Abandoned Souls

by Marianne Spitzer

  Hunter said, “If kids are afraid, I’m not sure I want to be here. When I was a kid this is the kind of place, I’d visit and be the first through the door.”

  They toured the first floor and found what they expected. The group walked through the parlor, library, music room, dining room, kitchen, and large walk-in pantry. Inside the pantry, they found an old dumbwaiter.

  Hunter slid the door up and said, “If I get in will you guys pull the ropes? It could be fun.”

  “Are you crazy?” Taylor grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “Those ropes are old and could break. You could end up in the basement with several broken bones. You want another broken leg?”

  The memory of recovering from his previous broken leg was enough to keep Hunter from wanting a ride in the dumb-waiter.

  “Okay,” he said. “We’ll walk upstairs.”

  Standing at the bottom of the marble staircase, Hunter said, “Let’s start at the top and work our way down.” They heard him running up wood stairs once he disappeared around the corner at the top of the marble staircase.

  “My husband is crazy,” Taylor yelled hoping Hunter would hear her, and they followed him up the stairs which led them past two floors and to the attic.

  #####

  After thirty minutes of going through trunks and boxes, the friends didn’t find anything to help them in their quest for information about the Carnfelder nephew. Kellie sat on the trunk and said, “We have several bedrooms to go through and we’ll have to go into the basement. Whatever he did to the boy he did in secret. He may have used that area under the cemetery as a lab of sorts, but I doubt if he took the boy there. From all I’ve heard he was weak, and I’m not sure if his mother allowed him out.”

  “It’s possible,” Taylor interjected, “that he may have taken the boy out for buggy rides and fresh air. Fresh air was thought to be good for ailing people at the time.”

  “True,” Marilyn spoke up, “but you haven’t seen the tunnel under the cemetery. I can’t imagine how he got a sick child down there.”

  “If that’s true,” Hunter said, “he must have a lab hidden here in the house. What are we looking for anyway?”

  “A way to separate the boy from the nephew, send the boy into the light, send the nephew to hell or wherever evil spirits go, and help the abandoned souls under the bridge,” Kellie said as she looked at Hunter.

  “Is that all?” Hunter laughed. “We should be done in an hour.”

  Kellie’s cell rang. She looked at the others and said, “It’s Claudia.”

  Claudia began speaking before Kellie had a chance to say hello. “You must be careful. The nephew knows you’re in the house, but he and the boy are not there. The nephew will use the boy as cover. Until you send the boy into the light, you can’t fight the nephew. By the way, I have learned the boy’s full name is Andrew Tobias Carnfelder. Stay safe.” Claudia ended the call as abruptly as she began.

  Kellie explained what Claudia said, and Hunter asked how they would separate the two.

  “I’m not sure,” Kellie responded. “We’ll have to play this one by ear.”

  A loud crack of thunder shook the attic windows and the lightening hit a tree behind the house.

  “Time to check out the lower floors,” Hunter said. “There’s not enough light up here now.”

  #####

  The Carnfelder nephew floated through the cemetery with Andrew at his side. He was aware strangers were in his house, and one of them was a descendant of the man who helped kill him. The thunder and lightning made him smile. He had loved storms since he was a child and could only watch them. Now, he was able to float through them and feel the power of the storm. He would soon go to the house and deal with the intruders.

  #####

  Roaming around the third floor Kellie announced, “This reminds me of the Malone Mansion. These three large rooms and storage space must have been servant’s quarters. The smaller single room near the back stairs may have been the butler’s room. Usually the family wanted them close at all hours and gave them more amenities if you can call this sparse room an amenity not to mention the tiny bathroom.”

  Marilyn stuck her head in the small room and frowned, “Where’s the toilet?”

  Hunter answered, “I bet they didn’t live here long enough to update and somewhere out back you’ll find the remains of an outhouse or two. Maybe one with two holes. There may be chamber pots under the beds.”

  “Yuk!” squealed Taylor. “They had to share?”

