The Ghosts of Hanson House: A Haunting In Kingston Novella (The Hauntings of Kingston Book 5)

by Michelle Dorey

  Emma watched Lily look away and then climb up to her bunk. The young girl was lying. She’d been going through their things but she wasn’t looking for her book. Actually, she’d never even noticed Lily reading a book since they’d been here. What the heck had she been looking for?

  She took a seat next to Grace and watched as her cousin clicked the keyboard and the photos loaded onto the flash drive. If there was one thing she agreed with Grace on, it was about Lily. The kid had been acting odd all day, being all psychic and saying creepy things. And now, rifling through everything, looking for something. But for what? It had something to do with the Hanson house. She didn’t know how she knew, but she was sure of it.

  “Lily? What book are you reading, in case I come across it?” Emma listened carefully for the answer.

  “Uh...Harry Potter.” Lily’s answer was soft.

  Emma stood up and looked into her cousin’s eyes. “Oh yeah? Which one?”

  Lily’s mouth clamped shut and her eyes became wide. “Uh...I can’t remember the title.”

  “Okay. I’m done here.” Grace stood up and jerked her head to the side, towards the door. “Let’s get this over with. Going out to the barn at night isn’t something I’m going to enjoy. You said you’d come.” She led the way out of the room.

  Emma glanced back at Lily and paused for a moment. “If you’re not too sick, maybe you can straighten out this mess before we get back.” The young girl just stared at her, her cheeks flushing pink again.

  What was really going on here?

  Chapter 12

  They went to the barn and stuck the jump drive on a shelf. Leaving it there made Emma feel easier already.

  Coming back into the house, they saw Nana sitting at the kitchen table, working on a jigsaw puzzle.

  “How is Lily?” Nana held a puzzle piece between her fingers, looking up at Emma and Grace. Across from her, Julia continued to try a piece in a couple of different spots. Grandpa was in his usual spot at the end, holding a mug of tea in his hands and sipping it slowly.

  If not for what Emma knew had happened earlier in the day and at dinner, it could have been a heart warming scene of her grandparents and sister. It seemed surreal to her now. How could they just be sitting there doing a puzzle as if nothing had happened?

  “She was fine I guess. When we left, she was lying down.” Grace looked at her grandfather. “How did you make out? Was it the wiring that made the lights go wonky?”

  His eyebrows rose high and he shook his head slowly. “No. It must have been something in the power lines outside. That’s the only thing I can figure. I’ll check the news report later, in case someone had an accident and hit a hydro pole.”

  BANG!

  Emma jerked back and spun around to face where the noise had come from. A picture lay on the floor, propped against the wall which it had fallen from. A shiver went down her spine and her body stiffened.

  Grandpa stepped by her and picked the picture up. The glass covering the print of a basket of apples was still intact. His fingers brushed the wall and he peered at the floor. “Now where did that nail go? It must have slipped out somewhere down here.”

  Grace and Emma shared a look. This was no coincidence. First the lights and the radio at dinner and now pictures falling from the wall. Even Lily ransacking the bedroom...They’d gotten rid of the photos on the phone and laptop. That couldn’t be it.

  “Grandpa? Could we somehow have brought a ghost or something from that place with us when we left?” Grace stared into her grandfather’s eyes. “It might explain the light flickering and the radio coming on by itself. I’ve read about—”

  “Grace! Stop this. You’re scaring Julia.” Nana’s voice was sharp. Her hand covered Julia’s while she scolded Grace with her stern look. For her part, Julia was wide eyed, leaning across the table close to Nana, the puzzle forgotten.

  Emma didn’t want to believe it could be true but then again she’d never believed in the supernatural until that afternoon inside the Hanson house. “Nana. Julia was there. You can’t shield her from this. What if what Grace said is right? What do we do then?”

  Grandpa walked slowly over to the table and slumped down into the chair. “If that were true, then wouldn’t this house have been affected long ago?” He put his hand to his chest and gazed at his spread fingers. “I was in that place as a boy,” he said in a low voice. “I heard those noises back then...” he lifted his eyes. “I saw that... that horrible black...thing.”

