The haunted house on the hill

Stories have been told about the haunted house on the hill. Tales of strange sightings, of ‘Shadow people’ coming and going. I hadn’t been near there in years till the day that my partner arranged an evening hike in the woods.

George had started a hiking group and on this night in October, the trail led through the ‘Great Woods’. We were all excited, had our torches, warm coats, scarves and woolly hats. Had anyone known what was about to happen then our expedition would have been cancelled or no one would have come. A night in, in front of the television was preferable to what was about to happen.

A walk in the woods

Here we were together, a party of six adults and five children, walking through the leaves, Freddie and Izzy taunted each other with stories of ghosts whilst Lizzie ran on a little ahead. Though we could see her, their parents were more preoccupied in their own conversation. On reflection, the fact that it was a dark wood on a cold night someone should have been holding her hand. The other two children, Joe and Harry were with their parents, happily talking to each other, ignoring the rest of the party. On a cold night like tonight that was the best way to be, caught up in their own family bubble.

As I walked, I could hear the conversations going on around me, but I was not focused on them. My mind was preoccupied with what I had read on ‘Facebook’ tonight. Children in our small town of ‘Cradle Marsh’ had gone missing. A group of twelve-year-old boys who were last seen on their bikes playing in their small cul-de-sac. I thought now and realised that ‘River Court’ has a footpath that leads to the woods. I then dismissed this because surely if they were in the woods then they would have come home.

Lizzie

It was now I heard a shriek up ahead, Lois, Lizzies mum, now started to run. I could feel my heart racing faster and it was now I noticed the lights up ahead. Lois was now crying as she was holding her child’s woolly hat, Lizzie had vanished.

George now tried to take control of the situation, but no one was listening. Lois now hugged Freddie and Izzy tight, they were both crying and convinced that a ghost had taken her. The panic was now escalated by their dad, William.

“What are you going to do George? My daughter is missing, and you are giving orders.”
“I’m trying to prevent hysteria, she can’t be far away, we are alone out here.”
“Are we George, are we really? You know the rumours of the old haunted house.”
“Yes, but that’s just nonsense, they are just stories.”

I interrupted now, “George, he does have a point.”
“Oh, Rach, not you too, don’t be daft.”
“George, look straight through the trees there, what do you see?”
“I see lights, okay, so where are they shining from.”
William irate now said, “It’s the old house, it should be empty but there are lights on, something is going on here.”

I thought again about the missing boys and my mind now started to drift. What if something was happening at the house? And where was Lizzie?

 * * * * * * * * * *

The missing boys

A few days earlier Miles, Ellis and Ryan had been playing on their bikes in ‘River Court’. It was late afternoon and starting to get dark when Miles noticed a dark shadow on the footpath leading into the wood.

“Come on lads lets check this out. What is that?

Following their friend all three pedalled into the woods, all fuelled by wild curiosity. As they reached the edge of the wood, they could see a group of shadows watching them. The shadows now moved as if urging the boys to follow.

With no sense of danger, the boys followed, with a sense of adventure they wanted to know more about the shadow people. Bravely the boys standing up on their pedals followed them further into the wood, as if pulled by an invisible thread they wondered where they were going.

Their parents had forbidden them from playing in the woods, believing the stories of the haunted house, they had warned them to stay away. If they knew where their children were, they would not have been sat relaxed watching ‘Neighbours’. They believed that they were still happily outside playing in the close.

* * * * * * * * * *

Panic

Here we were, all shivering, the Mills family crying about missing Lizzie. George trying to be rational whilst the others laid into him. The Wildish’s were panicing, holding onto their children, Joe and Harry. What should have been a friendly walk in the woods had turned into a disaster. I wasn’t sure what to say as William Mills stated,
“You must have heard all the rumours about the haunted house.”
“Yes, of course, but that’s rubbish,” George said,
“Face facts man, there are lights on in that house and our little girl is missing.” I now chipped in,
“There are boys missing too.”

“Boys, what boys.”
“William, it was on ‘Facebook’, they were riding their bikes in ‘River Court’, then they vanished.”
“But that’s impossible Rach, apart from that you can’t believe what you read on ‘Facebook’.”
“Believe it or not George, right now Lizzie is missing, as if she has vanished, just like the boys.”

