A Haunted Marriage & The Cookie Baking Poltergeist

Chapter 8: Help Me

    "We need to call the police," Julia screamed while digging her fingernails into her palms.

    "Wait just a minute," Michael said. "We need to check this out."

    "Are you insane. We have an intruder in our home Michael. Jesus Christ, I am calling 911," Julia said as she reached over the coffee table to grab her cell phone.

    Michael swatted the phone from her hand as if he was swatting a fly. The Iphone landed face down with a thud on the center couch cushion.

    "Christ Michael, "Julia said, reaching down to the couch to grab the phone. Before her hand could reach it, Michael grabbed her around the waist. "Let me the f**k go." Julia attempted to pry her husband's arms from her waist but they were tighter than a vice.

    "Wait, wait, wait. I just want to check this out together. IS ANYONE THERE? YOU HAD BETTER COME OUT OR WE'RE GOING TO CALL THE POLICE."

    Julia and Michael turned their collective heads towards the kitchen. The voice didn't answer.

    "Maybe they're gone Mike. I am so freaked out right now," Julia said bobbing up and down on the balls of her feet. She continuously twirled strands of her curls in her right hand.

    "I want to check it out. Are you coming with?"

    "No f*****g way," Julia said before sitting back down on the couch.

    "I am going down there. Maybe someone is here looking for someone else who used to live here before us."

    "I think that's highly unlikely."

    She's right. More likely than not I am beginning to believe that we have a spirit inhabiting our basement. Better still I would characterize this spirit as angry.

    "I need to see for myself. I don't think anyone is down there," Michael said.

    "Then who's voice was that?"

    Michael didn't answer. He left the living room and headed into the kitchen. Bogey was seated in front of the basement door arching his back. All of Bogey's fur stood on end and he looked more like a porcupine than a cat. Bogey began to reach up and scratch the bottom of the door. More than fifty cat scratches ran vertically along the door's base.

    "Bogey get away from there," Michael said as he kicked at the cat. Bogey ran into the living room. Bogey ended up in Julia's lap on the couch.

    Michael opened the drawer next to the sink and pulled out a butcher's knife. He held the knife over his head with his right hand. Someone seeing Michael Blake in this posture would have easily mistaken him for Michael Myers from the Halloween movies. With his left hand, Michael slowly turned the basement door knob. The door creaked open in front of him. Michael flipped the light switch. The burning smell struck his nostrils with the subtlety of a sledge hammer. With each step down the wood stairs, Michael raised the knife higher over his head. The air grew thicker in the basement. Michael felt like he was surrounded by a fog bank, but he couldn't see anything different. But the burning smell was the strongest he had experienced so far. It smelled like someone was burning wood right now in the middle of his basement. When Michael reached the bottom step he dropped the knife onto the concrete with a clatter. Michael's other hand went over his mouth while the rest of his body trembled.

    The walk down those basement steps, as far as Michael was concerned, took an hour. In Michael's mind it took an hour because he knew that he wasn't going to like what he would find. I knew no one was down here.

    Michael discovered that his writing table had been turned totally upside down. The closed laptop computer was placed on the concrete floor next to the table. The writing pad stood atop the laptop computer. After turning the table right side up, Michael reached down to pick up the computer and writing pad.

    This is really freaky. We are actually living in a haunted house. I am never going in this basement again. What the hell are Julia and I supposed to do? Move away. But to where?

    "What are you doing in my kitchen? The baking isn't done yet. The cookies won't be ready for another twenty minutes. They still have to cool. Get out of my kitchen," a voice said emanating from the basement's corner. The voice was hardly above a whisper and sounded to Michael like the voice of an elderly woman. It sounds a little like my grandmother.

    Michael dropped the computer and pad on the floor. Fortunately the laptop remained intact and didn't shatter into little pieces. He ran over to pick up the knife and extended its blade in front of his chest.

    "Who's there?" Michael yelled knowing that he would not receive an answer. The only reply he received was a sweet baking smell.

    "I know your name was Frances. Why don't you leave us alone? We will leave you alone if you leave us alone."

    Suddenly, the baking and burning smells left the basement. Michael looked around and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. All of the tools on the shelves were in their proper places. All of the Christmas decorations were still in the box marked 'Christmas' that was tucked on a shelf under the tools. All of the plastic bins marked 'crafts' were also still in their proper places, tucked into the corner of the basement on the concrete floor. The sink in the corner still dripped its steady drip. This dripping sounded to Michael like the steady ticking of a clock. A clock counting down to when the spirit in his basement would manifest itself once again. Hopefully that time will never come.

    Michael took a deep breath into air that now seemed to him fresher than before. The smoggy sensation gave way to the usual basement smells, dampness and dust. The sunlight streaming through the windows illuminated the dust particles that appeared to now have a heavenly glow. One would never think that a spirit would reside in such a place as this.

