The Haunting of Caldgrave House

by Amy Cross

  “It's like she was using it as a kind of diary,” she continues, and this time I keep my eyes shut. I hope she turns the light off soon. “What kind of person uses a bible as a diary? That's really odd.”

  I hear her turning to another page.

  Feeling a little cold, I curl myself tighter. I might wriggle under the duvet soon, but I'd rather wait until Maisie's ready to go to sleep.

  “It's on a few more pages too,” Maisie says, and I can hear her still looking through the bible. “Only in the margins. It's very faint, in pencil, so I didn't see it before. Some of it's impossible to read, but some of it...”

  Her voice trails off.

  The room seems even colder now.

  I curl up extra tight, but I'm starting to think it might be time to go under the duvet. After all, once I'm under I can start getting heat from Maisie and give her some in return. We've got a good system worked out, but right now I'm really tired and I think maybe I could just snooze for a while.

  Sniffing the air, I pick up nothing except for the smell of the book and, of course, Maisie's scent.

  “Hang on,” Maisie continues. “The writing's only on the pages that were taken out and put back in upside-down. That's got to mean something, right? And it's so small, it's like someone was trying to hide it. Why would someone do that, Hugo?”

  The mention of my name brings me back from the edge of sleep. I try to get comfortable again, but the room is really cold now and I think maybe it's time to get under the duvet. Sighing, I get up and open my eyes, and -

  Suddenly I see that as Maisie sits reading the book, the broken-jawed woman is right next to the bed and leaning down toward her, staring at the bible.

  I immediately start barking as loud as I can, furiously trying to scare the woman away.

  “Hugo?” Maisie says, sounding shocked. “What's wrong?”

  Ignoring her, I keep barking. Instead of running, however, the woman simply reaches toward the book. I scramble across the bed until I'm next to Maisie, and then I look straight up at the woman's lop-sided face and bark angrily. When that doesn't work, after a few seconds I start baring my teeth and snarling, warning her that I'll bite if she tries to hurt Maisie.

  “What's going on in there?” Linda yells from elsewhere in the house. “Maisie, are you alright?”

  “Hugo, stop!” Maisie shouts.

  The woman reaches past me, trying to take the book. I instinctively lunge at her and try to bite her arm, but somehow I can't get a grip and instead I bite straight through her. Filled with panic, I try again and again, snapping wildly at the odorless woman as she leans even closer with her damaged jaw hanging to one side.

  “Hugo!” Maisie shouts, grabbing me by the flank and lifting me back. “What are you barking at?”

  Behind the woman, the door suddenly swings open and Linda rushes into the room.

  “What's going on?” she asks, stopping next to the bed but not even looking at the broken-jawed woman. “Maisie, were you reading that thing after I expressly told you to stop!”

  “I'm sorry!” Maisie sobs. “I only wanted to take a quick look! I didn't mean to -”

  “That's it, young lady!” Linda snaps, grabbing the book and throwing it out onto the landing.

  The broken-jawed woman immediately turns and looks back across the room.

  Still barking, I lunge at her, and in the process I fall away from Maisie and tumble off the side of the bed, landing hard on the floorboards. I scramble to my feet and rush around to face the woman, and I snarl at her as she takes a step toward the door.

  “What's wrong with him?” Maisie whimpers. “Mummy, make Hugo stop doing that!”

  “I've never seen him like this before,” Linda says, but I barely hear her.

  Instead, I'm completely focused on the woman as she takes another step toward the door.

  “He's barking into thin air,” Linda continues. “Maisie, what happened? What were you doing before he started?”

  “I was just reading!” she sobs. “I found some more writing in the book and I was just reading and then it got cold and suddenly Hugo started barking like that!”

  The woman steps past me. I snap at her heels, but I can't seem to make contact with her. Something's very wrong, and I feel the hairs starting to stand up on the back of my neck as I realize that not only does this woman have no odor, she also doesn't seem to have anything I can bite. The air is getting really cold around me as she steps past, but then the air goes back to normal a little as the woman walks out of the room and reaches toward the book.