The haunted house

“Right I’ve heard enough, we need to go to that house. We need to see who’s in, if they don’t have Lizzie, maybe they have some ideas about what is going on.”
“Is that really wise William? Maybe we should call the police.”
“Rachel, you can call the police, but I’m going in”.
“I’ll come too, you will see this is crazy, maybe Lizzie is just hiding.” George was shaking now, it was obvious that he was starting to wonder if there was truth in the theory of the haunted house.

“Okay, I will phone the police. If you go by yourselves, make sure you phone if you find her, we will stay here.” The Wildish’s now decided it was time for them to go home. They still had their children and were scared of something happening to them as well. I understood but at the same time couldn’t help feeling annoyed. I tried to smile as I shivered and did my best to be friendly as we said goodbye.

Now left alone with a frightened Lois and two small children, I tried to remain positive. However, I couldn’t help but be scared, I had heard the stories, the haunted house was infamous in ‘Cradle Marsh’.

The ghost stories

Residents of the town had reported seeing ‘Shadow people’ during early evening around the town. When seen, adults would run in fear, it now occurred to me that children might act differently around them. They might be less fearful then adults, unaware of the danger that they might be in.

I had phoned the police and they were on their way to the wood. We sat beside a tree, Freddie and Izzy were sat cuddling each other, both crying and keeping each other warm. The stories had worried me for weeks but not being a mother, I hadn’t been so concerned about children. George had just dismissed them all, hence not having any fear of tonight’s hike.

Lois now disturbed my thoughts, “Rachel, do you think the shadow people are dangerous?”
“I don’t know, but Lizzie is not the only missing child. I’m hoping the men find them, to be honest I’m too scared to go anywhere near that house.”

“Do you think the men are safe?”
“I don’t know, the police will be here soon, something is not right. If the ‘Shadow people’ do live in that house then I’m sure they will find something.

* * * * * * * * * *

Inside the haunted house

William and George had arrived at the haunted house. All the lights were on, and they could hear ‘Guns and Roses, Sweet child of mine’ playing. Nervously they rang the bell, what was really going on here? After five minutes and no answer, George looked in a downstairs window, he couldn’t see anyone, there was just the sound of the music on repeat. Hearing a scream behind him, his could feel his heart beating so fast it hurt. Feeling sick he turned round, there with his arm around William was a ‘Shadow man’.

The man was silent, but he now opened the door and motioned them into the house. To scared to say anything they obediently walked in, neither prepared for what they were about to see. Nothing could have prepared them for what they saw, ghosts, spooks the supernatural, they both felt certain that ghosts were not violent.

The sight that faced them made both men feel sick, and William started to cry. Things had just turned darker beyond anything they had imagined.

The three boys

There sat in jars on the table were the remains of the boys, they knew this as three heads sat on the table looking at them. Wanting to run but both feeling glued to the floor, they stared in shock. Both wondered where Lizzie was, but were relieved that her head was not there, suggesting that it was still attached to her body.

A ‘Shadow man’ now motioned them to sit down as his friend now started to bind and gag them. Now surrounded by an army of ‘Shadow people’, George wished that he had his gun with him, however he was sure that the bullet would go straight through him, who were the ‘Shadow people’?

Now hearing sirens, the two men looked at each other, how were the police going to take them down? Were they all going to end up dead? William now nudged George,
“Do you smell something?”
“Possibly, I’m not sure.” Around them the ‘Shadow people’ started to fall to the floor as the door was bashed down and a group of men in army fatigues came through it.

“The army, not the police, my god.” George was grateful to see them. The soldiers now saw the heads on the table, and a tall officer now spoke to them.

“We have been studying the ‘Shadow people’, we can’t tell you much, but we have learnt that Ammonia puts them to sleep. We will now be capturing them and working out who they are and why they are here.”

William interrupted, “Officer my daughter is missing.”
“Don’t worry the men are searching the woods, I will take you back to your families.”

