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The Curse of the Lenoir Manor
I lost my daughter six years ago. I lost her because of the accursed Lenoir manor. I don’t remember what we argued about that night, but it certainly wasn’t important. Not important enough to yell, for me to tell her such awful things. I shouldn’t have told her that if she left, she could sod off for good. But I did, and I can’t take it back.
It’s been six years, and I know it’s the manor’s fault. Or rather its inhabitants’, I first saw them after Ellie went missing. The decrepit old manor was known for two things, groups of teens sneaking in, to party, and mysterious disappearings of lonesome people, vagrants, drifters, the like. The latter always annoyed me, I was sure these urban legends were used to stick our county with the unsolvable cases; those people could have gone missing anywhere in the state. I had believed most of them went off the radar for legal issues but were perfectly fine otherwise.
No bodies were ever found, but word of mouth blamed the Lenoir mansion for the missing persons. I went there after Ellie didn’t come home for two days, I phoned around first, but none of her friends could tell me anything useful. It was the manor or she skipped town, but I couldn’t believe she would turn her back on her old man… I wish she had done that.
I went there after I was done with my shift, and kept my sheriff uniform on me for good measure. The manor was an eerie place, especially that close to sunset. I trampled around like an angry boar, kicking over furniture, demanding Ellie to come out. I was getting ready to smash an antique piano to pieces, when a silvery glint caught my eye. A woman stood nearby, at the foot of a wide staircase, and a full-mouthed toothy grin welcomed me as I turned around. She was dressed in a most lavish 19th-century dress, and she was completely transparent, a white shade smirking at me. My legs were rooted to the floor as I stared mouth agape like an idiot, but instinct took over when she lunged at me with a large kitchen knife, and I ran as fast as I could, followed by her mad cackle.
I only looked back when I passed the gate of the property, carrying my first heart attack on my feet. What I saw will haunt me to the end of my days. The… harlot still grinned, and now she held my poor Ellie in her hands, my daughter wept as she reached out to me. But she was only a moonlight shade now, just like the harlot, her servants, or the people staring hopelessly from the many windows of that cursed mansion.
To this day I’m ashamed that I ran. I left my poor Ellie there, in the filthy claws of the harlot, though I know there was nothing I could have done for her. I got back to my car, and drove back to the sheriff station, telling everyone what happened, screaming like a madman, demanding the FBI, the Ghostbusters and the Supernaturalists Ellie loved so much to come over and do something. They had me committed for 72 hours. My deputies. In retrospect, I can’t blame them. They sent me on a month of paid leave too, and Janice, my former deputy took over my office. When I returned, Ellie’s file was already sent to missing persons, just another stack of papers added to the growing pile of unsolved cases. Just another soul claimed by the manor. I didn’t say the last part out loud, I learned from my previous mistake, but I began to wage my war against the mansion.
I wanted to have it legally demolished first, claiming it was an unsafe, an already crumbling wreck waiting to fall on people’s heads, but it had some sort of architectural protection, the county didn’t even hear me out. I went with Molotovs next, I fit my truck to the brim with them, afraid they would catch fire from friction on the way. They didn’t, and I tossed them all in, one by one. And all the fires, one by one were snuffed out by an unnatural wind. The harlot appeared after I tossed the last bottle, cackling at me next to her headless servant, and for a moment I thought they stepped over the property border as they closed in. That was when I got my second heart attack.
I realized I couldn’t beat them head-on, but it was my duty to protect people, especially after I failed my poor Ellie. I’ve set up cameras around the manor, and a few microphones too, to scare away drifters remotely. Janice begrudgingly allowed me to use some equipment from the station. I made up some bullshit about seeing some vagrants milling about. She didn’t believe me, but she wanted eyes on the decrepit mansion, just in case someone got stuck in there and couldn’t get out. If she knew how right she was…
People who knew of my obsession thought me crazy, thinking the loss of my daughter sent me over the edge. They weren’t that off, to be fair. The digital cameras often broke down, some sort of interference didn’t allow them to capture the ghosts on screen, and the tech didn’t mesh well with the spectral EW. I patrolled around whenever I could too, my war taking up pretty much all of my free time, but when I started to check over while on duty, Janice tore me a new one at the station, assigning me to the other side of the town. In private though, she begged me to go and see a psychologist. I couldn’t explain to her that they fought different types of ghosts. And that it wasn’t that I couldn’t let Ellie go, she was literally trapped…
Orders are orders though, so I drove to the piers on the western outskirts, an eye always on my phone, checking the cameras. It rained, and a thick fog was descending on the town. I remembered how much Ellie loved that rainy smell, and I tried to recall the better times. That was when I noticed a kid sauntering by the road towards the town. I slowed down next to him. He looked young, eighteen, maybe less. He wasn’t in good shape either, the mishmash rags he wore were torn in many places, and he looked like he hadn’t eaten in a week.
"Hey kid, do you need a ride?" I asked him.
"I’m fine, thank you."
There was something strange in his olive eyes. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but it was unsettling. Still, he was just a kid, so I insisted.
"Come on, I’ll treat you to lunch. When was the last time you had a proper meal?" He relented and got in the car.
"So what’s your name?" I asked.
"Titus."
"Strange name."
"Wasn’t my choice."
"Fair do."
I drove us to Patty’s. It was almost empty; the upside of the shit weather I guess. I ordered a steak, my doctor can bite me, but the kid just kept looking at the menu, having a hard time reading the items. Unlikely he finished even middle school.
"Do they have grains? I can mill it myself." I wondered if he joked.
"Emily, sweetheart, make some pancakes for the kid, please. Yeah, I know it’s no longer breakfast time. Yeah, I know when you air out the place. Just a couple of those delicious bastards, come on, do me a favor."
I got my steak, and the kid his pancakes. At first, he just poked the top one with his knife, but after I told him to slice it up, he started devouring them. Especially after I got him some maple syrup. He had no idea how to use a fork, so his hands and face were glazed with syrup as he stuffed himself. We finished the food, I got myself a beer, and the kid had a Coke and a towel at my insistence. I cut to the chase after.
"Look, kid, I don’t want to make it like the asshole cop harasses the vagrant kind of thing, but you *really* shouldn’t stay here."
"Why?"
