The Haunting of Blackwood House by Darcy Coates

Author:Darcy Coates [Coates, Darcy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Candlebreak
Published: 2015-12-20T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: Dusk

“For those two weeks, I knew ghosts were real,” Mara mimicked around a mouthful of the burger Neil had bought her before leaving the eatery. “Could she even hear herself?”

“Hmm.” Neil kept his eyes on the road. The hardness hadn’t faded from around his mouth.

“Clearly, something weird was happening to them—but it wasn’t supernatural. They were strung out and stressed and went into it with preconceived notions of the house being tainted by previous deaths. I mean, how ridiculous is that?”

Neil glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Did you know about them?”

“The other deaths? No. And I don’t want to. As Chris so elegantly showed us, becoming obsessed with a supposedly grisly history can only build up ideas about what your own experience should be like.”

“Hmm.”

Mara watched Neil’s face. Her rants weren’t producing the usual smiles and chuckles. She pulled a chip out of the bag and held it towards him. “Here.”

He opened his mouth, and Mara slipped it inside. She was relieved to see his face soften as he chewed it.

“Don’t let Chris worry you, okay?” She took a chip for herself and turned her attention back to the road. “It’s been twenty years since she was in Blackwood. People naturally embellish stories over time—plus, a lot of it came second-hand from her parents.”

“What about the scratches on the door? And the rocking chair she says they threw out?”

A wicked grin spread over Mara’s face. “Well, I guess Blackwood could be home to ghosts who also happen to be interior decorators. No, darling, we simply must have a rocking chair by the fire; otherwise, the house’s feng shui will be completely thrown off! Oh, and look how precious these bloody handprints are when coupled with the sinister wall writing! We simply have to add more!”

Neil finally laughed though he shook his head at the same time. “C’mon, Mara; don’t joke about stuff like that.”

“What? You can’t seriously think Chris is right.”

“I…” He hesitated. “I want to keep an open mind.”

Mara felt hot frustration bloom in her chest but squashed it. Calm down. He’s anxious. Let him process this at his own pace.

“Anyway,” Neil continued quickly, “we’ll get your surveillance equipment set up. At the very least, that should be a solution for the footsteps if they happen again.”

It was midafternoon by the time they arrived back at Blackwood. While Neil installed the webcam and generator, Mara moved through the house to reassure herself that the night-time visitor hadn’t returned during her absence. The strip of shirt was still tied around the attic trapdoor’s lock, and the rooms seemed untouched. She stopped to examine the prints on the walls of the recreation room and pressed her hand over one to measure the size. It didn’t match exactly—her hand seemed slightly larger—but the marks were smudged and overlapping, making it hard to get an accurate comparison.

“Come and have a look,” Neil called from her bedroom. Mara jogged up the stairs and found he’d set up their makeshift surveillance centre on top of the bureau.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.