The $10,000.00 Check!

[Ghostwriter1983]

The $10,000.00 Check! Part 1

It was Monday morning, the day after Easter when I went to the post office and struggled to get the thick manila folder out of my mailbox. It was thick and jammed in. I wish the postal worker would have simply left a note. I didn’t want to tear anything inside. Finally, after much wiggling I freed it and locked my box. I turned the envelope over to see who it was from.

The return address showed it was from Emily Adams, in the town of Port Angeles, Washington. Though I was a paranormal investigator, few people outside the State of California ever contacted me. I never open my mail before I get back home, but something told me, compelled me, if for no other reason curiosity, to open it now. Perhaps because of what it might contain.

I could sense that this wasn’t an ordinary inquiry letter into my services. The envelope was heavy and what was contained inside I believed was meant to convince me that she needed my help desperately. So, I walked to the nearest counter and turned it over and carefully opened it. I found a frantically written one page letter with a check for $10,000 attached to it.

Many newspaper clippings and photos were attached also. Most were of people, eight in all, along with three pictures of a house. I had never received payment in advance, let alone a check so huge. I sat everything down and held the letter in my hands and read it as best I could. “I’m begging you to come to Port Angeles, Washington to help me. There’s something evil in a house that took the lives of eight of my relatives in 1941.

I’ve enclosed numerous newspaper clippings and photos for you to review. I found your website online and checked with your State’s Attorney General’s Office and Better Business Bureau about you and was so relieved to feel you are not out to con people out of their money. To show my sincerity, I offer you this payment in advance to find out what possesses the house I was willed to by my uncle, who also died in that horrible house.

I have good instincts, but am perhaps a bit gullible now and then, but I don’t feel that about you. I believe that if you decide not to investigate this house, that you would return my check. If I don’t hear from you within seven days, I will as a matter of caution put a stop payment on the check. I’m 89 years old sir. Please don’t disappoint me by keeping my check. I hate to be ripped off.

My address is shown below and on this page as well as my phone number. I’m begging you to come to Port Angeles and try to answer the questions that continue to torment me in the night all these years. What’s behind the deaths of those I loved so dearly? What’s lurking in that house?” It was signed Emily Adams. I’ve received letters from people before who alleged that a certain place was haunted which turned out to be elaborate hoaxes.

But there was nothing I sensed about this letter which made me feel it was a hoax. First off, Emily had gone to great length to present me with articles from her town’s newspaper detailing the murder’s of people that were relative’s as well as identifying the house in the photo. Second, she paid me a sum no one had paid me before and more importantly, she paid up front.

This told me that she wasn’t only frightened, but desperate. She was also right in the fact there are people who pretend to be paranormal investigator’s, but aren’t. They are part of the lower food chain of folks who prey on the suffering of those who have lost a loved one. I took a moment to look at the three 8 x 10 photos of the house she had enclosed.

It was an old, abandoned two story structure with what looked like a front porch and a side back porch. I gathered up everything on the counter and got back into my car and went home. Then, I picked up my phone and called Jenny, David and Sebastian who made up my paranormal investigation team. Only one was home and I left messages for the other’s to get over to my place ASAP.

They would know it had something to do with an investigation. But Jenny was home and I talked so fast, she repeatedly chided me between laughter to calm down. She finally cut me off in mid-sentence and told me she was coming over and hung up before I could even say goodbye. I wanted to call Emily and tell her I agreed to investigate her house, but I held back.

This wasn’t a decision to be made by me alone. I sensed from all that I had read, that this was a dangerous house and that something dangerous could still be in that house. We all would have to agree to go to Washington State. If just one of them didn’t want to go, I would call Emily and tell her we could not help her and I would return all that she had sent me.

Jenny was the first to knock on my door and I saw that look that all investigators get when they believe that there is a chance to investigate the supernatural. “I got here as quickly as I could, tell me about our next assignment.” she blurted out at the speed of sound. Just as I was about to tell Jenny to catch her breath the phone rang and made us both jump, then laugh.

David was on the other end and Sebastian was with him. They were having lunch and asked what I wanted? I just said, “You aren’t going to believe it, just get over here.” I hung up the phone and expected them to get a speeding ticket through town, as Jenny and I laughed. But they got no ticket and missed having any traffic accidents along the way. When all three had sat down they could tell I was about to burst.

The expression on their face was a mirrored reflection of my excitement. On my lap were all the papers that Emily had sent to me and all eyes were on the papers. “Let me tell each of you that what I’m about to tell you were sent to me from an 89 year old woman from Washington State. She has a house out in the country where eight of her relatives were killed. They were killed in that house.” I said.

Nervousness now filled everyone’s eyes as I offered David one of the photos of the house. As they studied the features of the house, I explained all the contents of the envelope, especially the newspaper articles. They were dated and aged and I told them I sincerely believed her. Finally, I held up the check Emily had enclosed. “This is Emily’s check to us for $10,000!” I said still in shock.

