The secrets of Aunt Jenny’s ghost

This was the tale I was told by her great nephew, who later owned the house. He and his wife always heard strange noises throughout the house after they acquired it – squeaking floors upstairs, doors closing spontaneously, coffee cups falling from the cabinet. You know, creepy stuff like that.

A Call For Help

But in two recent weeks, the unexplained disturbances had become more than the couple could tolerate, so they called me.

I listened to their story while standing in the remodeled yet antique kitchen. Afterward, I explained I’m not a ghost hunter, nor an apparition apprehender, but that I would look around to see if some type of wildlife was causing all the ruckus.

About the time I was winding up my dissertation about possible squirrels, raccoons, birds, rats (never tell someone they might have rats; most then want to burn down the house), we all heard a distinctive “thump, thump, scratch, scratch,” from the overhead A/C vent.

Sometimes the author is called to sort out more than just nuisance wildlife!

Instantly, the couple faced me with wide eyes, as if they had seen a ghost, and simultaneously bellowed, “SEE?” I grabbed my flashlight and headed to the crawlspace.

122 YEARS DARK

The access was a heavy planked door situated within a foundation made of local limestone rock. Pulling the door out, the opening was just big enough for me to squeeze through, and as I did, I thrust my face into a thick wall of spider webs as tough as a dip net. I just hoped there weren’t any attendants lurking around. Pushing on, I belly-crawled over dirt that hadn’t seen sunlight in 122 years. As the light beam swept deep into the damp and musty interior, I spotted old snake skins, bones of some kind of mammal and vintage cigar butts, likely from workers installing the HVAC system some 20 years ago.

Moving deeper into the maw, I spotted a dim yet shiny object up between the floor joists. Coming in closer, I found a small ledge made of rough-sawn lumber attached to the bottom of a joist. There, perched on this ledge, were three mildewed, dust-covered mason jars with clear liquid. Above this, I could see a small access door neatly and precisely cut into the floor boards.

I had to laugh, “So, Aunt Jenny did do a little moonshining after all!”

I thought about having a taste, but figured if I did it could be days before anyone would find me. Heck, I might have even ended up having a nip WITH Aunt Jenny.

THUMP AND SCRATCH!

I moved beyond this tiny speakeasy to the center of the ment. He is editor emeritus of the Webster-Kirkwood Times weekly newspaper and professor emeritus at Webster University, where he directed the Outdoor/Environmental Journalism Certificate. He has been inducted into the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame. building, which was supported by several masterfully crafted rock pillars. Worming around one of those pillars, I could hear the “Thump, thump, scratch, scratch” sound again.

As I swung the light toward the sound, I caught the glow of two yellow eyes blinking at me, and then they disappeared. Had I just seen a goblin, or was that Aunt Jenny getting into her moonshine?

Because I hadn’t replaced batteries for some time, the light was quickly diminishing, and I was mentally planning what to do when the tickle of tiny legs raced across the back of my neck.

Now, considering where I was and what I had just seen, it made the scurrying dance of this wolf spider seem like a troupe of tarantulas celebrating an upcoming banquet. I took a breath and slapped the small arachnid away.

Then a rush of cool air hit me in the face as the A/C came on and the puzzle came