My Inherited House Might be Haunted

One

Rhett

I looked up at the house with severe misgivings. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen it but now that reality had sunk in…this was the place I had inherited?

Like, no offense to my deceased great-aunt who’d lived here, but I was pretty sure I’d seen this exact house in a horror movie. The one where the protagonists got sucked into, and it turned into this maze they couldn’t figure out, and people kept getting limbs chopped off. That movie. I’d popped in and out of this house a few times over the past few months—it wasn’t like I was a complete stranger to it—but this was the first time seeing it through an owner’s eyes.

Did I want to live in a horror movie house?

On the other hand, this was likely my only chance at owning a home. I owned a small tech repair shop, and it was enough to pay the bills and a few extras, but housing in this area was insane . A normal ranch-style house could go for a million dollars. If I ever wanted to get out of the studio apartment I was crammed into, now was the chance.

The door to the house abruptly opened, and considering the weighty gothic style, it should have done so with an ominous creak. It didn’t, surprisingly enough. A woman stepped out, and…um…seriously? What movie set had she just walked off of?

It wasn’t so much the long velvet black gown she wore which gave me the impression. Or the straight black hair falling smoothly over one shoulder down to her waist. Or even the sound of high heels clacking against the stone porch. What kick-started the thought was more the unnaturally pale skin and the bright red lipstick.

Well, hi, miss vampire. No, you may not suck on my blood.

Her eyes lit on me and she noticeably perked up. “Hello. You must be Rhett.”

To be honest, I was a little alarmed someone had walked out of the house I’d inherited. “Yes, ma’am. Who might you be?”

“I’m Cressida Everhart, your great-aunt’s attorney.”

She was an attorney? DRESSED LIKE THAT? Uh. Okay, I shouldn’t judge. I plastered on a friendly smile. “Um, yeah, hi. I was about to text you.”

“Why text when you can ring the doorbell?” she returned with a smile that looked genuinely pleased.

Why indeed. I could think of several reasons.

I carefully went past the wrought iron gate and up the stairs, where we shook hands. I say carefully because the front sidewalk was very uneven and clearly needed to be redone. The house seemed in good shape, though.

Cressida shook hands easily. She felt a little cold, not that I was one to judge. Tragically, I’d been born without blood, or so my siblings joked—I always felt colder than everyone else. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“Come in, come in. Let’s not stand out here.”

My mother had raised me to be polite under all circumstances. Her training currently clashed with survival instincts that said to run for it. Something about this house had a creepy feel, and no matter how many times I’d been in it, the impression didn’t change. Granted, it was an old Victorian in all black with a red door, so…could be the paint job. But I had a feeling it was something else. I wasn’t sure what it said about me that survival instincts lost. I found myself following her automatically.

I’d been very, very close to my Aunt Ruth but, due to physical distance, had never been in this house prior to this year. As a kid, she’d always traveled to me, often scooping me up for grand trips. When I’d gotten older, she’d paid for my college and a car, but I hadn’t gone to school here in Connecticut. It wasn’t until her health declined that I decided to move here after I graduated. The plan had been to live with her and take care of her, but by the time I’d made it, she’d been in hospice.

And was gone three weeks later.

That still hurt, honestly. Feeling like I hadn’t gotten to her in time. Feeling like I’d failed to make the most of what time she’d had left. Looking back, I wasn’t sure what had been so fucking important to delay me getting here. I’d been out of school for nearly a year by then but thought I’d had more time. Aunt Ruth had only been happy with my arrival, never saying a negative word about me not getting here sooner, which was so typical of her. Still, her death was a sore spot that grated, and I’d likely always miss her keenly.

Shaking the thought off, I tried to focus once more on the house she’d left to me. It was grand, for sure. My great-aunt had expensive taste. The inside didn’t look like the beginning of a maze, at least. It kept the Gothic Victorian look, with the high ceilings and wood paneling with flowery wallpaper. It smelled like beeswax and lemon, which was also nice? I was trying to find non-scary things to focus on.

“I understand you are the only living relative to Miss Fairchild? Aside from your mother.”

“That’s right.” I shrugged. “My family tends not to have a lot of kids for whatever reason. I have several stepsiblings, but my mother and I are the only relatives she had left. Aunt Ruth specifically willed me the house, so…here we are.” Which had been a sweet gesture on her part, but I’d rather have her alive than the house. No question.

