Chapter 1 The Secret, part 1

Chapter 1,
The Secret
The house stood silent in its woodland location situated on the edge of the small town disturbed only by the sound of an approaching engine & the crackle of gravel under tyre as the car ground to a halt outside. The figures stepped out of the black Volvo & walked the short, crazy pathed, moss patched, path which lead to the front steps. After a short while they found the key, amongst the twenty or so bunched together, which snuggly fitted the old lock.
As the key turned inside, the barrel screeched a little through lack of use & then released to unlock the oak door. Sixteen years without occupants meant that Colin Drew & Miss Puckett were greeted by a hallway that was lined with cob-webs, as the large door inched open. The old Victorian clock, which hung next to a gold rimmed mirror, on the facing wall, had long since stopped at 17 minutes to12, its face & hands thickly silk-web covered. Miss Puckett, with hankercief covered nose & mouth, led the way. The old spinster, from the local Bockford town council, who was dressed in a conservative grey suit, which was partially concealed by a thick brown imitation fur coat, looked more like an old-time American bank robber, than someone of respected authority. Ma Baker came to Colin Drew’s mind as he followed in tow. He visualized, the rather amusing scene if their entry had been greeted by a surprised squatter,(he hoped not). To be honest, if it were to have happened he couldn’t entirely say for sure which party would have been more startled, the squatter, or Ma Baker (alias Miss Puckett). He chuckled to himself at the thought of it.
After the masked spinster & the casually dressed salesman had surveyed the whole property at a rush, it was decided that Colin would bring his wife Nancy & their children over for a good look tomorrow, at 11am.
Two weeks later, over lunch, after they’d received the surveyors report, which indicated that the property was of sound construction, the decision to purchase Abbots House was made. However, they would need to wait a couple of weeks at least before the house contents could be listed & cleared for auction, with all the money made, inclusive of the house sale, going into a trust. The couple were assured that the council & their respective solicitors would see to all that, as well as organising the cleaning of the premises after, which was unusual considering the administrators were footing the bill. When at last the auction came it inevitably attracted many curious locals. Most of the furniture along with the Victorian clock sold for good prices & were purchased by an antique dealer from Highgreen. Photographs & personal items were packed into boxes & stored. Eventually the house was emptied & clean, awaiting the family’s arrival. So after a period, stretching back two years including negotiations, the Drews had finally bought the house at a knocked-down price, but there was a catch, there always is under such circumstances. For it wasn’t everyone’s idea of a dream home, but the new owners believed with a lot of work & all of their savings it could at least go some way to fulfilling their dream.
The previous owner Jim Miller had died tragically in the driveway when his jacked car had fallen on him & crushed him sixteen years before. This had happened not long after the youngest of his two sons, had been lost at sea. Many suggested that the accident had occurred after Jim Miller’s normally safety conscious nature had been compromised by grief. Others even mentioned suicide. Jim’s eldest son Jack, on hearing of his brothers death, had returned after being away for many years & had been at home when the accident happened. Soon after his fathers funeral Jack left the country only to be killed in an earthquake two years later, whilst visiting Tokyo, Japan. With one son dead & the other lost, the house by law had to stand silent for at least 7 years, in case the youngest, against all odds, should ever return. As well as this there had been no other living relatives left to claim the inheritance. Therefore, the property stood void of occupants for seven long years before it could be resold. Therefore many stories had sprung up in the years that followed, which deterred a number of prospective buyers, that was until now. There were other technicalities that also contributed, but they had long since been resolved. So Colin & Nancy along with their 14 year old son & 10 year old daughter moved into their new home. They hoped to bring joy & happiness to the old house & for a time they succeeded.
Over the years there had been some strange occurrences at the house that had fueled the rumours & speculation, that circulated around the town. However, because of its remote location there weren’t so many of the Bockford folk that ventured that way at night, especially in winter, after dark. Except that is for the odd police panda car, but even that was scarce after the government cut-backs. Eventually steam glass windowed cars, containing couples performing extra-marital, backseat affairs, or juvenile courtships, were more common. Only their used condoms on the drive way indicated such nocturnal activities had ever occurred there at all.
Local children were known to play in the overgrown gardens & the adjoining woods by day, but not even the bravest dared enter the house, for fear of it being haunted. Most of the ghost stories were the design of worried parents, who hoped that their concocted tales would be an adequate enough measure to prevent the shame of their child from ever being caught inside, in the event of a break in. In reality the housewives-tales told of the house bringing bad luck to all those who dwelt within. To be fair there are many such houses dotted here & there, that are uninhabited, or derelict for whatever reason or another, that have their share of Ghost stories, but Abbots House was different. Even after the Drew Family moved in it was a couple of years before Colin would find its secret & that would only be the beginning.


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Written by T.R.Vinnicombe (aka Dr. Peter Hodgkins) ©2009 all rights reserved & none of the contents of this site can be copied or used in any way without the written consent of the author. Published online by MicroHotStar 2009.