  “What the hell is wrong with that dog?” Michael asks, suddenly stepping into view and picking the book up. “Linda, can you please shut the little bugger up?”

  “I don't know what's wrong,” she replies, as Maisie sobs next to her on the bed. “It's like he's gone mad!”

  “We can't have a mad dog in the house,” Michael says, staring down at me and paying no attention to the broken-jawed woman as she stops right next to him and looks down at the book in his hands. “Hugo, I'm serious, you need to shut up right now or you're sleeping outside for the rest of the night.”

  “He was biting the air,” Linda says. “I've never seen anything like it.”

  “Then that settles it,” Michael continues, reaching down and picking me up as I continue to bite and snarl at the broken-jawed woman. “He's not sleeping in with Maisie tonight if he might be dangerous.”

  “He's not dangerous!” Maisie shouts, her voice filled with sobs as Michael carries me and the book toward the top of the stairs. “Daddy, where are you taking him?”

  “He's an animal,” Michael says firmly. “I'm taking him where animals belong.”

  As Michael carries me down the stairs, I try to twist around in his arms. I have to get back to Maisie, I have to protect her from that horrible woman, but Michael's holding me too tight. I'm still barking and snarling, and finally I start trying to claw my way out of Michael's arms in a last-ditch desperate attempt to get free, but then he opens the front door and carries me out onto the porch. He stomps down the steps and out into the pitch-black, cold yard, and then he carries me around to the shed at the side of the house.

  “Daddy, stop!” Maisie yells from upstairs. “Daddy, it's cold out there!”

  “I'm pretty sure I saw something in here I can use,” Michael says under his breath, switching on the shed's light and stepping inside, still holding me tight as I bark and snarl. “There.”

  He grabs an old blue rope and starts attaching it to my collar.

  “Stop wriggling!” he hisses.

  I almost manage to get free, but he grabs my shoulder and turns me around.

  “Hugo, stop!”

  I bark again.

  Suddenly he slaps my nose hard, hard enough that my whole head snaps to one side. The pain is instant and shocking, but it's not enough to stop my panic. I try to turn and get away, so I can run to Maisie, but then Michael lets go of me and I tumble to the floor. Realizing that this is my chance, I scramble to my feet and race out of the yard, rushing toward the house and -

  Before I can reach the steps, I'm suddenly yanked back by something around my neck, and I flip onto my back as I land hard on the ground.

  “Animals belong outside,” Michael says as he ties the other end of the rope to the side of the shed. “Sorry, Hugo, but you had your chance and you blew it. I think it's time for you to be an outside dog for a while.”

  I pull against the rope, but it's too tightly tied to my collar.

  Michael walks past me and steps over the rope, and then he heads up the steps toward the front door. I can hear Maisie crying inside the house as I hurry to follow, but the rope pulls me back just short as I reach the bottom of the steps.

  “Michael!” Linda calls out from somewhere in the house. “Don't you think you're being a little harsh?”

  “Actually,” he replies, stepping through the door and then turning to grab the handle, “I think that's the problem with this dog. We sho
uld have been harsher with him from the beginning.”

  With that, he slams the door shut and then I hear the lock turn.

  I start barking again, while desperately trying to break free from the rope. Maisie's still crying inside, and I know I have to get to her. Michael doesn't understand, he didn't even seem to care about the broken-jawed woman and neither did Linda. It's as if they don't care that she was right there in the room with Maisie, which means I'm the only one who can keep Maisie safe. And if that means I have to bark all night until they let me back inside, then that's exactly what I'll do.

  Chapter Fourteen

  What are they doing?

  Why won't they let me back inside?