I watched my friend’s eyes just about pop out of their head. I began to laugh and reassured them it was real. “She wants to pay us up front.” I said. When their excited lessened, Jenny was the first to speak. “But it’s all the way up in Washington State. That would take a couple days to get there!” she said as she looked at all of us. Sebastian said what was more along my thoughts though. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this, I don’t know.”

David blurt out, “You‘ve got to be joking Sebastian. This has to be the greatest opportunity to investigate a truly haunted house. That lady in Washington State sent us $10,000!” Then, I spoke. “If we all decide to accept this case, I’ll make sure the check is good before we leave. If one of us decides they don’t want to go, none of us go and I’ll send her check back!” I told David, Sebastian and Jenny. Jenny’s curiosity instincts jumped in and she asked what I knew about the house.

One at a time I passed each faded newspaper clipping and photo around from person to person. The mood in the room changed from excitement to apprehension. This investigation, if we accepted it, would be unlike anything we had ever handled before. When the last article was handed back to me, I paused, and then asked, “Questions?” The conversation varied from topics such as “When can we all leave?” to “I think this is out of our league.”

But finally, the talking was done. I was the one who called for a vote. But before we voted, I gave a summary of what we had established our paranormal investigation business for. I was careful to tell them that I felt there could be danger inside that house as well. When I asked for a vote of hands, Sebastian was the first to raise his hand cautiously.

David was next with the smile of an adventurer. I was the third to raise my hand, leaving only Jenny. I could see the nervousness in Jenny’s eyes and was sure she was going to say no. I was so sure, but she raised her hand with a slight smile. It was unanimous. “Is everyone sure they want to go? Once we leave, once we get to that house, you can’t back out.

We need each other to investigate the property and house.” I said. All three nodded yes. “Then it’s settled.” Now I saw the excitement in my friend’s eyes, the look that made me smile. I picked up the phone and called Emily, and the phone rang and rang unanswered. I had expected to hear an answering machine. Just as I was about to hang up, Emily answered. I asked if she was Emily and told her who I was.

She seemed relieved that we had agreed to come to Washington State. I told her it would be about a week to get everything together and she said that was fine. She was just grateful for our help. After I hung up, I looked to my friends and said, I told her about a week, because I wanted to make sure her check cleared first. David and Sebastian needed time to get away from work and Jenny needed to arrange for her mother to baby-sit her five year old daughter Alexis.

We also needed to make sure all the equipment we were taking worked properly and had plenty of back up batteries. From that day on, our lives were put in fast forward as we went about checking our flash lights, both video cameras, tape recorders, as well as my EMF Detector and digital audio recorder. We double checked our two-way radios plus a thermal scanner to measure any cold spots we may find in the house.

Each was responsible for their own notebooks and pocket books to record anything they saw, heard or felt. When everyone assured me they were set and April 23rd arrived, I called Emily and told her we were on our way. We loaded up the van and headed north on I-5, taking turns to drive and sleep. Then, when we reached Olympia, the capital of Washington State, we switched to Highway 101 to take us to Port Angeles.

When we arrived in the town of Port Angeles, we found it to be a city by the sea. We each got a motel room and decided to rest up for one day before we met Emily, to follow her to the old house. There was excitement in the air, impatience and worries too, though no one said anything to me. But from time to time I sensed it in their eyes. In truth, this was our biggest case taken.

One with the greatest hopes that we could gather up evidence of something truly supernatural from beyond this world breaking through into our world. Each of us had read all the articles we could about hauntings, poltergeists, apparitions, lost spirits and the dangers associated with encountering one. We also knew that before we would enter that house that we would recite a prayer of protection as well as tell the spirits we were not there to bother them, but to help them if we could.

We would ask their permission to photograph and record them, not that it would be a guarantee, but politeness was critical. We would be split up into two teams but staying on the same floor as much as possible. With two way radios, we hoped to help each other if there one of us encountered danger. The number #1 rule we followed was if one of us radioed to ‘get out’ we would do so without argument.

After a long day of rain, I called Emily and we agreed to meet at the Port Angeles Denny’s. Emily was a frail woman who looked older then her years. Her eyes showed wisdom and pain from so much tragedy befalling ones family members. We ordered some breakfast and coffee and one of the first things I explained to her was the liability release form I needed her to sign.

It simply gave us permission to be on the property and conduct an investigation for paranormal activities. I assured her that it also relieved her of liability for any injuries or damages incurred. Those words didn’t sit well with Emily, but I assured her we would be fine. She signed both copies and then we each signed below, with the waitress being a witness.

While we ate our breakfast, I tried to clarify for my team what it was that Emily hoped we could do for her during our investigation of the house and surroundings. But instead of responding, her eyes looked like she was somewhere else. We waited patiently for her to answer but finally, I touched her shoulder. I don't know who had been more frightened at that moment, Emily or us.

In truth, we all thought she was about to have a heart attack. Jenny was the most scared. I could see it in her eyes. But Emily caught her breath, calmed down and apologized for scaring us. I asked her once more what information she hoped we could find out that was worth $10,000. "Mercy sakes, I thought I mentioned that in my letter?" she said. I shook my head no.

