The Red Light Read online

  “I’m playing with my dolls mommy,” she answered.

  “Okay, come down soon, dinner is almost finished.”

  “Okay,” she answered back.

  Sarah went back to the kitchen and resumed cooking, she looked at the clock and noticed that it was almost seven; she thought Mike should be home soon. She knew he would be spending long hours at the office while everything is getting set up. She was thinking about all that happened to her earlier and how she was getting jumpy and nervous at every little sound; feeling like this it will be hard to know if it was just her nerves or if it is real.

  Mary came running down the steps and into the kitchen. “Mommy, it’s cold in my room,” she said holding her hands together like they were freezing. Sarah bent down and held her hands.

  “Oh my, you really are freezing, why don’t you go into the living room and stand by the vent where the heat blows out.”

  She nodded her head and went to warm her hands. The house was huge and old; the stone held in the cold and made it feel like there was no heat at all at times. In the living room there was a very large fireplace, big enough to put long logs into, Mike’s aunt had once told him that the double front doors would be opened back in the house’s early days, and they would have horses drag logs into the living room in front of the fireplace, and roll them in.

  Winter was getting close and Sarah wondered how well the gas furnace in the basement was going to heat the house, it would be nice to use the fireplace but where would they get the wood for it. She would have to talk to Mike and figure out something or they were going to freeze this winter.

  Sarah got finished with dinner and had it on the table, it was dark outside she seen the headlights flashing through the windows, it was Mike, he was home. He came inside and hung his coat on the antique coat rack at the door. “It sure is getting cold outside,” Mike said as he sat down his briefcase and made his way into the kitchen.

  “Come on and eat, it will warm you up,” Sarah put her arms around Mike’s shoulders and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  “It was a long day; the painters didn’t show so I was on the phone trying to find out where they were. It was just a mess today.”

  “I found a secret room today on the third floor,” Sarah said smiling while putting food on her plate.

  “Oh, really, what did you find in there?” Mike asked.

  “There are a lot of books, and I found some notebooks that your aunt kept as diaries and…”

  “Oh, how interesting, you found diaries? What else?”

  “Nothing, I’ll tell you later, it’s not important.” Sarah didn’t want to say anything in front of the children and scare them, it’s hard enough to get used to this huge austere house without her telling stories of what scared her. “Do you think you will have time to help hook up the washer and dryer soon, we’ll need clothes washed within the next day or so?”

  “I’ll see what I can do, maybe tomorrow I’ll be able to come home early and help you out some.”

  “Thank you, I could use a lot of help straightening everything out here, it’s such a mess and one person can only do so much.”

  “Teddy came home early today, I tried to call but you must have been busy,” Sarah said.

  “What happened, son?” Mike asked Teddy with a concerned look.

  “Oh, nothing Dad, new school, new house, just hard to get used to,” Teddy answered.

  “I can understand that,” Mike said with a smile and rubbed Teddy’s head.

  “Daddy, I put a picture on the regirator see,” Mary said excitedly pointing at the picture.

  “Oh my, that is a great picture sweetie you did well.”

  When they finished dinner, Sarah sent Teddy to take a bath and get ready for bed, Mary was on the couch watching a children’s show, and Mike was in the kitchen drinking coffee and talking with Sarah.

  “So, about this secret room, what else happened?” Mike asked.

  “Well, after I found the diaries I opened one, and the light blew out, it scared me to death.” Mike laughed and Sarah lightly bumped his arm smiling. “No, really, then there was this cold breeze blowing through the room but the window was closed and had been covered over by a board, oh, by the way I need you to help get that board off the window, when we get everything straightened up I would like to use that room as my office.”

  “I remember her talking about her writing room years ago, but I never knew it was secret,” Mike said.

  “Oh, it is secret, the door is made into the wall, the only way I knew it was there is because I was outside walking around the house and seen the window on the third floor. I could tell that it was covered with something on the inside; it took some searching along that wall to even find the door. There were so many books, old dusty books it is amazing, but I just felt like someone was watching me, I felt the same way in the basement, maybe it’s just an old house and freaking me out, but it felt real at the time.”

  “I’m sure it’s nothing hon, this is just an old intimidating house, you will get used to it in no time.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Sarah said smiling and finished putting the dishes in the dish washer. “Come on Mary; let’s go see if Teddy is finished in the bathroom so you can take your bath.”

  “Ok, mommy,” Mary said and got up running to Sarah.

  Sarah and Mary went upstairs and to the bathroom door, Sarah knocked and asked if he was about finished. “Yeah mom, I’ll be out in just a minute,” Teddy yelled from the other side of the bathroom door.

  “While he’s finishing up, let’s go to your room and get your pajamas,” Sarah told Mary as they walked toward her room; when they passed Teddy’s room Mary stopped her mother and pointed at his bed.

  “Mommy look, he’s in bed, he’s fast,” Mary said.

  Sarah looked and seen Teddy lying in his bed covered up, but she just talked to him at the bathroom door, she gasped and tried to gain control, trying not to panic and scare Mary.

  “Teddy, weren’t you just in the bathroom? Didn’t I just talk to you in there?” Sarah asked.

