Pooben Narayanen's Blog - Posts Tagged "ghosts"
A Night at the Governor's Lodge
“Welcome to the Governor’s Lodge. Mount Hope’s Only Historical Bed and Breakfast,” Aditya read on the gate. He held it open so his friends Ételle and Om could walk in.
“Wow, they really cleaned up the place,” Om said.
“Remember how it was all overgrown?” Aditya closed the gate behind them.
“Look at the lodge, it’s beautiful,” Ételle said. “They’ve put corrugated iron on the roof and repainted it.”
Just then the door to the lodge opened and Aditya’s Uncle Rajesh walked out.
“Hello, children,” Rajesh said. “Welcome to the Governor’s Lodge.”
“Hi, Uncle Rajesh,” the three kids said. Om and Ételle called him uncle too as they had known him their whole life.
“Come on in.” He beckoned for them to enter. “Your Aunty Kavita is waiting for you all out back.”
They entered the main hall of the lodge.
“It looks really nice,” Aditya said.
“Yeah, you did a great job restoring it.” Om touched the hand rail to the staircase that was next to the door.
“Dr. Gail says it’s seventy years old,” Ételle said.
“It’s seventy-two actually,” Uncle Rajesh said. “The British Governor used it when he’d come visit Mount Hope. For a long time it had no use and when I offered to buy it from the government they were more than happy to sell it to me.”
“Dr. Gail also said that it’s a heritage building.”
“It is. The government also asked that I keep it as original as possible. Which we’ve managed to do with Dr. Gail’s help. Once it’s done it’ll be the only historical bed and breakfast in Mount Hope.”
“Like it says on the sign!” Aditya said.
“That’s right.”
“When will you finish?” Aditya could see that the stairs in the hall next to the entrance and the walls had all been either repainted or varnished.
“Another week or so, we still have renovations to complete upstairs. I’ll show you kids next time.” Rajesh saw their long faces. “Don’t be so disappointed. Come on let’s get some BBQ.”
***
“You kids want something else to eat?” Kavita asked.
“We’re all so full Aunty Kavita.” Aditya patted his belly.
“All right,” Uncle Rajesh said. “Let’s get the fire going.”
“Awesome!” The kids sat down on their camper beds which were installed around the fireplace in the lounge and restaurant.
“The lounge and restaurant is really nice, Uncle Rajesh,” Ételle said.
“Thank you Ételle. But we’re not done yet which is why we’re camping here tonight. I’d show you guys the kitchen but it’s not finished. That’s why it’s locked.” He pointed to the windows. “Those and the door to the garden aren’t done either. They’re all sealed shut.”
“Is this the electronic equipment that we’re all guarding for tonight?” Om lifted a blanket revealing a flat screen TV in its box. He could see there were more boxes.
“That’s right,” Kavita said. “Thanks for helping us keep an eye on things kids. We didn’t want to leave it here overnight. You just never know.”
“This is fun, Aunty,” Ételle said. “Just like camping. With the fireplace it’s even nicer.”
“Uncle Rajesh?” Aditya asked.
“Tell me, son.”
“You think this place is haunted?”
“Yeah, is it?” Om asked.
“Don’t be silly guys,” Ételle said. “But is it, Uncle Rajesh?”
“Well, the other day, I heard noises upstairs and when I went up to look…”
“Stop scaring the children, Rajesh,” Aunty Kavita interrupted him. “He didn’t hear anything. The lodge is not…” She suddenly grabbed her stomach. “Ow!”
Rajesh rushed to her side.
“What’s wrong dear?” He took a hold of her hand.
“My stomach,” she said. “Must have eaten too much.”
She got up but yelled out and sat back down again.
Ételle sat down next to her and started rubbing her back.
“Thank you dear,” Aunty Kavita said.
“I think it might be appendicitis,” Om said.
They all looked at him.
“My brother Dan had the same kind of pains last year and that’s what it was.”
“I think you might be right, Om,” Kavita said.
“Then we should go to the hospital.” Rajesh stood up and held a hand out to help his wife.
“What about the children?”
“Aditya, call your mom to pick you guys up. Just lock up and I’ll pick up the keys later. I have a spare set.”
“Okay, Uncle Rajesh,” Aditya said.
They helped Kavita to the car.
“Call your mom, dear,” she said as she sat down.
“Yes, Aunty,” Aditya said. “You get better.”
Uncle Rajesh started the car.
