Haunted America: Roll The Dice

I walked along the stone wall with my laser thermometer, checking the temperature. Behind me trailed several children.

"This is where the old Great Island Cemetery used to be," I explained. "It dated back to the 1700s. It was here until 1919, when they moved it, but they left a lot of bodies behind. They didn't get them all; there are still bodies buried under there. So the place is probably pretty haunted."

Paul had brought a couple of his dance friends, Tall Addie and Juliet. I loved these kids; they were very intrigued by the idea of ghost hunting. I'd been meaning to get to the old cemetery blocks for a while; it was down the street from my house.

"This wall was probably here when the cemetery still stood," I continued. "The cemetery was the burial place for a lot of the early settlers. Jennie Reed was buried here; she lived on Fort Reed two hundred and fifty years ago."
"So during the Revolutionary War?" Tall Addie asked.

"Exactly. So I'm probably going to be checking throughout the summer."

Tall Addie was holding the EMF detector, and it beeped and spiked to red. I said,"Now, look, no power lines very near, so that's something."

"Cool," said Juliet with some enthusiasm.

I entered the Clinton Trust Building and went up to the third floor. Chloe ran to give me a hug when I came in. I always greet Chloe with a hug.

Lex was on the couch, a bandage wrapped around her hand. I leaned over and gave her a gentle hug, too. "Hey, pal," I said. "How you doing?"

"I'm fine," she said. "The doctors say I should be getting feeling back in my hand today. Jay was worried about the Carpal Tunnel surgery, but it went fine."

"Yeah, we were trying to make her feel better messaging her this morning," I said. "The kid and I will hang out some while she's at work. You need anything?"

She shook her head. "Nah, I'm doing okay."

One of the cats jumped up on my lap.

"Not sure I'll make your first tour tonight," said Lex.

"That's okay; I understand. You get some rest. I'll let you know how it goes."

"I'll be there," said Chloe. Chloe has been coming on my tours since she was ten.

"I'm excited about the tours for the 250th....I remember the Bicentennial in 1976. My family was in the parade. My mom made us little Colonial costumes, and my dad pulled my brothers in a wagon. At the time, it never occurred to me that I'd still be around for two hundred and fifty, but here we are. I've had this coming for half a century, and I'm going to enjoy it."

Chloe walked to the kitchen for a soda. I said,"It's two years since I died in the ER and got CPR."

"And nobody ever said 'stat'," commented Lex.

"No problems since then," I said. "But I think about it, around the anniversary. I could have died."

"Glad you didn't."

"Me, too."

"You walk down the dark passageway and find three kobolds," I said.

"I knew it was gonna be kobolds," said Lex. "There's always kobolds."

"I want to cast fireball," said Chloe. 

"You always want to cast freaking fireball," said Lex. "You wanted to cast fireball to get through the door when I coulda just picked the lock."

"I like fireball."

"I'm using my magic sword."

"You guys excited about the investigation tonight?" asked Jay.

"Hell yeah," said Lex. "Based on the interview, this is going to be a good one."

"The deeds were kind of a mess for a while," I said. "Based on what I found, the house seems to have been built in 1858, partially burned in the fire of 1918, and then rebuilt from what was left. The most likely candidate for a haunting is Larry Barner, a private in Vietnam. He was missing in action, and declared dead in 1966."

"You think he's the one?" asked Jay.

"He's the best fit I found. The place also bears a distinct resemblance to a Shoemaker legend, where a woman flirted with another man while her fiancé was fighting the Civil War. She felt so guilty that she haunted the place, moving furniture around when nobody was there."

"Cool," said Chloe.

"On the way, I'd like to stop and show you guys Sulphur Spring," I said. "There's a Shoemaker legend there, too, about the Sulphur Serpent, a lizard creature that roams the area. It was believed to be a healing spring, but I'll never know as I can't get the water down because of the sulphur scent. And on the way home, maybe we take the Pine-Loganton Road, Clinton County's most haunted road."

"Awesome," said Chloe.

"I'm rolling to hit," said Lex.

We pulled up by Sulphur Spring, where a small pavilion stood over the actual spring. All of us got out of the vehicle, and walked over to the pavilion.

"My god, I can smell the sulphur from here," said Lex.

I nodded. "There's a very heavy sulphur content in this water."

"Who's gonna try it?" asked Chloe.

Lex shook her head. "Sure as hell not me."

"I've tried," I said. "I can't do it. I don't mind you drinking from a healing spring, though."

Chloe took a taste. "Perfectly normal water, aside from the smell."
"We gonna take a sample?" asked Lex.

"Hell, we can test it right here," I said. "I have the litmus strips." I went and got the kit from the car, tore off a strip, and handed it to Lex. "Just stick that in the water."

She dipped it in the water, and it immediately turned a dull green. I held it against the little chart and said,"See, that means it's acidic. Drinkable, but fish couldn't live in it."

I turned to the creek behind the pavilion. "Think I saw jewelweed down here---I want to show you guys this."

I walked down and picked a leaf. "Yep, this is jewelweed, alright. It grows in wet areas usually. If you crush up these leaves, it relieves the itch of poison ivy."I handed the leaf to Chloe. "Stick it underwater. It turns silver."

