The Ancestral Home

I creaked the heavy oak door open and peered out into the hallway. Nothing. The creaks of an old house, but no other sound or movement.

"Get yourself together, dumbass." My voice was low, but it pierced through the void like a beacon in the night. It was so silent it seemed as if the castle was absorbing my voice instead of carrying it around. Like a vacuum.

"All this is going away once it's light outside," I said, again out loud. I rarely ever spoke to myself, but for some reason hearing a human voice, even my own, was comforting. Not that I need comfort or anything. I am a strong, capable man, a businessman...but the darkness could not be fought with cold logic, and that realization was probably what put me the most on edge here.

I shut the door and locked it, pushing the key into my pants pocket, looked around the room once more, and finally turned off the candle.

Okay, we are fine, Ordway. Just sleep. That's what you're here to do after all.

Back to bed I went and fell asleep with some difficulties. Despite being dead tired my eyelids refused to stay closed, and I lay awake until I realized I was forcing my tired eyelids closed. As my breaths slowed I finally dozed off. The sensation of sleep washed over me once more, and I dreamt.

*

Darkness. Darkness, so thick it weighed heavy in my lungs like molten iron. Pain and throbbing and sudden, aching waves crept from the dark recesses of my mind and coursed down my back, a piercing migraine soaking into every fiber of my being. I felt as if I was trying to climb my way through a world made of darkness. My lungs burned, and acrid pain burst from my stomach.

I fell, tumbling onto a cold stone floor, rolling along. I struggled against whatever invisible bonds were holding me until I sat up. I had a nightmare, but I couldn't recall it. All I knew was that it was painful and void of light. Maybe the damn sleep paralysis again.

The feeling was fading though, so I stood. A grayish light crept through the slits on the wall, letting me know it was morning outside. I had gotten through a night without too much trouble. So I guess it was all superstition.

After an easy breakfast of sausages and beans, I started my exploration of the property. The creepy little village wasn't half as bad now that it was bright and early with evening hours away. A bit rundown, but nothing too bad. The first thing I did was walk the iron fence to see how far it stretched, using the geologger to measure acreage, elevation, and stuff like that, and also making notes on what kind of land there was. The hills rolled smoothly along the distant horizon, but my attention was quickly caught by something else...

Not far from the rear entrance of the big castle, a couple of miles into the thick forest behind the courtyard, there was some sort of crypt or mausoleum. In the midst of a huge forest, atop a hill of all places. I tried the heavy marble door, but it wouldn't budge. Oh well, the new owner's problem, not mine. I jotted it down anyway. I kept myself from lingering too long and then finished my way back around the castle to the small village.

I scanned the nearby scenery and saw some nice clusters of maple trees and walnut trees, a river and even a small creek. Nice additions that I could enter to the property description. I took some photos too. The more the merrier. But the crypt seemed out of my reach for now.

*

Upon entering the small cobble road, the same feeling returned that I had felt the previous day, making my hairs stand on end. This place just wasn't normal. How could anyone live here? Something was wrong. It made my heart rate soar and a feeling like having your arms restrained with ropes encompassed me. I suddenly had the urge to run. The tiny hairs on my arms were raised all the way down to my fingertips and my shoulders. What was going on? I looked at the clock. It was around noon, so plenty of hours left of sunlight.

I soon found myself peering into the window of the small stone well-house in the middle of the crossroad. It looked mostly empty. There seemed to be some closet in there, the door opposite from the window and, of course, the well itself. I rounded the small building and tried the door. I guess I should've learned by now that all doors around these parts were locked and shut down thoroughly. But I actually had a key this time, provided by my employer.

So I took the key and put it into the keyhole, twisting it. There was a clang of metal on metal and the door opened. The structure didn't hold more than a few square feet, just enough to walk around the well. I bent over and looked down the well. Empty. Nothing. Not even water. Maybe that is why the villagers didn't live here anymore, it was all dried up. But the forest and the road, and everything really, was all so moist and muddy, so some moisture had to exist within the little valley. But not in the well.

