Town Haunts

by Cathy Spencer

  Anna snorted, and Erna said, “Actually, Greg, we’d like to see your sister.”

  The smile instantly evaporated from his face, and he looked worried. “Is something wrong?”

  “We need her help,” Anna said.

  “Come in,” he replied, swinging the door wider for them to enter.

  The women preceded him down the hallway to a small living room. “Have a seat in here, and I’ll go find Tiernay,” Greg said, motioning them toward the couch. He hurried down the hallway and called Tiernay’s name before bounding up the stairs to the second floor.

  Erna and Anna gazed about the room. There was a fire crackling in the hearth, a wooden mantelpiece with framed pictures of a younger Greg and Tiernay displayed on top. The walls were painted a serene sage green, and an area carpet in squares of cream, brown and red lay on the floor before an L-shaped couch. A cushioned rocking chair, complete with footstool, was pulled up next to the fireplace with a book lying face down on the seat.

  “Wonder where Tiernay does the human sacrifices?” Anna asked.

  Erna shook her head. “Don’t do anything to antagonize her,” she said, taking a seat in the middle of the couch.

  Anna sat down beside her, folding her hands in her lap. “I’ll be on my best behaviour.”

  They heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and Tiernay entered the room with Greg right behind her. She paused to fold her arms over her chest, gazing down at them with a haughty expression as Greg sidled past and sat in the rocking chair.

  “Ladies,” Tiernay said with a nod. “You wanted to see me?”

  Erna gestured at the couch. “Please sit beside me.”

  Tiernay sat down and crossed her legs, her long skirt falling open to display two bare legs tucked into thigh-high leather boots.

  “We have a situation that needs your help,” Erna began. “We need you to prevent Evelyn’s ghost from breaking into my house.”

  Chapter Twenty

  On hearing Anna’s story and a description of what had befallen May, Tiernay became all business, insisting on following the women back to Erna’s house in her car. She showed up thirty minutes later, and spent the next hour burning candles and herbs while strolling around the house mumbling warding incantations. She also brought the stones she had given to the women on the night of the séance, insisting that they keep them on their persons until the trouble with Evelyn was resolved.

  “We’re going to have to hold another séance,” she declared, sitting on the recliner sipping green tea while Erna sat on a dining room chair and Anna sat on the floor. May, still on the sofa, had kept a respectful silence during these proceedings, but now she piped up.

  “Where?”

  “In the graveyard.”

  “I’d hoped you weren’t serious when you suggested that before,” Anna exclaimed. It seemed like such a cheesy cliché, holding a séance in a graveyard. But then she remembered not to antagonize Tiernay, and pretended to look concerned instead.

  “Well, I was,” Tiernay said, returning her cup and saucer to the coffee table. “I’m not going to take a chance on Evelyn possessing me in her house again. We’re going to summon her spirit this time, and the graveyard is the ideal place for that. Not only will we be invading her resting place, but I’ll have the forces of nature around me to draw upon with you ladies amplifying my powers. Maybe you can arrange a wheel chair for May,” she added, studying the older woman as she lay upon the couch. “She won’t be able to stand on crutches for long enough.”

  May shrugged. “Shouldn’t be a problem. I know someone I can borrow a chair from.”

  “I’ll ask Greg to join us,” Tiernay added. “I like to have a masculine presence in my coven, particularly when we have to face Evelyn’s unquiet spirit. A coven should be thirteen, and it takes a lot of power to summon a spirit, so we’re on the light side. What about Sherman? Is he going to be there?”

  “I have no idea,” May said, explaining Sherman’s disappearance.

  Tiernay frowned. “I would have preferred to have him with us, but we’ll have to manage. I’m not worried about Evelyn manifesting herself without him. She’s shown a particular connection to both May and Anna, so it shouldn’t be a problem.” Both women frowned, neither particularly pleased to hear that.

  “When do you plan to hold the séance?” Erna asked.

  “Tomorrow would be too soon. I have preparations to make.” Tiernay thought for a moment. “I should be ready the night after tomorrow.”

  “Night?” May said in a shaky voice. “Does it have to be at night?”