  Nana gasped. “You never told me that! You knew Allan had gone there, but you? Dan? You were there too, weren’t you? You were there inside that house when he died, weren’t you?” Nana pressed forward, leaning over the table and her eyes bore into Grandpa’s.

  Emma and Grace took a seat on either side of him. She clasped Julia’s hand in hers under the table. Grandpa looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, looking up from under his grey eyebrows at Nana.

  “I was.” He sighed. “Allen made the dare and he ended up paying the price for our stupidity. If not for Frank...I would have died too.”

  “What happened when you were there, Grandpa? You said you saw a black thing...” Grace put her hand on his arm, leaning into him. She was eager to hear...so was Emma. “What was it?”

  He shook his head slowly. “I don’t know... it was like a cloud, but worse somehow. We went upstairs, looking from room to room. Allen wanted to see where they’d died—the family. Then there was a noise downstairs; some kind of banging. It scared the hell out of us at first but then Allen thought it was Frank playing some kind of joke on us. When he went to the head of the stairs...” his face screwed up, “something pushed him! It shoved him right down the stairs! I tried to grab him but I missed!” Grandpa’s fingers threaded through his hair as he looked down at the table. “I’ll never forget it.”

  “Oh my Lord.” Nana’s voice was a soft whisper. “Allen was a smart Alec, but for that to happen...You say he was pushed? Poor Allen.”

  Emma sat forward. “But that black cloud...what was that? We didn’t see anything like that. Thank God. But it was in the photos. The noises and that doll were spooky enough.”

  Grandpa’s eyes were sad looking over at Emma. “It was the ghost I guess. The air was thick... but cold... it went right through my bones. When I ran to the door, it wouldn’t open. Just like today. Even the rocking chair I threw at the window...it bounced right off the glass. I thought I was done for.”

  “But how did you get out?” Grace crossed her arms over her chest, rubbing her hands quickly over the prickly skin there.

  Grandpa turned a weary gaze to her. “Frank. He found an old milk can and smashed the window from the outside.”

  Emma gasped. “Oh my God! We saw that milk can still in there!” She turned when Julia spoke softly.

  “So Frank saved you? No wonder you’re still together.”

  Grandpa nodded. “Just like today. It was Frank, again. He knew you’d gone over there.” He sighed. “That’s why I don’t think that whatever is in that blasted house followed you.” He looked around the room. “But I got to admit that the lights and the radio are acting strange.” He looked over at Nana and nodded.

  She seemed to take the cue from him because she spoke quickly. “We’ll find out tomorrow what caused it. I’ll call the hydro company and have them come to check it out if need be. There’s got to be a logical explanation for it. You’re not to worry about this, girls.”

  Emma felt Julia squeeze her hand and she looked over at her sister. There was no way she was going to let her sleep alone until they knew for sure. Who was she trying to kid? Julia wasn’t the only one spooked by all this.

  Chapter 13

  Later that night, Julia and Emma were in the bathroom brushing their teeth and getting ready to go to bed. Grace had already gone in, leaving the bathroom free.

  Julia tucked her toothbrush into the travel case and snapped the lid shut. Tears welled in her eyes when she looked over at her siste
r. “I’ve changed my mind. I want to go home, Emma. This is too scary. I’m going to call Mom and Dad to come get us.”

  Emma put her arm around Julia and hugged her close. “I’m scared too, but I think a lot of that has to do with being in that house today. Grandpa’s probably right. There must be a logical explanation for what happened at dinner with the lights and radio.” Even if she wasn’t entirely convinced that it was so, she had to put on a brave front.

  She pulled back and looked into Julia’s eyes, her thumb rising to swipe the tear from her sister’s cheek. “Why don’t we see how we feel in the morning? If we still feel the same, we’ll call them. There’s no sense worrying them now. They can’t do anything about it. We’ll be fine. You can even sleep with me, if that makes you feel better.”

  Julia nodded and even managed a small smile. “Okay. But I get the inside, next to the wall. That way it gets you first.”

