A Haunting on Hill Street

A Haunting on Hill Street

*

In the July of 1986, Arabella wells was 24-years old. She had been traveling with a carnival for the last couple of years, and she was now returning to her Family home on Hill Street. With the money that she had saved over the past couple of years, she was in hopes of getting her own place nearby, but until then, she would stay with her parents at her childhood home in a small Maine town. The home had been in the family for years, and always seemed to be a gathering place for family and friends. Not a day went by that Arabella could recall that the home was not full of people, full of life.

As she turned onto Hill Street, the smell of the warm Summer breeze overcame her. Arabella drove down the mile long dead-end road until she reached the very last house. Her house. There were balloons on the mailbox at the end of the dirt driveway, and a smile came across Arabella’s face as she slowly drove up to the house. Her dog, Sky was sitting on the porch waiting for her. She was finally home, and although she probably wouldn’t admit it out loud to anyone other than Sky, she was happy to be there.

Arabella got out of her car, and before she could even walk up the old porch steps, Alex Johnson, her best friend and long-time childhood crush was rushing up to her to grab her suitcase. “Such a gentlemen” she teased as the two of them walked up the porch steps. Arabella knelt to pet and kiss Sky, and then the three of them entered the house.

When you first walk into the house, you were standing in a mudroom that doubled as a home office. It was connected to the kitchen that was normally packed with family, friends, or both was empty much to Arabella’s surprise. If you walk straight from through the mudroom instead of turning right into the kitchen, you would end up in a living room complete with old furniture, and a piano that was probably the oldest thing in the Wells Family. The stairs that were next to the entrance of the living room lead up to the second floor where there were four bedrooms. The first room at the top of the stairs was her Grandmother’s sewing room when she was alive, then you turn left there was one room on the right of the hallway, her parents room, one on the left, a guest room, and the one at the end of the hallway was the room that Arabella and her younger Sister Maryanne, who was now 20 years old, shared. Of course, the attic stairs pulled down directly in front of their door, so it was always a task getting out of their bedroom if someone happened to be in the attic.

“Welcome back!” Maryanne ran up to her Sister and hugged her tight.

“Thank you!” Arabella hugged her back. She had missed her Sister probably the most, next to Sky of course.

“How was the Carnival?” Maryanne asked excitedly.

“It was great, nothing like home, but it was a lot of fun.” Arabella replied as she and Maryanne walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. “Where’s Mom and Dad?”

“They went to town. I’m not supposed to tell you, but they are having a surprise party for you.” Maryanne giggled. “Just in case you were wondering why the house was empty for once.”

“Oh, God.” Arabella chuckled. “I am so bad with surprises, guess it’s a good thing I got here early.”

Maryanne poured three cups of coffee and brought two of them to the table for Arabella and Alex, then went back for the third cup for herself.

“So how have things been around here since I left?” Arabella asked as she sipped her coffee.

“Same old, same old. Nothing much changes around here.” Maryanne replied, jokingly.

“I kind of like it that way. It’s nice to come home to a place that never changes after living in a Carnival where nothing ever stays the same.”

What none of them knew yet was that things were about to change in ways that most people only ever see in their nightmares if they are lucky, but for the time being, all was well. Many years from that moment, Arabella would look back and wish that she had enjoyed her Family home a little more in her younger years, before she knew what true evil really was. Back when the boogie man and the monster under the bed were all just images that her imagination conjured up after watching too many scary movies before bed.

“You’re home early!” Arabella’s Mother, Caroline said as she walked in the front door.

“Yes, Mom.” Arabella chuckled, trying not to let on that she knew about the surprise party, but Caroline saw through it. She hugged her and told her to go unpack so that she could at least wrap her presents.

“I bought you some gifts, but I have been crazy trying to get things ready for your party and everything, that I forgot to get gift bags.” Caroline said as Arabella dragged her suitcase up the stairs, down the hall, and into her and her sister’s bedroom.