It didn't make much sense, but I was here on a real-estate commission, so my scientific inquiries were at a minimum, unfortunately. I knew just enough about land, dirt, what arable land was, what hills and rivers meant, etc., to assess the property, but other than that, this was no fieldwork project, and this was certainly not a geology expedition.

Still, I took several pictures with my digital camera. I turned on the blitz and took some more. Hm. Odd. Reviewing the footage I saw that there was some brickwork near the bottom. Maybe they had dammed up the sides or something, but it didn't really look like that either. It almost looked like there were corridors down there, judging by how the flash didn't light up all the way down the walls properly. Thinking of it... by the way the corridors would've gone... it sorta looked like they came from the crypt and led up to the castle, in fact.

The castle's old dungeon system? I mean, it would be a smart design. Huh. How hadn't I read or heard of any of this? I mean, the area had been active during both World Wars, so that could be one explanation. But there was a problem. The stonework was much older. I wasn't a bricklayer or anything, but I'd seen enough modern stonework in the old castle, and this didn't fit. It wasn't slapped together hastily during the war to smuggle people, and it certainly was no bomb shelter. It was deliberate masonry, made in the old style. Perhaps even older than the Gothjic Baroque style of the castle.

Fascinated, I poked a bit more, feeling around the brickwork and taking measurements. Okay, I was now well past my initial objective. Maybe a client would have a historical and architectural interest, in fact, it almost was guaranteed in such an ancient piece of architecture. It also tickled a more youthful, more imaginative part of me. Adventure and mysteries were cool in movies but in real life as an adult? Uh, no thank you. Maybe if I got some more folks up here we could make some real discoveries, but that was neither part of my job description nor of any interest as of now. So I grabbed my phone and wrote some details to include later in the property description.

When I came outside I picked up some maple leaves. Curious, there were no curious maple trees around, except up by the crypt and the lake. I then noticed some other oddities in the vegetation. The moss and nearby grass that stuck out from the cobblestone looked to be in a weird mix of red and dark green. It wasn't something you'd notice unless you were looking, and I guess I was. I took some pictures too, in case I could talk to a biologist or something about that stuff, but I'd likely have to exclude them from the details of the property. Who knows, it kinda looked scorched or toxic. I'd have to look into nearby toxic waste and acids too, in case that was the reason there was no one around here anymore.

Turning back to the wellhouse, I scanned its stony walls. It looked to be older than the village itself, gauging by the masonry being, again, similar to what could be found in the castle. Using my hand I tore away some of the moss and grass that had grown on the lower bricks and made way for a glint of metal.

My fingers gently moved some more moss aside and revealed an engraved metal disk embedded in the wall, placed halfway into the structure as if hidden or maybe to be forgotten by time, but there it was. I had no way of understanding any of it, but I took a picture of what it said. I guess it sort of looked like Latin in how it was spelled, but as I knew the Ancient Greek alphabet to a degree I knew better. I wasn't an expert, but knew enough to at least know the sign read: τοῖσι δ᾽ ἀνέστη ἥρως Ἀτρεΐδης εὐρὺ κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων ἀχνύμενος. Ὁ βίος βραχύς ἐν τοῖς ἀγροῖς οἰκεῖ. Not that I had any idea what it actually meant in plain old English. It was, heh, Greek to me. Later, using the few bars of signal I had, I learned it translated roughly to a bunch of mambo jumbo, so I guess the online translators didn't really work that well. It probably didn't matter.

But it was starting to grow late again, so I made a mental note to make sure to check for Ancient Greek writing elsewhere. I had no idea why anyone would use it over Latin, but whatever. It was cool trivia, and maybe I could use it for the advertisement. Who knows. Maybe it would make the castle more special.

As I headed back to the castle I felt watched again, that feeling that the village and castle themselves had eyes on me. When I went towards the door to enter the castle my body shuddered from the thought of that doorknocker staring me down, those lifeless sockets calling to me. That was the kind of shit that was getting to me. Not some rotting well in a shitty little town.