  “No mom, I’ve been out of the bathroom for like ten minutes,” Teddy said rubbing his eyes sleepily.

  Sarah went in and gathered Mary’s clothes and tried not to think about what happened, but it was foremost on her mind. She walked back down the hall and looked in Teddy’s room again and seen him lying there in bed and wondered what was going on in this house. When she and Mary got to the bathroom door Sarah slowly went in with Mary behind her, looking around for anything out of place but it all seemed normal.

  Mike was at the table downstairs; he had gotten his briefcase and was going over some paperwork when he heard a door down the hall shut, there was a linen closet past the basement door where the blankets and sheets would be stored. He walked down the hall and stood at the door listening closely but heard nothing, he opened the door; it was musty smelling and full of cobwebs, but otherwise empty. He closed the door, shrugged it off and went back to the table to continue going over his paperwork, old houses made sounds and he wasn’t going to let it get to him.

  Teddy was lying in bed staring at his ceiling, he had turned his light on wasn’t going to turn his light off tonight; he was too afraid that the same thing would happen like the night before. He could hear the water running in the bathroom, and his mother talking to Mary but couldn’t make out what they were saying. There was a thump, Teddy jumped and lay there very still, and then there was another loud thump, it sounded like heavy footsteps on the floor above him, he could hear the steps going down the stairs and down the hall to his room, then they stopped. Teddy covered up his head, if there was something or someone there he didn’t want to see it, he could feel the cold air coming under his covers but heard not one sound.

  Teddy laid there for a long time, until he heard his mother and Mary come out of the bathroom and down the hall to Mary’s room; he uncovered his head and watched them walk past. He wondered if he was the only one to hear and see
things, was whatever that was in this house just bothering him? He lay there thinking about these things until Sarah came in his room and said goodnight to him, she gave him a kiss on the head and pulled the covers up around him, she started to turn the light out but Teddy stopped her.

  “I wanna leave the light on tonight, this new house is scary to me still,” Teddy said nervously.

  “Ok sweetie, I understand we will leave it on if it helps.”

  Sarah went back downstairs with Mike and sat at the table with him. “So, do you think that things will be up and running in another week or so?” She asked.

  “I hope so, we have savings but that won’t last forever, I have to get money coming in soon, and we have to get this house in order so you can start writing again.”

  “I know, I can’t wait; I have a couple of stories that are in my head to start on, maybe this next book will get accepted by a big publisher and bring in some money to help with things,” Sarah said.

  “I’m sure whatever you write will do just fine, let’s get to bed ok? I’m worn out.”

  “Ok, I’m tired too,” Sarah answered.

  They turned off the lights and went to their bedroom; they talked for a while and finally slipped off to sleep.

  Teddy was lying there in bed, even though he hadn’t heard any more footsteps, he was still scared and couldn’t sleep. The light in his room was on the wall above his headboard, there was no cover on it yet, and he figured they would eventually get to it after getting everything unpacked. He could feel the cold in the room and see his breathe every time he exhaled. Suddenly there was a shadow on the wall toward the bottom of his bed, a figure was walking back and forth, the shadow of a figure to be more accurate, like someone was walking right in front of the light above his headboard and making a shadow on the opposite wall. How could this be he wondered, he couldn’t see anything in front of the light, he closed his eyes and covered his head, he never heard a noise and was too afraid to look. Then, he heard Mary scream.

  Chapter 5

  Teddy heard his Mother running up the stairs to Mary’s room; he got up and walked to Mary’s door and seen Sarah holding Mary on the edge of the bed. “Go back to bed sweetie, she just had a nightmare,” Sarah said to Teddy.

  Teddy went back to bed and so did Sarah after getting Mary back asleep. “I got Mary back in bed,” Sarah said sleepily to Mike while getting under the covers.

  “Well, maybe she’ll get some rest. Goodnight, Sarah,” Mike said giving her a kiss.

  No one slept much that night; they all had nightmares except for Mike, who lay awake in bed, hearing the sound of chains rattling from the basement.

  The next morning they were all quiet and sleepy, even Mary who was usually talkative and active, was sitting at the table half asleep.

  After Mike was off to work, and the kids were on the bus to school Sarah went back inside and sat at the table drinking coffee thinking of all that has happened in the short time they’ve been here. She remembered the diaries that she found in the secret room and thought about getting them out to see what was written inside.

  Sarah went through the house cleaning and unpacking for a couple of hours but couldn’t get the diaries out of her mind and decided to take a break and look through one. She made herself some coffee, got the diaries and went outside to sit at the table on the deck; she opened the most recent one and began reading the last entry.

  “They have been getting worse lately, I have a hard time sleeping and they now won’t leave me alone during the day. After all these years he still isn’t satisfied. The strongest one demands more and more, the more… blood he gets the more he wants, and he is getting meaner every day, I don’t know what to do, I am in this deep now and he has control of me, the things he makes me do are horrible, but I cannot resist. I must go tomorrow and change the will, I must not let Mike bring the children here, I will have the house sold and they can have the money. I must keep them away from Silas.”

