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Wednesday, October 18th, 2017
tinctly on their white garments. He asked them who they were, and if they were okay. He fainted as they rushed past him, and flew up the stairs to the kitchen doorWith Jim White way. He reported afterwards of being so cold, but put it down to the cold emanating from the wine I know it is a bit early for time for them to get home, and cellar. After quickly recovering, he Halloween stories, but this is a the parents, where applicable, to dashed upstairs to join the others. story my father always told me get ready for the evening ball. It His wife and daughter were cowat this time of year. I am tell- was always a great evening that ering under the kitchen table. ing it now on the anniversary of everyone looked forward to every They told him of seeing the same his mysterious death last year on year. That is until 1866. That was images rushing past them and October 18/16. The doctor told us the night that Wolfman, his wife heading for the music room. They it appeared that he died of fright. Sofia, and their young daughter were totally unnerved. When the I have heard of this before, but Matilda were all found murdered disturbances and screaming startI can't believe it, especially with in the wine cellar down in the ed up again at midnight, they had my father. He was the strongest, basement. It was a real mystery of had enough, and quickly left the healthiest man I knew. My moth- its' time. Everyone had gathered house in the middle of the night. er found him in the basement in in the ballroom, dancing the night They never returned. Over the the middle of the night, clutching away. Usually at eleven at night, years, several other occupants a makeshift cross. He was cower- the Wolfmans' would invite every- tried to live there, but were also ing under the stairs, screaming one into the music room for wine soon scared off. Finally no one for the ghost of his late father to and cheese, or coffee. On the would live there, and it became leave him alone. His mother bent table would be a huge Halloween notorious as being haunted. That over to touch him, with the idea themed cake like a carved pump- is until the Ensteins'. They moved of braking this trance he seemed kin. There was always a small bag into the rundown house in April to be in. She gently touched him of homemade fudge and candies of 1893. But those rumours didn't on the arm, and she recounted imported from England especial- seem to bother them. They made the look of terror on his face as he ly for the occasion, on the same no effort to fix up the house either. tensed up and called out: “Father, table. Everyone was invited to They were always being tormentno - get away from me. Leave this take one home with them as they ed anytime they went to town, for house so we can live in peace.” left.This year, though, Alfred the being so weird looking, dressing She told me that his eyes bulged butler had waited for the word funny, and talking in a hard to out, and he collapsed onto the from Mr. Wolfman to bring up understand accent. They just went floor. Now I know that I have not the chilled wine and begin to pour about their business. They never seen any ghosts myself, but I have it into the glasses. When he still ventured out of their house that felt a presence in certain areas of hadn't appeared by eleven, he much. What they did up there this old family homestead, and at made a 'management' decision to nobody from the village was sure. various times. I have never men- go down to the wine cellar him- Actually, he was a scientist who tioned this to my mother. Well, self, and begin bringing the cases was doing experiments on the anyway, here is the story he used of wine up. He was sure that Mr. molecular structure of the human to tell me on Halloween night Wolfman must have just lost track brain. He was connected with a after I had collected my loot of of time. But when he got to the distinguished university in Vienna, candies, and was getting ready door of the cellar, he was puzzled Austria. They had agreed to pay for bed. It was a couple of days that the door was open ajar. He his expenses in order to allow him before Halloween. Frank Enstein, immediately thought that Mr. complete privacy at this residence, his wife Bella and their ten-year Wolfman was down here himself, and to give him the chance to fastold daughter Roxanne, were going looking for the wine. He called track his studies. They wanted his to be confronted with a mystery, out to him, and rushed into the results by the end of December. or more like a scary ghost story, room. The flickering light from His wife was his assistant, and that turned out to be a precursor the candles mounted on the wall tutor to Roxanne. They never to the events on Halloween night, made him stop 'dead' in his tracks noticed any indication of the October 31, 1893. They lived in as he saw the horrific sight in house being haunted until the last a spooky, run-down three-story front of him. He gasped, star- couple of days before Halloween. red brick mansion, with a rusty ing at them, transfixed in hor- It began first with the discovery of iron gate and fence surrounding ror. The three of them had had a tin box in one of the drawers of it. It sat conspicuously at the top their throats slashed, and were the old writing desk in the study of the