Hauntings (3 page)

              Waking to a harsh cacophony of voices that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, surrounding  Randal where he lay. Hesitantly I opened his eyes to the bright light of the florescent lights hanging from the dorm room ceiling. The warm light of an autumn day awaited him outside, but inside the dorm room it was cold heartless artificial light of a factory. Randal lay on his back and listened to the sounds assailing him. Sounds of voices male and female, sounds of flatware clinking against plates, cups against saucers, then the aroma of bacon, sausage, and coffee stirred his mind to wakefulness.
It was breakfast if I got up in time to eat before it was all gone, isn't that what Vlad the impaler had implied when he told me about the complementary meal
.
At least the price is right.
Randal sat up still dressed from the day before. Ozzie sat on the bed across from him holding a plate full of eggs and sausage and toasted English muffin.

              “If you want some breakfast you better get up and hurry while you're at it. The wolves are loose.” Ozzie pointed in the direction of the noise where a buffet table had been set up surrounded by a ravenous gaggle of guests.

              “I suppose I better get something while there is still something to be get.” Randal said getting to his feet and following his nose to the table where he discovered a series of hot plates with scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon alongside plates of bread, sweet rolls, muffins and such. Coffee, tea, milk and juice were available.
It was some spread they put out considering the price, maybe it is some sort of non-profit organization.
Randal thought while grabbing a plate and serving himself some eggs, he missed the last of the bacon, but the aroma lingered. Randal did get a piece of sausage, some toast, and a cup of black coffee though. Returning to what called the social area last night, Randal claimed one of the club chairs, putting his cup and plate on a nearby end table and began his breakfast.  He was glad to have found a place of relative quiet to enjoy his food.

              From where he sat he could see Ozzie standing at the entrance to the lobby where the buffet was served talking to a lanky woman with a pale complexion, wearing too tight jeans, a loose flowery top, and wooden multicolored beads hanging loosely around her neck. With her long straight ebony hair flowing loosely over her shoulders She looked to be hippie lost in time, straight from the sixties.
Morticia Addams as a hippie, that is the look who's time has not come.
He thought as he swallowed the last of his eggs. Taking a gulp of coffee to wash the last of his food down and Randal watched Ozzie and Morticia coming his way. He stood up to dispose of dishes.

              “Randal! Randal, great news!” Ozzie called to him across the room. Glancing in their direction and saw Ozzie pulling Morticia behind him.

              “Hey Ozzie.”

              “ Randal this is Bridget.”

              “Hi Bridget.” He said trying to keep a straight face, but the image of Morticia in a hippie costume wouldn't leave his mind. He managed not to laugh, but he may have smiled a little too broadly.

              “Hello Randal.” She replied with a little half smile half smirk of her own.

              “Randal, Bridget knows about the Castle.”

              “What?”

              “She knows about the Castle by the river.”

              “Castle Reuversweerd” Bridget corrected. Randal walked over to a gray plastic bin set out to collect all the dirty dishes and utensils, he placed my plate and fork inside. Holding onto his cup hoping to gain a second cup of coffee from the urn before it was put away. Ozzie followed Randal to the urn dragging Bridget behind him. Refilling his cup with coffee tilting the urn forward to get the last few drops.

              “ So Bridget, are you from around here?” Randal asked.

              “I've been here before, last summer actually. I liked it so much I came back to relive some memories so to speak. Last year I took a trip on a tourist barge along the river Weerd. You can see the castle from the river t and at night they say strange things go on there.”

              “Strange how?”

              “I was on the barge in the lounge serving drinks and one of the bargemen was telling stories trying to scare the passengers and impress the girls with their tales. At the least they were trying to earn some tips.”

              “What kind of barge was this? What was it carrying anything besides passengers?” He asked.

              “Just passengers as far as I know. It was a tourist barge, I could have gone as one of the passengers, my parents gave me the trip as a present for being my class valedictorian, but I wanted the extra money I could have if I worked my way on the barge. They let me cash in my ticket  and I got a job as a combination waitress and all around gofer.”

              “We have an intellectual among us.” Ozzie commented with a wink and a grin. Randal thought she may have more character than appearances would tell.

              “Do you want to hear about the castle or not?” Bridget asked a bit peeved at Ozzie's comment.

              “Yes, please go on.” Randal replied

              “Anyway, the bargemen told a story about the castle, they said a baron owned the castle and live there during World War II, but the Nazi's took the place over and did all sorts of ghastly things there. When the allied forces attacked the castle, the commandant claimed the baron had given the allies' vital intelligence. They charged him with spying and had him executed the same day. They shot him in front of the castle in view of the river, they made his wife, Theadora watch. The baron fell into the river when he was shot and they just let his body float away to be eaten by the fish. Theadora tried to pull his body out of the river, but she simply wasn't strong enough. They said it took days before his body was retrieved and could be retrieved and prepared for burial.

              When the war ended and most of the Nazi's went back to Germany, the Baroness Theadora would have nothing to do with the castle. She had it boarded up and gave orders that no one should ever be allowed in the castle again. In time she had a small house built next to the castle and lived there quietly for the rest of her life.”

              “That all sounds very tragic, maybe even heroic on the Baron's part, but I didn't hear anything ghostly in your story.”

              “That's just it,” Bridget continued, “the Baroness Theadora boarded up the place because she said it was haunted.”

              “Is that it then?” Randal asked, hoping there was more to the story.