  “Just don’t kick me, okay?” Emma popped her toothbrush into the holder and opened the door, looking behind her and signalling to be quiet. They tiptoed down the hall, pausing when they heard, Grandpa and Nana’s low voices still talking in the kitchen.

  When Emma opened the door to the bedroom, Grace stood at the window looking over at the Hanson farm house. She felt her stomach sink as she crept over to her. The sound of Lily’s slow and steady breathing, a soft snore, hovered behind her. There was a full moon that illuminated the outline of the house but otherwise it was completely dark. She sighed long and slow at the sight.

  “It’s still the same. No lights, thank God.” Emma turned to cross the room and join Julia in the small bed.

  ‘Yeah. I kind of wish there was though.” Grace murmured softly before turning away.

  “Not me. I don’t wish that.” Emma lifted the comforter and climbed into the bed. Beside her, she could just barely make out Julia giving an eye roll and shaking her head.

  “But you’re not a writer. All of this will make a great story.” Her bed creaked slightly when Grace climbed in and pulled the comforter up. “Good night.”

  “See you in the morning.” Emma snuggled closer to Julia. But it would be a long time before she drifted off to sleep.

  ***

  Emma’s eyes flew open and she lifted her head. What was that? It had sounded like footsteps walking near the door. She looked over the room but there was nothing or nobody there. A spear of light shining in from the window revealed the dresser and wardrobe hulking against the other wall.

  From the corner of her eye she saw movement, a dark shadow flitting across the mirror’s surface. Her heart pounded fast in her chest while she squinted her eyes looking directly at it. But again, there was nothing, only the reflection of the beds.

  She laid back down and took slow deep breaths to calm herself. It had been nothing. Perhaps a trick of the light shining in from the window—a shadow of cloud passing over the moon. Yeah, that—

  Creak.

  She jerked upright again, tilting her head to hear better. The breath froze like an icicle in her throat when the faint creak sounded once more. There was someone there!

  She could hear the steady breathing of her cousins on the bunk beds next to theirs and Julia’s soft snores beside her. It wasn’t them and she was pretty sure it wouldn’t be her grandparents!

  Tugging the comforter higher over her face, she huddled deeper into the bed. Grace’s words played in her mind. ‘a ghost following them there’. She swallowed hard and tried to put it out of her mind. It was her imagination...just her imagination.

  Creak.

  Louder this time...and closer! She became still as a statue, barely daring to breathe.

  “Who’s there?” Grace was highlighted in the faint moonlight when she sat up in her bed.

  Emma’s eyes widened. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or even more frightened that Grace had heard it too. “Grace?” She whispered.

  There was a rustling of the bedclothes and then a beam of light pierced the darkness, illuminating the far side of the room. Grace stood, a ghostly image in her white nightgown holding her cell phone high before her. “There’s nothing there, Emma.” Her voice was hushed.

  A breeze fluttered the curtains bordering the yawning gap of the window. Emma inched out of bed and crossed the room to close it. Grace sidled closer, the both of them peering across the moonlit field to the Hanson farm. A lone yellow light glowed from a window on the second floor.

  Emma gasped and her fingers flew to clutch Grace’s arm. “Look! It’s back!”

  “Oh my God!” She turned and looked towards the door. “This, on top of that creaking we heard... I’m going to get Grandpa. He needs to see—” Grace began to turn but Emma stopped her.

  “No! He’ll come in and wake up Lily and Julia! It’s bad enough we woke up without scaring them too! There’s nothing we can do anything about it at any rate, not now. Let’s stick together. We’ll be okay tonight. We’ll tell him in the morning!” Emma looked over at her bed where Julia snored softly. They’d have to go home. There was no way they could stay there with all the weird things happening. Grandpa and Nana would be sad but they’d understand.

  Grace sighed and shrugged Emma’s hand off. “It wasn’t the pictures. We know that now...but I heard footsteps in here. You did too!”

  At the rustling in the bed across from them, they turned in time to see Lily sit up, her eyes wide peering at them.

