by Carl East
“What makes you call it that?” said Annabelle, interested in what the old lady knew.
“There was a murder there some seventy years ago. Apparently the wife poisoned her husband, the reason why was never discovered. Anyway, since then, the property has changed hands several times. The previous owners never stayed for more than a year before putting it up for sale again. It was vacant for about five years until the last owner, Mr. John Andrews, purchased it. It’s my understanding that he’s one of the remaining descendants of the original owners. I’d say he’s been here for about the last twenty years and word was that he was going to make improvements before putting it on the market.”
Annabelle said, “He and his real estate agent, Edward Davis, gave me a tour of the estate. At the end of the tour, Mr. Andrews advised me that it may be haunted, but I never paid much heed. If there is something haunting the building, I’ve had little evidence of it. Now that you tell me the story, I can’t help wondering if it’s the original owner and he’s in need of help. Perhaps he can’t cross over or he has some unfinished business,” finished Annabelle.
“Maybe, but whatever the answer it’s quite refreshing to see someone who’s actually concerned about the ghost as opposed to being frightened by it,” replied the woman.
“I’ve never believed that ghosts can actually harm anyone. In fact, I’ve always thought that if they were present, their only wish would be to interact with the living. Yet no one has tried to contact me, but I do keep hearing things. There are some cold spots in the house and I thought I saw someone in the upper bedroom window but I’m certain it was one of the men working on the house.”
“By the way, I’m Nancy and this is my husband, Geoffrey,” said Nancy.
“I’m Annabelle, pleased to meet you both.”
“Oh that is so weird…,” said Nancy, surprised.
“What…my name?” replied Annabelle?
“Oh no my dear, I mean the fact that your name is the same as the woman who poisoned her husband in that very house you’re renovating. I believe that his name was Richard.”
“Wow that is weird. What a coincidence; but still, when you think about it, it was a popular name years ago,” replied Annabelle, shrugging it off. “Well, I need to get back. I have a few more hours of work to get in before stopping for the day. It was a pleasure to meet you both…you have a nice day.”
With that, Annabelle stood up gave a smile and started to walk back up to the road. On the way back, she couldn’t help but notice all the old buildings lining the main road. Even from a distance she could tell that they’d all been well looked after. With lawns that were perfect and trees that lined the road on either side, it was quite an idyllic place to live.
Fifteen minutes later Annabelle was walking up her own drive, and taking note of all the things that needed attention. The weeds around some of the bushes needed seeing to, and there were a few cracks in the driveway itself. Over all though the property was well kept, and these were just odd jobs that she’d get to eventually.
Once inside she went straight back to work and after two hours had finally finished reviewing the progress of the painters. She went outside to see how the new landscaping sections were going and was satisfied with the progress of the workers.
Chapter 11
Heading inside to the welcome coolness of the house she went along to the kitchen to pour a glass of wine before going upstairs and taking a quick shower. Heading for her chaise in front of the window, she began to unwind with a novel she was in the process of trying to finish. She dozed off somewhere towards the end thinking she didn’t like how the story was progressing. Waking up she noticed that the room was dark so she changed for bed and crawled under the covers. She was still very tired and tried to sleep, but after an hour, she still felt wide-awake.
Getting out of bed, she quickly crossed to the bathroom’s medicine cabinet and shook two sleeping tablets into her hand. Heading back she quickly took them with the last swallows of wine in her glass. Twenty minutes later, Annabelle was in a very deep sleep. The only difference between this night and the last was that it wasn’t cloudy and the full moon was shining through the window. The light bathed the room in an almost magical aura.
Everything was quiet until the early morning hours when the door to the bedroom could be seen opening again much like the night before. The same footfalls came towards the bed, only this time when the apparition crossed into the moonlight the translucent figure of a man could be seen. He stopped at the foot of the bed, and stood over Annabelle’s sleeping form. His eyes intently gazed upon the contours hidden by the covers.
Bending forward he began to pull the covers that hid her from his gaze, and slowly they slid down and uncovered her body until they ended up once again on the floor. She was wearing underwear but this time they were just bits of black lace. His eyes continued up her body to the twin mounds of full and shapely breasts. He grew hard gazing at her and he climbed onto the mattress and straddled her body. Just then, a huge cloud blocked the moonlight and the figure disappeared from sight, but the squeezing of Annabelle’s breasts gave away the fact that the apparition was still there.
Annabelle murmured softly, asleep and unaware that her nipples were now stiffly erect. Had she been looking at them she would have seen the pink tipped ends moving back and forth and being pushed inward as if someone was licking them? The ghostly mouth continued pulling and sucking on her nipples and then there was the telltale sign of small imprints travelling down her body, as if someone was kissing her abdomen until they reached her panties. They rose slightly and it appeared as if fingers were roaming under the material until they started to be pulled down and over her thighs. They moved down to her toes until they were being pulled off and left to drift to the floor.
