Vanquishing Ghosts (Tess Schafer-Medium)

by Deborah J. Hughes

  All four girls erupted into cheers. I threw pillows at them all.

  Much later, when everyone was fast asleep, sprawled every which way on Fran's living room floor, I lay wide awake and watched the clock on the wall move ever so slowly. I wanted tomorrow to hurry up and get here and yet, in some ways, things seemed to be happening too fast. Mostly though, I couldn't wait to get going. There were some exciting adventures ahead. I just knew it. And I didn't expect all of them to be filled with niceness and joy. No. There was that negative entity to worry about.

  Chapter 3

  As I pulled off the main road onto the private drive leading to my new house, the thought sort of slammed into me that perhaps I should have waited for Kade. Since I was feeling pretty positive about things up to this point, I'm not sure why I should think that but I did.

  I knew enough not to dismiss sudden thoughts that popped into my head so I snapped to attention on my surroundings. The road leading to my house was not paved and it cut through a small forest of mostly pine and maple trees, their branches spread so wide they became a natural canopy and blocked much of the sun. A few bright rays, though, did manage to shine through here and there. Any other time it would look somewhat enchanting, cozy even, but the sudden cold running through my blood warned me that dark forces were at work here and I needed to take heed of it.

  Thanks to my impatience, I didn't consider how unwise the decision might actually be to arrive alone. After all, my first order of business was to rid the house of unwanted entities and the unknown factors concerning them should have clued me in to proceed with caution.

  Although this was my fourth trip to the house, I had never come alone. Aside from Kade who was with me every time, the first visit included Mary and her mother. The second was when the realtor took us through it, and the third was after my offer was accepted and I came to get some measurements and take some pictures. The photos, I might add, included some very interesting distortions! Although I hadn't planned on moving to Bucksport permanently, I knew immediately that I had to make the house my own the moment I saw it.

  When the trees gave way to an open clearing and the house came into view, I again wished Kade was with me and wondered why I had to be so darned impatient. No longer could I ignore the shivers trilling across my skin with increasing intensity. Curious to this reaction, since I hadn't felt this way during any of the other visits, I wondered if Kade's presence had somehow tamped down these negative vibrations with the sheer force of his will and protectiveness toward me. If the spirits kept their distance because they didn't like him, what would happen when we were staying here for several days together? What would they do? And what if I couldn't get rid of them?

  I paid for the house in full (something I could do thanks to Mike's very generous life insurance) because I didn't want to deal with a mortgage and I figured it was a good investment. Though Kade tried to talk me into making a sizeable down payment in order to keep my mortgage payments to a reasonable amount, I didn't want to go that route. I wanted this place to be mine free and clear. Why I felt that was important, I don't know but I gave in to that feeling with a stubbornness I hadn't ever exhibited before.

  Mike had possessed a strong will and I bent often to his wishes though it sometimes grated on my nerves to do so. He didn't totally trust my gift and prohibited me from doing much with it publicly. He worried it might hurt his reputation as a serious, upstanding lawyer. He seemed to think my spiritual activities were rather demeaning to someone of his stature. Though I didn't understand his reasoning, I honored his wishes. Now I was free to be me and do as I wished and I didn't want to go back into hiding in any way. Kade respected my ability even though he was skeptical of it at first. He totally believed in me now and I was ever so glad about that. But until things changed between us, I was in complete charge of my life and though I was more than happy to listen to his suggestions, the final decisions were mine. For now, I liked the arrangement.

  It did lurk in the back of my mind that I could never let someone run my life so much that when they were no longer in it, I fell apart. I did that with Mike. I had no desire to ever become reduced to such a state ever again.

  As I pulled into the parking area beside the house, I found myself impatient to be out of the car and in communion with the place I would possibly spend the rest of my life. Though my skin tingled with heightened feelings of nervous energy, I didn't let that sway me from getting out of the car and walking to a point in the yard where I could look at my house and gloat over the fact that it belonged to me. Seeing it again through the eyes of ownership just made me all the more appreciative.

  The highest point of the roof, where the attic was located, had a walk-out balcony that traversed three sides of the house and there was another viewing area above the attic. The rest of the roof rose in various degrees of triangular peaks and flat sections. The turreted piece built on the front left corner rose to a cone-shaped top that would be perfect for sporting a weather vane. I made a mental note to have one installed then turned my attention to my favorite feature ... the gables. They were of an intricate design, painted white and put me in the mind of cake icing. I also liked the matching decorative casings around the two dormer windows on the second floor. They belonged to what was going to be two of my three guest rooms. The covered porch with its spindled railings traversed three sides of the house and windows were everywhere. Especially on the backside facing the marsh.

  The inside was just as much an architectural delight. We had so much fun exploring the rooms and design features that first time but it was a nerve wracking experience as well. With each turn I half expected something to whoosh out at me and not once did the creepy feeling that someone was at my back go away. Though I envisioned a protective light around us, the "shadow" lurked. It followed and it tested and it observed. I'd been in haunted houses before. Never anything like this.

