Hobbs Hollow

"This." I said holding up a small glass ball. It was roughly three inches across with four small holes that marked where it could be unscrewed. The spheres were hollow and designed to break upon impact. "I designed them myself."

"Gorgeous! How many do you have?" She asked.

"One hundred, if they work and I have every belief that they will I will order more." I told her.

"Are you going to raid the local church?" She asked and I shook my head. "Where are you going to get the holy water from then?"

"That is my problem. I will have them filled and sealed before tomorrow night." I promised her. "Each team will have some."

"So, this is what it looks like when you go to war." Olivia growled as she kissed my neck. "Make love to me and then we'll rejoin the party."

"As you wish." I said as she sat in my lap.

Halloween dawned grey, overcast, and cold. It wasn't quite drizzling, but it felt like it would at any minute. As the day progressed the weather turned darker, but it never rained. I set aside two hours and filled the glass spheres with holy water. Later, as the teams sat and coordinated, I handed out the globes to each of them. When asked what they were I told them they were a fall back device. As in, throw them and fall back. I meditated and pushed down the fear that threatened to transform into raw panic. At five o'clock we all geared up and hopped into our various vehicles. I thanked the Widow and she kissed me for luck.

"When this deflates into nothing, I will buy the first two rounds." Madison offered.

"If that happens, I'll let you." I joked.

The small convoy of vehicles reached the Crane House and the overcast weather made it more uninviting. We gathered with our equipment at the foot of steps, set our communication to the same channel and performed a quick microphone check. We reached the front door and it opened on its own. The interior was pitch-black and a dozen flashlights were switched on and trained on the foyer. We entered cautiously and I nearly cried out when the front door slammed shut. Three seconds later the lights came on and Cassandra made her entrance. She wore an elegant crimson dress with a ten-foot train that billowed behind her. She raised her arms, smiled, and greeted us.

"Welcome to my house! Enter freely. Go safely and leave something of the happiness you bring!"

Her tits looked great in that dress. How they didn't manage to spill out was amazing. She walked down the steps and informed us that her house was open for investigation. But first there would be a meal and she would answer any questions we might have about her family estate. I wasn't the only one enjoying the view of Cassie's ample cleavage. The dining room was done to perfection and there were even name cards, so we knew where we supposed to sit. Cassandra sat at the head of the table, behind her an enormous stone hearth and above it the Crane family crest and etched into the scroll work the family motto, 'Fidelis et Morte' or faithful even in death.

Cassandra loved the attention she was receiving. I knew her well enough to feed her vanity and get this night over with as quickly as possible. It wasn't to be. She informed us we would be treated to a seven-course meal. The first course was served, and Don was the first to break the ice with a question.

"Can you elaborate on the death of your Aunt Elizabeth Crane?" Don asked hanging on every word she uttered.

"You have to understand the dire straits Elizabeth found herself in. Her father was the Lord of the Manor when she was a child and up until she came of age. Things were expected of her and chief of those was obedience. He was old school and she wasn't. When he informed her that he had picked out a suitable husband she left. This was the mid 70's and the adult film industry was in its golden age or so the internet declares. Elizabeth was desperate, gorgeous, and lacked any hint of a gag reflex." Cassandra paused and let that little visual settle in. That is when I felt it, a soft tug at my zipper, someone was unzipping my jeans. "She used the stage name of Keisha and sucked her way to fame and notoriety. When she got pregnant, she left the business and returned home." She paused again as whoever had snuck beneath the table began blowing me. I did a head count and all the ladies that had come with us was accounted for. Who the hell was sucking me off?

"How did her father respond?" Don asked as the woman's lips brushed against my groin.

"He was upset but was pressured to accept the Deepthroat Queen back into the family." Cassandra purred as the woman's tongue swirled around the head of my dick before returning to using her throat to full effect. "Rinaldo, are you okay?"

"Fine. Just imagining what I would be like to meet such a talented woman." I moaned and everyone laughed. The mystery woman gently caressed my balls as she fisted my shaft and focused on the head.