Her side of the room was exactly the way that she had left it. Her desk neatly organized, her bed made, nothing out of place. After unpacking her suitcase, putting all of her clothes into her dresser and closet, and putting her dirty laundry into her hamper, Arabella sat down on her bed. The baby blue comforter with seashells on it was completely free of wrinkles. Arabella laid on her back, her head on one of her pillows that had pillowcases matching the comforter, and she gazed around the room. Pictures on both her side of the room as well as her sister’s side covered the wall. Family photos, photos of friends, photos of her and her sister. So many memories. Happy memories. Looking at those pictures, one would never guess that this house would soon become the setting for a real life nightmare that none of them would ever be able to forget.

*

Later that night after the welcome home party that Caroline and Earl wells had thrown for their eldest daughter, the house was finally quiet. Arabella helped her Mother clean up the kitchen and then sat out on the porch swing for a few minutes, taking in the summer night. Fireflies lit up on the far lawn. The summer breeze was a soothing breath of calm country life as opposed to the bright lights, music, and chaos of the Carnival. As Arabella gazed up at the stars, it occurred to her that things were almost too quiet and peaceful, which she assumed must be because she had become accustomed to the sound of Carnival music, and the constant chatter of people walking the fairgrounds, children screaming out from the rides, and the many different sounds from the many different games and rides at the Carnival.

“Want a smoke?” Maryanne came out and sat next to her on the porch swing.

Arabella took a cigarette. “Thanks. Quite a party.”

Maryanne nodded. “It always is in this house.”

The two sat on the porch talking for what seemed like a few minutes but must have been much longer because when they finally went back inside, the house was quiet. Their parents had gone to bed, and the only light in the house was coming from the upstairs hallway light, which was always left on until the last person went to bed. The girls tiptoed up the stairs, and when they reached their room, Arabella switched the hallway light off.

Both girls got into their pajamas and crawled into their beds.

“It’s good to have you back home.” Maryanne said as she sat up in bed.

“It’s good to be home.” Arabella responded with a smile.

Both girls then shut off their bedside lamps, with hopes of a good night sleep. Unfortunately, that sleep would be short lived. Around 3am, Arabella was jolted awake by the sound of heavy footsteps in the hallway. She peered under the door and saw light coming from underneath it as the footsteps continued.

“Maryanne!” Arabella whispered.

Maryanne sat up in bed and turned on her lamp. “What is it?”

“Sssh.” Arabella replied with her finger up to her mouth. “Do you hear that?”

Maryanne listened, and her eyes widened as she began to hear the footsteps that were now headed down the stairs. It was way too early for anyone in the house to be walking around with work boots on.

Arabella crawled out of bed, and tiptoed over to the bedroom door, cracking it just enough so that she could peer out into the hallway. She noticed that the hallway light was on. By this time, Maryanne was right behind her. Just then, the piano in the living room began to play the song “Amazing Grace” The girls looked at one another, completely baffled, and tiptoed into the hallway. The darkness of the living room stretched halfway up the staircase, making it impossible to see who was playing the piano, but the music continued until the girls finally reached the bottom of the stairs and Maryanne turned on the living room light. There was nobody there. Arabella walked over to the piano. The keys were still covered. She ran her finger across it and could see a line where her finger had gone through the dust. The piano had not been touched.

“That’s impossible.” Arabella said, finally. “Somebody was playing this piano, we both heard it. There is no way that they could have just disappeared at the exact same moment that you turned on the lights.”

Maryanne was frozen, still trying to figure out exactly what had just happened. Both girls had heard the footsteps. Both girls had heard the piano playing. There was no denying it, so who was walking around their house at 3am playing the piano and then disappearing into thin air? The girls were completely dumbfounded.

“Who’s down there?” They heard their Father’s voice at the top of the stairs.

“Just us, Dad.” Maryanne replied.

There was silence as the two girls shut the living room light off and made their way back up the stairs.

“Good night, girls.” Their Father said was they walked past the door to their parents’ bedroom, it shut.

“Night, Dad.” Both girls replied simultaneously and then walked into their room. This time Maryanne shut the hall light off. They stayed up for the rest of the night, talking about what they had heard, and waiting for something else to happen, but nothing did, and before they knew it, the sun was coming up and it was too late to go back to sleep, unless they wanted to sleep all day, which neither of them had any intentions of doing.

