Ghost town, p.3
Ghost Town, page 3
“Leif, are you paying attention to us, like, at all?” Johnny asked, cutting through Leif’s thoughts. She realized she had clenched her hands in the covers of Rachel’s bed, and tried her best to smooth the wrinkles out again.
“Nope,” she said, popping the p. “What were you saying?”
Johnny sighed loudly and waved his hand at the computer in Rachel’s room. “We were saying that we gotta get out there and ghost hunt again.”
“Mm-hmm,” Rachel agreed. “Everyone else has already posted this month. We’re falling behind. Your girlfriend’s last post was really good too. She got some great footage.”
“Sure. If you call half an hour of boring bullshit good,” Leif grumbled.
“It was pretty damn good, Leif,” Johnny said. He laced his fingers behind his head, shaking his shaggy blond hair out of his face. He grinned and the light glinted off of his lip ring. “You can’t deny it just because you have some weird feud with her.”
Leif didn’t answer, just threw one of Rachel’s soft pillows at him. He took it to the face and let it fall to the bed.
“Mature,” he said.
She stuck out her tongue, then busied herself with her phone. Idly, she checked her email. There were two new emails there. One from her dad about getting together for a weekend, and another from a sender she didn’t recognize. The title was simply An Opportunity. She frowned. That probably should have gone to her junk.
She deleted it, and went to put her phone down, when the same email popped up again in her inbox.
“What the fuck?” she muttered.
“What’s up?” Rachel asked. She rolled her chair toward the bed to try to get a peek at Leif’s screen.
“Just a weird email.” She showed Rachel her phone. “I deleted it but they sent another one right away. It’s gotta be some kind of freaky virus, right?”
“Dude, I bet it’s a Nigerian prince,” Johnny said.
“Or someone who needs help with their bitcoin,” Rachel added.
“I’m going to open it,” Leif said. “This phone’s old anyways, and now I’m intrigued.”
She tapped on the email and nearly lost her breath at the first few lines. She swallowed, her tongue suddenly a dry weight in her mouth, and began to read out loud.
Ms. Leif Henderson and associates:
We are extending this invitation to you to investigate the town of Masonville for paranormal activity. As you may know, Masonville is the oldest and ostensibly most haunted ghost town in Ontario. The town has been owned by our company, Tannincorp, since 1982 and has been closed to the public due to structural concerns since that time. We are currently in the process of rebuilding the town in hopes to open it to visitors, and we believe that your influencer status would attract the type of attention that we are looking for.
Compensation and boarding will be provided. Please contact Dev Mara at 416 555-5555.
Thank you and we hope to hear from you soon.
John Atwood
Assistant to the President
Tannincorp CA
“No way,” Johnny said, with barely contained excitement.
Johnny and Leif stared at each other while Rachel wheeled back to her computer in a rush.
“No. Fucking. Way,” Johnny said, louder this time.
“Tannincorp is real, you guys,” Rachel said over her shoulder. “And they do own Masonville. There’re tons of articles about them buying it and having the whole place tested for redevelopment, but nothing ever came of it. So, either this is a really elaborate scam…” Rachel trailed off, looking over at the phone again.
“Or we’re about to visit the most haunted town in the country,” Leif finished for her. This had to be real. She couldn’t handle it not being real.
“We should call them, right?” Johnny said.
“Absolutely. Even if it’s fake, I have to know,” Leif said. She dialed the number with shaking hands and brought the phone up to her ear.
“Whoa, are you really calling? What if it is a scam?” Rachel said. She looked nervously between Leif and Johnny. Johnny just shrugged.
“Don’t give them your credit card info,” he said as the phone rang in Leif’s ear.
“Tannincorp Canada, Dev speaking. How can I help you?”
The voice on the phone was high and chipper, and for a moment Leif wasn’t sure what to say in response to such a normal greeting.
“Um. Hi. My name is Leif Henderson. I got an email about Masonville?” she said, staring wide-eyed at her friends. They watched her with rapt attention.
“Ah, yes, Ms. Henderson! I was hoping you’d call! I love your ghost hunting videos. Your content is exactly what we need to help put Masonville back on the map as a tourist attraction.”
“Cool. Um, no offence, but is this legit?” Leif asked, cringing as she said it. God, she sounded so stupid. More like a teenager than the twenty-five-year-old she was.
“I assure you that our company is aboveboard,” Dev said. She almost sounded like a robot, the way she delivered her words. “All of our financial disclosures are available to the public. You will be compensated. And food and board will be provided.”
That wasn’t exactly an answer, but Leif was too excited to care. Masonville. The most infamous ghost town in Canada. And they were getting exclusive rights to ghost hunt there!
“Okay. Tell me more,” Leif said, as she looked around at her friend’s excited faces.
This was going to be amazing.
* * *
July 10, Mapleton
Blair frowned at her suitcase, wondering if she needed a bigger one. Two weeks was a long time, and she wasn’t sure if she’d be staying somewhere with laundry facilities. She threw another two pairs of underwear in, just to be safe.