  I've been out here for a few hours now, and I'm starting to get really cold. I've always slept on Maisie's bed, every night for as long as I can remember, and I should be there now. I strain against the rope yet again, before turning and trying to bite my way through. The rope's old and smelly, but it's also very thick, and I can tell that my teeth aren't really managing to cut deep. That doesn't stop me trying, of course, and I spend several minutes chewing as hard as I can until finally I stop and look back up at the house's top windows.

  Maisie's in there.

  She needs me.

  She'll be so scared all alone in her room.

  All the windows are dark, however, so they must be asleep. Why would they go to sleep inside and leave me out here?

  I pull again on the rope. My neck is starting to hurt now, and I can barely breathe properly as I strain to get free, but I can't give up. Turning, I start chewing on the rope again, determined to break through. I settle down on the cold dirt and try to focus on one particular section of the rope, and I force myself to keep going even though so far I can't feel any improvement.

  And then, suddenly, I see the pale girl stepping across the yard and walking cautiously toward the house.

  I let go of the rope and stare at the girl, and I can already feel the hairs starting to stand up on the back of my neck. At first I think she's walking in complete silence, but after a moment I realize I can hear the faintest rustling sound of her footsteps against the grass. She's ignoring me, and instead her gaze seems fixed on the upper windows of the house. In fact, as she gets closer and closer, she seems almost transfixed by the sight of the great moss-covered wall, and finally she stops nearby and stares up at the dark window that looks into Maisie's bedroom.

  I watch the girl's face. Her expression is blank, almost emotionless. Her arms are hanging at her sides, as if she's relaxed.

  And she's waiting for something.

  I don't dare stop watching her, and I can tell that she seems to be waiting for something to happen. She still has no scent, and I don't want her going anywhere near Maisie, but I suppose I shouldn't snarl at her just yet. After all, she isn't actually trying to go into the house. She's simply watching the window, and she can't do any harm from down here, but for as long as she's going to watch the window, I'm going to watch -

  Suddenly a scream rings out from the house, high-pitched and terrified.

  Startled, I turn and look up at the dark windows, but the scream is already over just a half-second after it began. I'm about to start barking, but then I stop myself as I realize that the scream wasn't coming from anyone I know.

  Not Maisie, and not Linda or Michael either.

  It was someone else's scream.

  The windows remain dark for a few more seconds, and then the light switches on in the main bedroom. Linda and Michael must have heard that awful noise, but then a moment later the light goes off again.

  Hearing sudden, rushed footsteps, I turn and see that the pale girl is running away. She looks absolutely panicked as she races toward the twisted tree, and then I lose sight of her in the darkness.

  My heart is racing as I look back at the house, but somehow all the lights are off now. It's as if nobody heard the scream, or at least they heard but they don't care. I wait, convinced that somebody has to come and fetch me, but now everything seems calm and normal again.

  Why aren't Maisie and Linda and Michael scared?

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Here's your breakfast,” Linda says, setting my bowl down at the foot of the steps. “Go on, you must be hungry.”

  Ignoring the food, I strain again to pull free of the rope.

  “Eat, Hugo. Don't be stubborn.”

  Ruffling her hair, which unusually she's left rough and unbrushed so far this morning, she seems tired as she waits for me to eat.

  “Hugo. Food. Eat.”

  She strokes my side, but I don't pay any attention. Still pulling against the rope, I feel my collar digging into my throat.

  “That won't do any good,” Linda continues, stepping over me and heading over to the shed. “Maisie will be out a little later, Hugo. Her father's set her to work on some chores, as punishment for being naughty in the night. To be honest, I understand why she wanted to read that book, but...”

  Her voice trails off as she goes into the shed, and then a moment later she emerges with gloves and gardening shears. Heading over to the front of the house, she stops and looks up at the vast wall of moss that still covers everything, and for a moment she seems almost transfixed, as if she's happy to simply stare.

  I pull on the rope again, and this time I let out a faint whine as I realize that I still can't get free. I've been trying so hard for so long to get away, I can feel my collar starting to chafe around my neck.