  “I prefer to commune with psychic forces at night,” Tiernay said. “It’s the best time, when the line that separates the physical and spiritual worlds is at its thinnest. Besides, Anna works during the day, don’t you?”

  “Yes,” she answered.

  “Well then, it will have to be at night, unless Anna wants to take the day off. Besides, I don’t want to close the store, and Greg will be with us, so he can’t cover for me. Don’t worry, May,” Tiernay said, noting her worried expression. “We’ll have more control over Evelyn by summoning her than we had at the séance. She won’t be able to hurt anyone this time.” Erna leaned over to squeeze her friend’s shoulder, and May tried to smile.

  “We’re very grateful for your assistance, Tiernay,” Erna said. “Things seem to be getting out of hand, and we’d like to lay Evelyn’s spirit to rest.”

  “I agree. There has been an imbalance in the spiritual dimension from the day I first sensed an evil presence following Anna, and it just hasn’t felt right since. We should have dealt with it then, but you ladies have taken some convincing, and I couldn’t have managed it on my own. No one is powerful enough to do that.” Tiernay stood. “I’ve got to go. We’ll meet at the cemetery entrance at 8 p.m. on Wednesday night.”

  “What if the gate is locked?” Anna asked. “If Sherman hasn’t shown up by then, we won’t be able to get inside.”

  “Not a problem,” Tiernay said. “I’ve broken into the cemetery before. There’s a hill beside the back entrance that makes it easy to climb over the wall. I’ll meet you at the front gate and unbolt it from inside.”

  “I hate to ask, but why did you break into the cemetery before?” May said.

  “I like to walk around graveyards at night. The psychic energy from all those souls is pretty wild,” Tiernay said with a glint in her eyes. May’s mouth opened, but Anna shook her head not to pursue it.

  “Thank you,” Erna said, rising to show Tiernay out. “You’ve been very helpful. I’m sure we all feel more secure now that you’ve safeguarded the house.”

  The young woman nodded. “Maybe you ladies can repay me when I need your help in the future. There’s a lot of energy in this room. I can’t wait to channel it when I call upon our powers Wednesday night.”

  “Yes,” Erna said, looking over her shoulder at her friends’ unhappy faces. “I’m sure that we all can’t wait.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Anna spent Monday and Tuesday nights on Erna’s couch, plagued by nightmares of Evelyn’s ghost trying to claw her way into the house. It seemed that Anna’s rational mind couldn’t control the fear that the dreadful visit had impressed upon her subconscious. She was anxious to get the séance over with, hoping that somehow life would return to normal once Tiernay had her way.

  She drove May and Erna to the cemetery Wednesday night, parking in the driveway close to the gate. They had arrived early to have time to settle May into a wheelchair before Tiernay and Greg arrived. The brother and sister were late, however, and the three women had to wait in a light drizzle on the cool, moonless night, armed with umbrellas and flashlights.

  “Sorry we’re late,” Tiernay said, hurrying to the gate from inside the cemetery when she and Greg arrived five minutes later. “Greg has this deadline for a catalogue he’s working on with Emmanuel Cabrero, and he had to do some last minute work before we could leave the house.” The gate rattled as she slid the bolt back a
nd pulled the door open. “Come in.”

  Tiernay was dressed in an ankle-length navy cloak with the hood pulled over her hair, while Greg wore his black coat and watchman’s cap. Anna felt underdressed in sweat pants, a hoodie, and a waterproof jacket as she wheeled May through the entrance, but at least she was warm.

  “Here, let me take her,” Greg said, scrambling to get behind the wheelchair. “How’re you doing, May?”

  “Never better,” she chirped. “Let’s get this show on the road. It’s about time we got some of our own back on Evelyn.” Anna shook her head, knowing that May had a rosary tucked in her pants pocket beneath the rain poncho, even if she did sound confident and jaunty.

  The group was just turning on their flashlights, ready to venture beyond the light of the security lamp, when a cruiser pulled into the driveway behind them.

  “Now what?” Anna asked.

  The car parked behind hers, and Steve got out, in uniform.

  “Wait for me,” he called, jogging over to the gate.

  “Steve, I told you not to come,” Tiernay said, rushing to meet him. She unbolted the gate and swung it open.

