Chapter Text
“Jesus, this place is fucking creepy”
”No shit, Elise,” Henry snipped, “It’s an abandoned school.”
St. Hilaron’s School For Boys stood forebodingly at the end of the path. The old brick building could have been impressive, but was clearly past its glory days. Vines and shrubs wrapped their way up the old walls and spilled out over the walkways. The pavement was cracked and littered with debris from parties and troublemakers. Despite the decrepit appearance, it was supposedly still safe to explore.
“An abandoned school that’s going to be chock full of ghosts,” Marnie added as Lukas rolled his eyes.
The group of four, Elise, Henry, Marnie, and Lukas, has been friends forever. Bonding over their mutual love of horror and fascination with the macabre. Now that Lukas got his license, they could do some actual paranormal investigating. None of that fake shit made for TV or YouTube clicks.
They started out with small potatoes- the woods outside Marnie's place, the abandoned sandwich shop next to the pizza place Henry worked at- but nothing this big.
Elise had been the one to suggest St. Hilaron’s. Her uncle went there in the ‘90s and told all kinds of crazy stories. Apparently a shit ton of students went missing or died on the school grounds. Marnie was kind of nervous about it all. Elise was sure the grounds were safe enough, Marnie insisted on packing pepper spray and plasters just in case.
Marnie flipped on the busted cam recorder she got from her sister, “Alright, Elise take it away!”
Elise turned to the camera, “Huh?”
”You have to say the history of the place! Y’know, like exposition.”
”We already know the history, I explained it in the car!”
“Yeah! But you have to say it to the camera! In your serious voice! That’s what the guys on YouTube do.”
Elise rolled her eyes but started anyway,
”St Hilaron’s first opened like, three-hundred years ago or something like that. It was for the prissy rich kids of military families or just prissy rich kids of regular rich families. It opened to more people later on but like, is one of those super posh boarding schools. It closed in 2001 due to lack of enrollment and is now a hang out spot for weirdos and uni parties. Anyway it’s supposed to be, like, super haunted. Uncle Ricky said the basement is the absolute worst cause during World War I a bunch of students went missing one night without a trace. All they found were a bunch of ashes and a satanic book in the basement. The nurses area is also pretty bad because that’s where they quarantined all the kids with old-timey diseases- like tuberculosis and shit.”
Elise droned on about the school as the group headed up the road to the front entrance.
”Then another boy- like one of the young ones, he was in the same class as my uncle- wandered into the woods and was never found. He was acting, like, really weird before and supposedly was being possessed by the other dead boys at the school. Oh! Ricky also mentioned this other kid that went missing in the ‘80s, everyone thought he ran off or something but then they found his body in the attic of one the storage rooms by the lake.”
”Christ, that’s sad,” Lukas shivered.
“For real- but anyway there’s supposed to be a lot of activity here,” she paused then jumped a little with excitement, “ Oh-Em-Gee if we get it on camera we are going to be so famous.”
Lukas swatted her with his hand, “Jesus El, don’t be disrespectful. People literally died here. Some of their families are probably still kicking.”
Elise quieted down, “Shit yeah, sorry.”
They arrived at the front door. It was one of those giant, grand, double doors with intricate designs carved into the dark wood. It also had a massive iron chain looped around the handles.
Marnie paused the recording, “Shit, how do we get in here?”
They found a broken window to climb through a little ways away from the door. Lukas whined about infections and tetanus, but they all got in okay.
The school was down right creepy. There was a lot of old broken furniture laying around and the paint was peeling everywhere.
“God, it fucking reeks in here,” Henry complained, bringing his hand to his nose.
They went about the house, calling out to spirits. They got a few suspiciously timed knocks and some inexplicable footsteps but nothing crazy. The sound was at least noticeable on camera.
When they paused the recording to check the sound quality, Henry just about jumped out of his shoes.
“What the fuck was that?” he squeaked.
Marnie looked up from the camera and whipped her head around. Her curly hair smacked across her face, “What?”
”There was like.. whispering or some shit. In-in my ear. Like a whole voice” he stammered.
