Wickedly Haunted

December 1, 2023

I stared at the house. When we got here this morning the house seemed like any old Victorian house, it was large and resembled an old yellow dollhouse with more intricate details. The exterior trims reminded me of my grandmother’s vintage lace table cloth covering almost every edge of the house. The windows were long and there was a rounded tower with a pointed roof that made it look like a castle. The porch was rundown from years of neglect and the property was dominated by overgrown trees and grass. In the daylight this house looked like an abandoned toy that was once loved and cared for. Looking at the house at night I could feel the energy luring me in, like it was alive taunting me with a candy bar. Everything about it screamed STAY AWAY but it pulled me into a trance and forced fed me warm milk enticing me to come in and rest. My eyes were growing heavy from being on the road all day, I wanted nothing more than to find a comfortable bed and rest my eyes, but we had work to do. I looked over at Patrick who was scrolling through his socials. The car was off and our body temperature created a foggy cast on the car windows as it collided with the outside air. Little ice crystals began to form at the corners of the passenger side window, it was almost midnight. “Are you ready?” I asked Patrick as I adjusted my beanie to better cover my ears.

We made our way to the front of the house and Patrick began recording with his camera. I put my phone in the back pocket of my black vintage jeans and as the night air pinched any areas of exposed skin, I was glad I wore my combat boots and not my sneakers.

“Hey guys, it’s Patrick and Robert and we’re back with another episode of Wickedly Haunted, in this week’s episode we are spending the night in the abandoned Louise Douglas house in Pennsylvania. For those of you who don’t know, this house is said to be seriously haunted with people reporting they’ve seen shadows, heard voices, and even encountered a little boy. Let’s check it out and see if we can encounter any of these ghosts tonight.” I turned towards the front door and Patrick followed behind with the camera.

A chill brushed by me as I moved through the doorway into the foyer. The hair on my arm grew stiff and I could feel a chill trickle down my spine. I shivered in hopes of brushing off the alarmed feeling that crept up on me the second I entered the house. I suddenly feel eagerly aware of my surroundings and in danger, like at any moment I’ll be faced with the decision to run or die. I pulled the camera up to match my eye level and slowly stepped into the living room on my right, I could feel a presence at the top of the staircase peaking down at me as I moved, but I refused to look up to confirm my suspicion. The house was cloaked in darkness having not been fueled with electricity since 1923 when it was last occupied. It belonged to a young woman and her son, she was a dancer and entertained at night leaving her ostracized from society for her scandalous pursuits. One night a man called for her services, she called the police for help in the middle of the night but by the time they reached the residence, she lay stiff on the bed with her torso split in half and her heart yanked out of her chest. They never found the boy, some say he was taken by the intruder and others think he never left the property.

The living room was moonlit and I was able to make out the furniture in the room. I walked over to the fireplace and zoomed into the portrait above the mantle with my camera, it was the boy and his mother looking blankly into the distance. The longer you stared at the portrait the emptier their eyes became until it appeared more like a portrait of hallowed dolls than people. I heard a creak and spun to face the entryway. “Did you hear that” I said to Pat as I stepped closer to the entryway. As I peaked my head slowly out of the door frame I caught the figure from the corner of my eye moving at the top of the stairs. My blood ran white hot and I could feel my entire body tense and freeze at the sight of it. I looked up at it, it was small and holding onto the banister as if it was more curious of me than I was of it. I stared straight at it for a second and then it moved quickly out of sight “There’s something upstairs dude, I swear I just saw something upstairs” I said.

Pat moved over next to me and looked up, he was a natural skeptic so I wasn’t surprised when he said “I don’t see anything, it’s too dark. The noise probably came from the pipes settling, this place is old and it’s a cold night, you’ve got to chill dude. Let’s shoot some B-Roll and then head upstairs and see if we can catch anything on the infrared camera.” He hadn’t seen the figure and it made me question what I saw.

