HAUNTED WHISPERS

 

“When the room went dark, she heard her name” October competition.

 

CHAPTER ONE


Mia had often heard stories about the old house in Oak view, how it was supposed to be haunted by the ghost of an old woman.

Twenty years ago there was a horrific incident where a couple had been murdered by the notorious Arnold White who had managed to escape from a local prison and savagely attacked them with a kitchen knife. Penny Lewis had been the owner of the run down guest house and given them a bed for the night. She had also been murdered by the notorious butcher of Oak view.

Agreeing to investigate several supernatural incidents which had taken place recently Mia Cromwell had gathered together a team of psychic investigators who had been called in to investigate the house. Don Wilbur was Mia’s close friend and one of the members of the group, they had both shared a fascination for the paranormal often reading about hauntings across the towns of America. It had been decided that the best time to conduct the investigation would be over the eve of Halloween. This had been Don’s idea as a lot of psychic activity would be active around then.


       “Man this is a particularly creepy one!” Don said rubbing his hands as he stood waiting for Mia.

Stewart Dobson who had been in the group from the start shivered “It looks like a storm is brewing which is just perfect for the night of Halloween, kind of creepy”

They had left the equipment in the van and had decided to investigate the outside of the old ramshackle of a building. Since the murders no one had dared to buy the house leaving the shell to crumble into ruin over the years. Large roof tiles had fallen off leaving gaping holes for birds to enter and build their nests along with other critters.

    “Well it certainly has the right atmosphere for our investigation; the others are going to enjoy this one”

The others who Stewart was referring to happened to be Jennifer Drummond and Zach Eldridge who happened to be the best in their field. Mia had agreed to pick them up and meet in the old parking lot.

   “Do you think that we will get lucky tonight?” Stewart asked anxiously.

They had been on several investigations lately where it had turned out to be a cruel hoax ending up with creaking necks and aching bones with little to show for it but somehow this one felt different.

Don was about to answer the question when headlights lit up the surrounding trees.

    “”The boss is here” Don joked.

Rushing towards the car they met up with their colleagues, it was good to see the group all together.

  “You have picked one with a great atmosphere Mia” Stewart opined as the young girl grinned at him.

    “We need to set up the equipment before dusk” Mia ordered.

She was excited at being able to start a new investigation with her trusty band of warriors, the clouds were starting to gather and the occasional bat darted above their heads from nearby trees. Don was a large man and had no trouble hauling the equipment which he carried in a large backpack.

Forcing open the creaky door the excited group entered the old hall way, wallpaper peeled off in large areas with a damp and musty smell filling their lungs.

   “Better not risk trying the light switch as the electrics look shot!” Mia warned.

Fortunately they had powerful torches giving them a chance to take a first proper look at the inside. Bloodstains still lingered on the carpet where the first victim had been butchered and added to the atmosphere.

Traipsing up the stairs they set up the small cameras and special voice detectors in each bedroom. Neither of the bedrooms appeared to have been altered since the dreaded event giving it a creepy feeling.

    “We can split the group into two for the sleeping quarters; Jennifer can share with me whilst the rest of you set up camp in the other bedroom”

Don looked sceptical at being left with Stewart but at least had Zach with him.

    “I can already feel the hostility in this building” Zach warned.

Jennifer was also picking up on the vibe, deciding to wander back down to the living room where the first murder took place they sat in the moth eaten chairs just trying to absorb the atmosphere of the old building. An old wooden dining table still stood in one corner of the room with five chairs around it.

  “We can place the Ouija board on here” Mia suggested.

Lighting a candle Don placed it close to the board adding to the ambience.

    “There is enough room for the five of us” Mia stated looking around at the faces in the candle light all looking apprehensive. A small glass was placed in the centre of the board which they quickly tipped over.

    “Is everybody ready?” Don asked.

They all took a seat placing a finger on top of the glass; Jennifer began to ask the usual questions as the flame on the candle flickered. A slight breeze could be felt whilst she was talking. Each person waited for any presence to guide them by moving the glass, at first there was only the gentle breeze blowing through a crack in the wall but then the glass began to slowly move.

    “It looks like we might be making contact” Zach said gleefully.

Jennifer scowled at him “We need to be cautious so keep your fingers on the glass and see what happens”

The others could hardly speak with being fixated by the board.

    “Is there a spirit in the room who would like to come to the table and communicate with us?” Jennifer continued to ask.

Slowly the glass began to turn on the board moving towards the letter Y everyone held their breath as it moved to the letters E and finally S.

Feeling excited Jennifer asked the next question. “Can you spell out your name please?”

Again the glass moved to the various letters to spell out the name of ‘PENNY LEWIS’

     “That’s the name of the old woman who was murdered” Don said excitedly.

Once again Mia flashed him one of her warning looks to be quiet which he duly obliged.

     “Are there any other spirits here?” Jennifer continued to ask.

Once more the glass moved to the letters that spelt out YES.

A clap of thunder directly above the house made them all jump followed by a flash of lightning illuminating the room.

    “I pity those trick and treaters who are out tonight!” Zach laughed to try and settle the room.

A knock at the door startled them and the glass shot off the board.

     “I will go” Don said bravely, his heavy footsteps echoed down the hall. Frightened children’s voices could be heard saying trick or treat once the door opened. Don’s gruff voice could be heard sending them off.

     “Contact has been broken now for the time being” Zach said once he returned. “So we might as well go to bed”

Bidding each other a good night they walked upstairs to the bedrooms, lightning was still flashing and the room lit up. Jennifer felt tired and after preparing for bed went straight off to sleep, it took Mia a little longer as she lay awake listening to the thunder. Pulling the ragged curtains together the room went dark. She was just at the point of going to sleep when she heard a voice calling her name, looking around she couldn’t see anything but heard the sound of Jennifer snoring.


The following morning once they had managed to check over the equipment they could see the vague outline of a figure hovering above Mia’s bed. It wasn’t until later that she realised it was the bed where the couple had been murdered.