The Haunted Mansion

    It had been many years since Arial had been to this area of Mississippi. She had lived in this rural community as a small child with her grandparents before her mother had remarried. She had rambled around in the wooded area surrounding  her grandparents home.She could explore to her heart's content.She was careful as she waded in the edge of the winding creek. She could spend hours in the limbs of the giant oak at the water's edge. She fished in the deepest part of what was known as "the blue hole."  If she tired of that, she could make mud pies and decorate them with stones and wildflowers. There was always an unlimited supply of things for a child to do. Grandmama had forbidden her to go to one place only, the old Dogwood Plantation home.



    There were many who thought the old mansion to be haunted. She had heard in whispers tales of the ghosts that resided there. Some claimed there was a child's spirit that could be heard at times in the night. Many thought there had been an ill fated love triangle leaving a young wife dead at her handsome husband's hand. No one seemed to know whether it had been an accident or cold blooded murder. There were even tales of an occupant being a witch.



    Grandmama always said it was most likely just folks adding to stories they didn't think were colorful enough. She admitted the people had  died under shady circumstances at the plantation, but didn't know the real cause of death. Grandmama's fears rested more around an open well and decaying buildings on the property. Grandma also knew there were seemingly no bounds to her curiosity.



    She was coming to visit with Grandmama a while at the nursing home she lived in now that she was unable to care for herself. Her grandmother had always visited her and Mom in West Virginia until she recently had a stroke. Mom had come to take care of the initial move from the hospital to the nursing home. Now might be the perfect time to finally visit and explore the old home she had wondered about for years. She had even dreamed about the house with the dreams occurring more often lately. They were beginning to haunt her daylight hours.



    Arial turned down a winding dirt road posted as being Dogwood Drive. As she did, the trees cast shadows on her car causing it to seem much later in the day than it actually was. The car themometer instantly dropped five degrees. Who would have thought tree shade could make such a difference?



    As she approached the old house, she wondered how many families had occupied the home, what their lives had been like. She wondered if the stories of Lizzie were true. Lizzie was supposedly gifted with an inner sight that allowed her to see into the world of the spirits, good and evil.



    The first thing she noticed was the cracked, peeling white paint that had covered the mansion built with heart-pine cut from the land it was built on by Caleb Mason himself. Many of the windows were cracked or broken from local kids throwing rocks at them.



    As she got out of her vehicle, she noticed how the once beautiful lace curtains were in shreds simply from age. The front porch was sad with it's rotting rocking chairs still waiting for someone to occupy them. The swing hanging by one rusty chain seemed forlorn.



    Arial's eyes widened as the planks of the porch groaned beneath her feet. Sure are brave aren't you, she thought as she reached for the door knob and twisted it. What made me think the front door would be open she said to herself as she found it locked.



    Not to be deterred, she made her way down the steps to the overgrown yard. It was a shame someone was not caring for the house and property. Perhaps she'd do more research on the past inhabitants and why no one still wanted the mansion.



    At the bottom of the back doorsteps was an arbor with a metal gate preventing entrance. Arial picked up the chain and lock that threatened to disintegrate which held the gate together. The lock fell off in her hand giving her access to the back entrance.



      Floral scents from a different time- Cape Jasmine mixed with fragrant old garden roses filled her nostrils. Someone had loved flowers and herbs. Perhaps Lizzie had grown them for medicinal purposes. There had also been talk of Lizzie's grandmother being Choctaw/Cherokee mix who had the gift too.



    Arial reached for the back door. The wind blew around the house blowing it open before she could grasp the door knob. Strange, she thought as she cautiously stepped inside the door.



    Light instantly turned to midnight darkness within the creaking house. The door slammed behind her with a crash as if in a vacuum. With a deep intake of breath, Arial stood motionless willing herself to think. I could surely find my way back to the door and leave. No, I've wondered about this house since I felt drawn to it as a child.She needed to see if the shadows of her dreams could be made clear by being here. Stop being a baby, she instructed herself.