  Cold chills began deep in my bones as I headed for the front steps and I glanced at my car with a passing thought of fetching my cell phone. The idea was at once lost by the distracting reminder of the one regret I had about the property. There was no garage. But there was room for one and it was on my list to have one built in the near future. Kade and I both found it odd that a house as old as mine (so nice to be able to say that, despite the ghosts) didn't have either a garage or a barn. It seemed that most of the larger homes around here had one or the other ... if not both.

  Kade said it looked to him like one used to exist. The open area to the left of the house, right next to my car in fact, had a slightly sunken area and Kade surmised the foundation of another structure used to be located there. When I asked the realtor about it, she had no knowledge of the property's history beyond the current building's construction. But she also conceded that it was possible and record of it no longer existed.

  As I started up the wide, shallow steps to the porch deck, the very air stilled as if waiting in breathless anticipation and the crackle of energy, subtle yet noticeable to my heightened senses, increased to such a degree that all the hairs stood up on my arms and along the back of my neck.

  I stopped halfway up the stairs and looked at the front door. The aged oak panel set deep in an alcove was covered in carvings. Pretty and interesting as it was, it too waited in stillness. A strange thought I know since doors can't do much else, but even so ... it beckoned and yet repelled me in the same instant. I shifted my gaze to the right of it where a large bay window looking into the dining room was located, and then to the two tall windows to the left which looked into the living room, and thought they too looked uninviting. Their dark panes were cold and secretive. Another shiver chased through me.

  A shadow fell over the property and I tilted my head back to look above me. A large dark cloud had moved in to block off the sun's warmth and it created a bit of a chill in the autumn air. Was it a warning? An omen if you will that something blocked the light in this house?

  Though I tried to shake off all these disturbing thoughts
, I found my feet rooted to the step, unwilling to move forward. This was crazy. Surely I wasn't afraid? A little apprehensive yes, afraid, no. Squaring my shoulders with determination, I told myself that as long as I stayed alert, I could not be caught unaware by anything. A person prepared was better equipped to deal with circumstances as they arose. Whatever that circumstance may be. Right?

  Giving myself a mental shake and drawing in a steadying breath, I glanced at my watch. It was nearly one in the afternoon. Kade said he was pretty sure he could get here around two, which was the same time the moving truck was due to arrive. I had one hour to acquaint myself with the house and her unseen inhabitants. But before I did so, it couldn't hurt to talk to Sheila, my spirit guide.

  Just the thought of her helped to relax my taut muscles and I closed my eyes in order to better concentrate. After a few deep cleansing breaths to expel my apprehension, I sent out a request for her presence then waited. Within moments her loving energy filtered down through my body, flowing from head to toe and relaxing me from the inside out. A gentle sensation of cobwebs brushed lightly across my face and made me smile. It was her signature sign that she was with me.

  "Thank you, Sheila. I need you to stay with me." We spoke without words, her voice entering my thoughts like a visitor in my head.

  "I am here. But this you must do on your own. Never, though, are you alone."

  Although I wasn't quite sure what she meant by that, it was nice knowing she was with me. Even so, I did worry a little about this "it" that I had to do on my own. I did understand that spirit guides were just that ... guides ... and that they could in no way influence what happened in our life. But, when asked, they could surely lend assistance.

  "Am I safe here?"

  "As safe as you are anywhere."

  She was annoyingly vague and noncommittal at times."You never answered my question before. Does evil lurk here?"

  "Evil lurks everywhere. So does God. Often, though, you are persuaded to see only the darkness. It takes special eyes to see the light. Although you have eyes that can see, you sometimes close them to the whole truth of a situation."

  "How do I stop closing them?"

  "This you must learn."

  Darn it with the lessons! Sheila contended that we learned more through experience than through spoken instruction. I wish I had the choice. But I understood perfectly that being told a truth did not make one see it. It was a human failing we all must learn to overcome.

  Heaving a heavy, heartfelt sigh, I continued up the steps and tried hard to force down the fear that prickled at the edges of my awareness.

  "I will fear no evil." It was a litany in my head by the time I reached the front door ... which opened a few inches before I even got to it. Nice one.

  Glancing around, I sent out psychic feelers to try and detect the presence of others. A fissure of unsettled energy buzzed around me, sort of like static but with a sinister feel to it. Shivering a little at the thought, I lifted my chin in a show of bravado. I was not going to cower to their antics. So with a defiant heart, I raised my hand to push the door open further but before I could touch it, the darn thing abruptly closed, slamming with such a loud crack that it hurt my eardrums and made me wince.

  A light breeze kicked up and I let my sensible mind toss around the idea that it was the wind which first opened then closed the door. Obviously the thing wasn’t secure in the first place. Perhaps the realtor had forgotten to check it when she came to remove the lock box. Either that or something was wrong with the catch. But even as I thought those things, I quickly dismissed them. The spirits were messing with me, trying to frighten me off. They would soon learn that opening and closing doors was not going to send me running in terror.

  Narrowing my eyes with determination, I drew in a breath and let it out slow and easy. "I'm not afraid of you." Fear feeds the energy of negative forces. I was in no mood to offer a feeding of that sort. In fact, a starvation diet was on their immediate menu.

