Hunting for the Paranormal

[Zen]

The sun was setting, casting a golden glow across a white Southern style house. Sitting in a hammock, outside on the porch was Sarah. Her arms were crossed in front of her as she peered intently at the drive way. Underneath her eyes were dark circles, signs that she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep lately. The tips of her feet gently pushed at the floor, swinging the hammock. A gentle sigh escaped her lips as she reached up and placed a stray strand of brown hair behind her ears.

There was a certain grace to her yes, but also exasperation and exhaustion as well. After all she and her family were suffering. Her two kids, a son and a daughter, both begged their mother to live somewhere else. Right now they were staying with their grandmother and wouldn't come back until the problem was taken care of. Their grandmother had been anything but supportive, claiming that supernatural beings were nonexistent. Such a response tore Sarah to pieces. But after living alone in a house that she was sure was haunted she resorted to desperate measures. She called in a ghost hunter.

The thought made her twinge.

A ghost hunter. She must be out of her mind.

What choice did she have though? She wasn't getting any sleep. Her body was currently battling against the flu and her soul felt like it was being pulled apart. She didn't have a husband to support her - the man left her shortly after having their daughter. Sarah needed help, plain and simple. So now all that was left to do was sit here and wait. Hopefully her guest would be here before nightfall.

 

[Elflady]

As the day grew shorter and the day light waned Xander pushed a bit harder on the gas, speeding up his old Firebird down the empty road, embarassing enough he'd actually gotten lost, after driving through so many places he had trouble navigating the country side. Xander blew some dark strands of hair out of his eyes pondering over the new case he'd got, a woman certain that her house was haunted, she'd been a bit skeptical, Xander had heard it in her voice, he had talked with enough people to recognize when people didn't really believe in what they couldn't see. A few times in his life, especially in the later years that Xander wished he was as lucky in his fate as normal people, but in a way he liked the chance to help but the dead and the living.

It had been over seven years that he finished college and could start his quite unusual profession, it wasn't easy gaining clients for help with ghosts, really how many believed in ghosts these days, even those that actually had problems had a hard time believing that something otherwordly and supernatural existed. If he hadn't grown up seeing things that others couldn't Xander himself may have had trouble believing in the unseen. But if he could help others get rid of dangerous ghosts then he didn't mind being called crazy, well not so much anyway.

Driving past a sign and he snapped back to reality, judging by the woman's description he should turn up ahead and true to her word he could soon see a white house up ahead. Parking in front of the house Xander got out of the car, shutting the door behind him noticing the woman sitting in a hammock on the porch, she looked tired and crestfallen with shadows under her eyes.

"Are you Sarah, the one I spoke with on the phone?" He asked her as he went up steps of the porch. "I'm Xander Holt, you had a problem with your house."

 

[Zen]

Sarah's head rose as she heard the Firebird come up her gravel drive way. She nearly cried out in delight; there was no way in hell she was going to spend another night alone in this haunted house. While she was young, it seemed like a middle aged woman was getting out of the hammock, not someone who had just recently hit their 30s. The haunting was really taking a toll on her, sapping away at her youth.

However she still summoned enough energy to manage a smile. The expression didn't light up her eyes however. She shook hands with him, her hands feeling leathery and dry. To fight back the chill of the oncoming evening, she had a shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Sarah pulled the clothing tighter around her. Perhaps she was hallucinating, but she could almost feel the spirits behind her manifesting and crowding together inside her home.

"Y-Yes I'm Sarah," she said, stuttering from nervousness. A sudden cough made her cover her mouth. "Thank you so much for coming out here. I-I just, the situation in my home has just gotten so out of hand and I really appreciate you comin' out here and taking care of it."

Sarah purposefully didn't mention the spirits. She was a skeptic, but she also felt that any mention of them might bring on their wraith.

"Um, shall I take you around my home or do you need any tools to do your work?"

 

[Elflady]

Xander stood in silence at first after shaking Sarah's hand, taking in the atmosphere, if a place was haunted in any way he could almost always tell without seeing anything, and this place was definitely haunted, but he also felt something else that he couldn't quite pinpoint.</SPAN></SPAN>

"I don't need anything for now, later when I know what it is I'll get what I need from my car. But if you could show me the house it would be helpful and tell me what problems it causes." Xander continued, his voice calm and natural, after all it wasn't his first haunting.</SPAN></SPAN>

