A Walk on the Haunted Side (Haunted Tour Guide Mystery Book 2) (4 page)

He stopped and turned to look at me. “I appreciate you bringing me here. Sorry if I scared you up there.”

Cady coughed. I knew that was her signal that she didn’t think he should apologize. She was right though.

“It wasn’t your fault. I’m sorry that happened to you,” I said.

He waved off my comment. “I’m a big guy. I can handle a ghost.” I wasn’t going to ask if he was still coming to the ghost tour. But Hank said, “We’ll see you soon for the tour.”

Cady huffed and stomped over to the car like a small child who hadn’t gotten what she wanted.

“Great. I’ll see you soon.” I hurried over to my car.

I hated to say it, but I kind of wished they wouldn’t come on the tour. With the way Cady was acting now, I knew it wouldn’t be a pleasant experience.

I felt eyes watching me. When I looked over at the car, Cady was staring at me. If looks could kill I’d be in that old house with the ghost. I hoped she didn’t come with Hank on the tour tonight. I hopped in my car and pulled out before he even had a chance to start his car.

I pulled my car up to the tavern. Tammy worked part-time there as a bartender.  She hadn’t been working there as much though since we were short-handed at the library.

Since Tammy wasn’t working tonight, I’d try to talk her into going on the tour with me. Maybe then she could help me keep Cady happy. Tammy didn’t like ghosts, so it was always impossible to convince her to go. It would be more fun if she came along though.

Country music blasted around me as I stepped into the tavern. I weaved around a group of people who peered at me over the tops of their mugs of beer. The bar was on the left and tables and chairs filled up the rest of the space. The stone building had been around since the 1700s. Now tons of people gathered here to socialize and drink.  

Tammy waved me over. “Are you eating dinner before the tour?”

I picked up a few pretzels from the bowl on the bar. “You’re looking at my dinner.” I chewed on the snack.

Tammy frowned. “That’s not much of a dinner.”

“It’s all I have time for. I’ll grab something when I get home. Are you sure you don’t want to join me tonight?” I asked.

Tammy took a sip of her water, and then said, “I’m sure.” 

I gathered up the flashlights that I kept stored at the bar. Luckily the owner didn’t mind that I kept them stashed there. Since the tavern was right by the graveyard, it worked out perfectly. The tavern was even on my stops for haunted locations. But with all the noise, it was hard to experience anything paranormal. After everyone left at night was when the ghosts came out.

I headed out of the tavern toward the cemetery, which was right around the corner. If I left now I could get there early before the tourgoers gathered.

The cemetery was surrounded by tall oak trees and an iron fence. Some of the stones were above-ground vaults. Most of the headstones in the place were old, which only added to the creepy feeling. I hoped that if a ghost appeared tonight it would wait for the others to arrive.

I knew the graveyard like the back of my hand, but I still needed the flashlight. With the uneven ground I never knew when I might take a wrong step. I didn’t want to fall and hit my head on one of the stones.

The moon sliced through the thick cover of darkness, adding a silvery glow to the area. The glow from the moon helped illuminate the surroundings, but it wasn’t nearly enough. An owl hooted from a nearby treetop and the wind rustled the leaves on the towering trees. No doubt about it, Devil’s Moon Cemetery was haunted, but it looked the part too and was the ideal backdrop for a haunted tour.

I stepped through the black iron gates and turned on my flashlight. The light flickered and I shook it. The last thing I needed was for it to go out. I’d just changed the batteries, so that couldn’t be the cause. Usually when this happened a spirit was nearby.

Darkness surrounded me like a black curtain. Something about the spooky appealed to me, because otherwise I would have run the other way when I first saw this place.

It was kind of strange standing here alone while I waited for people to show up. I glanced over my shoulder, sure that I’d heard something behind me. It was probably just a bird. It wasn’t unusual to hear spooky sounds and see weird things around here.

As I waited at the graveyard’s iron-gated entrance, I spotted a group of people walking my way. I always worried that I would mess up when talking to the groups. Once I got started though my nerves would fade and everything would be fine. I knew all the stories by heart, so I wasn’t sure why I worried about it. I guessed it wasn’t so much about forgetting the stories as it was that I would goof up and embarrass myself.

When the group of people grew near, I smiled and said, “Hello, everyone. Welcome to Devil’s Moon Haunted Tours.”

They said hello and handed me their tickets. The tavern and other places around town sold tickets for me, or people could purchase right on the spot. I grabbed the flashlights and handed them out. Where were Hank and Cady? I peered around the group, but didn’t see them.

Tonight’s group consisted of a middle-aged man and a woman, two women who appeared to be in their mid-twenties, and a single man around thirty. The couple looked as if they had been together for a long time based on their ease around each other. They both had graying hair. The woman wore jeans and a green sweater. I was sure that it was no coincidence that her partner had on the same combination. The single guy had short dark hair and wore jeans and a black leather jacket. The two women were dressed similarly in jeans and trendy black sweaters. They also had the same blonde hair styled to just below their shoulders. Maybe they were sisters.

“Tonight I will take you around the haunted locations of Devil’s Moon. Please remember to use your flashlights.” I hit mine again when it flickered.

The group turned on their flashlights, creating a small glow around us. I glanced around for Hank and Cady again, but they still were nowhere in sight. I couldn’t wait any longer for them. I’d have to do the tour without them.

“We’ll start with the tavern right around the corner and then make our way back to this graveyard.” I gestured over my shoulder.

Everyone nodded and waited for me to make a move.

“Why don’t we start with the graveyard?” one of the young women asked.

I smiled and said, “Since it’s the most haunted, I like to save the best for the last.”

Her eyes widened. “I guess that makes sense.”