  Sarah felt a chill go up her spine; was Mike’s Aunt Penny just crazy or is there something supernatural in this house? And one demands blood? This was too much for her to take in; she wasn’t sure what to think. As she sat there staring toward the creek, she heard a tapping noise, she looked around but didn’t see anything or anyone, it sounded like someone tapping on a window from inside trying to get her attention, but she was alone. There was another tap and she looked up at the covered window of the secret room, for a split second she saw a face in the window, a woman with a pale white face and long black hair.

  This startled her and gave her cold chills all over her body, Sarah refused to go back inside the house immediately, she walked to the creek that ran nearby and kept looking back, having the feeling that someone was watching her. She sat on the bank and listened to the water flowing over the rocks, this relaxed her and she almost forgot about the face she seen, every time she thought about it, she got chills all over again. Then she heard a scream coming from the direction of the house.

  Sarah was scared but also tired of being too frightened to go in her own house; she ran up to the corner of the house beside the deck and started yelling up toward the window. “Why are you doing this? What did I do to you? Just go away leave us alone!” Sarah screamed.

  She walked around the corner of the house and ran into someone, it was Mike who had come home early, Sarah fell back onto the ground afraid to look up, and she was screaming and kicking at the ground trying to push herself backwards. “Sarah what is wrong with you?” Mike asked her, reaching down trying to grab her hands to help her up and calm her down.

  “Mike?”

  “I told you I would try to come home early to help you out today.”

  “But you haven’t been gone long at all; I didn’t expect you back so soon.”

  “I went in and made sure that things were getting done, and told them I would be back later on today or tomorrow morning.”

  Mike helped her up and they walked over and sat on the deck, she showed him the diary entry that she had read, and told him about what happened after reading it. He kept trying to explain it away, maybe it was a reflection that just happened to look like a face, and the scream could have been a bird or any number of the animals that lived in the area.

  Mike helped her calm down, they went inside and began moving the furniture around and unpacking. They went to the basement to hook up the washer and dryer, she felt a little better with Mike down there with her but she still felt like someone was watching them. She didn’t hear any noises like before so she was happy about that. She loaded the washing machine and turned it on, there was no water going into it.

  “Oh, I didn’t turn on the water,” Mike said.

  “Some plumber you are,” Sarah said laughing.

  He turned it on and the hose flew off, water was spraying straight out onto both of them, he turned the shut off valve and it stopped, there they stood in the cold basement, drenched and shaking.

  “I never claimed to be a plumber,” Mike said.

  “Well, you shouldn’t ever claim to be one after this either,” Sarah said jokingly.

  They went upstairs to their bedroom and changed their clothes, Sarah kept picking on Mike about being a plumber, and he went back into the basement and fixed the washing machine problem, while she made some coffee and sandwiches.

  “I still can’t get over what your aunt wrote in that diary, that really is some freaky stuff Mike, “Sarah said.

  “Maybe she was just writing a story or something, you know like you when you write.”

  “Yeah, maybe, but it’s still freaky. I would like to get that board off the window and clean that room up; it would make a good writing room.”

  After eating they went up to the secret room, Mike was impressed with how the door was hidden and with the book collection his aunt had inside the room. Mike took a hammer up with them so he could try to remove the board, he pried at it and finally got one side to pull back, he grabbed the board and pulled it around and someth
ing fell down out of the window onto his feet. Mike screamed and ran backwards falling back against a book shelf, he thought it was a snake, but luckily it was just a snake skin, a big one.

  “Oh my God, there are snakes in here?” Sarah asked as she glanced around the room paranoid and looking for a snake to come out and wrap around her.

  “Look at it, it’s all dried up it looks like it has been there for a long time, so the snake is probably long gone,” Mike answered.

  Sarah agreed but still was paranoid and watching out behind everything she moved, Mike pulled the board the rest of the way off and the light came in brightly, they could see the dust in the air and it got dustier as they began pulling out old books and cleaning them off.

  “I’ll go get another light bulb,” Mike said.

  “Okay, I’ll stay here and check these books out.”

  Sarah was looking at books when she heard Mike step back into the room. “Back so soon?” Sarah asked and turned around, but there was no one there, she could swear she heard his footsteps and felt his presence in the room, and then Mike stepped into the room.

  “I got the light bulbs.”

  Sarah jumped and let out a little scream, then hugged him.

  “You have got to calm down, don’t let this old house scare you to death, it’s just a house,” Mike said trying to calming her down.

  “You’re right, with all the stress of moving and being in this big old house and working on little sleep, it all is just getting to me.”

  “Why don’t we go into town and look around, it will be good for you to get away from here for a little while.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Sarah said smiling.

  They turned off the lights and went outside and got in the car, while going down the driveway Sarah still felt like something was watching her from the house, she didn’t look back but she still had that feeling.

  They road they live on is narrow and there is nothing but farmland around them; even after turning onto the highway there were farms on both sides of the road. Moving into this sprawling rural town is certainly going to be an adjustment for them all. The town was small but had most everything they needed, a library, and small shopping centers. Sarah seen an antique store and wanted to stop in, they went there and to many of the other small shops of the downtown area. Sarah was happy to get away and forgot about the house for a little while.