Story time: Not our problem

Charming cottage - Reeuwijk May 2019

“Mom, who are those kids in the bathroom?” asked Gracie in her sweet 5-year-old voice.

Mary looked quizzically at her child knowing that she has a great imagination. She didn’t want to ridicule her daughter, although she knew that no one else was in the house.
“Gracie” she responded, “I do not know – please tell me about them.”

“Mom, there are 2 girls and 1 boy. The girl in the dress has a teddy bear,” explained Gracie as she tugged at her mother’s arm, pulling her towards the bathroom.

Upon arriving at the bathroom door, Gracie stopped and began to point, “There they are Mom. Why are they ignoring us?”

Mary could not see the 3 children. Gracie then added,
“They never speak to me. They never play with me. They are not nice.”

Mary said to Gracie, “I do not know why they are here. Since they are not nice, I will ask them to go to their homes.”
Gracie smiled and nodded in agreement with her mother.
“Let’s brush your teeth, then you can go to bed and have sweet dreams.”
The child seemed happy and comforted by her mother.

After putting Gracie to bed, Mary wondered how she would tell this story to her husband, Carl. They moved to this new house 7 months ago and for the last 3 months Mary’s been uncomfortable in their new abode. She’s been hearing sounds in the ceiling at nights. It’s so unnerving! It’s been so audible that Mary expected Carl to say something, but he hasn’t. When the sounds began, Mary had a roof repairman check for any openings in the roof and the surrounding soffit. The cottage is only 2 years old; everything was perfect. She wondered if it was all in her head. However, now that Gracie is seeing “potential ghosts”, Carl needed to know.

Later that evening when Carl arrived home, Mary decided not to tell him. Her husband seemed tired and stressed after work. Mary did not want to bother him. He is a very rational man. She could already anticipate Carl’s reaction whilst shaking his head and saying,
“Mary, little Gracie has an imaginary friend. How can you possibly encourage this madness?”

The next day, Mary could hear Gracie speaking to someone. She went to her room only to hear Gracie say,
“Why won’t you speak to me? Is that old lady your Grandma?”

That night Mary could not sleep. She was concerned about Gracie although the child didn’t seem scared. Nevertheless, their home felt spooky. Just passed midnight the sounds started again. It was not discreet. The stomp above was very clear. It was too pronounced to be a rat or racoon. It was as though someone was walking heavily overhead.

Mary thought about waking Carl as the noise above grew louder and louder. She turned on the bedside lamp, looked over at Carl in the bed and realized that his eyes were open. She asked him the obvious, “Carl, are you awake?”
He turned towards her and grumbled, “Yes, I’m not so tired.”
Mary was suspicious as now wasn’t the time for half-truths.
Suddenly there was a loud thud above. She asked,
“Did you hear that?”
“Yes, I did,” replied Carl as he sat up in bed.
Mary sighed with relief as now she could divulge everything.
“I’m glad you heard it too. I thought I was going crazy. I’ve been hearing sounds for a while now but always after falling asleep. At first I thought I was dreaming but it’s the same when I stay awake past midnight.”
Carl drew Mary close to him and said,
“I am sorry we didn’t speak about this before. I didn’t want to scare you as this is definitely not normal.”

Mary then relayed the stories about Gracie and the “invisible visitors”. Carl then said,
“One morning after getting dressed for work, I heard children’s laughter in the bathroom while walking out. Reflexively, I turned around. Of course, there was no one there. Although, it didn’t sound like Gracie – I checked on her and she was fast asleep. I got the heebie-jeebies and kept thinking about it.”
In spite of the story, Mary still asked,
“Have you ever seen them?”
“No!” exclaimed Carl. “I wanted to know more, so I jokingly asked Mark about ghosts, and he said,

children see spirits – adults drink them.

He was kidding but he did say that children are sensitive and can see them better than us.”