"It’s a small town and…" I wanted to make up some lie, but couldn’t. Looking into the kid’s eyes derailed my thoughts. They looked much older than the kid himself. He must have seen some crap.
"Don’t you have folks somewhere?"
"I had. Not anymore."
Shit.
"Somewhere to stay then? Friends, maybe? If nothing else, I can get you a ticket to Pittsburgh, easier to find work there."
"Somewhere… friends… maybe… They said I should stay with them." His voice was uncertain, those "friends" probably weren’t the best company. Still, better there than here, far away from that damned manor.
"Great, what town? I’ll get you a ticket."
"You can’t. It’s far away."
"Overseas?"
"Something like that."
Again, shit. Duty called, and I paid for the meal. I also got a room for the kid for two nights, I’d get him out of town on the weekend. Dropping him off at his motel room with the spare jacket from my trunk, I told him to stay put, and don’t muck around town without me. He sat on the bed, corralling his legs with his arms, lost in thought. I closed the curtains, he wouldn’t have appreciated our new streetlights, and I doubted he had the initiative to close them himself.
It was a long ass day, I had to catch up on paperwork, and Janice stopped me before leaving the station.
"Hey, Frank, could you come in?" she asked. I went to my old office, she sat in my old chair… though I’m not being fair, she thoroughly deserved her chance, not her fault that her old boss had a breakdown after losing his daughter. I didn’t resent her for this, but she had her usual please see a shrink smile on, same as every time when we were alone, and that pissed me off.
"Frank, I heard from Emily that you helped a kid to lunch, paid for his stay too. A nice change of pace from trying to scare away strangers from town," she said, and I couldn’t help but feel like a bad puppy finally pissing within his designated zone, earning a head pat.
"Yeah, I’ll get him out of here as soon as I can," I answered, even more irate than usual.
"Maybe send him Roger’s way, he needs extra farmhands for the season, I heard the kid could use the money and Jessie’s cooking," she said.
"I’m getting him out of town," I finished the debate, or so I thought.
"Frank, you can’t chase everyone away!" she slapped her hand on the table, and I jumped, the sound reminding me of the manor’s entrance slamming shut. I think she meant both outsiders and people around me.
"I don’t want them to…" I started, but Jan cut me off.
"Yes, I know, the damned manor! Frank, I can’t imagine what you went through, what you are still going through, but you need help! Please, for everything that is holy, talk to a professional before you turn into a miserable old sod!"
"Fat lot of good a shrink can do against ghosts!" I yelled too, and she fell into a quizzing silence, trying to figure out if I was truly insane, her eyes focusing on me like lasers. I didn’t talk about what I’d seen, not after the first time, but Jan knew my precautions around the manor weren’t solely made to keep some drunk teens out of a decrepit building.
"Fine, here’s a deal for you. We will go to the manor. Now. If we find something otherwordly, I will help you ruin the damned thing, or keep people out and away, or whatever you deem necessary. If not, you will see a shrink. Professionally," she finished with a half-smirk, but she was dead serious. I hesitated. It was the first time since my infamous trip back from the manor that I said the truth out loud, and Janice was willing to humor me. Had she seen something on the cameras? No, she wouldn’t be so eager to go and visit the specters in person. Fuck, she just wanted to help me I realized, thinking if she entertained my delusion and it turned out to be nothing, it would change my perspective. At least she still believed I could be reasoned with. I wouldn’t forgive myself if anything happened to her, but I couldn’t waste this chance. Maybe with an ally on my side, I could do something actually useful, something permanent against the mansion.
"Fine, but we have to be careful," I nodded, sweat dripping down my neck. We didn’t need much equipment for the trip, though I insisted we both packed cameras. Jan cracked a few jokes on the way, but I could feel she was getting nervous. We arrived at the mansion an hour before sunset. The blackened walls were as charming as usual, the gothic towers adding an extra flair to the aura of dread. I thought I saw movement behind one of the stone gargoyles for a second, but this time my eyes must have tricked me.
We passed the gate, an atmosphere of cold stillness welcomed us behind the paling, Jan shivered after a cool gust of wind washed over us. It somewhat reassured me, that this unnatural chill wasn’t just in my head. I led the way, the ancient wooden door creaked as I pulled it open, a miracle it hadn’t rotted away yet. The lobby was covered in worm-chewed carpet and the antique furniture was wrecked by time, partying teens, and my rampage from a few years back. We stole along carefully, scouting the ground floor of the building. The specters were shy, not revealing themselves, but even Jan was getting increasingly anxious. My own fearful mood and constant reminders to check if her camera was still on probably didn’t help the case. Most of these lower rooms were used by the servants back in the day, as kitchens, storage rooms with rusted cutlery and discarded decorations, and a few bedrooms towards the back.
We went through the ballroom, the inch-thick cover of grime silencing our steps as we walked on the faded marble. For some reason, both of us drew a deep breath as we began climbing the once-lavish staircase, the air was colder here, and heavy with dust. There was a half-floor with a wardrobe and two pieces of armor, the stairway split into two, taking on a U-shape. We stuck to the right. A chill set on our chests, like a presence hanging there, hidden from our eyes. I was already breathing through my mouth, and not because of exertion. Wind rustled the old pipes, the screeching sound made all the hair on my back stand at attention. It sounded like the souls of the damned screamed for mercy, and I prayed to all that is holy that it was just the wind and nothing more. That the ghosts of this place couldn’t feel pain.
The reddish glow of the setting sun painted the… Suddenly a wild cackle struck through the room, sending shivers down our spines. I was glancing around for the harlot or one of her servants, while Jan pointed at the piece of armor closer to us.
"The visor slammed shut, look," she said, walking back to the suit of metal, and slapping the rusty helmet.
"Like hell it did," I growled, anger and fear racing inside me, fighting for the wheel. I looked up, and there she was… my Ellie. I ran, tossing aside caution, even ignoring the yells of Jan I rushed up the remaining stairs and looked around, searching for her. The corridor was empty, so I burst through the door before me, ripping the handle from its socket. The silvery glint passed through the wall, and I jumped back to the corridor. My legs took root; I froze in fear. The harlot hovered behind Janice, spectral knife in hand, ready to strike. My jaw dropped, my mouth was wide open, but I could not make a single sound. I pointed wordlessly at her, trembling and useless. Jan turned around, but instead of a sickening slash of incorporeal steel, only the empty corridor welcomed her; the harlot vanished, grinning at me mocking as she went. Rage took over me, it wasn’t enough for the ghost to kill us there and then, it wanted to torture, to gaslight me.