Arabella and Maryanne walked down the stairs and out into the kitchen where their Mother was preparing breakfast, and their Father was sipping coffee and reading the paper. They sat down at the table as Caroline brought over one plate of pancakes and another plate full of sausage, Bacon, and Eggs. She sat down and filled each of their glasses with orange juice.

“How was your first night home?” She asked Arabella as she began to pass the plates of food around.

“Fine.” Arabella responded. “Sorry if we woke you guys up last night.”

“I didn’t wake up once last night.” Caroline replied.

“Me either. Long day yesterday.” Earl chimed in.

Arabella and Maryanne both stopped and immediately stared at each other. If their Father had not been woken up last night, then who the Hell was talking to them while they were downstairs?! Why did it sound exactly like their Father? And more importantly, what was that person doing in their parents’ bedroom?

The girls were silent for the rest of the breakfast. Then they silently helped their Mother clear the table, and neither of them said a word until they were finally back in their bedroom.

“Someone was in this house last night! Maryanne exclaimed as soon as their bedroom door shut behind them.

“But who?!” Arabella was becoming more confused by the second.

“I don’t know. Some piano playing psychopath with huge feet!” Maryanne was beginning to panic.

“What I don’t understand is how the footsteps and the piano playing didn’t wake up Mom or Dad! It woke me up out of a dead sleep!” Arabella stated.

“The footsteps didn’t wake me up.” Maryanne began.

“True, but even if I hadn’t woken you up, Hell, even if the footsteps hadn’t woken me up, the piano more than likely would have, right?”

“Probably.” Maryanne nodded in agreement. “What do we do? Should we tell Mom and Dad? I mean, this is an old house, there are a lot of hiding places, what if whoever it was is still here?”

“That’s also true. Maybe we should tell them.” Arabella agreed, and the two girls quickly got dressed and headed back downstairs.

Their Father was outside mowing the lawn, and their Mother was taking the laundry off the clothesline and places it in to a laundry basket to bring inside and be folded when Arabella and Maryanne walked outside.

“Mom, can we talk to you?” Arabella asked as they approached her.

“Of course, Dear. What is it?” Caroline responded, not looking at them as she was still focused on the laundry.

“We think someone was in the house last night.” Maryanne spit the words out, and Caroline stopped what she was doing and turned to look at them.

“What?” She asked.

“There were footsteps.” Arabella spoke up.

“Well, it’s an old house.” Caroline began. “it makes noises. It was probably nothing.

“Mom, the piano was playing Amazing Grace, and when we came downstairs to see who it was, there was no one there.” Maryanne replied. “And then we heard Dad talking to us from upstairs, he said good night to us and then shut your bedroom door, but he said he didn’t wake up at all last night.”

A look flashed across their Mothers face, as though she was acknowledging that the story was odd, but then she replied “It was probably nothing. Probably just your Grandmother letting us know that she is still here.” She put the last of the clothing into the laundry basket, and then carried it inside with the girls following her.

Arabella and Maryanne sat at the kitchen table in silence while their Mother was in the laundry room down the hallway that also connected to the living room. Such a strange set up. You could walk into the living room from the front door, and then go out another door in the back of the living room, walk down the hallway, turn left into the laundry room/bathroom, or go straight and end up in the kitchen. Like a circle. There were so many different little hiding spots in the house, but if you walked long enough, you’d end up right back where you started, at the front door.

A few minutes went by, and Caroline came out with another basket of laundry and headed back out the front door to hang the next batch on the line to dry.

“I knew she wouldn’t believe us.” Arabella said to Maryanne once the front door closed behind Caroline.

“Yeah, me too. So, what do we do?” Maryanne asked

“I don’t know. I mean is it possible? Is it possible that it was Gram? Her ghost, I mean?” Arabella asked, considering the possibility.

“Well, I never knew Gram to wear big heavy work boots that were loud enough to wake someone up out of a dead sleep.” Maryanne replied.

Arabella nodded in agreement. Neither of them believed that it was the ghost of their Grandmother that was responsible for the footsteps. Maybe the piano though, because she loved the piano, it belonged to her, and one of her favorite songs to play was Amazing Grace.