"Also have you had any kind of violence or accidents in your house? Sometimes that can attract everything from poltergeists and ghosts to skogsra and vättar, or hobgoblin as they are called here." He explained while waiting for Sarah to show him in. There were so many supernatural things that listing them all would take a long time, and some creatures were rare or didn't exist in some places while others seemed to be everywhere.</SPAN></SPAN>

Looking at Sarah's weak form, she seemed to have the flu or similar but she also seemed weighed down more than just physically and he had suspicions about that. "If you don't mind me asking, have you been sick since the problems started? Or is it something you've caught from someone you've met?"</SPAN></SPAN>

There were some apparitions that spread decease, especially the hobgoblins, living near or under human dwellings, if they felt badly treated in some way. Also the type of ghost called gast, that were not visible in daylight, but if you passed through them in the day you could feel a chill and then often get depressed, like the soul is under attack and even get sick, sometimes badly.</SPAN></SPAN>

"I ask because if your problems are relatively new then something may have happened for them to gather at your home, if the haunting has been here all along then it's probably been here since its death or since before you lived here."</SPAN></SPAN>

 

[Zen]

"Oh yes yes, I'll tell you all about it," she said, nodding sagely. "Do come in first, it's getting a bit chilly out here."

Sarah listened intently to Xander's words, fighting back the skepticism that came with it. She reached out and opened the screen door. A lobby opened up in front of them and Sarah led the way down the hall.

It led to her living room, a beautiful white and cream colored room that was lovingly decorated. There were white wicker chairs, and cream colored cushions, sitting on either side of her long couch. Pillows adorned both the chairs and the couch. A rug was set in front of the couch, accenting the room with light blues and pinks. There was a fireplace, and above the mantle sat a large T.V. One couldn't help but feel that such a large feature clashed with the pureness of the room.

She had tea and petite fours on the coffee table. Sarah gestured for him to sit down, sitting was best when it came to conversations as strange and deep as this one was about to get. As Sarah poured the man tea - she added two lumps of sugar to go with it - she spoke.

"Goddess bless, we're fortunate to not have any violence in our house. But that's not to say, we haven't had our share of odd things happening. My daughter won't go into her room anymore. Said that someone or something kept blowing into her ear every time she nodded off. And my son - goodness I had to throw away his toys. They kept turning on in the middle of the night for no reason."

Her eyes mirrored the tone in her voice - worried, scared, and skeptical.

"And this cold? This cold's been here ever since we've moved in here and it hasn't been that long ago. Probably about a month. It's terrible."

A terrible cough rattled her frail frame.

"I don't care what it is, just please get rid of it."

 

[Elflady]

Following after the woman Xander looked around, the room was nicely decorated and felt inviting yet something, a feeling perhaps told of something hidden and dark that lurked in the house. He sat down on her gesture and thanked her for the tea, glad she added in sugar, many these days skipped it but Xander ahd never been able to drink tea without sugar and in worst case scenario, milk.

"From what you describe it is possible it is a poltergeist but they are generally mean spirited and often use deadly pranks, they are amde of chaotic energy and so chaos and evil is what they are and know." Xander explained, he saw her skepticism and understood it but her problems were as real as the house they sat in. "However if you or your kids haven't felt threatened to your life or had any serious attempt on your well being then I am quite sure it isn't a poltegeist, which is good because they are quite hard to get rid of actually." He said, and honestly how did you easily get rid of a chaotic energy?

Thinking over Sarah's descriptions of their problems and comparing them to known ghosts, spirits and so on. "No, judging by your descriptions I'd say your main problem is hobgoblins, small often grey clad dwarf like people, they are common in northern Europe, where they are called Vättar, but exist elsewhere as well. They are mostly kind, albeit fond of trickery and have sticky fingers, they like to live in or under human dwellings, they are even quite helpful sometimes if they feel at home. People can notice their home or farm is very easy to take care of and have no problem with money but on the other hadn if they feel poorly treated they get mean and spiteful. Playing pranks, causing trouble and spreading deceases." He paused to drink some tea while it was still warm.

"A simple thing as spilling water, especially hot water, on the floor above their home can upset them but also things as if their homes are being destroyed. Of course this can have happened before you moved here, hobgoblins and ghosts in general care little for a specific person, they just pester whoever lives near them. However I'm certain there are more than one apparition in your house, though I think the last one may be a more harmless one, a gast perhaps or a neutral ghost. They are often trapped in the place they died or that were important to them and they can very rarely communicate with living beings, except those with a strong enough power to see them. They are sad beings that are trapped by guilt, longing, sadness or fear and can not pass into the next life. But with a little help they can learn to let go."