only hill in the area at the all laying in a pool of blood on by Bella on the afternoon of edge of the village of Sleepyhallow. the dirt floor. One of the kitchen October 29th. She had wanted to Elm Street, the main street, ended staff came down to help just then. do some dusting and other cleanat their location in a cul-de-sac. Her scream jolted him out of his ing before making some fudge and The oldtimers reminded everyone trance. He turned to her, and candies to put in paper bags for that asked, that this house was ushered her out of the cellar. the kids. She wasn't sure if any once the finest house in the vil- The police were sent for, and kids would come, but she wanted lage. It was constructed by Roger the festive mood turned into to be prepared. This was the only Wolfman, a founding father, back shock as all the guests learned of day that she was free from helping in the 1860's. He was a tycoon the grizzly murders that had hap- Frank, and not having to go over who made his fortune in the rail- pened right under their feet, in the lessons with Roxanne. Ever since way business. The road ended midst of a delightful party. moving in, cleaning had not been up there for obvious reasons. Everyone was held for question- a priority, and certainly this old Whenever the Wolfmans' held a ing. Eventually they were all desk that came with the house, gala event at their mansion, called allowed to go, and the house was held no interest to her. But this Ghostley Manor, in honour of his closed up. The servants all moved day, she decided to open the drawmother, Agatha Ghostley, the gate out to other jobs.The gate was ers and see what was in them. was always open, for the carriages locked, and was never occupied Tucked way in the back of this one to swing up to the front entrance, again for several years. The family side drawer was an intriguing box. drop off the guests, and then pull was buried in the family plot out It had a macabre painting on the off to the side while they waited behind the mansion. The murders lid of the box of a house that for the guests to leave after the were never solved. After about looked similar to this one, envelparty was over. That made it easy two years, the legal process had oped in flames. She looked closer for the carriages to exit the prop- worked its' way through the court at it, and noticed a small signature erty afterwards, and head back system. A new family moved in in the right hand corner. She to their own houses in the vil- about a week before Halloween, found a magnifying glass, and lage or beyond. Every Halloween 1869. They stayed there only until brought it into a size large enough there was always a masquerade Halloween night. They later to read it. In black ink was the ball held there. All the guests had claimed that it was about ten when name Dracula Enstein. She to come in a costume reflecting they started hearing strange nois- dropped the tin box onto the desk the Halloween theme. Masks es, and doors slamming shut and top, as she was startled at the were mandatory. Other than that, or opening up. They felt a cold air name. She was going to call Frank, it was up to the guest to show up swirling around the ballroom and but decided to open the box first, in whatever costume they could music room. Then at eleven they just to see what was inside. Then imagine. Children from the vil- heard screaming noises coming she would bring it to him, she lage were allowed to come too, from the cellar. The man went decided. Inside the box was a note between 5 and 6 p.m. They were downstairs to investigate. He was scratched out in red ink. It read: to come in costume, and were surprised when he was greeted 'To Whomever Reads This Letter fed cookies and milk in the back with three people standing at the – If you find that I have been murporch, before leaving with a treat doorway to the wine cellar. They dered, just know that it was my of homemade caramel apples, appeared to be covered in wine business partner, Edgar Allan and a bag of popcorn. That left stains, which showed up very dis- Enstein who plotted to do it. If it
The Halloween Mystery at Ghostly Manor
does happen, I put a curse on all his family, and if any one of them puts foot in this house, I will see that they die by the same method as I. Furthermore, I will ensure this house goes up in flames, casting them to eternal damnation in hell. This will occur on October 31st. Be Forewarned.' It was signed by Roger Wolfman, and dated October 31, 1866. Bella was disturbed with what she had read. Then her mind went racing, as she reviewed their family tree. She remembered that Frank's grandfather was named Edgar. He had a brother named Dracula. It came flooding back to her. She remembered Frank discussing them several times, especially when he was trying to cajole Roxann to do her homework. Yes, Edgar did work for a railway line as an executive, or maybe it was a partner. Dracula was a painter. She gasped as she realized it was him that painted this tin box. She became frightened, and ran to get Frank, who was just finishing some notes on his latest test that he conducted in his lab that he had built next to the wine cellar. After he had read the note, he shook his head. “Imagine that.” Bella continued with concern. “You aren't concerned at all, are you? But what if it is true? It's even worse than in the note. He had no way