  “Sometimes yes, if the family was big or had a lot of servants. Waiting for the outhouse would be a waste of valuable time,” he grinned at Taylor.

  “Not to mention using it with all those pettiskirts,” Kellie laughed.

  “That’s enough for me; let’s go down to the second floor. Maybe we’ll find some good things and better bathrooms,” Taylor insisted.

  Everyone laughed as they made their way down to the second floor.

  #####

  “This floor is interesting,” Hunter said. “Each room is furnished. It looks as if the Carnfelder family left in a hurry.”

  “Look,” Taylor said. “Some of the clothing is still here. Most are formal dresses. I’m sure they were too bulky to pack and run.”

  “I doubt if they had room. From all I’ve heard they were lucky to escape with their lives,” Kellie added.

  “The two Shuland brothers were killed. I bet they were helping pack or letting horses run loose, something that kept them a few minutes behind, and they were caught and killed along with the crazed nephew,” Marilyn said. She shuddered at the thought of the name Shuland.

  Taylor pulled out a formal gown that time had been kind to and held it up. “This is all satin; we must be in the master bedroom. There is men’s formal wear in the closet, but the moths have enjoyed the wool over the years. I wouldn’t have minded living in this time with all the beautiful clothes.”

  Hunter laughed, “Sure you would, no electricity or hot water at your fingertips. I can see you now trying to curl your hair with those old-fashioned curling irons they heated in the fireplace. You’d set yourself on fire.”

  “That’s not funny,” Taylor glared at him with hands on her hips.

  “Okay you two, stop bickering. This place is interesting. There’s a door here that leads to another bedroom, but it’s empty.”

  “That was my room.”

  They all spun around at the sound of a child’s voice.

  A young boy encircled in mist stood at the doorway to the master bedroom. He was holding Marilyn’s doll.

  “Andrew?” Kellie asked.

  “Yes, that’s me.”

  “Why is your room empty?”

  “When I died mama had them throw away all of my things. I didn’t have anything to play with for a long time until a little girl forgot this doll, and I kept it.”

  Before Kellie could ask another question, he was gone.

  Chapter Twenty

  “Who or what was that,” stammered Marilyn.

  Kellie replied, “That was the ghost of Andrew the little boy the Carnfelder nephew was trying to cure.”

  “He killed him didn’t he,” Marilyn said walking backward away from where the boy’s ghost appeared.

  “We may never know for sure. Unless we find something here, maybe a bible or journal with information on the boy’s illness, we won’t know if he would have died regardless of what the nephew did. Back when he was a child many things were fatal that are curable today. This is a good room to check for a journal kept by his mother. Also, I think the sewing room would be our next best bet. She may have written down her worries,” Kellie said.

  Taylor was still rummaging through the closet and finding more dresses that once were fashionable and now only slightly damaged. She also found a corset and winced at the thought of having to wear one. “Hey,” she called from the closet, “There’s a locked trunk in here. It might be hiding what we need.”

  “Well, technically we broke in,”
Hunter said, “what’s the difference if we break the lock on the trunk, too.” He pulled it out of the closet into the room where the window light would help them see the contents.

  The musty air filled the room when he opened the lid, but everything inside seemed intact. The tight seal had kept the bugs out. He pulled out some of the clothes and found a small cloth covered book in the midst of them. After opening it, he handed it to Kellie saying, “This might be what you’re looking for.”

  She read the first page and looked at Marilyn. “This is your mystery. Do you want to read it first?”

  Marilyn shook her head. “I learned enough from my grandma’s journals. Please Kellie, you read this one.”

  Kellie nodded. “Most of this is about moving here and hoping the fresh air would be good for Andrew. He didn’t have an illness. Born with one leg shorter than the other, and one raised shoulder blade, he was never expected to walk properly. It was a birth defect. Doctors told her he would never grow up ‘normal’ and recommended institutionalizing Andrew. His mother hoped the country would work wonders.”

  “How cruel,” Marilyn said.

  “I suppose back then they meant well. They put people into hospitals for many reasons that today they would cure.” Kellie said before continuing reading.