Falling silent Xander waited for Sarah's reaction, he wouldn't be surprised if she refused to believe him but at least he could help her. "I can get rid of them relatively easily, especially the gost, do you however know if you happen to have a large, old tree near your house? It should look in good health, as if it has been cared for and nurtured more than normal."

 

[Zen]

Sarah's eyes narrowed into her cup of tea. She purposefully didn't add sugar to hers; she liked her tea strong and potent. The man's words were upsetting and hard to digest. She felt like she was being told about some fantasy story from a children's book. Hobgoblins? It sounded like something out of Harry Potter. Sarah didn't like it, but what was she to do? There was no way she was hallucinating. She herself walked in on one of those episodes of paranormal activity.

When Xander was done talking, Sarah set her cup of tea down on its saucer. A deep sigh escaped her lips as she pressed a hand against her clammy forehead. It was all too much. She chose not to voice her opinions on such matters, preferring instead to go with the flow.

"We have a large oak tree in the back of my property. Now that you mention it, nothing else grows in my backyard, despite how hard I try. Flowers, herbs, even trees, they all die."

She pressed two fingers against her lips, staring hard into her cup once more. The way her body sat on the cough, hunched over with her arms tucked close to her sides, the woman was hiding something. A minute passed in silence and Sarah suddenly broke it.

"Before I bought this home, I was told by my real estate agent that this home used to be a plantation. It wasn't a very large one, but the agent spoke to me briefly about the cruelty the slaves experienced under their master. He gave me stories, and even the master' name. Ironically we share the same last name, Pearson."

Eyes glassing over, Sarah found it hard to progress through her story. She inhaled deeply, forcing herself to continue.

"Every now and then, we'll hear singing. I-It's not like the singing you hear on the radio or anything. It's almost like... chanting. And sometimes we'll hear something thudding into the ground in time with the music. Other times, we'll hear moans. Like they're in pain."

 

[Elflady]

Xander could see that Sarah didn't take well to the supernatural part of life, even if she had experienced things herself. Not something so unusual, now a days people took all supernatural and fantasy things as just fairy tails for kids and old folk tales, in light of that it wasn't weird that only a few believed in what they couldn't see. "That would make a lot of sense, the tree is probably right above their home. It lives because the hobgoblins take care of it and probably think you're intruding when you try to plant things of your own." This, he realised, was still a strange behaviour for the small creatures as they loved nature and wanted it alive and well.

"I think it is a good chance that most if not all that happens in your house is caused by the previous owner, it may seem like a strange thing that the effects from them linger this long but it is not unbelievable. If the previous owner, that Pearson guy, upset the hobgoblins enough they could still be angry and takes it out on you, it's their chanting that can be heard as well I believe. The slaves the previous owner mistreated could have been prevented from moving on by the pain and sadness, they are trapt here in their own pain, reliving their life or moment of death."

Gast's were sad beings actually, caught in an endless loop unless someone stopped to help them move on, it shouldn't be that hard Xander guessed, pleasing hobgoblins on the other hand could be tricky and he said as much. "The gasts can probably be persuaded to leave and find peace but the hobgoblins on the other hand will have to be pleased, they are rare so it's not widely known how to talk with them but people often put out food for them and if lucky will get help from them with their homes and such.

Finishing his tea Xander placed his cup back down on the table, sitting silent for awhile as he tried to recall everything he knew about the creatures here. He hadn't a real photographic memory but if he read something he pretty much remembered it for a very long time especially if he encountered it again. "If you don't mind I can start with the easier gasts, try to speak with them to let their sorrows go before we move on to the devious hobgoblins?"

{Sorry it's short after this long time:/}

 

[Zen]

The woman nodded, hugging herself tightly.

Speaking of these things made her feel ill, like a bug was crawling through her stomach and gnawing at her insides. When it came to things she didn't know Sarah would often lock herself up mentally and not speak to anyone. She was fighting against it now, forcing herself to talk and think.

"Oh yes, of course." She rose, arms still tight around her body. "Most of the um... Activity is outside in the front yard. Follow me."

Swiftly she took him outside, back to the porch. Her eyes were narrowed once more, looking for any signs of the paranormal. It was true, the woman expected to see these things with her eyes. She lifted a finger and pointed towards an old tree stump.

"Just there, past that stump is where we'll hear the chanting... I would go with you but - " Sarah paused. "Well I guess you could say that I'm afraid."

