Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“It’s a terrible name,” Nigel groused as Oscar opened the equipment case with the box inside.
“It makes it sound like we believe in devils and demons. But there’s no scientific proof such things exist. Not to say there aren’t any non-human spirits, such as thought-forms, but no agents of cosmic evil. ”
They’d returned to the dining room inside The Cottage, leaving Dr. Lawrence, Ms. Montague, and Ethan back in the trailer.
The seance had been incredibly difficult for the two women, emotionally speaking—Nigel couldn’t truly imagine how they must feel, hearing the words of the entity that had killed Robin.
“Zeek says viewers love that sort of thing,” Tina said from behind her monitors. “Demons and devils, I mean.”
Of course he did. They also loved investigations of well-trodden sites like the Stanley Hotel. But surely OutFoxing the Paranormal was above picking such low-hanging fruit.
Oscar stood up, the box cradled carefully in his large hands. “What would you call the device, Nigel?”
“A Faraday cage with additional wave reflectors.”
“An FCWADWR.” Chris inserted a fresh battery into their shoulder cam. “Real catchy, doc.”
“Let’s stick with Devil’s Toy Box for now.” Oscar placed the box into his backpack. “Okay—we’re going to want salt, plus something to lure Ullman inside. He must be low on energy after all that banging around he did upstairs, so a nice pair of fresh batteries should do the trick.”
“We should take the SLS cam, too,” Chris said. The Structured Light Sensor camera used infrared light to map its surroundings and detect humanoid shapes, including those not apparent to the naked eye.
“I’ll operate it.” Nigel went to the bag containing the SLS and unzipped it. “We might as well try for an EVP while we’re at it.”
Oscar clapped his hands together. “Excellent! We’ll get Ullman safely sealed away, transport him to the mainland when we leave, and turn him loose in the cemetery he’s buried in. That should be far enough from The Cottage for him to dissipate.”
Nigel hoped it would be that simple. “Where should we set up?”
“The parlor?” Tina suggested. “He showed up in the mirror there the first day.”
“Or his bedroom where he died?” The location would certainly hold significance for Ullman’s spirit.
Oscar grimaced. “I didn’t like the feel of the bedroom at all. Let’s try the parlor, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll hit the bedroom.”
It probably didn’t matter that much, given Ullman seemed free to roam the house. “Sounds good.”
The three of them trooped to the parlor, while Tina monitored them from the dining room. At night, the scattered furniture made sinister shapes in the dark. The moon was just rising, but cloud cover blotted out any light it might have provided.
“Mirrors act as portals, so it might be easier for him to come out of the one on the wall and straight into the one on the box lid,” Nigel suggested. “Let’s clear a space around the mirror.”
Oscar dragged furniture out of the way while Nigel got the SLS running. Its screen mapped a stick figure over Oscar as he moved around. “SLS is working.”
“Great.” Oscar unzipped the backpack and took out a canister of salt as well as the Devil’s Toy Box.
“I’ll do a voice over about the equipment later, just in case anyone is listening in.
” In other words, no need to tip Ullman off if he was lurking around.
And, of course, assuming Ms. Montague let them use any of this footage in the first place.
Oscar positioned it carefully in front of the old mirror, then lifted the lid.
The Devil’s Toy Box was a simple device, which made its extravagant name even more annoying in Nigel’s opinion.
It was a small box with every interior surface lined with a mirror.
The theory was that since ghosts could use mirrors as portals, any ghost inside with the lid shut would only be able to bounce from mirror to mirror.
Nigel wasn’t entirely sure he bought that explanation. He was sure the silver backing on the mirrors served to create a Faraday cage, which would keep the ghost contained inside once the box was closed.
Oscar put two D-cell batteries into the box, then sat down cross-legged on the floor with the box between himself and the mirror. He unclipped the digital recorder from his belt, switched it on, and put it down beside him. “Is everyone ready?”
Nigel’s nerves tingled, as they always did at the prospect of ghostly activity. He patted the pocket of his cargo shorts with one hand, making sure the ziplock baggie of salt was still there. Hopefully nothing would go wrong, but if it did, he’d be ready to jump in and protect Oscar.
Silence settled over the parlor as Oscar centered himself with three deep breaths. Facing the antique mirror, he said, “Seth Ullman, this is no longer your home. You’ve lingered too long. Cross over and trouble the living no more.”
His voice rang with authority and sent a shiver of a very different kind through Nigel. He shook it off and refocused.
A faint creak sounded from above, but that was the only response—assuming it wasn’t just the house shifting as it cooled off.
Oscar was undeterred. “Seth Ullman! Your time in this world is done. Leave this place and trouble the living no more!”
On the screen of Nigel’s SLS, a second stick figure flickered to life.