Chloe doubtfully submerged the leaf. She smiled as it took on a shiny, silvery sheen. "That's so cool!"

"That's how you know you got the right plant. Come on, let's get to the house."

Parts of the house looked old, with the rest showing newer parts. It checked out with my estimation that it had been built twice, essentially, again after the fire. Jay immediately settled in at the table with her spirit box picking up frequencies, so I went upstairs with the others.

"They've been getting things moving around in the attic," said Lex. "Do we want to go up there?"

"For a few minutes," I said. "That tallies up with the legend, but I don't want tus spending too much time in the heat."

"Yeah, it's pretty bad out," agreed Chloe.

We walked up the stairs to the old attic. Ashlin took up a position by the stairs. I said,"Everyone be careful---There's nails sticking out of the beams. Don't hit any."

"Yeah, I've learned that," said Chloe.

I turned to her in a brief panic. "You hit a nail?!"

"Not now. Years ago, when I was little."

I breathed a sigh of relief. My worst nightmare is something bad happening to Chloe on an investigation.
Lex and I set up our recorders and turned them on. I checked around the the laser thermometer. "It's up to a hundred and two up there on the beams."

"This mirror creeps me out," said Chloe. There was the frame of a standing mirror, with no mirror installed in the middle, standing along one wall. "Like it's a portal to another dimension or something. Like I'm afraid to stick my hand in it."

"Another dimension would be cool," I commented, and reached for the mirror.

"Don't stick your hand---"

"It's okay," I said as my hand went through the frame harmlessly. "I mean, I had to try."

We walked back down to the bedroom and met Jay, carrying her equipment. She said,"Do we want to do a session up here?"

"They reported that the kid has been experiencing shadow figures," I said. "Let's do it. Who has their recorders?"

We got everything set up. Everyone sat down and got comfortable; you have to sit pretty still for EVP sessions, so it's important to find someplace you want to sit for a while. Lex and I wound up on the floor, against the wall, with Ashlin, Chloe, and Jay sitting on the bed. Lex had her recorder on. I turned mine on and said,"June thirteenth, eight-fourteen PM. Loganton house. Lou."

"Jay."

"Chloe."

"Ashlin."

"Lex."

I try to always start the same way. "Is there anyone here?"

We went around the room randomly for a while, watching the EMF detectors. Chloe said,"Something's happening. I'm getting spikes to orange."

"Me too," I said. "And mine usually doesn't do that."
"Yours is like you," she said. "It's not as sensitive and doesn't jump to conclusions."

Lex took some photos. "You guys all have resting bitch face. It's amazing."

"Every time I take a photo of Lou, he's standing there all dramatically like he's in a movie or something," said Chloe. "I don't know how he does it."

"All the photos I see of myself on investigations, I look like an action figure," I commented.

We sat in companionable silence for a while.

"Did you fight in a war?" I asked the ghost. "Or know someone who did?"

The EMFs all jumped. Jay said,"Did you see---"

"Yeah. That's something. Was it Vietnam?"

The bell went off. Ding. Everyone turned to stare at it.

"There we go," I said.

"Chills, guys," said Lex.

"Can you do that again?" asked Jay.

"Are you Larry?" asked Chloe.

Ding.

"Oh my god," said Jay.

"Did you play cards? Did you gamble?" asked Lex.

The EMF detectors immediately spiked. I said,"You know, a lot of the time, they did do some gambling in Vietnam. It was a way to fill their down time. I've still got my D&D dice...."

I got out my glow in the dark dice and rolled them across the floor. Lex began playing with them. The detectors spiked again.

"Larry? Can you communicate with us?" Chloe asked.

Ding.

"Can anyone grab their phone and play something by the Doors?" I said. "They played a lot of Doors music in Vietnam; it's in like every movie you see."

Ashlin picked up her phone and started playing, and "Riders On The Storm" came on. Suddenly, we were all sitting around in our uniforms, listening to the Doors and rolling dice, and it recreated as best we could under the circumstances, a scene from Vietnam. Immediately, the EMF detectors shot to orange.

Ding.

"Oh my god, this is incredible," said Jay.

"I'd have to rate this place a three, three-point-five," said Lex.

"We have a lot of activity here," I said.

"Chills," said Lex.

It was dark as we drove up the Pine-Loganton Road, Ashlin at the wheel.

"This is the most haunted road in Clinton County, guys," I said. "A haunted cemetery on each end, a ghostly dancing cupboard along the way, a whole bunch of ghost stories here, and Bigfoot sightings."

Lex was up front, bedside Ashlin. Jay, in the back, was already reviewing some of her videos from the night. Chloe had fallen asleep on my shoulder.

"There's a raccoon," said Lex.

"That's something."

"What a great investigation, guys," said Jay. 

I'm glad I lived.

Two years ago, my heart stopped and I was rushed to the hospital. I'm glad I made it through. I would not have wanted to miss this.

I love these people, the best friends I've got. And I'm glad I got to experience this moment.

"Is she asleep?" Lex asked me, looking at Chloe.

I smiled. "The kid's all tuckered out."