The Old Place

“The Old Place”
By
Amber Holt

October 16, 2006

*****

Ashley shot up straight in her bed, woken from a deep sleep, and sucked in her breath. She had heard it again…the scraping sound that seemed to come from deep within the walls. As she sat motionless and scared to death, she heard what she had come to expect next…the sound of metal grinding. She jumped from her bed and dared to run across the room and throw on the overhead light. When she did, the sounds stopped as suddenly as they had started. She was so frightened that she turned on every light in the old house, went to the kitchen, made a pot of coffee, and ended up sitting up for the rest of the night.

When her grandmother passed away and she had inherited the old Vanderbilt mansion, Ashley had felt fortunate. It had been in her family for many generations. She was young and ambitious, and had plans of fixing the old place up, and maybe using it as a vacation getaway to visit every now and then. Also, as a realtor, she could see some real potential. Little did she know of the terrors that were to come her way.

*****

Ashley had decided that the change of pace from the hustle and bustle of Richmond, Virginia to the more laid back, old fashioned town of Abingdon, Virginia would be just what she needed. She was starting to become burned out professionally, she was still suffering from the heart wrenching divorce from her year’s long husband, Rex, and the stress of all of this was beginning to wear on her. She knew that she would have to be in Abingdon with the renovations for several months, and decided that the break would do her some good.

When Ashley had first reached the small town of Abingdon, she decided that she would go downtown and introduce herself around some of the shops she was likely to frequent. As soon as she told people that she was staying at the old Vanderbilt mansion and fixing it up, they would always give her a peculiar look, at the very least. Some people, especially older people, would just walk away and say nothing. No matter how much she questioned people, she could never get a response as to why they seemed to be afraid of the house. She dismissed it as superstition. People were always afraid of old houses for some reason.

She decided that she wasn’t going to let all of this odd behavior upset her. She still felt fortunate to have been the one in her family to inherit the mansion. She and her grandmother had a special relationship, and that had made her inheritance a sentimental thing for her.

So, she continued with her renovations, mostly on her own, for two reasons: one, because of her limited funds, and two, because as soon as she said “the old Vanderbilt mansion”, a lot of contractors would flat out say “no thank you”. She was able, through some major effort, to get the help that she needed for things she wasn’t able to do, like updating the wiring and plumbing, but she did everything else herself.

She was very grateful to have found Gabe Simpson, a very experienced electrical contractor, to update her wiring.

When Ashley first met Gabe, she had encouraged him to call her by her first name, seeing that they would be spending so much time together. In spite of this, he would slip every now and then and call her Miss Wright. She chalked it up to the fact that he was a bit older than her, and that it must be his southern, old fashioned manners.

She once asked him why he decided to take the job, since she had so many other contractors reject it. It seemed to her like it would be a major project, and a good profit.

“Oh Miss Wright, I mean Ashley, I’ve heard the tales, but I just don’t let them get to me, that’s all. Being a contractor for as long as I have in this old small town, you hear a lot.”

“Like what” asked Ashley, her curiosity piqued.

“Oh, nothing really” sidestepped Gabe. “I need to get back at it if I’m going to finish your kitchen today” he continued, as he left the room.

Ashley decided that she was going to get to the bottom of things. But did she really want to? As Gabe’s wiring and her own renovations progressed, she began staying in the old house. Strange things began to happen.

*****
Ashley woke early one morning, feeling particularly cheery. The birds were chirping, and the sun was peaking up along the horizon. She decided that she would take full advantage of being in the country, and visit the farmers’ market. She picked up some beautiful produce, not the least of which was some gorgeous strawberries. She headed back to the old house with her treasures.

She decided to make herself a wonderful breakfast. She sliced the strawberries in a bowl with some cream and sugar.

After she dined, she decided that she must get to work. These floors aren’t going to do themselves. And, she had a problem to tend to.

