Fragments Gallery
Ghost Stories: Christmas
Well that was it. Christmas time and I only just got the last box put away. It has been some seven, maybe eight months, since I moved in here but only now have I finally emptied that final box. It is a momentous occasion. The last box. For once, for the moment, I am alone to enjoy it.
I've pretty much kept to myself since I moved here and the nearby residents have seemed happy to leave me out of their lives, but that doesn't mean I haven't had a lot of company. When I initially was looking at the place the realtor and previous owners had missed mentioning one key feature to the property. Perhaps they had felt that I'd think them crazy if they told the truth, or maybe they just hadn't thought that I'd believe them. However they somehow had missed telling me that the property was haunted. To be fair had they told me that "the house is also occupied by ghosts" I wouldn't have believed them. I'd probably have figured that they were trying to scare me off and I'd have brought the place anyways just to see what they were trying to hide. I mean really, ghosts?
But that first time I'd entered the house and was greeted by insubstantial figures... That almost made me a believer. After I'd first seen them I'd promptly left the house, proceeded back to my old car and had sat there for a while trying to absorb what I had seen. I wish I could say that I had handled the shock well, but I really didn't. To be honest I'd freaked out a bit, began questioning my own sanity and considered immediately selling the house to the first bidder. However reason won out and I'd come back to my senses long enough to realize that ghosts weren't real. The only explanations for what I had seen were either I was seeing things or someone was playing some kind of prank on me.
After calming down, which took some doing by the way, I emerged from my car and quickly, not to mention somewhat shakily, went back up to the house. I hesitated at the door for or minute or so, ok maybe more like ten to fifteen minutes, but eventually found the courage to open that door once more. Upon entering I thought that I must have been mistaken that first time. The hallway and surrounding rooms were empty of figures, substantial or otherwise.
I passed off what I had seen before as fatigue or some weird side effect of those stale donuts I had eaten earlier on in the day; maybe even some combination of both factors. Thus reassuring myself I had taken a quick look around and after seeing that all was well I had unloaded my bags and boxes from the car and piled them up inside the house. I spent the day unpacking the necessities and after it had grown late I had finally collapsed exhausted onto my bed. I hadn't expected it to take me too long to get to sleep that night and I had not been disappointed; I did drop into my dreams much quicker than usual. There was an unexpected interruption partway through the night however.
Drowsily I woke to a pair of voices whispering rapidly. At first I had merely rolled over and tried to ignore the voices. Maybe a minute had passed before I realized that since I was moving into this house alone, and had no roommates as I had had in my previous place, there was no reason for anyone to be whispering anywhere in my house, and even less reason for the whispering to come from the hallway outside my room.
Silently I had slipped from my sheets, grabbed the nearest large blunt object, a wooden lamp base in case you're wondering, and crept over to the doorway. Somewhat nervously, it was my first night in this place and already it seemed I had an intruder after all, I stole a look around the doorframe and into the hallway beyond. At first it seemed the hall was empty. I looked towards what I thought was the source of the sound and saw only empty hallway; the voices were coming out of the empty air. It was then that I first saw the movement. In the darkness it was tough to pick out, but once I knew what to look for a pair of figures began to take form.
I think I almost passed out when I first realized that I was looking at the same figures which had initially chased me from the house. After the dizziness had subsided I took another look to confirm what I had just seen. The pair of ghosts were still there and they seemed to be arguing. Whatever language they spoke didn't seem to be one that I recognized so I couldn't know for sure… but based on their tones and the force behind their gestures they were having quite the spat.
My heart was racing at this point and I was at a complete loss of what to do. How would you deal with supernatural creatures fighting outside your bedroom door? They weren't even supposed to be real. It occurred to me then that maybe I was dreaming, after pinching myself and finding all still the same I decided that might not be the case. Still I was determined to find a reasonable explanation to what I was seeing and an extremely vivid dream seemed to be the perfect answer. I closed my eyes and tried again, as I stifled my pain stricken yelp I realized that the voices had stopped. I opened my eyes and found myself still standing by the door; however when I looked around the hallway the corridor was empty.
Had I been sleepwalking? The question burned in my mind as my gaze roamed the hallway, maybe living some kind of waking dream? No movement jumped out from the darkness beyond the doorway. A few minutes passed as I stood there watching the empty hall but eventually I told myself I was being silly. As I turned to return to bed I saw the pair of ghosts again, this time silently staring at me from across the room.
The pair took the forms of a young boy and girl. Each wore clothing that would have easily fit in at the historic Victorian style festivals that took place beck in the city I had just moved from. Their silent regard drove me back against the wall.
"We just wanted to let you know," began the young girl in clear unaccented English, "We live here too."
The boy nodded enthusiastically and then that being said the pair walked to the door and left the room. I numbly shut the door behind them. I stood there for a long time afterwards unsure of what to do, unsure of even how to react. At that point I wasn't entirely sure that I wasn't crazy. Actually I guess I'm still not sure.
That was the first time I had met the ghosts whom I live with, or some of the ghosts rather. It wasn't long before I found out that there were more than the two in my house. Since those first few weeks they have grown much more... Forward I guess. They don't hide anymore. They don't hold back in talking to, or at, me either. So like I said, even though I haven't talked to my neighbours, I certainly haven't been alone.
The last box is finally emptied and that means my move is finally complete. Contented I sit before the Christmas tree, put my feet up, and let out a great sigh of relief. Finally all done. And the silence made the moment even sweeter. The smell of fresh pine fills the house, a constant reminder of the time of year. Everything seems right with the world. My only wish is that I had a few more living people to share this moment with.
That would truly make this perfect.