Believers

“I’m not saying I don’t believe you but come on, it’s a bit of a trope is it not? Old abandoned building bought up by young out of town couple and the spirits of the former owners come out to scare them off.”

“Believe me or not. That’s what happened, I saw it and I’m not staying.”

“We’ve not got many other options now, and we are living in the caravan here anyway. Once it’s all done up the atmosphere will change. I promise you.”

“Atmosphere does not create a six foot tall see through man holding a fucking axe Alan.”

“Look, I’m going back in. We have another couple of hours of light and I want the bathroom ready for the plumber next week.”

“Fine. I’m staying here. I’ll call my mum and start dinner.”

“Hi Mum. How are you?”

“Good, look I need to ask your opinion on something, I was in the kitchen of the house yesterday afternoon when Alan was at work and I was just messing about with the new cupboards.”

“No, they haven’t sent out the replacement doors yet.”

“Yes, I will be leaving a bad review. Anyway I was crouching down behind one of the boxes, and I thought that Alan had come home early and I shouted hello and he didn’t reply so I thought, rude. Well I got up and shouted to him and he didn’t reply and of course when I looked he wasn’t there and I couldn’t see his car outside.”

“No, it’s not due until February I think.”

“Yes I will remind you to ask the mechanic to call you next time I speak to him. Anyway I didn’t really make much of it but as soon as I started working again I heard something fall over in the upstairs bathroom so I picked up the torch and went up.”

“Yes mum, two more weeks before the electrics are done.”

“Yes, it will make everything easier. So I went upstairs and of course nothing untoward, just the box with the new fittings had fallen over. So I picked it up and headed back towards the stairs when I heard the box fall over again, now I knew I had put it securely so I was shocked. I was heading back through the kitchen and you know how the stairs have the really thick spindles. Yes. Well they give a really distinctive shadow when you shine a torch on them and when I shone the torch they just looked wrong. Can’t explain it but wrong and so I was a bit distracted.”

“No it can’t have been the batteries mum.”

“Why? Because it’s got none, it’s rechargeable. Anyhow. So I was a bit distracted and I didn’t notice the other shadow the torch was casting. This one was a person. It was a big man. By the time it got halfway down.”

“What?”

“No it wasn’t Alan he was at work. By the time I noticed it I reckon it was halfway down and I bloody froze, but it didn’t and when it got to the bottom of the stairs it was there, a full bloody bloke with an axe.”

“Of course I’m sure. Well he came at me.”

“No he didn’t say anything. I could just see it in his eyes. It was absolute hate. You know that look, he was real and angry and quite frankly I had no wish to ask any questions so I just ran and hid in the caravan until Alan got home and I’ve not been back.”

“No I hadn’t been drinking Mum.”

“No, I didn’t call the police.”

“Well there was nobody there for them to arrest as it was a bloody ghost.”

“Agreed, I’m not an expert. But hang on, I’ll call you back Alan is coming back. See you later.”

“Hello?”

“Laura, Laura. Get your stuff, hotel tonight and we will talk about this tomorrow, no way I’m going back in there. Never!”