There was a moment of silence and tears began to form in her eyes. Jenny quickly offered her a napkin and took hold of her hand. Gray eyes filled with kindness looked deeply into Jenny's green eyes, eyes of youth and Emily put her hand on top of Jenny's. Then she looked around the table at each of us. "I’m hoping you’ll be able to do several things for me.

First, I want to know what killed everyone on that horrible night. Second, I want to know if it is still in that house. Finally I want you to." ,but she couldn't finish the sentence. She burst into tears. Jenny stood up and leaned down and tried to comfort her. The atmosphere was sad and caught the attention of the waitress but we assured her everything was okay.

Finally Emily composed herself and opened her purse and took out a beautiful heart shaped gold locket. Her fingers trembled as she did her best to open it. When it opened, she showed us a photo of her and a little girl, her granddaughter. "Tabitha was only nine when she was murdered.” she said and more tears began to flow.

She held it out to me and as it fell into the palm of my hand she made one final request as she squeezed my fingers around the necklace. "If you see her spirit in the house, Please give this to her and tell her "Grandma loves and misses her." Emily pleaded. All I could do was shake my head yes, because just like Jenny, David and Sebastian, I had tears in my eyes. "I can't promise you that any of us will see Tabitha, but if we do, we will do our best to give this to her." I told her.

With that said we composed ourselves and got ready to leave. I motioned for the waitress to come to our table and I paid her for our meals. I told Emily we were ready to follow out to the house and we put on our coats. It was an overcast and rainy day in Port Angeles. But the rain really didn't bother us that much. Western Washington was a very green State, heavily forested, and we had even seen several deer along the way to Port Angeles.

It was much different to that of Northern California. We got into both vehicles and followed Emily down a long winding country road. As we left the city and followed Emily's station wagon along the country road, it stopped raining. That was a good sign. Who likes working out in the rain? Part of our investigation entailed walking around the property, not just investigating the house.

Farther and farther into the country we drove. For a moment, I thought we were headed to another town. But then, the country side opened up into vast grassy fields and Sebastian was the first to spot the old house and nudged me on the shoulder. Then Emily's brake lights came on and she stopped at the driveway. When she got out, so did I and I met half way. She was nervous, very nervous.

I saw it in her eyes, her voice and hand as she pointed to the house. There was a slight wind in the air as rain clouds gave way to parts of blue sky. "I'll take you up to the house, but I won't go inside. I'll watch and wait till all of you’re all through. Please be careful.” Emily said to me. I reassured Emily as best I could that we weren't heroes and that if there was any trouble, we all knew what to do.

That seemed to reassure her, for the moment, but I wasn't sure. We went back to our vehicles and we followed her down a long, bumpy, road filled with potholes of water. The kind of road that shakes parts off your car. Emily finally parked about 50 feet from the house facing the front porch. Now that we could see the house close up, it looked haunted all by itself. We parked behind a large tree and could see the front door.

We all got out of our van and David began to unload our equipment. He set up the folding table and set out what each person was to be carrying. But Emily didn't get out of her car. She just stared at the house. I'm sure her mind was filled with memories of those who lived and grew up in that large house and of course what had happened to them. I turned and focused on the job at hand. Jenny tossed each of us our orange t-shirts that had our paranormal service logo on it.

But we wore them not to advertise, but so we could see each other easier in dimly lit areas. On the front was a logo of a Christian cross and on the back, our business name. We weren't a part of any church, like an exorcist team, but we felt if only psychologically it offered us some peace of mind. Jenny was feeling uneasy. I saw her shiver for a moment and offered to get her coat for her, but she said no.

I walked up beside her as she stared at the house. "What are you sensing Jenny, anything?" I asked. “There’s a lot going on in that house Raymond. I have a bad feeling. Something just passed through me and it was ice cold. I want to walk all the way around the outside of the house before we go in. Ask Emily if there is a family cemetery out back or nearby." Jenny said nervously.

I went up to Emily's car window and tapped on the window to get her attention. She looked startled and ghostly white, with tears in her eyes. Quickly she rolled down her window and wiped her eyes. "You’ll have to forgive an old woman. I miss my granddaughter so much." she told me. I nodded to her. I asked her if there was a cemetery on the property and she replied, "Yes, behind the house why?"

I just said because we were curious. But in truth, that was a very important question. Sometimes, a supernatural disturbance can originate from someone who is deceased, but whose spirit is not at rest or is angry for some reason. I let Jenny know the cemetery was behind the house and she said, "I thought so." All four of us met at the table at the rear of the van.

We put on our fanny packs that held our spare batteries and clipped our flashlights onto our belt loops. Each of us had a different piece of equipment that we would use to do our readings and see what we could find out. Each of us picked up two pens, a pocket pad and slipped a two-way radio in our back pocket. But first, as a precaution, we turned everything on first to make sure they worked.