Imprints could be seen coming back up to the bed and then her legs began to part and her buttocks rose slightly. The lips of her sweet sex parted and were moved back and forth, and the indentations over and around the clitoris made it pop out from the protection of the tiny hood that covered it. Then her bud was moving from side to side, and although Annabelle was in a deep drug induced sleep, her body began to react.
“Oh, oh yes…oh…mmm,” were the sounds coming from her lips.
Seconds later something was inserted into her willing and very moist body, because the lips parted leaving a clear and wide hole. Her head began to move back and forth on the pillow as her body was being pushed backwards and forwards and then the moonlight hit the room once again. There on the bed was the apparition. His hands were holding Annabelle’s legs up tight on his hips while his head was thrown back in ecstasy. His mouth was silently groaning his approval as he violated her body while she slept.
“Oh please don’t stop,” she uttered, as her head rolled from one side of the pillow to the other.
Then she could be seen lifting off the bed and her legs were opened wider, and with each thrust, her breasts rolled back and forth. The figure then started to glow a brighter white making his features more pronounced. Annabelle could be heard raising her voice as she began to approach her climax. At the very peak of her orgasm, she opened her eyes, and screamed, “I’m coming.” Her body was gripped in the throes of pleasure and she wasn’t quite sure what was happening.
She finally realized that it wasn’t a dream and caught sight of a hazy figure on top of her thrusting. She could feel it entering her body and then it shuddered and stopped. Suddenly she fell to the bed and caught sight of something moving quickly out of the room and away from the moonlight that was revealing it. She let out a whimper, her hands clutching the bed as she tried to figure out what had just happened. This wasn’t her imagination this time. She could feel where her body was still tender from the fullness of his invasion. Her body was weeping with pleasure and the aroma of sex filled the air. She had a good look at the face of her assailant as it turned to look back before it disappeared from the room. He was young and quite a handsome man, and the fact that her body e
ven now was recovering from what had to have been a very intense moment made her feel cheated. She now wished she’d not awoken, but of course, she had and now she knew what had happened the night before.
Chapter 12
Annabelle wasn’t able to fall back to sleep and passed the time going through the rooms and down the halls but the apparition was gone. She decided to turn on her computer and search for any news clippings concerning the murder that happened here years ago. It wasn’t long until she found one. The short piece was taken from the local newspaper and read, “Richard Granger, age 35, was found dead at his home, on the morning of October 21, 1940; police are looking into the whereabouts of his wife, Annabelle.”
The article went on to say that, it was discovered that Richard had been poisoned and the police wanted the wife for questioning.
The other articles she found only mentioned it in passing, there were no further developments in the later writings. The only other comments were along the lines of, “This was the second murder in the town’s surrounding area.” The first occurred in a drunken brawl that got out of hand. Annabelle sat back in her chair and thought about the events of last night. It still sent a shiver down her spine, along with the mixed feelings of anger and curiosity. She wondered why or even how this spirit could do the things it did last night, and the more she thought about it the more she wanted answers.
In the end, Annabelle finally went up to the fourth floor where she’d seen the figure in the window that day. She crossed over the room to look down onto the driveway searching for the spot where she had stood.
The early morning sunlight was beginning to illuminate the grounds and it was Saturday so she was going to be alone in the house for the rest of the weekend until the workers returned on Monday. She felt like a fool for what she was planning to do but she’d never been the type to put things out of her mind. She turned away from the window and walked back to the doorway.
“I’m assuming that you are Richard Granger; if you can hear me I’d very much like to communicate with you,” she forcefully said aloud.
The house was silent, nothing could be heard other than the slight wind outside.
“If you can hear and understand me, would you let me know by making a sound? Any sound will do. I want to talk to you,” she said.
At first there was nothing but silence, but just as she was about to walk through the bedroom doorway she heard a door slam in the hall. Quickly going out of the room, she checked the other bedroom doors but they were all closed. She went to each room one by one gingerly opening the door and peered inside. She reached the final door and stopped, there was a faint scratching sound coming from the inside. With her hand on the doorknob, she silently stepped inside and there on the far wall was scratched the word ‘understand.’
Chapter 13
It seemed like hours had passed since Annabelle first saw the word, her limbs felt frozen and her eyes jerked nervously around the room. She knew that it had to be only minutes but she waited. She waited for something else to happen but it never did. She finally unlocked her frozen legs, moved about the room and even into the adjoining bathroom but nothing else responded to her occasional question. She decided that she had had enough; she needed to get back to work.
She returned to her room and dressed for the day heading down to the kitchen with her portfolio in hand. Her thoughts were chaotic as she moved to make a strong pot of coffee and a light breakfast to keep her going for the day. Annabelle used one of the painter’s high stools to sit at the counter and work on her notes for the house. Munching through the slices of crisp toast and fresh fruit, she just couldn’t shake the thought that she was in touch with a ghost. She wondered how all of this would play out, and for the first time in her life, she was more than apprehensive, she now knew that there could be real danger here.
