The Ghost of Shangradi

This is a work in progress, it is just in it's draft stages.



Terry stood at the entrance to the tomb, this was where his father, the famous explorer was known to have...he couldn't believe it, even after all these years. His father was still in there, he had to be!

"Are you ready, Tezz?"

One of the team questioned, with an expression of concern showing across his face. The rest of the team were gathered round the entrance, they had made a fire and had finished cooking some food.



Terry lit his torch with a flame illuminating the entrance to the tomb, the ancient tomb of Shangradi. The tomb was full of passages, with the only light being the light from the torch, crackling as it burned. There was a faint sound seeming to be coming form deep inside the tomb, it was probably an animal but Terry couldn't help himself getting scared. A calm wind started and blew out the torchlight. terry and his crew were in pitch black. Suddenly, a shimmer of white appeared in front of him. Terry squinted to make out what it could be when it took the form of a female ghost. All of a sudden, time stood still. Everything faded into nothing and all that remained was Terry and the ghost. A shrill noise could be heard, it was hard to make out what it was until Terry realized, whispers. So many that they all blurred into one, so loud, yet inaudible. The ghost spoke softly and quietly, every word echoing loudly throughout the cave, “To pass, you must answer one question, get it right and you may proceed unharmed, get it wrong and I will destroy you.”  The ghostly figure was white and slightly transparent. She wore a veil that covered her face and went all the way down to the ground which she was floating above. As he looked, he could see the mist growing thicker gradually. She spoke again, still in her soft, gentle voice, but this time it was much louder, as if it was inside his head. It was amplified and it chilled him to the bone. The hairs on his back started to rise. It was the most scared he had ever felt in his life.



“Peace of mind I will bring, flying on an angels wing, all men fear me rich or poor, brought in battle, peace and war.” Terry considered, he had never had to think so hard in his life. Surely this wasn’t real. He was trembling, sweat dripping from his forehead. He mumbled “D..Death.” The ghostly figure showed no emotion, then suddenly, without any warning, let out an ineffable shrill scream, echoing all round Terry. She opened her arms and flew towards Terry. She passed through and disappeared. Terry was free to pass.



The makeshift fire crackled and Terry lay on his back thinking about the day's events. He remembered the last words his father said to him the day before he left, back when Terry was a young boy.

'Son, sometimes things happen that we have no control over. We must not try to change these things, as you can only fail.' Terry's father never was the optimistic type and he often said things that didn't make much sense but this time it was much stranger. He remembered the night his father left. Neither of his parents knew that Terry had witnessed the events but terry couldn't get to sleep, he knew something was wrong and he had to find out what it was. He was tucked up in bed and had been kissed goodnight by his father. Now this was enough to tell Terry that something definitely was wrong because his father had never kissed him before. His father was a very serious man and Terry never saw him close to anyone. In the daytime, he was always dressed in a suit and tie, and at night he wore very dull pajamas. This was all he seemed to wear and Terry had become used to that. He just thought that it was normal. Every day his father and mother would go off to work and Terry would go to school, just as a normal family would. His mother was a teacher in his school and his father said he worked in some kind of investigative agency, whatever that meant. He used to go out at odd times and his mum used to cry and he was sure he heard them argue. Nonetheless, Terry was just a child and didn't think too much about it, as he thought this was just the way normal families lived.

Terry's thoughts were interrupted by something that made Terry shiver all over. he didn't know whether he was scared or cold..or both. The warmth of the fire had suddenly gone and, despite being right next to the fire, he was no longer feeling it's warmth. Terry was feeling colder and colder every second and the noises he could hear started to get louder. He couldn't make out what it was but it sounded like someone was whispering to him very quietly. He couldn't make out what they were saying but it seemed to echo all around the cave. Terry's heart started to beat faster and harder and he looked around at the other people who were with him too see if they were experiencing the same. No-one was moving, they seemed to be fast asleep. He couldn't make out who was who in the dark but he saw a pair of legs next to him. He nudged them slightly to try to wake up whoever they belonged to, but to no avail. He nudged them harder and harder until he was using a quite considerable amount of force. He still didn't wake up and nothing he did seemed to wake him. All the while the echos seemed to get louder and louder. Terry rolled him over and saw his face, his eyes were open but he was not awake. His eyes were filled with some kind of a mist and Terry knew he was not conscious. He ran round to each of his other companions and they were all the same. there was a puff that came from the fire and terry realized it had extinguished itself. That couldn't be possible it was lit quite well a few moments ago and now it had just put itself out. The echos were quite loud now, yet he still couldn't make out what they were saying..they were just..whispers. They were saying things that didn't make any sense, not even words, just sounds. Terry's heart was racing, he couldn't talk to his companions, the echos were obviously talking to him yet not making sense and then Terry froze. The whispers continued but one voice started speaking. It was still in whispers, but it was amplified, a girl's voice with the last word in every sentence echoing. The voice was ghostly and it was talking directly to Terry.

' You should not have come here tonight' It echoed. 'Why must you try to change things that are beyond your control?' It continued, it's voice piercing the atmosphere. Terry looked round but could see no-one in the darkness, yet he knew he was being watched, he could feel something in the room with him.

'You have no idea what you have involved yourself with, sometimes things happen that we have no control over. We must not try to change these things, as you can only fail' That was exactly what his father had said and now the voice had said it. Terry attempted to shout but his voice quivered,

'Who are you?'

He felt something right behind him but he didn’t want to look, he knew there was something there. Slowly he turned and there it was, a ghostly figure of a girl, about 17 years old was looking at him, she was floating above the ground, her eyes boring into his. Her face was expressionless. He could see partly through her, just like the ghost before, yet this one was different. She was wearing a white robe that was ripped and torn all over. Terry stuttered,

'What do you want from me?'

He managed to ask, even though there was so much he wanted to ask, he couldn't manage any more. The ghost continued to stare right at him, standing motionless. It raised it's arm towards Terry with it's finger pointing towards Terry. She replied, her voice echoing along with the rest of the echoes, belonging to people that terry could not see,

'We need..you'

The ghost floated towards terry and as it reached him it didn't stop but continued right through him. Terry turned round and, just like the ghost before, it had vanished. The whispers had gone and the fire was lit. Terry was stood there, still frozen from fear.

'What are you doing?' one of his companions asked.