The only thing left on the table was a full size hard back journal. This was where everything or anything we discovered from beginning to end would be logged. On some investigations, few pages were filled. On other's it read like a novel. But we didn't go into an investigation with great expectations of good battling evil or discovering things no one else had ever imagined.

We were open-minded and optimistic. Finally, I finished making the first log entry and nervously looked at each other. We were ready. As we did on every investigation, I let Jenny take the lead. She was gifted as an empath and her insight was needed. It was especially needed now. We began our walk around the house, perhaps 25 feet from the house, single file, maybe eight feet apart. The grass was knee high and soaked out pant legs.

Everyone but Jenny had a notepad in their hand, recording any observations they had. Once an investigation was complete, we would compare notes before making entries in the journal. Jenny was the first to stop and raise her hand. We moved up to where she was as she intently looked at an open first floor window towards the back of the house.

"We’re being watched and whatever it is isn't friendly."Jenny said as she pointed to the open window. Each of us looked at the window, but saw nothing. As I looked to my left, I was the first to spot the large piano, nearly 40 feet from the house. It looked like it had been tossed through the air and broke up. Then something happened that made me drop my jaw to the ground.

As Jenny went to push back her hair, it became filled with static electricity and moved. Jenny sensed it and moved her hand away. I motioned to David and asked Jenny to raise her hand again to her hair, while David used his video camera to record the phenomena. Sebastian was taking EMF readings because we needed to make a record of the "Electromagnetic field" outside the house so it could be compared to what we measured inside the house.

As we worked our way to the back side of the house, in the distance, perhaps 80 feet from the back door was the small cemetery plot. I could only see one partial wooden cross within the small white picket fence. Jenny was making a direct line to that grave. Like follow the leader, we followed behind Jenny. Soon, all four of us were looking at the grave bearing a white, broken makeshift cross.

The odd thing was that there was no name or date on the cross. Jenny touched the fence softly with her hand and suddenly gripped it tightly, becoming stiff and unresponsive. Her long brown hair flew in the air, blown by a heavy breeze no one else felt. I turned to David and saw he was already recording. "No you mustn't." she whimpered in a frightened voice. "We aren't here to do anything wrong, we’re here to help if we can." she begged.

This time it was me who felt shiver's up and down my spine. I wish I could have heard what was being said. But then, on the other hand, maybe I was glad I didn't. I looked down at Jenny's hand, holding onto the fence and saw it was turning black and blue. I grabbed her wrist and pulled as hard as I could to remove it, but couldn't. But then, whatever had restrained Jenny's hand, ‘let go’ and she took several steps backward, trying to catch her breath.

She was shaken and weak as I waited for her to speak. "I know what’s going on in this house or at least what’s causing the disturbances." she told me. All eyes were on Jenny. This grave belongs to their grand-father, Chester Adams. He was an angry, crippled and senile man. He was brutal in the way he treated his family here. He was cold, short tempered and they feared him.

He believed they didn't love him and when he died, he was buried here, without even his name on the marker, I guess for spite. He killed everyone, even his small grand-daughter and he keeps their spirits inside that house. He torments them the same way he mistakenly believes they tormented him." Jenny said. Sebastian was hurriedly writing down all she had said.

That was when she felt the pain in her wrist and looked down, then asked how she got the bruise. I told her what I had seen as she rubbed her wrist. She told me it was only bruised and that she was okay. It isn't unusual for an entity that holds anger to hurt others. This was something we had to take into consideration then and there. "Listen up everyone.” I said.

“Two of the three goals Emily asked us to discover for her are now done. Jenny found out who is causing the disturbances and why. All that’s left to do is check out the house and if possible, give a necklace to her daughter, if we find her. But you saw what happened to Jenny, you heard what she said. None of you have to agree to enter this house." I told my friends.

At that moment, four people were lost in thought, weighing risks against discovering the questions within our mind, regarding supernatural activities. I knew inside, that this was the most credible encounter we were faced with and perhaps the most dangerous. I looked into the eyes of my unsure friends and asked each one the same question: "Do you want to quit or go on?"

Jenny was the first to answer. “You have to be kidding, we have to do this." she said with excitement. Sebastian rubbed his EMF unit nervously and replied, "I'm in." David said, "Man, I gotta see this thing through." That left me. “The rest of you have no ulterior motive to go in, but I do.” I said. I lifted the gold locket out of my front pocket and held it in the air. I have something to give a child." I said.

I felt a tear flowing down my cheek. Sebastian blurted out with laughter in his voice, "Well, what are we waiting for guys?" Instantly, we all laughed and turned our attention back to the house, making a complete circle around the house. I noted here and there were windows boarded up with plywood, while others were not. I asked jenny what if anything she could sense from the outside of the house.

All she could say was that she sensed movement inside, but she couldn't say by who, which room, or why. Finally, we stood mere feet away from the front door of the old house. It was time to go inside. Just as I was about to take my first step towards the front door, I raised my hand to the other's. I turned and said, "Wait here." My friend’s all gave me a puzzled look.

