Yes, going over there had been a nightmare in more ways than one. She flopped down on her bed and watched Grace wander over to the window, gazing out at the Hanson farm. Emma shook her head and sighed. “Well, I guess we ruined the summer for Grandpa and Nana.”
“Nonsense. He’ll get over it.” Grace turned and fished her cell phone from her pocket. She stood looking at the photos she’d taken and frowned.
“That’s all you’ve got to say about it?” Julia stood with her hands on her hips, her chin jutting up as she spat the words at Grace. “This is all your fault. We should apologize again, do extra chores! Maybe he’ll—”
“It’s hard to see these pictures on this screen.” Grace totally ignored Julia’s outburst when she stepped over to the dresser and picked up her laptop. She sat on her bed and plugged the phone into the side of the computer.
“Oh my God! Can you hear yourself? You’re still going on about that house and the pictures you took even though Grandpa just about had a stroke over it!” Julia scowled at Grace and then climbed up the small ladder onto her bed.
Emma shivered thinking about how terrified she’d been when they couldn’t get out of that house. And those thuds from the upstairs, even though they’d been up there and seen it was empty! From the corner of her eye she saw Lily sidling over to the small ladder on their set of beds and climb up to lay on the top bunk. Lily had been acting strange ever since they’d set foot on the Hanson property.
“Are you okay, Lily?” Emma was about to get up and check on her when Grace’s voice stopped her cold.
“Holy cow! Quick! Come here and see this!” Grace’s eyes popped wide and the color seemed to have left her face. She sat on her bed with the laptop perched on her thighs, staring at the screen.
Emma stepped over and sat next to her. The hair on her arms tingled and she gasped at what she saw in the picture. It showed a single bed still strewn with bedclothes and darkly stained, but hovering above it was a light, greyish mist. She peered closer. Just barely visible, a young boy’s face and form could be seen. “Oh my God!”
Julia pressed in behind her, looking over Emma’s shoulder to see. “It’s a ghost! Wow! You got a picture of a ghost Grace! How creepy is that!”
“Let me see!” Lily scooted over the side of the bed and landed as lightly as a cat on the floor next to Grace’s feet. She bent over, pulling her hair back out of the way so she could see the screen. “That’s the son. Look at how sad his eyes are.” She straightened up and her gaze drifted off to the side. “Joshua. I’m sure that was his name.”
Once more Emma’s mouth dropped as she looked up at Lily. “How do you know these things? You knew the girl’s name and now this one!” There was always the possibility that Lily was making it up, trying to impress everyone but that wasn’t like her. Being the centre of attention was Grace’s style, not Lily’s. And from the dazed look on Lily’s face, she seemed as surprised by knowing the names as everyone else.
Lily shrugged her shoulders and squeezed in next to Grace, watching the screen with the rest of them. Grace tapped a key to bring up the next pic. It was the kitchen but the lighting was so dim that it was hard to make out the table or anything else in there. No ghostly images invaded that space.
When she tapped it once more, Emma gasped. In the corner of the living room was a woman in floor length old fashioned dress, her dark hair pulled back severely in a bun. Again the shape was diaphanous and lighter in colour than the surrounding walls and furniture. She remembered feeling that she was being watched when she was in the house. Now she knew why.
“That must be her...the woman who killed her family.” Julia’s voice was a soft whisper. “How horrible. She was a witch.”
“For sure!” Grace looked over at her sister. “Lily?”
“Her name was Ida. She was the one who killed them.” Lily’s voice was flat. When she turned to look over at Grace and Emma, her eyes were glazed and her face showed no expression.
“You’re giving me a case of the willies, Lily. I can’t believe you know this. How is it possible?” Julia snuggled into Emma, staring with wide frightened eyes at her cousin.
“I can’t help it. I don’t mean to scare anyone but I heard them, even before we went inside. At first it was soft whispers...but then they got louder and louder until I had to listen. It was voices in my head; you guys didn’t hear them. Why me?” Lily’s eyes welled up with tears and her fingers rose to swipe them away.