  “You're just going to hurt yourself,” Linda says as she puts the gloves on. “It's not good for you to strain like that, Hugo. Just be a good boy.”

  She steps over to one of the windows and starts using the shears to cut away some of the thicker moss clumps. She's muttering something under her breath as she works, and she seems completely oblivious to the fact that the broken-jawed woman might still be inside the house.

  Finally, trying to warn her, I bark loudly.

  “Stop that!” she shouts, turning to me. “Do you realize how much you're pissing Michael off right now?”

  She sighs.

  “Then again,” she adds, “he's a half-lit fuse most of the time anyway. You know what, Hugo? I'm starting to think that maybe...”

  She pauses for a moment, and I can see the sadness in her eyes.

  “Never mind,” she says, forcing a smile and turning to get back to work. “This is a fresh start for us all, and we have to have a little faith. We all agreed it might be difficult at first, but I trust him. Honestly, I do. This'd all be a lot easier if I was sleeping properly, but last night... I guess all that commotion didn't help, but I tossed and turned all night. The whole bedroom just got really cold a few times. I can't figure out how to keep this goddamn house at a regular temperature. And then I thought I heard...”

  She cuts some more moss away, finally exposing a section of the house's gray stone wall.

  “At least that's an improvement,” she says, taking a step back to admire her work so far. “It's going to take a while, Hugo, but I think -”

  Before she can finish, the front door opens and Michael comes out. He makes his way immediately down the steps, and I pull back to keep away from him as I see an angry expression on his face.

  “I'm going into town,” he says as he heads to the car.

  “What for?” Linda asks.

  “Just a few things.”

  “But -”

  “Watch Maisie,” he adds, opening the car door. “Make sure she doesn't come out and play with Hugo until she's done all the chores I set for her. There's a list on the kitchen table. And under no circumstances is that dog allowed off his rope, or into the house.”

  “Are you sure he -”

  “We have to stick together on this,” he says firmly as he climbs into the car. “It's no use if I set rules and you allow her to break them. Maisie and Hugo both need to learn how to behave, and I think we can use the same methods with each of them. Just trust me, Linda. I know how to handle this.”


  He slams the car door shut and starts the engine, and then I watch as he drives away. I feel a flash of relief now that he's leaving, although I know he'll be back. I wait until the car has disappeared into the distance, and then I turn to Linda and let out a low, mournful whimper. She's nicer than Michael, so I'm hoping that she'll untie this rope and let me go help Maisie.

  “I can't, Hugo,” she says sadly. “Michael's right. We have to be consistent. It'll be good for you, in the long run. And you'll be allowed back into the house once you've learned, I promise.”

  She turns back to the wall and sets about cutting away more clumps of moss. I watch her for a moment, before sensing movement nearby and turning to see Maisie stepping cautiously into the open doorway.

  “Mummy?” she says timidly. “Can I... Can I see Hugo?”

  “Have you finished the chores your father set?”

  “Nearly.”

  Linda pauses, before sighing.

  “Five minutes,” she says as she cuts away more moss, “and no more. And don't tell your father when he gets back.”

  “I won't!”

  “And only five minutes! You have to finish the chores he set for you.”

  “I will, I promise!”

  Running down the steps, Maisie hurries over to me and drops to her knees. As she strokes my back, I feel a rush of relief as I realize that she seems okay, although I can tell that she's a little sad. My tail is wagging furiously and I reach up to lick her face, which makes her laugh. I need to get as much of my scent onto her as possible, so that everyone else understands that I'm here to protect her.

  “That's enough, Hugo!” she giggles, patting my side. “Hugo, I'm not that dirty!”

  She smells of the house. She needs to smell of me instead.

  “I missed you too,” she continues, turning first one way and then the other as I try desperately to lick around her mouth. “Hugo, it's okay, I love you! You don't have to go crazy!”

  “I need different shears,” Linda says, heading over to the shed. “I feel like this moss is never going to go away.”