The Haunting of Kingsley Library

Life was getting stale.

Nothing seemed to be going right since Les left me. The apartment was too quiet and depressing. Shopping for one seemed a waste of time and eating out alone was uncomfortable, therefore I had lost 15 pounds I didn't need to lose. Worst of all, I'd lost complete interest in my job at Alderman's Advertising and the promotion to corporate that I had so been looking forward to before, past me right on by, and I seriously didn't even care that it was given to the egotistical Dave Flips.

I needed a change. I felt trapped in the big city, with no way out. The rat was me, and the cheese had gone moldy.

There was nowhere for me to go though. My parents had died ten years before. No other surviving family members, not even a distant cousin. Money was tight. Les had destroyed our credit before he left, plus he wiped our joint checking account completely out.

The change came in the form of a letter from an old university friend. Sicily Porter and I had been sorority sisters during our six years of advanced learning. Besides being lab and study partners, we were also roommates. I was pleasantly surprised, since we hadn't had contact in four years or so.

I sat at the window seat of my apartment to read her letter.

My Dear Friend, Felicity:

It's been so long since we've been in contact with each other. We need to catch up. I would love for you to come and visit for a spell. I've so much to tell you.

I've inherited my Great-aunt, Momo's, house down in Missouri. It's a lovely little place that I've turned into a B&B. I think you would love it. I am including the address with directions, if you decide to come. Call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx, to let me know if you can.

Please come.

Lots of love,

From your old friend

Sicily

Sitting there, rereading her note, I knew this was exactly what I needed. Looking around at my lonely place, I knew I would go. Right then I decided I'd never come back to this dismal city.

So, I put in two weeks notice at the agency, packed up what I wanted to take with me and boxed up everything thing else to donate. Loading everything up in my SUV, I left the city behind. I never called Sicily, I decided to surprise her.

The drive was uneventful for the most part. I made a few stops for gas, food and restroom breaks. Then I arrived in Southern Missouri. The foothill of the Ozarks.

My breath was taken from me with the beauty of the hills with their fall colors. The air was crisp and cool, unlike any Autumn day I'd ever experienced before. Each town I past had character. Everyone I seen was friendly. I felt as if I was coming home.

Following Sicily's directions, I pulled into her driveway at about four PM. The place was huge! I couldn't believe how huge it was! Sicily seen me coming down the drive and came out to met my car. When she seen it was me, she ran down the steps and threw herself into my arms. We both were laughing, crying and talking at the same time.

"I knew you'd come! Welcome to Quentin Hall! Oh, how I missed you!" Sicily was saying.

I told her, "How could I not come when my sister from another mother needed me."

That was two months ago. I've been here ever since. Sicily hired me to help out and to take charge of advertising. I'd created a beautiful brochure for the place. Business was good, reservations had come pouring in. We were now booked up until February, with more requests coming in. We were busy, and it was wonderful.

December tenth rolled around and we were putting on the finishing touches to everything before Christmas. Decorating with garland and mistletoe. Putting up a tree in all the rooms besides kitchen and bathrooms. The cooks were turning out such Christmas delicacies that would make your mouth water and stomach grumble. Everything was perfect.

Then it happened. Things changed with a blink of an eye. Everything turned into a nightmare. It was so bad we even talked about shutting the doors for good.

Sicily and I were sitting in what was called Kingsley Library. A huge room full of books collected by the homes owners throughoutthe generations. A bottle of wine between us, we were discussing activities and changes we wished to add to the brochure, when we both felt it.

Suddenly, the room got cold, and our breath came out icy. I commented something about the thermostat must of gone out, that I'd go check and she said she'd get our sweaters.

We never moved. All thoughts left our heads when we looked towards the row of shelves on the east wall. There stood a lady dressed in a white wedding gown. The lady looked at us. Wailed. Walked through the shelf.

We've seen the Bride several times over this last week. None of the guest have seen her, so that's a good thing. We can only assume the apparition means us no harm. All the sightings we've had so far have been benevolent.

We've been pouring over old documents, hoping to find out who the Bride is. We believe she is Melina Kingsley Quentin, who married the son of the house, Jonathan Quentin, on December 12, 1864.

This was also the date of her death. On the day that was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, she was murdered by Union soldiers passing through. It was a tragic tale that we pieced together.

Jonathan and Melina had said their I Do's and their family and friends were all gathered for the party afterwards. Toasts had just been made for the good health and happiness for the bride and groom, when the Union soldiers came riding up. The household and all the guests were caught by surprise and several were injured with a couple of fatalities. Melina had tried to run up the stairs when a soldier grabbed hold of her and threw her down the stairs, causing her neck to be broken. The soldiers took any valuables they could find and left.

Jonathan, upon seeing his beloved lying at the foot of the stairs, grabbed his rifle and left the house with a few other men. They returned a couple of days later, bloodied but alive. They also had everyone's belongings with them. Jonathon was noted as saying that those renegades would bother no living soul where they were sent.

Jonathan never remarried and the house passed to his younger living brother.

Now we were being haunted by his bride and she seemed to want us to see something. She appeared in several different rooms of the house, but she seemed to prefer the library the most. She alway passed through the shelves on the east Wall when we noticed her.

Sicily and I decided to inspect the shelf. So we pulled all the books and dusted each one, looking through them to see if anything is hiddenthere. When this task was done, we inspected the whole shelf. One spot looked promising. So we concentrated on that area. Sicily found a switch close to the floor, we heard a grinding but the shelf only moved an inch. We oiled any part we thought may belong to the switch. With a lot of work, we finally had the shelf open. Inside was a little room full antiques from the Civil War era.

Melina was standing inside this room. She motioned us closer and pointed at a chest behind her. Inside this chest was the Union uniforms, un-mailed letters and diaries of the men who ruined her wedding day.

Sicily and I can only conclude that Melina wanted someone to know who killed her and destroyed her family and friends life that day. We've not seen her since she lead us to the chest.