“It’s okay, Lily. Oh God. Now I really feel bad dragging you over there.” Grace put her arm around her sister and hugged her close. “I had no idea it would affect you like this. You poor thing.”
Emma’s throat got tight and she took a deep breath to ward off her own tears. Yes, poor Lily. And even poor Grace, for that matter, dealing with the guilt and worry. “I think you must have some kind of...” her hands grasped at the air as she groped for the word, “…psychic gift, Lily.” A cold shiver ran up her spine. “You hearing their voices, and then these... these things...to show up in the pictures Grace took...” She hunched her shoulders and shuddered. “It’s too weird for words.”
“Now do you believe in ghosts?” Grace was back to her normal, snotty self, sneering at Emma. “This is going to make a great story. I will definitely get it published. I’m gonna be famous.” She grinned. “Grace Mullins, Teen Age Ghost Hunter! Maybe I can get a TV show!” She turned back to the laptop and clicked the key again, changing the picture once more.
There was only one other photo that showed anything odd. It was in the bedroom where the doll had been. Despite the clarity of the photo, a dark shadow hung next to the window. It could have been entirely natural; a result of the bright sunlight coming in the room and casting a shadow, but Emma didn’t think so. There were no other shadows showing from the light shining in.
She peered closely and then looked over at their window. “That’s the room where we saw the light shining last night, Grace.” She turned back to the picture and her face grew tight. “Lily? What do you make of that shadow?” She pointed her finger close to the screen.
Lily turned to the screen again. She lifted her hand and brushed the surface lightly. Shaking her head slowly, she said, “I don’t know. I don’t get a good feeling about it...whatever it is, it’s powerful. It controls the house and everything in it.”
Chapter 11
At the knock on the bedroom door, all four of them jerked their heads up at once. Grace slammed the laptop shut and then set in behind her. “I don’t think we should talk about the pictures to Nana and Grandpa,” she whispered. “They’re upset enough.” She rose and walked over to the door to open it.
Grandpa stood there looking older than ever. His shoulders drooped and he was hanging his head. Keeping his gaze on the floor he said, “It’s time for dinner. I think we need to talk.” He turned around, leaving them with the sound of his footsteps on the stairs.
Julia got to her feet and her eyes were bright when she turned to face Emma. “Maybe he’ll let us stay. I hope so.” Her chin lowered, “I feel so rotten about all this. The poor man is heartbroken. Anyone can see that. And it’s all our fault.”
Emma sighed and stepped up beside her sister. “After what happened over at that place, I think he knows we would never go over there again.” There was no way, she’d ever set foot in the haunted house again. Ever! She turned leading the way out of the room, purposely avoiding looking out the window and any sight of the old creepy house.
Grace’s eyebrows rose. “Maybe he’ll tell us more about it—the Hanson house, I mean.”
Emma spun around to scowl at Grace. In the process, she noticed Lily straightening the pillow on her bed. When Lily turned, her gaze dropped to the floor and her cheeks became pink. She looked guilty as sin. Emma sighed. Lily probably felt the same shame that she felt, going against their grandpa’s orders and now about to catch more hell for it. Grace on the other hand, seemed totally impervious to shame.
“Let’s avoid that s
ubject unless he brings it up, okay?” Emma continued walking out the door and then down the stairs, Julia moving slowly ahead of her.
In the kitchen, Grandpa sat at the end of the table. Emma peered at him, trying to read his face. Had he softened at all? Was he still thinking of sending them home? But if it was poker they were playing, he’d definitely be good at it. Nana moved silently across the room setting a bowl of steaming food on the table.
“Grandpa?” Julia took her seat next to him. “I would really like to stay, honest. Will you let us—”
“That’s what I wanted to talk about.” He turned to her and his face softened. “It was a foolish thing you kids did. You have no idea...” He looked over at Emma and then her cousins. “I was just so scared for you. I can’t take a chance that it won’t happen again. The next time might finish you.”
“We promise, Grandpa. We’re so sorry.” Emma looked into his eyes. She looked over to Grace and Lily. She arched her eyebrows and tilted her head, willing them with her eyes to speak up.