I turned the light on my camera on and we walked slightly towards the stairs, before we could reach the foot of the staircase we heard a pounce and looked up. My heart was scratched with fear and my back was burning hot like I had been whipped, it felt like all the air had escaped my lungs all at once. The light of the camera illuminated the staircase to reveal a basketball bouncing down the stairs towards us. Before I could even move I felt a swift breeze behind me and flinched back to see Pat bolting out of the front door. I rushed towards the door to follow but before I could make it out I heard a voice, “Wait, come back, please”.

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December 1, 1923

After dinner mommy sent me to my room for the night, she was expecting guests and wanted to ensure I was not seen. She liked to have a lot of parties with men who weren’t all that nice. Except for Phillip, I liked Phillip. He always had a new and unique hat that he would let me wear and brought me toys. He gave me my first basketball and said he would teach me how to play someday. He was the only true gentleman to ever walk into my home, I did not care for the others, but mommy had told me she would only have to throw parties for a little longer and then me and her were going to go on a trip, just the two of us. I liked this idea, it has been a long time since it has been just the two of us, although I would not be upset if we invited Phillip.

I sat at the window by my bed and watched as the guests arrived, they were sloppy as they walked into the house barely able to keep from colliding with each other. Not only were they cruel but they appeared to be stupid, what type of gentleman doesn’t know his right foot from his left. I waited patiently to see if Phillip would arrive, but men came and went and still no Phillip. It was cold out, the street covered in frozen snow that had been shoved to side to make room for people to walk. The sky was clear and full of stars, the night air whistled the sweetest melody as it flowed inside my room from the small opening of my broken window. I struggled to keep my eyes open as the night began to cradle me in its embrace, willing me to sleep. I looked down at the street entrance one last time and that’s when I saw him. Philip. He was here.

It was almost midnight and mommy would be upset if she saw me out of bed, but Philip was here and I had to say hello. I peaked out of my room to the half lit hallway and saw that it was empty. I walked on my top-toes as quiet as a thief and stopped at the top of the staircase, peaking my head out slightly to look down to see if the coast was clear. I didn’t see Phillip but I did see someone, it was a younger man. He did not look like the usual gentlemen who visited my house, he looked young but definitely older than me. I’m only nine and I can barely see above the banister. but he was tall and slender, he did not wear a coat and his trousers were thicker than normal. He was dressed strangely, not proper at all and he wore a weird looking hat that was made of yarn and emphasized the shape of his head. He had on big leather boots and was dressed in all black, somber for this time of year. He was holding what looked like a camera lens on a stick but it was much smaller than any I had ever seen and he held it up to his face as he walked into the living room. How odd, mother’s party guests never went in there, they would all be in the parlor. Maybe he was lost? He looked out of place so it is possible that this is his first time in my house. Maybe Philip brought him, any friend of Phillip is a friend of mine. I should sneak downstairs and greet him personally. I moved towards the first step, but in all of my excitement I forgot about the creaky noise the stairs made when you stepped too hard. I paused and looked down fearful the sound had made it’s way to the parlor alerting the party guests.

I had indeed been caught, but by the strange man in the living room who slowly peaked his head out of the room and starred up at me. I waited for him to come out, he just stared at me like a shy little boy who wants to play with you but is too afraid to ask. I know, I’ll grab the basketball Phillip brought me, maybe he’ll know how to play.

I ran back to my bedroom and reached for the basketball that was sitting by the edge of my bed. How thoughtful of Philip to think of me and bring me a friend to play with while my mother has her parties. He probably thought “Charles must get lonely up in his room when the adults have parties, I’ll being him a friend to play with.” I walked down the hall and to the stairs excited to meet my new friend, too excited. My hands were sweating so much from the excitement and nervousness of meeting him that the ball slipped out of my hands and began to bounce loudly down the staircase. The man looked up at me with his camera and a light I hadn’t noticed before. He was not alone, he was with another young man who wore the same strange clothing. The other man began to run quickly out of the door and as soon as the ball had reached the last step my friend had turned towards the door and began to run. “Wait, come back, please” I pleaded but they had both gone and I stood at the top of the stairs alone once again.