A small voice in the darkness  instructed her to repeat the words let there be light.



"Let there be light," came out as a trembling sound from her mouth.



The second she did so the room became illuminated with lights from candles, sconces, and lamps on the floor, wall and furniture revealing a kitchen filled with an old woodburning stove, dishpans, a scarred and dented wooden table and cabinets filled with old china. There was a pantry filled with empty mason jars to her left. 



  Making her way through another door she caught her breath as darkness again seemed to swallow her. She whispered, "Let there be light." A whisper was all she could muster. Nothing happened, the dark was thick and heavy. She couldn't see even inches in front of her.



Arial reached to pick up and light a candle lying on the table before stepping through the doorway on her right. Faint as it was the candle's glow was a comfort. A cold draft encircled her as she stepped over the threshold extinguishing the candle.



With a catch in her voice she repeated the words again.



"Let there be light." Only darkness filled the room.  "Why didn't it work this time" she wondered, her mind going back only a few minutes previously. 

 

    A snicker came from deep in the darkness. A chill ran down her spine and her brain tingled. She wondered if this is what it meant for your hair to stand on end with fright. It surely must be.



    Silence once again. Darkness all around. Not a peep of light to be found. She reached out feeling all around her but found only empty space. She inched one foot forward. Nothing. She moved the other foot a little more. She crept along, feeling in front of herself, and gently sliding her feet until with a thud, she collided with something solid. As she bumped whatever it was in the darkness some creature squealed and ran over her foot.



    Arial heard her own scream echo back to her from the darkness. What had touched her? Was it a rat? Was it a cat, no it squealed different than a scared cat. Would it bite her? Why couldn't she find something to light that darned candle with she was clutching so tightly?



    She felt a wisp of frigid air swirl around her and heard a whisper, "to the left."  Arial stood frozen, so scared she could not breathe. "Breathe," she reminded herself. "It didn't harm me whatever it was. "To the left," it said. What could be the harm...she reached to her left and felt a piece of furniture. Ever so slowly, she felt along the edge making out drawers with metal handles. She cautiously pulled one of the drawers open. Nothing. She could feel nothing.  She edged her fingers to the next drawer pull and tugged. The drawer would not open. It felt as if it had swelled and was too tightly wedged to open. One last pull...



    Swoosh....something flew out of the drawer brushing up the side of her arm, neck and face...another scream echoed back to her. Yet, this time it seemed as if she'd heard two screams instead of one.



    Terror held her spellbound, nausous. Breathe...Breathe...she silently coached herself. As her heartbeat began to slow down she wondered how long she had been inside the mansion. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes but it seemed like hours.



    What to do now? Should she try another drawer? The voice had said she'd find something to light the candle with to her left, didn't it? The first voice was right, wasn't it? What if she were not alone in this room? Who could it be? She knew she had heard another voice besides her own scream...



    She had lost her bearing and didn't know which way was out. Her only choice was to try another drawer. Gingerly, she felt along the side of the long piece of furniture and felt for the next drawer. There was a latch of some kind on this one. She flipped it with her fingers and pulled. The drawer opened easily and just inside the drawer was a small box of kitchen matches. Arial slowly let out a long breath as she struck the match in the overpowering darkness. A glimmer of light. She lit her candle and shadows danced on the wall opposite of her. 



    She jumped as she caught sight of her own shadow behind her. She raised her free hand to hold her heart as she surveyed the room. The candle did not provide enough light to see the whole room. She could see immediately around her at least.



    There was a sofa, old and dusty. The piece of furniture with the drawers where she found the matches appeared to be a very old buffet...her heart stopped as she saw her reflection in the mirror above the buffet."Okay, Okay, get yourself together or you'll never make it out of here alive." Arial spoke softly to herself.



