Chapter Two

Chapter II

I rolled down my window and asked if there were something wrong. " Oh, no." he said.  I was just wondering if you needed help finding Clarks.   I shook my head no,  then told him I had seen it when I drove into town, "Oh" he said, "Well good luck then,...".  He was about to turn and walk away when I said, "Excuse me Red. "I was wondering if you could help me with something else." "Sure thing", he said, "If I can."  I asked him if he knew where Shallow pine ridge is and if he knew of a house that was for sale. He paused for a minute and then asked me if it was the Old Crane place.  I told him I wasn’t sure who had owned it and that the only thing I knew was it was a Victorian home built back in the early 1800’s. He again paused some then said, "Yes, that’s the Old Crane place, why do you ask?"  I told him I was thinking about buying it. His eyes opened a little wider then he said something strange. He told me no one has lived there for fifty years because people say there is a curse on the property. "A curse?",  I said, "What do you mean by that?"   He replied, "Well, rumor has it that years ago the people that built the house were from somewhere overseas and that no one knew much about them other than they never left the house except at night."  "It’s also said that they had three children and a old woman living with them.  "The strange thing about that is that after about sixty years people started to notice that the man and woman hadn’t aged.  "When the people of the town started asking questions, the family just up and left without saying a word to anyone.  They left everything in the house as if they were coming back. Years went by and then the city took the home for back taxes. There have been several people that were interested in buying it but were scared away by rumors it was haunted."  He looked at me and asked me if I was scared of ghosts; then he laughed. I told him the things he told me were interesting, but I wasn’t afraid of ghosts. At least I hoped not. We talked for a few more minutes, then he explained to me where to find the property.  I thanked him and said, "If you don’t see me again the ghosts probably got me."We both smiled and then I waved as I drove off to find the place.
Red had told me to turn south down Willow Street until I came to the top of the hill, then take a left on Shallow Pine ridge and go about a half mile.  He said it was the only house out there at the end of the road so I couldn’t miss it. As I turned onto Shallow Pine Ridge I noticed there weren’t any street lights. I just figured this must be out of city limits so no big deal, though it would have been nice to have them. I could see the house just up ahead and it looked awesome.  Just at the entrance of the property there were two large pillars and rod iron posts with a rounded head piece that clear spaded the drive.  On the two pillars there were statues of what looked like crows on them and the head piece said "Home of the Night." I will tell you one thing, that was a little creepy. I slowly made my way up the driveway,  There were weeds and vines everywhere but I had kind of figured I would have to do some major landscaping anyway.
I pulled up to the house and turned off my car. I just sat there looking things over.  I noticed that the house had a deep look to it, with broad boards surrounding every window and door. I opened my door and stepped out.  I wanted to take a look at the exterior of the house before I talked to the realtor. That way I coul have my own take on things.  I had a little scratch pad along so I could write things down about the house.  As I walked around the side of the house I noticed there was a outside entrance to the basement. The doors looked like they needed some work.  I also looked at the foundation.  It was stone so I’m sure that it would need some work as well.  As I looked over the siding and trim,  everything looked in pretty good shape other than the fascia and soffits.  There were eave troughs on the house that seemed to be turned in toward the house.  I was thinking they ran in to an old cistern but couldn’t be sure until I went in to the house to see.