"The tragedy didn't occur until the child; her son grew up and discovered her impressive movie collection. Unknown to her, Elizabeth's father ordered an 8MM copy of all her movies. He even converted one of the ballrooms into a movie theater. When the family was asleep, he would watch his daughter orally pleasure and sleep with her many lovers. It wasn't until after her father's death did Elizabeth's son discovered the stash of movies." She stopped and let us get the visual on what happened.

"She found him watching one of her movies." Marcus offered as I lowered my head and fought the urge to cry out as I was on the verge of climax.

"Yes. She walked in just as he let fly. I am told the sound was quite arousing." Cassandra chuckled as I felt my face turn as red as her dress when I came. "Better?" Cassandra asked and I nodded.

"Better?" Tori asked and she looked under the table. "What is going on? There isn't anyone there."

"What the hell?" I exclaimed as I looked down and not only was there no one there my jeans were still zipped. "Damn, that was impressive!"

"Ah, the second course is ready." Cassandra declared and things settled down for about one minute. One of the ladies from one of the other teams suddenly gasped, grabbed her throat, and stood up choking.

"Oh shit!" Her closest teammate cried out in alarm. "Were there mushrooms in this?" He asked as he pulled out his partner's EpiPen from his pocket. "I got you!" He administered the injection and Cassandra dutifully apologized for the mix up and that ended the meal abruptly. "She's going to be okay. I am taking her back to the bed and breakfast. There are plenty of you for a proper investigation."

I didn't miss the cold stare Cassandra gave the pair as they departed. An accident my ass, she must have learned about the allergy and exploited it, but why? If she didn't want us here, she could have just not invited us. Unless this was just a game to her, a sick fucking joke. I helped carry the woman to their vehicle and retrieved their holy water ampules from them. I might just need them. I hoped I didn't. It was time for action.

"Time to get things going." I said and Don was already volunteering for base camp set up.

"We scoped things out last night. We placed X's where cameras and equipment should be set up." Ted, the tall Texan and one of the other team leaders declared. "We are on it."

I let them do their thing. They attacked the first and second floor in two- and three-man teams. I poured myself a drink and watched them work. It was rather impressive to watch. Madison seemed to have taken a shine to Ted the Texan and his ten-gallon hat. I sipped my drink while Olivia hovered nearby. She was doing a poor job of acting casual. I drug over my gear and went through it making sure that everything that needed a battery or charging was up to snuff. Once that was done, I poured both of us a drink.

"You have to give it to her. Cassandra always did have the best booze." I commented.

"How long have you known her?" Olivia asked.

I really had to think about it. I remembered the New Year's Eve party clearly, but I had met her before that, I thought. An elusive memory was just out of reach and I gave up trying to remember. It would pop into my head later. Don was working his magic and tying all the equipment together via WIFI so that we didn't need to run cables and wires all over god's green earth. The crews withdrew to the first floor and we watched and waited. The sensor array would alert us to any changes in temperature or movement. No one should be moving around upstairs. I did a quick head count and everyone, but Cassandra's staff were accounted for. Olivia checked her watch and informed everyone we were rounding on six o'clock. The meal interrupted Cassandra appeared out of sorts and disappointed. A part of me wanted to place a hand on her shoulder and tell her it would be okay. Another part of me wanted to get in her face and call her out on poisoning the dish with mushrooms. Maybe I was just overreacting?

"She's gone." Olivia gasped. "She was just there."

"Outfit change?" I offered and Olivia shrugged.

"She'll make another grand entrance I'm sure," I muttered as we took turns checking out the monitors. "This is the hard part, the waiting. If nothing happens by seven, we'll draw straws to see who gets to check out the basement."

Nothing happened. Those that wanted to explore the basement, and it wasn't everybody, took turns drawing straws. To make it fair we would go in teams of three. I drew the short lot and was in the last team. We looked at the blueprints and broke the basement down into even sections. If anything happened upstairs, we agreed to withdraw and focus on that. We dedicated a monitor to the crew heading down and sat around watching. I let Ted take charge since he was in the second team and helped guide them down the steps and into the first room.

"We are at the top of the steps." Madison whispered as they walked slowly down. "Temperature unchanged... nothing on motion sensor... so far so good."

They reached the door that opened to the basement. I glanced at Olivia and she seemed serene. Madison continued and opened the door and stuck the camera in first.