I ran past Jan, pushing her aside, telling her to get out. I tore open all the doors, finding nothing but old, dusty furniture, but at each and every turn I took, I caught a moonlight glimpse out of the corner of my eye. The second floor was the same, and Jan almost tackled me before I could climb to the third.
"Enough!" she yelled. We both panted, catching our breaths. "Frank, there is nothing here! Snap out of it!"
I nodded, lowering my head. She opened a window at the end of the corridor, the sudden squall ruffling the century-old dust. She leaned out, airing her lungs, and I kept my eyes on her fearing that the ghosts would use this opportunity, not that I could do anything to stop them. She got back to me, leaning a hand on my crouching form.
"Let’s get out of here." Pity filled her voice, she didn’t gloat, and strangely, she seemed a little bummed not having seen anything out of the ordinary. I couldn’t tell if she was sad for me, or if she had her own reasons. I nodded and we left the way we came, but at every turn we took, I saw the harlot smirking at me from the corner of my eye.
We got back to Jan’s car, she turned on the engine and it growled like a hungry beast, the first reassuring sound I heard in hours. The radio played some modern pop-slop, and we sat in silence for a while.
"Frank, I understand why you would think the place was haunted, it certainly feels haunted," she started with a sigh. "The damned place creeped me out too, but holy fuck, Frank, you acted completely mental! Running up and down like a maniac, and what the hell was that with the body snatchers act? You freaked me out, I thought something was behind me!"
"So you didn’t see anything weird?" I asked, licking my lips, they were dry like sandpaper.
"Everything was weird! The freaky furniture, the tattered carpets, the sound made by the wind and the pipes, the lunatic tearing up the place, everything! That gothic freakin’ Dracula nonsense architecture of the manor didn’t help either. Frank, I…"
"I’ll get help," I interjected. It was probably my only way to stay out of an asylum.
"You do?" she was a bit surprised at this.
"You kept your word, did your part. Now it’s time for me to do mine."
"No more talk about ghosts, or trapped souls, or…"
"No, I’ll see a shrink. I’ll do the work; I’ll fix what I can. No more blaming the manor," I promised.
She patted my knee and drove away. I looked back at the manor, the smirking harlot waved at me from a window, with my Ellie in her clutches. I went through the recordings at home, it was mostly static of course. The fuckers were always around the corner, toying with us.
I couldn’t fall asleep until dawn, so I arrived an hour late at the station. The guys didn’t act out of the ordinary, Jan must have kept the events of last night between the two of us. She called me to her office and gave me a hug after I closed the door.
"Tell me if you need help searching for a shrink," she said, and I was sure she already did some digging.
"Will, do. Thanks, Jan," I said, realizing I won’t wiggle my way out of this promise. Fuck it, maybe they can help with some stuff, I’ll just have to be careful about phrasing things.
"How’s the kid you took under your wings? Want to make a visit?" she asked.
"Actually, yeah. He could use all the help he can get," I said. Jan flashed a sad smile at me, and for a second I almost went back on my word, but I just nodded and left.
The kid sat in the dark room, the curtains were closed. I thought he was sleeping at first, but he just sat there, almost the same way I left him, with his arms wrapped around his legs.
"Hey, kid, have you heard of lamps?" I asked, turning on the lights. He nodded in acknowledgment, and I gave him his lunch. It was pasta, a nice bowl of Milanese, I thought he would appreciate it. He wasn’t sure how to eat it, opting to pick a few noodles with his hands. What would his Nana say?
"So, are you Italian?" I asked.
"No, I’m from Syracusa," he answered.
I laughed. "You guys from Syracuse are a proud bunch, aren’t you?"
"We are," he said, smiling a little for the first time.
"Do you have a trade?" I asked.
"I was a soldier once. A long time ago," he said.
I laughed at him. "A long time ago? You joined the military after kindergarten?"
He just looked forward with those sad olive eyes, it seemed like he believed what he said. Maybe he meant cadet school. But still, he was far too young for it to have been a long time ago.
"Is there something you want to do? Something else, a more peaceful job maybe?" I prodded him.
"I… I’m a soldier. I don’t know what else to do," he said, shaking his head.
"Maybe you should find something else, there is a carpentry workshop a few towns over, I can introduce you to the owner, Pat. He’s a great guy, and with a soft spot for guys trying to figure out their shit," I said.
"Should… find… yes, I need to find my sword!" His eyes flared up, and for the first time since I met him, the deep sadness was gone. "Me and a few others, we were cut off from our centuria, captured by rebels and… But it doesn’t matter now, I just need my sword!" He said it with a burst of relieved laughter.
"Sure thing, buddy," I played along. "And what does your sword look like?"
He stared at me as if I had two heads. "A gladius, of course!"
"Of course, of course," of course, my guy had to be a true-blooded Roman legionary, just my luck. To think that I had to get someone committed after what they put me through when I said nothing but the truth… For a moment I tried to imagine he too was telling the truth, that he was a long-lost Roman soldier from distant times, on a quest to find his missing… sword.
"How about another sword, a new one instead? A soldier should get a new gun if his weapon breaks, surely, if you lost it, it’s time to buy another," I tried to reason, but he shook his head.
"No, I need my sword!"
"Okay kid, where did you lose it?" I asked, jabbing him with the ol’ double entendre, but he didn’t catch on. I decided I would take him to Pittsburgh the next day, to a facility I was too familiar with. I hated myself for what I was going to do, but I saw no other way. He needed help.
"While campaigning in the East. Near a lake, the rebels, they…" He thought hard, furrowing his brow.
"In the East, of course! Look buddy, eat your lunch, have some sleep, and tomorrow I’ll help you find your sword, how about that? You will be our very own King Arthur! We will use my car, it’s faster and I know some shortcuts," I said, setting my trap.
"A car?" he asked. Yep, he is insane, or insanely committed to the act. Jan must think the same about me.
"The white carriage I drove when we met. Many horses live under its hood, that’s why it goes so fast."
"A car. You are a good man, Frank, tomorrow we will find my sword. I wish I could give you a proper reward," he said, pacified somewhat.