  “What are you doing?” Lily tossed the coverlet aside and climbed down the ladder. She tiptoed across the room and edged in between them to gaze out the window. “Oh no. What are we going to do?” Her hand went to her chest and she looked down at the floor. “It’s all my fault, I—”

  “Go back to bed, Lily. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.” Grace put her arm around her sister and walked her back to the beds.

  The cooler night air and cold floor sent a chill through Emma. Even though climbing into the warm nest next to Julia was tempting, she knew she needed to visit the bathroom first. Grace was just getting back into her bed when Emma opened the door and crept down the hall, quietly.

  When she finished and was washing her hands at the sink, she spied an unfamiliar hairbrush sitting on the counter, next to her. Her eyes narrowed. It hadn’t been there earlier when she was getting ready for bed, but it looked oddly familiar. Where had she seen it before? She reached to pick it up.

  She gasped and whipped her hand away before touching it. It was the hairbrush she’d seen on the dresser at the Hanson house! How had it gotten in her grandparents’ bathroom? Her forehead tightened, reliving the visit earlier in the day at that house. A flash of Lily turning and racing to the stairs when they’d heard the banging. There had been a glimpse of something silver in the back pocket of her jean shorts.

  Her hand flew to cover her mouth. Oh my God! Lily had taken the thing from THAT place!

  Waves of nausea roiled through her stomach as she stood looking at the silver swirls in the centre of the brush, the edges tarnished an oily black. She backed away, never taking her eyes off it, opening the door and slipping out of the room. She stood still for a moment. What should she do? If she told her grandparents, for sure Lily would catch hell. And really, as long as it was in the bathroom, it could wait till morning. There was no sense getting her grandpa all riled up in the middle of the night.

  She tiptoed back into her bedroom and climbed into the bed next to her sister, cuddling up for warmth as much as for the comfort of having her safe and next to her. The image of the hairbrush refused to leave her mind. Just as she was about to get up and tell Grace, a loud crash reverberated through the house. She jerked upright in bed.

  “What was that?” Grace leapt from her bed and raced to the door.

  “Emma?” Julia grasped her arm, clinging for dear life. “What was that? Is it here? That ghost?”

  “Stay here! I’m going to see what happened.” She pried her sister’s fingers away. “Lily? You stay here with Julia!” Her heart beat fast as she stepped on
to the floor to scramble after Grace. When she reached the door, she could see Grandpa coming out of his room and tying his robe tight, heading to the stairs. Grace stood at the top waiting for him.

  Her grandfather brushed by Grace, moving quicker than Emma had ever seen him. He gestured with his hand for them to stay back and continued down the stairs. Nana scampered out of their bedroom and stood beside them. Worry and fear lined her face as she clutched the sides of her worn red robe tight to her chest. She reached for their hands and her grip was tight.

  “It might be a prowler. Although here, in the middle of nowhere...” Her voice trailed off and she leaned over the stairs, trying to hear. “Lord save us.”

  Emma looked over at Grace, seeing her own fear mirrored in her cousin’s eyes. She knew without saying that they were both thinking the same thing. This was all because of their visit to that blasted farm that day.

  “What the hell?” Grandpa’s voice drifted up the stairs.

  “Dan? What is it?” Nana hurried down the stairs with Grace and Emma trailing close behind.

  When they got to the kitchen, Grandpa was stepping out the other doorway. The sound of him checking the front hallway was followed by a low curse. “The doors are still locked tight. What the devil?”

  Emma stopped short halfway across the kitchen. The table was turned over and laying on its side on the wooden floor. An apple and orange from the bowl of fruit that had escaped the broken yellow container had rolled across the room, and a banana was below them. The fruit looked like a face, with the banana making a frown.

  Her grandpa entered the room, shaking his head. His hooded eyes met Nana’s. “I don’t know, Abby. There’s no one there.”

  There was no prowler. The table had fallen all on its own. The sight of it made Emma’s blood run cold and her heart threatened to jump right out of her chest. “Grandpa! It’s that house! There’s the light in the window again! And Lily took a hairbrush from one of the bedrooms there!”