  “I had to see this for myself. It’s not every day a ghost gives a command performance,” he said, slipping past Tiernay and joining the others. She sighed and clanged the door shut behind him.

  “All right, all I ask is that you keep quiet during the ritual. I don’t want any distractions from unbelievers.”

  “I’ll be good,” he responded with a twinkle in his eye. “Ladies,” he said, touching the brim of his hat. “Greg.”

  Anna was glad to see that Steve looked his usual self, afraid that succumbing to Tiernay’s charms might have changed him somehow. Not that she expected the young woman to have drained his soul and turned him into a zombie, but something.

  “So, where are we headed?” she asked.

  “To the older part of the graveyard at the back,” Tiernay replied. “I’ve already prepared the site. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy to get to.”

  Erna nodded. “That part of the cemetery was mostly full when the town built the addition with the ring road. Since many of the people who were buried in the old part died over fifty years or more ago, the council thought their graves wouldn’t attract many visitors, and didn’t bother with road access.”

  Tiernay sighed, impatient with Erna’s explanation. “Follow me,” she commanded, striding down the pavement beside Steve, Greg following behind with May, and Anna and Erna, arm and arm, in the rear.

  “Are we walking too fast for you?” Anna asked a minute later as Erna’s breathing became audible. “I can ask Tiernay to slow down.”

  “Oh no, I’m fine, dear,” Erna said, flashing a smile. She was bundled up in a coat and scarf with a vinyl rain bonnet tied firmly over her hair. “This is exciting, isn’t it? Tramping through a cemetery in the middle of the night.”

  Anna smiled fondly at her. “I hope that I’m half as game as you are when I’m you’re age.”

  Tiernay and Steve halted, waiting for the others to catch up. “It’s time to leave the road. We’re headed through there,” Tiernay said, pointing toward some plots. “Do you think you’ll be able to manage with May and the wheelchair, Greg?”

  “Not a problem. You just leave it to me, darling,” he added, smiling down at May.

  “Go for it, kid,” she replied with a flourish of her hand.

  “Stick together and don’t get lost,” Tiernay said, leading the way.

  The light rain had become a murky mist, making it difficult to see very far even with the flashlights. They moved at a slower pace, navigating around tombstones and statuary, and sometimes through slippery layers of damp leaves. Despite his bravado, Greg was having trouble with May, and Steve had to help him clear soggy handfuls of leaves from the wheels whenever the chair bogged down.

  It was quiet except for the scampering of inconspicuous animals and the occasional howls of coyotes in the countryside beyond. Anna concentrated on keeping her footing and helping Erna. She tried not to feel nervous as they worked their way deeper into the cemetery. It was irrational to give way to fears of the dark and the dead, and Erna’s admonishments about her undisciplined mind had spurred Anna into trying to think more logically.

  At last Tiernay pointed with her light and said, “It’s right over there, on the other side of those trees.” They followed her around a stand of evergreens and emerged beside a bench.

  “Good,” Erna said, limping a bit on her way to sit down. “I was hoping for a rest.” She pulled a wad of tissues from her pocket and wiped the bench dry before taking a seat. “Are you all right, May?”

  “Sure. He did all the work,” May replied, pointing over her shoulder at Greg, who was puffing and leaning on the wheelchair. “Thanks, kid.”

  “My pleasure,” he replied between gasps.

  “Greg, help me with the lamps,” Tiernay said, shining her light on a Coleman lamp set on the ground a short distance away.

  “Coming,” he responded, crossing to another lamp. Steve followed Tiernay, leaving the three friends to watch them from the bench.

  “Where are we?” Anna asked, looking around.

  “I’m afraid I have no idea,” Erna replied. “My family is buried in a different section.”

  Curious as to why this particular location had been chosen for the séance, Anna flicked her flashlight on and stood up. There was a tombstone directly in front of her, and she wandered over to read the inscription. Pausing to study the stone, she inhaled sharply and rushed back to Erna and May.

  “It’s Evelyn’s grave,” she said in a loud whisper, pointing at the stone with her flashlight. “I can’t believe it!”