“Excellent. I wanted to make sure. I did have the title redone in your name.” She ushered me into the first room. “I put all the paperwork and such here for you to sign, and I’ll notarize it.”

The sitting room had those elaborate settees and furniture you’d see in a period piece. The whole place was dusty and had the air of not being used, but then again, Aunt Ruth had died three months ago in hospice, so it wasn’t like anyone was cleaning. I hadn’t had the heart to worry about it. Or access to the house, what with it being tied up in estate paperwork.

“My aunt mentioned the house had been used as a movie set?” I couldn’t help but ask.

Cressida clapped her hands together, excited. “Oh, have you seen the movie, then? The Walls Bleed Red .”

“Yeah, I, um, watched it over the weekend.” I’d watched it because I was curious how the house had been used. Did I mention I was bad with horror? Serious miscalculation on my part.

“Your aunt was so excited when they contacted her for filming. I did the legal paperwork for it. We even played extras a few times. Such fun. I do hope it can be a movie set again.”

“I somehow think it’ll happen.” I mean, the house was too perfect for it.

She had a packet of information on the coffee table, along with a ring of several rather bulky keys. Gesturing there, she urged me to sit.

“As I said, just sign a few papers and the house is yours. Also, here are the keys and stipend information.”

“I’m sorry, the what?” Stipend?

“Miss Fairchild was aware the house needed some work,” Cressida explained brightly. “And she was a rather wealthy woman. So she left money in a trust, with a stipend given to you every month. The trust is set up in such a way that if there’s any major repairs, you can submit a bill to my office and the necessary funds will be dispersed.”

For a full three seconds, I stared at her, honestly feeling like I might be sleepwalking. Because how else did I get lucky enough to have a huge house with a stipend handed to me for just existing? It was so typical of my aunt to look out for me like this. I’d still rather have her over the money, but I couldn’t refuse this last gift she was leaving with me, either. She’d clearly gone through a lot of trouble to make sure I had every advantage. The best way to repay that gift was to use it.

I was also not stupid enough to look a gift horse in the mouth. “That’s really reassuring.”

“I’m sure. My card is in the paperwork, so just call me if there’s questions or an issue.” She leaned in a little, her expression almost maternal for a moment. “This is your house. Don’t let anyone run you out of it.”

“I’ve gone from living in a five hundred square foot apartment to a five thousand square foot house. Plus, this is my aunt’s final gift to me. Trust me, I’ll fight tooth and nail to stay here.”

“Good! That’s the right attitude. Oh, and that’s”—she tapped a sticky note on the first page of the paperwork—“the combination for the safe in the library. I understand it contains some very important keepsakes that your aunt wanted you and your mother to have.”

I looked to the wooden pocket doors in question, which were closed.

Oh, and the doors had an umbrella stand full of swords just outside of them. Because where else would you keep your sword collection, am I right?

“Thanks. That’s great to know.”

I bent and signed, watched her stamp her notary seal and also sign, and apparently that was it. I was now a house owner. I had a feeling it would take a while to sink in.

“Well, do you have any other questions for me?”

“I’m sure I’ll think of several once I start settling in.”

“I’m sure you will.” With that graceful smile, she stood, shaking my hand again. “Just reach out, as I said. And good luck with the house!”

“Thanks so much.”

I escorted her to the door, then closed it behind her. Whew. This whole situation still felt unreal to me, but yay! House!

Right there in the carpeted foyer, I did a happy house dance. The dance slowed when I remembered I was supposed to move in with my aunt. Dammit, I hated time. Time and old age had robbed me of her and I’d be mad about that for years, no doubt.

All right, first thing—explore. I wanted to really get to know the layout of the house, pick a bedroom, all of that. Oh, maybe I should put all the paperwork in the safe first, as that seemed a smart move. I didn’t know who all had keys to this house in the past, so it might be a smart move to change out locks, too. I wondered if there was a locksmith I could call, and if it would be covered under “house repairs”? Damn, Cressida had been gone a whole thirty seconds and I already had a question for her.

I whipped my phone out of my back pocket to text her and heard, very distinctly, a floorboard creak behind me.

Whipping around, I looked frantically for the source.

No one.

Just an empty hallway full of a lot of family portraits.

