Lurking in the Shadows
Chapter 2: The Haunting of a Castle

As she opened the door to the room she and Josh would be staying in for the night, Ann tried to prepare herself for what she would be greeted with. If the rest of the castle had anything to tell, she suspected it wasn’t going to make her happy.

As the door widened and they stepped inside, Ann’s jaw nearly hit the floor. The room was positively gorgeous and tastefully decorated. Where she had been expecting dust and cobwebs were deep red velvet curtains with gold ropes that hung over a set of double dark oak doors leading out to a balcony all their own. The room was incredibly large and spacious with a bed that seemed larger than a king size to their right. Matching the curtains, the bed held a blood red velvet quilt over gold silk sheets. The tables and desk that adorned the room were all made of stone and metal with claw foot bottoms.

The bathroom was to the left of the balcony doors and was of great size like the main room. There was an old claw foot bathtub to the right. Ann could hear the hot water screaming her name already.

“So, does it meet your standards?” Allowing a small smile on her lips, Ann nodded in compliance.

“Its positively beautiful. Not at all what I had expected.”

“See now? That’s what you get for judging a book by its crumbling cover.”

“Yeah yeah.” Ann allowed herself to lean into Josh’s sweet embrace and he leaned down to give her a peck on the lips.

“So what do you want to do first? Get everyone and catch an early dinner? Or give ourselves a tour of this old creepy place?”

“Actually, I wanted to take a nice, long hot soak in the bathtub. Why don’t you go wandering with everyone else and I’ll catch up?”

“You sure?”

“Definitely.”

“All right. See you soon.”

“Bye baby. Ann called as he exited their room. After grabbing her bath bag, she made her way into the bathroom and began to fill the old tub with hot water that seemed to relax her the instant she hit the suds.

After settling into the steaming water, she put on her earphones and pressed ‘play’ on her iPod. She could feel every muscle in her body relax and her headache began to subside. Just as she came to her favorite part in the song, Ann became overwhelmed with an eerie feeling as if she were being watched. Opening her eyes, she looked around the room. Nothing. She was just being silly, allowing the old castle to get to her. As she laid her head back against the tub, she once again closed her eyes, but the feeling wouldn’t leave her. Someone was in the room apparently playing games with her. It had to be Nick, her brother. He always got some sick pleasure in scaring the wits out of her.

Suddenly, hearing a loud bang coming from the bedroom, Ann bolted up. Stepping out of the tub, she wrapped a towel around herself and slowly made her way to the bedroom.

“Hello?” She called out hesitantly. There was no reply. “Nicky? Josh?” Again, the only thing she received in return was silence. Finally coming to the doorway, she surveyed the room. Empty.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she went back to her hot bath. “You’re losing it, Annie.” She told herself settling back into the relaxing water, only to hear the loud thumping once again.

Not even bothering with a towel this time, she ran out into the bedroom. She had to catch who ever it was in the act of trying to scare her.

“Josh?” She certainly hadn’t been expecting him, rummaging through his suite case on the floor.

“Uh, Annie, as much as I love the sight of you naked in front of me, I’m not sure everyone else in the hotel will agree if you’ve decided to come along now.”

She didn’t miss the playful tone in his voice, but she was a little confused. “I…no I just…were you in here about three minutes ago slamming things around?”

Looking at her a little strangely, Josh stood up, camera in hand. “No. Three minutes ago I was with everyone else down the hall about to go downstairs but I came back to get the camera.”

“Oh.” She still looked incredibly confused and even a little…scared.

“Hey, you alright?” He went over to his girlfriend and touched her cheek. He was worried about her again. They had come here so he didn’t have to worry about her. She couldn’t help but to think of how much she loved this man.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just…let me just get dressed and I’ll head down with you.”

Nodding, he watched as she grabbed some clothes and went back into the bathroom to get dressed. She was hiding something from him again, he was sure of it. But what? Had she simply heard a noise and got spooked? Or was there something more?

“Ok, let’s go.”

“Alright.” Josh held the door open for her and they headed down to the lobby to meet their friends and her brother.

The group spent an hour walking around the castle and the surrounding land. They saw the small lake in the back that was free for swimming since there was no pool, the stables where Joey had taken an immediate liking to a giant black stallion named Ambrose. He said he was fit for a super hero. Lynette reacted by telling him he needed to get over his superman obsession. But they all agreed it was a magnificent horse.

