The longer the shadows grew out from
the flames of the fire, the more convinced Kaycee became that this was a
mistake. It was a little late to realize it now though. An hour past town
curfew and her parents were confident that she was snug and secure at Jane’s
house for a sleepover. And tomorrow morning, she’d show up with a smile and the
sugar-coated truth. At least, that’s what Jane called it.
Why
are you even here? Her conscience demanded . Kaycee’s eyes lifted, looking
around to the five fellow figures around the fire. Oh yeah… to be popular. The dream of every high schooler.
Admittedly, being popular had never
been high up on her teenage list, but it was on Cain’s; her best friend since
second grade, whose big mouth had talked her into this little stake-out. It’d
grown into something of a dare between him and Van last Wednesday, and somehow
by Friday had become an expedition for all six of them. So it was her, Cain,
Van, Jane, Linda, and Kendall. They were to camp out in the murky woods until
midnight, then make their way to the Hanover mansion and see who- Van or Cain-
could last the longest inside the house. The haunted house.
Content, Vermont was like any
suburban American town. Fridays were football games, pumpkin pie at
Thanksgiving, a 4th of July Festival… a haunted house. The Hanover
mansion was the only real sense of legacy their town had; a three-story
Victorian, complete with dagger spires and rotting walls since 1897. This year
made it 115 years old; Kaycee found it mind-boggling the town council hadn’t
ordered its destruction yet. It stood on a hill just outside the town limits,
like an evil shadow always ready to bash out the brightest light. Kaycee had
never liked the house, or the stories about it. Again, begging the question,
why was she here?
“The time has come!” Van suddenly
stood from his log, spreading his arms out in a taunting manner. He was easily
here for the attention, which the football season spoiled him on. Jane, the
ever-doting girlfriend, smiled devilishly up at him. Cain squeezed Kaycee’s
elbow in anticipation. We made it! It
seemed to say. Just a couple more hours
and we’re in!
“The legend,” Van pointed
dramatically through the trees behind them, where the lay in silent darkness.
“Of the Hanover mansion becomes fact once again, as tonight, its history is
unearthed.”
Some
things are best left unburied. Kaycee thought, not daring to look back at
the house.
“Eleven score and five years ago,”
Van started out, his voice going low. “A rich couple sailed into the harbors of
New York, looking for a quiet hill to build a quiet home. No one of Content knew
who they were or from where they came, as the rich man had the mansion built in
expensive stuff they’d only dreamed of before. Aside from a maid and a
groundskeeper, no one was ever invited to see its spoils. No shindigs were ever
made for the town to meet the newcomers. Curiosity soon turned to suspicion,
especially when the maid brought forth a name…’
Van’s arm passed over his face like
Count Dracula. “Albus Hanover and his wife, Lilana. The wealthy son of a family
of oil tycoons, it was rumored Albus had traveled the West Indies, and Lilana
was a girl of those islands. According to the maid, Lilana had brought back
some dark curse from those islands; she described her eyes as wild and white
with almost no pupils. She was always barefoot, and had scars along her cheeks
and arms. Today, we’d call her mental… but then, it was called bewitched. And
it only became more evident as the Hanovers’ weeks in Content turned into
months. Albus came to town often, but Lilana never did. The rumors grew worse
with every gossip from the maid and the groundskeeper. Lilana screaming for no
reason, hiding in the strangest places from the littlest things, or…” Van
tweeked his eyebrows. “Crying blood! Literally, the red would pour from her
eyes!”
Kaycee shuddered at the image, but
also at the feeling. A feeling of lonliness, sadness, a quivering spirit. How
tormented Lilana Hanover sounded…
“THEN…” Van ominiously drummed into
his next paragraph. “In October of 1896, the maid entered the Hanover house
after a long weekend off. Not even an hour later, she ran into town, screaming
her head off… the groundskeeper was dead, murdered! And everyone knew who had
done it; Lilana Hanover. A mad mob was barely stopped from storming Albus’
mansion. Only Albus explained that his wife had been in New Hampshire for the
week, ‘visiting family.’” He air-quoted. “Naturally, no one believed him until
Lilana appeared two days later, luggage and all. It was the first many had seen
of her in the four years since the Hanovers had moved to Content. And they saw
the truth, her wide eyes and the scars. But with nothing to prove she was there
at the time of the murder, there was no arrest. No arrest and no peace of mind
for the people of Content.”
Van let the sentence linger through
the smoke and up their spines. Linda rolled her eyes, nudging
shoulder-to-shoulder with Kendall. Kaycee’s chest tightened, but she quieted
her hormones. Though her crush on Kendall was a preferable feeling to the fear
this night was invoking. And it didn’t come from the story; every child of
Content had grown up with it. No, it was the shadows. Ones that the crackling
of the fire weren’t scaring away. Kaycee felt them over her shoes, her back
weighted in their damp evil. She blinked hard at the flames, concentrating on
anything but the here and now. My God is
not dead…
“Things were thought to have settled
down,” Van went on with the gruesome talk. “Until eight months later.”
He’s
surly alive... Kaycee went on too. Living
on the inside…
“When great howls came from the
mansion.”
Kaycee thrust her fingers toward the
only warmth. Burning like a fire…
“The town rushed to the Hanover’s
door once more,” Van’s voice gained momentum. “To burst in on Albus’ body…
He’s
living on the inside…
“…Swinging from the banister!”
Kaycee’s breath hitched. Jane leaned
forward. “And Lilana?”
“She wasn’t found until the next
night.” Van lowered himself to his knees, deepening the black rings under his
eyes. Kaycee squeezed her eyes shut. Roaring
like a lion!
“Cold and blue on the riverbank near
the house.”
Roaring
like a lion! Kaycee repeated and she took a breath. It was helping and she
continued with the second verse.
“How did either of them die?” Van
threw a twig at the fire. “No one could say. But, every year since…” He rose,
pointing a finger through the trees, toward the crumbling house. “Things happen
within those walls. Unexplained sounds, lights, and winds.” His face turned
toward Cain, smiling creepily. “And if any were to enter…”
“DEATH!”
~To Be Continued~
No comments:
Post a Comment