Putting a hand to my chest, I muttered to myself, “Old house, remember? There’s going to be creaks.”

The floorboard in front of me creaked again.

“See?” I reassured myself. “Just old house creaks. Not like the house is haunted.”

Now. Time to explore and really figure this old house out.

I went back to the sitting parlor, grabbed the paperwork, and headed for the safe. I wanted that squared away before anything else. In a house this large, it’d be really easy to lose stuff, and that wasn’t my goal with something this important.

The library had massive pocket doors with an engraved woodland scene. Really gorgeous, awesome doors. They slid open easily, and I stepped through, looking around.

Damn. I might have inherited the Beauty and the Beast library.

Okay, I kid, it wasn’t that massive, but it was damn massive. I think this library took up the whole front of the house. There was not one, but two library ladders, the ceilings easily twenty feet tall, with bookshelves going all the way to the top. The book lover in me sighed dreamily. Oh, we were going to have fun in here. I’d snag books and sit in that oversized chair in front of the fireplace, a lovely fire going in the hearth, and do absolutely nothing else on the weekends. Just watch me.

Focus, focus. I was here for the safe.

Which was…where, exactly?

I looked around, saw no signs of a safe anywhere in this room, and scratched my head. Might have to call the lawyer over this one. Ooh, or Mom. Mom knew everything. I should probably get her on speaker anyway.

I dug my phone out and called her.

She answered promptly. “ Hi, honey ! Are you in the house ?”

“I am, yeah. It’s a lot of house.”

“ It is. I hadn’t seen it in person in years before the funeral, but yes, it’s very massive. Everything was transferred over to you okay ?”

“Yup. My name’s on the deed and everything. I’m actually in the library. I wanted to put all the paperwork in the safe but…uh…where’s the safe?”

“ Oh, right, she hid it behind a painting of God Speed with a knight and a lady. ”

I looked around and spotted it behind the desk. “Bingo. Is the painting on hinges or something?”

“ I think it’s on hinges. It’s been years since I was even in that room .”

Mom and I had lived basically on the other side of the US since I was born. My stepdad owned a construction business, so he was pretty landlocked where he was, and my great-aunt was the type to travel everywhere in her retirement years. We’d normally seen each other two or three times a year; our relationship mostly phone calls and texts.

I put my fingertips to the painting and it swung open easily. Sweet. Also kind of fun. I didn’t realize people did this outside of movies.

All right, what was the combo? It had been written on a sticky note—ah, there it was. Eleven, seventeen—omg. “Mom. The combination to the safe is my birthday.”

“ Awww. Sweetie, she loved you a lot .”

Grief threatened to hit me again. I really wished I’d been physically closer to her in life. I’d have given a lot to just live down the street from her, or in the same city, so I could pop over on a whim. I shook my head, trying to put it aside for now.

“Well, at least I can’t forget it,” I joked with her. “Opening now and…wow. There’s a lot of stuff in here. All the jewelry is yours, right?”

“ Right. There’s a few paintings in the house I want as well. She did leave some things for your siblings .”

My great-aunt had liked my stepsiblings, too, so she’d left them a few things. “Yup, I got the list. I’ll double-check things and then…uh…I really do not want to ship anything to you guys.”

“ No, no, let’s not risk the mail. Your father and I want to visit this Christmas and pick everything up from you then. He said make a list of repairs, too, and he’ll help you as much as he can before we have to go back .”

“I really appreciate it.” And would likely need his assistance. “In that case, for now, I’ll just—”

I heard the heavy tread of boots behind me. Like a military man marching along the floorboards. I whirled around, panic shooting through my system. What the hell was that?!

“ Rhett ?”

“Hang on, Mom.” I kept the phone in hand while stealthily easing back to the doors. I peeked either way in the hallway, but there was no one there.

Swords. Swords were in the umbrella stand right at hand. I snatched one up, holding it aloft. Not that I knew how to swordfight but better to be armed. I just knew, knew , that I wasn’t alone. The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up.

Abruptly, the front door opened. Just like if someone had pushed it open and strode through, not bothering to close it behind them. I stared toward that open doorway and felt my stomach drop. That wasn’t normal, right? That door was heavy , and I knew I’d closed it behind the lawyer, so there was no way it’d opened on its own.

“ Rhett, what is going on over there ?”

“That,” I said faintly, “is very much the question.”