of knowing that his wife and daughter would also be murdered as well as himself, as he wrote it that day. What if all three come back to kill us, and burn this house down on Halloween night? I think we better leave today. Let's not take any chances. Please, Frank.” He tried to calm her down. Eventually he succeeded, and they decided to stay. That night she woke up just before midnight. She heard the distinct footsteps of three people walking down the hallway and stopping outside their bedroom. Then she heard a metal on metal rubbing noise, as if someone was sharpening a knife. Finally she heard a man's deep voice utter these chilling words: “We are coming for you. You released the curse when you opened that tin box, and your fate is now sealed.” She froze in terror. She shook Frank to waken him, just in time to hear the rattling of the doorknob. But as he woke up, it stopped. The house became eerily quiet. He asked her, “What is it? I don't hear anything.” She said in a shaky voice, “I heard it. They threatened to kill us. They were trying to get in just as you awoke. Frank, I'm scared. We gotta leave this house immediately.” He tried to calm her down. “Now, Bella, I think you were likely just having a nightmare. You know how you get those after eating those cucumber sandwiches in the evening. I'm sure that was all it was. C'mon, cuddle down next to me, and go back to sleep. It'll be all right.” She gave in, although she knew it was no nightmare. It really happened. But her exhaustion hit her hard, and she felt safe in his arms. She soon drifted off to sleep. Frank lay awake, pondering what she claimed. As so often happens, things seemed a lot better in the morning. They both got back into their routines, although he noticed that Bella was a lot more nervous and distracted. Roxann seemed unaffected. October 30th was just a normal day. Even Halloween night started out quiet at the Manor. As Bella expected, nobody showed up for candy. Meanwhile, about eleven a couple of teenagers from the village were sneaking up to the Manor to check it out, and play a trick on them.
The ALGOMA NEWS Review
They had just jumped the rusted fence when they heard bloodcurdling screams coming from the house. That scared them off. Then shortly after midnight, the lone police officer in the village was on patrol, and he noticed smoke billowing up from the hill. It began to drift toward town, thanks to the prevailing wind blowing that night. He rushed over to the fire chief's house. Before long, the small group of firefighters were on their way up the hill to the Manor. By then it was engulfed in flames. Because they had to shuttle water up and down the hill, it soon became evident that they were not going to be able to save it. On the morning of November 1st, they were finally able to get close enough to the pile of rubble that was left. There was still some smoldering beams and furniture throwing up smoke. The police chief gingerly moved around until he stopped short. He realized he had come to the wine cellar. He thought he saw a hand poking up through a couple of beams. He slowly made his way closer. He was able to kick one of the beams out of his way. He was shocked with what he found. Laying beside the wine cabinet were the three bodies of the Ensteins'. As he leaned in closer, he gasped, and nearly threw up. All three of them had their necks slashed. He was amazed that the bodies had not been burnt beyond recognition, considering the intensity of the flames as the house burned to the ground. Very strange, he commented. For some reason, his mind flashed back to the Wolfman murders back in 1866. He was a young officer in those days. That had been his first case that he had been involved in. The Einsteins' were in the identical positions as the Wolfman family. Ironic too, that both families consisted of a man, a woman, and a girl. Suddenly a glint of light in his face brought him back from his thoughts to the reality of the situation at hand. He noticed that it was coming from an object in Mrs. Einstein's left hand. He bent over, and pried it open. He saw that it was just a small tin box. He commented, “Humph. I wonder why she is clutching that.” Before he could pursue that thought, a couple of officers came up behind him, asking if he had found anything. He replied no, as he pocketed the tin box. He needed more time to sort this out, as the evidence he saw was beyond a rational explanation. Later that day he was found dead amid the ashes of the Manor, next to the remains of the wine cellar, with his throat slashed. It was a shock to everyone, and threw the investigation into turmoil. In fact, these cases were never solved, and it still remains a mystery to this day, as to what really happened that Halloween night of 1893, and the following day. The Manor is long gone. A double-lane highway now goes over it. And it's bizarre that many people have reported a cold air sucking into their vehicles as they pass through this small area. There is also a whiff of smoke too, and a faint screaming sound. Everybody claims it is just vehicle exhaust from all the other traffic going by them, and the whistle of the wind in windows is just because they were not rolled up tightly. But maybe it is something more horrific or eerie, to say the least, don't you think? Jasper Wail, reporter for the Boston Globe, Wednesday, October 18, 2017.