”Holy shit!” Elise exclaimed, “Like actually? What was it saying?”
”I dunno, like go away or something like that?”
Lukas snorted, “Uh huh, suure.”
”Shut up dude! I’m serious!”
Lukas opened his mouth to reply but Elise shushed him before he could get a word in. “This is a good sign! Let’s try the Spirit Box now!”
They set up the device and Marnie readied her camera. The session went for about two hours or so as they wandered the school. They mostly got static and a few nonsense words.
They did have something resembling a conversation in the faculty hall.
”I am telling you that was totally the headmaster. You can’t deny results like that!” Elise argued.
“Actually, I definitely can on the grounds that the box is bogus and your so-called conversation was about as coherent as my Nan,” Lukas quipped.
Elise groaned, “Nothing is going to satisfy you.”
”That’s right!”
Heny rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah, you're the cool jaded skeptic or whatever. Come on, let's face the basement now.”
The basement was the star of the night. Supposedly the resting place of 5 boys in the early 1900s and a demon hot spot. It was also where they were going to perform their seance.
The stairs to the lower floor were made of molding concrete. The basement itself was cold and kind of musty. The old pipes creaked at intervals consistent enough to not be ghosts, but irregularly enough to freak Marnie out.
Marnie paused, hesitant on the stairs, “Uhh, is it safe to be here?”
Elsie rolled her eyes, “Of course, its only been abandoned for like, twenty years. People still come here all the time, remember?”
Marnie raised a skeptical eyebrow, “No, yeah, sure, that’s totally comforting.”
”I do not care how safe it is, I am not sitting on that floor” said Henry.
Lukas patted Henry’s back and pulled out a some beach towels from his bag.
They set up an Ouija Board in the center of the floor and surrounded it with candles. Marnie balanced the camera on an old table so she could participate. She also insisted on adding offerings to the seance circle. My grandma said you have to! Otherwise they won’t come or will be angry. They all settled down for the seance- two to one beach towel. Elise set the Spirit Box next to the board for later and her notebook in her lap.
”OK, so we’re going to reach out to those missing Victorian-“
”Edwardian” Lukas interrupted, “The 1910s is the Edwardian era”
”No, it ended in 1910 dipshit! They went missing in the middle of the world war.” Henry argued.
“OK whatever!” Elise shouted, “I have their names here so it doesn’t matter.”
She cleared her throat and the four joined hands, “We are reaching out to the spirits that died in St Hilaron’s. The following spirits are welcome to come forward and commune with us: Simon Mould, Edwin Payne, Richard Sm-“
They chanted the names for a little while before disconnecting their hands. Each placed a finger on the planchette.
“If any of those spirits are here and wish to speak with us- please put a finger on the triangle thing-y and move it.” Elise explained out loud. “Is anyone here with us?”
There was no noise in the basement, save for the occasional creak of metal pipes or of the candle wicks.
Then there was a gentle scrape. The planchette began to glide towards-
“Yes? Holy shit!”
”Did you move that?”
”No! Was it you?”
”Shhh calm down! Can you tell us your name?”
The planchette slid across the board.
E-D-W
”Edwin?” Elise asked, glancing at her notes, “Are we speaking with Edwin Payne?”
YES
Gasps flitted about the room. Lukas and Marnie started whispering to each other before getting shushed by Elise.
”Is there anyone else in this room?”
YES
”One of the other boys we summoned?”
NO
”Uhhh” Elise said, glancing at her friends, “I thought we had to invite the spirits.. right?”
“Maybe it's the demon! Is it the demon?” Henry asked.
Marnie swore she heard a laugh at that. One of the quiet breathy ones.
NO
”OK.. um,” Elise fumbled.
Lukas grinned, not buying it but not opposed to having fun, “So Edwin, how’d you die?”
S-A-C-R-I-F-I-C-E
“Sacrifice?” Marnie squeaked, “What the fuck? Where all the boys a sacrificed too?”
NO
The planchette was more forcely when it moved that time, as if the spirit was angry.
Marnie shifted in her seat. She could feel something looming over her. It didn’t seem threatening… but not exactly happy either. It was like how her sister got whenever Marnie went into her room or took her clothes.
