VIGNETTE-1978-The Ghost in the Hallway

A Chestnut Point Story Vignette

1978-The Ghost in the Hallway

Charlie Mann froze to death in a snow bank on the shore of the Patuxent across from Haviland Mill. 

Though transformative, the first 23 hours Travis Mann spent alone at Chestnut Point after Charlie’s funeral were nothing compared to the 24th one, right before sunrise. Having been a famous rock ‘ n ‘ roll guitarist and leader of the Travis Mann Band for several decades before, that was his customary bedtime.

The death of his grandfather, Charlie, had sent Travis into a spiral of depression. No exhaustion he ever experienced before could compare to the yawning pit of weariness he now felt while ascending the creaky stairs to his chosen bedroom tucked under the gable roof of the old main-house, the one with Jack Chapman’s Journals in wooden crates lined up along the knee wall.

Then. ‘What was that!’

Travis thought he saw a movement in the inky dark hallway above, but he wasn’t sure. Travis stopped silent on the landing, his senses on edge. He gripped the finial of the newel post at the landing to call out. “Hello. Is someone there?”

Silence.

“Hello. Is someone there?” Travis was all eyes and ears. The hallway above was hidden in inky darkness. All sound was minuscule.

Silence…

A rustle of fabric.

Then, SUDDENLY, an ethereal wisp of a woman, dressed in a long satin silver houserobe, appeared face-to-face with Travis. After both of them simultaneously screamed, she glared him in the eye. The jolt of surprise would have sent Travis tumbling backwards down the stairs if he hadn’t instinctively grabbed hold of the finial atop the stair newel post to save himself.

“Who are you?” The woman hissed through a missing front tooth, which gave her a lisp. “Whaf are you doing in my house?”

At first, Travis believed he was having an LSD flashback. It’s more believable than actually seeing a ghost,’ he thought, reaching out to see if the woman was real.

“Answer me,” the woman demanded.

Travis didn’t know what to say, so he remained silent. But he was having great difficulty suppressing a laugh because the woman had said ‘whaf,’ instead of ‘what.’

There’s a whole lot of story between there and then, so let’s take a break, for a sip, and a stretch. But before leaving, let me say:

The Lady in the Hallway was the first ghost Travis encountered after moving to Chestnut Point. He soon learned who she was and why she became a ghost. He also learned ‘how’, but why is it always more important, don’t you think?

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