Everyone was on pins and needles since Jenny's ‘close encounter’ at the cemetery. I turned around and walked back to Emily's car where she sat. She looked at me with uncertainty as she rolled her window down. "What else didn’t you tell us Emily?" I said in a defensive voice. With a half convincing bewildered expression, she told me she didn't understand my question.
"You didn't tell us that Chester Adams was buried in an unmarked grave behind the house.

You didn't tell me in your letter or at breakfast that he was very angry and most likely the reason you paid so much to get us involved. Jenny already has a bruised hand and we haven't even gone inside the house. We should get back in our van and go back to California." I said angrily. There, I said it. I said it in anger, without even thinking of what I said. "Why did Chester spare your life, but no one else’s? I asked.

Was he your husband,” I asked? Emily was crying now, but I really didn't place much value in her valiant attempt to appear innocent. "No, Chester was my brother. I lived in Idaho and when I heard about what happened, I drove to Port Angeles. You're right. I didn't tell you the whole story and that was wrong. I'm sorry, but please don't leave. I thought you wouldn't come up here and help me try to contact my grand-daughter to give her the locket.

I loved her more than my own life." She said as tears flowed down her cheeks. At that time, I had mixed emotions, for Emily. But in that teeter-totter of indecision, I decided we would stay, because the world of the paranormal has always intrigued us. At that moment I was still angry at Emily and turned and walked back to the other's who were waiting for me. There was confusion written on all their faces, because they were out of range of my voice when I talked to Emily.

When I was once more at their side, I made a simple statement. "We all know what our goals have been when we conduct an investigation. But this investigation is more dangerous and more unpredictable. Personally, I have one simple goal besides getting in and out of this house. If possible I would like to find Tabitha and give her the locket from her grandmother.

I think it would bring both of them a lot of comfort." I said. David and Sebastian nodded in agreement and Jenny, well her eyes told me what she was feeling in her heart. "It's show time. Check your equipment.” I said nervously. Each of us rechecked our flashlights and our equipment to make sure they were working. I took a deep breath and said one last thing. “Don't forget our number #1 rule.

Comically, all four of us recited, "Try to keep your partner within your view and if anyone yells on their radio ‘get out’" than we all get out." That moment of laughter took the edge of what had become a tense and uncertain situation. I was the first to step up onto the porch, walking up to the screened front door. Jenny was my partner, with David and Sebastian partnering up. As I was about to open the door, I hesitated and looked behind me.

"We work the main floor first. No one goes upstairs till we all meet at the bottom of the stairs. I want us to stay close to each other. You can investigate a different room, but I want your partner to know where you are at all times, understood?" I asked. All three nodded. With that said I faced the screen door and opened it wide. The hinges made an eerie squeak as if to announce our presence.

The door knob to the front door was made of clear crystal. It was cold to my touch even though the sun was warming the morning air. I turned it and gave it a push. I had to give it a second push to open all the way. As daylight made the darkness retreat, I saw a living room in shambles. Vandals couldn't have done a better job at going into a frenzy.

Debris was strewn everywhere Though the entire first half of the house was one room, it was divided into a dining area on the left and a living room on the right. The stairs leading to the second floor were directly ahead. As my flashlight swept the house slowly, I could smell the musty, dank, stagnant air. Some windows had been boarded up, while others were not.

But I remembered that I hadn't seen any window with glass. All the windows appeared to have the glass broken out from the inside. Toward the rear of the room were different rooms, some dark, without light and some with light in the room. Jenny and I took the right side and David and Sebastian took the left side of the house. I turned on my pocket recorder and motioned for everyone to turn theirs on as we began to separate.

I stopped suddenly and turned to Jenny and whispered, "If you sense anything tell me, please." and she nodded her head. At that point, each of us began to do our task of using all of our senses and equipment to determine if anything of a supernatural nature was occurring. We used our instincts and curiosity to examine anything that caught our attention. For those first 30 minutes or so, the only sounds heard were of objects we picked up or stepped on.

As we approached the rear of our side of the room, three doors were seen. Not knowing the layout of the house, I didn't know where they led. Looking back, I guess I should have had Emily give us a floor plan of the house, both floors. Well, I wasn't going back out to get it. I stopped and made a note in my note pad to get floor plan in the future. During each investigation, we try to learn better ways to do our job.

We try to learn from past mistakes. It makes our job more efficient and of course, to me, more professional. I looked around for Jenny and she was making notes too. I whispered to her and she glanced up at me as I shrugged my shoulders. But she just shook her head, smiling and waved her hand for me not to worry. I waited for her to finish and work her way over to where I was waiting.

Just before Jenny reached my side, Sebastian radioed that he was getting a strong EMF reading toward the rear of the house. He couldn't be more specific! On Sebastian's side of the house, there were also three doors. When Jenny reached my side, I asked her if she was feeling anything and she shook her head no. Then, she almost jumped into my arms, scaring me to death.

