A Haunted Heart: Introductions

I have been the mansion’s keeper for thirty long years and never once has the
Heart of the mansion truly awoken from its melancholy sleep. No decent folk go in there now unless they crave an escape from their mortal existence. I myself have never set foot on the grounds, but I’m pretty sure that the estimate of 999 ghosts has increased ten fold since Master Johnny’s frightful visit so many years ago. I’m charged with the task of keeping the grounds outside the main gates clear of trash the locals like to leave lying about and more importantly, to keep people out of the mansion itself. No telling what horrors lurks in the rooms or hide in dark corners of that place.

It was a chilly October morning as I speared the abandoned plastic bottles and candy wrappers with my trash pick. Another gaggle of gawking teenagers brave enough to vandalize the outside walls, but too frightened to actually walk through the gates, amusing themselves, had decided to amuse themselves in front of the main gates again. They're a rotten lot those kids. They always see fit to make me clean up after them like their damn Mothers. I’d have liked to catch them and take a switch to their behinds, but in this day and age, that practice of punishing a naughty child is frowned upon. I took a break from my work for a moment and from a distance I saw a young woman approaching the property, looking determined, yet fearful at the same time.
In her hand she held a binding knot, so I assumed she was of Irish ancestry and over her shoulder was slung an emerald green fabric bag with golden faeries and shamrocks embroidered about it. She had an innocence about her, the kind that is sweet and sincere yet easy to take advantage of. Her eyes were a grey blue, like the sea at peace and they shone with a sparkle in them that could only be caused by a strong sense of hope. I watched her come closer. When she saw me, she paused, but after a moment, she shook her head of arm length hazelnut hair and straightened her tattered gray skirt. I don’t believe she was poor, but who knows now a days with the styles the younger generations choose to wear. I hailed her when she was within earshot.

“ Oiy, you! What’s you’re business in these parts?” She jumped back a bit and I felt a little ashamed of greeting her so harshly.

“ I…I’m going into the mansion.”

Now it was my turn to jump back in shock. Had she not heard the tales?
“ You’re what? Haven’t you heard anything about this mansion?
She nodded quickly.

“ Then what on earth are you going in there for?” She bit her lower lip and fidgeted with her bag strap before answering.

“ For love.” I was utterly dumbfounded by her answer. For love? I’d heard a lot of things in my time as the mansion’s keeper, but never this. It was most irregular, but I figured she’d be out in a panic within the hour, so I decided to let her pass.

“ Alright girly, but beware. Them ghosts can be frightfully malicious when the mood takes them.”

With that, she nodded again approached the entrance, and pushed open the copper gates, which had turned a musty green over the years of neglect. They screamed as she pushed through them, almost like a person whose legs have fallen asleep and are rudely being revived by someone smacking them. I watched the gates take on personalities of their own as they grumbled while moving back into place after she had entered.

“ I wonder if I made a mistake, letting that timid little thing in…”

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Inside the courtyard, standing in the center of a dead flowerbed, the young woman probed her surroundings with her eyes, half expecting some malicious specter to leap out at her. Her eyes found one of the five elaborately carved black fountains that pushed opaque jets of water out gaping mouths and faery leaf baskets. The decorations seemed to be heavily steeped in fantasy, especially the gigantic fountain directly opposite her. It had a large round base and three tiers, all sporting different mythological creatures, yet they were all linked through the tale of Orpheus and his Lute. On the bottom, four magnificent griffins with their wings outstretched and heads turned upwards, supported the entirety of the structure, while on their backs, a hissing snake and hideous man, chased a naked girl of unequalled beauty. In the third and final tier, a man with a lute in his hands and tears in his eyes watched his beloved wife’s spirit vanish back into the depths of the underworld. It was the centerpiece of the front yard as the sun made it glow with one simple beam of light.

A small shuffling sound in the overgrown wisteria along the side of the mansion spooked the girl out of her trance and she sat down, and began to fumble with her necklace as a means of comforting herself. She heaved a heavy sigh and spoke as if she had someone sitting beside her in the flowerbed.

“Of all the idiotic things to do, you just had to take the dare. Mother told me about messing with the spirit world. She told me that it is a place beyond our rules and our reckoning. Only the fool dares to provoke the dead with simple-minded questions and mocking pranks. If Mum were alive, I’d get my ear boxed for this. If Riley had any idea that I was toying with the supernatural at the whim of my friends to save someone’s reputation, I’d probably end up checking into the mansion permanently as its newest member.” She sighed again and growled at herself.