“What’s so haunted about the graveyard?” the man in the leather jacket asked.

This was something I really wanted to leave for the end of the tour. But some of the customers wanted to cut to the good stuff. I wasn’t about to give in that easily though.

“There are a lot of spirits who haunt this area, but like I said, we will save that for last.” I smiled again, trying to convince them to be patient and wait.

I moved forward and motioned for everyone to follow me. Slowly they all started to gather around and walk beside me. Just then I spotted movement out of the corner of my eye.

“Did you see that?” the woman asked with shock in her voice.

She must have seen the same thing.

“Yes, I saw it,” I said.

“What was it?” she asked.

The leather jacket guy looked around. As if he didn’t believe us said, “I didn’t see anything.”

“That was a little creepy,” the woman said to the other woman.

I continued walking down the alleyway toward the tavern. “It was a shadow. What I refer to as a shadow person. They are all around here. I don’t know for sure who it was, but I can tell you about some of the spirits that have ties to the tavern.”

We had reached the sidewalk in front of the tavern, so I paused. “We won’t go inside since it’s so busy, but if it slows down by the time we come back we can step inside.”

They nodded, but appeared to be a little skeptical. It looked as if I wasn’t going to take them anywhere, but I really was going to get to the good stuff.

“This building was built in 1778. Originally used as a stagecoach stop, the place is reported to be haunted by a man who used to work here. He has been seen in the upstairs part of the building. Footsteps and cold spots are felt, along with people being touched and hearing their names called out,” I said.

The group stared at the building for a few seconds as if lost in the story I’d just told them.

We walked past the tavern and the group asked a few questions about the other buildings around us. The young woman looked over her shoulder again. I wondered if she sensed the same thing. It felt as if that shadow was stalking us. It wouldn’t be the first time that a ghost had followed me around town. The woman moved a little faster, as if the feeling was making her uncomfortable. I couldn’t blame her, I was feeling the same thing.

As we neared an old building on the corner, I pointed. “We’ll be going in there. I have to warn you that people have reported being pushed, scratched, and items have been thrown.” I took no responsibility for what the paranormal might do.

Even if a little reluctantly, everyone followed me into the old building. The owner, who lived above the shop, left the door open for me so that I could bring the groups inside.

We stepped into the antique shop. It was crowded with items in every available space. There was just enough room to walk down the middle of the shop. Without warning and as if I had staged it, a small book flew off a shelf and landed with a thud on the ground. The women screamed and the man jumped, almost falling on his butt. I had warned them that it might happen. This was one of the more haunted locations in town.

“Please be careful and stay on the lookout for more things to happen,” I said.

We trailed through the building and I told the group about when it had been built and some of the stories people had recalled to me over the years. The walk through this place usually took about five minutes.

After I took them around the store, we stepped back onto the sidewalk. A chill whirled around us and I wondered if it was from the weather or the spirits. I had just a few more stops for them, and then we would head back to the graveyard. I knew they were anxious to hear about the place. I wondered if Hank and Cady would be waiting for me when I got back. Maybe Cady had talked Hank out of going after all.

The group had a lot of questions about the hauntings. Thank goodness I was able to answer all of them to their satisfaction. We made our way around to the other buildings and then headed back toward the graveyard.

“I hope everyone is enjoying the tour,” I said as we walked.

“It’s been great,” the women said in unison.

The guy smiled, but he hadn’t said much all evening. The older couple mostly just listened too. 

“We loved it,” the woman said.

We’d almost made it back to our starting point. The cool air swirled around us again. I hadn’t expected it to be so chilly this evening, so I had to conclude that it was the paranormal at work. That was when I spotted the floating shadow again. This time it was in front of us near the cemetery gates. When everyone stopped and looked at each other I knew that they had seen it too.

“I think the shadow is following us,” the middle-aged woman whispered.

I hated to admit it, but I think she was right.

“We should get over to the graveyard.” I moved forward, trying not to act alarmed.

“Is that thing evil?” her husband asked.

I couldn’t lie to him. “To be honest, I don’t know. It seems to just be following us, so I don’t think it’s anything to worry about,” I said, trying to sound casual. Under the circumstances how casual could I sound though?   

We finally reached the graveyard again. I glanced back to see if the shadow was behind us. Thank goodness I didn’t see anything. I should be happy that the tourgoers had experienced something, but it was a little disturbing to know that a spirit had followed us.

One by one we entered the graveyard. Clouds cloaked the night sky and the wind howled around us.

“This is the spookiest place I’ve ever been,” one of the women whispered.

“Please watch your step. The ground can be uneven.” I shone my flashlight on the ground in front of me.

They nodded and followed me past the gates and deeper into the cemetery. I started by telling them stories of the blue ghost whom everyone thought was haunting the graveyard. We weaved around the old tombstones and further into the older section.

Up ahead I spotted something on the ground. My heart sped up when I realized that it looked like a body. Was this a ghost? More than likely it was. If it wasn’t then I needed to go over and ask the person if he needed help. Possibly it could be someone who had had too much to drink and decided to take a little nap. It had been known to happen in the past.

“Hello,” I called out. “Are you okay?”

The man didn’t answer. I didn’t know what to think. Everyone paused around me. 

“Is that a body?” the leather jacket guy said from over my shoulder.

I stepped a little closer. It was at that moment I realized who was on the ground. I screamed and threw the flashlight in the air. I spun around and clutched my chest.

The two men ran past me and over to the body. After regaining my composure, I grabbed my flashlight so that we could see better, and ran over beside the men. I focused the light on the man on the ground.

Hank Key was lying between two old headstones.

The middle-aged man turned to me and said, “He’s dead.”