"As long as you are going to be okay, that’s reward enough for me," I said, patting his shoulder. "See you tomorrow, Titus."
"See you, Frank."
I left, but returned a minute later to turn off the lights and open the curtains. He sat there the way I left him, a hopeful grin on his face.
The day barely crawled forward, I hoped the kid was staying put until tomorrow. At the end of my shift, I went to see Janice, she was checking her recordings from yesterday. It was mostly static of course.
"What’s wrong with that house?" she mused. "Don’t answer, must be the radio tower nearby, ruining the recording."
"Yeah, the radio tower was interfering with the analog camera," I said, nodding along. She had many good qualities, but tech savviness wasn’t one of them. "Do you need something from Pittsburgh?"
"What are you doing in Pittsburgh? she asked, raising her brows.
"Taking the kid there. I know, I know, don’t look at me like that. He needs help. He thinks he’s some sort of lost Roman legionary, on a quest to retrieve his sword like King Arthur. Stick to one story, am I right?"
"You are making this shit up," she said.
"I’m serious, talk to him if you think I’m lying. Be careful though, I don’t think he is dangerous, but you can never know with the type," I said and shrugged after realizing I was exactly the same type for everyone who heard my story.
"Will do, I’ll treat him to dinner. Good night, Frank."
"Good night, Jan."
I grabbed dinner, and paid forward the kid’s, for Jan to drop it off. I drove home after, wanting nothing, but a hot shower and a soft bed. A piece of pie maybe, and the thought of having a bite put me in a better mood. I almost forgot to check the cameras before I got out of my car, the ingrained routine working instead of me, while my mind was already snacking. What I saw took away my appetite. One of the outer cameras, a mile away from the manor, caught a figure on tape. It was the kid. I drove like a madman through the town.
He walked without a care, strolling along on the moonlit dirt road. I caught up to him a good fifty yards from the fence, ready to serve him an earful.
"Hi Frank!" he said, smiling at me like a lunatic.
"Don’t hi Frank me! What the hell are you doing here?" I yelled.
"I came for my sword. It’s in there," he pointed at the manor.
"And just what the hell makes you think your sword is there?"
"Your lady friend came to visit. She said my sword was there." This sentence punched the air out of my lungs, what was Jan doing? Was I getting paranoid, or did she know something she didn’t tell me?
"Kid, I need you to listen. I want you to tell me exactly what she said," I had to hold onto him, his legs were taking him towards the mansion. Fat chance I was letting him go there.
"She said I shouldn’t stick to my sword, that it probably rusted away already. That I should get a new one instead, from Pigsburg or wherever, and that she saw some rusty swords in that house," he pointed to the moonlit house of horrors, "and that a rusty sword is useless for a soldier like me. When she said she saw swords, I realized she saw mine too. My gladius is in there!" he said, trying to walk away, but I held him strong.
"Thanks for the help, Jan," I muttered. "Kid, listen to me. That house is haunted." He looked at me with raised eyebrows, his olive eyes not understanding the problem.
"And?" he asked.
"And you cannot go in there, because they will kill you."
"No, they won’t," he shook his head. "I need my sword."
"Yes, they will. They will kill you, and you will be trapped in there forever, just like my daughter," I yelled, sobbing the last words. The kid looked at me with sympathy, but his face lit up a moment later, smiling wide.
"Well, shouldn’t you help your daughter then? Come along."
A flurry of anger took over me, and I struck him with all my strength. His jaw almost broke my fist.
"Are you alright?" he asked, his grin still sitting wide on his face. I keeled over, cradling my right hand, inventing a few new cusses. I didn’t hear his steps when he walked away, but when I looked up, he was already within the property, the gate behind him slamming shut by a gust of wind. The harlot smirked at me from a window. The kid was weird, but I wasn’t going to let him die. I ran after, but the gate didn’t open, so I had to climb. I heard a car in the distance, it was coming our way, but I did not stop to wonder who could travel this abandoned road in the night. The kid was inside the building, he went through the ground level, beelining for a storage room. I burst through the door and dived fast, for the headless servant swung his axe at me, aiming for my neck. I rushed past the specter, caring only about reaching the kid in time.
I ran across the all-too-familiar rooms. From the corner of my eye, I saw the servant giving chase and Jan’s car rolling up next to mine. I got to the storage room, sliding to avoid another strike. The kid was there, rummaging through a cupboard. The harlot stood behind him, smirking at me as her knife was diving for his neck.
"I’m busy!" The kid whined without turning around, probably thinking I was trying to interrupt his quest. He then reached behind his back with his left, and *grabbed the incorporeal harlot by the throat.* She stood there, knife in the air, the mirror nearby showed her face turning into a mask of terror. The servant rushed to her aid, but it was too late, the kid got what he came for, and he pulled out a rusty sword from the cupboard. It burst into flames, a crimson fire swallowing it whole, then the kid, then the harlot, whose screams were a joy to my ears, then began feasting on the room, but I just stood there, as if glued to the floor. A smack across my face from Jan brought me to my senses.
"You idiot! Run!" she screamed, pulling me away. We ran, back to the outer corridor, using a smashed-in window as an emergency exit to the outside. The headless servant flew past us, trying to escape the crimson inferno, but a massive hand of flames grabbed after him, pulling his moonlight body back to the manor. We collapsed by the paling, staring in awe at the blaze, Jan trying to come to terms with what she had seen. A part of the building caved in, right above the window we jumped through. Hundreds of silvery shapes fanned out from the dark manor, the victims finally freed from their torment, disappearing into thin air. One of them glided towards us, and I stood up with tears in my eyes. Ellie caressed my face, smiling as she said goodbye, waving to Janice, and vanishing like the rest, to what I hoped was a better place. Jan shook her head, mouth agape, not believing her eyes.
Soon all the silver apparitions left their prison, and a crimson shape followed them. The kid looked older now, and his once sad olive eyes were filled with new vigor. Most of the flames around him went out, only his back was on fire. Not his back though, I could see it better when he passed us by, the blaze dancing behind him like a crimson cape.
He leaned into Jan’s car, grabbed an apple, and threw it in the air. He caught it, took a bite, and winked at us before he left, going into whatever quest awaited him. I ran after the legionary, but he was nowhere to be found, as if the wide-open road swallowed him up. The Lenoir manor burned bright. And I finally found relief.