As the girls sat at the kitchen table, wracking their brains trying to figure out what was going on in their house, Alex pulled up outside with another childhood friend of the girls that was known to hang out at their house, Michael Collins. Just like Alex was Arabella’s heart throb, Michael was Maryanne’s.

The boys walked in the front door and Alex immediately knew that something wasn’t right.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, looking at Arabella.

Arabella paused, but then before she could stop herself, she was telling him the entire story about what she and her sister had experienced the night before. The house felt cold as the words came out of Arabella’s mouth.

*

Alex sat down at the table next to Arabella. “Wait a minute, you think someone was in the house?”

“I don’t know.” Arabella responded, staring at her coffee cup.

“Well, there had to have been. I mean, you said you both heard the footsteps and the piano.” Michael cut in, still standing in the entry way of the kitchen. “Did you tell your parents?”

“We told Mom. She thinks that it was our imagination, or our Grandmothers ghost. I don’t know. Bottom line is she doesn’t believe that anyone was in the house.” Maryanne replied, aggravated by the idea that their Mother thought that there was some other explanation for what they had heard.

“Not only that, but we heard our Father talking to us and it wasn’t even him! So whoever was in the house was in their bedroom and she still doesn’t see the problem!” Arabella spoke up, the confusion as well as the irritation in her voice was obvious.

No sooner than the words came out of Arabella’s mouth, there was a loud crashing sound from above. Alex, Arabella, and Maryanne jumped to their feet.

“What the Hell was that?” Michael said as he looked towards the entry way to the living room.

“It sounded like the stairs to the attic.” Arabella replied.

“Is anyone else in the house?” Michael asked.

Maryanne shook her head. “There shouldn’t be.”

“Stay here.” Before the girls could stop them, Michael and Alex were running up the stairs.

The boys were gone for less than a minute when they came running back down the stairs in a panic.

“What? What is it!” Arabella cried out as Alex grabbed her and Maryanne both and lead them to the front door. “Get out. Now.”

The four young adults ran out the front door and down the porch steps.

Caroline was still hanging laundry but stopped when she saw the panic on their faces. Earl must have noticed as well because he had shut off the lawn mower and was now approaching them.

“There’s someone in the house!” Michael was out of breath.

“What are you talking about?” Caroline replied.

“The attic stairs came crashing down and Michael and I went to check it out. We saw her! In the attic. Some crazy old lady in a black dress chased us down the stairs!” Alex chimed in, gasping for air.

Earl ran up the porch and into the house, grabbing his gun from under his desk. Michael and Alex were on his heels and Caroline as well as Arabella and Maryanne stood on the front porch in the doorway.

“Who’s up there?” Earl called as he walked up the stairs with Alex and Michael behind him.

They reached the top of the stairs just in time to see two legs crawling back up into the attic.

“Go!” He turned to the boys and the three of them took back off down the stairs.

Earl walked directly to the phone without saying anything to anyone, keeping his gun in one hand.

“Earl? What is it?” Caroline asked, her voice shaking nervously.

“I need to call the sheriff. There is someone in this house.”

There was a minute of silence as Earl dialed the number and waited for someone to answer.

“Yeah, this is Earl Wells. I need an officer sent out to my house. 20 Hill Street. There is someone in my attic.

*

Less than ten minutes after Earl made the call, an officer pulled into the driveway. All of them were on the porch at this time, not wanting to be in the house if the person in the attic decided to come back down before the cops showed up.

Officer Bill Carlson got out of his patrol car and approached the frightened family.

“What seems to be the problem, Earl?” Bill asked in a friendly manner. In a small town like this one, everyone was your friend.

“There is someone in our attic.” Bill replied, trying to remain calm for the sake of his family who were clearly terrified by what had just happened.

Earl then lead Bill inside and pointed up the stairs. Bill motioned for Earl to stay where he was as he slowly climbed the stairs with his gun drawn. Once at the top of the stairs, he could see that the attic stairs were still opened. Bill began to climb the attic stairs with his gun in one hand and a flashlight in the other.

“Police! Anyone up here? Show yourself.”

A few minutes later, Bill came back down the attic stairs. He left them opened and walked down the stairs back to where Earl stood. He followed Earl into the kitchen where Caroline, Arabella, Maryanne, Alex, and Michael were sitting at the kitchen table.