“ Why the hell am I here?! It’s no fault of mine that, that stupid Robin boy was labeled a tramp! Hmph, he’s not even that bloody attractive.” She growled at herself and rolled her eyes, getting slightly more agitated.

“ And now here I am, once again, talking to myself like a loon!” She looked about once more as the vines and tall grasses swayed in the wind. Everything seemed calm and not foreboding at all.

“I have to admit that this place has an eerie sort of charm to it.”

Night began to fall over the countryside as she continued to sit amongst the dead roses, still clinging to her necklace. The calm of the courtyard changed with the setting of the sun as the black fountains shut themselves off one by one. A frightening melody, that sounded like the song of a weeping willow had it been transformed into a woman, permeated through the air and sunk itself into the girl’s bones. She began to tremble slightly, every minute regretting accepting the dare. Other voices, just as chilling as the first, joined in the song. Their owners remained hidden from sight.
The girl gathered her things slowly and began to inch towards the front doors of the mansion. As she reached for the handles, the great oak planks swung open revealing a beautiful, yet dark interior. Cobwebs hung in blankets from the gargantuan chandeliers and a gentle layer of dust covered the banisters of the curving stairs leading up to the bedrooms. Ascending up the creaking staircase, she heard the pounding of fists upon doors whose hinges refused to budge. There were also screams echoing from the halls above mixed with the slow off beat ticking of a grandfather clock. She stopped dead in her tracks halfway up, eyes wide as dinner plates and pulse faster than the speed of light.

“ That’s it. They wont’ know whether I’m in the house or outside of it.” With that, she rushed down the stairs and out the doors, heading towards the safety of the dead roses. As she approached the rose bed, a woman clad in a gorgeous nightgown and robe bent down near the flowers. Although she was a vision of loveliness, her face looked as though it had been boiled like an evening potato. She sighed half-heartedly, “ Pity they died…”
The woman smiled.

“ You have nothing to fear from me, young lady, but if you truly are worried, I’d suggest staying close to the great big stone in the backyard. You can’t miss it.”
Moya nearly had a heart attack. With every ounce of strength she had, she forced her legs to move, then run to the back. As her feet carried her farther away from the courtyard, she heard the lady shout some final instructions in a sort of listless tone.

“ Be sure to close the stone, dear!”

After running for what seemed an eternity, she finally found her safe haven after getting the wind knocked out of her by the stone itself. Still panting, and twitching like a scared rabbit she backed herself into a hollow tree stump across from the stone. The stump molded to her figure perfectly and she was able to conceal herself behind a curtain of moss, still trying to secure the feeling of protection she craved more than anything at that point in time. Moya was so petrified that within seconds of hiding herself, she fainted from all the shock and excitement of the past ten minutes.
The stone vibrated slightly. It had the same binding knot as Moya’s medallion and the part where it was carved into the rock protruded like an open drawer waiting to be closed. It vibrated again, like it was trying to get someone to close it. The lady reappeared at the edge of the mansion and sighed again.

“ The silly girl forgot to close the stone.”

“ Who forgot what now?” a young lad of about twenty years fazed through the side of the house and stood behind the lady. His clothes were typical of a sailor boy of the eighteen hundreds; loose cotton shirt, calf length pants that had seen better days, a vest, and bare feet. Most of his shoulder length hair was tied back in a low ponytail and his eyes held an uncommonly kind and joyful twinkle. The lady turned to bow her head in greeting to him briefly.


“Good evening Master William.”

“ Good evening, Lady Gale.” He bowed.

“ I was referring to the girl. She forgot to close the stone.”

“ If you don’t mind my asking, Lady Gale. What girl?” She pointed to the moss-covered stump.

“ The one cowering behind the moss. I believe she’s on a dare like that Johnny? Johnson? John-person who came here before.” William shook his head with a chuckle.

“ Good ol’ Johnny, bless ‘im.”

“ I instructed her,” she whispered behind her hand as another less kindly looking ghost floated by, “ to stay near the stone and close it when she arrived there. Apparently, she did not here the last set of my instructions.”

“ Well fat lot of good an open stone will do her. She’ll have all the nasty spirits down upon her before she even has a chance to scream.”