              “Well, that's what they said, but when we got near the castle one of the men pointed it out to me. The castle isn't far from the riverbank really. It was getting dark at the time, but I wanted a good view of the house. It really is more of a mansion than it is a castle. I don't know why they call it a castle anyway, Vanity I suppose.” Randal nodded to her comment hoping she would continue with something a little more interesting.

              “In any case, there I am leaning over the edge of the barge straining my eyes trying see what I could see of the castle in the darkening skies, and there it was a shadow of a woman, or a man hurrying across the grounds towards the house. Then the next thing I knew there was a light in the window on the second or third floor shining out from between the shutters.”

              “There was someone or something inside place, that has to be what you saw”  Ozzie said, skeptically.

              “I knew then I wanted to go inside and explore, but the barge wasn't about to stop and let me break into some old abandoned house. I decided right then that I would be coming back on my own if I had to, to get a closer look at the castle.” Bridget continued.

              “That is why you are here now?”

              “That is the theme of my vacation this year anyway. Why are you here?”

              “I'm just on a walking tour, there are some things I need to work out for myself. I thought this would be a good way to do it.”

              “What about you Ozzie?”

              “I'm here for fun and adventure. So what do you two think, should we go hunting this castle down? If we can get in it would be a lot less expensive than eighteen euros a night.”
              “We'd need to bring our own food though. I don't think there will be power or water to the house either. It could be pretty rustic.”

              “And who knows what animals may have taken residence in there.” Bridget added.

              “Squirrels probably, maybe some raccoons, who knows.” Ozzie replied.

              “Bats.”

              “What?”

              “I said bats, I bet there are bats in the castle. I bet the place is filled with bat shit all over the place.”

              “Why would you say such a thing, Randy?”

              “ Just seems natural, an old abandoned house and bats the two go together.” He replied.

              “If we are going to do this, I would prefer if we get there during daylight, so we have a little time to clean up a place for ourselves to sleep and do a little exploring before it gets dark.” Bridget advised.

              “We should do what we can to get some supplies for the night too before we go.” Randal stated flatly, rapidly losing the desire to go along on this trip. He gulped down the last of his coffee, cold and bitter the last dregs of the urn and left his cup in the gray dishpan with the other breakfast dishes and such. For some reason he wanted to get out of there and away from his new friends.

              “I bet you two will have a great time at the castle tonight telling each other ghost stories and roasting marshmallows and making smores and stuff.”

              “What aren't you interested in going? You're the one who told me about this in the first place.” Ozzie exclaimed.

              “I just asked if you heard about it, I never said I wanted to go and break into the place. We could end up in jail for breaking and entering.”

              “Some soldier you are, afraid of an old abandoned house no less. Look at it this way Randal, there is no harm done just going over and taking a look at the place is there?”

              “No I guess not, but….”

              “Do you have anywhere else to go?”

              “No, but that is not the point.”

              “The point is Randal, we have the opportunity for a little adventure. An opportunity that may never come our way again. We may find out for ourselves if there really is such a thing as life after death.”

              “Fine” Randal said, giving in to Ozzie. How could he tell them he had enough adventure for a lifetime and seen enough death not to question it's permanence and only wanted to be left alone with his thoughts, to walk off the effects of the war from his life if he could.
Life after death though, that could be a concept worth investigating.
He wondered.

              “Okay, if we are going to do this we need to come up with a plan of action.” Randal offered.

              “Ghost hunting sounds great to me, I've seen all the shows.” Bridget brightened at the prospect. “We need digital cameras, infrared cameras, recording devices, energy sensors flashlights, and plenty of batteries.” she continued.

              “What about access? Do you think there is some way we can get permission to go inside, instead of just planning on breaking in? I really don't want to spend any time in a Dutch prison if I can help it.”  Ozzie glanced over to the registration desk.  He waved at Igor, or Boris or whatever Ozzie is calling him today.

              “Oh concierge.” Ozzie called to the old man who looked nothing like the butler from the Rocky Horror Picture Show in the morning light. Bridget and Randal followed Ozzie to the desk.

              “Can I do something for you young people ?” The concierge asked.

              “Sir, we were talking earlier amongst ourself about ghosts and hauntings and such. My friend Randal here told me a tale of a haunted castle that is nearby. Do you know anything about it?”

              “Young man, everyone over who lives in town knows about the Castle.”

              “Does anyone live there? I mean who takes care of the place?” Bridget asked.

              “No one has lived in the Castle for almost seventy years. Come a little closer and I'll tell you what I know.” he whispered for effect more than anything else. We gathered around the desk like children around a campfire waiting to here the next ghost story told by a master story teller.

              “Castle Reuversweerd was built in the year 1830 in the Empire style.” The old man began. “It is a mansion really, but when the baron bought it he began to call it his castle, and then Castle Reuversweerd since it is so close to the river.
Castle Reuversweerd has stood along the banks of the river Weerd for over one hundred and eighty years. One might say it has stood the test of time, even though it has stood vacant and abandoned for almost seventy years it still stands stout and firm with no indication that it intends to collapse.” The old man reached into a drawer and brought a black and white photograph and laid it on the desktop. “That is the castle, at least that is how it was in 1945.”The photograph must have been taken from a boat because you could see the riverbank in front of the grounds then the lawn and garden stretching before the castle. It was a striking building in stark contrast to the pristine grounds and garden, a structure demanding one's attention.