In the middle of the upstairs hallway, she had been noticing a dark stain in the hardwood flooring. It was a very curious, a dark berry colored stain. The floors were so gorgeous, that her first plan was to refinish them. She decided to do all of the sanding and refinishing herself. She stumbled across the rooms with the sander, it leading her more than the other way around. Yet, she knew for a fact that when she sanded over that area that the stain was sanded away, she made sure of it. There was also no trace of it when she did the refinishing. She was so proud of her work. When she finished, it was beautiful, if she did say so herself, so pristine.

Ashley congratulated herself on a job well done with a nice chef salad for dinner, courtesy of her farmers’ market veggies, and then went to bed early.

She was so exhausted that the scraping sounds were lost to her.

That is, until the early morning, when they jolted her from her peaceful slumber.

Ashley jerked straight up in bed. Her clock declared it to be 4am. The grinding noise was deafening.

“Oh God no, stop now!” she exclaimed.

She thought that she heard a cynical giggle.

She braved the pathway from the bedroom to the bathroom.

What she saw along her way was enough to send shivers along her spine.

The stain was back.

Ashley’s heart nearly jumped into her throat.

She returned to her bed, burrowed under the covers, trying to take shelter from it all like a child would.

She didn’t know what else to do.

A fitful sleep finally came to her.

*****

Ashley woke the next morning, more than a little shaken by the previous evening’s events. The stress of everything was really beginning to get to her, and she had no appetite for breakfast. Instead, she drank several cups of coffee and came up with another plan for the upstairs flooring. She decided that carpeting would be much more warm and inviting.

She did all of the measuring and laid down carpeting in all of the upstairs rooms, including the hallway. The work took longer than she had anticipated. She finished late that evening, so she grabbed a quick sandwich for dinner, took a nice hot shower to relax her tired body, and went straight to bed. When she did, the carpeting looked fresh and clean. She was proud of her long day’s work and the wonderful results that she had gotten. She fell into a well deserved slumber.

Ashley woke the next morning feeling better than she had in quite a while. She had slept well, not being woken by the horrible scraping. She thought that maybe her luck was beginning to turn around. She planned a nice breakfast of the rest of the strawberries and some Earl Grey tea, with a new mindset.

That was until she stepped out into the hallway.

She gasped in utter disbelief.

No, it can’t be, it can’t be!

But there it was…the stain had returned and seeped through to the top of the carpet during the night.

Ashley began hyperventilating in fear, and had to concentrate to calm herself down. Deep breaths, Ashley, she told herself. There has to be a logical explanation. I probably just loosened up some old fluid when I did the sanding, and it seeped through, she thought. That afternoon, she tore up the carpeting in the hallway and replaced it. She felt as if she were fighting a battle now. And the spoils of war were her sanity.

But alas, her efforts were in vain. The next morning, the stain was back.

*****

Later that day, Ashley decided to snoop around in the attic, to see if she could find out any secrets about this curious house. She found a lot of old furniture, clothing, dolls, tools, toys, and a very interesting photo album. She sat in an old rocking chair and thumbed through it. The photos were all in the old, undefined, charcoal black and white of long ago, with yellowing and crackling edges.

All of the women and girls were dressed in long black dresses, and all of the men and boys were in black suits. They all sat in chairs, looking as if they were propped up in them, with their eyes closed, looking asleep. There was even a picture of a baby in a long, dark dress lying in a crib, asleep. Ashley found this to be very odd, and decided that she would take it to one of the antique shops downtown and ask about it. She then heard a knock at the door, so she went downstairs to answer it, inadvertently carrying the photo album with her.

She opened the door, and there was Gabe, her electrical contractor.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Wright. I’m sorry, you want me to call you Ashley. I’ll try my best to remember. I just have a little to finish up with your wiring.”

He looked down at her hand.

“If you don’t mind my asking, what’s that you have in your hand?”

“Well, I’m not sure. I just found it in the attic.”

“Do you mind if I have a look?”

“No, not at all. Maybe you can solve the mystery.”

Ashley handed the album to Gabe. He took it from her and thumbed through it. He handed it back to her, visibly disturbed, with his hand even shaking.