* * * * * * * * * *

Two days later

I will never forget the events of that night. Lizzie was found, scared, hiding in a ditch in the wood. She had seen a ‘Shadow man’ and had been sensible to not follow him where other children had. The haunted house was possibly no longer haunted, the ‘Shadow people’ had been transported to a secret government facility. We were not privileged enough to hear any more about them, but at least the town was safe now.

The army had been trying to work them out for months, but a missing child and two men walking into the house had changed the case from investigation to a rescue mission.

Lois and William Mills have not spoken to us since that night, still upset about George planning his hike. I’m not a parent but I don’t understand why you would take a child on an evening hike in a wood near a haunted house. It had been their decision, I wondered now if Halloween had made any difference to the ‘Shadow people’ and their mission.

Reflections

We will never know why they killed the boys, the army found evidence of other dismembered children and I was glad that Lizzie had hid. Other children had followed them, and the consequence had meant that they had been cut to pieces.

I sat now, holding my old teddy bear, drinking a mug of tea and watching the traffic go by outside. I know when I have children, I will be too scared to let them out of my sight. We don’t know why the ‘Shadow people’ are here and we can only assume they are Alien. I’m not sure now if the haunted house is haunted, surely ghosts can’t be captured or put to sleep with ammonia. Though thinking about it maybe the ‘Shadow people’ had chosen the haunted house because of ghosts, we will never know.

There is so much in this world that we don’t know, I had thought the ‘Shadow people’ were ghosts. I now know that I was wrong, I wondered what else I am wrong about. However, I’m also glad that I don’t know everything, the knowledge of dismembered children was already too much.

George walking in the room woke me from my daze. I walked over and put my arms around him. If it wasn’t for him and his evening hike, we would have been none the wiser about all of this. To most of the town, the haunted house was just a haunted house, we now knew better. However, to the town it was nice for the belief of the haunted house to continue, especially at Halloween.

Written for Write the story on Writers Unite

For more see, Is there intelligent life somewhere else in the universe

Home from Camp

It started raining just as I arrived home. After our busy camping weekend, I thought of Freda playing on the Entertainment barn’s keyboard,  I was now pleased to finally be able to shut out the world around me. The last two hours had been particularly stressful. Visiting the ‘Red Lion’ on our way home had not been a great idea.

After helping to calm down a tearful and pregnant Rosie, advising her she did not need to kill boyfriend Freddie, he is not worth the effort. I had then taken Freda home, she had been affected by Rosie’s upset. In case you don’t know our story, Freda is my best friend and she is not well at present. After suffering a bout of depression, I found her unconscious with an empty bottle of ‘Bells Whisky’ next to her. She has been referred for counselling, but this is not helping.

I’m a musician and will sing and play the piano in pubs and clubs. Freda has now joined me, she is a terrific pianist and as she plays her demeaner changes. Her face will turn from a frown to a smile as she listens to the rhythm.

My thoughts

Listening to the rain fall outside I made myself a warm mug of tea. Drowning the teabag with boiling water I once again thanked the heavens, that all was alright with me. I was concerned for Freda, but I knew she would be alright too. Rosie needed to stay strong and continue to ignore Freddie’s demands. I have learnt, it is important in life to follow your gut, you need to do what is right for you. If you live to please others, you will not be happy, that little voice in your head will always be disagreeing with what is happening and that is a difficult unhappy place to live in.

Mark

Our weekend, had not quite been the break I had planned. I had not been interested in finding a partner. I am happily single, happy managing my singing business, so meeting Mark had made me feel uncertain. I’m not ready to have my heart broken again and I hardly know him. The thing is though, he is nice looking and he seemed like a good person. Also, just thinking about him, my heart skips so I know that I need to take the risk and let him into my life. I can’t stay single forever, I have to risk being hurt, and maybe he is the one that I’m meant to be with. Smiling at this thought, I’m now in my early thirties so why not?

Legs up on the settee, I finished my tea and put the mug down on the floor. Lying back I cuddled down into the comfortable cushions and closed my eyes. Exhaustion had taken over and I now gave into it as a relaxed sensation as I was welcomed by the land of dreams.

