The prompt this week was to write a story that began with
one of the following sentences, and the genre was paranormal. The choices were:
1. 1. I
wondered why that particular closet door had been nailed shut.
2. 2. They
would never believe it had been her fault.
3. 3. He
had to find a way to stop them from demolishing the house.
4. 4. She
knew she had to find the necklace.
5. 5. The
box was left at the front door, and had no return address.
I chose Sentence #1. I hope you enjoy.
Family Secrets
I wondered why that
particular closet door had been nailed shut. The closet was located next to
the back door in the kitchen. I attributed it to my aunt’s progressively
failing awareness of reality. She had lived in this house alone for the past 15
years, and had lain dead in it for a week and a half before her body had been
discovered. If it hadn’t been for a ruptured gas line in the area that required
entry, her body still might not have been found.
I had never met my mother’s sister. My mother told me when
Aunt Sarah married Howard Sandville 15 and a half years ago, and moved to this house
on the hill miles from Sawyer’s Mill, no good would ever come of either the
marriage or her future. Turns out Mom had been right on both counts.
Sarah had announced to the folks in town that her husband had
run off six months after their wedding with their maid. She had also made it clear
that visitors would not be welcome. She advised the local shops that should she
need any supplies, orders would be phoned in, and the delivery staff were to
leave the items at her front door. Invoices were to be included with the
delivery, and payment would be sent by return mail.
Aunt Sarah’s will, discovered in a file box on the desk in
the master bedroom, stated the house and property were to go to her sister. Mom
wanted nothing to do with any of it, and when Mom died, Aunt Sarah’s home was
left to me. The lawyer told me Sarah wanted the house torn down after she died.
He hadn’t added that stipulation to the will since her requests at that point
changed from day to day. He said the house was mine and I could do with it as I
wished. I decided to check the place out. On my brief walkthrough, everything had
appeared to be quite normal, with the exception of the nailed closet door.
Since Sawyer’s Mill was a small town, I figured everybody
knew everybody’s business, so I spoke with as many people as I could to get
some background on the house and my aunt. Everyone I spoke to told me the place
was haunted. I wasn’t sure where they got that idea since I hadn’t seen any
furniture floating or heard any moaning and groaning when I was there. They
seemed genuinely concerned for my safety though so I told them I had a friend
who knew how to communicate with the spirit world. I told them I’d make sure I
had her with me when I next went into the house.
My friend Janie held séances, and I figured she’d jump at
the chance to join me in a real haunted house. I was right as rain because she
arrived two days later. I had always admired Janie’s showmanship. Whenever she
held a séance, she’d invite me to sit in – to help the spirits feel more
comfortable, she said. I always looked forward to the terrifying shrieks and
sinister laughter, along with the ominous answers to the clients’ questions. At
the end of each session, I would tease her, but she would insist it was all
genuine, and told me one day, the opportunity would present itself for her to
convince me of her psychic ability.
When we entered through the front door, I headed for the
kitchen. I was going to show Janie all the beautiful china displayed in the
cabinet. Suddenly, I felt Janie grab my left arm, pulled me back toward her,
and turned me around to face her. She had tears streaming down her face.
“Lilly, they are in so much pain and terribly alone. They
are seeking peace, and you are the one to find it for them.”
This time, I failed to see the humor.
“Janie, cut it out. You’re scaring me for real this time.”
“No, you don’t understand. I’m not playacting. I’ve told you
I’m for real. I’m a genuine sensitive. Maybe a couple of my weird noises at
séances are for dramatic effect, but there’s no drama here. There are spirits
in this house who cannot rest because…because…”
Janie fainted. I panicked. I knelt down and felt her pulse,
and it was racing. It suddenly became very warm in the foyer, so I decided to
open the front door to let in a breeze. I got close to the door and was faced
with the shimmering image of a person. I couldn’t tell if it was male or
female, only that is was shaped like a human being, but with no discernible
facial features. Its hands were outstretched, palms up, as if to stop me.
I hadn’t seen anything like that when I went through the
house before. I reached through it, grabbed the doorknob and opened the door. A
cool breeze filled the entry way and when I looked down at Janie, she started
to come around. I looked back toward the door, and the image had vanished.
Oddly, that encounter hadn’t frightened me.
“Are you okay, Janie? Do you need a doctor?”
“I’m not ill, Lilly,” Janie said as she got up from the
floor. “I saw something horrible and it overwhelmed me. Something horrific
happened in this house. Those who are trapped continue to grow weaker. Didn’t
you say your aunt wanted this house torn down?”
“That’s what her lawyer told me.”
“Don’t, Lilly. I sense that if you do, the secret will never
be unlocked and those who roam here will be forever lost.”
“What did you say, Janie, about a secret?”
“It needs to be unlocked. That’s what I’m sensing. There is
a barrier to the truth that must be broken. It must be soon though. I sense
there are two of them, but only one now has the strength left to make itself be
seen for brief periods. When you were here before, did you notice anything
unusual or out of place?”
The nailed closet door. If the place was haunted though,
which it obviously was, surely Aunt Sarah didn’t nail a door shut thinking it
would keep the spirits inside, or did she? I had no idea when it was nailed
shut, so maybe it was on one of those days when her mind went out for a stroll
without her.
“By the back door, Janie, there’s a closet that’s been
nailed shut. Is that what you meant?”
“Oh my God,” Janie started to cry again. “Yes. Nailed shut.
Confined. Trapped. Left to die.”
I felt someone, or something, behind me gently putting arms
around my neck. It was almost a comforting gesture. I knew I was on the right
track. I looked through drawers in the kitchen and found a hammer that had the
forked edge on the side used to remove nails. Janie grabbed a pair of pliers and
a flashlight and together we removed all the nails. At first glance, it hadn’t
seemed like so many, but removing them made me realize she had definitely wanted
to keep whatever was behind the door inside forever.
When the last nail was out, I opened the door. It was only
an empty closet, and not a very big one at that, with a hook at the back. What
kind of secret was hidden here? I looked closely at the top and the bottom
thinking perhaps there were trap doors, but there was nothing. Out of pure
instinct, I pulled at the hook and the panel pulled back. There was a small
hidden room behind this closet. Janie shined the flashlight into the small room.
My stomach turned. Inside were two skeletons, sitting
against the wall, arms around each other. A wallet was next to one and a small
handbag next to the other, both containing identification. I knew why Aunt Sarah
wanted the house torn down. It was so no one would find the remains of her
husband and his lover, the maid, who had both disappeared years before. Sarah
had locked them both in that room, closed the panel, and nailed the door shut.
With no visitors permitted and being so far from neighbors, no one would have
heard them if they screamed. Both their bodies decaying behind that wall, and
still she continued to live in that house. Unbelievable.
I planned to notify the police, even though there would be no
one to prosecute. At least, their families and friends would know the truth. I
also planned to give them both a decent burial – side by side. I believed
that’s what they would have wanted. I felt arms around me again, and as I
turned, the image behind me briefly flickered, then faded for the last time. Now
they finally would have the peace they sought and so richly deserved.
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