For three days every evening at dinner, the boys were asked who was pacing the halls at night. For three days the boys denied ever getting out of bed. On the fourth day, without anyone’s knowledge, Joe decided to set up cameras in the hallways. He too was getting tired of the footsteps in the hall and the whispers in the kitchen every night when everyone was supposed to be asleep.His wife and kids had gone to town to put up flyers to ask for help with the garden. The boys had gotten permission from the elderly ghosts to bring outsiders into the garden but there had been a couple of conditions, all of which were stipulated on the fliers of course.The family got home and almost instantly the boys ran off to what they discovered was a house with a big number one painted next to the front door. The number was dainty and had all kinds of curls and swirls to it, so much so that the brothers had a very interesting argument about whether it was a flower or a number.The house itself was col

The entire household woke up at exactly four-thirty the next morning. All the doors of all the rooms rattled ferociously as if something was trying to break the doors off the hinges. The occupants of the rooms sat in their beds, staring at the doors, wondering what exactly was happening. Joe and Cynthia worried about their kids, but a calming presence made them relax slightly.It was only when the kitchen started sounding as if it was exploding that they became worried. Joe jumped up and tried to rush out of the door, but it was firmly locked and wouldn’t budge. Hurried footsteps could be heard in the hallway outside their door and then there was a shout, an unknown voice demanding whatever was rattling the doors and windows to leave.Whatever it was ignored the command, in fact, it almost appeared that someone was trying to push through the doors and another was holding the door shut. Joe felt himself being picked up and then taken back to his bed. He turned to look at his wife, who

Out of all the unnerving things that could happen in a haunted house, the most unnerving thing is silence, and that was exactly what Joe came home to a few hours later. The garden was quiet, and no sounds from the whippers, no chainsaws, and there was no one on the porch. Everything was just silent.A minibus stopped close behind him and the doors opened cautiously.Joe looked around him and then he felt a presence close by.“Are these the volunteers?” it asked.“Yes.”“Good. I’ll get your boys to get them. Your wife needs to talk to you.”The presence vanished and then Joe turned to the teenagers getting out of the minibus.“My kids will be here shortly.”“Uncle Joe.” A deep baritone voice suddenly spoke directly behind him.Joe whirled around and stared at the pale teenager with shoulder-length black hair.“Who are you?” Joe asked ad felt his knees go weak.“Bradley, sir. I thought I should introduce myself.”Joe stared amazed at the boy. The audacity!“You and I will talk later. Do

The three brothers were very surprised the next morning when they were not tossed out of bed, instead, their lights flicked on and they were told to get up and have breakfast. In the kitchen three mugs awaited them, filled with steaming coffee.“Mom isn’t up yet,” Luke said confused.“No, she’s having a sleep-in with your father. I made it for you. I can’t wander far into the garden, but at least I can try and help around here.” Bradley said from the pantry.James stared at Bradley. The boy had gone through some clear changes. Bradley did not look miserable or dark anymore, he looked happier and brighter, even the color of his skin had changed from pale to a deep tan, certainly a tribute to his Vietnamese heritage.“Close your mouth James, it’s going to be a fly trap.” Bradley teased him.“I think he just finds it strange to see you like this. All we had the last couple of months were shadows and voices, and now you are walking around as if you’re alive. We can see you, we can touch y

For hours the doctors worked on Brian. Cynthia had been forced to leave the room when they had to start with blood transfusions. Word had spread not only in the hospital but in the community as well of the dire situation that had befallen the oldest Thomas boy. The waiting room was starting to fill up, not with patients, but with people that had simply come to give the distraught family a comforting hand.It was just after 10 pm when Joe was ushered into the waiting room, followed closely by Officers Watson and Andrews. “You got him out?” Nadine asked Officer Watson.“I did. Bradley had let me in, made me wait in the hallway, and then he allowed me access to the living room. Then he wanted to show me the dining room, and then your father came out of his study. He’s quite the character that one.”“Bradley can only push as far as his father would allow. I do believe that if it had been up to Bradley you’d have been in the study the second you stepped into the house.” Luke commented dr