The Secret of Crickley Hall by James Herbert

Author:James Herbert
Format: mobi, epub, azw3
Published: 2010-07-01T01:41:53.772000+00:00

43: CONFLICT

Gabe let his anger rip.

'Tell me again what happened a few minutes ago. You say there was a ghost standing over Eve, but it disappeared when I came in the room with Loren and switched on the light.'

'I don't know that it was a ghost,' Lili replied evenly, avoiding the engineer's fierce gaze. 'It was an entity of some sort, that's all I can tell you, and it wished us harm. We both saw it, a… a black shape that was reaching for Eve until you disturbed it. Somehow it lost its power and faded. Maybe it was the lights that did it, I just don't know.'

'But you say the place is haunted.' Gabe glared at the psychic, concerned that Eve was being too easily influenced by her.

'Eleven children were drowned in this house over sixty years ago, Mr Caleigh. Now something is preventing their spirits from passing over. We have to help them, we have to find out what's blocking their progress, we have to help them go to where they're meant to be.'

Gabe stopped his pacing to look down at her.

If Lili felt intimidated, she did not show it. She went on: 'I also think your daughter is some kind of catalyst for the spirit children.'

'Come on…' Gabe groaned.

'It's not uncommon for astral spirits to use the pure psychic energy of young people—especially teenage or pre-teenage girls for some reason. The darkness and smell that was in this room went away when the light was turned on and Loren came in.'

Before he could interrupt, Lili asked a question. 'Has Loren felt unusually tired recently?'

'Why yes,' responded Eve, surprised. 'We all have, but especially Loren. She's complained of tiredness since we arrived here. We thought it was because of change of environment, or anxiety over starting at a new school. Or just, you know, part of the process of growing up.'

'She's at an age when her psychic energy is strong but all over the place. It's easily tapped into.'

Gabe's voice was incredulous. 'Are you saying our daughter is possessed?'

Lili shook her head vigorously. 'No, no, nothing like that. It's just a phenomenon that nobody can explain. You must've felt how cold it was in here earlier. It's because the spirits drain energy from the atmosphere itself. But their greatest source of power is from living people, particularly young people whose open minds have yet to be dulled by cynicism. That's why I turned towards spiritualism myself; I was used by a child ghost when I was a little girl—that was when I realized I had a special gift that no one else around me seemed to have.'

Gabe regarded Loren with concern. She had been allowed to remain in the room while her mother and the psychic related what had happened earlier because both he and Eve considered her mature enough to hear their discussion—after all, she had experienced some weird stuff herself in this place. Now he was beginning to regret the decision. Loren was sitting on the couch close to her mother and her eyes were intent on the psychic.

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