The following is my story submission for the 2019 Halloween Story Contest, if you enjoy my writing, please let me know, and vote! Thank you!
I would like to recognize and specifically thank CiaoSteve, for his editing assistance and suggestions, which made a good story even better.
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Ghosts; yeah, right. Rose chuckled to herself as she followed her local guide into a bedroom and set her bags on the bed in her new room for the next week. She was following her assigned scoop for the small paper she worked at, about yet another ghost story. At this bed and breakfast named Raven's Haunt, in the middle of nowhere in the mountains of North Carolina, there had been tales about a special room. Story goes: if a lady stayed by herself in said room she would find herself visited by the ghost of a notorious rake. Some of the locals claim that he was killed on the property hundreds of years ago by an outraged husband of one of his lovers.
Rose was sure that it was a fake, every ghost hunt her bosses had sent her on had come up with nothing out of the ordinary, just interest for tourists. She was betting the ladies with the ghostly visits just wanted to have their 15 minutes of fame, or some local was sneaking into the room to keep the story going. Her boss thought it would be a great piece for the Halloween paranormal section, so yet again she got the eerie assignment. The owner who had guided her to the room was still going on about the ghost, so she tried to tune back in.
"Some say that he appears as just a mist; others claim that he had almost a solid form, but lights would shine through him." The tiny older woman named Trixie was finishing her brief summary of the tale. She was a very cheery woman, with her gray hair in a small and tight bun. She smoothed her apron then smiled again at Rose. "Dinner was at 7:00, but if you are hungry I could make you a sandwich." Rose declined and Trixie continued. "Ok then, breakfast is at 8:00 in the morning, pancakes and fruit are planned, but we could do some special requests if you have any."
"Pancakes and fruit sounds lovely," Rose accepted with a smile.
"Great then, we'll see you in the morning. You have the key for your door, and unless you request something, no one will enter your room while you are staying here. You are our only guest for the week, unless someone stops in for a surprise visit. My husband and I are not taking in as many guests as we used too, with our age we are thinking about finding someone else to take over here, so we can go traveling and be guests ourselves." She finished with a chuckle, and as the older woman left the room she winked at Rose. "Enjoy your stay at Raven's Haunt."
"Thank you, I'm sure I will." Rose smiled politely and got a look that said the older woman believed she was in for a surprise. Clearly laying it on thick for the press, Rose thought with smile.
Once the door was closed, she sat on the edge of the big, wooden canopy bed and took in the room. It was very charming, on the corner of the house so she had two windows. From the pictures she had seen on the simple web site she knew that one overlooked the garden and the other showed her the back yard and small orchard, with mountains framing everything. Right now they were dark and empty, covered by some heavy white lace and gauze curtains, and she reminded herself to make sure they were well locked. The walls were a summer sky blue, with photographs of what looked to be the local countryside in simple wooden frames.
She stretched her arms above her head, arched her back and gave up fighting off the yawn. She had been driving for the past 6 hours straight, and was so ready to just lie down, but she had some work to do first. The door was where she started, locking it, then she checked the windows. They were well made, and there was no way anyone could unlock them from the outside. Not to mention she was on the second floor at the back of the house, the porch was on the front side of the house and, with the soft light of a lower window, she could see it was a straight drop to the ground with thick rose bushes growing right below her windows.
"Well," she said softly to herself. "There goes my 'local being frisky' theory." She turned back to the bed and unpacked her bags into the big dresser against the inside wall. There was a huge mirror standing up from the back of it, and she could see the big bed right behind her reflected in it. She tossed her digital recorder on one of the many pillows on the bed. Once finished, she changed into her comfy clothes, a soft stretchy tank-top and loose skirt, then she picked up the recorder and pushed the record button.
"This is Rose Chase at the Raven's Haunt Inn, in North Carolina and it is Monday night, October 13th, 2008." She set the recorder next to the lamp on the nightstand beside the bed. "I am here to discover the truth to the claim that Raven Tanner's ghost haunts this lodge." After turning the lamp out and climbing onto the bed, she sat with her legs crossed in the center, facing the nightstand which had her looking at herself in the mirror, the faint light from outside the windows slowly seeming brighter as her eyes adjusted.
"Is there anyone else here right now?" She asked the darkness, getting no reply. "I am willing to give you a shot and see if you are real..." More silence "But you have to prove to me that you are here." Pause. "I have all week." That said, she decided that she had completed her work for the evening and could finally sleep; like she said, she had all week to be here.
Rose flipped the comforter down, and stretched out under the sheet. She usually slept nude at home, but not when traveling, and she was not about to completely let her 'frisky local' idea go, wanting to be prepared if that was the case. She lay there listening to the sounds of a house cooling, and the crickets outside. Just as she was about to go to sleep she heard something that didn't quite fit with the night sounds. It had a rhythm to it, like a soft rocking, or breathing. She was curled up on her side and didn't move her body, but she did crack open one eye and glanced around at the darkness.
Just over her shoulder she thought she saw a pale haze, and for a second thought it was a man's face. She jumped, barely held back a scream and opened both eyes but it was gone. She calmed her breathing and silently laughed at herself. She had let all those stories go to her head, she thought. Lying back down, this time on her back, she put an arm behind her head, and just watched the room for a little while. She didn't know when she fell asleep, but when she did it was a deep sleep.