“Well?” Caroline asked as Earl and Bill entered the kitchen.

“I didn’t see anyone up there.” Bill replied, confused by the fact that he had a house full of people that all claimed to see someone in the attic, but he was unable to locate the person.

“So, what are we supposed to do?” Caroline asked, frantically.

“I am going to have to take statements from all of you, so that we have it on file in case anything else happens, but there is no one up there, so aside from taking your statements and making a record of it, there is not much else I can do at this time.” Bill responded.

Each of them gave Bill their statements. The girls even told him about the experience that they had the night before, because they couldn’t imagine that there was no way that the two incidents weren’t connected in some way. Bill took every statement down, and then he left.

Earl stood on the front porch with Alex and Michael as the patrol car left.

“You boys want to stay here tonight?” Earl asked, not looking at them.

The boys agreed to stay in the guest room upstairs.

“Good. Something isn’t right here.” Earl stated as he walked back inside the house.

` Michael and Alex didn’t say anything, but they both knew that the reason that Earl had asked them to stay was that he thought he was going to need back up. Like he said. Something was not right. Little did any of them know, it was about to get worse than any of them ever could have imagined.

*

Later that night, no one wanted to go to sleep. Earl, the boys, the rest of the family, were all on edge as they sat around the kitchen table, drinking coffee to try and stay awake, fearing what might happen if they went to sleep. At this point, the idea of there being a stranger somewhere in the house was still very much alive in all their minds. Earl had closed the attic stairs, so that way if they were opened again, someone would hear it. What they didn’t know is that they were up against something much more than any living person. Much more than a stranger in their home. But what? What was going on in the house on Hill Street? Too soon, it would be all too clear that this was something else. Something evil. Too soon, they would all realize that there are scarier things in the world than what you can see. Sometimes the scariest things are the things that you don’t always see. The things that hide in the shadows and taunt you. The things that only show themselves after they have terrified you. The entities that were lurking in the walls of this very house.

*

To the surprise of everyone in the house, the night went by without any incidents. It was peaceful. Probably would have been a good night to get some sleep if everyone in the house had not been up all night waiting for something to happen.

When Arabella and Maryanne came downstairs, Michael and Alex were already sitting at the kitchen table as their Mother made breakfast and their Father read the paper. At first glance, it was just like any other morning in the house, but this morning things were different. Everyone was tired, but that wasn’t what made things different. No, there was a feeling of dread through the entire house. The sun was shining outside, but inside there was darkness and gloom.

“Good morning.” Arabella sat down at the table with a cup of coffee.

“Did anyone get any sleep? Cause I didn’t.” Maryanne said from the kitchen as she made herself a cup.

Caroline brought breakfast to the table like she did every morning and then sat down to join them. Rather than the usual lively conversation of the morning, there was an eerie silence as everyone filled their plates, ate their food, and drank their coffee.

As they sat around the table, a song began to play, but this time it wasn’t coming from the piano. It was coming from upstairs. “Tiptoe through the tulips” Arabella immediately recognized it as a song that her Grandmother had listened to frequently. It would play on her record player while she would be upstairs sewing, and the song would fill the entire house, pouring out of the windows and into the yard below.

“What in the Hell? Earl looked at everyone as he stood from the table and headed to the living room. Everyone followed him. They all stood at the bottom of the stairs as the music continued.

“Wait. Listen.” Caroline said. “What’s that noise?”

Everyone was quiet for a few seconds, and then they heard it. It was the sewing machine.

Earl booked it up the stairs, while everyone else only went halfway up. By the time that Earl reached the top of the stairs and opened the door to what was once his Mother’s room, the music as well as the sewing machine had stopped. There was nothing out of place. The room was just as his Mother had left it.

As he turned to exit the room, a woman’s voice screamed so loud that it almost seemed to shake the entire house. “Get out!” The door slammed behind him as Earl ran down the stairs and got everyone out of the house. They piled into the vehicles and they began to drive. Arabella could see the house in the rearview mirror as they turned out of the driveway.

*

What were they supposed to do now? Where would they go? Would they ever be able to come back? What was this evil presence in their once happy home? Stayed tuned for part two.