“Gabe, what is it, what’s wrong?”

Gabe hesitated, as if he were compelled to tell Ashley something important, but that he was loath to do so.

“I’m sorry to have to break this to you Ashley, but you’ve just found your family’s Dead Book.”

“Dead Book, what’s that?”

Gabe was obviously shaken.

“Well, it was very common in the 1800’s to photograph the dead. It’s very rare to find one these days. You have a real discovery there, however morbid it may be, but I guess it’s no wonder what you may find here.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Oh nothing. It’s just that those are rare to find, that’s all. I’ll get to that wiring now.”

Gabe left her with many unanswered questions about her find and the impression that he had of the old mansion.

*****

The next morning, Ashley woke in a fit of nerves. She decided that she must put ideas like Dead Books out of her mind, and thought that a little flower gardening would be just the thing that she needed. She had gotten some marigolds the day before that she wanted to plant out by the gazebo. As she dug into the soil with her gardening shovel, she began to hear a sound like a little girl giggling. It was a lilting and joyful sound. It soon became louder, and unmistakable. It was definitely the sound of a little girl giggling. Ashley looked around her, but saw nothing.

I must be loosing my mind to all of the crazy talk I’ve heard about this place, she thought. But after a few minutes, Ashley heard the giggling again, and this time, she heard a little girl’s voice cry out, “come on Michael, you’re missing out on all of the fun”.

Ashley jerked her head around as quickly as she could. She just barely glimpsed the figure of a little girl in a long, white dress skipping through the garden, holding a marigold to her nose. Ashley strained her neck around, but couldn’t see the little girl anywhere. It was as if she’d disappeared into thin air. Ashley began to feel like there was a presence watching over her. She couldn’t stand the feeling any longer, so she decided to go back to the house for lunch.

Ashley nibbled on some cheese and crackers, not really all that hungry after being frightened so. After her snack, something compelled her to pick up the Dead Book and look through it. About halfway through, she cried out, “oh God no” and dropped the book on the floor.

There, on the very page she was looking at, was a picture of the little girl from the garden. She was wearing a long dark dress, her eyes were closed, and she was propped up in a rocking chair. There was even a bouquet of marigolds lying in her lap. Even more disturbing was the notation below her picture...”she leaves Michael, her twin brother, in her death”. Ashley thought back to the little girl crying out, “come on Michael, you’re missing out on all of the fun”. Ashley began to feel sick with nerves. What ever was she to do?

*****

Ashley decided that all she could do was to continue on with her renovations. She was so deep into the old house that she couldn’t see herself stopping now. Hopefully, throwing herself into her work would occupy her mind. She felt as if she were going mad with all of the eerie events unfolding around her.

That day’s schedule included wallpapering one of the upstairs bedrooms. Ashley got all of her supplies together and began her work. Everything was peaceful and calm, and she even began to hum a happy tune as she worked. She really enjoyed getting her hands dirty and putting in a good day’s work. It made her feel like she had really accomplished something come evening time.

As she smoothed the wallpaper along the walls, she began to hear a sound so slight that she was almost unsure if she really heard anything at all. She stopped and stood perfectly still, straining her ears to hear. She was sure that she heard the far away sounds of a woman moaning in misery. She slowly walked towards the bedroom that it seemed to be coming from.

She really hadn’t spent much time in that room, she was saving it for last to renovate. She peeked through the doorway, and thought that she saw something dark trickling down the wall across from the doorway. She could definitely hear the moaning now, even though it was quiet and coming from far away. She walked slowly towards the far wall.

Ashley stared at the wall, and could see a trickling. It appeared to be dark red. She hesitantly approached the wall, and could see that it was coming from near the ceiling. She was scared to death, but felt compelled to reach out to touch the red fluid. She pulled her finger back, and was startled when it appeared to be blood.

She was mesmerized. She reached out and touched the wall again. When she did, blood started to flow down the wall. She started to pull her hand away, but before she could, she heard the scraping and metal grinding sounds again. But this time, she felt a scraping against her hand coming from within the wall. She screamed and ran, bloody handed, out of the old house.