Later that day a telephone call came from her agent telling her of a great offer on a modeling assignment being held in New York. She quickly accepted and advised that she would be heading back to her condominium that night. They made plans to go over the details first thing Monday morning. Annabelle was relieved that she had a legitimate excuse to head back to the city. She wasn’t really running away, she was just taking a break. Prior to leaving, she left written notes for the contractors and didn’t even bother to pack. She was heading home and wouldn’t need to take a thing with her except her purse and car keys for the drive to the train station. She’d leave the car there in the parking lot until she had to return.
Chapter 14
Time in the city passed too quickly. The modeling assignment kept her mind busy and she felt safe at night when she returned to her condominium. She fell back into her regular routine quite easily and Annabelle had nothing but nights of uninterrupted sleep. Her whole body felt rejuvenated from the time spent in the city. She awoke knowing that today would be her last day here and that she would be heading back to the estate this afternoon.
The first stirrings of dread began to creep into her thoughts but she consciously made the move to stop them. She focused instead on the anticipation she felt of getting back, in order to continue her work on the estate. She had ordered rugs and furniture, along with draperies and other key items. The only thing left was to inspect and determine the extent of the work done while she’d been gone. When that was accomplished, she could set the date for the deliveries to take place. With her thoughts now headed in the right direction, she packed a small case of necessities she would need for the return trip.
Chapter 15
Arriving at the train station in the early evening hours she carried her case to the car and began the short trip to her new investment. Turning up the driveway her first sight of the house still thrilled her senses. The house was just beautiful and she couldn’t wait to get it finished so that others would be able to stay there.
The workers had already left and the automatic lights were turned on. Parking the car near the front entrance of the house, she used her key to open the door and found that a small table was just inside with notes from the contractor’s supervisor.
Grabbing the papers, she locked the door and headed up the steps to her suite once again enjoying the feel of the banister under her fingertips. She had already had a light dinner on the train and decided to unpack and get ready for bed. Not once did she let her thoughts stray to the ghost until she was under the covers. She’d reasoned that the ghost hadn’t hurt her and he apparently could have. The spirit hadn’t been afraid to reveal itself when she awoke so perhaps there was something about a person being cognizant and fully aware of their surroundings that stopped this kind of activity. She turned the lamp off and tried to calm herself by ticking off her to do list for the next day.
Minutes passed and she started to drift off when suddenly her bedroom door slowly opened and although she couldn’t see anyone, she knew it was her resident ghost paying her a visit.
“Come in Richard,” she said softly. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
Just then, the shimmering and unmistakable shape of a man walked into the moonlit area at the end of her bed. Annabelle could just make out the features of his face thanks to the light from the moon, and when he stopped to face her, she spoke.
“Can you talk to me?” she said nervously.
She could see his lips moving but no sound came from his mouth.
She released one hand’s grip from the covers, raised it up and said, “I can’t hear anything. If you can hear me will you nod your head?”
The ghost stood silently for a moment, and proceeded to move his head up and down as he was asked. He paused and appeared to smile.
“Let’s try to communicate with one another. Are you Richard Granger?”
Again, he nodded yes.
“Are you aware that you’re dead?”
Again, he nodded.
“Why haven’t you passed over to the other side, no wait that’s not a yes or no question, did you get the chance to pass over when you died?”
This time he shook his head.
“Do you know why?”
When he nodded, Annabelle thought she might be onto something here.
“Did you have unfinished business here?”
Again, he nodded his head.
“Does it have anything to do with your wife?”
This time he looked angry, but nodded his head.
“Well I can tell you that through my research they never did find your wife, and as it was over seventy years ago she could possibly be dead by now.”
He then shook his head vigorously.
“So she’s still alive?”
Again, he nodded his head.
“Are you bound to this house?” asked Annabelle. “And do you know where your wife is?” she added.
He nodded yes to both questions.
By now, this was all frustrating Annabelle, until she had an idea. She’d seen a few episodes of houses that were haunted on television. In most of them, the people investigating these cases used various pieces of equipment to pick up any supernatural activity. She had in her possession a voice recorder that she used to dictate quick notes, like shopping lists and reminders of important things. Digging into her handbag that was beside the bed, she took it out and pressed record. She then slid the recording level up as high as it would go and pointed it towards Richard.
“Where, is you wife located?” she asked.
She could see his inquisitive look, and then Richard’s lips began moving and she waited. When she was sure, he’d finished saying what he had to say, she pressed replay and listened intently.
“Where, is you wife located?” she could hear herself say. “Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, she lives in a townhouse,” was the faint reply.
Annabelle smiled, she could now ask him anything and she didn’t hesitate to do so. Pointing to the device, she explained to him that with this machine she could now hear his words.