The Haunting of Brynlee House: Based on a Real Haunted House

by Caroline Clark

  The Haunting of Brynlee House

  Caroline Clark

  Spooky Night Books

  Contents

  Introduction

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  Preview: The Haunting of Shadow Hill House

  Preview: The Haunting of Seafield House

  About the Author

  Introduction

  This book is based on a true story about a real haunted house that is situated in Kent, United Kingdom. Called The Cage it is reputed that it once served as a prison and is said to be haunted by the vengeful spirit of a woman, Ursula Kent who was executed for witch craft in the property.

  In the 16th century it is said that 13 women accused of being ‘witches’ were hung there after being subjected to torture.

  The property shot to fame in 2012 when then owner Vanessa Mitchell, said she was forced to escape the house when she saw a black shadowy figure standing over her infant son.

  Since then the house has developed the reputation of being one of Britain’s most haunted. It is currently occupied by Micky Rawlings who is researching a documentary about the supernatural and admits he must be a bit bonkers to live there.

  The poltergeist in the property have been accused of scratching, and even biting those who dare to stay there.

  "I’m not a religious man and yet I go to bed every night clutching a crucifix for my own safety,” Micky said.

  “After a few days, I got to learn the natural noises of the house. Now the non-natural noises keep me awake at night.”

  I hope you enjoy this ghost story based on a real live haunted house. I have moved the location of the house and much of the story is fiction, however there are some bits that are based on the truth and my own interpretation of the truth.

  Now you know a little bit about the house, dare you read this chilling tale?

  For a limited time you can get The Haunting of Shadow Hill House http://a-fwd.to/5HMB7UX for just $0.99 or FREE on Kindle Unlimited click here.

  Get The Black Eyed Children for FREE subscribe to Caroline Clark’s newsletter for new release announcements and occasional free content: http://eepurl.com/cGdNvX

  Prologue

  25th April 15 82

  The basement of the cage.

  Derbyshire.

  England.

  3:15 am.

  Alden Carter looked down at his shaking hands. The sight of blood curdled his stomach as it dripped onto the floor. For a moment, his resolve failed, he did not recognize the thin, gnarled fingers. Did not recognize the person he had become. How could he do this, how could he treat another human being in this terrible way and yet he knew he must. If he did not, then the consequences for him would be grave. For a second he imagined a young girl with a thin face and a long nose. Her brown hair bounced as she ran in circles and she flashed a smile each time she passed. The memory brought him joy and comfort. Brook was not a pretty girl, but she was his daughter, and he loved her more than he could say. He remembered her joy at the silver cross he gave her. The one that he was given from the Bishop, the one that cost him his soul.

  Rubbing his hands through sparse hair, he almost gagged at the feeling of the crusty blood he found there. How many times had he run those blood-soaked fingers through his lank and greasy hair? Too many to count. It had been a long night, and it was not over yet. This must be done, and it was him who had to do it.

  Suddenly, his throat was dry, and fatigue weighed him down like the black specter of death he had become. A candle flickered and cast a grotesque shadow across the wall. Outside, the trees shook their skeletal fingers against the brick and wood house and he closed his eyes for a moment. Seeing Brook once more he strengthened his resolve. The trees trembled, and the wind seemed to whisper through their leaves, tormenting him, telling him that he was wrong but he would not stop. Could not stop. Taking a breath, he felt stronger now, and with a shaky hand, he picked up an old stein and took a drink of bitter ale. It did not quench his thirst, but it gave him a little courage. He must do this. He must go back down to the cage and finish what he had started, for if he did not Brook would not survive and maybe neither would he?

  The kitchen was sparse and dark and yet he knew he was lucky. The house was made of brick as well as wood. It was three stories’ high and was bigger than he needed. This was a luxury few could afford. As was the plentiful supply of food in the pantry and work every day. The Bishop had been kind to him, and he knew he had much to be grateful for. Yet, what price had he paid? As the wind picked up, the trees got angry and seemed to curse him with their branches. Rattling against the walls and making ghostly shadows through the window. Alden turned from them and up to the wall before him. The sight of it almost stopped his heart and yet he knows he must go back down to the cage. If the Bishop found him up here with his job not done, then he would be in trouble... Brook would be in trouble. A shiver ran down his spine as he approached the secret door. Reaching out a shaky hand he touched the wall. It was cold, hard and yet it gave before him. With a push, the catch released and the door swung inward. Before him was a dark empty space. A chasm, an evil pit that he must descend into once more.

  Picking up the oil lamp, he approached the stairs and slowly walked down into the dark. The walls were covered in whitewash, and yet they did not seem light. Nothing about this place seemed light. Shadows chased across the ceiling behind him and then raced in front as if eager to reach the hell below. Cobwebs clawed at his face. These did not bother Alden, he did not fear the spider, no, it was the serpent in God’s clothing who terrified him.