    The room appeared to be a sitting parlor of some kind. There was a huge stone fireplace with hooks for dipping candles on the side and even a hook in the center to hang a pot from. There was a tea server set on the edge of the buffet that she would have knocked off if she had felt any futher down in the dark. How high would she have jumped and loud would she have screamed if that clatter had taken place? On the small table next to the window was a child's tea set waiting for some little girl to have a grand tea party.



    Arial walked toward the huge wooden door on the other side of the room. Where would this lead to she wondered. The door creaked and groaned as Arial pushed it open. She was at the base of a staircase. As her foot touched the first step the flame flickered on her candle." Oh, no you don't," she warned the candle. "No more dark, no more screams, no more fluttering critters."



    She turned around, tracing her steps back, picked up some of the candles that had been dropped and put them in her pocket with the matches. "Amazing how brave I can be in the light." she thought. She giggled at her silliness at being so frightened just moments ago.



    Bravado back in place, Arial walked briskly across the parlor to the newly found staircase. Each step creaked, but old wooden steps do that don't they? Almost half way to the top, Arial heard a sudden thud. She stopped to determine the direction the noise had come from. Plop, Plop, Plop a ball came bouncing down the stairs and rested at her feet. "What the..."



    A chilling breeze seemed to devour her. An undeniable sense of dread overcame her. Was that a child she heard crying? It sounded like it. Could it be a cat? Arial had heard they sometimes sounded like a baby crying..."Mommie, Mommie, where are you Mommie?" a heart broken cry wailed. No, cats don't talk.



    Arial ran the rest of the way up the stairs glancing behind her to ensure nothing or no one was following her. She gulped in air as the candle's flame was snuffed out. Darkness again, but she could see a glimmer of light shining out from under and around a cracked door about half way down the hallway.



    One step, then two. Arial felt a hand on her thigh. Too much to overcome, she felt herself disolve into the darkness in a heap on the floor.

*****

As she began to regain conciousness, Arial was disoriented. There seemed to be a mist of some sort enveloping her. She felt as if she were in a dream. The door on her right eased open. Arial could sense more than see something inside the room. Slowly, she regained her balance and arose. There was something sparkling on the other side of the room.



The room was a bedroom with the bed still neatly made though it was dusty. How many years had it been awaiting someone to return? There was a small Bible on the nightstand next to the bed. The shining object seemed to be housed in a velvet lined wooden box with the initials E. M. M. carved in the side. The stone gave off a red glow and became brighter the closer she came to it.



Reluctantly, Arial reached out toward the glowing red amulet. As she brushed the tips of her fingers across the gem it felt warm. She jerked her hand back almost knocking the water pitcher and bowl off of the antique dresser. Why did she feel so drawn to the stone?



"Take it with you, protect it," a voice whispered.



Fear gripped her entire being. So far the voice speaking to her had only helped. She reached to take the amulet and a thick mist began to fill the room. She clutched the box and stone close to her and ran as if the devil himself were on her heels to the staircase and made her way back to the first floor of the mansion.



Arial was a cradle Catholic and had her crystal Rosary in it's white leather pouch in her pocket. As she reached in her pocket she gasped. She must have dropped the Rosary somewhere on the stairway.



Fear gripped her as it never had before. She had to find the Rosary she feared it was her only way out of here unharmed. She began to inch back toward the staircase with the eerie mist following, seeming to come closer with every second.



Arial stumbled and caught herself just before falling completely to the floor. Thump! Something had fallen out of her other pocket. Holy Water!! She had forgotten about the tiny vial of Holy Water she had gotten from the church gift shop a few Sunday's ago. She would never again forget to say her prayers.



She took the top off the Holy Water and doused it on the mist and it immediately disapated. Quickly, she turned and ran with her heart in her throat searching for the way out. She wanted to find her Rosary but needed to get out of the mansion as fast as she could with the Amulet.



The amulet was still glowing and still warm to her touch. Was this thing alive? She needed to get to Father Frank and have him tell her what to do. He might have to exorcise it first. Father Frank had always known how to comfort her as a child. Maybe he would return with her to find her rosary.