”Are you annoyed with us, Edwin?”she asked.
YES
“Why?”
B-U-S-Y
Lukas burst into laughter and the others followed suit. “Busy? What do ghosts have to do that makes them busy?” he snickered.
”Ghost taxes man! The dead got crazy taxes to take care of!” Henry joked
The group dissolved into giggles and shared ideas about what this Edwin Payne could possibly have been doing.
But Marnie could still feel the figure next to her. And she swore if she tuned out her friends, she could hear another voice.
Honestly….Do they think…sit around…don’t laugh…
Marnie’s grandma said she had a gift. That her grandmother did also. That they could see and hear things other people couldn’t. The gift liked to skip generations, so Marnie should be the next to have it. Marnie’s mom said Grandma was just crazy and old.
Marnie wasn’t so sure about that now because there was definitely a boy’s voice speaking to her left and it was not Henry.
”Can you guys hear that?” she asked.
The others turned to her, “Hear what?”
”Shhh just listen!”
In the quiet of the basement, Marnie focused with everything she had. At first there was nothing, and then-
Think she’s a psychic, mate? A different voice said from behind her. It was faint but definitely there.
Perhaps, said the original voice to her left. Albeit, not a very powerful one. She doesn’t seem to be able to see us.
Oi! No need to be rude!
It is not rude Charles. I am merely starting facts. Psychic powers vary it is not uncommon for most to be quite weak-
Marnie's breath quickened, “That! DId you guys hear that!” she shouted. Simultaneously she seemed to have lost whatever connection she had because the whispering stopped.
Lukas looked over with concern, “I mean, I heard a little whispering but I think it was just a draft Mar.”
”No! It was like words. Two people were talking! One next to me and one behind!”
There was silence for a few beats. Then Elise laughed, “Oh my god, you really had me going there! That acting camp you went to last summer really paid off.”
Marnie shrunk, feeling embarrassed as Elsie moved on.
“Edwin? Are you still there?”
YES
Marnie definitely felt the thing next to her shift. She was not crazy and there was definitely something next to her. Which meant there was something behind her too. If she could just prove it, even just to herself.
“Edwin? We are sorry for bothering you. Can we talk to the other spirit here instead?” She asked politely. Her grandma said it was always important to be polite with spirits.
“Yeah, this guy is kinda boring. You can go back to your ghost taxes Mr.. What was it? Mr. Suffer or something?” Henry mused.
God damn it Henry. Marnie heard a faint scoff to her left.
”Payne,” Elise corrected, “Spelled with a Y.”
Marnie felt the thing next to her shift and moved away. Something else took its place soon after. She felt a cold chill settle next to her finger on the planchette.
”Who is this?” She asked.
C-H-A-R-L-E-S
”Charles? That wasn’t on the list right?” Henry asked leaning over to look at Elise’s notebook.
“No it wasn’t. But remember what Edwin said? There is a different spirit here who wasn’t part of the demon group.” Elise took a deep breath, “Charles? Did you go to school here?” she asked.
YES
”When?”
1-9-8-6-8-9
”Nineteen-eighty-six to nineteen-eighty-nine?”
YES
”Huh.. Did you die here? In the basement?”
NO
”Why are you haunting it then?”
N-O-T
“You aren’t? Why are you down here then?” Elise asked.
“Seriously, this place sucks.” Henry groaned.
Marnie heard a light laugh as the planchette moved again.
F-O-L-L-O-W-E-D
“You.. followed us here?” Elise asked nervously.
NO
Marnie went over the voices she heard. It was definitely two people and she remembered hearing the name “Charles”. The voices had sounded almost playful. As if they were friends. She remembered the first voice she heard- how it seemed offended that her friends didn’t think he could be busy. The seance was meant to summon spirits, so the ghosts might not have been in the basement to begin with.
“Did you follow Edwin here?” she reasoned.
YES
Henry looked skeptical, “Why?”
F-R-I-E-N-D-S
Marnie laughed at that. She was kind of good at this- maybe her grandma had been exactly right.