  With each step, the temperature dropped. He had never understood why it was so much colder down here. Cellars were always cool, but this one… with each step, he felt as if he was falling into the lake. That he had broken through the ice and was sinking into the water. Panic clenched his stomach as he wondered if he would drown. The air seemed to stagnate in his lungs, and they ached as he tried to pull in a breath. It was just panic, he shook it off, and was back on the stairs. His feet firm on the stone steps he descended deeper and deeper. He shrugged into his thick, coarse jacket. The material would not protect him, of that he was sure, but he pushed such thoughts to the back of his mind and stepped onto the soft soil of the basement floor.

  There was an old wooden table to his right. Quickly, he put the oil lamp on it. Shadows chased across the room. In front of him, his work area was just touched with the light, he knew he must look confident as he approached the woman shackled to the wall. Ursula Kemp was once a beauty. With red hair and deep green eyes. Her smooth ivory skin was traced with freckles, and she had always worn a smile that had the local men bowing to her every need. Seven years ago she had married the blacksmith, and they had a daughter, Rose. Alden felt his eyes pulled to his right… there in the shadows lay a pile of bones. A small pile, the empty eyes of the skull accused him. Though he could not look away from that blackened, burned, mound… the cause of another stain on his soul. Bile rose in his throat, and the air seemed full of smoke. It was just his imagination, he swallowed, choked down a cough and pulled his eyes away. Blinking back tears, he turned
and looked up at Ursula. Chained to the wall she should be beaten, broken, and yet there was defiance in her eyes. They were like a cool stream on a hot summer’s day. Something about them defied the position she was in. How could she not be beaten? How could she not confess?

  “Confess witch,” he said the words with more force than he felt. Fear and anger fired his speech and maybe just a little shame. “Confess, and this will be over.”

  Ursula’s eyes stared back at him cool, calm, unmoving. She looked across at the bones, and he expected her to break. Yet her face was calm… her lips twitched into a smile.

  Alden’s eyes followed hers. The bones were barely visible in the dark, but he could still see them as clear as day. A glint of something sparkled in the lamplight, but he did not see it. All he could see was the bones. Sweat formed on his palms as if his hands remembered putting them there. Remembered how they felt, strangely smooth and powdery beneath his fingers. Ash is like silk on the fingers… a sob almost escaped him, and for a second he wanted to free Ursula, to tell her to run… and yet, if he did then the Bishop may turn him and Brook into a heap of ash like the one he was trying to not look at.

  In his mind, he heard the sound of a screaming child, the sound of the flames. Smelt the burning, an almost tantalizing scent of roasting meat. Shaking his head, he pushed the thoughts away. Now was the time for strength. Biting down on his lip, he fought back the tears and turned to face her once more.

  “You will not break me,” she shouted defiantly. “Unlike you, I have done no wrong. Kill me, and I will haunt you and your family until the end of time.”

  Alden turned as anger overrode his judgment, striding to the table he picked up a knife. It was thin, cruel, and the blade glinted in the lamplight. Controlling the shaking of his hands, he crossed the room and plunged it into her side. For a second it caught… stopped by the thickness of her skin. Controlled by rage, he leaned all his strength against it and it sliced into her. Slick, warm blood poured across his fingers. “Confess, confess NOW,” he screamed spraying her face with spittle.

  A noise from above set his heart beating at such a rate that he thought she must hear it. It pounded in his chest and reminded him of his favorite horse as it galloped across the fields.

  The Bishop was here.

  Without a confession, he was damned, but maybe he was damned anyway. Maybe his actions doomed him to never rest, yet he must save his daughter, he must save his darling Brook.

  As he heard the door above open, panic filled his mind, he must act now, or it would be too late. Then he saw it in her eyes, Ursula knew what was coming. She knew she would die soon and yet she did not fear it. Maybe she thought she would meet her daughter, that they would be together again. He did not know, but the calm serenity in her eyes chilled him to the bone.

  In a fit of rage, he struck her on the temple. The light left her eyes, her head dropped forward, and she was unconscious, but it no longer mattered… he had a plan.

  “You have confessed,” he shouted. “You are a witch. By the power of the church, I sentence you to death, you will be hung by the neck until you die.”

  Before the Bishop reached him, he pulled back his hand and slapped her hard across the face. The slap did not wake her, but the noise resounded across the cellar. As the Bishop stopped behind him, he felt an even deeper chill. This man had no morals, no conscience. Alden knew what he had done was wrong, but he did not care. If it kept his family safe, he would sacrifice any number of innocents, and yet his stomach turned at the thought of what was to come.

  “You have your confession,” the Bishop’s voice was harsh in the darkness. “Let us hang her and end this terrible business.”

  Ursula woke to the feel of rough, coarse hemp around her neck. As her eyes came open, she felt the pain in her side and knew it was a mortal wound. The agony of it masked the multiple injuries she had received over the past few days.

