Samuel watched the whole process unfold, the trauma of watching the woman release her feelings of fear, love and joy, the looks of love from her husband and how they decided on the name and the bundle of joy that was his great grandfather.
His brain started to ache as Samuel tried to take in everything that had happened. He wanted to get closer and just see what exactly the baby's face looked like from a distance, but his vision was a blur.
Before he could try and achieve that goal, his body began to spin again, like a merry go round at a fair. His vision once again portrayed a dark black colour, the colour of fine ink. Last time, blinking helped Samuel to regain sight so he tried it again.
A sharp hand clutched his shoulder which made the muscles of his body tense and forlorn. His eyes reached behind towards the movement of the hand and as a result, landed on Jo's face.
He could only see Jo and nothing else. No walls, no windows and certainly no newborn babies and happy parents.
"Follow me!" exclaimed Jo as she tried to lead Samuel away from the room.
Samuel's body felt fear, limb and rugged. How he managed to stumble out of the room, he didn't really know.
"Oh my gosh! Are you OK?" asked Jo, "You nearly passed out!"
Samuel blinked again but he could only see Jo and not his surroundings, "I... I don't know."
Jo's face turned left to right in panic as she tried to see if anyone else was around but to no avail.
"Can you see me?" questioned Jo.
"Yes but only you. I can't see any walls or doors or even floors!" trembled Samuel.
"Try shaking your head quickly or lying down for a few seconds with your eyes closed and see what happens." suggested Jo.
Listening to Jo's advice, Samuel lay on some form of flooring which he wasn't too sure what type and after a few seconds, everything was back in focus. His hands still shook as Jo helped him up from the floor.
"Those people..." mumbled Samuel, "Baby, mother, father, servants..."
Jo stared at him puzzled, "There was only me and you in that room."
Samuel placed his hand on the side of his head, dazed and struggling to take in those sights, "The woman gave birth, had a baby boy, husband from a rich background."
Jo took him gently by the arm, "Maybe it was your mind playing tricks?"
Samuel shook his head, "It felt so real, there were period pieces of furniture and children outside playing a game with hoops."
Jo lead Samuel down the stairs and out the front door of the house into the outside world, her face showed glimpses of bemusement and anxiety. Samuel cleaned his glasses and placed them back onto his nose, not looking towards Jo as he did so.
"Are you hungry?" asked Jo, "If so, we can get you some dinner."
Samuel stared down at his watch, "Good lord! It's nearly six o'clock?"
"Time flies when you're having fun!" reminded Jo as she lead him towards her house, just ten minutes away from the country house.
Walking towards Jo's house felt like a lifetime for Samuel, he hadn't thought or predicted encountering some strange vision at his country house inheritance. But he knew that one thing for sure, he did see people and a baby being born. His great grandfather that is. Not just any old baby.
Standing outside a small farm cottage was a tall, elderly looking man with short grey hair with a hand supporting his legs on the side of the porch. From a distance, Samuel suspected that this person could be Jo's grandad until Jo said, "Hi dad!"
The man waved slowly, "Hello Jo, and... a guest..."
"Not just any guest dad!" beamed Jo, "This is Samuel, you know? The man who has inherited that country house!"
The man stared at Samuel, "Of course Jo! Why would I forget? Come on in."
Samuel was shown inside and into the dining room which overlooked the back garden. For once, he had never felt so anxious meeting someone for the first time.
"Have you been to look at it?" asked Jo's dad.
Samuel nodded, "Yes... we..."
Jo abruptly stopped him, "We were only able to look round parts of it as Samuel's mind started playing tricks on him."
Jo's dad nearly dropped his plate, "Tricks?"
"Yes Mr... um..." said Samuel.
"Call me David please, what tricks?" asked David.
"Don't think I'm crazy or anything but I saw people, people that Jo couldn't see." began Samuel.
"Don't continue, for I think I know who and what you are talking about." replied David.
"Is it bad that I didn't see them?" questioned Jo, "Am I stupid or?"
"No dear daughter! Don't ever call yourself or think about yourself like that!" protested David, "Cone with me Samuel."
Samuel left the table and followed David upstairs to a bedroom which was obviously his as in the bedroom, there were male pieces of clothing and fishing magazines on the bedside table.
"There were four, a husband, a wife, baby boy and a servant." said Samuel as they both sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Did they say any names?" asked David.
"The husband was called Charles..." replied Samuel.
"Yes indeed, my suspicions were correct, for I have seen them too!" declared David.
"Jo thought it was my mind messing around!" complained Samuel.
"Well, she can jump to conclusions without finding the facts," admitted David, "That is my daughter for you but believe me when I say this Samuel, Jo is not a bad person."
'She's beautiful,' thought Samuel, 'And comes from a guy who never really looks into Romance!'
"Back to the story, it was one of the rooms upstairs where I saw them. It was when I was conducting my internal investigations into the house. But let me be the one to tell you this, there are strange things happening in that house." said David.
Samuel shuddered, "Like what?"
"Legend has it that the house is plagued with a bad spirit, caused by someone in the family. This bad spirit plagued down onto the house and that is why it has been left in a bad way for a long time because whenever anyone has tried to sort things out, they face impending doom," said David as he looked towards Samuel, "I am not here to frighten you, I'm just saying that the last person to try and fix the house died, by the hands of the spirit!"
Samuel rubbed his hands together slowly, "So, you're basically saying that I could die in that house?"
There was a small pause before David opened his mouth, "If you are not careful."
"How did the last person die if you don't mind me asking?" said Samuel, "Was it deliberate?"
"It was murder, cold, blooded murder. My friend found the body of the man who brought the place. It was just him there, no-one else was there. His neck was sliced opened and blood trickled down the walls of the room, killed with a blade. A blade that hasn't been found to this day." added David.
"Could it have been someone in the village?" questioned Samuel.
"Not in the eyes of the law I'm afraid," replied David, "In other words, no. The spirit killed him!"
Samuel felt his heart becoming fit to burst. So, was there really a bad spirit in the house? All he had seen from that vision in the room were first time parents and a healthy baby. Surely it wasn't all that bad, was it?
"If you don't mind me asking, how did this spirit get found out?" asked Samuel.
"Good question Samuel, it was passed down through the village after the First World War that the house was in a state of bad plague. People who visited the house were often met with bad dreams and strange visions of the unknown. People that they tried to touch but were not able to. Hunted, no-one could go. Many children dared each other to go in the house, one by one, every single Halloween. But! The ones that did go in there never came out... alive..."
Jo appeared at the doorway, "I think you are trying to put Samuel off doing anything!"
Samuel shook his head, "Please try to relax Jo! I am simply curious at the house's history and things which happened in there many years ago."
David stared at his only child, "We were just finishing up now anyway Jo, time ticks by and we need to start up early tomorrow if we are to get things moving again."
Jo nodded, "Whatever you wish dad."
A short while later, Samuel was sat in bed in the spare bedroom, looking at the family history things that he had brought with him. Soon, he hoped that all of the pieces in the jigsaw would fit together and all of the bad spirits would finally be put to rest, if they could be put to rest that is.
His eyes started to feel droopy, so Samuel decided to go to sleep. Because of the events earlier, he kept the bedroom lamp on so that he could feel more comfortable.
As his body fell into sleep mode, the house came back again as if it never wanted to leave Samuel's body.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