B-E-S-T
the planchette added without prompting.
Lukas laughed too, “You’re best friends? Ok then- I mean wasn’t the other guy from the 1910s?”
“I think it’s cute,” Marnie defended. It was kind of cute. Marnie would definitely want a best friend if she was stuck in this building.
Elsie then gasped, “Holy shit wait- guys!” She was flipping through her notebook, “The kid from the ‘80s? He died in 1989 and his name was Charles Rowland! Spirit, are you Charles Rowland?”
YES
“No way” Henry gasped, “That case was weird as hell. Dude, how did you die?”
The planchette was still for several beats. Marnie felt the beings move. She recognized the energy of the first move back up close, next to the second one who now sat at her left. The energy felt almost… somber.
“Have some tact Henry!” she scolded, “You don’t have to respond,” she told the board even though she was certain Charles was next to her.
The planchette was still for a second or two more before it started moving.
K-I-L-L-E-D
“Killed? As murdered?” Henry gaped.
YES
Marnie’s brow furrowed, “Who killed you?”
There was another long pause before the planchette moved spelled out,
F-R-I-E-N-D-S
“That’s not fucking funny,” Lukas snapped. “Seriously whoever moved it- that wasn’t funny. That was an actual kid that died.”
“No one moved it Lukas! Come on, you know that.” Henry shot back.
Elise moved on before Lukas could say anything else, “Your friends killed you? Do you mean Edwin?”
The planchette didn’t hesitate this time before moving to NO then L-I-V-I-N-G.
“Living friends?” Marnie wondered aloud, “What the hell?”
Do you think anyone will believe them? Like if they say something? The second voice from before spoke.
I- it is possible. The first voice replied, but he didn’t seem to believe it.
“I’m sorry that happened to you.” Marnie said, unsure of what else to do.
“Yeah,” Elise agreed, “That’s super fucked up.”
“Right,” Henry goes, “So we got one kid who was murdered and another who was sacrificed. What hang on we moved past the sacrificed bit too soon what was that about?”
“Thought you said that guy was too boring and kicked him out,” grumbled Lukas, who took his finger off the planchette. “This isn’t fun anymore, I’m going to go look around.”
“Remember to come back so we can close the session!” Elise called after him, “What’s his deal?”
Marnie shrugged, “I mean, it is upsetting innit?”
Henry slumped, “I guess, hey uh- shit what was it- Edwin? Why were you sacrificed?”
“OK, I guess we are moving past the murdered bit now too.” scoffed Elise.
“We’ll circle back! And Shh it’s moving!”
P-R-A-N-K
“A fucking prank?” Henry said, utterly bewildered.
“Maybe the other boys were pranking him? He said they weren’t sacrifices,” Elise pointed out, “What happened to your classmates?” she asked the board.
H-E-L-L
“Christ,” Marnie muttered.
“Well, I don’t think they have a lot of Christ down there,” Henry grinned and Marnie hit him with her free hand, “Have you been to Hell?” he asked the board.
YES
“How did you get out?” Elise asked. She turned to Marnie and whispered, “That feels like a place you shouldn’t leave, right?”
L-E-F-T
“Oh huh,” she said. “You can just… do that?”
NO
Henry scoffed, “Alright then, what’s Hell like?”
B-A-D
Marnie couldn’t stifle her snort, “I think he’s fed up with you,” she giggled.
The planchette moved to YES.
“Oh come on, fine then. Charles, have you been to Hell?” Henry went on.
“Dude! Stop asking them that!” Elise hissed.
The planchette settled on YES.
“Huh? Seriously? Ok, then what was it like?” Henry asked sincerely.
B-A-D
Marnie and Elise burst out laughing while Henry groaned. “These ghosts have a vendetta against me personally, I swear.”
“You have to be nicer. This is why Chelsea doesn’t want to go out with you.” Marnie teased.
“Hey!”
“Ok, ok. Let’s get back on track and ask actual questions.” Elise said.
Henry rolled his eyes, “Fine, are you guys stuck here?”
NO
“That’s good,” Marnie mused. This school sucks. Probably sucked more to get murdered here and have to stay forever.