I stopped dead in my tracks. I felt it before I saw it. And I never did see it. From one of the windows, I saw a silhouette move. It wasn't much, it wasn't even very clear, and had I not stopped right as it happened, I would've probably missed it entirely. A small wave of the curtains on the second floor. I hadn't even begun roaming the interiors yet so I had no idea what was up there. It startled me, but as I stopped here and thought about it; it was likely a cracked window and some wind. I forced myself to stare over at the window. There it was. A broken window indeed. I felt the wind in my back. In normal circumstances wind rustling up from behind would send chills up my spine, but now it was nothing but reassuring.

Then I eyed that wretched doorknob. Nope. I had experienced enough weird shit. I had gone in through that damned door, I wasn't going in again. No sirree, not today! Instead, I rounded the exterior, the big gray building towering over me in the dusk of twilight. I figured there had to be more than one entrance to such a huge place. There were windows and doors here and there, but my eyes were drawn to the statue that sat on a small terrace a bit downhill from where I stood. It was the only sculpture I had yet encountered on the grounds. Well, except the horrible doorknob of course.

I hadn't looked for more statues, per se, but the building was fucking covered in paintings, carvings, and antiques so I wouldn't be surprised at this point if there were statues everywhere too. But there was only this one, as far as I could tell. With the gray sky as its canvas, the slender statue depicted a woman. A fair woman, I should say, because despite my surroundings, there was no denying the figure's beauty. Nine feet tall with intricate details, thinly clad in a silk veil, but with a smile that gave away an underlying desire for intimacy.

Like a goddamn angel in front of a mansion in the middle of bum fuck Romania.

A cloud parted and the sun suddenly pierced the veil the shadow that shrouded her face and features from me. My heart skipped a beat. Fuck, she was beautiful. If there was a woman in ancient times that looked so striking, there was no wonder that a sculptor would depict her magnificence and beauty for all eternity, depicting her in marble so it wouldn't fade over time. No painting or carving, not even a camera could ever capture the lustful gleam in her bright eyes, the enticing curl of her sensuous mouth, and the striking features that could haunt your dreams.

It's weird I got aroused from looking at a marble statue. Aroused? More like captivated. Whoever had carved her out was surely a master of his craft. A sculptor of some kind who made her come to life. You'd be forgiven for assuming that this statue had once been a real woman and was carved based on her image, like the ancient goddess sculptures that adorned Greece's temples in Ancient Crete or Delphi. And I know, that's the main inspiration, but honestly, this was amazing.

The moving light of the sky seemed to make her face come alive. Even her eyes seemed to move as the clouds blocked out the sun and her beautiful eyes disappeared into the dark iris. Not completely dark. Her gaze always had a tinge of, ugh, I hate saying this, but... 'lust'. Yeah. It seemed just wrong calling it that. But lustful is the perfect word for it, like someone is in the midst of undressing you and enjoying it. But it was just an image in marble, not something alive, which only made it creepy.

Yeah, creepy was what it was. Something unnatural about the woman. As a masterful and beautiful rendition of an unknown deity or woman, she was almost unreal. I couldn't wait to take a picture of her. I aimed my camera and clicked the button several times. I'd look at the pictures later, but right now I had to look at her again myself. Before the sun would set, and her beauty would hide once more from the world, I had to look.

"Fucking creepy. But..." my words came to me on instinct, and as the breeze brushed by, I smelled...the smell of a woman. Was this smell real or did the castle play another trick on my head? A hint of a sweet and rosy aroma danced about the terrace and for some reason my heart raced.

Like lightning from a clear sky did I remember why I was back here in the first place. I was looking for an alternate way inside, preferably before it got dark. I had gawked long enough, and it was fall; night was not far upon us. Me, I mean.

*

Another day had come and I was awake before the light rose above the hill. I hadn't noticed any weird shit this night around, yet when I woke I felt like someone had been watching me the entire night. Even now, having been awake, I still felt the cold sting of eyes resting on me, but there was nothing. Just my imagination, but why would my subconscious conjure feelings of fear?

Ever since I stepped foot on the grounds of this huge estate and even before in the village, I felt my fears, my paranoias, heighten to unreal levels. Noises, rustles. I guess I could always call someone to pick me up or just chat, put my mind at ease a bit, but in the few minutes between waking and trying to leave my bed, I decided against it. It would look pathetic. I'm not afraid of some fairytales. Sure, there had been some amazing masons who had stopped by here over the years, but it was just amazing artistry. Truly amazing, in fact. But still, that was it.