    "Maybe she's gone for good. Went over to the other side so to speak. She must have found what she's looking for," Michael whispered to himself as he lowered the knife.

    After placing the knife on the sink, Michael walked over to pick up his computer and notebook. Michael wiped dust off the computer's surface, before tucking the laptop and computer under his arm. Michael jogged back up to the top of the stairs. He turned to look back down before flipping off the light switch. Nothing out of the ordinary. Michael didn't smell any more baking smells. I feel like I am exiting a basement now instead of the Overlook Hotel from the Shining.

    Michael kicked the door shut behind him. Oh s**t I forgot the knife, but I am not going back down there to get it and stir up what's down there. Let's leave it peaceful for now.

Michael placed the computer and notebook on the kitchen sink. He looked around him before opening a drawer to pull out a large bath towel. Michael rolled up the towel and lay it out at the foot of the basement door. Hopefully this will keep Bogey from scratching and the smells out. Now how the hell do I tell a wife, a wife with occasional anger management issues, that we have a ghost living in our basement?

    "So what happened sweetie?" Julia said, walking up to Michael with Bogey purring in her arms.

    "Let's talk about in the living room, but the short version is everything I think is going to be ok." Michael took the laptop and notebook into the living room and placed them on the coffee table.

    Michael knew Julia was nearing the couch behind him because Bogey's purring grew louder. Julia down next to Michael on the couch, continuing to pet Bogey.

    "Mike you're freaking me out. There was no one down there right?"

    "More or less that's correct. But there is something in the basement, or there was something down there but I think it's gone for good now."

    "Mike please no more ghost stories."

    Bogey darted out of Julia's lap into bathroom to use the litter box. Michael took Julia's right hand in his before saying, "Just promise me you'll stay calm after I tell you what I am about to tell you."

    "YES YES, sorry I am fine. Just tell me," Julia said lowering her voice.

    "When I went into the basement, I smelled that burning sweet smell again. When I went down there, I noticed my table upside down with the computer and notebook next to it. The air was really heavy. And I heard a voice whisper something about, 'my kitchen.' I nearly had to change my underwear after hearing that. It has got to be this Frances woman that used to live her. She died here and baked cookies in what is now our basement. I think for awhile I was trying to convince myself that things like this don't exist, but what I just experienced convinced me plenty," Michael finished talking before taking Julia's hand to his mouth to kiss it.

    "Maybe the table just fell over and you imagined the voice. You're a writer. You have a vivid imagination."

    "Are you saying that I am crazy?" Mike said dropping Julia's hand.

    "I am sorry. I didn't mean that. I just don't know about all of this ghost stuff."

    "You trust me right?"

    "Of course I do," Julia whispered before wrapping her arms around Michael's shoulders.

    "There was some strange vibes going on in that basement. You have noticed stuff too. The drawers in the kitchen for one and you smelled the same things I did. And the mouse traps. They didn't get into the middle of the floor all by themselves. And we did have a woman who used to live here that liked to bake. And we did smell baking. Interesting that a ghost would manifest itself with baking. I haven't even seen that one in a movie before "

    "So since we are now officially living in a haunted house we will now have to move right?"

    "Not necessarily. When I was down there I think Frances just went away. And I think for good. I wasn't that scared after awhile. There were no more smells. Maybe this Frances found what she was looking for and just went away. Not all ghosts are bad like in The Shining or Poltergeist."

    "What do you think she wanted?"

    "I don't know, but I know that her presence, and I did feel a presence, just dissipated when I was down there. I am not totally sure, but I think that's what happened. But for now, I say that we stay out of the basement for the time being, like two weeks. And I put a towel down at the bottom of the door so hopefully Bogey won't scratch it anymore. "

    "I want to get out of here. Maybe this ghost is like some kind of bad omen for us. Come on Mike. We have to move. We can get a fresh start somewhere else."

    "Living here is our fresh start. I want this to be a jump start for our marriage. I know it's been a little rough. I believe in us. I am not afraid anymore. I think whatever was here is now gone. We should not have anymore occurrences. I know I am right. Now we can get back to loving what we love about each other," Michael said rubbing Julia's shoulders

    "You're my husband so I guess I trust you," Julia said reaching over to take Michael's hand. Julia noticed Michael's notebook in front of her. "I see you've gotten some character sketches written on there. "

    "I have actually started chapter one, but just to be safe I'll do the writing up here for now and not the basement," Michael finished with a laugh.

    Julia reached over and flipped the notebook over to its second page. Only two words appeared on this page. They read, "Help me."

    "This is a waste of a page you only wrote two words."

Michael took the notebook from Julia and read those two words, two words that he never wrote down. But he immediately realized that they represented a message from the spirit living in his basement.

But what could she want? Hopefully she is gone now anyway. I don't smell anything now thank God.