Sharon's INSPIRATIONAL Short stories of Faith and Romance can be found HERE or visit her
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Thursday, October 29, 2009

A Chilling Tale by Mary Ricksen

Silhouetted in the blood-red sky, the ghost of a moon drifts through the night, shedding an eerie glow on the haunted mansion. An invisible presence looms about the manor, palpable enough to slice through the fog-misted night. The wind chimes tinkle in the wind, sending prickles skittering down Mary’s spine. And when she hears the thundering of footsteps behind her, she pauses, her heart in her throat. Nothing. Then she guffaws, a bitter chuckle spewing from her lips. Silly fool. Just the sound of her own footsteps spooking her. But when something brushes her leg, she screams loud enough to wake the dead. Then she spies him as he rustles through the dry leaves before slinking into the dark of night. A black cat. Another superstition. She’s doomed. Why oh why had she agreed to come to the haunted mansion tonight of all nights to tell a ghost story? She’d been having signals and vibes all day, hadn’t she? So why had she come? She frowned. Because Sharon made her, that’s why. Then she breaks into an engaging grin. And because the hunky butler Oliver will be at her beck and call all night. Taking a moment to adjust her witch’s hat and dab her lips with scarlet war paint, she yanks the rope to announce her presence. And when the creaky old door opens on rusty hinges, and Oliver grins, his eyes glinting with madness, Mary tosses all caution to the wind and saunters into the vestibule.

“Madame is waiting for you, Ms. Ricksen,” Oliver took her hand in his, fingers intertwining. “Allow me to escort you into the parlour.”

So enthralled was Mary, she didn’t even flinch when she walked through spider webs, when a hairy wolf spider crawled down her arm or when the pet raven swooped down the spiral staircase, his massive wings flapping before perching himself on her shoulder. She just gave Oliver’s hand a little squeeze and put a little va boom in her walk

Sharon, portraying the Mysterious Veiled Lady, dressed in black satin with a bustle skirt, sat in between the Two-headed Lady and the Howling Werewolf. Casting Mary an evil smile, she patted the seat next to her.

Sharon: Do have a seat here on the sofa, dearie. There’s plenty of room. Oliver, do bring Mary a strawberry delight from Duncan Donuts. She’s about to tell us a ghost story about her mother and we don’t want her mouth to get dry. So Mary, now that you have all our attention (the (werewolf screams as the silvery light from the moon spills in through the double hung window)

Do tell us this bewitching story of your mother’s special powers which you’ve inherited.

Mary slugs back the strawberry drink Oliver hands her and then demands something stronger. Three martinis later, she’s so ready she stands atop the coffin and clears her throat, commanding silence.

My Mom and the house she loved too much.

My mom is fey. I believe it has always been passed down on the matriarchal side of
the family. My mom had fiery red natural colored hair, naturally curvy it was one
of her biggest prides. It's white as snow now. She has misty morning green eyes with
flecks of amber in them. She loves the color Kelly Green and tends toward the Irish
side of her ancestry. She was a flirt and hung out at the USO. My father saw her
and fell in love before he even spoke to her. He always had this strong sense of
needing to take care of her. They always owned beautiful homes. My father worked
hard for the government and he had to change where we lived frequently to move up
the corporate ladder.

They were living in Virginia, my mom loved that home. It had five bedrooms, (six
kids), lots of bathrooms and a huge yard where my mother grew plants in an almost
magic way. No matter what she put in the ground it bloomed and grew as if just to
please her. When she put the house up for sale she would kick everyone out and even
comb the rug so the house looked immaculate when potential buyers would come.
That house loved my mother too. Nothing broke and the many time she was alone with
us on my fathers business trips, she was always safe and snug.

So she finally sold the house and trustingly she left with us all to go be with my
father and never worried the closing would go well with their lawyer there. At the
last minute the people demanded my parents come down $10,000 or they would back
out. My parents were blown away. What rats? In the end they had to take the deal,
heck they were already moved. My mother stewed, and smoldered about it, for weeks
and then she broke down and decided to make a spell. She didn't do it often, all
she could do was negative things and she had to be very emotionally charged. Boy
was she.

She lay in bed that night and left her body, she traveled back to her old home in
Annandale, Virginia, and walked the still empty house. Putting unhappiness and depression
everywhere, she cursed the home and it's occupants. She traveled back into her body
and satisfied, fell asleep. There would be no happiness for those crooks in my mother's
home.

Eventually as time passed, so did her anger and she forgot about it. It was three
or four years later that she heard from one of her old neighbors. The woman asked
if she could give my mom's phone number to the people that owned the house now. They
needed her help. It seems that the people who first bought the house divorced within
six months and every family since and I think there was three of them, all ended
in the same boat. That's four divorced families. The woman who owned the house said
that it was full of anger and hate and it was contagious. She and her new husband
began to fight the minute they moved in.