“Someone's hand just held my hand. Omg! It literally scared me to death.” she said. I had no doubt it did, because Jenny just about gave me a heart attack too. "It was a small child’s hand. But I don't know if it was Tabitha." she told me. When we reached the first of three doors, I asked Jenny what she wanted to do. "Do you want to check each room together or separately?"

She paused a moment before telling me, "Well, we can split up, but when one room is done, wait for the other person to come out.” and I agreed. That, I would learn later would be a deadly mistake. The first door Jenny opened was a bedroom with a window that was boarded up. Jenny waited for me to go to the second door and when I opened it, I saw it was a bedroom too, but I could see out the window.

We waved at each other and went into each room. In the mean time, Sebastian started to shake and tap on the EMF because it suddenly stopped. He looked at David and David walked over to him. They both tapped on the machine, shook it and even switched batteries, but still, it didn't work. Sebastian slipped the strap over his shoulder and tried to radio me, but all that he heard was static.

Time and again he tried to call me or Jenny but the crackling of static was all that was heard. He couldn't even hear his own voice on David's radio. None of us had encountered that problem before. "Go over to the other side of the house and find Raymond or Jenny. Let them know our radios aren't working or my EMF either." Sebastian said and David gave the thumbs up. But David didn't make it past the stairway.

That was the moment when he heard a ball bouncing down the stairs. His flashlight showed it to be an orange ball, a child's ball rolling past him towards the front door. Common sense would have told him to keep looking for us, but curiosity told him to go upstairs. He did use his video camera to capture the bouncing ball on film before he began walking upstairs. He knew none of us were to go to the second floor alone.

We were all to go upstairs together. Sebastian didn't know what David was doing, because he was in the kitchen examining cans of unopened food scattered all over the floor. Some had exploded from the inside and were all covered with maggots and mold. Sebastian didn't see the butcher knife floating off the floor, held by an unseen hand. He never saw it hovering behind his neck as he excitedly jotted down his description of the cans of food.

Suddenly, the butcher knife plunged deep into the back of his neck, severing his spinal cord as it twisted deeper and deeper. Sebastian fell to the floor with a thud, but no one heard a sound as his body pushed cans of food across the floor. The kitchen floor turned red with Sebastian's blood. As Emily sat in her car, looking at the house, she wondered what was happening inside.

She wondered if we had discovered anything unusual. She wondered if we had caught a glimpse of her granddaughter Tabitha. She felt a tear roll down her cheek as she wiped it anxiously away. That was when she gasped as she saw Sebastian's body hanging halfway out the kitchen window, his face looking at the ground. His face quickly turned red with blood, as Emily shook and shook.

She was frozen, unable to speak, unable to honk her horn, unable to drive away. She knew Sebastian was dead. Meanwhile, with each step David took on the stairs, the boards beneath his feet informed the house and the spirits within it that he was going upstairs. He was trembling, but it was more from excitement, then fear. He knew something was trying to make contact with him.

Or was it? Regardless, he had his video camera and whatever he might see would be caught on film. When he reached the top of the stairs, he saw a long hallway, extending from one side of the house to the other with seven doors. David was sure that six of the rooms were bedrooms and the seventh a bathroom. He hesitated, unsure of which direction to turn, before making his decision.

As David peered first left, then right, he saw nothing. He looked down at his video camera and it was still running. How cool it would be he thought if he could actually capture something more credible then a bouncing ball on film, something unmistakable and supernatural. He was about to begin checking rooms, when he remembered that he wasn't supposed to be upstairs.

He remembered I had told everyone to wait until the entire main floor had been investigated. At that moment, I called for a radio check with everyone and Jenny was the first to respond. She hadn't encountered anything unusual yet. David was next. He didn't mention that he was already on the second floor. No sooner than David had finished speaking then unseen hands grabbed both his arms and legs as he dropped his two-way radio onto the floor. Sebastian cut in and said he was still checking out the kitchen area.

David never had the chance scream as his arms and legs were pulled so hard from all directions that they were torn off his body as his blood sprayed against the walls near him. It was doubtful if anyone would have heard his screams anyway. The only two people left alive in the old house now was me and Jenny, but I didn’t know it.

I asked everyone to meet back at the bottom of the stairs, unless they found something worth investigating and everyone agreed. The only problem was the voice I had heard and thought was Sebastian wasn't Sebastian. Sebastian was dead. His blood drenched head hung out one of the windows, facing Emily and she was going insane. When Emily saw Sebastian's limp body and the blood, she desperately tried to honk her horn to get someone's attention, but it made no sound.

Next she turned the ignition key, but the motor didn't start. As fright filled her soul, she grabbed the door handle to get out and run to the front door and yell inside. But as she tried to open it, something unseen pushed back, each time. Time and time again, she pushed on the door to no avail. Something wanted her to remain in the car. She tried and tried to roll down her window to yell for help, but the handle didn’t move.

She was trapped in her car. Exhausted, Emily lay back in her seat, out of breath, crying, helpless to help anyone inside the house. All she could do was watch. Jenny had entered the first bedroom we had found on our side of the house, while I walked around the second bedroom. Jenny had found a child's room. She wasn't sure what age the child may have been, but she was sure it was a girl's bedroom.