As the car left it hit Aditya. “Guys, we don’t have a phone.”
Just then there was a crack of lightning followed by thunder and heavy rain.
***
The three of them ran inside and closed the door.
“What do we do now?” Ételle asked.
“We can’t walk home in this rain,” Om said. “It’s too dark and too far away.”
“We might as well stay and keep an eye on things. What do you guys think?”
Aditya led the way back to where their camper beds were.
“You’re right,” Om said. “Uncle Rajesh should be back soon.”
“I hope Aunty Kavita’s okay.” Ételle unrolled her sleeping bag.
“I hope so too.” Aditya got ready for bed.
“Goodnight guys,” Om said and turned off the hurricane lamp.
“Goodnight,” Aditya and Ételle said.
Soon they were all asleep.
***
Aditya woke up with a start. The rain had turned into a drizzle. His friends were sleeping soundly. The whole place was eerily quiet. He lay back down, but woke up again.
Were those footsteps?
He listened carefully.
Footsteps! Upstairs!
“Who’s walking upstairs?” Om whispered making Aditya jump. “Sorry, dude. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I have no idea!”
“Ételle wake up.” Om shook Ételle’s shoulder.
“What’s going on?” Ételle rubbed her eyes. “Are they back?”
“No. Shhh.”
The pitter-patter was right above their heads.
“Someone’s upstairs!” Aditya whispered.
There was a loud thump, followed by dragging.
Aditya turned on the hurricane lamp which illuminated the room.
“Let’s go see what’s going on,” he said.
The three of them walked quietly out of the restaurant into the main hall to the stairs. The light from the lamp cast eerie shadows all around them.
A groan from the second floor broke the silence, it slowly turned into a screech. The three of them stopped at the foot of the stairs.
“Whoever’s up there we called the police and they’re going to be here soon!” Om yelled.
“Good one, Om.” Aditya silently high-fived him.
“I can still hear them walking,” Ételle said.
“Let’s go see what’s going on.” Om grabbed a broom that was leaning next to the staircase.
“Yeah,” Aditya said. “Come on.”
“Wait!” Ételle picked up an old carpet duster. “Okay let’s go.”
They bunched together as they made their way up the stairs.
The sounds of screeching and groans continued.
Oh man, he thought as lifted the lamp. At least they’ve stopped walking. Whoever or whatever they are.
“That noise, that screeching, it’s coming from down the hall,” he whispered. “I think it’s the room above where we’re sleeping.”
They were soon in the corridor and the door to the last room that faced them, was open.
“I think the voices are coming from that room.”
“Yeah, I think so too,” Om said.
“Come ‘on let’s go see who’s there.” Ételle raised the carpet duster.
“Wait!” Aditya stared at his friends.
“What?” Ételle whispered.
“What if it’s something that’s not, you know…” His friends’ eyes were wide open. “Earthly.”
“Like a ghost?” Ételle asked.
“Don’t say that.” Om grabbed his broom tighter. “It’s a person and he’s going to wish that he didn’t break into the lodge.”
“Could be a she.”
“Only one way to find out.” Aditya led them down the hall.
All the other rooms were closed.
“That’s the only room that’s open,” he whispered.
They were soon in the doorway. When the hurricane lamp flickered and died.
“Man! I can’t see anything.”
At the same moment, the window flew open. A crack of lightning lit up the room.
A white figure stared at them from the middle of the room.
This isn’t happening!
There was another burst of lightning. Another window flew open with wind and rain coming in. The figure emitted a loud blood curdling screech and started moving towards them.
They all screamed, dropped whatever was in their hands, and ran.
Aditya looked back.
“It’s coming!” he yelled.
They ran down the stairs and stopped at the bottom. They turned around and in the half-light there was the figure at the top of the stairs.
There was another crack of lightning, followed by another blood curdling screech. The figure moved down the stairs.
They screamed again.
“The restaurant!” Aditya yelled.
They ran to the restaurant and closed the door behind them. A huge crash came from behind the door but they did not open it to investigate.
“We should barricade the door,” Aditya said.
“Can’t ghosts go through walls?” Om asked as he helped push a sofa to block the door.
“We don’t know what it was.” Ételle turned on the other hurricane lamp. “What do we do now?”
“We can’t go anywhere, the door to the garden and the kitchen is locked.” Om tried to open a window with no luck. “The windows are sealed shut remember?”
“We’re stuck here,” Aditya said.