Freda

Home alone with Labrador Rex, she put the television on and reflected on things. Having suffered recent heartbreak from a long-term relationship with two timing John, she was happy for Ruby but hoped she was not about to undergo the same intense pain. ‘Jeremy Kyle’ was not helping her to organise her thoughts and she changed the channel. ‘Emmerdale’ on catch up would have to do, escape from the reality of real life.

Rex sat head on his paws, he had had a good time away and was now content to watch his mistress with her feet on the settee staring at the television. He knew she had been unhappy, he had sensed that there was something not right with John before it had all fell apart.

Freda had taken down all his photos but couldn’t help thinking about him. The breakup had been unexpected, and she had felt like she was run down by a truck, if it wasn’t for Ruby she didn’t like to think where she would be. Nobody seemed to truly understand how she was feeling, and the patronising counsellor did not help, and Citalopram was not going to take away her happy memories of John and then the hurt he had caused her.

Keyboard and music

Sitting now she asked herself, what next? She looked around her flat, at the tired furniture and now her beloved dog staring up at her. She needed a plan, music made her happy but she could not forever depend on Ruby for that fix. Thinking about the piano and how it made her feel she considered buying one, then another thought occurred to her. An upright piano is not practical, but she could store a piano keyboard under her bed.

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Freda knew that making impulse purchases like this was not clever, she knew her credit card was not healthy as she logged into her Amazon account. As an excellent pianist she needed something nice, she knew that her music made her feel something that ‘Citalopram’ never could. Going through checkout she thought again about her impulse purchase, but she knew that she needed this. Relieved for prime delivery she was happy to see it would arrive the next day.

Excited now about her new keyboard and thinking about her music she told herself not to worry about her credit card, she would pay it, eventually. She worked part time in a department store, which helped to pay her rent. Ruby was not able to pay her but for Freda it was therapy to join her friend and play the piano alongside her.

Freda’s plan

She knew that she had to escape her ‘depressive funk’ and now she thought about what she had wanted from life. Thinking about ‘Bucks Fizz’ and ‘Abba’, she had always wanted to write her own music, John had always told her that she was not good enough and she had believed him. Reaching for her notebook and pen, she now made a list with the title, ‘How to get myself out of my mess’.
1. Enjoy my keyboard, play every evening.
2. To write some songs and the music, with the help of my keyboard.
3. Talk to Ruby, she could sing my songs.

Stopping now she wondered if Ruby would really sing her songs. She knew she would tell her off for her extravagant purchase, but she knew that she needed this.

Ruby

Woken from sleep I could hear ringing. Then feeling a vibration by my leg, I realised it was my phone. Answering it, I hoped Freda was alright.
“Hello, you okay”. I heard an excited voice,
“Ruby, I’ve made decision.”
I sat up now, “Okay what have you done?’
“I’ve bought a keyboard and Amazon will deliver it tomorrow.”

I bit my tongue I know how much she owes the Halifax, but I understood why she had bought it. “Okay, so what is your plan with it.”
“I’m going to use it to write music and songs, Ruby will you sing them?” I know Freda is talented, but I have never read or heard any of her songs.
“Slow down, how about I come over tomorrow and we look at your new keyboard together. Let’s not rush into anything but this could be a good idea. Will make a change from the songs that I will usually sing.”
“Okay, thanks Ruby, I will let you know when it has been delivered.”
“Yes, give me a call.”

We spoke for a while longer and then said goodbye. Standing up, I looked at the clock, 8pm, the afternoon had passed, and my thoughts turned to Mark. I wondered how long it would be before he messaged me. I was determined not to message him first.

The text

It was a couple of hours later as I drank my evening hot chocolate that my phone vibrated again. My heart leapt as I could see it said, ‘hello, thinking of you, Mark’. I asked myself if I should reply straight back and then told myself I was too old for games. Smiling happily, I texted him back, I wondered where this was leading and then told myself to stop thinking about it, relax and enjoy what happens next.

Written for Grammys Grid sentence prompt – It started raining just as I….

For more see, A camping weekend and a new man – Ruby and Freda part four. Please note this is Part five of a five part story.