  Alden was holding her. Hoisting her up onto a platform which was suspended over the rail of the balcony. The rope tightened as he placed her feet on the smooth wood and fear filled her. This was it, she knew what was coming, and yet she shook the fear away. To her side, the Bishop stood, a lace handkerchief in his hand as he dabbed at the powder on his face. Blond hair covered a plump but handsome visage, with good bones and a wide mouth, but his eyes… they were gray and hard. The color of a gravestone they could cut through granite with just a look. Amusement danced in them, or maybe it was just the lamp flickering. It could not provide nearly enough for her to really tell, and yet she knew.

  Alden moved away from her and turned to the Bishop. There was a hardness to him too. His lips were drawn tight enough to make a thin line, but he could not fool her. Alden was afraid, and she pitied him, pitied the days to come. For her, it was over. Death would be a sweet release, but for Alden, it had only just begun. As he pushed the table, she looked down to the floor below. The lamp did not light more than half way, and it seemed that she would jump into a bottomless pit. If the rope did not stop her… then maybe she could fly. Down deep she hoped she would soar, away from pain, away from fear and safe in the knowledge she held.

  If only.

  The moon came from behind a cloud and shone through the window at her back. Its light cast shadows through the branches of a large, old oak tree. Sketchy fingers coalesced on the far wall, and her heart pounded in her chest.

  Was this a sign?

  A welcome?

  The shadows danced and then formed and appeared to be a finger pointing to her doom.

  It was time.

  Before Alden could push her, she stepped out into nothing.

  Chapter 1

  1st March 2017

  New Hope Women’s Shelter,

  105 Baxter Road,

  London.

  England.

  11.30 am.

  Emma Kemp stared down at two folded letters on her lap. The paper was not only different but at the complete opposite ends of the spectrum. The one on the left was a warm butter color, thick, heavy, and expensive. Lynn had told her it was laid paper, old fashioned and favored by top end solicitors. To prove the point the top was monogrammed in gold letters.

  Harvey, Bentley, and Partners.

  Solicitors at Law.

  It offered a future, a new beginning, but just looking at it made her stomach roll.

  In her right hand was a folded piece of printer paper, 80 gsm. It was delivered by the box load on a monthly basis and was the cheapest one they could get their hands on. Emma remembered the last delivery and her fear at signing in the box. It meant getting close to the delivery driver, and that was something she could not do… not yet… and especially not now. Not when she had known that this letter was coming. Instinctively her hand went to her right shoulder. The break was healed now, but sometimes it still ached.

  A tear dropped from her eye, and she wiped it away, angry that she was letting her feelings show.

  A knock at the door caused her to jump and set her heart beating faster. Jerked to her feet, she tossed the letters on the small white dresser. It felt good to let them go as if that would make it better.

  A mirror above stared back at her. Quickly, she ran a hand through her long brown hair and flicked it over her shoulders. Big brown eyes were lined red from her tears, but there was nothing she could do about that now.

  “Come in,” she called and was pleased her voice did not shake. After all, this time came to them all, why did she think it would be different for her?

  “Hi, Emma,” Lynn almost bounced into the room. Her ash blonde hair was tied in a low ponytail, and as always her face bore a smile. “You missed breakfast, everything all right?”

  Emma’s big brown eyes flicked across the small and spartan room to the dresser and the two letters there. A lump formed in her throat and she had to bite back more tears.

  Lynn sat on the bed and taking Emma’s hand she pulled her down next to her. The cover was cotton and crisp and the bed firm. This small room had bee
n her home for almost a year, and Emma could not face a future without it. Without Lynn and the other women. They had become her friends, her family, and her security blanket, she did not want to leave. A hand touched her shoulder, and she jumped. With heat spotting her cheeks she turned to Lynn and shrugged an apology. “I… I feel so lost.”

  Lynn turned to face her, and there was understanding in her eyes. “I know,” she said.

  Those two words were so good to hear. Emma was feeling guilty. She had been at the shelter a year, and if she stayed, it meant another woman could not take her place, could not find safety and the healing power of Lynn Chambers and the wonderful women who helped her. After her injuries and mental scars had started to heal, Emma had been one of those women, and she had hoped that she could stay on and work there permanently. The problem was there was no position, or at least no money to pay her, and plenty more volunteers to take her place. It was time for her to go but she just didn’t know if she had the courage.

  “You have been so good to us here,” Lynn said. “We will all miss you, but you need to leave. Not for us but for yourself.”

  Emma turned to her friend. At 36 Lynn was ten years her senior and yet they had hit it off from day one. When Mark had finally put her in the hospital, Emma had felt as if her life was over. How would she escape him? How had she let this happen and what would she do next? Lying in the bed, battered and broken, she did not know where to turn. When Lynn had bounced into her room, all smiles and positive energy it had seemed like a dream. Yet, before she knew it, she was living in New Hope Women’s Shelter. Mark had no way of finding her, and she was starting to heal.