The three of them sat down on one of the camper beds.
Aditya looked at the door.
Man! A ghost and I thought Uncle Rajesh was joking…
He got up, climbed on the sofa and put his ear to the door.
“I don’t hear anything,” he said. “But we should stay up. Just in case.”
They tried to stay awake for the remainder of the night. But soon fell asleep with the sound of rain drops on the roof.
***
For the second time, Aditya woke up with a start. He looked around. Om was in his camper bed and Ételle sleeping on a sofa.
The sun’s up. What woke me up?
He heard knocking on the restaurant door.
“You kids in there? Open up!” Uncle Rajesh yelled.
“We’re here, Uncle!” he yelled back, waking up Om and Ételle. “Give me a hand to move this.”
Om got up and rushed to help him push the sofa away. They opened the doors to let Uncle Rajesh in.
“Why did you block the door?” he asked. “You kids okay?”
Aditya and his friends went over what happened after he had left.
“Ghost?” Uncle Rajesh laughed. “So that’s what happened? Come on I’ll show you your ghost.”
He led them to the hallway and at the bottom of the stairs was a mannequin with a white sheet lying next to it.
“That’s the ghost!” Aditya pointed and yelled.
“It’s a mannequin. Like the one tailors use.” Uncle Rajesh picked it up. It had a head and torso and was on wheels.
“But it made noises,” Om said. “Blood curdling noises.”
“And it came after us,” Ételle added.
Uncle Rajesh covered the mannequin with the sheet and rolled it around. It made a blood curdling screeching noise as Uncle Rajesh rolled it faster.
“That’s your ghost! See it gets louder as it rolls faster. It is pretty creepy though.” He stopped rolling it. “The window in that room needs to be fixed, so the storm must have blown it open and the wind pushed the mannequin around.”
“What about the footsteps and the dragging?” Aditya asked.
“It’s the cats,” Uncle Rajesh said. “They’re always playing with the floor mats and covering. I don’t have the heart to put them into the animal shelter.”
“So no ghosts?” Aditya asked.
“No,” Uncle Rajesh said. “Now come ‘on. Let me get you kids to the hospital. Your Aunty had her appendicitis removed last night which is why I didn’t return earlier. But all she keeps asking about is if you kids are okay.”
They followed him out. As he closed the door, Aditya peeked upstairs and saw a cat looking down at him.
“Wow, they really cleaned up the place,” Om said.
“Remember how it was all overgrown?” Aditya closed the gate behind them.
“Look at the lodge, it’s beautiful,” Ételle said. “They’ve put corrugated iron on the roof and repainted it.”
Just then the door to the lodge opened and Aditya’s Uncle Rajesh walked out.
“Hello, children,” Rajesh said. “Welcome to the Governor’s Lodge.”
“Hi, Uncle Rajesh,” the three kids said. Om and Ételle called him uncle too as they had known him their whole life.
“Come on in.” He beckoned for them to enter. “Your Aunty Kavita is waiting for you all out back.”
They entered the main hall of the lodge.
“It looks really nice,” Aditya said.
“Yeah, you did a great job restoring it.” Om touched the hand rail to the staircase that was next to the door.
“Dr. Gail says it’s seventy years old,” Ételle said.
“It’s seventy-two actually,” Uncle Rajesh said. “The British Governor used it when he’d come visit Mount Hope. For a long time it had no use and when I offered to buy it from the government they were more than happy to sell it to me.”
“Dr. Gail also said that it’s a heritage building.”
“It is. The government also asked that I keep it as original as possible. Which we’ve managed to do with Dr. Gail’s help. Once it’s done it’ll be the only historical bed and breakfast in Mount Hope.”
“Like it says on the sign!” Aditya said.
“That’s right.”
“When will you finish?” Aditya could see that the stairs in the hall next to the entrance and the walls had all been either repainted or varnished.
“Another week or so, we still have renovations to complete upstairs. I’ll show you kids next time.” Rajesh saw their long faces. “Don’t be so disappointed. Come on let’s get some BBQ.”
***
“You kids want something else to eat?” Kavita asked.
“We’re all so full Aunty Kavita.” Aditya patted his belly.
“All right,” Uncle Rajesh said. “Let’s get the fire going.”
“Awesome!” The kids sat down on their camper beds which were installed around the fireplace in the lounge and restaurant.
“The lounge and restaurant is really nice, Uncle Rajesh,” Ételle said.