“ Foolish mortals.”

They stood there for a second, William pondering something, and Lady Gale waiting impatiently.

“ Ehem.” She covered her mouth slightly and stared at William out of the corner of her eye. He did not hear her because he was so deep in thought. She nudged him in the ribs.

“ Ehem!” he looked up, slightly startled to find Lady Gale nodding her head towards the stone. He looked puzzled.

“ Well?” she said rather annoyed at the possibility of having to explain herself.

“ What? Oh, oh the stone. My apologies, your Ladyship.” He made his way towards the open stone.

“ You know, William. I believe she’s your type.” With that last statement, Lady Gale drifted back into the mansion for her evening stroll amongst other like-minded happy haunts. He shook his head and looked over his shoulder towards where Her Ladyship had gracefully excused herself.

“ She’s as bad as my Mother sometimes.” Hands in his pockets and a kindly smile on his lips, he made his way over to the neglected stone that was now dancing out of a fear for the girl it was supposed to be protecting. He squatted behind the stone and pushed the outstretched drawer back into place, putting the stone at ease. A low grumble emerged from behind him as another ghost, wanting to have some fun with the new human toy, was pushed back by the protective powers of the rock.
Since he meant Moya no harm, the stone did not push William away from her and so, he stayed where he was; squatting down, arms crossed on top of the rock and chin rested in the little corner his elbows created. After awhile the moss shifted as if someone’s leg had pushed it accidentally, then there was another long pause. William laughed gently with his chin still covered by his elbows.

“ I saw that.” There was a sharp inhale from behind the mossy curtain.

“ Come on now. Come on out. I don’t bite you know…” A slender finger parted the protective covering just a sliver.

“ Well, if I could bite, I wouldn’t bite hard.” There was a nervous giggle and four fingers joined the index finger that parted the moss even more than before. Moya peeked her head out from within her shelter. William raised both his eyebrows and peeked back at her.

“ Hello.”


Moya nodded in place of a verbal greeting, still warming up to the friendly apparition before her. By now she had exposed both her eyes from behind the moss and watched William timidly. As she looked him over, she noticed something familiar about him although she could not put her finger on it directly. There was some gentle kindness it seemed she had known before. William continued to peek at her playfully over the stone in an attempt to draw her out of her hiding place.

“ It’s alright to come out, you know. The stone’s closed.” He acted as though she should know exactly what he referring to when he said, “ the stone is closed.” Unsure what to make of his rather vague statement, she stared up at him blankly waiting for him to elaborate. She waited for a bit, but he made no effort to clarify his statement.

“ And that should put my mind at ease because?” William blinked, obviously startled by the fact that this girl had no idea what he was talking about. He then realized his mistake in forgetting that she had only been at the mansion for less than a day, not three hundred years like he had been.

“ Oh, my sincerest apologies, Miss…Miss?”

“ Moya, Moya Lake.”

“ Moya…you wouldn’t happen to be of Irish decent would you?” She raised an eyebrow and pushed back the moss completely.

“ Aye, my family and I moved from County Cork a little over four years ago.”

“ Ah, thought so.” For a moment William lost himself in his thoughts. He pondered her last name for a moment, trying to recall a lovely memory he had not visited in ages.
He shook himself from his trance.

“Well Miss Lake let me explain. See the stone in between us?” She nodded, looking to the large stone he was leaning over.

“Long ago, before I even lived here, this stone was placed in the center of the courtyard to safeguard those who built the place. Who they were, I have no idea. The protection stone, as we like to call it, came from the few pagans still clinging to the old ways and so it’s magic protects the living from those in the supernatural world whose goal it is to plague those in the living realm. I believe it was made as an extra means of protection on All Hallows Eve, when some spirits try to possess the living.” He paused and then tapped the Celtic knot upon the stone.

“ I assume that since you are Irish, you know what this symbol is?” For the first time she explored the stone with her eyes. It was a grayish green color, like some sort of strange marble and perfectly smooth to the touch. It was a lopsided round shape and in the center there was a bit of rock that looked like a giant button. Upon the ‘button’ was a weaving design that had been drawn in gold. She nodded her head and looked to the design William pointed to.

“ Aye, it’s a binding knot like my…” she went to point to her necklace, but found it missing. She gasped in horror as she began to search frantically for it. William was unsure what to think.

