A paranormal investigator's demon admirer

Chapter 4

No one brought up the subject of Mr. Lytton’s questionable methods or the girl with the demon stalker during the rest of the trip. Their destination was a town named, Woodhurst. Leah and the others were unfamiliar with that area, but Benjamin was well acquainted with it because his maternal grandmother used to live there until she died 5 years ago.

Their clients had shared with them the town’s exact location and had given them precise directions to the estate so that they could find their home without any hassle. Also, according to Benjamin, he had a brief tour of the estate once as a child with her grandmother. During the winters, the family usually opened their historical estate to tourists in town while they were away.

As they got nearer to their destination, Benjamin revealed something interesting regarding the town, “In a few minutes, we shall travel across a beautiful pine forest that is adjacent to the town. Back when my grandma was alive, she disclosed to me the atrocious activities that the old townspeople believed were practiced at the forest a long time ago. Back then, the land where the town stands today was all a part of the forest until a natural disaster destroyed a profusion of it a few centuries ago. Despite that, what’s left of it is still huge, and therefore the town is still well-known, for these vast woodlands. And that is how the town got its name, Woodhurst. Although the forest is well-known for its beauty, it is said to have a lot of unsettling history.”

“Like what?” asked Noah.

“The forest was named Blood hill in the 18th century, due to the practice of witchcraft in these Woodlands by a cult of witches. One popular old belief states that the witches had to destroy the forest to banish the sinister forces that had gathered over their uninvited, due to the excessive use of blood magic and Satan worshipping. Some evidence supports this theory because back in the late 1700s, ten women covered in black with satanic symbols carved all over their bodies were found dead in that forest. The forest was later, however, renamed as Golden birch after the billionaire Peter Williams moved into that area, but most of the residents still chose to call it with its former name anyway.”

“Well, that explains a lot why the Williams might be dealing with demons all of a sudden,” said Leah, who was listening to all of that in silence.

“This is an intense haunting to happen a few hundred years later,” said Benjamin looking back at Leah from the driver’s rear-view window. “My Grandmother lived there for 55 years but had never once experienced something supernatural of any sort, but every resident of this town is well-aware of its history,” said Benjamin.

“If we knew before that the town had such dark history. we could’ve looked into it more on the internet,” said Duke, who had struggled to get enough signals on his phone to look it up, “Maybe when we get there, we can ask the townspeople if they have lately experienced anything strange around.”

The connection between the forest and the Williams' haunting made Leah think about a few things she had learned from her spirit guides. Firstly, that isolated places like forests, mountains, and ruins are homes to spirits and demons. They freely visit anywhere they want, but most of them choose to live away from human civilizations. However, some choose to reside among humans, but they do have a reason to be there. The reason could range from anywhere; to being attached to the place or a person or something more sinister, but one particular reason was what Leah could all think of in that situation.

“If all that history about the forest is authentic, then this place is a magnet to malignant spirits,” Leah spoke again, “Witchcraft is performed by summoning atrocious spirits to make use of their power after capturing them for evildoings. Demons are not immortal, but they can live up to a few thousand years, so the ones summoned back a few centuries ago could still be inhabiting the woods.”

If the demons of Blood hill forest are the ones haunting the Williams, they must’ve been provoked unwittingly somehow by someone. Although the odds of this being the case are pretty high, we still can’t jump to any conclusions so soon. Because demons can travel enormous distances seeking revenge on the pettiest things. Or the family could even under be a malefic spell.”

The rest of the people in the van were quick to agree with her.

They soon reached the infamous forest that they had just talked at length about. Unlike its dreadful past, the forest itself was enchanting. The sight of tall, evergreen pine trees on both sides of the road was so captivating that Leah almost forgot about what dark energies it could be holding inside. Although in fiction, every haunted place is described, as terrifying and dreary, in reality, a haunted place could look like anything, but abandoned places are more likely to be haunted than any other. The theory behind this is that the area itself is not wicked, but the evil forces lurking inside it are the ones that make it terrifying, and they may not always choose to make their presence known by making it appear frightening to the people that come by.

The town was located so close to the forest that they soon found themselves driving on the roads of Woodhurst. There was nothing unusual or extraordinary about the town. Just like most fine towns, the houses were made of timber, and the streets were clean with lots of shrubs and greenery. Overall, it looked like a happy and peaceful residential area, but Leah couldn’t wait to see what the Williams’ estate looked like.

