I couldn’t see anything, the snow was so blinding. The wind and waves echoed loudly in my ears blocking all other sounds out. I backed up into the house and wrestled the door shut. I lent against it, breathing heavily and I could feel the door shaking behind me. There was no way I could go out in that, let alone drive it! Britain wasn’t well known for it’s snowstorms, but it seemed one had hit now.
My feet knocked against the stack of papers and books. Looking down, I decided to put them all back on the desk. Dividing them up made it easier and soon everything was back again. I pulled out the chair then decided to open the curtains. That way I could see when the storm stopped. I pulled the curtains apart and they easily opened as if they were use to it.
I could see nothing outside as the window was blanketed by snow. A loud whistling came from the wind leaking through the wooden frames and house creaked. I pulled out the chair and sat down, it was cold but comfy enough. I looked at the paper pile and decided I needed a warm drink before I picked up the first book.
I went back into the kitchen, washed out and filled the kettle. I switched it on then began looking for some coffee, but the only thing I could find were tea bags. I put one of them in the mug and whilst waiting for the water to boil, looked through the cupboards. There were a few other mugs, two plates, a bowl and a handful of cutlery. Then in a top cupboard I found a large metal tin.
Pulling it out and hoping it wasn’t locked, I tried the lid. It opened and inside were army rations. There was soup, hard biscuits and packets of dried stuff I didn’t know. It was better then nothing, which was becoming my worry. Closing the lid, I made that cup of tea and went back into the study.
I turned the desk light on and decided to go through the papers first. I looked at the Christmas cards, I didn’t recognise any of the names so I set them aside. The letters were far more interesting. Most of them had been computer typed, but a few were handwritten. The first one I read went something like this;
Dear Mr. Eli Roberts,
I am writing to you because your services were recommended by a friend, Mrs Emily Hatchet. Who a few months ago you helped remove a ghost that had been haunting her house. She informed me you could help me with my ghost problem.
I have had a few people in so far, including; a Catholic priest, a medium and a ghost hunting team. They have gathered some evidence of this ghost but can not remove it from my house. It is causing me problems as the house is rented and I can not get anybody to stay there for longer then a few months.
I would be grateful if you could contact me to arrange a meeting to discuss this further.
Yours sincerely, Mrs. Jane Bogget.
I put the letter down, my head spinning and picked up the next one. It was almost the same, but someone else was requesting my uncle’s help in getting rid of a ghost. And all these letters were in the same vein! Only a handful asked for helping in dealing with something else supernatural;
Dear Mr. Roberts, I believe there is a demon in my attic!
Dear Mr. Roberts, I think my granddaughter has been cursed by a evil witch.
Dear Mr. Roberts, I am under the spell of a vampire.
I moved on and read the thank you letters. The first two were really just notes, but the third gripped my attention;
Dear Eli,
Thank you so much for visiting and helping me to figure out my ghost haunting problems. I am glad to report that since you removed the South African tribal mask and bone statue from my house things have really settled down! No longer are we hearing chanting in the night, or a woman crying. My children are no longer seeing shadows and complaining of whispering and crying.
You can’t believe the changes this has made to my life and the lives of my family! I will be forever in your debt and I know you didn’t want any money, but please accept this cheque. Though I feel I owe you so much more.
Best Wishes,
Maggie Bradwell.
I had a quick glance around for a cheque but didn’t spot one. I checked the date on the letter and it was three months back. So, Uncle Eli would have had time to cash it. I looked through the other letters and they were similar to that third one; people expressing their thanks to Eli for getting rid of their supernatural problems and giving him money.
I set the letters and cards big to the side where they had originally been.
So, my uncle is a hunter of the supernatural? My brain finally concluded. And this house is full of things he thought contained these spirits or he used to capture them? But this is….not real…not possible. No one had ever said anything about this to me. I looked out the window, trying to make sense of all this whilst at the same time my rational mind wanted to forget all about it.
The snowstorm was still happening and all I could see was whiteness outside the window. The wind had also picked up and was now howling. I felt cold suddenly and my mind turned to looking for something to warm myself with. There was nothing in the room, but maybe my Uncle had a haunted blanket or a possessed sleeping bag?
Laughing to myself, I got up and wandered through the house again. It felt even colder in each of the three ‘storage’ rooms and I could find nothing that would be suitable. I raided the kitchen again and with nothing else to do, made some more tea and one of the soup rations. They helped take some of the chill off. Whilst I ate and drink, I wondered about this house, my uncle and his supernatural hunting and gathering. How had he kept it secret all these years? Why not tell someone else about it? Surely he had meant someone to take over? And why leave this all to me?
I went back in the study and trying to keep as warm as possible, I read through my uncle’s diaries for this year and last. However, I found nothing but an account of his appointments with people and his visits to their haunted places. He had noted down what had happened briefly including what he had found, thought the supernatural was and items he had taken or other actions he had done. It was deeply fascinating.
Finally and I have no idea how much time had passed, I looked up from this year’s diary and saw that the snowstorm had quietened. Flakes were still falling and wind was still blowing, but it was more drive-able now. I closed the diary, deciding to leave it and the others here.
Getting up, I stretched and found my body stiff with cold and a numbness in my feet. I picked up the object list book and turning off the lights went to the front door. Opening it, the wind brushed snow at my feet, but I could now clear see my car and the other houses. I made a dash for it, shutting the door behind me and hearing the lock click back into place. I unlocked and got into my car. It was freezing, but the engine started and I turned up the heater.
I drove off home, being careful and taking it more slowly then normal.
To Be Continued…
The Story Files 