Hauntings‌ ???
Dalene Davies Dialogue version Hauntings-CSD 5-2012
Hauntings… ??? “Mom?” I whisper. “Are you there?” “Yes, dear, I am here,” “What…what happened?” I try to sit up, but my head hurts something awful. I tried to remember what upset me. “I don’t know, honey, how about if you tell me what happened. The only thing I know is that you went upstairs, and then ten minutes later you screamed. When I ran up there, you had fainted. So, why don’t we discuss just what did happen to you.” “I…I… don’t really remember. I remember… going… um… going through the door, flipping the light, and then… then… finding that old trunk, the one with the travel tags on it…you remember? I dug through it for a costume and… and found,” “Found what, Dee? This is important. What did you find?” My mind flounders. It was right there. I wish I could remember. I think back to the attic, the light switch, the trunk, there it is, I can see them. “I found those cool sunglasses, mom, so I put them on, and the world began to sway, the piano played, and I saw… I saw… I saw the old house on the hill come alive, mom, it grabbed Ruth and Janet. Mom, they vanished!” I could feel the fear in my heart grab me. I could feel the fear spread through me. I didn’t know what to make of it. I was scared for my friends, myself, my mind. I began shaking. My body hurt. My head pounded. I felt parched and dry and confused. “Dee, I know this is not easy, but we need to talk. I need you to pay close attention to me. I need you to listen.” Mom reached for my hand and patted it, holding me tight. I relaxed just a little. I knew something was up. I took a deep breath. “OK, Mom, I’m ready.” “Dee, the first thing you need to know is that in our family line, we have the ability to see the future and in some cases to understand and truly feel the feelings of others. We are empathic.
It sometimes will skip a generation, but mostly it appears after a traumatic experience. “You found the glasses that opened another portal, and you opened the gift that has followed our family for generations. “I hope you are old enough to understand the responsibility that goes with this gift. It can be a tremendous stress for a young girl to handle. There are a few things we must discuss regarding this. “First, what you saw is called a premonition. Some call it a vision. We can sometimes use this knowledge to change the future. Sometimes it can only be used to prepare us for something bad that will happen. It is a part of us. “I think you need to rest now, and we can talk later. You are going trick or treating, remember?” I remember thinking my mom was a bit crazy. I remember lying back and thinking maybe I was dreaming. More like a nightmare, I thought. I must have slept some because I woke up just in time to gobble dinner and head out to trick or treat. There were twelve of us, total. The oldest of us was someone I didn’t know very well; she was sixteen and also a bit of a brute. We start off around the old Shadowsland town, the area just below the old Anderson House. Twilight is just beginning and the sun along with the moon is visible in the sky. It was to be an eclipse that night. Only happens ‘once in a blue moon’, the weatherman had said. The light in the sky was eerie. I wondered along beside Glenda, my best friend, slowing her down so we could talk a minute. “Glenda, come here. I want to talk to you a minute.” I whisper to her as I reach for her hand. “What? You don’t look so good, Dee.” Glenda is looking me over. “You look good in that costume, though. Looks like you got boobs there, girl. What did you do?” “I snooped in the attic and found an old trunk with old, old clothes. This was in it. The hoop, the low dress, the boob rack; I
used some old rags to fill in the boob rack. When I put on the sunglasses, I saw, I saw a ghost on that old piano. Then I saw Ruth and Janet, they, vanished, Glenda. I saw them vanish!” I lower my voice on that last bit; I don’t want Ruth and Janet to hear me. The older girl then calls us around her. She seemed to have made herself our leader. We gather close, listening to her speak. “Gather around me, lend me your ear, Halloween has come; a night of fear, Relinquish your soul, demons wail, Bells give midnight’s coming tale, Ghosts swarm the haunted mansion, Cemeteries full with banshees shriek, Death will come by daylights peek. When the midnight hour does strike, Hide the children from the night. Creepy, freaky, spooky hands, Reach for the mouth, the scream to stem, Menacing music screeching within, Mind and thought ours to imprison, Your essence, Heart body and soul, Ours to bind, consume, devour, Blood pounding, veins leaping Look out it’s the witching hour, Halloween has come, a night to fear, Gather around me; lend me your ear. “I have a great idea! Let’s drop by the Old Anderson house.” I don’t believe what I am heard. I reach for Glenda and pull her aside. “ Glenda, I don’t want to go there. That’s where Ruth and Janet vanish. We can’t let this happen. We have to stop this now!” “What do you want me to do?” Glenda hisses back. “I don’t know. Stop it!” I watch Glenda step up and speak. “That’s a really dumb idea. That house is cursed and haunted. My mom says people disappear
