Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Word: Poltergeist



 

poltergeist

\ POHL-ter-gahyst \  , noun;
1. a ghost or spirit supposed to manifest its presence by noises, knockings, etc.

**************************************         
      The dark, old building was, on the surface, just like any other old house.  The antique furniture was covered with a fine layer of dust.  Some of the floorboards creaked underfoot.  And the eyes of the figures in paintings seemed to follow those who wandered the halls.  Currently, there were only two such brave fools though.
                “I don’t like this.”  Said one of them.  He hefted the specially made camera around in front of him, holding it like it would save his life.
                “Why not?”  said the other.  He waved a small metal rod that was connected to a small metal box with blinking lights and a small gauge at the top.
                “I don’t know.  It’s just…it’s just this place gives me the creeps is all.  I just got a bad feeling, you know?”
                “Uh huh.  Well, don’t let it get to you.  I mean, really, what’s the worst that could happen?  A few bats in the attic, maybe a few mice.  Same old same old.”
                “Yeah, I know.  But still.  I just feel like there could actually be something here.”
                “What makes you say that?”
                “Just a feeling, I guess.”
                “I wouldn’t put too much stock in that.  I mean, you did just have Mexican.  That feeling of yours could be the remains of those tacos you ate.”
                “Doesn’t feel like tacos.”
                “Well, what does it feel like then?”
                “I don’t know.  Just…something.  Maybe there really is something here, and that’s it?”
                “Let me ask you something.  How long have we been doing this?”
                “About five years now.”
                “Right, five years.  And how many times have there been actual ghosts in haunted houses?”
                “None.”
                “Exactly.  So what’re the odds of there being one here?”
                “Not very good.”
                “Exactly.  So don’t worry about it too much.”
                No sooner had the words left his lips than a loud crashing noise came from a nearby room.  Both men turned quickly towards the source of the disturbance. 
                “W-what was that?”  Asked the cameraman.
                “Probably just a mouse knocking over a vase or something.”  Another crash soon issued forth. 
                “Two mice?”  Asked the cameraman.
                “Yeah, probably.”  Said the other.
                Another noise came from the same room, a loud thumping one this time.  Slowly but surely, the room in question became noisier and noisier.  The two men looked at each other nervously.  Even the man with the sensor was getting a bit worried that they had finally met a real paranormal phenomenon.
                “S-still think it’s mice?”  Asked the cameraman.
                “Uh, not as much, no.”
                “So what do you think?”
                “No idea, but we gotta check it out.”
                “Are you sure?  I mean, what if there really is a ghost or a poltergeist or something?”
                “If there is, you get it on camera and we hit the jackpot.”  The man said.  He said it to reassure himself as much as his companion.  It didn’t work as well as he had hoped.
“But what if it doesn’t like people and tries to kill us?”
                “Then we run.  Really fast.”
                “Ok, yeah, I guess that sounds like a plan.  But what if it chases us?”
                “Then I guess we’ll just have to improvise.”
                “I suck at that though.”
                “Yeah, me too.  Just go with it.”
                The two men approached the door.  Various noises issued forth.  Crashes, bangs, thumps and other assorted sounds all came from the other side of the door.  The cameraman got his device ready, pointing it forward and hitting the record button.  The two spent a moment letting the camera pick up some of the noises before the one with the scanner placed his hand on the ornate brass doorknob.  He took a deep breath and flung open the door.
************************************
What do they find?  Honestly, not even I know that.  But hey, isn't half the fun of short stories like this coming up with your own ending?  It should be interesting to see who thinks it's the real thing and who thinks it isn't.

No comments:

Post a Comment