from the top. Movement on the right caught my attention. I whipped the flashlight over to the spot where I thought I’d seen something. The glow of the light caught a flicker of something, but it was gone in an instant like a dissipating fog.
“Did you see that?” I asked.
“I saw it,” Brannon said.
I took a couple steps with Brannon right behind me. The mist reappeared right before our eyes. This time the fog whirled and whipped through the air until it took the form of the woman. Her eyes glowed red. The longer we stared at her the clearer she became. It was as if a yellow glow encircled her silhouette. I didn’t even need my flashlight in order to see the ghost.
My heart sped up as I waited for her to move. Would she rush forward and attack me again? Brannon and I remained silent, the only sound was of our breathing. The ghost turned and darted around the corner. Without a word, Brannon and I ran after her. I had my doubts if that was a good idea, but I did it anyway. I had to know what she was doing. A strange
feeling that she was luring us somewhere rushed over me. Maybe this was just a game of cat and mouse. Brannon and I rushed out into the main area of the theater. The ghost was nowhere in sight.
“Just as I thought. She’s toying with us,” Brannon said.
The spirit box in my hand crackled. Then a voice came through. “Get out.” Brannon and I exchanged a look. Another word echoed from the little black device. “Die.” My stomach sank. That was not the word I wanted to hear.
“She’s trying to scare us,” Brannon said.
“I think it’s kind of working,” I whispered.
“Don’t let them know you’re scared.”
Movement zipped by out of the corner of my eye. The ghost ran back inside the room we’d just exited. Now I knew she just wanted us to chase her around. Why? Did she think we’d get tired and finally give up? Was that her way of getting rid of us? Brannon and I sprinted back into the room.
Once in the middle of the space we stopped. The ghost could be concealed anywhere in this dark room. She didn’t hide from us long though as she darted out again. The way she zipped around the room kind of hunched over was creepy as heck. She ran down the hall that led to the exit door.
“She’s taking us back out into the other room,” I said.
The door was closed this time.
Brannon pulled on the handle, but it didn’t budge. “It won’t open.”
Now panic really set in. I hated the feeling of being trapped. I grabbed the handle and helped him pull. It was no use.
“The door won’t open. We’re locked in,” Brannon said.
“The door on the other side off the room that leads outside,” I said.
Brannon and I raced back across the room. We didn’t make it to the exit door though. The ghost appeared and charged at us. I screamed. I hadn’t meant to, but she caught me off guard. Brannon probably thought I was a wimp.
I dashed back toward the other door. Brannon was right behind me. I wasn’t sure what good I thought going to the other door would do since the door was probably still stuck. The ghost had somehow managed to lock the door on us. I doubted she would all of a sudden let us leave. She had said she wanted us out, but then she said the word die. Fear coiled in my stomach at the thought. Was this her plan in order to carry that out?