My mom went back to the house that night. She walked it and did the best she could
to suck back up all the negative vibes she'd left behind. Then went back home. The
couple went on to have three children and still live in the home today. I have inherited
some of her abilities and I can't do good spells either. I once tried my hand a crystal
scrying. I used the best full of windows natural rainbow crystal ball available.
I saw a friends face and it turned to a skull, he was dead in month, so I stopped
that. And there was the scary incidents with the Ouija board as a teen. So I don't
do anything any more. Not a good idea.

When Mary takes her respective seat on the sofa, the vanilla-scented candles flicker before turning blue. Then they zap out. A cold draft filters through the room and the werewolf howls. Then the candles come back on. From inside the walls, the skeletons rattle. The organ cranks out the funeral dirge just as a big hairy spider crawls out of its web.

Sharon: Hmmm. Mary. Very interesting powers you have inherited from your mom. Now this ghost story is the perfect example of a voo doo curse, I’d say. When did you first realize your mother had these powers that be?

Mary: No not Voo Doo, it’s more like a Celtic witch kind of thing for my family. My Mom worried about hearing the Banshee wail. She lost her first husband and heard it when he passed.
She is a quarter Abenaki Indian and it was said the women were healers and foretellers, in that part of the family. But we never saw anything off. She was our mom and to us they were stories.

Sharon: And did you find these peculiar, a bit out of the norm? Were you and your siblings ever frightened by these powers?

Mary: My Mom talked about these things like she talked about her first boyfriend, or her other family tales. My brothers didn’t even listen and my sisters sense things sometimes, but that’s it for them.

Sharon: Hmmm. I foresee a best seller here. Do dish, girlfriend. Any chance of that?

Mary: It would have to be about my mother and her soul mate. Which is my father and his control would make it sad even though they totally loved each other My Mom changed for him.

Sharon: That gives me chills, all those families facing turbulent love affairs the moment they set foot in the home, all due to your mom’s curse. Hmmm. Remind me to stay on the good side of her. Oliver, do pack some treats for Mary to take to her mom when she visits, and put a nice bow and card on top.

Sharon: And what other things could your mom do when she was…ah…fired up and charged?

Mary: My Mom is 85 and very frail. She has a whole bunch of stories. But she didn’t really look at herself as a witch. She could throw a mean slipper.

Sharon: When did you first realize you’d inherited the power, Mary. Sharon blesses herself as Mary’s penetrating stare seems to burn a hole through the veil shrouding her face.

Mary: I first started to play with the Ouija board with my best friend, when I was a very young teen. We had some crazy things happen and our parents took it away. When I first moved into my own apartment at 20, I was disillusioned with life. I knew I had to test the limits. I tried Wicca, but it wasn’t for me, even with my respect for nature. I started to learn about crystals. I read all about different religions and I opened my heart and mind to learn about all kinds of things.

Sharon: And do you think you’ll ever call upon or be called upon to perform your gift again? And if so, would you dare and scrye?

Mary: Not in a million years.

Sharon: Mary, it’s been a truly bewitching tale. As I’ve often said, the legends and lore have some merit or they would not have been passed on from generation to generation through the centuries. You are a gift. With your gift of story telling, you’ll go far. Good luck to you, my friend. And give your mom a big hug for me.

Mary: Thank you Sharon for having me. I will give my mom your best! Thank you so much for the compliments you are in the wrong costume, you should be dressed as an Angel. Oliver has been so kind; he only tried to bite me once. Then he seemed to snap out of it and began to act like a, dare I say, Butler, but I was taken aback when he started to sound a bit like Lurch. Remember him? Well I do have to leave, the Headless Horseman is waiting for me. Have you seen the head he caries. He’s rather handsome don’t you think?

Ta, Ta. I’ll see you at the ball Sharon, Oliver? Mary waves grandly to the room and leaves.

You can learn more about Mary Ricksen on her website at: www.maryricksen.com

And purchase Tripping Through Time
www.thewildrosepress.com


Have a ghost story to share? Tell us all about it. We love to hear them!

Happy Halloween!!

21 comments:

Sharon Donovan said...

A warm welcome for Mary Ricksen. Hello, Mary! Grab a seat here and allow Oliver to bring you a strawberry delight while you tell us all about your bewitching powers.
Sharon

Margaret Tanner said...

Hi Mary and Sharon,
Great interview. I am getting ready to go to bed in a few moments, after all those tales, I don't think I am going to sleep very wel. Give my regards to your Mum too Mary, and Happy Halloween Oliver.
Regards
Margaret

P.L. Parker said...

Good Morning Ladies. Wow, what a fascinating mother. My mother thinks I'm "fey." I seem to know things that I shouldn't, always have. My mother explained to me when I was young that not everyone could do that and perhaps best if I didn't talk about it because people wouldn't understand. My brother said I used to scare the crap out of him. I don't think of it as strange, just a part of life. But like Mary, there is that moment when it scares you and you sort of turn away from it.

Beth Trissel said...