  "You will have to go without today. I have too much to do!"

  Though I didn't like talking to spirits out loud when others were around ... unless it was for the benefit of those others ... I found myself doing so quite naturally when alone. Perhaps it was my way of giving normalcy to a most unusual occurrence. Though, in truth, the spirit world was probably more natural than our physical illusion.>As my fingers enclosed around the door knob, a shiny gold one at that ... obviously new, I glanced again at my watch. Forty five minutes before Kade was due to arrive. Hopefully, he'd be early. I turned the doorknob and was only slightly surprised to find the darn thing locked. Hmmm.

  I didn't have time to ponder the situation for an odd chill chased along my spine, making my scalp tingle. I swung around, eyes narrowed, and scanned the area. Of course I saw nothing but something was about. Best to face this head on. Drawing in a fortifying breath, I raised my voice and spoke with as firm a tone as I could effect.

  "I don't scare that easily and you best not cross any lines." It somehow sounded more authoritative to address them verbally. This was my world after all and they needed to remember it. In the spirit realm they might reign supreme but when interacting in the physical realm, they needed to abide by our rules.

  Though the atmosphere remained charged with an unpleasant energy, I held to the vision of a protective light cocooned around me and fished on my keychain for the proper key. No doubt about it, until I could uncover the spirits who clearly were not operating in my best interests and expel them to the nether regions, I needed to stay alert and in protective mode. Especially when Kade got here. Though he believed in my gift, he didn't buy into my belief that our imagination was as real to the spirit world as the physical world was real to us. Thus, he didn't quite bother with the imagining of protective light. He said he took better stock in his own convictions and that was enough. Perhaps it would work for him.

  I finally found the right key on a ring that contained way too many keys (all given to me at the closing on the house) and inserted it into the lock. My breath lodged in my throat as I pushed open the door and looked into the entryway. All was quiet. Even so, I had a pretty strong sense the spirits within were waiting for me to join them and for the first time in many years, I found myself just a little reluctant to wade amongst them. If only Kade was here with me.

  Before I could take that first fateful step, however, I detected a movement out of the corner of my eye ... a flash of something dark disappearing around the side of the house. As I stood there, trying to decide what to do, a long, low moaning sort of wail filled the air, rising and falling with dramatic intonations. As it continued on in earnest, I was able to discern that it was coming from the back side of the house. It literally sent a cringing sensation down my spine. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear it was a woman in complete and utter misery.

  No way could I go inside and ignore that sound. So I turned and followed the porch around to the back of the house. A quick sweep of the area revealed nothing. The swamp bordering my back yard was just ahead, filled with tall reeds and cattails. They swayed in the slight breeze, their stalks rustling like whispering sighs. The low moaning wail sounded again, only this time it came from right behind me.

  I swung around and stared uneasily at the door leading into what I dubbed the "great room". It stood wide open. The screen door in front of it, though, caused some concern. It was slashed to shreds about midway up. A wild animal may have done it but I couldn't figure why it would do so at that height. Surely a ghost wouldn't do something like this.

  It actually took a bit of self-talk to drum up the nerve to step toward the door. After what happened to me at Sea Willow Haven, I was a little more cautious about tackling things on my own. With my hand resting on the screen door's frame, I took a moment to calm myself further. Once I managed to form the mental image of a strong bright light around me, I asked Sheila to please join me and she filtered into my thoughts like a warm, gentle memory come to life. The ticklish feeling of cobwebs bru
shed across my face and I smiled in relief. Her energy was calming and it settled me considerably.

  "Fear no evil. It is those who walk without fear, who face it not."

  Sheila's advice further calmed any lingering anxiety. She was right. Fear invited weakness and vulnerability. I would not give in to it. So, brave and sure once again, I pushed the screen door open and stepped into one of loveliest rooms in the whole house.

  A rock fireplace dominated the wall to my left, while the back wall across from the door sported a complexity of shelving that included a built-in desk. The first time I saw them, I pictured my own things filling those shelves and my computer taking up space on the desk and that's when I knew I was going to buy the house.

  The wall facing the porch and overlooking the marsh area was made almost entirely of windows. I did so love having a room with a view! The windows were built from floor to ceiling, ending in a semi-circular arch. They gave the feel of letting the outside in and I couldn't be more pleased with the effect. The three large windows on the wall to my right and facing the left side of the house perpetuated the feeling. Another spectacular feature was the rounded cathedral-like ceiling. It was all in oak, the wood fitting together in an interesting symmetrical design. A huge fan hung suspended from its center.

  The natural rock of the fireplace complimented the wood beams running high across the room and contrasted nicely with the oak framed windows which matched the shiny wood floor. Everything about this room was brought together into perfect harmony and created a stunning visual scheme that took my breath away every time I saw it. The room oozed creativity and now that I planned to chronicle my experiences of late, this would be the perfect place to while away the hours writing.

  What took place at Sea Willow Haven and here in Bucksport when I first arrived should be written down and shared. Amazing things were happening to me and I truly felt it important not to lose all that into forgotten obscurity. The events in my life since coming to Maine were things that I hoped to share with my children someday ... if I ever had any that is.