Mark, Carl’s best friend, was always fascinated with the occult and telling ghost stories. They were a source of entertainment at parties. No one believed them especially Carl, who always teased his friend. However, lying in bed huddled together – was no laughing matter. Carl decided to have a serious talk with his friend.

When Carl spoke to Mark, he was very excited and willing to help. He had learnt about exorcism but had never practiced it. Mark was eager to perform his first one - to expel all evil or lingering spirits from his friend’s home. Mary took Gracie to her mother’s place for the weekend. Mark arrived that night with his Bible, a potpourri of incense and wearing an amulet. He placed one around Carl’s neck. They lit the potpourri, placing small bowls in all corners of the house. A minute before midnight, they began to pray. Immediately thereafter stomping could be heard in the ceiling. They might have angered the spirits because the noise from above became louder.

Mark sat crossed legged on the floor and start to chant; his body rocked back and forth. Carl watched intensely and was surprised about this side of his jovial friend. Mark then took the Bible and started to read from the book of Psalms. Straight away a banging reverberated throughout the house. Carl became frightened and began to tremble. Mark tried to reassure his friend by saying,
“It’s working Carl – our efforts are making an impact.”
In a flash, the lights went out. Carl tried flipping light switches but the house remained in darkness. He said,
“I’m having cold feet. I can’t handle this anymore. I’m leaving.”
“I understand but now that I’ve started the exorcism, I must finish,” explained Mark.
Carl picked up his car keys and left. A few minutes after Carl drove away, all the sounds ceased and the lights went on. Mark was puzzled. He finished his chanting then left.

Carl joined Mary and Gracie at his mother-in-law’s home. Later Mark called to tell them what happened, but he could give no guarantees. The couple were too afraid to return to the house. Instead, they called the landlord, John, to request a meeting.

John was a surly no-nonsense man who seemed very unfriendly. However, the following day when he opened his door to greet the couple, he gave them a knowing smile. After relaying their experiences, John remarked,
“I already guessed that this was the reason for your urgent visit. The prior tenants had similar issues.”

Mary and Carl glared at John without saying a word. They had rented a haunted house! John sensed some resentment and said,
“Paranormal encounters are personal experiences so this is not something I would tell a tenant.”
Clearly, he had no answers for them; instead he seemed delighted as he explained,
“As a boy, I lived at the location of your home.”
“Was your family home there?” Mary asked.
“No, my orphanage.”
Mary and Carl gasped audibly.
John continued, “Smith’s Orphanage. Miss Smith was a spinster and mother to all her orphans. I have happy memories growing up there from about 6 until I was fostered at 14. Every orphan was my sibling and like any other family – we had laughter, fights and tears too when someone died.” John looked so happy as he told the story.

Carl was quiet but Mary had another question.
“Did many children die there?
“Yes – many did because the children that came to Miss Smith were often rejected elsewhere because they were so sickly. I didn’t always look like this!”, chuckled the landlord.

John further explained that when the orphanage fell into disrepair, he bought the property, demolished the old house and built the current house.

Mary delved deeper. She asked,
“Did Miss Smith die in the house?”
“Yes. It was her beloved home. When she became old, the city stopped the orphanage although her niece wanted to continue it. She was very distressed by this decision.”

Finally, Carl asked a question,
“Have you heard the horribly disconcerting stomping in the ceiling at nights?”
“No. After the prior tenants left, I slept there for 1 week and heard nothing. Actually, I slept like a baby. The noise you experienced was not a problem for me,” John quipped.
Irritated Carl then said, “I’ve not slept well for the last 3 months. I am tired. We cannot live like this. We will move out!”

John reminded the couple that their contract was for 1 year.
Carl retorted, “We do not care. We'll pay the rent. We are leaving. Your haunted house will no longer be our problem.”

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1.“children see spirits – adults drink them” ©MoMoGrOw

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This is my response to The Ink Well's fiction prompt #107.

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The photo is my own