Oooooh scary stuff, Mary and Sharon, and most intriguing. I agree with Margaret. Gonna pull the covers up around my chin and hide after that.

Keena Kincaid said...

Hi, Mary. What an great blog...I may not sleep so well tonight. Isn't it interesting how negative energy is so much easier to direct and use than positive energy. I always find, though, that negative energy seems to come back and bite me. LOL!

Mary Ricksen said...

Hi everyone! Sharon has a way of making you sound interesting, even if you're not!
Oliver, stop the strawberry frutistas I am on a bland diet, well if you call apple sauce an jello a diet. Wait, it is!!! So there is an upside to being sick! But I feel better an thank God for that.
So could you fix me something to make me feel better. Those martini's were a mistake. But I never could have gotten up there without them.
You're right Keena! How does the saying go? Once cursed, thrice returned?

Sharon Donovan said...

Hey, Mary! How was your trip with your darling mother? Are you sick? Aw, poor baby. Here comes Oliver with some tea and soda crackers. We'll have to catch up later! Hello to Margaret, Patsy, Lyn, Beth and Keena!

Mary Marvella said...

I'm not messin' with Mary R.! Loved the stories about your mom!

Judith Keim said...

Mary, I loved reading about your mother and the powers you have. A lot of people have abilities like that. I'm too scared to pursue any but strange abilities run in my family to a limited degree. Great fun! Thanks for a good post!

Jianne Carlo said...

Great way to do an interview!

I know this is only because I'm anal, but I loved the Duncan Donut!

Jianne

Linda Swift said...

Great Blog, Mary and Sharon. And this dark and gloomy day put me in the mood for it. I tip-toe on the edge of these supernatural powers and truly believe most of us have more of this gift that we use, partly through fear of what would happen if we did. The unknown is always a little frightenig, isn't it? Happy Halloweeen. Linda

Emma Lai said...

Great interview ladies.

I'm with Keena, negative energy is so much easier to put out there. But, positive energy will come back thricefold as well. Remember...good thoughts!

M.Flagg said...

Hi Mary. Like Sharon, I'll not tread on your toes - or your moms for that matter. But I think it's neat that you've inherited some of her ability. Fascinating story and perfectly paranormal. Sending good vibes your way for many, many sales. ~ Mickey

Scarlet Pumpernickel said...

Wow! Mary, I know now not to get on your bad side, girlfriend. My grandmother was a quarter Creek indian. We have lots of lovely ghost tales and such handed down in our family.

Mary Ricksen said...

Hi ladies, my mom is amazing. Anyone who could raise six kids, and handle all she had to, deserves respect.

She is sensitive too, so she sure felt bad about the other people not involved.

Oliver, please forgive me for not answering the door. I have been feeling a bit bad all around, so I fell asleep again. That seems to be all I do.

Could you please tell everyone how grateful I am for their comments. I so appreciate it when my friends take the time. I try to hit every blog I can. If you want me to go there, you have to invite us all on line. I do try to control my anger and anxiety so I am not tempted to try to scry the future. It's always bad what I see.
I had over a thousand emails on AT&T alone, so it messed up my computer and I had to lose over half of them. Darn.
Oliver I need a hug!
How come so few comments?
Give me those roses Oliver I am gonna try a spell. Don't hold me back!! Oliverrrr.......Junior barks anxiously, "Mary?" He sends the call out telepathically but Mary doesn't answer.??? Hmmmmm.

Mary Ricksen said...

Love the outfit Oliver, where did you get the old pic of me with the crystal gazing ball?

Mary Ricksen said...

As Mary is kidnapped again and travels away from the blogspot, she wonders if anyone notices.

Sharon Donovan said...

Ladies ladies! Thank you all so very much for coming over to comment on Mary''s powers she's inherited from her sweet mother! Mary, as always, you add a spark of sunshine and wit to my blog. I'm so sorry you're sick and if I had the powers, I would wave a magic wand over you to make you well. But in the meantime, here comes Oliver with a big bear hug to cheer you, some medicine guaranteed to make you smile and from both of us, a bouquet of fresh garden roses! Feel better soon, dear friend!!!

Sharon

Hywela Lyn said...

Hi Mary

Welcome back, of course we noticed that you'd disappeared, you've been missed!

So sorry I didn't call yesterday, I was out most of the day and did leave a comment but I've had a lot of problems with the net - sigh - perhaps you could put a spell on my pc and make it behave. Wow, what a fascinating post, I don' think anyone's going to tangle with you or your mum in a hurry!

I'm so sorry you've had pc problems as well as your health problems, I'm sure everyone's sending you positive vibes to make you well again.

Mary Ricksen said...

To those of you who took the time to comment I thank you well and truly.
Sharon you are an artist at heart. You can tell a tale about me that even interests me!! You are amazing!

Unknown said...

Gosh, Mary! You sure can tell a story, even if it's about your mother!

Thanks for the fun interview, Sharon!

Bess McBride