from that house. I know I am banned from the woods, grounds and the house. Why would we do that?” “It would be fun! Besides, as long as we all stay together nothing is going to happen. What are you guys; babies? “Please! You don’t really believe in ghosts and goblins, do you? “Those rumors have been around as long as I can remember. People die all the time. What are the chances anything will happen? There are twelve of us. We are a witch’s coven! “ I DARE you! Double Dare you.” Voices began small then got loud. “Let’s go, … Let’s Go, … Let’s GO… LeT’s Go… LET’S GO!” “Glenda, we can’t do this! We can’t … we can’t… we can’t!” I stomp my feet and feel a bit hysterical. It’s like something, or someone else is in control and I can’t change a thing. Glenda grabbed me and tried to get me to calm down. “Dee, she is right. There are lots of us together. If we keep them close together, we can protect them. “Come on, let’s go.” “But, Glenda, look at the weather, the rain is coming, and the eclipse will block whatever light we have now. We won’t be able to see anything, and that will make it more dangerous. We have to turn them all back and do it now!” “Stop this, Dee, quit sounding hysterical. There is nothing wrong. It’s just your nerves.” What is wrong with everyone? Why can’t they feel this fear that is racing through my body? Why am I still here? I can’t change their minds, and I can’t change the fact my friends are going to get hurt. My mom is right. I just have to learn to accept this. What am I going to do? I can’t feel my hands anymore. This is paralyzing me! This fear is racing through my entire body. Help! I can’t breath! My head is pounding, sweat is pouring down my neck. Wait, it’s the rain! Oh no! Not that too!
It’s like an instant replay in my head, that scene in the attic. Over and over again, it plays and plays; the house, my friends, vanishing; the house, my friends, the vanishing. “I think I am going to throw up,” I whisper. I must be in shock, I think. I am only twelve years old. Who am I to stand against fate? Who am I to tell my friends what to do…? Stumbling along the roadway, I fall, and then plunge ahead… Counting my steps. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten…. The road to the Anderson House is rocky, filled with little pebbles and slick with rain. Electric power lines ooze zappy noises as we all march toward the haunted, deserted house. The world takes on an eerie look and the shadows dance in the wake of the soon coming eclipse. Trees line the watered down sidewalk, and the house itself looks like a castle. The edges of the walkway have weeds growing out like vines that lived to trap you. I watch as the weeds intertwine with stubby legs determined to defy the odds of death. Suddenly, the air fills with the wails of dogs, howling, growling, and menacing guttural gnashing warning us away. Trees reach for the girls, ghosts flow through the air, wrapping their boney skeleton fingers in the hair of those ahead. Screams of terror stream down through our pack, and the girls head in three different directions. “I… I… just remembered. I… have to be home now. My Mom needs me.” One girl blurts out as she heads down the looming side street. “Wait for me!” Two others scream. I notice we are down to eight girls now. Maybe it’s just as well. Still we move forward. Daring fate to take us all. Shifting into groups of three we keep looking ahead. Lightening flashes, illuminating the house, making it look ghostly and welcoming. The light hits the windows to make them glow,
candles flickering, shutters wailing, and curtains billowing, making the house appear alive. Branches wiggle a welcome of their own and an evil laugh wraps itself around the remaining coven. “That’s it! I am going home!” “I’m with you!” “Don’t leave me here!” Looking around, I see four more girls are hightailing it away from our fate. Inwardly, I cheer. Outwardly, I wait. Wind picks up speed, leaves float around, voices wail and my body shudders from the thoughts of doom that seep into my tumbling mind. “Let’s go home. Everyone else has left. Let’s just leave, now.” I shout into the wind, hoping one of my friends hears me. “Please, I love you guys! I don’t want something to happen to you!” Reaching out to grab Glenda, I realize it is just a branch I yank, and I am standing there, alone, the old front door banging against the walls, candles flickering, curtains waving against the tide of the heavy winds pounding the old abandoned house. “Nooooooo!” I scream and faint.
“Mom?” I whispered. “Are you there?”