“I’m sorry Grandpa.” Lily looked down at her plate, speaking so softly, her words were barely audible.
“You have my word, Grandpa.” Grace leaned forward and placed her hand on his. Her eyes met his and she even managed a small smile.
His eyes flickered over each of them and he sighed. “Okay. I’ll take your word on it. Remember, a person is judged by their word. Don’t give it easily.” He reached for the bowl of mashed potatoes, offering it to Julia.
Now that things were less tense and he’d relented on sending them home there was a burning question in Emma’s mind. “Grandpa? How did you know we were in trouble over there?” She helped herself to a slice of ham before passing the platter along to Grace.
“Frank suspected. He checked the beach and when there was no sign of you, he came to get me.” Grandpa snorted. “There’s not much he misses...especially when it comes to that wretched house. He’s got some kind of sixth sense about it.”
The light in the stained glass lamp hanging over the table began to flicker. It flashed on and off like a strobe light and a whirring hiss, an electrical noise, sounded above them.
“What the...” Grandpa looked up at the light. “Looks like we need a new bulb.” He started to get up but it stopped and the light became steady.
Without warning, the radio on the kitchen counter blared a song and Emma jumped.
All of them looked across the room while Nana jumped to her feet and rushed across the kitchen to the counter to press the ‘off’ button. The silence was deafening. Nana’s eyes were wide when she turned to face them. “The switch was already off, Dan.”
Shrugging his shoulders and pushing his chair from the table, Grandpa said, “It must have been some sort of power surge.” He wiped his mouth with his napkin and got to his feet. “I’d better check the barn. With all that hay and dried wood, it would go up like a torch,” he said as he left.
“That’s strange,” said Nana. “Maybe a car hit a pole or they’re working on the hydro lines.” She took a seat at the table and her smile was nervous looking around at them. “I’m glad your grandpa changed his mind about you staying. It wouldn’t be a good way to end our time at the farm. Besides, I’d miss you like crazy.”
Once again, the light over the table began to flash and crackle. Emma looked up at it. Her mouth fell open and a feeling of dread seeped into her muscles. After what she’d gone through earlier, the strange things in that Hanson house, she couldn’t help wondering if somehow the two things were related. But that was crazy. Wasn’t it?
But when her gaze shifted to take in Grace and Lily’s faces, it was apparent from the open mouthed stares at the light, that they were thinking the same thing. This was no coincidence.
“Maybe we should turn it off Nana, before it blows.” She went to the wall to flick the switch off.
There was still the light shining from the other ceiling fixture across the room. They weren’t in total darkness, which was a relief.
“We could get a candle. Dinner by candlelight. Make the most of this.” Grace forced a smile, looking across the table at Nana.
The light suddenly flashed on again and Emma froze. How could that be? Just like the radio, the power came on, all on its own? This was too weird. Things like that never happened. She flicked the switch up and down with no effect.
Lily stood up, murmuring over her shoulder as she walked across the kitchen. “May I be excused? I need to use the bathroom.” She passed Grandpa who was coming back in from the barn. He watched her race to the bathroom and shrugged his shoulders. “Well...everything’s fine out in the barn.”
“Well, it’s not fine in here. The light just went on all on its own, Grandpa!” Grace’s face was pale while she stiffened straighter in the chair, looking as if she was about flee.
Nana set her fork down. “Dan? What could cause that?” She looked worried as well, the lines in her forehead deep furrows now.
He ran his hand through his grey hair and looked down at the floor. “Maybe it’s the switch, a short or something. The house is old after all. I’ll get the trouble light and have a look at it after supper.” He shook his head and his face wore a blank look as he walked back to take his seat at the table.
“But Grandpa...what about the radio? It came on, even though it was turned off. Would the switch there be faulty as well?” Julia turned wide dark eyes to her grandfather and swallowed hard.
Emma and Grace shared a quick look at each other. There was no need for words. The problem with the electricity was beyond odd...especially happening right after the terrifying experience at the Hanson house.
