“So, what’s the name of this haunted house you went to while you were in Vegas?” Madame Lenier asked.
“Haunted Mansion. It was a haunted mansion not a haunted house. It was actually a manor, Doomsday Manor, to be exact,” Stacy’s husband, Robert said.
Stacy sat next to her husband, who was drinking again, making her upset already. She closed her eyes and tried to resist the tsunami of images and memories of the incident that changed their lives and their marriage forever.
“Stacy? Are you asleep for Chrissakes?” Her husband sneered at her as she quickly opened her eyes. Purposely positioning herself so she wouldn’t have to see the look on Robert’s face, she turned to the patient medium. Her husband drained the rest of his beer as he continued to glare at his wife with his vibrant bloodshot eyes.
“I’m assuming they had you sign a waiver stating that you won’t sue. This is becoming more and more common with those haunted house tourist attractions,” Madame Lenier began.
“Yeah, we signed a bunch of papers,” Robert solemnly replied. The paranormal expert nodded as she glanced at Stacy’s inebriated spouse.
Stacy briefly glanced at her husband in disgust as he continued to drain his beer. Looking away, she closed her eyes and struggled with the dark thoughts of the past as they emerged from her subconscious one more time. Closing her eyes even tighter, she could almost hear the phone ring the day that fateful call came. Stacy still had a hard time processing what was said over the phone that day, all she can recall is tears and agony. No matter how many times she heard that her daughter, Barbara, was murdered by her boyfriend, it just didn’t seem real. She suddenly opened her eyes, feeling her drunk husband’s disapproving gaze upon her.
“Apparently there have been a lot of people who have had mental episodes or feel like some sort of entity had followed them home. The bottom line is that the owner doesn’t want to have to deal with any problems like that. By signing that waiver, there is nothing he can or will do to help anyone who is having the suffering from the same situation that both of you are having,” Madame Lenier explained.
“Same situation? You mean other people have gone through what we are dealing with now?” Stacy asked in disbelief. Madame Lenier just smiled and nodded.
“Yes, this happens a lot. Now, you are telling me you’re sure that there is an unwelcome entity in the house?” The elderly medium asked the couple.
“Yeah! You!” Robert barked. He abruptly rose to his feet and let out a loud and greasy burp. Both women were understandably unimpressed as Robert ambled slowly into the kitchen towards the refrigerator.
“If you are fairly certain that this is indeed the case,” Madame Lenier continued, despite the rude comment by Robert.
“It has been 8 weeks since we got back from Vegas and it is only getting worse each day. I mean the banging and the floors creaking like someone is walking around at night,” Stacy explained as she trembled slightly.
“Ok, so it seems like you are more than certain. Good, then we will proceed to the next level,” Madame Lenier said.
“Which is?” Stacy whispered. They both heard her husband laughing as he cracked open a beer. Stacy slowly turned around and breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed that her husband was talking on the phone.
“My two trusted assistants, Chuck and Ellis will come here with all the equipment we need,” Madame Lenier said.
“So, you think I’m right about a demon or ghost from Doomsday Manor following us home?” Stacy asked, sounding profoundly uncertain.
“I think it is a distinct possibility. Over the years doing this, I have found that anything is possible. I will know more after I come back with my crew. You made the right decision calling me,” the smiling psychic explained.
“Thanks, “Stacy replied. She briefly glanced towards the kitchen to see if her husband was still there since she didn’t hear him talking on the phone anymore. Ever since their daughter was murdered, Robert had been drinking. Realizing that this was the way that her husband chose to deal with this but by doing this, he was inadvertently creating more problems.
Suddenly, for no apparent reason at all, the lights flickered on and off several times. Both women just stared at the ceiling and waited for it to end. A mini profanity laced tirade could be heard coming from her husband upstairs. Madam Lenier looked at Stacy and shrugged her shoulders. Before she was about to leave, she turned to Stacy.