She anxiously jotted down details. The room was simple and plain. She saw nothing out of the ordinary at first. Then, as her eyes became adjusted to the darkness, her flashlight shone upon the small bed with a handmade bedspread. There, in the middle, towards the edge was the ghostly shape of a long haired child who looked about eight.

The child was looking down at her hands, as if she were unaware of Jenny's presence. In her hands was a small Raggedy Ann doll. As her fingers in her right hand stroked the doll's hair, she looked up, almost surprised. Jenny was still writing in her notepad but not looking down. For a moment a smile was shared between the spirit and Jenny. All of a sudden, Jenny cried out, "No, please don't.

We don't mean anyone any harm, please let us help." Jenny felt desperation rushing through her mind. Her heart was racing as she tried to back up. What Jenny thought was a little girl, was far from that as she watched it change its shape. As it stood, the shape became a horrible figure with what looked like winged arms with a slender body and even though her flashlight shown upon the creature, it's black head had no facial features, just two glowing eyes.

There was a stench in the air that filled her senses and she tried to scream as it approached her, but no sounds came out. She tried to turn around and run, but her feet couldn't move. Suddenly she felt two hands around her throat as she began to be strangled. Her tape recorder was still on and it recorded her desperate attempts to gasp for breath until the last sounds heard on the tape was of her neck breaking. The demon had claimed another life.

He didn't let her fall to the floor right away. Instead, he held her off the floor, turning her lifeless body left, then right. Then he looked at the boarded up window and one by one, unseen hands pushed the boards outward, until they fell upon the ground. Once more, he hung the body half way out of the window, just within the sight of Emily. The sight of another body was horrible to Emily.

One by one she was being forced to watch each of us being killed. She wanted to warn us, but couldn't. She wanted to flee, but couldn't even get out of her car. She knew after the last of us were murdered, that she too would die. I was in the bedroom next to Jenny, but hadn't heard a sound. I knew everyone had checked in, so I felt everything was going well, so far. I was in a man’s bedroom.

On one side of his dresser sat a shaving cup and razor. There was a black tie at the other end. It was a beautiful oak dresser. The window curtains were a light white and I really didn't need my flashlight on, so I turned it off. The closet was full of suits as well as boots and shoes. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. That was, until I turned to my left and saw the desk. Sitting in the chair with his back to me was a middle aged man with a balding head.

He had a soft aura surrounding him. I should have been making notes of what I was seeing, but in the surprise of the moment, I didn't. He was looking down, with a pen or pencil in his right hand, writing on a sheet of paper. Though I hadn't made a sound, he hesitated and stopped writing. He raised his head, and swung his swivel chair around and faced me. There was sadness in his eyes.

A sadness that meant he wished we hadn't come here. I could sense it so clearly as if he had spoken those words to me. Then, he spoke to me. "There’s an evil within the walls of this house, a terrible evil. It’s too late for us, but there's still time for you to leave. To leave and never come back." he said. His tone of voice was one of finality. "I need to find Tabitha.” I told the ghostly spirit.

"I need to give her something very special from her grandmother. Will you allow me to do that first?" I asked. I never thought that a ghost could cry. But tears were rolling down his cheeks as he shook his head no. "He keeps her very close to him. He draws upon her power. We’re helpless, as helpless as all of you are now. We can’t leave this place. I fear that you too will become a prisoner here.

You must leave now." he pleaded in a desperate voice. When he had finished that warning, he faded away. I grabbed my radio and called for Jenny, but she didn't respond. So, I went to the room I saw her enter and opened the door. It was dark, so dark. The window was once more boarded up and I saw no one in the room. When I came out, I called Sebastian, but once more, no response. Where were they?

They were supposed to follow the instructions we agreed to before we entered the house. I began searching rooms at the other side of the house, but found no one in any rooms. Could they have gone outside? No, they would have radioed me. They would have said something was wrong. I had never heard such a deathly quiet before, until that moment I stood at the bottom of the stairs.

I knew no one had gone upstairs. Each of them knew we would search the main floor first and then together, as a team work our way upstairs I was about to go out the front door and see if any of my friend’s were outside, plus check with Emily, when I heard something at the top of the stairs and looked up. My eyes watched in horror as David's Video Camera bounced down the stairway, end over end, breaking into pieces as it fell to the bottom of the stairway.

I knew that for some reason David had gone upstairs without my knowledge or permission. Maybe all three had gone upstairs. I found it hard to believe that all three would do what they knew was wrong. But I had no other explanation as to the whereabouts of Jenny, David and Sebastian. My instincts were to look outside first and I guess I should have followed my instincts, but I didn't.

Something told me to go upstairs. I was sure that I would at least find David upstairs. We would argue later why he disobeyed me. At that moment, I took hold of the hand rail and began to walk upstairs. I had only taken two steps up the stairs, when a blast of cold air in my face made me almost take a step backwards. It was the coldest, eerie feeling I had ever felt.