“ Erm…lost something?”

“ Yes! My Mum’s necklace.” She smacked her head and began to swear in Gaelic.

“ If Mum were alive and knew I lost her necklace, I’d be stuck in the attic for the next week.” William laughed at the feared punishment. She paused in her panic for a moment to put her fists on her hips and slowly turn to face him. If a woman’s glare could turn a man to stone, then young William would have made a very handsome statue sitting there behind the protection stone.

“ What’s so bloody funny about that?!”

“ Uh, well…” he coughed and tried to regain his ‘composure.’ A sheepish grin spread across his face as he reached up and scratched the back of his head. He tilted his gaze down so as to avoid her Medusa’s stare.

“ Well, I…um…I…” There was an eruption of laughter behind William as he fumbled with his words. It was not a friendly sound though and Moya jumped a little as her ghostly companion leapt to his feet and faced the new apparition. Before him stood a man of about thirty-five years of age with all manner of knitting needles and bobby pins sticking out of every part of his chest. His hair was a musky yellow with two gray streaks on either side of his head and his long off white coat was tattered and filthy. Moya shuddered when she saw him for he made her feel very uneasy. Wanting to feel safe, she rose to her feet and moved right behind William, placing her head very close to his left shoulder. He sensed her movement and while still staring at the man, leaned his head towards where hers was and whispered to her.

“ Love, I’d suggest going back into that tree stump. You have a barrier there, remember?” She nodded and slowly backed away to her hollow. The figure laughed again.

“ Well, well Master William. I see you haven’t learned your lesson about the ladies even in death?” He revealed a set of rather disgusting teeth as he grinned at the boy. Curtly, William shifted his head to the side and crossed his arms.

“ And what lesson would that be Marvin?”

“ Why, you don’t know? Let me enlighten you, my boy. Women are treacherous, stupid creatures in capable of any real conversation. The only things they’re good for are cooking dinner and getting a quick bang.” He laughed even harder, thrusting his pelvis back and forth repeatedly. William looked as though he were physically ill as he closed his eyes and shook his head once to get the repulsive statement out of his mind.

“Oh come now, Marvin. I’m surprised your sister didn’t rewire your thinking on that subject.” Aggravated by his words, Marvin plucked angrily at one of the needles embedded in his chest. He pulled one out and threw it into the dirt only to have it hit the ground and then come shooting right back into where it had come from.

“ Watch that tongue of yours, boy.” He had almost forgotten that Moya lay in silence behind the moss curtain until her foot slipped and the sound reminded him. His grin returned and he licked his lips as he peered over William’s shoulder to get a better look at her.

“ Thought I’d forgotten about you, didn’t you darling?” From within the tree trunk, Moya scoffed in disgust and rolled her eyes.

“ I really wish you had.”

“ How could I forget such a lovely little morsel like yourself?”

“ Bugger off, slime!” He laughed and charged towards her, pushing William to the side before he could do anything to stop him. At that moment, the binding knot upon the stone began to glow with an unequalled brilliance. The rays danced in a circle around the place where Moya hugged the tree. As Marvin came within reach, the rays from the stone threw him back and he flew through the wall of the mansion. A few curious heads turned towards the stone, but quickly turned back once they had discovered the cause of all the excitement. William glided over to a shaking Moya and helped her out of the tree.

“ I’m so sorry you had to witness that.” He sighed angrily and led her towards the house.

“ Who was that…that monster?”

“ Monster should be his true name, but here we call him Mad Marvin. You’ll want to avoid him at all costs. In life he was a wicked man who stole from anyone he came across, manipulated Mothers into prostitution, caused husbands to kill their families, and children to run in terror from their parents. He died after making the mistake of crossing his little sister.”

“ What did he do?”

William coughed, “ Well, one night after he couldn’t get a whore due to the fact that he was as broke as a smashed vase, he turned to his little sister to satisfy him. Well, naturally she refused him, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Rather than spend his time struggling with her, he drugged her water so that she was so drunk she couldn’t tell black from white. And so, to put it bluntly, he had his way with her. The next day, she realized what had happened and that night; she came into his bedroom pretending to, uh…want him. Instead, once she had straddled his chest with her legs, she stabbed him to death. Hence the knitting needles and bobby pins you saw.”