She wondered if two bottles of sunscreen would be enough, and was just debating whether she could stop at the outdoor shop in town for some more tick spray, when a knock at her door made her jump and pulled a small shriek from her.
“Oh! Sorry!” Gen said from where she stood just outside the door. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“No worries! I think I’m just all pumped up about my trip to Masonville,” Blair said, running her hand through her hair. She made a mental note to throw some extra hair elastics in her bag—she didn’t want to look unkempt in any footage. She didn’t want to invite any troll comments.
“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about,” Gen said. She fidgeted with the strings of her hoodie nervously. “I was thinking…would you be all right with me coming along with you on your trip?”
“You want to come ghost hunting with me?” Blair was surprised. Out of everything Gen could have asked her, that was probably the last thing she would have guessed. Not that Gen hated ghost hunting or anything. She’d just never given indication that she wanted to come along.
“Not exactly,” Gen said. She was still playing with the strings of her hoodie like she thought Blair might not want her to come along. “It’s just that Masonville is such an interesting historical site and this is the opportunity of a lifetime to visit there legally!”
Blair grinned. If anything was certain in this world, it was that Gen couldn’t get enough of studying history.
“Let me ask Abe, but I’m sure he won’t have a problem with it,” Blair said.
It’d be nice to have Gen along. It would make it like a real group camping trip, since Abe was insisting that they stay in a tent.
“Knock knock,” Hafsah said from the door. “How’s it going?”
Blair smiled up at her, feeling all warm and fuzzy that both of her roommates wanted to check in on her.
“Good!” she said. “Gen is probably going to join us on our trip! You sure you don’t want to come?”
“Absolutely sure. Ghost hunting for two weeks in the middle of nowhere is so not my thing,” Hafsah replied.
“I gotta go call Brad and tell him the news! He’s going to be so excited for me!” Gen gave Blair a big hug before leaving. She had her phone out before she’d even left the room.
“I’m worried about this trip,” Hafsah said as soon as Gen was gone. “I’m glad Gen will be there too, I guess, but I just have a bad feeling about everything.”
“I’ll only be gone for two weeks,” Blair said as she expertly folded another T-shirt to place in her suitcase. Maybe she should bring dry shampoo as well as her regular travel bottles. Would there even be running water?
Hafsah hovered in the doorway to Blair’s room, exuding anxious energy.
“I know. But I still think it’s kind of suspicious. The weird email, and the two-week invite. Why would you need to be there for two weeks? All of your ghost hunts last like two days, tops,” Hafsah said. She was right. Blair had never needed more than two days on site to research before. But that was why this opportunity was so exciting. She’d get to experience paranormal phenomena for two whole weeks. The research would be invaluable.
“I think they want us to do promos for the town and stuff,” Blair said, though no one had really mentioned promos to her. If it made Hafsah feel better she could fudge the truth a little. Besides, this was to boost tourism. Of course they’d want some kind of promotional material, right? “And two weeks is almost too short a time to investigate all of the stories that have come out of Masonville.”
“Stories? Like what?”
Blair grinned. “Well, there are at least thirty-seven different eyewitness accounts about mysterious things that happened there. The town was evacuated because the phenomena became so pervasive that they feared there was a gas leak. But two years ago, Tannincorp had the air and water tested, and there was nothing strange or dangerous found. There have been sounds and lights that come from the hollow near the town square, and actual sightings of shadowy figures and full body apparitions.”
“Why do you sound so happy about it? That literally sounds like a nightmare,” Hafsah said. She abandoned her lean against the doorframe and sat on the bed beside Blair’s suitcase.
“But it’s so interesting! Imagine capturing footage of something like that. It would create shockwaves in the scientific community,” Blair said. “And then more people would take what Abe and I do seriously.”
“Right. So why do you think this place is so haunted?” Hafsah asked. “What’s the theory?”
Blair grinned and placed her final T-shirt into the bag and started in on folding up her dresses. “Well, they say there was a coven of witches who operated in secret in the town starting around 1882.”
Hafsah scoffed, but didn’t interrupt.
“Interestingly enough, the town ended up closing in 1982, one hundred years later. Anyways, they say that the very Christian mayor somehow found out about this group of witches and tried to get them out of town. Started a literal witch hunt. Then suddenly all sorts of horrible things started happening to him. His wife died and he got terribly ill. He lost all his money. Things like that. He eventually called off the witch hunt, but it was too late. The curse had taken his life,” Blair finished her story, her voice hushed.
Hafsah shivered. “Ugh, that sounds creepy as hell. Why do you want to do this again?”
Blair laughed. “Because it’s neat! Besides, I don’t believe any of that. People love to blame stuff on groups of independent women who are defying cultural norms. My theory is that it’s a weak spot in what we call reality. That maybe there are places where the energy is different and allows humans to see aspects of our world that are usually beyond our limited senses.”
“Nerdy,” Hafsah said. She nodded with an authoritative air. “I like it.”
Blair laughed. “I’m glad you approve.”
“Just be careful, okay? Last thing you need to do is break a leg in some old abandoned house.”
It was sweet how worried Hafsah was, but Blair was always abundantly cautious. She’d be fine. Still, a little reassurance wouldn’t hurt.
