I am writing a short story – a ghostly short story for an anthology for Penguin. Its working title is ‘The Thing At the Window’. Yesterday was the perfect morning to begin work. Everyone had left the house – husband, son, daughter. I was deliciously alone.
I reread what I had done the day before, making small edits along the way. I included notes I had made from the notebook I keep in my handbag. My dentist appointment that week proved extremely fruitful for ideas. I was happy. The sun was shining. Hours of blissful writing lay ahead of me.
I had come to a particularly creepy place in the story and I felt a coldness in the space between my shoulder blades. As if someone had put an icepack to it. But I don’t mind this. If I’m creeped out by what I’m writing, hopefully my readers will be too.
Suddenly there was a loud creak from upstairs that brought me back to reality. The floorboards in my son Ren’s room are loose and creak when he’s moving around up there. But he was not at home. Nobody was at home. Then I thought it must be the tiles expanding in the sun. That’s the logical answer. I went back to work.
A minute later, another creak, then another as if someone was in his room. I walked out of my writing room into the hallway and looked up the stairs.
Nine years ago a friend did a fengshui reading on our house. We bought various crystals which she placed in all the rooms and rearranged some of the furniture. At the same time I mentioned that Ren thought there was a ghost in his bedroom. When I said goodnight to him, part of the ritual was to check the cupboard doors to make sure they were securely shut. But often in the morning they would be open again. I would also find his light switched on in the middle of the night. I asked my friend to look into that matter as well.
She went upstairs alone, stayed there for about fifteen minutes then came down again. ‘There was a ghost in his room,’ she said. ‘She was a lady who cared for Ren a great deal but she’s gone now. I told her to go. That she wasn’t needed anymore.’
I was shocked and creeped out by this. Imagine a ghost lady hovering over your child. It is, I don’t know … kind of sad and tragic and horrifying. Strangely enough, after clearing the house of this supposed ghost, the cupboard doors never again opened by themselves and the overhead light stayed off all night.
And as far as the fengshui went, from that day on my career as a published author flourished. So yes, I do believe in fengshui and am quite superstitious.
I hadn’t thought about that ghost in my son’s room until yesterday while I was standing on the stairs ready to investigate. I certainly would not have been so brave if it had been dark. I would have fled the house. Then reason got the better of me. Of course, I thought to myself, it’s the carpenter climbing around the roof looking at the gables that need mending. He said he would come over in the next few days.
I walked the rest of the way up the stairs. I would look out my bedroom window. I’d be able to see his truck from there.
The first room off the small hallway is Ren’s room. His door was closed as so often it is, to hide away the mess. The next is my daughter’s room and at the end of the hall is our room. I was about to enter our bedroom when I happened to glance over my shoulder. That’s when I froze. My son’s door was now standing wide open when only a moment ago it had been shut!
Someone or something was in the house!
good story Gay Gay – you should incorporate it somehow into your next book
Mum, I’m sure I’ll use it somewhere. But aren’t you curious to know what happened next? {-:
Oh dear, it seems your mind is in the right place to be writing the ghost story Gabrielle. I’ve always had the belief that our minds are closed off to the “impossible” so we are somewhat bilnkered to what’s going on around us. Perhaps that is why children seem to see things that we can’t… they don’t know that these things “don’t exist”? Either way it sends shivers doesn’t it 😉
I agree, Kathleen. We see what we believe not the other way around. The saying should be ‘believing is seeing’ not ‘seeing is believing’. Recently on TV there was a documentary on how the brain works. It was fascinating how we saw or heard things on the screen, which weren’t really there. Our brains filled in the pieces. You only have to learn about the beliefs of another culture to realise that we are all so very limited in what we ‘see’.
I am absolutely desperate to know what happened next!!!!
P l e a s e.
My sister had a similar experience many years ago in a very old cottage called Tatts Cottage in England. (Remind me to tell you about it, think you might want to incorporate that too in your story story.)
Brrrr…..
What happened next … I am a quiver to know!
Corinne and Lynne, you will just have to wait until my next post. At least I wasn’t eaten or frightened to death. (:
Well, what happened next??????? When will we find out? I love telling my students stories like this. I always have this creepy feeling in my son’s room when I read with him in bed and tuck him in for the night. He doesn’t sleep well in there and the lamp is always on in the morning, though he says he doesn’t remember turning it on??? I believe in Feng shui too but this is a new house we built so how does that explain that creepy feeling????
Looking forward to the rest of the story.
Hi Melanie,
I’ll keep you in suspense for now and will write a post about it next week. Or perhaps I won’t… (:
My friend, the one who did the fengshui and expelled the ghost woman, told me that ghosts follow people inside their houses. That would explain why you may have a ghost in your newly built house. She also said that they live in trees. Ours is a street lined with magnificent oaks.
I’ll be tuning in next post, Gabrielle. I love a good ghost story and have enough of my own true experiences to keep my mind open.
When we were in Beijing and visited the historic Hutong suburb, many of the houses had a raised threshold of about a foot which you had to step over to enter the house. We were told this was traditionally to keep out the ghosts, because ‘ghosts’ can’t leave the ground or fly. So maybe Melpomene might consider putting in a threshold.
Cheers
Angela
Hi Angela,
That’s a good idea of yours to put a threshold on modern day houses. Also ghosts apparently go in straight lines so at the entrance way of Chinese temples there is often a screen.
I was linked to this via twitter and I was very glad of it – your story gave me the shivers as I was reading it. Fantastic!
Hi Katie,
I think I’ll keep a few ghost hunting weapons beside me while I write. I have a dog but she’s elderly and deaf. I used to feel much braver back when she was a frisky teenager because she would be the first to go investigate strange noises, frightening away any uninvited visitors. (:
I know what happened next. Gabrielle told me over a delicious banquet in her house last night. Anyone who wants to know email me and for $50 I will tell you. It’s a terrific twist and one worthy of inclusion in a story about perception.
LOL Dmetri! You’re too late though. I am about to put the followup post up right now.
It was lovely having you and Leigh over for dinner.(:
Damn, I was hoping to make some dosh!