March 3, 1890

  The construction of my house has been completed today. Once the weather clears up, and I get our affairs in order, I will move myself and my young wife in. It’s a shame that Matthew couldn’t be here to see it.

  The workroom I had secretly designed has been left off the plans and it is fully stocked for my needs.

  March 10, 1890

  I have tasked my assistant with hiring the full staff for the house. Everything must be in place when I bring my young wife to our new home. The finishing details are so tedious.

  March 23, 1890

  The hiring of servants continues, but we have found our cook, butler, housekeeper, and groundskeeper. They all come highly recommended and their credentials are impeccable. If my assistant can complete the hiring by the time we move in he will be getting a bonus.

  April 9, 1890

  Move-in day is getting closer. I have been feeling happy lately. It’s been such a long time. My plans are finally coming to fruition. I would like to spend more time with my wife. Expanding our family is a priority. I have no heir after Matthew’s untimely death. Of which I have not come to terms with and have no intention of doing so.

  May 10, 1890

  I have moved my wife Virginia into the house. Seeing the joy it brought her made me happy. She will do a great job keeping my house in order.

  May 11, 1890

  Virginia just gave me the most wonderful news. I’m going to be a father again! I mourn Matthew most deeply, but I will have a new heir. I knew I was not wrong to marry her. She knows her place and is ever dutiful.

  May 21, 1890

  Virginia hosted our first ball last night. I met many influential people. Thomas Bettincourt and his wife, who is good friends with Virginia. His business is in trains. I see an advantageous relationship to be had here. His wife Kathrine is also quite stunning.

  July 18, 1890

  Virginia and I were invited to a seance at the home of Thomas Bettincourt and his wife. During the seance, I was contacted by a spirit from the beyond. Nobody else could hear him. Only I, and I was able to communicate with only my mind. He told me he knew how I could get my son back. He said he saw how dedicated I was in constructing my workroom. All I need is some help. I need to bring in others to this work. He told me how I could contact him when I am alone.

  After, I managed to catch Katherine alone. My wife is currently fat and unpleasing to me. Luckily I have also caught Katherin’s eye. We had a quick little tryst in the butler’s pantry. My mood has greatly improved.

  August 30, 1890

  I have had my first meeting with my new “Social Club”. We meet in my workroom and discuss occult practices and perform spells and small rituals.

  Thomas Bettincourt is of course my first member, As is Gerald Chambers, an Alderman like myself. Wendell Goodman, a lawyer, Frederick Graves, a dentist, Terrance Johnson, who is in textiles. Then Peter Morris, also an Alderman, and Richard Cleeves, owner of a shipping business. I met them all through seances and spiritualist gatherings over the last month.

  The Great One, as I have started calling him, has told me we must learn the true ways and exercise our metaphysical muscles in order to conduct the ritual that will release him from the aether. He has little power there but has been stuck. He needs our help to release him. Once free he has promised to return Matthew to me. The other men have been promised power, wealth, and immortality. All were very eager.

  September 5, 1890

  Business is good as usual. I have several shipments of ore and lumber coming down Lake Huron. We have settled into the house and the staff are up to par.

  Just this evening I followed a meek, little maid into a closet. It didn’t take much to convince her to let me have her. I still can’t stand to look at my wife that way yet. Soon she will give birth to my son and all will be well again. Though I think I shall continue to have affairs. It is my business to do as I please.

  ~

  Ugh, she thought, as she closed the journal and put it down. What a repulsive man. She couldn’t sit around here anymore. This day had been draining and there was nothing she could do right now. She grabbed her coat, keys, and purse and left the house.

  The drive to her mother’s house didn’t take more than twenty minutes. A hot pizza sat on the seat next to her. When she arrived her mother had just gotten out of her car, dressed in scrubs from a long day at work.

  “To what do I owe this visit?” She said.

  “I had to get out of the house for a bit.” Vic held up the box of pizza. “I come bearing gifts.”

  “Well come on, let’s go into the kitchen and eat it while it’s hot.” Her mother beckoned.

  Once in the kitchen, her mother grabbed two plates from the cupboard while Vic pulled milk from the fridge. Then they sat across from one another and grabbed some slices of pizza from the box.

  “So what brings you home?” Jillian took a bite of her pizza, gooey cheese dripped onto her plate.

  Vic told her about the missing boy, and the multiple searches throughout the house, grounds, and neighborhood. She left out the discovery of the creepy sub-basement. Her mother would get too worked up about it.

  “You should move home. I can have your room ready for you in an hour. I don’t like you over at that house. Nothing good can come from it.” Jillian was vehement.