And besides, I hadn't even started on the interiors of the main attraction; the castle. I had merely found the closest bed chamber and that was it. There were rooms, halls, and towers. Square feet had to be measured, or meters in this case as it was in Europe. Just counting the floors would be a nightmare.

I pulled a spare change of clothes from my backpack and changed into a shirt and some sweatpants. If I was to explore dusty old rooms and whatnot, I better wear something I was comfortable in.

Before leaving my little bedchamber though, I did a quick runthrough to see if anything was amiss or out of place. Everything was, well, the same as I left it the other day when coming from exploring. Nothing out of the ordinary, it was all normal and tidy. I wasn't sure if I was losing my mind or what was happening, but I just had to make sure.

Better not messing around, let's explore the castle. With a few swipes on the map it zoomed and the room I had occupied over the past two nights showed on the digital map. I figured I could start doing the first floor, as that seemed the easiest in terms of layout and stuff, and I was already on it so it made all the sense in the world. I packed some more essential items like my camera and flashlights into the bag, took a deep breath, and headed out the door, following the map along the way.

"Interesting." It had taken over two hours, but I had finally surveyed every hallway and corridor of the first floor of the castle, but the door I stood in front of, well, the key didn't seem to fit. I rattled the door hard, making lots of noise in the process, but it wouldn't budge.

By the map, it would seem a staircase down to the cellar was on the other end of this door, but alas. It was starting to become a common occurrence at this point. The only reason why it was interesting, except for the advert, was because of the well-house and the crypts. I sort of figured if I could get down in the cellar I'd find an entrance of sorts, somewhat building my argument of there being secret pathways from the crypt up to the castle. But it seemed that wouldn't happen just yet. Maybe this thing wasn't the door I had seen, but rather another entrance and exit. Who knows. I still had plenty more of the estate to map, so it wasn't a setback.

Instead, I went to the second floor. First off was the library.

Oh yeah. There was definitely a nice atmosphere here. The shelves towered high, giving an illusion of unending rows of bookcases reaching all the way up. There were so many books and manuscripts in there, that it could occupy the mind for eons. How could there be so many books still here? I'd guess some museum could be interested in them if nothing else, as some of them seemed in decent enough condition. All the rows of ancient books gave the whole room a magical aura of wisdom and knowledge.

The next room was a study or two, some small dining halls for servants, and guest rooms. While everything was as vintage as one might expect, and there was the occasional broken window, lantern, and whatnot, it all seemed in decent condition. Nowhere near as rundown as the village had seemed. Perhaps someone was tending to the castle after all? Either way, I kept going.

Later the same day I took out my notes on the estate's different corners, hallways, bedrooms, and other interior elements. I was on my way to write a description of an incredible drawing ro--

"Sorry," I mumbled almost by reflex. I then stopped dead in my tracks.

I thought I had walked into someone. I felt it, a presence in front of me, a silhouette, but when I raised my gaze and looked, I only met the empty hallway and closed doors. I turned around and saw just more of the same empty corridor behind me. Hadn't I just walked past someone?

"Is... someone here? Please show yourself!" I called out. No answer.

I had almost got used to the castle laying dormant from mapping the interiors the whole day, but something definitely had moved in front of me. So I followed up. I went with my gut. I was not a believer in the paranormal. Ghost stories were not for a grown man in my opinion. So I noted where I was, dotting it on my map for later to check out for reasonable explanations. That's when I noticed that I wasn't too far from where that door down to the basement that I couldn't get past was located.

I shook it off. There were weird shadows about, and my mind was playing tricks on me. Work. I had to focus. The only way to get out of this creepy hellhole was to get done with it. I had, what, two to three days left of work with the rate I was going? I had no plans on entering the houses down in the village so that shortened the list of things to do at the estate itself quite a bit.

Up and upstairs we go. I was breathing heavily by the time I was halfway up one of the four slim towers. It didn't really seem to have served any military purpose, I suppose, but it sure gave a good overlook of the entire property.