“Is it ‘cause they found your body? Did it like free you or something cause I thought ghosts were supposed to be stuck where they died,” Henry continued.
The board was still for several beats- during that time Marnie noticed the voices again.
Body, what does he mean?
Well, in cases of extreme trauma some ghosts do feel tethered to the place they died. The most common remedy is a proper burial.
But whose body did they find? Was it yours, mate?
Can’t be. It was pulled into Hell and then vaporized. So it must be..
Holy shit. Edwin do they mean my body? Do I have a grave now? I never checked. When did this happen?
The planchette suddenly jerked towards the letters.
W-H-E-N
Marnie spoke up, “You said they found Charles twenty years after he died, right Elise? So, around 2000?”
The whispering picked up again next to her. She couldn’t make out the words this time. It was just the frantic mutterings of two voices- one stunned, the other soothing.
B-U-R-I-E-D
Elsie nodded at the board, “The articles said they buried the body in a regular grave but I, uh,” she paused, “I’m not sure where though… sorry.”
The whispering picked up more frantic than before. Which makes sense- Marnie wasn’t sure how’d she react if she was murdered and then had to wait decades years to be buried.
Henry broke the silence that settled over them, “This got really sad. Seriously, I’m bummed out now. Can we like, go get milkshakes or something.”
Even Elise seemed to have lost her excitement, “Yeah, let’s wrap this up.” She turned toward where Lukas had wandered, “Lukas! Come back, we have to go!”
Lukas took his time getting back, or maybe just walked that far. Marnie couldn’t actually see how big the basement was in the darkness.
They said goodbye on the board and started to gather their things. Elise said it would send the spirits back and prevent others from wandering about.
Marnie didn’t know if she believed that, given she could still feel the spirits in the room- occasionally making out broken words.
Marnie wanted to try something.
“Hey, before we go, we were supposed to do one of those challenges. The ones where you stand alone in the dark and see if you hear anything?” she said.
Henry made a face, “I am so not doing that down here.”
“That’s fine! I still want to though.”
Lukas raised his eyebrow and gave her a look, “Seriously?” she nodded, “Shit, fine I guess.”
“I’ll set the timer for ten, ok?” Elise said, “Don’t get like, murdered or dragged to hell or anything.”
“I’ll do my best,” Marnie said with a salute and waved her friends up the stairs.
She turned off her flashlight, and her camera. It felt rude to record almost.
She turned towards the pitch black room and cleared her throat, “I know you are still here,” she said, “I can hear you or- feel you I guys.” She focused on listening and waited in the dark.
Hmm, definitely a low-level psychic. The first voice said. Without the distractions from before she could actually make out the posh accent.
Yeah, I’d say so. OI! The second voice shouted, If you can hear me then listen. Stop messin’ with the supernatural stuff, yeah? It’s dangerous and shit for the living. Go have milkshakes with your friends. God, I miss milkshakes- did they even have milkshakes when you were alive?
Is it.. like malted milk?
Oh my god you’ve never had a milkshake. This is a travesty- I mean, you basically lived in the Dark Ages!
It was not the Dark Ages Charles. There was actually a lot of important development in my time-
Literally the Dark Ages!
Marnie stood still, more stunned than scared as she listened to the voices bicker about… milkshakes?
The second voice addressed her again, Listen mate, go get those milkshakes while you still can. They are literally a god send. You have to enjoy it, yeah?
“Uhh, alright. I will, I guess,” she stammered, “Thanks?”
Anytime, we’ll be heading home now. Or to my grave which exists now.
Marnie could feel the spectral energy moving away from her. They were nearly out of the room before the second voice came back and shouted,
Remember! Less ghosts and more milkshakes!
Marnie heard Elise’s timer go off a few minutes later and headed up the stairs. Her friends where at the top waiting for her.
“So,” Elise asked, “Anything weird?”
Marnie hesitated for a moment, then shook her head “Nah, let’s go get those milkshakes.”
She headed back towards the entrance with her friends. Together, they left the hallowed halls of St Hilaron’s School For Boys for good.