[No worries, your reply is much longer than mine. >.<]

 

[Elflady]

Xander nodded as Sarah opted to stay behind, he didn't mind, it was normal to feel uncomfortable and even afraid near ghosts, after all they were dead, speaking from beyond the grave. Walking out on the grass, his leather jacket keeping out the approaching night chill as he stopped nearby the stump of a long gone tree. Calming his breathing Xander waited for the apparitions to show themselves to him, or rather that he would see them. This had been hard at first, while he had always been able to see ghosts it was a whole other thing to see them when they were not showing themselves on purpose for the living.</SPAN>

It took concentration and a sort of half meditation to see them, in his younger years it could take quite a long time to succeed but now he had almost twenty years of practice. His breathing and heartbeat calm and even Xander slowly let go of what he saw right in front of him, the withered stump, the yard and the edge of the white house, instead he tried to focus on two planes at once, the living and the unseen world filled with pain and regret that lured beneath the surface. In a matter of seconds wisps of smoke started taking shape, they never became solid, neither did they stay shapeless. If Xander kept his eyes locked on a shape it was hard to see its exact form but if he looked beside it without focusing too hard it was easier to make out the shape of a human clad in rags.</SPAN>

As soon as he started seeing them the hints of past pain and sadness washed over him like a wave from the ghastly apparitions floating across the yard, his dark blue eyes almost turned black as he felt their suffering. The living was soon almost forgotten to Xander, the woman on the porch a barely noticed presence as he embraced the past. Looking at the past slaves the man could in a way feel their thoughts, they didn't speak or perhaps they didn't want to, but Xander could understand either way. Day after day filled with hard work under the watchful eyes of a cruel owner or a harsh foreman, the sounds of a whip echoed in his ears and he could almost taste the hot, dusty air, the pain in their limbs, thirst burning in dozens of throats and the broken minds of slaves haven given up hope of a better life.</SPAN>

Forcing himself to snap out of it Xander stroke back his dark brown hair from his brow and cleared his mind, he'd almost been caught in the paralyzing depression that often followed contact with a ghost. As it was hard and almost impossible to fully communicate with ghosts caught in a loop or in the time they used to live in Xander had to persuade them to leave without words. Counteracting their depression with hope and pleasant thoughts of peace and an existence without suffering Xander tried his best to speak without words to the ghosts that it was possible to leave. Not only was pain the cause for a ghost to stay behind but often it was fear, fear of the unknown that came after death. No one knew what happened, perhaps it was a good place, or perhaps you just seized to exist like you'd never been alive in the first place, this hindered many a soul from letting go. But in the end it was better to let go and embrace the unknown than to stay on earth as an apparition for all eternity caught in a loop or fixation always feeling that something is awry.</SPAN>

Having no idea of how long he stood there in the yard, still as a statue focused on something else than reality, but slowly he noticed a few ghostly shapes started to loose focus. They grew thinner and harder to see until they broke into a fine mist flowing off into the wind before vanishing entirely. Not everyone of the past slaves went at once, some seemed to frantically cling to the only thing they knew, whether good or bad. But Xander continued his silent speech and eventually the last of them drifted off like fine mist, hopefully to a better place.</SPAN>

Stretching his stiff joints Xander turned to Sarah, slightly wondering how weird it must have seemed for her to see him stand still like that apparently alone, but that thought quickly went away, he was too used to skeptic people by now. "I'm fairly sure they are all gone now," he said. "Quite a few slaves still lingered here, caught in their own minds, they were too deep in the loop from their time so I couldn't speak to them with words but I got through to them in the end." Step one was done now the devious goblins were left, they could prove to be much more difficult depending on how wrongly they'd been treated before Sarah moved in.</SPAN>

(I went a bit overboard with the ghost talk there:p)

 

[Zen]

She didn't quite know what to think of this strange man and his methods. She supposed that it was better than him spraying Holy Water or salt all over the ground. If anything the man just looked like he was sleeping while standing up. Sarah had to admit it was hard to take him seriously when she thought of it that way. Eyes still keen on his silent form, she sat on one of her wicker chairs. She couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything but she felt something around her shift ever so slightly. It was a bit difficult to describe, sort of an out of body experience. At one moment she saw the world through her eyes and then for a split second afterwards, it felt like she took a step back and really looked. It was at that moment that Sarah realized Xander must have been the cause of this.

An hour had past and she was still as a statue, intent. When Xander suddenly turned to look at her, the woman jumped, startled. She composed herself a second later, hand on her chest. Her mind barely comprehended what he said.

"Oh you were there for quite some time. How are you so sure that they're gone? Is there any sort of equipment you could use to scan the place or anything?"

She wanted something to placate her. Sarah wanted to be sure that the slave ghosts would be gone for good.