“Thank you Ételle. But we’re not done yet which is why we’re camping here tonight. I’d show you guys the kitchen but it’s not finished. That’s why it’s locked.” He pointed to the windows. “Those and the door to the garden aren’t done either. They’re all sealed shut.”
“Is this the electronic equipment that we’re all guarding for tonight?” Om lifted a blanket revealing a flat screen TV in its box. He could see there were more boxes.
“That’s right,” Kavita said. “Thanks for helping us keep an eye on things kids. We didn’t want to leave it here overnight. You just never know.”
“This is fun, Aunty,” Ételle said. “Just like camping. With the fireplace it’s even nicer.”
“Uncle Rajesh?” Aditya asked.
“Tell me, son.”
“You think this place is haunted?”
“Yeah, is it?” Om asked.
“Don’t be silly guys,” Ételle said. “But is it, Uncle Rajesh?”
“Well, the other day, I heard noises upstairs and when I went up to look…”
“Stop scaring the children, Rajesh,” Aunty Kavita interrupted him. “He didn’t hear anything. The lodge is not…” She suddenly grabbed her stomach. “Ow!”
Rajesh rushed to her side.
“What’s wrong dear?” He took a hold of her hand.
“My stomach,” she said. “Must have eaten too much.”
She got up but yelled out and sat back down again.
Ételle sat down next to her and started rubbing her back.
“Thank you dear,” Aunty Kavita said.
“I think it might be appendicitis,” Om said.
They all looked at him.
“My brother Dan had the same kind of pains last year and that’s what it was.”
“I think you might be right, Om,” Kavita said.
“Then we should go to the hospital.” Rajesh stood up and held a hand out to help his wife.
“What about the children?”
“Aditya, call your mom to pick you guys up. Just lock up and I’ll pick up the keys later. I have a spare set.”
“Okay, Uncle Rajesh,” Aditya said.
They helped Kavita to the car.
“Call your mom, dear,” she said as she sat down.
“Yes, Aunty,” Aditya said. “You get better.”
Uncle Rajesh started the car.
As the car left it hit Aditya. “Guys, we don’t have a phone.”
Just then there was a crack of lightning followed by thunder and heavy rain.
***
The three of them ran inside and closed the door.
“What do we do now?” Ételle asked.
“We can’t walk home in this rain,” Om said. “It’s too dark and too far away.”
“We might as well stay and keep an eye on things. What do you guys think?”
Aditya led the way back to where their camper beds were.
“You’re right,” Om said. “Uncle Rajesh should be back soon.”
“I hope Aunty Kavita’s okay.” Ételle unrolled her sleeping bag.
“I hope so too.” Aditya got ready for bed.
“Goodnight guys,” Om said and turned off the hurricane lamp.
“Goodnight,” Aditya and Ételle said.
Soon they were all asleep.
***
Aditya woke up with a start. The rain had turned into a drizzle. His friends were sleeping soundly. The whole place was eerily quiet. He lay back down, but woke up again.
Were those footsteps?
He listened carefully.
Footsteps! Upstairs!
“Who’s walking upstairs?” Om whispered making Aditya jump. “Sorry, dude. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I have no idea!”
“Ételle wake up.” Om shook Ételle’s shoulder.
“What’s going on?” Ételle rubbed her eyes. “Are they back?”
“No. Shhh.”
The pitter-patter was right above their heads.
“Someone’s upstairs!” Aditya whispered.
There was a loud thump, followed by dragging.
Aditya turned on the hurricane lamp which illuminated the room.
“Let’s go see what’s going on,” he said.
The three of them walked quietly out of the restaurant into the main hall to the stairs. The light from the lamp cast eerie shadows all around them.
A groan from the second floor broke the silence, it slowly turned into a screech. The three of them stopped at the foot of the stairs.
“Whoever’s up there we called the police and they’re going to be here soon!” Om yelled.
“Good one, Om.” Aditya silently high-fived him.
“I can still hear them walking,” Ételle said.
“Let’s go see what’s going on.” Om grabbed a broom that was leaning next to the staircase.
“Yeah,” Aditya said. “Come on.”
“Wait!” Ételle picked up an old carpet duster. “Okay let’s go.”
They bunched together as they made their way up the stairs.
The sounds of screeching and groans continued.
Oh man, he thought as lifted the lamp. At least they’ve stopped walking. Whoever or whatever they are.