“I will be back tomorrow at the exact same time with my team. Don’t worry about your husband, dear. He will come out of this. I know how hard it has been on you,” Madame Lenier said gingerly.
“Do you? Will he?” Stacy asked in a worried tone.
Before the concerned medium could answer, the harsh booming voice of Stacy’s husband echoed throughout the house. “Stacy! Where the hell is my pool cue? Where the hell did you put it now?”
“ I gotta go,” Stacy muttered in a hoarse whisper.
“See you tomorrow!” Madame Lenier said as she left the house while she waved farewell. The loud click of the door closing echoed in the humid air. She moved even quicker towards her car. Madame Lenier couldn’t help but think that Stacy was right about one thing. There was an entity haunting their house. However, the experienced medium believed that this wasn’t what they thought it was. Madame Lenier sat in her car and couldn’t help but thinking about Stacy’s murdered daughter and the effect it had on her and especially their marriage. Shaking her head, she slowly backed out from her parking spot. As she looked in the rearview mirror she froze.
Standing behind her, roughly about 40 yards or so, stood what appeared to be a teenaged girl with long brown hair. Madame Lenier just stared with her hands on the steering wheel. The girl slowly lifted her hand and slowly began to wave it back and forth. Madame Lenier looked down at her hands for a second and took a deep breath. She looked up into the mirror one more time and noticed that the girl was gone.
Stacy let the edge of the curtain that she was holding fall to the floor as she slowly backed away from the bay window. She stood there and watched Madame Lenier’s car pull out of her driveway and head off into the distance. Stacy groaned as she thought of her husband who was becoming more belligerent with each passing second that she made him wait.
“Stacy! Are you deaf? Where the hell are you?” Her husband bellowed loudly from the top of the staircase.
“I’m coming!” She shouted as loud as she could. Stacy winced as her attempt to mask her frustration with her husband failed. Having no doubt that this would make things even worse, she shook her head and headed up the stairs. As she trudged upwards, seemingly on a march to get humiliated once again, Stacy thought about some of the many ways that Barbara’s death impacted their marriage. She briefly entertained the thought of joining her husband drown himself with booze but ultimately decided that it wouldn’t help and make things worse.
The next day arrived on time as usual, bringing with it the usual amount of sunshine and humidity customary for this time of year. Stacy left her husband in bed to nurse what seemed like his 100th hangover in a row.
The intimidating sound of the iron door knocker filled the foyer. Stacy rushed to open the door. Standing in front of her was Madame Lenier. Her necklaces and gaudy jewelry hung listlessly around her neck. The bright hues of the shiny beads that adorned her neck blended seamlessly with her silky transparent kimono.
Flanking her on both sides were two short overweight men carrying all kinds of cameras and equipment. One of them was carrying a switchboard that looked as if he had just ripped it out from a space shuttle. They both had curly receding hair and were dressed like extras from the Hawaiian based TV show, Magnum P.I.
“Good evening, Stacy! I have with me two of the best paranormal investigators, besides me of course, east of the Mississippi! Mr. Charles Sanborn and Mr. Ellis Lancaster!” Madame Lenier joked.
“You can call me Chuck, everyone else does,” Chuck explained.
Stacy smiled and shook their hands as she led them inside. Madame Lenier directed her two assistants towards the kitchen. They immediately made their way to the table and started assembling a wide array of equipment.
Madame Lenier beckoned Stacy to follow her into the dining room. She looked over both shoulders to see who was around before she said a word. “Where is your husband?” Madame wanted to know.
“He’s upstairs. Passed out.” Stacy replied in a nonchalant fashion.
“Good. As much as I value Robert’s input, it might be best to talk with you before I talk with him,” Madame Lenier said gently. Stacy simply nodded in agreement. Madame Lenier cleared her throat and stared at the grieving mother with heartfelt compassion.
“I am here to tell you that what we have here is different than I originally thought,” the concerned psychic explained.
“What do you mean? What are you talking about?” Stacy started to look worried.