"No heat sources... everything in nominal... moving ahead." She stated as she panned the camera around the room. "Nothing. We are moving on. I think we should try an EVP session in the next room."

"Go ahead," Ted agreed. "Keep going."

The team entered the wine cellar and halted. Madison filmed the room, but nothing stood out. She took the digital recorder out of her pocket and activated it. It had a WIFI tie in so that was could hear everything in real time.

"We are recording," Ted stated. "Go ahead Madison."

"Hi... is anyone here?" She asked but there was no reply. "We just want to talk."

"No... blood... so cold..." the ethereal voice whispered, and everyone gasped.

"Do you need any help?" Madison continued with the standard questions.

"Too late... me... too late for you." It laughed. I glanced at Olivia and she seemed occupied. I moved close but knew better than to touch her while she was connected.

"We don't mean you any harm." Madison said and the thing laughed, and they heard it without the need of electronic aid. It wasn't a pleasant laugh. The voice had begun with a childlike tone but now it was this side of alarming. "We heard that. Did you?"

"Yeah, we heard it all. Do you want to continue?" Ted asked.

"Of course!" Madison exclaimed. "We have two more rooms to explore. Let's go." She added enthusiastically.

The third chamber was for storage and hadn't seen much attention in a long while. The crates and boxes were covered with dust and I heard them coughing and sneezing when they entered. Madison pushed through and continued the EVP session.

"Looks like no one comes down here anymore." She said and paused for a reply.

"She comes down. She comes alone." The child like voice returned.

"Who are you." Madison asked but there was no reply this time. Olivia opened her eyes and shook her head.

"Olivia lost touch with whoever it is," Ted explained. "Why not finish up and we'll let you hear what you've collected so far. Great job!"

Madison and her crew filmed the fourth room before returning to the first floor. We took a break and reviewed the EVP's. The Electronic Voice Phenomenon were clear and unmistakable. We were playing and replaying them when Don told us to hold it down.

"Hush! I got something upstairs!" He announced. We fell silent and heard the electronic chirp as one of the motion detectors was tripped. "Left hand corridor... holy shit... look!" He called out as one of the doors opened on its own. There was a faint outline that drifted into view from that room and we all heard the door slam shut from down here. It didn't hurt that we watched it on camera. "Damn! We got temperature change! Minus five... ten... twelve..." he counted down as the temperature plummeted a full twenty sever degrees before halting. "I can barely make out a flutter. Switching to the full spectrum camera. This is from the other end of the hallway." His fingers danced over the keyboard. We silently huddled closer at the clear spectral figure radiating intense cold. It was roughly human shaped but barely. "It is walking this way!" Don whispered as I looked up in the direction of that far hallway. "It is standing right there... can you see anything?"

"No." I said even though I thought I caught the faintest glimpse of freezing blue eyes. Two little pin pricks of icy light hovered in the air and then vanished.

We heard the stomping footsteps as the apparition stalked back to the room, opened the door, and slammed the door shut a second time. It had returned to its room.

"Holy shit!" Don exclaimed. "Did we really see that?"

"Home sweet home." Cassandra stated scaring the hell out of all of us. "Who wants a drink?"

We took a break, well all of us except Don. He refused to abandon the monitors. I grabbed one of the bottles of tequila and sat with him and drank. Olivia was clearly disturbed by this much activity in so short a time. The closer to midnight and the more upset the house became. Tori appeared with two perfectly poured glasses of Guinness. Don turned it down while I eagerly accepted.

"What do you think?" I asked Olivia.

"I don't know. I've never run into a house this active before. It isn't even eight o'clock and we've had this much occur. I don't know." She replied and threw down a shot of tequila.

"Exciting isn't it?" Cassandra asked.

"Do you actually live here Cassandra?" I broke down and asked.

"Oh, hell no!" She fired back looking around nervously. "I had to triple the salary for the staff I hired for the week. If it wasn't for the exposure, I'll get from you guys I would have never agreed to come back here. I hate this fucking place!"

"Something is moving upstairs." Don announced a heartbeat later. "Temperature is dropping in the Yellow Room."

"Shit!" Cassandra cursed.