  “She also wrote that it was difficult for Andrew to breathe. The nephew tried many medicines, but nothing helped. He became weaker and weaker. When he was eight, he died of pneumonia. That’s all Mrs. Carnfelder wrote about Andrew.” Kellie closed the book and placed it back in the trunk.

  “I told you he killed him. He was evil. I bet all those awful concoctions made the boy weak, and he succumbed to pneumonia.” Marilyn trembled and walked out of the room.

  #####

  They followed her out into the hallway.

  “Which room do you suppose would be the nephew’s? I’d like to investigate it,” Hunter said.

  Taylor suggested, “Look into each room and see which looks most masculine. At the turn of the century, floral wallpapers and rugs were popular. I’m sure that’s how they decorated the guest rooms and their female relative’s rooms. Maybe the nephew would have opted out of floral.”

  Hunter glanced into three rooms and shook his head. “These rooms look as if a garden exploded in them.”

  At the end of the hall, he found a bedroom that faced the back of the house. It was smaller than the rest and no flowers in sight. “Hey guys, I think I found it.”

  He entered the room with hardwood floors and wallpaper with a small fleur-de-leis design in a muted shade of burgundy. Deep mahogany furniture filled the room, and brown tapestry drapery adorned the windows. “This has to be the one. It certainly is a dull room.”

  Taylor hurried in behind him and said, “Dull? It is depressing. If he weren't mad when he moved in, spending time in this room alone would have driven him mad.”

  Marilyn and Kellie agreed with Taylor’s assessment of the room. Marilyn asked, “What are we looking for and where do we start?”

  Kellie suggested, “He may have hidden any journal he kept. If his experiments were illegal and he was responsible for people’s deaths, he would have hidden anything that might connect him.”

  “I think Kellie’s right. Just in case it was overlooked, you girls check all the drawers. I’m going to see what I can find in the closet. If needed, we can look for hiding spots under these floor boards,” Hunter said as he opened the two heavy wooden closet doors.

  The girl’s search was in vain, but Hunter discovered a wooden box hidden in the back of the closet under several blankets behind a large trunk. He lifted the box and brought it out. When he dropped it on the bed, years of dust scattered.

  “Well, I can believe no one has been here in years. I would hate to have to clean this place,” Hunter laughed as he lifted the lid.

  “I told you people are afraid of this place. They still believe the nephew will grab someone and torture them,” Marilyn said.

  “Hmm,” Hunter muttered.

  “What?” Taylor asked.

  “No journal here. There are a lot of single sheets of paper with chemicals listed and their amounts. They must be his medicine concoctions. I recognize these ingredients, but I’m not sure why he used them.”

  Marilyn suggested, “We can take the papers with us and use the internet to learn about their use at that time.”

  “Each one has Elias Carnfelder’s signature, and the list includes mercury, cocaine, morphine, opium, and aspirin,” Hunter added.

  Kellie asked, “Why would he give those drugs to a child. It’s horrible.”

  Hunter added, “It gets worse because many of these potion ingredients were mixed with whiskey or other liquors.”

  Taylor said, “He must have been a madman to give that to a child. How will we ever rescue Andrew? I doubt death has brought Elias any sanity.”

  “Knowing his name was Elias will help when we try and get Andrew away from him,” Kellie said.

  Everyone nodded as they watched Hunter pick up a few small items from the case. He found an old-fashioned syringe, a few coins, and a grainy picture of a young boy they assumed was Andrew.

  #####

  Startled by a scraping noise they all turned in the direction of the sound in time to see a wispy grey ghost pull Marilyn into an opening behind the wall. “The Price descendant is mine,” a voice growled.

  Marilyn couldn’t fight the icy cold fingers that gripped the back of her neck and pulled her into the dark passageway.

  Before Kellie could cover the three steps between her and Marilyn, the wall closed, and Marilyn disappeared. They heard her scream drift away and then silence.