Grace took a big breath and leaned over the table closer to their grandfather. “I took some photos when I was in that house, Grandpa.” Her voice was softer when she continued. “I didn’t want to upset you more but...the pictures show ghosts—a boy and a woman!”
Grandpa’s mouth dropped open and he sat back.
“Does that have something to do with what’s happening here?” Emma blurted. She was way beyond caring how Grandpa would take it. Had whatever was in that place followed them somehow? Was it here?
“I’m scared.” Julia reached under the table and her fingers clasped Emma’s.
Grandpa sat straighter in his chair and took a deep breath. “Calm down everyone. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation. At least wait until I take closer look at the switch plate and the radio. Let’s not jump to conclusions.” He held his hands up like a traffic cop, and flashed a look across the table at Nana.
She spoke as if on cue. “You Grandpa’s right, girls. Have you ever heard of Occam’s razor?” When the answer was blank faces, she continued. “Basically, the right answer to a problem is usually the simplest one. Let’s finish dinner and then we’ll sort this out. Everything is fine.”
Emma squeezed Julia’s hand and looked over at her sister to reassure her. Nana was doing her best and there was no point scaring Julia any more until they knew for sure. She looked up when Lily appeared in the kitchen doorway.
“I’m going upstairs to lie down. I don’t feel well.” Lily’s hand rose to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. Her face was pale and drawn and she looked like she was ready to throw up.
“Would you like some ginger ale or aspirin?” Nana was already on her feet walking across the kitchen to Lily.
Lily looked up at Nana and shook her head. “No. I think everything is catching up with me...being in that house and all.” She slipped away from Nana’s arm around her shoulders. “I’ll be fine in the morning. I’m just tired.”
Nana turned when Lily disappeared from view going up the stairs. “I hope that’s all it is. What a day!”
Emma looked over at Grace. “Just in case...would you mind deleting those photos? I don’t feel right having them around. I’ll hardly sleep a wink as it is tonight without them being in the room with us.”
“No! I’m not deleting them!” Grace rolled her eyes and sighed. “But, look I’
ll tell you what. I’ll put them on a jump drive and delete them from my phone and laptop. Then I’ll put the drive outside somewhere...maybe in the barn. Would that suit you?”
“It would help.” Emma managed a weak smile. “I’ll go out to the barn with you later.” It was the least she could do since Grace was being so agreeable for once.
The rest of the dinner was quiet. Grandpa seemed absorbed in some inner turmoil, probably trying to figure out the electrical issue. For everyone else, the food was barely picked at before Nana rose and began to clear the table.
***
Emma entered the bedroom ahead of Grace and stopped short. The room had been ransacked. Lily stood next to Julia’s bunk, tugging the cover up to re-make the bed. She turned, wide eyed and her face flushed scarlet when she looked at Emma.
“What the heck are you doing?” Emma stepped over to her own bed where the coverlet was a tangled heap, the pillow sitting on top of it. It had been made up and tidy when she’d left it earlier.
Grace stood in the centre of the room, looking around at the clothes hanging from the gaping drawers in the dresser. “Lily? Did you do this? What is wrong with you? I thought you were sick. Why the heck did you make this mess?”
Lily’s face flared and her gaze darted everywhere but at Emma or Grace. “I was looking for something.”
“What? Why would you think any of us would have it? What on earth are you looking for?” Grace’s jaw set tight and she stepped closer to her sister.
For a moment Lily just stood there, breathing quickly and looking down at the floor. “My...my book.” She glanced up at her sister before her words came out in a rush. “I thought maybe one of you hid it on me as some kind of joke.”
“Are you insane? We’ve been together all day. And why on earth would we do that? In case you didn’t notice, we’re all still a little freaked out about what happened today. Believe me! You book is the last thing on any of our minds!” Grace bent and lifted her cell phone and laptop from the dishevelled mess on her bed. She tugged the coverlet on the bed and smoothed it before taking a seat.
The Ghosts of Hanson House: A Haunting In Kingston Novella (The Hauntings of Kingston Book 5) Page 8