Ghost Host

Intruders

══════════════════

This had to be a joke, Eleanor thought. A cruel one at that. Who in the world would take an outing all the way out here where they would be surrounded by the deserted, unkempt forests of England? And who in their right mind would lack the decency to knock on a door before entry, let alone trespass uninvited? Absolutely no one! If there were to be anyone out there who attempted even one of the two, they would be mad. One might even go as far as to call them deranged. But if there really was no such person, who was at the door? Or in this case, who was inside the estate? This was a question Eleanor decided she was going to find the answer to.

═════════⛧════════

Numerous voices could be heard in the grand foyer, their owners huddled together in an inconspicuous, dark corner. There were three of them; two boys and a girl, all around the same age. As they stood in that corner, they chattered away, seemingly unaware of another one’s presence.

“I swear Joseph, just answer my question! Did you or did you not happen to bring the trunk?” someone scream-whispered.

“Why, I did bring it! I swear on my mother’s grave—I must’ve left it outside! My goodness, I’ll prove it to you!” a different voice shouted.

“I found no such thing outside!” chimed a third voice from the front door.

“That is none of your concern, Oliver!”

“Why are you reprimanding Oliver?!” the first voice screeched, “If I may, I recall that you were the one who left the trunk full of our possessions behind after we took the care to remind you so many times—”

“Oh please, it is but a trunk Harriet. You need not make such a big fuss. Really, it’s no big deal.”

“I beg your pardon? It’s just a trunk? Oh yes, Joseph, it certainly is just a trunk  with all of our food and equipment inside. Surely it cannot be of that great importance right?!”

“Goodness me, will you all please shut your traps?! I simply cannot take it any longer! Jesus, if I hear one more word uttered from the mouths of you three, I swear I’ll leave!”

Confused and flabbergasted, Eleanor peered into the foyer from above. She could hear the voices, but no matter where she looked, she couldn’t spot the intruders. Maybe they weren’t human, she thought. Ghosts? Or maybe they were ghouls, mourning the loss of a loved one. If that was the case, what reason did they have to trespass on private property?

Surely they recalled basic courtesy in their past life. As there was no actual answer, the possibilities were, quite literally, endless. She found that the more she racked her brain into thinking, the more bizarre her answers seemed to become. She tried to distract herself. At first, Eleanor considered confronting the intruders.

Yet the only thing Eleanor could think of was the unhinged conversation she had heard but seconds before.

═════════⛧════════