  Vic ate her pizza slowly, “It’s just an old house.” Never mind that she learned that ghosts were in fact real and the place had been haunted. It wasn’t anymore so there was no issue there, but she wasn’t about to tell her mother all that. She knew her mother believed in these things. It’s the same reason she didn’t tell her about the discovery of the sub-basement ritual room. She’d never hear the end of it.

  “People have always gone missing in that house and now your employer's child is missing.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “It’s not a coincidence. It’s proof that something evil is happening there.” She sat back exasperated. “I can’t believe you can’t see it. You’ve always been as stubborn as a mule. You could be next. I don’t want to lose you!” Jillian sat back in her chair.

  “You’re not going to lose me. There’s nothing wrong with the house.” At least not anymore Vic thought to herself. “If it makes you feel any better Michael had a priest out to bless the house. He gave it a clean bill of health.” That seemed to placate her mother.

  They talked about the house for a while longer. Vic did her best to calm her mother down. She had always wanted to get inside this home and study it and now she had her chance. It didn’t matter that her experience had completely changed her whole worldview. It was tragic that Liam was missing. He had to turn up. It’s possible he was hiding somewhere and was too scared to come out.

  “How is work going?” Vic asked.

  “Enh, it’s work. We’re always understaffed, and there’s been no shortage of patients.” Jillian ate another slice of pizza. “Did I tell you that Cathy’s first grandchild was born?”

  “No, You didn’t.”

  “It’s a girl. 6lbs, 8oz, and 11 inches long.” Jillian drank her milk.

  “That’s very nice mom.” It wasn’t. At least not for her. She didn’t even know this woman, so how could she care how much the baby weighed, or how long it was? Who cared? It never made any sense to her. But she wasn’t going to be rude to her mom. “How is the mother doing?”

  Jillian seemed pleased that she asked, and continued to tell her all about her. Soon they were discussing how they would decorate for Christmas next month and what she wanted as far as gifts. Two hours later she said goodbye, got into her car, and drove home.

  The house loomed above the street like a silent sentinel as she pulled her car into the driveway. The snow fell in large flakes as she walked to the door and into the house. She could hear voices coming down the hall, presumably from the library. She stomped her feet to knock off the snow and walked toward the voices. She pushed open the door and stepped inside.

  “How long before you fuck her?” Megan seethed, her face red, and her body trembled with fury.

  Four sets of eyes turned in her direction. Michael was wide-eyed at seeing her there, and Megan stared daggers into her.

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  Megan tore herself away from their argument and stormed out, Vic stepped back to get out of the woman’s way. She went quickly across the great hall and up the grand stairs. Vic didn’t want any part of this and fled the room.

  “Vic…Wait!” Michael called after her.

  He followed after his wife as Vic took the servant's staircase up to her room. Should she just pack up and go now? She knew Megan had been wary of her since she arrived and with good reason too. Michael cheated on her before. She liked Michael, but he was married. She remembered what it felt like when her ex had cheated on her. It wasn’t good. Megan didn’t have anything to worry about. Or did she? She remembered how it felt to wake up in his arms that one time. How did Michael feel? They’d been bonding over their love for the house. No, it didn’t matter how he felt. She wasn’t going to go there. She was sure of it.

  She turned the lights on, spreading a warm glow throughout the room. It was always dark in here. It was cold too. She thought she heard whistling, but the windows rattled in the wind. She took her coat off but shivered. She strode to the fireplace, put some kindling in, and lit it. Then she added the logs after it got going and she started to warm up.

  Was she going to leave? No. At least not right now, maybe in a few days. Everything was tense right now because Liam was missing. She had to be here. Megan was going through an incredible amount of stress and it’s bringing forth her insecurities. She will lay low for a while and keep to herself. Liam had to turn up. She couldn’t fathom the outcome if he didn’t. Plus she still needed answers about the house.

  What happened down in that sub-basement? It’s clear that there was no fire, and there was a huge pentagram on the floor and other occult paraphernalia. Did they do some kind of occult ritual or something that caused their deaths? That blood stain on the floor was huge. It wasn’t just one person, it was…seven. She discovered that ghosts were real, could other things be real too? Things that could kill a person? Were they in danger here? People have gone missing over the years and now Liam was one of them. She was sure now that nobody had kidnapped him. But what did happen to him? Especially considering the house had been cleansed. Hadn’t it?

  She grabbed the book bound in the waxy yellowed leather and opened it. The cover gave her goosebumps when she opened it. On the title page was “Liber Carminum et Rerum Infernalium”. She turned the brittle page. This copy was old. It appeared to have been printed in 1850 from a much older text that had been added to over the centuries. The commentary was written in English, but as she flipped through she saw most of the spells were Latin except a handful. Those were in a language she did not recognize and she thought, could be even older than the Latin language. Was it possible it was Sumerian she wondered. She was not familiar with it.