#entertainment
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I lost my daughter six years ago. I lost her because of the accursed Lenoir manor. I don’t remember what we argued about that night, but it certainly wasn’t important. Not important enough to yell, for me to tell her such awful things. I shouldn’t have told her that if she left, she could sod off for good. But I did, and I can’t take it back.
It’s been six years, and I know it’s the manor’s fault. Or rather its inhabitants’, I first saw them after Ellie went missing. The decrepit old manor was known for two things, groups of teens sneaking in, to party, and mysterious disappearings of lonesome people, vagrants, drifters, the like. The latter always annoyed me, I was sure these urban legends were used to stick our county with the unsolvable cases; those people could have gone missing anywhere in the state. I had believed most of them went off the radar for legal issues but were perfectly fine otherwise.
No bodies were ever found, but word of mouth blamed the Lenoir mansion for the missing persons. I went there after Ellie didn’t come home for two days, I phoned around first, but none of her friends could tell me anything useful. It was the manor or she skipped town, but I couldn’t believe she would turn her back on her old man… I wish she had done that.
I went there after I was done with my shift, and kept my sheriff uniform on me for good measure. The manor was an eerie place, especially that close to sunset. I trampled around like an angry boar, kicking over furniture, demanding Ellie to come out. I was getting ready to smash an antique piano to pieces, when a silvery glint caught my eye. A woman stood nearby, at the foot of a wide staircase, and a full-mouthed toothy grin welcomed me as I turned around. She was dressed in a most lavish 19th-century dress, and she was completely transparent, a white shade smirking at me. My legs were rooted to the floor as I stared mouth agape like an idiot, but instinct took over when she lunged at me with a large kitchen knife, and I ran as fast as I could, followed by her mad cackle.
I only looked back when I passed the gate of the property, carrying my first heart attack on my feet. What I saw will haunt me to the end of my days. The… harlot still grinned, and now she held my poor Ellie in her hands, my daughter wept as she reached out to me. But she was only a moonlight shade now, just like the harlot, her servants, or the people staring hopelessly from the many windows of that cursed mansion.
To this day I’m ashamed that I ran. I left my poor Ellie there, in the filthy claws of the harlot, though I know there was nothing I could have done for her. I got back to my car, and drove back to the sheriff station, telling everyone what happened, screaming like a madman, demanding the FBI, the Ghostbusters and the Supernaturalists Ellie loved so much to come over and do something. They had me committed for 72 hours. My deputies. In retrospect, I can’t blame them. They sent me on a month of paid leave too, and Janice, my former deputy took over my office. When I returned, Ellie’s file was already sent to missing persons, just another stack of papers added to the growing pile of unsolved cases. Just another soul claimed by the manor. I didn’t say the last part out loud, I learned from my previous mistake, but I began to wage my war against the mansion.
I wanted to have it legally demolished first, claiming it was an unsafe, an already crumbling wreck waiting to fall on people’s heads, but it had some sort of architectural protection, the county didn’t even hear me out. I went with Molotovs next, I fit my truck to the brim with them, afraid they would catch fire from friction on the way. They didn’t, and I tossed them all in, one by one. And all the fires, one by one were snuffed out by an unnatural wind. The harlot appeared after I tossed the last bottle, cackling at me next to her headless servant, and for a moment I thought they stepped over the property border as they closed in. That was when I got my second heart attack.
I realized I couldn’t beat them head-on, but it was my duty to protect people, especially after I failed my poor Ellie. I’ve set up cameras around the manor, and a few microphones too, to scare away drifters remotely. Janice begrudgingly allowed me to use some equipment from the station. I made up some bullshit about seeing some vagrants milling about. She didn’t believe me, but she wanted eyes on the decrepit mansion, just in case someone got stuck in there and couldn’t get out. If she knew how right she was…
People who knew of my obsession thought me crazy, thinking the loss of my daughter sent me over the edge. They weren’t that off, to be fair. The digital cameras often broke down, some sort of interference didn’t allow them to capture the ghosts on screen, and the tech didn’t mesh well with the spectral EW. I patrolled around whenever I could too, my war taking up pretty much all of my free time, but when I started to check over while on duty, Janice tore me a new one at the station, assigning me to the other side of the town. In private though, she begged me to go and see a psychologist. I couldn’t explain to her that they fought different types of ghosts. And that it wasn’t that I couldn’t let Ellie go, she was literally trapped…
Orders are orders though, so I drove to the piers on the western outskirts, an eye always on my phone, checking the cameras. It rained, and a thick fog was descending on the town. I remembered how much Ellie loved that rainy smell, and I tried to recall the better times. That was when I noticed a kid sauntering by the road towards the town. I slowed down next to him. He looked young, eighteen, maybe less. He wasn’t in good shape either, the mishmash rags he wore were torn in many places, and he looked like he hadn’t eaten in a week.
"Hey kid, do you need a ride?" I asked him.
"I’m fine, thank you."
There was something strange in his olive eyes. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but it was unsettling. Still, he was just a kid, so I insisted.
"Come on, I’ll treat you to lunch. When was the last time you had a proper meal?" He relented and got in the car.
"So what’s your name?" I asked.
"Titus."
"Strange name."
"Wasn’t my choice."
"Fair do."
I drove us to Patty’s. It was almost empty; the upside of the shit weather I guess. I ordered a steak, my doctor can bite me, but the kid just kept looking at the menu, having a hard time reading the items. Unlikely he finished even middle school.
"Do they have grains? I can mill it myself." I wondered if he joked.
"Emily, sweetheart, make some pancakes for the kid, please. Yeah, I know it’s no longer breakfast time. Yeah, I know when you air out the place. Just a couple of those delicious bastards, come on, do me a favor."
I got my steak, and the kid his pancakes. At first, he just poked the top one with his knife, but after I told him to slice it up, he started devouring them. Especially after I got him some maple syrup. He had no idea how to use a fork, so his hands and face were glazed with syrup as he stuffed himself. We finished the food, I got myself a beer, and the kid had a Coke and a towel at my insistence. I cut to the chase after.
"Look, kid, I don’t want to make it like the asshole cop harasses the vagrant kind of thing, but you *really* shouldn’t stay here."
"Why?"
"It’s a small town and…" I wanted to make up some lie, but couldn’t. Looking into the kid’s eyes derailed my thoughts. They looked much older than the kid himself. He must have seen some crap.
