The Banshee

The Anointed

It was nearing 3 a.m., and Aaron and his friends, Juan and Connor, had decided to conduct a paranormal exploration at the old abandoned Mayberry Manor, located at the far end of town; it was secluded, foreboding, and shrouded in suspense: every ghost hunter's dream.

The trio were part of, The Anointed, a self-proclaimed elite paranormal team, dedicated to exposing and educating other on paranormal phenomena. Much of their ventures involved exploring abandoned buildings, housings, and holy areas while recording (on paranormal suitable devices) or live streaming on social media.

The Anointed: Aaron Daniels, a computer science engineer, who recently graduated from Cleveland State University, and a big survivor horror fan. He met Juan Ortiz, a college dropout, through a social media site. Ortiz, is a paranormal enthusiast, intent on being a famous internet influencer. Aaron met Connor Brady through Juan and knows very little about him; except that he is well-versed in the paranormal, and has a long lineage of family who practice witchcraft.

What had set this trio on this adventure? The legend of the Mayberry Witch, and her unfortunate victims that were said to roam its corridors. It was rumored that fifty years earlier, around the 1950s, a wealthy couple and their children, with the manor moniker, were haunted for weeks on end by an evil spirit. One day, in great fear, the husband, is alleged to have gathered his wife and small children in the the manor cellar and put it in a blaze; firefighters put out the the flames and saved the manor, but the family perished. Many have explored the manor since and have claimed to have seen the spirits of the family; some have stated to have seen the witch.

The trio had prepared as best as they could: flashlight, with a new set of batteries, a spirit meter, paranormal voice recorder for EVP, charged smartphones, and inflated egos.

"Ready?" Said Connor, a tall, dark, lean teen with piercing dark eyes and short, buzzed afro-textured hair.

"Absolutely!" said Juan with excitement.

Connor winced.

"We will not stop until we get enough footage for our channel. We have not reached 1000 followers yet, and I believe that many people think that we're phony at this point," said Juan with mild irate.

"The thing is...We have to respect the threat. We have to always respect that we are entering their space, and we have to always take measures to make sure that we don't bring anything back with us." said Connor matter of fact.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hear you. I hear you loud and clear. Always, witch man." Juan said rolling his eyes.

"Bring anything back with us?" Aaron began.

Juan sighed loudly.

"I'm serious. Aaron, basically, if you open a connection or communicate with a spirit through any spirit medium or what we call Eletronic Voice Phenomena or EVP device with what we will use tonight, you have to close the connection you created to prevent any spirit crossover," said Connor informatively.

"Don't really mind Connor. He's paranoid, but I know what I'm doing. We will be fine." Juan said heading to the door.

Connor and Juan both gathered their gear and headed towards the door. Aaron, the shorter, stubbier, of the three and less-versed on paranormal phenomena, had nothing more but a smartphone. They all glanced at each other before, nodded in agreement, before making the deal.

They set out on foot, one by one, stammering in the winter soot; facing the icy wind shield of the silver, wintry night. The air glazed in suspense and wander, and the sounds of drums that didn't exist; yet merely within their mortal vessels.