  She grabbed her laptop and began copying the spells down. Later she would run them through translation software and see what Edward Charles had been up to with this book. She also took photos of the spells in the language she couldn’t identify. She then posted those photos in a forum for language academics. She was sure there was some professor who could identify them and translate them for her. She spent several hours sitting at the desk. Bleary-eyed she looked at the time. It was 2:30 am. She closed the lid, stood up, turned out the lights, and crawled into bed. She had been so engrossed in the spellbook that she hadn’t realized how tired she had been. She wrapped herself in the blankets and was asleep before she could even think about it.

  ~

  Vic found herself standing in a worn hallway that she didn’t recognize. The carpet was threadbare, and the wallpaper was peeling away. At the end of the hall, she saw a man turn the corner. Edward Charles. It was who he was. She was sure of it. She followed him and just like the last time, he was always just a step ahead of her. Always just far away that she couldn’t see who he was. He wanted her to follow, but why? The hallway was dark and oppressive. She didn’t want to follow, but to find someplace to hide until the sun came up. But she couldn’t. She had to catch up to him. She ran after the man. He went through a doorway and she followed. It was the kitchen and it was full of people working. They were dressed in Victorian-style attire and were making a meal. A woman crossed in front of her with a full bowl of something. She wasn’t sure what. Potatoes maybe. She pushed through them to follow after Edward Charles. The door across the room swung shut behind him. She opened the door and stepped through to the attic hallway. The ceiling was lower here.

  Down the hall, she could see Edward Charles looming over a young maid. He leered and ushered her into one of the rooms. Oh no. She rushed after and barged through the door. The stars showed in the sky above the gardens and a frigid chill seeped into her bones. The flowers in the garden were in full bloom. Blood red roses, zinnias, marigolds, and dahlias. Every flower was the color of blood. Behind her howled the beast, the woman with the red eyes. Who was she and why did she want Vic dead? Terror filled her as the beast continued to howl. She had to get away fast. She was a sitting duck out in the garden. She looked around and saw a door that led back into the house. Edward Charles was disappearing through it. She ran for the door, all the while thinking that any second the beast would rake her claws against her back.

  She pumped her arms and legs in a full-out sprint. She could hear the snorting of the beast as if it were directly behind her. If she stopped or tripped it would be right on her. Her heart beat so hard she thought it was going to burst out of her chest. Her breathing was ragged as she tried to breathe. She slammed herself bodily into the door and stepped back pulling the door open and escaping inside just as the beast slammed into the door itself. Vic locked the door and backed away. She knew it wouldn’t hold the beast for long.

  She looked around and realized that she was standing in the library, but this library was two stories tall and massive. Edward Charles, his back to her, sat at a desk in the middle of the room. She walked towards him, the beast pounding on the door behind her. Edward wrote in a book, stood, and then walked away. She ran to catch him. By the time she reached the desk, he was gone. There was an open journal that sat on the desktop. She leaned over to read it, but the letters kept changing. Sitting right there was an old black and white photograph of Edward Charles and his wife Virginia. Vic gasped as she realized something.

  Just then the beast broke through the door and charged at Vic. She stepped back and brought up her arms to protect herself from the beast. The beast she recognized as Virginia Charles, Edward’s wife. Red-rimmed eyes, with red veins streaking away on both sides of her face. Virginia Charles reared up like a beast and brought her clawed hand down raking it across Vic’s arm as she fell backwards.

  ~

  “Mommy! Where are you?” he called as he opened the door to his parent's room. It looked really funny. The walls were a deep red, and the curtains, also red, were thick like blankets. Mommy and Daddy’s bed was gone, and instead, there was a smaller, wooden one with poles on the corners. He couldn’t remember what they were called. It was dim, everywhere was dim. None of the lights worked and he almost missed the painting on the wall. It was of the pretty lady. He and William tried to tell Mommy about the pretty lady, but she thought they were telling stories. Why couldn’t he find her or Daddy?

  One minute he was in the playroom with Mommy and William and the next he followed the kitty out into the hall. When he went back nobody was there. Everybody was gone. He went downstairs to find Daddy, but he wasn’t there. Not even any of the ‘struction’ guys. He even looked for the nice lady Vic. The only one he could find was the kitty. He had gone into the room he shared with William and their beds were gone. It was just like in the other room. This room was white and pink. There was a painting of a scary man on the wall. He didn’t want to look at it so he went back into his parent’s room and laid down on the bed. Kitty came and laid down with him. He got tired and scared looking for everybody. He was all alone and cried until he fell asleep.