*****

She ended up at Gabe’s place. She had nowhere else to go. He happily took her in. He gave her a shot of whiskey to calm her nerves.

“Now, Ashley, please tell me what happened” he pleaded.

“Oh Gabe, it was awful. I could hear a moaning, and that horrid grinding noise, and I know you’re going to think I’m crazy, but I could feel something in the wall this time. And the blood, so much blood.”

“Ashley, honey, you’re rambling. Just take a few deep breaths and sip on your whiskey. You’re staying with me tonight” Gabe declared as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He refilled her glass, and got a drink for himself.

He was very attentive to her. He urged her to talk about her experiences with the old mansion, and every time she got uneasy or upset, he would hold her and give her a little hug. After she had freed herself of all that had occurred, she began to weep.

“Oh Gabe, what ever am I going to do?” she exclaimed.

“Ashley, I’m here for you. We’ll figure this out together” he said as he embraced her.

As he did so, he felt his lips brush against her neck, and could hear her let out a little sigh.

He pulled back from her, staring deeply into her eyes.

The magic of the moment was already in place.

They leaned in for a gentle kiss.

Gabe felt his passion for Ashley begin to grow, but knew that he must control himself. He was finally able to pull himself away from her sweet lips.

“I’m so sorry, Ashley. I don’t want to seem to take advantage of you.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about at all” she said, as she gave him another kiss.

Gabe could feel himself starting to fall for Ashley, and was able with much self-control to break the kiss.

“I’d better be getting the extra room ready for you” he said, as he took her hands into his.

“Yes, it is getting late.”

Gabe fixed up the extra room for Ashley.

“If there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to call on me.”

“I will. Thank you for everything.”

“Goodnight, Ashley” Gabe called out, with a longing for her.

“Goodnight, Gabe” Ashley replied, feeling the same longing.

That night, Ashley had the most peaceful sleep that she had in a long time.

*****

The next morning, Gabe woke her gently.

“Hope you like pancakes.”

“Love them.”

They ate a hearty breakfast, and then Gabe prepared to take her back to the old house.

“Now listen. If you have any problems at all, I want you to call on me. Day or night. Understand?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Ashley playfully saluted him, and Gabe laughed at her antics.

“Let’s get you home.”

*****

After Gabe dropped her off, Ashley decided that she would spend the day cleaning the rooms that had been finished. She wasn’t quite ready to go back into the dreadful room.

The day went along fairly uneventfully, so she was at peace when evening came. She took a hot, calming shower and began to notice how hungry she was. She thought back over the day, and realized that Gabe’s pancakes were all that she had eaten. As she dried off, she thought of the chicken, pasta, and veggies that she had in the kitchen, and decided that she should make a proper meal for herself.

As she was in the kitchen cooking, a storm started to brew. I just hope the power doesn’t go out while I’m cooking, she thought. A gentle rain began to fall as she dined. By the time that she was washing up the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen, the tempo of the rain had begun to rise. By the time that she’d finished in the kitchen, a storm was on its way. It had been a long day, so Ashley decided to go to bed early.

She woke some time later to a loud crack of thunder and a bright bolt of lightening, but also something more sinister. She could hear the maniacal laughter of a man. She could also hear the screams of a woman, the cries of a baby, and a little girl crying out “no daddy, no”. The cries became deafening. She could also hear the scraping and metal grinding noises in the wall.

In the worst fear of her life, she rushed out of her room down the hallway. She glanced into the spare room. A flash of lightening revealed a stream of blood running down the wall. She stepped out into the hallway, and was greeted once again by the stain on the carpet. She simply couldn’t take anymore, at any cost. Never mind the storm, she rushed down the stairs in her white linen nightgown, threw open the door, and ran out of the crazed house.

*****

She ran across the porch and started down the stairs. She could feel the rain pelting down upon her, but she didn’t care, she just had to get away. She ran wildly forward. Her heart leapt into her throat as she collided with someone. She screamed, nearly having a heart attack, before she realized that it was Gabe.