  “Where else would we hold the ceremony?” Tiernay asked, suddenly appearing at her side.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t think. Somewhere in the open, I guess. Isn’t this disrespectful, holding the séance on her grave?”

  “Anna, I don’t think you understand what we’re doing here tonight,” the young woman replied. “We’re summoning Evelyn’s spirit. That means that we’re forcing her to appear before us to answer our questions. It’s not a matter of respect. We’re here to gain control over Evelyn’s ghost.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Anna said, suddenly apprehensive. Tiernay looked amused, however, and her expression irritated Anna enough to calm down. She decided to lay it on thick for the younger woman’s benefit. “Evelyn’s very powerful, isn’t she? Won’t this make her angry?” she asked with a tremor in her voice.

  Tiernay shrugged. “Maybe, but together we’re much stronger than she is. Don’t worry, Anna, just do what I tell you, and everything will be fine. Let’s get started, everyone,” she called in a louder voice. “It’s not getting any warmer. As you’ll notice, I’ve painted a white circle on the ground.” They all looked to where Tiernay pointed, the circle illuminated by the three Coleman lamps the Raes had lit outside the line.

  “Oh my gosh, she spray-painted Evelyn’s grave,” Anna said, collapsing onto the bench beside Erna. Her friend patted her arm absent-mindedly as Tiernay continued.

  “After we summon her, Evelyn’s spirit will be contained by the circle as long as we stand on the perimeter and don’t let her past us. So, remember everyone, stand on the white line. Do not leave the white line. Understand?” She looked around the group, their faces dimly lit in the lamplight, and nodded. “Okay, places everyone. Greg, please push May onto the circle.”

  Greg manoeuvred the wheelchair-bound woman into position while the others took up spots on the white line. Tiernay studied their formation, her head to one side and her hands on her hips.

  “I’m thinking that our power grid will be at its optimum if we anchor the circle with each of the ladies between Steve, Greg, and myself. I’ll stand here at the foot of the grave with May to my right and Erna to my left. Greg, you stand beside Erna, and Anna, you stand across from me in front of the headstone. Steve, you’re between Anna and May. Let’s
go, everyone.” They reassembled themselves according to Tiernay’s directions, and the young woman smiled at the result.

  “That’s better. Now, listen closely. The most important part of the ritual is to state our intention that Evelyn must appear before us. We’re going to say the same thing, all together, over and over again until I tell you to stop. So, repeat this sentence after me: ‘Evelyn, departed from the earthly plane, appear to us this night, we command you.’ All together now . . .”

  Anna repeated the line with the others, peering about as she did so. She felt unreasonably uncomfortable with her back to the stone, as if Evelyn’s ghost might creep up behind her.

  “Okay, let’s get started. Say the sentence with me, everyone,” Tiernay ordered.

  “Evelyn, departed from the earthly plane, appear to us this night, we command you,” they chanted.

  Tiernay nodded. “Again,” she said, raising her arms over her head.

  “Evelyn, departed from the earthly plane, appear to us this night, we command you.”

  Anna’s eyes darted to the others, their faces shadowy with the lamps behind them. Greg’s eyes were closed in concentration, while both Erna and Steve looked alert and watchful. May’s eyes were wide, and she had something clutched against her chest, probably her rosary. Anna wished that she had brought one herself, irrational or not.

  “Louder!” Tiernay said, shaking the hood from her hair and closing her eyes.

  “Evelyn, departed from the earthly plane, appear to us this night, we command you.”

  “Once more!” Tiernay shouted.

  “Evelyn, departed from the earthly plane, appear to us this night, we command you.”

  “Enough!” Tiernay shrieked, flailing her arms over her head and lowering them to point into the circle.

  Anna stared. Within the line, just above the grass, she could see a faint pool of silvery-blue light. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. Yes, the eerie light was definitely there, growing stronger all the time. As she watched, the light began to stretch upward. It became a column of blue sparkles glowing in a swirling white mist. The core of the column began to darken, and, after a minute, the outline of a woman appeared. Anna’s breath caught in her throat. It’s not real, she told herself. It’s a trick. She glanced at the trees and along the ground, hoping to find cables or other electrical equipment, but it was too dark and misty to see clearly.