"Don’t you have folks somewhere?"
"I had. Not anymore."
Shit.
"Somewhere to stay then? Friends, maybe? If nothing else, I can get you a ticket to Pittsburgh, easier to find work there."
"Somewhere… friends… maybe… They said I should stay with them." His voice was uncertain, those "friends" probably weren’t the best company. Still, better there than here, far away from that damned manor.
"Great, what town? I’ll get you a ticket."
"You can’t. It’s far away."
"Overseas?"
"Something like that."
Again, shit. Duty called, and I paid for the meal. I also got a room for the kid for two nights, I’d get him out of town on the weekend. Dropping him off at his motel room with the spare jacket from my trunk, I told him to stay put, and don’t muck around town without me. He sat on the bed, corralling his legs with his arms, lost in thought. I closed the curtains, he wouldn’t have appreciated our new streetlights, and I doubted he had the initiative to close them himself.
It was a long ass day, I had to catch up on paperwork, and Janice stopped me before leaving the station.
"Hey, Frank, could you come in?" she asked. I went to my old office, she sat in my old chair… though I’m not being fair, she thoroughly deserved her chance, not her fault that her old boss had a breakdown after losing his daughter. I didn’t resent her for this, but she had her usual please see a shrink smile on, same as every time when we were alone, and that pissed me off.
"Frank, I heard from Emily that you helped a kid to lunch, paid for his stay too. A nice change of pace from trying to scare away strangers from town," she said, and I couldn’t help but feel like a bad puppy finally pissing within his designated zone, earning a head pat.
"Yeah, I’ll get him out of here as soon as I can," I answered, even more irate than usual.
"Maybe send him Roger’s way, he needs extra farmhands for the season, I heard the kid could use the money and Jessie’s cooking," she said.
"I’m getting him out of town," I finished the debate, or so I thought.
"Frank, you can’t chase everyone away!" she slapped her hand on the table, and I jumped, the sound reminding me of the manor’s entrance slamming shut. I think she meant both outsiders and people around me.
"I don’t want them to…" I started, but Jan cut me off.
"Yes, I know, the damned manor! Frank, I can’t imagine what you went through, what you are still going through, but you need help! Please, for everything that is holy, talk to a professional before you turn into a miserable old sod!"
"Fat lot of good a shrink can do against ghosts!" I yelled too, and she fell into a quizzing silence, trying to figure out if I was truly insane, her eyes focusing on me like lasers. I didn’t talk about what I’d seen, not after the first time, but Jan knew my precautions around the manor weren’t solely made to keep some drunk teens out of a decrepit building.
"Fine, here’s a deal for you. We will go to the manor. Now. If we find something otherwordly, I will help you ruin the damned thing, or keep people out and away, or whatever you deem necessary. If not, you will see a shrink. Professionally," she finished with a half-smirk, but she was dead serious. I hesitated. It was the first time since my infamous trip back from the manor that I said the truth out loud, and Janice was willing to humor me. Had she seen something on the cameras? No, she wouldn’t be so eager to go and visit the specters in person. Fuck, she just wanted to help me I realized, thinking if she entertained my delusion and it turned out to be nothing, it would change my perspective. At least she still believed I could be reasoned with. I wouldn’t forgive myself if anything happened to her, but I couldn’t waste this chance. Maybe with an ally on my side, I could do something actually useful, something permanent against the mansion.
"Fine, but we have to be careful," I nodded, sweat dripping down my neck. We didn’t need much equipment for the trip, though I insisted we both packed cameras. Jan cracked a few jokes on the way, but I could feel she was getting nervous. We arrived at the mansion an hour before sunset. The blackened walls were as charming as usual, the gothic towers adding an extra flair to the aura of dread. I thought I saw movement behind one of the stone gargoyles for a second, but this time my eyes must have tricked me.
We passed the gate, an atmosphere of cold stillness welcomed us behind the paling, Jan shivered after a cool gust of wind washed over us. It somewhat reassured me, that this unnatural chill wasn’t just in my head. I led the way, the ancient wooden door creaked as I pulled it open, a miracle it hadn’t rotted away yet. The lobby was covered in worm-chewed carpet and the antique furniture was wrecked by time, partying teens, and my rampage from a few years back. We stole along carefully, scouting the ground floor of the building. The specters were shy, not revealing themselves, but even Jan was getting increasingly anxious. My own fearful mood and constant reminders to check if her camera was still on probably didn’t help the case. Most of these lower rooms were used by the servants back in the day, as kitchens, storage rooms with rusted cutlery and discarded decorations, and a few bedrooms towards the back.
We went through the ballroom, the inch-thick cover of grime silencing our steps as we walked on the faded marble. For some reason, both of us drew a deep breath as we began climbing the once-lavish staircase, the air was colder here, and heavy with dust. There was a half-floor with a wardrobe and two pieces of armor, the stairway split into two, taking on a U-shape. We stuck to the right. A chill set on our chests, like a presence hanging there, hidden from our eyes. I was already breathing through my mouth, and not because of exertion. Wind rustled the old pipes, the screeching sound made all the hair on my back stand at attention. It sounded like the souls of the damned screamed for mercy, and I prayed to all that is holy that it was just the wind and nothing more. That the ghosts of this place couldn’t feel pain.
The reddish glow of the setting sun painted the… Suddenly a wild cackle struck through the room, sending shivers down our spines. I was glancing around for the harlot or one of her servants, while Jan pointed at the piece of armor closer to us.
"The visor slammed shut, look," she said, walking back to the suit of metal, and slapping the rusty helmet.
"Like hell it did," I growled, anger and fear racing inside me, fighting for the wheel. I looked up, and there she was… my Ellie. I ran, tossing aside caution, even ignoring the yells of Jan I rushed up the remaining stairs and looked around, searching for her. The corridor was empty, so I burst through the door before me, ripping the handle from its socket. The silvery glint passed through the wall, and I jumped back to the corridor. My legs took root; I froze in fear. The harlot hovered behind Janice, spectral knife in hand, ready to strike. My jaw dropped, my mouth was wide open, but I could not make a single sound. I pointed wordlessly at her, trembling and useless. Jan turned around, but instead of a sickening slash of incorporeal steel, only the empty corridor welcomed her; the harlot vanished, grinning at me mocking as she went. Rage took over me, it wasn’t enough for the ghost to kill us there and then, it wanted to torture, to gaslight me.