The group was making their way to the hotel’s restaurant for dinner when Robyn noticed Nick, her boyfriend of two years, checking out some blonde haired bimbo with big tits. Shrugging it off, she passed it off as a red blooded male doing what they do best, ogling. But as dinner went on, she, along with Lynette and Ann, noticed how his attention seemed to be fixed on the hotel singer. With being his sister, Ann tried to get his attention by kicking him under the table, and once she even smacked him on the head and told him to knock it off. He responded by saying he wasn’t doing anything wrong and headed to the bathroom.

“I’m sorry about him, Robs. He’s been an ass ever since we got here.”

Robyn just smiled and nodded. She was afraid her voice would fail her if she spoke.

Lynette could only shake her head. She loved Ann to death so she tried liking Nickolas, but as far as she was concerned, he was a pig not worthy of Robyn’s affection. Taking her gaze from the table, she looked around the dining area. She had a good sense of sizing people up and she knew everyone here already had their stories written for them. She realized a lot of the people the group had met earlier that day. The curly haired blond and blue eyed hottie was Justin Timberlake. His companion was Amanda Pettigrew. At first “Mandy” seemed sweet, but it was obvious she was with Mr. Timberlake because of one reason, technically six hundred and eighty million reasons. All sitting in a bank back in the U.S. He was one of the wealthiest men in the states and if his constant need to wipe his own nose was any indication, she knew why.

The dark haired middle aged man talking animatedly on a cell phone was in Ireland looking at property. He thought he was all powerful. Christopher Kirkpatick had enough pride to make a woman sick.

The two men sitting in a corner booth, Lance and Shannon, had met at check in. Shannon’s home was being renovated and Lance was in town for a reunion. It was love at first sight she had assumed.

And lastly, the two managers of Leap Castle were standing at the bar. Ms. Spears seemed pleasant enough, but Lynette couldn’t help the horrible feeling from forming in her stomach every time she was near. She was a shady character with beady eyes and seeing the way she was speaking to the assistant manager, Mr. Federline, only added to her discomfort.

Nickolas had returned to the table and when they were getting ready to pay the check and head to the haunted tour, Lynette had to force herself not to roll her eyes at the boy.

“You ok, baby?” Robyn noticed Nick rubbing his stomach as a sweat broke out on his brow.

“No, I’m not feeling so well.” Ann watched with worry in her eyes and reached across the table and felt his forehead.

“You’re burning up. I think you should go lie down and skip the tour.”

“Do you want me to walk you up?”

“No, that’s ok. I’m just gonna take a nap and if I feel better I’ll join you guys.” As he stood, he placed a quick kiss on Robyn’s cheek then headed for the stairs in the lobby.

Leaning over, Joey whispered into Lynette’s ear. “Sick or a great actor who just wants to get laid by the bimbo?”

Smirking a little, she turned to face him. “He’s one of the best.”

“Alright, I guess we should head to the ballroom for the tour.” Ann said as she began to stand up. She loved a good horror story just as much as the next person, but something about this place just creeped her out, and her mind playing games on her earlier that day didn’t help matters much.

After standing around in the ballroom for a half hour, the group noticed a rather short blonde woman go over to the set of large oak doors and look out to them all. Her eyes briefly met Lynette’s and she couldn’t help but to feel uneasy about this whole thing.

“Is everyone here who will be joining us in the tour?” The woman spoke in a heavy Irish accent. “Alright then. Let us get started, shall we? My name is Elle and I will be leading you through Leap Castle and telling you all of its history and tales, and perhaps one of our ghosts will come out to play. But beware, the mysteries and dangers that await you down in the labyrinth below are not to be taken lightly. You just may lose yourselves along the way.” Lynette and Ann looked at one another, both knowing what the other is thinking. Did they really want to go through with this? Ann’s mind screamed for her to turn around and run back up to their bedroom and hide until it was tomorrow so she could begin her dream vacation, not continue on with this nightmare.
The Irish woman led the group up a large winding staircase that narrowed near the top. After going through a short hallway, they all found themselves in front of a pair of oak stain glass doors.