Then the room began to brighten and as I turned my head around to look behind me and there it was. I don't know what I thought we might find in the house, but nothing prepared me for what was between me and the front door. A dark shaped silhouette of something. It had glowing eyes and winged shaped hands. It felt menacingly evil. Above its head hovered eleven glowing objects. I could feel myself shaking.

There was no way to escape and in that split second, I held my two-way radio to my lips and yelled out the names of my friends Jenny, Sebastian and David. “Get out, get out now!" I yelled. As I stared at the entity, it waved one of its winged arms and three of the glowing objects moved away from the others. In a mocking, deep and sinister voice that sent shivers up and down my spine, it answered the question racing through my mind.

"Your friends are there and their souls belong to me, just as yours will too. There was a confident laughter in the tone of his voice. Suddenly, the spirit of Tabitha appeared at his side and he held her hand in a tight grip. Though she tried to pull free, she couldn’t. She had such a sad expression on her face. With the wave of his other hand, I found myself pulled forward and I landed on the floor at his feet.

He was in total control and in no hurry to take my life. I remembered the gold locket Emily had given to me to give to Tabitha. I knew I was about to die, but I had vowed that if I had seen Tabitha, I would give her the locket. I took it from my shirt pocket and tossed it at her. She caught it with her right hand and examined it in the dimness of the room. It's from Grandma Emily Tabitha. She wanted me to give it to you."

Even in the darkness of that room, I saw her eyes sparkle. The demon became enraged and his body turned a brighter fiery red. Meanwhile by chance or fate, Emily had tried her door and it opened. It opened so unexpectedly, she tumbled out onto the ground. Her only thought was to warn us to get out of the house. Quickly, she ran up to the front door. As I felt an invisible hand begin to choke me, my hands struggled to break free of the grip to no avail.

Tighter and tighter I felt the hand, as rough as sand paper squeeze the life from me. Suddenly, Emily threw the door open and stepped inside. When she saw Tabitha, she dropped to her knees and called her granddaughter's name. That was the moment the demon was caught off guard. Not only did he lose his grip on Tabitha's hand, but on my throat as well. Tabitha ran to her grandmother's arms and they embraced as I fell to the floor, gasping for air.

The demon was rushing to Emily and Tabitha, in a fit of rage as the love between a grandmother and a grandchild filled the room with brightness. As the demon wrapped his winged arms around them both, evil didn’t win this time. The love felt and shared at that moment caused the demon to explode into a million pieces of light, flying in every direction. Such a horrible scream was heard, until all was quiet.

At that moment, Emily kissed Tabitha on the cheek as tears flowed down each of their cheeks. "I love you Grandma, I love you.” Tabitha cried. Suddenly, Emily anxiously said to me "Hurry, leave this house now, hurry, there’s no time." My instincts kicked in and in a few seconds, I was outside the house, when astonishingly, the entire house disappeared.

All that remained was the foundation and two brick fireplaces. Suddenly, all eight murdered people appeared beside Emily and Tabitha. They greeted and hugged each other as if it were a family reunion. Jenny, David and Sebastian also appeared and came to me. “Promise us not to carry guilt because of what has happened to us Raymond. It wasn’t your fault. All things happen for a reason and we three are embarking on a journey few people who believe in the supernatural have taken.” Jenny said with a tearful smile.

There were tears in Jenny's eyes, but not from sadness. She came closer and spoke again. "I will miss you so much Raymond and I will miss more the investigations that await you in the years to come. Be strong, please be strong, and never look back to regrets. One day you too will make the same journey we are and I hope that we will meet again.” She said as she rejoined David and Sebastian. It was hard to see at that moment because so many tears were falling from my eyes.

That was when Tabitha came and stood before me, wearing her gold locket. I knelt down for both of us to see each other better. “Thank you for setting us free." she said as she began wiping her eyes before she looked back at the spirits of my three friends. She placed her hand upon my cheek and said, "I'm sorry your friends died." I placed my hand on top of her hand and kissed her cheek.

Then she hugged me tight and returned to her grandmother's side. Slowly they all disappeared, first Tabitha, Emily, all her relatives and finally my friends as they waved goodbye to me. In a moment I was alone, all alone. I never expected things to work out this way. Had I known, I would never have come to Port Angeles. The skies were beginning to clear and rays of sunshine surrounded where everyone had stood, as if to take them on their journey.

I don't know how long I stood there, lost in thought. It would be a very sad trip back to California. I had so much to think about. I didn't know what or how I would write in my journal about what had happened here today, before writing ‘case closed’ at the bottom of the last page. As I got back into my van, for the first time, I felt the pain on my neck and glanced in the mirror.

Both sides of my neck were black and blue. It would take quite a while for those bruises to go away. I backed up the van and turned around, taking one last look at where the house once stood. I was glad Emily warned me to get out. She had given her life to be with her granddaughter and relatives and cared enough about me, to tell me to leave before the house was gone. I will never forget Emily, Tabitha, or my friend's.

©2006 Raymond Cook (All rights reserved)