"Turning the camera towards the movement." He said clinically as the view panned to an ancient porcelain doll.

"Mama." The doll called out innocently.

"Mother..." Don began when the eyes of the doll lit up. "Fuck me!" He cried out causing a flood of bodies towards the monitors.

"I don't fuck on the first date!" The doll said in a voice two octaves lower and far from innocent. We all heard the demonic laughter from the second floor. "Come on Forrester give us a kiss." It said and then the eyes went dark and the temperature returned to normal.

"Who the hell is Forrester?" Ted asked looking around. "It must be another spirit."

"No." I said looking at Madison. "It is me. I changed my name from Forrester to Rinaldo."

"It knows you." Olivia gasped. "You need to go!" The temperature in the immediate area plunged in a matter of seconds.

"Shit, it is freezing!" One of the ladies cursed as her breath like the others came in cloudy puffs.

"I am not going anywhere." I shouted. "Stop it!" I growled putting my foot down. The temperature moved back to normal. "I think you folks should go."

"Hell no," Ted snapped. "This is why I got into this!" He declared and most of the others agreed.

"Fine, whoever wants to go, leave now. You can always watch the footage and hear the stories later." I strongly suggested. Half of them left, no that isn't accurate, they fled without looking back. "Don?"

"Not a chance. Somebody has got to watch your back." He stated and I smiled at his loyalty.

"Since we are down a few we'll only do one more expedition to the basement. Let's save that for closer to midnight. I want two volunteers to stay with Don."

I had them. We all agreed to take turns at base camp. After a few more pints of Guinness it was time to walk up the steps and see what kind of shit I could stir up. I wasn't drunk exactly, but I was tipsy enough to push my limits.

"Give me my scanner." I asked and Madison reached into my pack and handed it to me.

"What is that?" Don asked keen to see new technology.

"You know the scanners that work by running through radio frequencies?" I asked and everyone had heard of it. "If you didn't know I am autistic. I had this made for me. I can't stand the loud and random bursts of noise from a standard radio scanner. Instead, this device is silent. The screen has two displays. One of them is an oscilloscope. It helps me see when a spirit is speaking." I paused and they all understood. "Good. The other display is tied to the voice recognition technology tied into the device. It listens for patterns and displays them. It keeps a record of any of those patterns on its hard drive. The clever thing about this guy here is that the voice recognition has over thirty languages programmed into it. Depending on where you are hunting there is no guarantee the spirit will be speaking in English."

They were quite impressed with my little invention. I promised to let them try it out. It was also wireless and could be tied to a workstation so that Don could have it show up on one of his monitors. I asked if anyone wanted to go up with me and it was Ted that suggested I go alone. I grabbed three holy water ampules just in case. So, with a camera in one hand and the scanner in the other I headed up the stairs.

"I've reached the top of the steps. So far so good." I narrated. "I am going to try the right-hand hallway first. Let's save the left for later." I stated as I turned and headed down the hall. "I am passing the first camera. The hall appears to be empty. If you see or notice anything give me a heads up."

The hallway was surprisingly clear of dust and debris. I guess Cassandra didn't want it to look like the derelict it was, if a house could be classified in that way. I opened the first door and peeked inside. The furniture was covered in sheets and the air was heavy with dust. I clipped the scanner to my belt and covered my face with my hand. The camera's light illuminated the room and as I moved, I disturbed the dust which filled the air making it look like it was snowing inside the room. I fought to breathe and fled the room.

"Too much damn dust!" I cursed. I sputtered and found I was covered in it. I closed the door and continued leaving a trail in the air behind me. "Puhh!"

"We got movement!" Don announced in my ear. "Halfway down the hall on the right-hand side."

I aimed the camera in that direction. I didn't see anything, but the sensors were far more sensitive to motion and temperature. I stopped and let it come to me, correct that, let her come to me. She slithered out of the shadows. I caught sight of a really short skirt, long legs, and an erratic path. She appeared to be drunk by the way she moved.

"Cassandra? Is that you?" I asked but I heard her voice over my earpiece.

"I'm right here." She stated. "That must be Elizabeth." I brought the light from the camera slowly up. "Who the hell is that?"