“This is where our tale begins.” The woman opened the doors slowly and dramatically, allowing the loud squeak to seep into their minds. “The year was 1532. A Catholic priest was saying Mass in the chapel located on the top floor of Leap Castle. As the Rites were being read to by the priest, a dark figure could be seen behind him. Without warning a man sprung up behind the priest and plunged a dagger deep into his back, causing the priest to bleed to death on the altar. This same altar.” Elle looked down as she patted the altar she stood upon. “The man who killed him was his own brother. The bloodshed over a sacred mass caused the first haunting of Leap Castle, and the room has since been called the “Bloody Chapel”. It is believed this act paved the way for twenty more ghosts to wreak havoc on curious guests at Leap, including American paranormal investigation groups. Now, I haven’t always worked for Leap. No, I was one of those investigators. I just came to love Leap and it’s mysteries, I decided to make my stay permanent.”

“Why would anyone want to make a stay here permanent?” Ann muttered to Lynette, trying to not be heard by anyone else.

“I don’t know. But I do know that I am getting out of here as soon as possible tomorrow.”

“On Saturday night, November 8, 2003 myself, some of my team members, and guests were invited to a banquet here at Leap Castle. The experience was one of major contrasts. We were fed a feast of magnificent food and outstanding hospitality. Later we were treated to the music of Sean Ryan’s pan flute, his daughter Kira’s harp playing and her exceptional dancing. While all the food and hospitality was being experienced there was an underlying more mysterious feeling in the house…something didn’t feel quite right.
I personally had to leave the castle and go outside due to intense psychic attack. At one point the area felt so thick I felt unable to breathe and nearly fainted…not too uncommon for me in haunted places, but it certainly felt like I wasn’t wanted here.”

“Then why the hell would she stay?” Lynette and Ann heard Joey say that to Josh followed by his laughter.

“Hell if I know.”

“Another of our members witnessed a horrible scene in a dark hallway. Two men wearing red coats were seen breaking the arm of a woman. The vision was so disturbing she was barely able to stay. The woman who saw this vision wasn’t the same the rest of the night, as she experienced anxiety attacks and difficulty breathing. Here in the Bloody Chapel, our host Barry was looking for the head ghost of Leap, the priest murdered on the altar 400 years ago. In a small hallway in the corner of the room, the priest was seen. Barry called me over immediately to take a picture of the priest. In front of three witnesses, I immediately ran over there and snapped a photograph, or attempted to do so. My camera jammed up right when I pushed the button, and was jammed for the rest of the evening.
As the night went on, the atmosphere became more intense. All our equipment failed, and the feeling of not being welcomed, despite the warm hospitality of the owner and his daughter, began to increase. We were now moving close to midnight. Part of being the leader of a ghost group is knowing when enough is enough, and knowing if your team is in danger. Barry and I knew we had to wrap it up before someone got hurt or attacked. The priest was getting quite agitated with us, as well as the others. We packed it up and went back to our own quarters in Cavan.

“At this point you may be asking what makes Leap so different? Why would this castle have so man ghosts and the reputation for being the most haunted place in Europe? Many incidents were the ingredients for Leap having its reputation for being so haunted, particularly in the Bloody Chapel. In addition to the slain priest, the Bloody Chapel has a second piece of disturbing history within the ominous room.”

“I’m not so sure I want to hear any more.”

“Annie, it’ll be fine. Its just an urban legend.”

“No its not, Joey. These things really happened! These people really died!”

“Annie, calm down, honey. I won’t let anything happen to you.” Josh took Lynette’s place beside his girlfriend and wrapped his arm around her shoulders hoping to give her the comfort she needed.

Elle led everyone down into the maze of a basement, luckily having been down there hundreds of times, she knew exactly where she was headed.

“The Oubliette is located in the back section of the room behind where the altar once stood. Originally, there was a shaft with spikes located at the bottom and people were mercilessly thrown into the dungeon to die from impaling. The lucky ones died instantly, but those who survived died slow, painful deaths from exposure, starvation, and disease while smelling the food of the living and hearing the mass from the chapel above. It’s unknown how many people died this way, but three cartloads of bones were removed from the shaft.”

Throughout the group many people began uttering how horrible and inhumane that was, but none of them could do anything to change the story. It was history and would remain the castle’s history until the day it was gone, or quite possibly forever.