“That noise, that screeching, it’s coming from down the hall,” he whispered. “I think it’s the room above where we’re sleeping.”
They were soon in the corridor and the door to the last room that faced them, was open.
“I think the voices are coming from that room.”
“Yeah, I think so too,” Om said.
“Come ‘on let’s go see who’s there.” Ételle raised the carpet duster.
“Wait!” Aditya stared at his friends.
“What?” Ételle whispered.
“What if it’s something that’s not, you know…” His friends’ eyes were wide open. “Earthly.”
“Like a ghost?” Ételle asked.
“Don’t say that.” Om grabbed his broom tighter. “It’s a person and he’s going to wish that he didn’t break into the lodge.”
“Could be a she.”
“Only one way to find out.” Aditya led them down the hall.
All the other rooms were closed.
“That’s the only room that’s open,” he whispered.
They were soon in the doorway. When the hurricane lamp flickered and died.
“Man! I can’t see anything.”
At the same moment, the window flew open. A crack of lightning lit up the room.
A white figure stared at them from the middle of the room.
This isn’t happening!
There was another burst of lightning. Another window flew open with wind and rain coming in. The figure emitted a loud blood curdling screech and started moving towards them.
They all screamed, dropped whatever was in their hands, and ran.
Aditya looked back.
“It’s coming!” he yelled.
They ran down the stairs and stopped at the bottom. They turned around and in the half-light there was the figure at the top of the stairs.
There was another crack of lightning, followed by another blood curdling screech. The figure moved down the stairs.
They screamed again.
“The restaurant!” Aditya yelled.
They ran to the restaurant and closed the door behind them. A huge crash came from behind the door but they did not open it to investigate.
“We should barricade the door,” Aditya said.
“Can’t ghosts go through walls?” Om asked as he helped push a sofa to block the door.
“We don’t know what it was.” Ételle turned on the other hurricane lamp. “What do we do now?”
“We can’t go anywhere, the door to the garden and the kitchen is locked.” Om tried to open a window with no luck. “The windows are sealed shut remember?”
“We’re stuck here,” Aditya said.
The three of them sat down on one of the camper beds.
Aditya looked at the door.
Man! A ghost and I thought Uncle Rajesh was joking…
He got up, climbed on the sofa and put his ear to the door.
“I don’t hear anything,” he said. “But we should stay up. Just in case.”
They tried to stay awake for the remainder of the night. But soon fell asleep with the sound of rain drops on the roof.
***
For the second time, Aditya woke up with a start. He looked around. Om was in his camper bed and Ételle sleeping on a sofa.
The sun’s up. What woke me up?
He heard knocking on the restaurant door.
“You kids in there? Open up!” Uncle Rajesh yelled.
“We’re here, Uncle!” he yelled back, waking up Om and Ételle. “Give me a hand to move this.”
Om got up and rushed to help him push the sofa away. They opened the doors to let Uncle Rajesh in.
“Why did you block the door?” he asked. “You kids okay?”
Aditya and his friends went over what happened after he had left.
“Ghost?” Uncle Rajesh laughed. “So that’s what happened? Come on I’ll show you your ghost.”
He led them to the hallway and at the bottom of the stairs was a mannequin with a white sheet lying next to it.
“That’s the ghost!” Aditya pointed and yelled.
“It’s a mannequin. Like the one tailors use.” Uncle Rajesh picked it up. It had a head and torso and was on wheels.
“But it made noises,” Om said. “Blood curdling noises.”
“And it came after us,” Ételle added.
Uncle Rajesh covered the mannequin with the sheet and rolled it around. It made a blood curdling screeching noise as Uncle Rajesh rolled it faster.
“That’s your ghost! See it gets louder as it rolls faster. It is pretty creepy though.” He stopped rolling it. “The window in that room needs to be fixed, so the storm must have blown it open and the wind pushed the mannequin around.”
“What about the footsteps and the dragging?” Aditya asked.
“It’s the cats,” Uncle Rajesh said. “They’re always playing with the floor mats and covering. I don’t have the heart to put them into the animal shelter.”
“So no ghosts?” Aditya asked.
“No,” Uncle Rajesh said. “Now come ‘on. Let me get you kids to the hospital. Your Aunty had her appendicitis removed last night which is why I didn’t return earlier. But all she keeps asking about is if you kids are okay.”
They followed him out. As he closed the door, Aditya peeked upstairs and saw a cat looking down at him.