It took them not long to find the estate as it was located in the very beginning of the town. As soon as they entered the driveway of the estate, everyone was left in awe by the beauty and size of the estate. It was a triple-story estate with massive gardens. The estate was built a long time ago, and it must have been rebuilt many times to maintain it, but its elegant architecture of a Victorian estate was not ruined by altering it to fit the modern style.

The estate was majestic and breathtaking, but as they drove through the gardens, Leah noted that most of the plants were dead, the grass was high, and even the trees looked less lively and green. It was clear that no one had dared to step into their estate.

They parked their van near the main entrance to the house building, and as they all were exiting the vehicle; they were approached by two men; one was young and the other one middle-aged. As the two men came closer, Leah and her friends stared at the young man for a brief while before recognition dawned on their faces. They had seen Andrew Lytton so long ago and hardly on enough occasions to have a clear image in their head of what he looked like.

He was a young man of medium height and average built, who was probably in his mid to late twenties. He was dressed in a casual black jacket with loads of pockets and grey denim jeans. He looked quite different from what one might expect a demonologist would look like. As he was a handsome man with raven black hair, dark eyes, and sharp features. Moreover, the middle-aged man introduced himself to them as the caretaker of the estate, Mr. Donald. He was slightly obese with a strong beard and a weak mustache. He asked if they wanted him to give them a tour of the inside of the estate immediately.

Before anyone could respond to the housekeeper's offer, Andrew Lytton made a cheeky remark, "Well, hello to you all. Never imagined you people would even ever want to see me again, let alone to beseech for my assistance on another case,” He extended a hand with a smirk on his face as he finished.

Leah shook his hand and told him that she was grateful to him for accepting to come on short notice. Duke was next to greet him, and while doing so, he took the opportunity to introduce himself to him for the first time.

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Duke Murray,” he responded.

However, the remaining three among the group stood there in silence and didn't participate in the exchange of formal greetings. Noah was at least decent enough to nod his head and smile once in a while, whereas Hannah looked in another direction and acted like she couldn't even see him. Hannah let out a sigh, “Well, can you now give us a tour of the estate, Mr. Donald?” she asked.

“Follow me,” said the caretaker.

While they all made their way to the building, Lytton walked beside Leah and said, “As you have asked me to lead in this case. I have plenty of ideas to get to the root of this estate's haunting. Please listen to me privately as I know that the rest of the crowd is not fond of me.”

Leah narrowed her eyes but tried her best to reply calmly, “What I said to you last night on the phone might have misled you, but I have only asked for your assistance, Mr. Lytton. However, any counsel of yours is welcome as we are open to the idea of seeing things from your perspective today. Also, don’t be hesitant to speak to the entire group because, believe me, no one here is holding a grudge against you,” her tone was respectful, and she was careful with the choice of her words. Nevertheless, he still looked unsatisfied and offended by her reply.

When they all have just entered the entry hall, Lytton halted in front of them and addressed the entire group, “I have already been shown the inside of this building many times, and so right now I want to speak with Miss Leah in private. The rest of you may continue the tour.”

“And why would Leah do that?” asked Hannah.

“Hannah!” exclaimed Leah, “It’s okay, we can speak. Duke shall stay here with me to listen to what Mr. Lytton has to say.”

Everyone agreed to what Leah said and walked away without another word. However, Hannah glared at Lytton constantly while she walked out of the room. “She must be really into me that now she can’t even take her eyes off of me while leaving a room,” said Lytton with a smug smile on his face.

Duke coughed as he struggled to contain his amusement, “So, what do you want to say, Mr. Lytton?” he asked.

“Firstly, I must tell you that I have been dealing with dark energies, like demons all my life. And when I walk into a genuinely haunted place, believe me, I can always sense the eerie presence of what's residing in it unseen. While you guys were on a road trip, I made several rounds of the estate. I don't have any visual or auditory proof yet, but I have sensed a lot of inexplicable things by now. Believe me when I say that this is not a place anyone wants to toy with. So, if you are ready to take a different approach, instead of leaving it on the church, leave this matter into my hands. Of course, I’ll charge a lot more for that. But I am the person you need for this case. I know very well how to banish entities like the ones present in this estate.” He spoke.

Before Leah could open her mouth to say anything, they were taken aback by the sight of blood falling on Lytton’s jacket, and the last few drops landed on his cheek. Lytton quickly touched his cheek and looked flabbergasted at what he saw before him on his hand. It seemed like the blood came from somewhere up, so the three of them raised their gaze to see what was up there on the ceiling.