“The third incident to add to the sinister presences of Leap came with a woman named Mildred Darby. Mildred was known to experiment with black magic, and through her rituals a new creature emerged at Leap: the fire elemental. Mildred described this creature in her journal:
“I was standing in the Gallery looking down at the main floor, when I felt somebody put a hand on my shoulder. The thing was about the size of a sheep. Thin haunting shadow..., its face was human, to be more accurate inhuman. Its lust in its eyes which seemed half decomposed in black cavities stared into mine. The horrible smell one hundred times intensified came up into my face, giving me a deadly nausea. It was the smell of a decomposing corpse."

“Some stories say the spirits have been laid to rest. Others say they still want vengeance. All I can say is that the spirits of Leap Castle are still present and made themselves known to me and my team, and bring haunting to a new level. Through several murders, wars, dark rituals and ruin and renovation, they had plenty of practice.”

Heading down the long, damp, musky corridor, Lynette hugged herself, trying to gain the comfort Joey’s arm wasn’t giving her, but it never came. She felt the chills sweep through her and the dread of knowing what this room held. Stopping dead in her tracks, Lynette looked on in horror. She had seen one of these devices before. It may have been one of her dreams, but she still felt an overwhelming sense of deja vous.

“Hey, you ok sweetie?”

“Annie, I don’t like this room. I don’t like that...that machine.”

“What is it, Lyn?” Joey and Josh looked at her with questioning eyes. How could she even begin to describe the torture and fear that machine, that lay mere feet ahead of them, conflicted on innocent souls? Fortunately, her own questions were answered when they heard Elle begin to speak of the contraption.

“Unfortunately, this is the second saddest tale you will hear tonight. This machine behind me is a zoetrope. One of the most horrifying and true tales of this castle is of Doctor Zattan. It is one that is never told and it’s secrets, never shared. Dr Zattan lived in this castle from 1826 until 1831. Here, in this very labyrinth, he practiced the medical field. Doing surgeries and trying to cure a man of his insanity. This zoetrope was designed for a special purpose. Dr. Zattan believed that what would make a sane man mad would easily make a mad man sane. And so he tried it over and over again on several different patients. But it only ended in his downfall. The patients grew tired of the insanity the man called medicine and inevitably, they all came together and threw a riot. Many claim it to be mere insanity itself at its sickest, but others, however, claim it to be the ghosts of Leap calling to the patients, demanding to rid this world of Doctor Zattan’s wickedness. His body was found here, in this machine. Decapitated.”

“That’s horrible.” Ann whispered, holding her hand to her stomach. How could this world hold so much evil, such sick people?

“It is, but I’m afraid that isn’t the worst of it, Lass.” Elle addressed Ann. She wasted no time in telling them all to follow her around a few more twists and turns, coming to a thick hallway with disturbing pieces of art, making the women want to run away screaming instantly.

“And here we stand in the great hall. The most upsetting murder happened here in 1885. A young girl of merely sixteen lived at Leap with her father. One night while he was away on business, she had a sudden urge to come down here. She didn’t know why, but the house’s history fascinated her greatly. She knew her way around this maze quite well, but that night…nothing could have prepared her for her fate.”

“She was murdered wasn’t she? Chased around until her poor legs couldn’t carry her any further.” The group was greatly disturbed by how the elderly woman seemed to know exactly what had taken place over a hundred years ago, in the very room they stood.

“Yes. It is sad, I know. Her father came home the next morning. Searching for the young girl for days, he had almost given up, thinking she had run away. But he knew how much this cellar fascinated her so he came down. He could instantly smell the stench of death, and it took everything in him not to get sick or faint when he found his little girl, the only family he had left, face down in a pool of her own blood. It has been said that he had gone mad after that. Spending the rest of his days in an institution screaming the name Melinda. Nobody knows, still to this day, what it meant. He would never say.”

Elle led everyone back upstairs to the main hall and before they dispersed, she left them with a few words. “People may think that ghosts are already dead, they are harmless. But beware. They do have their limits. One person, or spirit, can only take so much.”

As the crowd began to disperse throughout the castle and back to their rooms, Lynette and Ann looked around them.

“Hey, guys?” Lynette called to Joey and Josh.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Where did Robyn go?” They all felt the room close around them as if someone had suddenly cut off their air supply.

Authors Note: The history of leap and some of Elle's story came from this site http://www.dchauntings.com/id24.html

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