  When Liam woke up he was sure that his mommy would be there, but she wasn’t. He crawled out of the bed and went looking for his family again. The hallway wasn’t old anymore. The carpet looked new, and the wallpaper wasn’t falling off the walls, though it was still so dim. He didn’t see any light switches. He looked in his playroom. The blue carpeting didn’t have threadbare holes in it, and instead of the sofa they sat on, there was a bed. None of their things were there. Except an old woman was sitting on the edge of the bed. He didn’t recognize her. She had a lot of wrinkles, more even than Martha. He missed her and hoped that she would come back. The old woman was skeletal thin with wisps of hair upon her head. Her eyes looked like sunken portals and the sight of her made him shriek and run away.

  “Mommy, Daddy!” He pumped his little arms and legs. “I’m scared.”

  Fog rolled down the stairs from the third floor. It was thick and looked viscous. He had never seen fog inside. It felt bad to him like something was inside it and wanted to hurt him. Where was his mommy and daddy? He didn’t like this game anymore. He ran down the stairs to the great hall. When he passed the stained glass window the imps threw spears at him, which lodged in his skin. They weren’t very large, but they stuck into his skin causing him to cry and bleed. He brushed them off and kept running.

  The orange cat Kitty came running up and hissed at the imps. They all hid inside the stained glass. Kitty jumped into Liam’s arms and he hugged her while he cried. He crossed the great hall to the library, but his dad wasn’t inside. He noticed smoke coming through the doorway that led to a den, it smelled like cigars. He heard footsteps and turned to look down the hall. A tall, stern-looking woman stepped out into the hall from one of the rooms at the other end and saw him. She was wearing funny-looking clothes, like the pretty lady. But this woman wore a black dress, with keys that hung on a belt.

  “You do not belong here!” she said in a whispering rasp. “Naughty boys get punishment. Come with me right now!” She stalked toward him.

  Kitty jumped out of his arms and ran over to the woman. She hissed, growled, and swiped her claws at her. The woman cowered away.

  Liam ran away down another hallway.

  ~

  Vic’s breath was knocked out of her as she hit the floor with a thud. She was chilled to the bone, and couldn’t see anything in the dark. Her left arm throbbed with pain and her hand came away wet when she touched it. It had been another nightmare again. She was getting sick of the nightmares, the sleepwalking too. Because she wasn’t in her bed, It was obvious that she had sleepwalked again. She was probably in the cellar. Gods she hated this cellar. It didn’t matter that it was only a dream. It terrified her. Her arm hurt right where the beast…Virginia Charles had raked her with her claws. Did she cut herself on something as she fell?

  She stood, the noise getting lost instead of bouncing back off the walls. It felt and sounded like she was in a larger space than the cellar. A chill ran down her back. She shuffled towards a wall with her hands out, expecting to touch it with her hands. There was no wall. Her stomach dropped out and her breathing became labored. Why can’t she find the wall? Where was she? She shuffled forward, worried about tripping over something. The silence was deafening.

  She felt all over looking for a wall and then she touched a solid surface. It was smooth, and it warmed to her touch. It wasn’t that she made it warm, it became warm and then she felt a brushing against her palms. Her palms were pressed against this solid surface. She jerked her hands away and stepped back. Whispering began, but she couldn’t make it out. She didn’t know what had happened, but she wanted out of there now. She turned around and hurried as fast as she could away from whatever she had touched. What felt like an eternity later, but in reality was only a few moments, she hit a wall. It was rough under her hands and made of stone. Was she in the sub-basement? She followed the wall as the whispering got louder and her need to escape greater.

  She found the iron door and pushed it open. She slipped through it and followed the short hall to the winding staircase back up to the cellar. Once in the cellar she found the light switch and turned it on. Her arm dripped blood onto the floor. Once she saw the scratches it hurt worse. It didn’t look like she ran into something and fell. It looked like a beast raked her with its claws. It wasn’t possible to get hurt in a dream and have it be real. But she was hurt exactly where the beast got her.

  After cleaning out her scratches and wrapping her arm in gauze she hurriedly went to her room. She supposed Michael and Megan were sleeping as all was quiet. She hoped they had worked through their argument. She turned all the lights on and grabbed the vodka from the mini-fridge. She coughed down a huge swig before lighting a fire in the fireplace. She wrapped herself in a blanket and sat in the chair by the fire. She had to leave. She didn’t know what she had been thinking. She couldn’t go in the morning. But maybe in a day or two, she could last that long. She hoped Liam showed back up, that would change everything. She needed to finish reading these diaries and find out what was in the spellbook.

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