“I had to come. I’ve heard that this place can become really wild during storms, and I was worried about you.”

“Oh Gabe, thank God you’re here!”

He scooped her up into his arms and carried her to his truck. He opened the passenger door and set her inside.

“You’re staying with me tonight, no arguments, young lady.”

“You’ll get none from me.”

As they drove away, a dark figure stared out of the window at them.

*****

As Gabe drove home with Ashley, he noticed that she was soaked to the bone and shivering. Despite the spring weather, he turned on the heater for her. She began to warm up and dry out some.

Gabe pulled into his driveway and parked his truck. He walked around to the passenger side and opened the door. He lifted Ashley out and carried her into his place, as she clung to him, the rain pouring down upon them.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be safe here” he said as he carried her over the threshold.

He sat her down in the Queen Ann chair next to the fireplace, and began building a fire for her. She was so shaken that it took him forever to calm her down. He gave her a little whiskey to settle her nerves and sat her next to the fireplace so that she could dry out.

“I’m going to go get out of these wet clothes. You just sit there and settle down. I’ll be back soon” he reassured her.

Gabe returned in his bathrobe and poured himself a drink, as a bolt of lightening flashed outside the window.

“Coming a good one” he stated.

Ashley just stared into the fire, a tear forming in the corner of her eye.

“Hey there” Gabe sighed, and went to her.

“Oh Gabe”, she cried out.

He walked behind her, bent down, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

“Oh Ashley” he sighed.

She melted into his arms, letting out a little whimper.

“You feel so tense. Let me try to loosen you up a bit” said Gabe, as he began massaging Ashley’s shoulders.

Ashley rolled her head from side to side.

“That feels so good” she purred.

“How about this?” questioned Gabe, as he slipped his hand down onto Ashley’s chest.

“Mmmmmm.”

Gabe could feel his heart racing and his pulse pounding. He dared to slip his hands further down, slightly brushing against Ashley’s hardened nipples.

Ashley drew her breath in deeply.

“Let’s get you out of this wet gown, shall we?”

“Oh yes.”

Gabe gently and slowly lifted her damp nightgown off her. He was mesmerized by the sight of her nude body by the fire light.

She had a pleading look in her eyes.

“Gabe?” she murmured.

“Oh yes, my dear” he replied, and he drew her up into his arms and carried her off to the bedroom.

He laid her gently down onto the bed, and leaned over her, giving her a gentle kiss. Their kisses soon grew in passion and intensity. Gabe began to leave a trail of kisses from Ashley’s sweet lips, across her cheek, and down to her neck. He passionately kissed and nibbled on it.

“Oh yes, my sweet”, she exclaimed.

Ashley reached down and untied Gabe’s robe, slipping it down off his shoulders, and began to kiss and nibble on his chest.

“Oh, my love.”

He leaned down and took one of her nipples into his mouth and playfully nibbled on it.

“Oh Gabe, yes, my dear” she cried out.

She could feel a burning and wetness between her legs. She was crazed with desire for Gabe.

It had never been like this with Rex.

“Take me, take me now, Gabe” she pleaded.

Gabe nestled himself between her legs, placing his head against her wetness. He thrust himself deep within her, grasping her, and holding her tight against him.

Ashley cried out, scratching Gabe’s back in passion.

They began making sweet and tender love to each other, finding the perfect rhythm, one all their own.

Ashley could begin to feel the heat of her begin to grow, and an erotic tingling begin to take over.

“Oh Gabe, oh yes” she cried out as she reached her sweet peak.

As Gabe felt her climax, it drove him to his own peak.

“Ash” he exclaimed, as he thrust himself deep within her, draining himself of his tensions.

They collapsed into each other’s arms and drifted off to sleep in the wee hours of the morning.