“I’ll call you or text you at least once every day.”
“You had better,” Hafsah said. She leaned over the suitcase to give Blair a hug. “I’m going to miss you. Both of you, if Gen ends up going. The house is going to be lonely for two weeks.”
“We’ll be back before you know it,” Blair said, zipping her suitcase up. “Don’t worry, Hafs. This is going to be amazing.”
Chapter Three
Voice Memo 40
We shouldn’t have come here. This is beyond anything we—I can deal with. This isn’t some silly haunting. Something else is happening here and I… (Blair’s voice breaks) I don’t think I can handle this. (crying) (recording ends)
July 12, Masonville
The trip out to Masonville was around twenty hours by car, which meant Leif, Johnny and Rachel had tried their hardest to leave in the early morning. Unfortunately, all three of them were prone to being late, and therefore they hadn’t left until well after noon. They stayed the night in the seediest motel Leif had ever seen, with Johnny on his own mattress as Rachel and Leif shared a bed. They’d also shared a pillow after Leif found a brownish red stain on hers that looked suspiciously like blood. The wallpaper was yellowed and peeling, and Leif felt like she was being watched the whole night. As far as trips went, it was a rocky start.
The next day they set out earlier, practically fleeing from the dive motel. Between stopping to make an inukshuk on the side of the highway, a few bathroom breaks, a stop at a run-down store that claimed it sold thirty-five types of root beer—Leif had only seen fifteen—and a lovely little picnic, they didn’t arrive at Masonville until the sun was starting to set.
The town was a few hours off the Trans-Canada Highway, down a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it gravel road that led into the woods. It felt dangerous to drive off the highway. Like they were charting new territory into the unknown. Leif could barely sit still, she was so excited.
As they drove up the main road that led into town, they encountered an orange caution gate that blocked off the road. Johnny slowed the car down as they approached, coming to a stop in front of the barrier.
Leif frowned. They were invited here. It felt like there shouldn’t be any barriers up.
“Okay,” Johnny said. “That’s spooky, right? I feel like we’re trespassing.”
“Dev said we have permits to be here,” Leif said. “I think they just have to leave those up to keep the rest of the public out?”
“Yeah,” Rachel said, though she sounded unsure. “I guess we just move it?”
Leif shrugged and opened her door, hopping out of the car. The air was fresh and lovely, especially after being stuck in the car with the air conditioning blowing for hours. It always felt to Leif that the air up north was cleaner and nicer to breathe. She strode forward toward the barrier, grinning as she did. This was real. They were really here, investigating the most haunted town in Ontario.
She reached out to grab the edge of the barrier, but the moment she touched it, the sound of a blood-curdling scream pierced the air.
“What the fuck?” Johnny called out from the car, as Leif spun around to face the woods where the sound had come from. She forced herself to stay still rather than running back to the car like she desperately wanted to. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing up, and a shiver of fear worked its way down her spine.
“Hello?” she called out.
The woods didn’t answer.
“Fox,” Rachel said. “Or maybe a wildcat? It sounded like an animal. I think.”
“Just move the barrier and get back in here, Leif,” Johnny said. He sounded scared. “Doesn’t matter if it’s an animal or some sort of psycho killer, it sounded like bad news.”
Leif nodded and moved to grab the barrier again, half afraid that whatever it was would scream again when she tried to touch it. Thankfully, nothing happened, and she was able to drag it over to the ditch, leaving the road open.
“Go on,” Leif said, gesturing for Johnny to drive forward. “I’ll put it back once you’re past. I don’t want any randos coming in and ruining our investigation.”
Johnny pulled the car up, and Leif put the barrier back. She hopped back into the car and felt better the moment the door closed. Jesus. “Off to a good start,” she said.
“Honestly, that was some scary shit. Killer or animal, either way I bet it’d have taken your eyes,” Johnny said.
“Ew, Johnny,” Rachel admonished from the back seat. “Why do you always say creepy shit like that?”
“It’s my brand.” Johnny laughed.
Rachel ignored him. “I just wish we’d had the camera rolling. That would have been some great footage.”
“Of Leif pissing herself.”
“Oh please, you sounded more scared than I did,” Leif said. “And you were all tucked up safe in the car.”
Johnny drove slowly now, as the roads were rough and covered in bumps and potholes. Soon enough, the trees began to thin, and Leif’s stomach flipped as the town of Masonville appeared like a beacon in the woods.
They drove slowly through the town, savoring the empty streets and the eerie silence that seemed to envelop the whole place. Masonville was so small that Leif could hardly fathom it being called a town. There were very few houses that lined the main street, and the little neighborhoods were empty, with dark-windowed houses surrounded by broken down picket fences and overgrown yards. Rachel leaned out the window and took a picture of a deflated and half rotten basketball that looked as though it had been abandoned midgame. Many of the places were graffitied or had broken glass, but some of them looked eerily normal, as though they’d been forgotten by time and stood there ready to welcome a new family with some minor construction skills.
“Creepy,” Rachel said. She’d rustled around in her backpack to pull out Leif’s old camcorder now, and began filming B-roll out the car window.
