Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: EERIE (07/28/16)
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TITLE: Mystery At Wicker Place | Previous Challenge Entry
By Brenda Rice
08/04/16 -
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My conversation with myself went like this: “Open the door silly. It belongs to you.” My less sane-self said.
“I know who it belongs to.” My saner-self said sharply.
“Well go in then and see what Aunt Emma left you. Aren’t you curious?”
“Yes, I am, but I’m a little freaked out too. I should have brought someone with me. The sheriff said the people around here believe Wicker Place is haunted.”
“You’ll never know unless you open that door and go in. Go on---do it!”
“Don’t rush me! You always get me in trouble being in a hurry.” My saner-self replied.
You see my dilemma? Aunt Emma Sloan left me her grand Victorian house she called Wicker Place. I’d never been there before. I barely remembered Aunt Emma.
“Okay, I’m going in.” I said out loud, as I gently turned the knob.
Immediately my face was wrapped in thick spider webs. To make matters worse, a large spider crawled across my face. “Oh come on Ginny! Get hold of yourself. It’s just a garden spider.” My saner-self said rather loudly.
“Oh mercy! I’ . . . m . . . m . . . okay. I can do this.” My eyes adjusted to the dimness of the large room off to my left. My hands pulled at the webs covering my arms, hair and face. Shivers ran up my spine, but I wasn’t chilled.
I began snatching sheets off the furniture which created a dust cloud from floor to ceiling. “Are you trying to kill me?” That was my less sane-self asking.
“I want to see what the furniture looks like.”
“Well open some windows before I suffocate.”
Soon a breeze swirled the dust around and upward. I was able to uncover my face.
Amazingly the elaborate sofas, settees and chairs were in good shape. Wine velvet dominated the decor. That’s when I saw a large painting hanging above the gold leafed fireplace.
Spider webs and dust obscured it, but my resemblance to the lady in the painting was uncanny. “Aunt Emma?” I asked out loud.
“If she answers you, I’m outa here.” You know who that was by now.
“I wasn’t expecting an answer, silly.” My saner-self replied.
The lady was so elegantly dressed with her hair swept upward. An elaborate broach adored the mandarin collar of her satin and lace dress. But it was her eyes that captured me. They were staring directly into mine. I shuddered.
Backing away I fell against her ornate writing desk. Grabbing for anything to steady myself, I realized I had something in my hand. It was a very dusty envelope. Shockingly, my name was written on it. I felt like I had just entered the Twilight Zone.
As I fumbled with the envelope, I dropped it back onto the desk.
“Aren’t you gonna read it?” My less sane-self asked.
“Not now I’m not. I’m getting out of here. Are you coming?” That was my insanely afraid self.
“Oh no, I thought I’d just hang around a while . . . duh! Of course I’m coming. Hurry up!”
That was my first visit to Wicker Place. My subsequent visits went much better, because I never went there alone again. It turned out Aunt Emma left me her house and everything in it, because I looked so much like her.
She was quite wealthy and eccentric, but generous to a fault. So my saner-self and my less sane-self have lived happily at Wicker Place for many years.
I guess you would like to know if the house was haunted. Right? I’m not going to divulge that bit of information. Come by for a visit, and I’ll take you on a grand tour.
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