I ran past Jan, pushing her aside, telling her to get out. I tore open all the doors, finding nothing but old, dusty furniture, but at each and every turn I took, I caught a moonlight glimpse out of the corner of my eye. The second floor was the same, and Jan almost tackled me before I could climb to the third.
"Enough!" she yelled. We both panted, catching our breaths. "Frank, there is nothing here! Snap out of it!"
I nodded, lowering my head. She opened a window at the end of the corridor, the sudden squall ruffling the century-old dust. She leaned out, airing her lungs, and I kept my eyes on her fearing that the ghosts would use this opportunity, not that I could do anything to stop them. She got back to me, leaning a hand on my crouching form.
"Let’s get out of here." Pity filled her voice, she didn’t gloat, and strangely, she seemed a little bummed not having seen anything out of the ordinary. I couldn’t tell if she was sad for me, or if she had her own reasons. I nodded and we left the way we came, but at every turn we took, I saw the harlot smirking at me from the corner of my eye.
We got back to Jan’s car, she turned on the engine and it growled like a hungry beast, the first reassuring sound I heard in hours. The radio played some modern pop-slop, and we sat in silence for a while.
"Frank, I understand why you would think the place was haunted, it certainly feels haunted," she started with a sigh. "The damned place creeped me out too, but holy fuck, Frank, you acted completely mental! Running up and down like a maniac, and what the hell was that with the body snatchers act? You freaked me out, I thought something was behind me!"
"So you didn’t see anything weird?" I asked, licking my lips, they were dry like sandpaper.
"Everything was weird! The freaky furniture, the tattered carpets, the sound made by the wind and the pipes, the lunatic tearing up the place, everything! That gothic freakin’ Dracula nonsense architecture of the manor didn’t help either. Frank, I…"
"I’ll get help," I interjected. It was probably my only way to stay out of an asylum.
"You do?" she was a bit surprised at this.
"You kept your word, did your part. Now it’s time for me to do mine."
"No more talk about ghosts, or trapped souls, or…"
"No, I’ll see a shrink. I’ll do the work; I’ll fix what I can. No more blaming the manor," I promised.
She patted my knee and drove away. I looked back at the manor, the smirking harlot waved at me from a window, with my Ellie in her clutches. I went through the recordings at home, it was mostly static of course. The fuckers were always around the corner, toying with us.
I couldn’t fall asleep until dawn, so I arrived an hour late at the station. The guys didn’t act out of the ordinary, Jan must have kept the events of last night between the two of us. She called me to her office and gave me a hug after I closed the door.
"Tell me if you need help searching for a shrink," she said, and I was sure she already did some digging.
"Will, do. Thanks, Jan," I said, realizing I won’t wiggle my way out of this promise. Fuck it, maybe they can help with some stuff, I’ll just have to be careful about phrasing things.
"How’s the kid you took under your wings? Want to make a visit?" she asked.
"Actually, yeah. He could use all the help he can get," I said. Jan flashed a sad smile at me, and for a second I almost went back on my word, but I just nodded and left.
The kid sat in the dark room, the curtains were closed. I thought he was sleeping at first, but he just sat there, almost the same way I left him, with his arms wrapped around his legs.
"Hey, kid, have you heard of lamps?" I asked, turning on the lights. He nodded in acknowledgment, and I gave him his lunch. It was pasta, a nice bowl of Milanese, I thought he would appreciate it. He wasn’t sure how to eat it, opting to pick a few noodles with his hands. What would his Nana say?
"So, are you Italian?" I asked.
"No, I’m from Syracusa," he answered.
I laughed. "You guys from Syracuse are a proud bunch, aren’t you?"
"We are," he said, smiling a little for the first time.
"Do you have a trade?" I asked.
"I was a soldier once. A long time ago," he said.
I laughed at him. "A long time ago? You joined the military after kindergarten?"
He just looked forward with those sad olive eyes, it seemed like he believed what he said. Maybe he meant cadet school. But still, he was far too young for it to have been a long time ago.
"Is there something you want to do? Something else, a more peaceful job maybe?" I prodded him.
"I… I’m a soldier. I don’t know what else to do," he said, shaking his head.
"Maybe you should find something else, there is a carpentry workshop a few towns over, I can introduce you to the owner, Pat. He’s a great guy, and with a soft spot for guys trying to figure out their shit," I said.
"Should… find… yes, I need to find my sword!" His eyes flared up, and for the first time since I met him, the deep sadness was gone. "Me and a few others, we were cut off from our centuria, captured by rebels and… But it doesn’t matter now, I just need my sword!" He said it with a burst of relieved laughter.
"Sure thing, buddy," I played along. "And what does your sword look like?"
He stared at me as if I had two heads. "A gladius, of course!"
"Of course, of course," of course, my guy had to be a true-blooded Roman legionary, just my luck. To think that I had to get someone committed after what they put me through when I said nothing but the truth… For a moment I tried to imagine he too was telling the truth, that he was a long-lost Roman soldier from distant times, on a quest to find his missing… sword.
"How about another sword, a new one instead? A soldier should get a new gun if his weapon breaks, surely, if you lost it, it’s time to buy another," I tried to reason, but he shook his head.
"No, I need my sword!"
"Okay kid, where did you lose it?" I asked, jabbing him with the ol’ double entendre, but he didn’t catch on. I decided I would take him to Pittsburgh the next day, to a facility I was too familiar with. I hated myself for what I was going to do, but I saw no other way. He needed help.
"While campaigning in the East. Near a lake, the rebels, they…" He thought hard, furrowing his brow.
"In the East, of course! Look buddy, eat your lunch, have some sleep, and tomorrow I’ll help you find your sword, how about that? You will be our very own King Arthur! We will use my car, it’s faster and I know some shortcuts," I said, setting my trap.
"A car?" he asked. Yep, he is insane, or insanely committed to the act. Jan must think the same about me.
"The white carriage I drove when we met. Many horses live under its hood, that’s why it goes so fast."
"A car. You are a good man, Frank, tomorrow we will find my sword. I wish I could give you a proper reward," he said, pacified somewhat.