“ Serves the bloody animal right, if you ask me.”

“ Now see, that was the mind set of the entire village…or it would have been had his death been discovered.”

“ Had he been discovered?”

“ The entire town knew that sooner or later his misdeeds would catch up with him and destroy him. So, when he went missing, they all figured that the Devil finally claimed his soul and dragged it back to hell with him.” He grinned.

“ And even if they had known the truth about his death, they wouldn’t have cared. If anything they would have been glad to be rid of him.”

“ I don’t blame them.” Moya bent down to retrieve her bag and slip the strap gracefully over her shoulder. William stared at her for a moment, sure he knew her, but unable to determine from where. As he stood there gazing at her as she adjusted herself, he felt a quick tap on his shoulder.

“ Hm? Oh, Lilou. How goes it?” A young girl of give or take ten years of age beamed up at him as he bent down to talk with her. She had the cutest little play dress on with a light blue ribbon around her waste and another blue ribbon holding her messy hair back.

“ It goes well, Willie. I got two things for ya today?”

“ Really now? It’s not my birthday or Christmas is it?” He pulled his head back in mock confusion. The little girl giggled.

“ No, silly! One thing I found and the other I was given to give to you!” Clumsily, she pulled a necklace from her apron pocket and held it out to William.

“ Isn’t it pretty?” At that moment, Moya had finished with her bag and looked down at the adorable specter. Her eyes grew wide and she nearly jumped for joy.

“ Oh thank goodness. My Mother’s necklace!” Lilou was a bit startled, but once she had looked from Moya to the trinket a few times, the realization sunk in and she extended her hand out towards the overjoyed young woman.

“ There you go. I found it near the rose bed.” Moya gratefully took it from Lilou and immediately fastened the clasp about her neck.

“ Thank you so much.” The apparition smiled. She then produced a glowing rose from behind her back and smacked William on the head with it. He jumped slightly out of surprise and looked at the playful little girl in bewilderment. Then he grinned most devilishly at the little one sitting atop his knee.

“ Why you little…” with that, he began to tickle the silly little girl relentlessly. She squealed with glee and tried in vain to wriggle away from her tormentor. In the midst of their merriment, the rose dropped to the ground. Moya bent to retrieve the flower, but found that her fingers slipped right through it every time she tried to pick it up. After blowing a raspberry on little Lilou’s neck and giving her a teasing swat on her behind to send her on her way, he found a very puzzled Moya trying with all her might to pick up the beautiful flower. He coughed, smiling at her and lifted the rose with his own transparent fingertips as he rose to standing.

“…It helps when you’re dead when you try to pick these up.” He turned it over in his hand for a moment before looking up to the attic.

“ It would seem that we are being summoned by the lady of the house.”

“ The lady of the house?”

“ Madame Teraiasynth…my Great Aunt.” Moya nodded having been clarified as to what was going on and turned her head towards the attic. William turned the rose over in his fingers once more, shrugged his shoulders, and looked to his companion.

“ Shall we then?” A wave of realization washed over her as she remembered the doors in the upper chambers banging and screaming. She swallowed her breath.

“ You mean, me? Go in there?” William, being used to all the spooks and shrieks, failed to see the issue with traveling through the mansion and up to the attic to pay their respects to the Lady of the house.

“…Yes…”

Moya shook her head so hard it could have flown right off her neck and into the rose bushes.

“ I am NOT going in that house.”

“ What?? Why not?”

“ Well for one thing, I heard screaming in the upper floors, doors banging, and chains rattling…” William raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

“ A-an-and, what about that Mad Marvin?? How can I wander about with him on the loose and no stone to protect me!” Her last argument was her most convincing as her companion’s arms slowly fell to his sides in defeat. He stood there pondering the situation and coming up with no real solution. Then William grinned and clucked his tongue.

“ What?” asked Moya, quite lost and confused.

“ That necklace.”

“ Yes? What about it?”

“ You can go in the Mansion now.”

“ Oh really, and how do you figure that?” William leaned in close to her face.

“ You’ve got a portable binding knot hanging around your neck, love.” He gave her a triumphant grin and offered his arm to her as he turned towards the mansion. Moya sighed, knowing full well she had been beaten and reluctantly took his arm. In actuality, she merely pretended to take his arm seeing as had she actually done so, her living flesh would have slid right through his ghostly figure.