“Something didn’t follow you back from Las Vegas. It has been here waiting for you to return,” the grizzled psychic said in a low voice.
“You are scaring the shit out of me right now!” Stacy exclaimed in a louder than anticipated voice.
“Watch out!” Madame Lenier cried.
Seemingly out of nowhere, and certainly not what anyone expected, Robert burst into the living room. Stacy heeded the psychic’s warning a few seconds too late. Stacy’s drunk husband collided with her as she attempted to move. She screamed as she lost her balance and landed on the floor.
Suddenly, the lights started to flicker and then they went out completely. Chuck and Ellis were on their way into the living room when darkness stopped both in their tracks. As the darkness settled, Madame Lenier began to scream loudly. Everyone just froze where they stood, not having the confidence to effectively navigate their way through the darkness.
The lights came back on long enough for Robert to reorient himself in a better position to make his move. Stacy was staring at her inebriated husband with a look of fear and unbridled uncertainty. Nostrils flaring, bloodshot eyes glowing, Robert leaped across the dining room table and tackled his wife. Stacy was more prepared this time and she managed to dodge her husband, causing him to crash into the corner. He screamed in pain as he collided with a small bookcase which had a flowerpot resting on top. The force of Robert’s trajectory crashed into the ceramic plant holder. Sharp broken pieces of adobe red clay flew everywhere, blanketing the angry father as he kissed the carpet.
The lights came on, for a moment, stronger than ever. Everyone exposed to this anomaly began to rub their eyes. Robert was groaning loudly from underneath the rubble of the demolished flowerpot. Nobody made the slightest effort to check on Robert. All eyes were focused on Madame Lenier who was sitting in the corner while she frantically rubbed her temples. Her mouth was moving, the words that were coming out of her mouth were not hers. Stacy’s blood ran cold as she instantly recognized the voice.
“Barbara?” Stacy asked, her voice cracking under the tsunami of tears.
“Mom?” Barbara said. Madame Lenier was still huddled in the corner while she was speaking in the words of Stacy and Robert’s murdered daughter.
Stacy suddenly grabbed her temples and fell to the ground. The lights started flickering wildly, almost as if it was a strobe light. The flashing lights were starting to take its toll on everyone in the room. Robert was struggling enough without the lack of light. He moaned as he tried his best to unearth himself from underneath all the jagged shards of the shattered flowerpot.
“ Mom! How could you let dad do what he did to me!” Madame Lenier cried in the voice of Barbara.
“What? What are you talking about?” Stacy cried out in the intermittent darkness.
Suddenly, Stacy screamed as her head was flooded with images and memories that weren’t hers, but Barbara’s. Stacy felt rage explode deep within her as she watched her husband surreptitiously sneak into Barbara’s bed. The tears burst from her eyes as she saw Barbara’s tear-streaked face, looking in the opposite direction than her unwanted approaching father.
The lights suddenly came on, displaying the cosmic brightness from earlier. Stacy used the sudden burst of radiance to search the floor. Using quick judgement, she found what she believed was the sharpest piece of the flowerpot.
She grabbed it and headed towards her ailing husband. When he saw her approaching him, he failed to see the lethal weapon she was holding. He just growled at her and turned his body towards her.
“ It’s about time you came over here to help me! I am the goddamn breadwinner in this family ! It’s time you should acknowledge it!” Robert tried to make a move on Stacy but he was shocked to experience what was about to happen to him. The lights suddenly returned to normal without any type of warning whatsoever.
“ Wait! What the hell are you doing! Wait!” Robert threw both his hands in the air in a defensive posture. His efforts were futile. He screamed as he succumbed to the sharp piece of clay that Stacy plunged into his heart. Everyone stared in horror as Stacy let out a guttural primordial type scream as she plunged the clay dagger into her dying husband’s heart over and over again. Each time she plunged the makeshift weapon into his chest, she sobbed and cried her daughter’s name.