  #####

  As Marilyn watched the wall slide shut, her vision darkened. She dropped to the floor in the passageway unable to hear the diabolical laughter of Elias Carnfelder’s ghost. Kellie and her friends heard the laughter reverberate through the entire house.

  “He took her,” Taylor said backing away from the wall. “We have to get her back.” Flashes of her own kidnapping flooded her mind.

  “We will,” Hunter said as he searched for a way to open the wall. “If I don’t find the entrance into the passage, I’ll knock down the wall. No one comes here; no one will care.”

  Kellie felt along the wall and nearby pictures with Hunter in hopes of finding a switch. Taylor stood in the middle of the room and turned slowly watching all four walls for a sign of a ghost.

  “Are you all right, Taylor?” Kellie asked.

  “What?” Taylor jumped throwing her hands over her face. Peeking out between her fingers, she said, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “You don’t seem fine. You could go outside and wait in the car,” Kellie smiled trying to ease Taylor’s anxiety.

  “No, umm, they’ll get me if I’m alone. I’m not going to be kidnapped by a crazy spirit again.” Her brown eyes were wide and her voice barely above a whisper.

  “Okay, stay right at my side. Hunter is going to break down the wall.” Kellie walked up to Taylor and grabbed her hand.

  Hunter hurried back to the closet. “There’s a croquet set in here,” he said as he walked out with a mallet in his hands. “This should do it.”

  He swung at the wall several times until they heard the wood crack. A few more well placed hits and Hunter had broken through. Stale air poured from the hole, but he continued to enlarge it with each hit. When it was large enough to step through, he turned and asked, “Who’s going with me?”

  #####

  Marilyn woke in a small room. It appeared to be unfinished since all the walls had wood studs instead of plaster. It took her a moment to realize she was inside the walls somewhere in the house. She fought the panic she felt building until Elias Carnfelder stood in front of her. He was no longer a ghost, but appeared to be solid and looked alive.

  It can’t be; he’s dead. How can he appear alive? Grandpa, if you’re anywhere near, please help me. Marilyn’s thoughts were racing as fast as her heart.


  Elias bent over and smiled at her. “You’re awake. That’s good. It’s time to leave.”

  “What?” Marilyn tried to push away, but her hands slid right through his form. It wasn’t solid as it appeared, and Marilyn lost hope of being able to fight him.

  Before Marilyn was able to say more than one word, she was encircled in black fog. She felt her body being lifted and swirled faster and faster. When she woke, she was lying on a dirt floor. She recognized the smell of dirt and dead leaves. Marilyn knew she was no longer in the house. Inside the tunnel under the cemetery, she knew she would meet her demise at the hands of Elias. No one knew where she was and would never find her in time.

  #####

  Kellie and Taylor followed Hunter down a secret passageway behind the wall in Elias’ bedroom. It led down two flights of stairs, and they believed they were on the basement level when the passageway ended in a small room.

  “Someone’s been here recently; the dust is disturbed,” Taylor commented.

  Hunter began hitting the walls with the mallet hoping to break out of the room. “I don’t think this is how they left. Either we missed a secret exit on the way down or Elias has some way to travel with a human being. Didn’t you say he likes to travel between the house and the cemetery?”

  “Yes, if we believe the spirit of the small girl buried under the bridge he does travel from the tunnel to the house. What if he took her back to the tunnel? That’s where they took Marilyn when they kidnapped her at age six. We found a lot of strange things in jars and tins down there. Elias said he wanted the Price descendant when he grabbed her. I think he may have taken her there,” Kellie said as her phone rang.

  “It’s Claudia. Hi, yes we can’t find her. Does he know anything? Okay, we’ll keep looking. Let me know if you learn anything.” She hit the end button and looked at her friends.

  “What did she say,” Taylor asked gripping Hunter’s arm.

  “Claudia feels Marilyn is with Elias outside of the house. He is somehow able to hide from other spirits. Marilyn’s grandpa can’t see her and is angry. Her grandpa is floating around trying to find her. Having a spirit help us is a good thing, I think,” Kellie said.