*****

The next morning, Gabe woke with a jolt. He remembered the night before, and the horrible knowledge that he had. He felt very uneasy and unsure of what to do. In his heart of hearts, he knew that he couldn’t wait any longer to tell her. He just hoped that she would understand. He had laid awake from the early morning trying to think of how to handle things and how to break it to her.

Ashley awoke and rolled over to Gabe. She draped her arms around him, saying “good morning baby.”

Gabe rolled over and held her, saying “Good morning to you too baby.”

He began to feel guilty. He decided to just blurt it out. He had held his awful secrets for so long. It was for her own protection, he had rationalized. But he was beginning to realize that keeping the secrets from her were only hurting her. She needed to know.

“Do you want to know the history to the Vanderbilt mansion? I can tell you. I guess I should have a long time ago. I hope you will forgive me for that.”

Ashley was more than a bit stunned.

“Of course, Gabe, I just want to know the truth, that’s all.”

“I’m afraid that it’s not pleasant.”

“Please Gabe, just tell me, after all, it’s a part of me, it’s a part of my family’s history.”

Gabe began the legend…

*****

”You’re great great grandparents were David and Mary Vanderbilt. They had two children: a daughter named Elizabeth and a son named Michael.”

Ashley froze...was that the Michael mentioned in the Dead Book? Was Elizabeth the little girl she saw in the garden and in the Dead Book?

“Your great great grandfather David was not believed to be well. He was also known to be an alcoholic, so that did not help matters. He drank constantly, and was very violent and unpredictable. Things became so bad that Mary took herself and the children to stay with her mother for a while. The solitude only contributed to David’s instability. When they returned a few weeks later, he was a loose cannon.”

“They say that in Mary and the childrens’ absence, David grinded his axe daily, and drug it against the walls to test it sharpness. They also say that when Mary and little Elizabeth and Michael returned, that David was so unstable from his own self destruction that he struck out against them and murdered them with his fine honed axe.”

“Oh my God, Gabe! How horrible! That must be the little girl that I saw in the garden.”

Gabe sighed and continued on…

“After it was all over, David couldn’t believe what he had done. He felt some remorse, but only for a brief moment. He truly believed that he could get away with it. He buried Mary, Elizabeth, and Michael in shallow graves in the garden. He buried them in the winter, and the ground was very hard for him to dig through. At first, it seemed as if he would get away with it. Everyone knew that Mary had taken the children to get away from him, so it was convenient for him that everyone believed that they were still at Mary’s Mother’s. He was in the free and clear until the spring rains came…”

*****

“On one particular day several months later, the spring rains began, and they didn’t stop for about two weeks. The Vanderbilts were always generous with their garden, and always welcomed their neighbors to visit and pick whatever they desired. A neighbor came to visit the garden, and saw fingers poking through the soil. They casually slipped off and reported it to the police.”

“The shallow graves were exhumed, and the bodies identified. The cold of the winter had preserved them pretty well. David was considered to be the main suspect. As soon as the police left from questioning him about their deaths, David hung himself in the rafters of the attic.”

“It is said that everyone’s spirit that died here, that is David, Mary, Elizabeth, and Michael, haunt this house. Many people won’t even talk about this house, let alone think about being near it. Many legends have developed about it, and I can now see that many of them are true. Ashley, please leave this place, please come and be with me. I love you.”

Ashley thought about it for a moment. Sure, she had inherited The Old Place, but it was unlivable. Despite its history, it would always mean something to her because of her grandmother. But clearly, she couldn’t live there. And she knew that she loved Gabe dearly.

“My dear Gabe, if you will have me, I would love to be with you.”

“My dear Ashley, it would be my great honor.”



FOOTNOTE:

Many of the events in this story draw on true Southern fact. In Abingdon, Virginia, there is an old in named The Martha Washington Inn. It served as a hospital during the Civil War. I drew the tale of the stained carpet from there. This phenomenon truly happens there, just as described in my story.

It has also been known to be fact of people keeping Dead Books during the 19th century and early 20th century, just as described. I have seen some photographs, and know of family members that have also. A simple Internet search will bring you a wealth of information on the subject.