"As long as you are going to be okay, that’s reward enough for me," I said, patting his shoulder. "See you tomorrow, Titus."
"See you, Frank."
I left, but returned a minute later to turn off the lights and open the curtains. He sat there the way I left him, a hopeful grin on his face.
The day barely crawled forward, I hoped the kid was staying put until tomorrow. At the end of my shift, I went to see Janice, she was checking her recordings from yesterday. It was mostly static of course.
"What’s wrong with that house?" she mused. "Don’t answer, must be the radio tower nearby, ruining the recording."
"Yeah, the radio tower was interfering with the analog camera," I said, nodding along. She had many good qualities, but tech savviness wasn’t one of them. "Do you need something from Pittsburgh?"
"What are you doing in Pittsburgh? she asked, raising her brows.
"Taking the kid there. I know, I know, don’t look at me like that. He needs help. He thinks he’s some sort of lost Roman legionary, on a quest to retrieve his sword like King Arthur. Stick to one story, am I right?"
"You are making this shit up," she said.
"I’m serious, talk to him if you think I’m lying. Be careful though, I don’t think he is dangerous, but you can never know with the type," I said and shrugged after realizing I was exactly the same type for everyone who heard my story.
"Will do, I’ll treat him to dinner. Good night, Frank."
"Good night, Jan."
I grabbed dinner, and paid forward the kid’s, for Jan to drop it off. I drove home after, wanting nothing, but a hot shower and a soft bed. A piece of pie maybe, and the thought of having a bite put me in a better mood. I almost forgot to check the cameras before I got out of my car, the ingrained routine working instead of me, while my mind was already snacking. What I saw took away my appetite. One of the outer cameras, a mile away from the manor, caught a figure on tape. It was the kid. I drove like a madman through the town.
He walked without a care, strolling along on the moonlit dirt road. I caught up to him a good fifty yards from the fence, ready to serve him an earful.
"Hi Frank!" he said, smiling at me like a lunatic.
"Don’t hi Frank me! What the hell are you doing here?" I yelled.
"I came for my sword. It’s in there," he pointed at the manor.
"And just what the hell makes you think your sword is there?"
"Your lady friend came to visit. She said my sword was there." This sentence punched the air out of my lungs, what was Jan doing? Was I getting paranoid, or did she know something she didn’t tell me?
"Kid, I need you to listen. I want you to tell me exactly what she said," I had to hold onto him, his legs were taking him towards the mansion. Fat chance I was letting him go there.
"She said I shouldn’t stick to my sword, that it probably rusted away already. That I should get a new one instead, from Pigsburg or wherever, and that she saw some rusty swords in that house," he pointed to the moonlit house of horrors, "and that a rusty sword is useless for a soldier like me. When she said she saw swords, I realized she saw mine too. My gladius is in there!" he said, trying to walk away, but I held him strong.
"Thanks for the help, Jan," I muttered. "Kid, listen to me. That house is haunted." He looked at me with raised eyebrows, his olive eyes not understanding the problem.
"And?" he asked.
"And you cannot go in there, because they will kill you."
"No, they won’t," he shook his head. "I need my sword."
"Yes, they will. They will kill you, and you will be trapped in there forever, just like my daughter," I yelled, sobbing the last words. The kid looked at me with sympathy, but his face lit up a moment later, smiling wide.
"Well, shouldn’t you help your daughter then? Come along."
A flurry of anger took over me, and I struck him with all my strength. His jaw almost broke my fist.
"Are you alright?" he asked, his grin still sitting wide on his face. I keeled over, cradling my right hand, inventing a few new cusses. I didn’t hear his steps when he walked away, but when I looked up, he was already within the property, the gate behind him slamming shut by a gust of wind. The harlot smirked at me from a window. The kid was weird, but I wasn’t going to let him die. I ran after, but the gate didn’t open, so I had to climb. I heard a car in the distance, it was coming our way, but I did not stop to wonder who could travel this abandoned road in the night. The kid was inside the building, he went through the ground level, beelining for a storage room. I burst through the door and dived fast, for the headless servant swung his axe at me, aiming for my neck. I rushed past the specter, caring only about reaching the kid in time.
I ran across the all-too-familiar rooms. From the corner of my eye, I saw the servant giving chase and Jan’s car rolling up next to mine. I got to the storage room, sliding to avoid another strike. The kid was there, rummaging through a cupboard. The harlot stood behind him, smirking at me as her knife was diving for his neck.
"I’m busy!" The kid whined without turning around, probably thinking I was trying to interrupt his quest. He then reached behind his back with his left, and *grabbed the incorporeal harlot by the throat.* She stood there, knife in the air, the mirror nearby showed her face turning into a mask of terror. The servant rushed to her aid, but it was too late, the kid got what he came for, and he pulled out a rusty sword from the cupboard. It burst into flames, a crimson fire swallowing it whole, then the kid, then the harlot, whose screams were a joy to my ears, then began feasting on the room, but I just stood there, as if glued to the floor. A smack across my face from Jan brought me to my senses.
"You idiot! Run!" she screamed, pulling me away. We ran, back to the outer corridor, using a smashed-in window as an emergency exit to the outside. The headless servant flew past us, trying to escape the crimson inferno, but a massive hand of flames grabbed after him, pulling his moonlight body back to the manor. We collapsed by the paling, staring in awe at the blaze, Jan trying to come to terms with what she had seen. A part of the building caved in, right above the window we jumped through. Hundreds of silvery shapes fanned out from the dark manor, the victims finally freed from their torment, disappearing into thin air. One of them glided towards us, and I stood up with tears in my eyes. Ellie caressed my face, smiling as she said goodbye, waving to Janice, and vanishing like the rest, to what I hoped was a better place. Jan shook her head, mouth agape, not believing her eyes.
Soon all the silver apparitions left their prison, and a crimson shape followed them. The kid looked older now, and his once sad olive eyes were filled with new vigor. Most of the flames around him went out, only his back was on fire. Not his back though, I could see it better when he passed us by, the blaze dancing behind him like a crimson cape.
He leaned into Jan’s car, grabbed an apple, and threw it in the air. He caught it, took a bite, and winked at us before he left, going into whatever quest awaited him. I ran after the legionary, but he was nowhere to be found, as if the wide-open road swallowed him up. The Lenoir manor burned bright. And I finally found relief.
#entertainment
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